The Decider is Down with Torture

Not that this comes as a surprise, but Bush has vetoed the bill that would restrict the CIA to the interrogation techniques outlined in the Army Field Manual. He says it would take away "valuable tools" from the CIA which have "saved lives." Of course, Bush says that his administration does not torture. They're just trying to "protect" Americans. God, this makes me angry. This is America! How can we be having this debate. We need to slough off this culture of fear and say that no matter how bad things may get, we will not sink to the level of those who would seek to do us harm.

Satan iz in ur home steeling ur soul!!1!

Despite being so closely exposed to it because of my ex-wife and reading about it, I am still fascinated at people's capacity to think irrationally (well, in general, but especially...) about Satan. A co-worker brought a bunch of art prints to our department that she was getting rid of. A few of us were looking through them and someone mentions that one is a Van Gogh. A lady who works a few offices down from me says, "Isn't he the one that was involved with Satan?" Everybody else sort of stops and we look at each other wondering what to say. She goes on to say, "That's the feeling I always got from him and I've learned to trust my instincts."

Okay, crazy lady.

Reading Aloud

One of my favorite activities with my daughters is reading to them. A few weeks ago, we finished reading Tarzan of the Apes. They loved it. I did, too, but it's been quite a few years since I've read it. I certainly don't remember noticing the racist undertones of the book which seemed quite obvious to me this time around. It's still a rousing pulp adventure, though.

We're reading Fahrenheit 451 now, another book that I have not read in some time.

Some Pics

Here are some recent pictures of the family.

Shaena's birthday party - Dec.

Jeromy's wife, Debbie, punctuates her point with a spoon while talking to my daughters.


Shaena gets excited over her new cordless mouse while Erica and my mother look on.


Matthew, the newest child for Jeromy and Debbie sitting on my mom's lap.


Shaena using her camera from Christmas to take a picture of her cake.


Last Month

My daughters hamming it up with their cousin, Alexis.


I don't think I've posted a picture of the newest addition to the family. Here is my niece, Brooklynn.


Some outdoor fun. My daughters play with two of their cousins, Alexis and Bryanna, and Elijah, Jeromy's son.


Elijah eyes the slide, unsure whether or not he should take that path.


Erica learned a lesson about combining tinfoil and microwaves.

Going to the Sunshine State

The two-day workshop I am going to for work was finally confirmed, so I booked my flight and hotel today. I'll fly out the morning of the 24th and I'll be back the evening of the 27th. It will be nice (very nice) to get away for a few days, but I'm not anticipating much relaxing. I'm going by myself, so there won't be anyone to hang out with and that is the last week for two of my classes, so I'll probably be frantically trying to get those wrapped up. Still, the Florida warmth will be a welcome break from the Montana chill even if we have had a very mild winter.

The Final Stretch

Speaking of school, with the completion of my IR class last weekend, I am now at 75 credits. After the three I am in now are done, I will have 84. I would like to be able to plow through the rest of my courses by the end of the year so that I could say I did graduate before I turned 30, but between being burned out and not wanting to pile on the classes during the holiday season as I did last year, I am anticipating graduating by this time next year. I can't freakin' wait.

I'm Still Here

I know I said I would be posting more this week in my last vlog entry, but, alas, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that. School has kept me very busy, in fact I'm behind. Part of it is that I am feeling somewhat burned out and struggled to find the motivation to do my assignments. Part of it, though, too, is that I have been running myself ragged. Over the last several days, I've struggled to stay awake after dinner; I find myself nodding off while reading my assigned texts.

So, that's why posting has continued to remain light to non-existent around here. I'm going to try to get caught up by this weekend (*crosses fingers*) so I can be more active around here as well as just relax a little.

One Down

I turned in my final assignment last night for my International Relations class, a paper analyzing the United States National Security Strategy for 2006 and the Bush Administration's success in carrying out its stated goals. I was pretty harsh. Anyway, I'm glad I have one less class to worry about now. Unfortunately it doesn't mean I get a chance to rest. I'm definitely behind and I have a whole lot of work to do.

Weekly Music Video

In honor of their new album..."What's Left of the Flag" by the one and only Flogging Molly.

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

New Flogging Molly Album

I just pre-ordered the new Flogging Molly album, Float, from iTunes. It comes out this Tuesday. For an artful blend of rock, punk, and Celtic music, you can't beat Flogging Molly. Listening to their music always puts me in a good mood.

Unfunny Comic Strips Made Funny

Jeromy, at Seeking Goliath, linked recently to a page that combines Nietzsche's words with Family Circus pictures to make something that is infinitely more amusing than the incredibly banal comic on its own.

I stumbled across something similar recently with Garfield. For this, Garfield is simply removed from the strip leaving Jon Arbuckle all by himself giving us gems like this one.



Garfield hasn't been funny in twenty years, but some of these are great.

One More Vampire Book

Ironically, my friend, Jeromy, and I were just talking about this yesterday. Anne Rice is now saying she will write one more vampire book after saying that she would no longer write about them since she "found the Lord."

She claims that she is not really going back on her word since this book will be very much focused on God and redemption. I thought she already covered that, though, with Memnoch the Devil. I'm curious to see how this book will turn out. I haven't read any of her Vampire Chronicles since Memnoch, though. There's just too many books and not enough time.

Weekly Music Video

Nightwish performing "Dark Chest of Wonders" live from the End of an Era tour. This was the first song of theirs I heard and I was hooked within moments. It's just such an awesome blend of heavy metal, orchestral elements, and often a choir. Tuomas Holopainen, the keyboardist, composer, and band founder, described their music as "melodic heavy metal with a female singer" and that is exactly what they are. The energy behind their music is incredible.

Weekly Secret

PostSecret

America's Problem is Men Sitting Down to Piss

From the "You can't make this shit up" file comes this awesome video of a preacher telling his flock that America's problem is that men are sitting down to piss and dammit, that's just not right according to his King James Bible.



This sounds like fodder for Mr. Deity.

Courtesy of Rod Dreher

Define Irony

Sitting here at work, a Catholic hospital, listening to my music, sometimes singing along, I realized something.

I'm singing "Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel, a song about a high-school guy trying to convince his Catholic girlfriend to sleep with him.

Hmmm...what would the Sisters think? Eh, I bet they're secretly big fans. How can you not like this song?

Vlogging 2: Son of Vlogger

My Mom is Famous

My Mom was interviewed today for a story that will appear on the local news (Kulr8) tonight at 5:00, 6:00, and 10:30. It is about her attempts to keep her house. She told me that she was so nervous she felt like throwing up all morning in anticipation of the reporter coming over. I laughed at first, but then felt bad. She hates having her picture taken, let alone being on video. So if you watch it and then have a chance to talk to her, make sure to tell her she looked nice (or something), not that she'll believe you.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that I'm hoping that no video of the basement is used. Mom said they went down there and it's, uh...a little, just a little, messy.

Okay, it's currently a sty. It's where I live and I'm a guy. What can I say? The upstairs where everyone else sleeps is rather neat and tidy.

The Mission: Which Path Would You Choose?

I have written about my love for the movie The Mission. Jeromy recently wrote about this movie, as well.

A second really engaging part (though the movie is full of them) comes at the end of the movie. To make a long story short, the mission comes under attack from "civilized" people bent on enslaving the natives. Father Gabriel, having taken a vow of peace, refuses to fight. Mendoza ends up renouncing his Jesuit vows to help the natives defend their home.

After seeing this movies at least a half dozen times, I still wrestle every time with which decision I would make.

If you haven't seen it, watch it. Then tell me what you would choose.

This is the central conflict of the movie for me. Ultimately, I think that both characters made the right decision for who they were. For me, personally, I think I would have stood by Mendoza and fought. I think that if the decision to take up arms (and in all likelihood, kill) is based on the desire to defend someone else, especially those who may not be able to defend themselves, then it cannot be said to be an immoral act and I do not believe God would judge one for it. If the decision was made selfishly, though, as an act primarily to save the self, then I think one is on shakier ground morally.

Taking someone else's life, no matter the reason, is never an act to be done lightly and will forever affect so many lives, not just those of the person who did the killing and the person who was killed. If one is going to make the decision to possibly kill other people, then it needs to be done in order to protect or save someone else because something done for someone else is almost always superior to an act done for oneself.