Who Says Secession Is Bad?

So a few months ago, everyone was talking about secession – OK, maybe just some Republicans in southern US States. All went quiet for a while until just recently.

As I think about secession, I’ve come to believe that it is not necessarily bad for America or that it will negatively impact our country.

Consider this. The old Soviet Union was  a super power and the controlling center of many states – willing and otherwise. Soviet Union’s breakup resulted in many independent countries; some prospered and some continue to struggle. Nevertheless, I believe that all those independent states are more content now than they were under the Soviet umbrella.

Think about it. Russia is just as powerful as when it was the Soviet Union. That power may not resemble that of the days of the cold war, but it is unmistakable. Russia is able to derail many UN resolutions by voting against them. It is able to alter the course of international policy purely by projecting (or retracting) its support. How many times in the past few years have we heard that Russia and China formed an alliance to oppose international sanctions or policy proposals?

By the same token, a separated United States could also conceivably remain just as powerful and effective but perhaps in different and, as of yet, undetermined ways.

Here’s more food for thought. Consider a severely contentious issue in American politics. Let’s choose abortion. I’m willing to bet money that if we asked Californians whether Texans should have access to abortion, a majority will say that they don’t really care. The greatest thing that matters to Californians about abortion is preservation of their own right to abortion. On the other hand, I’m betting the same amount of money that if we asked Texans the same question about abortion involving Californians, a majority will say that no one in the US should have access to abortion. In other words, the more Conservative and religious the state, the more likely it will be to impose its views on the entire union.

What does this tell us? Well, remember what this country was based upon: individual liberties for all and a non-dictatorial central government. So, why not permit a State such as Texas to secede from the union if the values of its people are in direct contradiction to those of the rest of the United States? Texas and anyone who cares to join this independent state will be happier and more free. In the process, the balance of power will remain the same for the rest of the union, and the US will continue to exist and prosper over time (once we get past this recession).

Change and opportunity come in one package. Embrace them.

Texas Board of Education Votes On Age Of Universe – Lying For Jesus, I See!

Here’s a new one from the “I know God agrees with me” files.

The Texas School Board recently held a meeting in which board member Barbara Cargill argued for improving Earth Science standard by replacing the phrase “the concept of an expanding universe that originated 14 billion years ago” with wording that “leaves it up to [students and teachers] to discuss how many billions of years“.

This is what happens when we humans futilely pretend to understand the true intention of the scripture, and attempt to awkwardly fit everything we know into what we believe the scripture says. Here are my observations:

• Everything we know, everything we observe, the amount of time it takes for the light of Sun to reach Earth, the gravitational models of stars, the orbits of planets, observed behavior of galaxies, carbon dating, etc. are all consistent with a universe that is about 14 billion years old. If you believe the age of the universe is only 6,000 years, then God must be personally sending your phone signals to cell phone towers, because those signals behave differently and have different speeds in a 6,000 year-old universe than ours.
• Can science explain everything? Of course not. There are major holes in all theories. Here’s the point. Gravity existed long before Newton worked on his gravitational theory. Similarly, the nature of gravity was unchanged when Einstein modified Newtonian gravity in his 3 dimensional representation of astronomical objects. Theory does not mean untrue.
• Contrary to what Ms. Cargill claims, there are not different estimates of the age of the universe. From a scientific perspective, the estimates are 13.7 billion years plus and minus about 200 million years. That’s an uncertainty of 1.5% which, by itself, does not constitute a different estimate. It’s a long way from 13.7 billion down to 6,000.
• From the “I know that literal interpretation of the Genesis is right and I’m sticking to it” perspective, the universe was created 1,000 years after the Sumerians invented glue! If Jesus was around, he would reach out and slap you, followed by saying ‘if you’re not going to use the intelligence I’ve given you, then here’s your sign’.
• Don’t get me started on the idea of “God created an aged universe”. You’re only fooling yourself, not God. Again, all you’re doing is making a futile attempt at fitting everything within the model of what you think the scripture says. Wow, God sure seems like a very impatient fellow if he had to fast forward the age of the universe. I wonder what remote control model  he’s got? I want one.

Accidental (NOT!) Space Collision Of Satellites? Yeah, Right!

I haven’t been blogging too much recently because there’s just nothing good to blog about.

The recent crash of space satellites, however, has precipitated a deluge of conspiracy theories. Anyone who knows me is well aware that I’m not a conspiracy nut, but this is just too good. I’ve been skimming the blogs and here’s what I’ve been able to piece together from the collective. 

By now, we have all heard about the space collision of two satellites on Tuesday, 2/10/09. An American communications satellite and a defunct Russian  cosmos orbiter collided over northern Siberia causing over 1,200 new pieces of space junk. The Russian orbitor was presumably not maneuverable. The American satellite was apparently fully functional and able to execute evasive maneuvers, thus avoiding a collision if warned in advance.

The Russians blamed NASA for failing to warn of the impending collision, and NASA in turn put the blame on the Air Force. On the surface, this incident appears to be a case of error – human or computerized warning systems. But consider the following theory. 

First, the Russian government has not stated anything specific about the state of its orbitor. All citations of defunct status of that orbitor have originated from the news media. 

Second, the American communications satellite belongs to the Iridium Corporation. Remember them? In the 90s, they had a good idea, but a bad product. Their plan was to introduce a ‘satellite’ mobile phone that would work anyplace on earth. They launched a number of satellites into orbit to service the phones. But when they introduced the actual phone unit, they attracted no ‘sane’ buyers. For the phones to properly communicate with satellites, they had to engage an antenna that resembled a fishing rod. Not practical.

Third, the Iridium Corporation has leased their satellites, in part, to the U.S. Department of Defense. In fact, Iridium executive board includes Tom Ridge, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.

Fourth, Iridium communication satellites are capable of altering course in order to avoid collision with other space objects. In fact, they have performed evasive maneuvers (by some accounts) 7 times in the past 10 or so years.

So. consider this. It is not too far-fetched to think that the Russian orbitor, rather than being defunct, was in fact a fully operational spy satellite. The U.S. Department of Defense, through its connection with Iridium Corporation via Tom Ridge, decided to take out the Russian spy orbitor. Of course, the Russians had no choice but to helplessly watch their spy satellite break into pieces because a “defunct’ satellite is not maneuverable.

I like it. If this is true, score one for the Americans.

I have not cited any sources here. I got this information from many different news articles and blogs. Google it!

Ellen DeGeneres And Gladys: I Love Jesus But I Drink A Little

I don’t normally watch Ellen, but this is really funny. It’s a little long but totally worth the time. I promise.