Confederate Flag

In the wake of the Charleston shootings by Dylann Roof, a number of very vocal people took up the issue of the Confederate battle flag flying at the SC state house. Many took up this issue to stir up racial tension for political reasons, a number of right infringing laws are working their way through congress while the nation is distracted. This is low and a reflection of the poor character of many of our elected leaders, before the murder victims were even in the ground they were trying to use their deaths to their political advantage.

Now almost a month has passed, so I feel like the issues can start to be discussed. Some people are blaming the flag for the deaths, kind of like people blame guns for deaths as well. Both are very flawed views, mentally unstable people will do bad things, blaming inanimate objects for their actions lessens the horror of their acts. I have no qualms about saying Dylann Roof murdered 9 people and should be held accountable for that.

Other people are saying that the flag should come down because it is a symbol of hate, not heritage, perhaps to some it is, the KKK does indead use the flag in a hateful way. They also use the American flag and the Cross, as well as claiming to be a "Christian" organization. Do you also target the other symbols they turn to their hateful ways?

Some say that the flag belongs in a museum, not flying "above the state house." Why do I put that part in quotes, because it shows the ignorance of some people, the flag has not flown above the state house for over a decade, it actually flies over a Confederate soldiers memorial, it was put there as part of a compromise to bring it down from the state house dome. It never belonged on the state house dome in the first place, but politicians do stupid things, then and now. Part of the museum argument is broken down by the fact that the flag has been taken down from Fort Sumter. So the flag no longer flies at a Civil War museum, the the very place the first shots were fired. This has gone beyond justice and moved on to vengeance and yet another attempt to rewrite history, where the south was totally wrong and the north was honest and true.

Maybe people need to be arguing about how history is taught in schools more than where pieces of cloth hang.

7 Jul 2015 10:48:00

My election experience

OK, so you thought "AHA, the election is done, all the political BS goes away now." Sorry, my experience kinda sucked, so I need to vent.

My polling place is located in a local school, the school is fenced, so there is one way in, one way out. I was greeted my a couple of people campaigning inside the parking lot. While technically legal, it's bad form, neither of those candidates got my vote.

It took me 20-30 minutes to park, making multiple loops around the parking lot, passing those campaigners over and over, before I finally found a spot.

When I stepped inside the entry-way was filled with people, luckily for me one of the people there was nice enough to tell me I had to go register first before I could come back out here to stand in line.

The registration table was set up way inside, near the voting machines, only 4 where working, 2 had just arrived and were being set up.

State law says there should be 1 machine for every 250 voters. So, 4-6 machines, says there should be roughly 1000-1500 voters for this particular polling place. There are 2,364 voters for my particular polling place. So, there should have been 9 or 10 machines there, not 4-6. Of course since no one got fired for leaking all our SSNs into the wild, I have to assume no one will get fired for breaking state law with regards to the election.

After showing my ID and signing their little log book, I was told to get in line, the end of which was back at the entrance, out of sight of the people running things.

Two hours later, I had moved a little ways in, but still had a long way to go. We were then told that it only looked like there were 4 lines, they had actually split the line and pulled people out to sit on the benches because the lines were so long. So they merged people back into our line, some of those people merged in ahead of us, had arrived after us, because no one kept track of the people they had pulled out of the line. I finally got to vote at 8:10pm, I had arrived at my polling place at 4:20pm, just shy of 4 hours for a 2 minute vote.

The worst part, when I got to the front of the line, no one was checking ID, nothing. Just if you were in line, you got to vote. I wonder how many people voted more than once, or voted who were not registered to vote?

Comments (0) 7 Nov 2012 12:27:41

Integrity in the BDSM community

I am seeing more and more often people who are going to parties hosted by people who just a few short years ago had all sort of issues, from outing others, to being sex offenders. I know some people were always willing to set aside what is morally right for a good time, but when did it become most of the people in the community?

"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

What kind of integrity are our "leaders" or even our common members showing when they attend a party hosted by a known predator? What about when they hang out with them all the time? Should you be friends with someone who has shown multiple times in the past that they have no values?

"A life lived with integrity - even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune is a shinning star in whose light others may follow in the years to come." - Denis Waitley

We are supposed to lead our lives as an example of what values we hold true. What values do you old true when you attend an event hosted by someone who has outted others? Or who is a registered sex offender?

Comments (0) 22 Oct 2012 12:32:47