Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A Declaration of Humanity...

People of the earth. The sky is open to the stars. Clouds roll over us night and day. Oceans rise and fall. Whatever you may have heard, this is our world, our place to be. Whatever you've been told, our flags fly free. Our heart goes on forever. People of Earth, remember...



1. I believe that human life is a most precious gift of God to each person. It should therefore be preserved and honored in all its stages.

2. Genuine love of neighbor implies respect of the person and his or her choices in matters of conscience and religion. It includes the rights of individuals and communities to practice their religion in private and public.

3. Religious minorities are entitled to be respected in their own religious convictions and practices. They are also entitled to their own places of worship and their founding figures and symbols they consider sacred should not be subject to any form of mockery or ridicule.

4. I affim that no religion and its followers should be excluded from society. Each should be able to make its indispensable contribution to the good of society, especially in service to the most needy.

5. I recognize that our one God and his creations in its plurality of cultures, civilizations, languages and peoples is a source of richness and should therefore never become a cause of tension and conflict.

6. I believe that the first commandment issued by our creator was to be fruitful and to multiply. Society in order to sustain itself requires a marriage between a man and a woman to be honored and charished for eternity.

7. I attest that I will do everything in my power from this day forward to not judge people based on their gender nor ethnic origin but the content of their character.

8. I will respect my family, my friends and my community and do everything in my power to see it thrive.

9. I believe I need to take immediate action to become more brotherly to others less fortunate than I. In order to accomplish this goal, I will pray, fast and be more charitable.

10. I will not exploit others because it is the politically correct thing to do or worry about perceptions. I will however focus on the reality and observe the current state of humanity and reflect on how not only I am part of the problem but can also be part of the solution.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Team OWASP

I am announcing team OWASP, on Kiva, a non-profit website that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world. You choose who to lend to - whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq - and as they repay the loan, you get your money back.

Check out the OWASP lending team, and learn more about lending teams on Kiva in general, by clicking here...

Monday, November 3, 2008

How I will be voting on Tuesday...

If you can't keep something a secret, tell the world...



I am a registered Republican yet I refuse to vote for John McCain. The vision of a repeat of George Bushitler scares me to no end. Another four years of incompetent leadershit is mind boggling. Of course, he may not even live that long. The thought of Governor Palin taking the helm is even more frightening.

As far as anyone for congress who is currently in office, no matter what their party affliation is, I will be choosing whomever is running against them. Congress is supposed to watch out for the best interests of the people, but we can most certainly say that this didn't happen with the recent Wall Street meltdown and the subprime debacle. Everyone in congress is watching out for their own interest and the change that is needed is not about being democratic but about throwing those idiots on the street. The only thing that would change my mind would have been if one of these morons proposed a bill that would take the CEOs of failed Wall Street firms and have them escorted to the local penetentionary by US Marshalls in handcuffs. Sadly, none of them want to serve the will of the people.

When it comes to the Connecticut State Senate, I will be most certainly not voting for Barbara Ruhe (Republican) whom by the way is a lawyer by trade (we really need more of them in our government) and believes that while outsourcing jobs outside of the United States has certainly hurt the folks who have lost their jobs and that where practical state government should do business with vendors and businesses within the state. Given the impending state deficit, she also believes that the state should consider using services based solely on cost. Is this what we call representation?

I will also be voting for Senator Jonathan A. Harris (Democrat) as he is one of the few that actually makes time to talk to the people. Did you know that I emailed him on Saturday and he replied back within ten minutes? He actually gave me his personal cell phone number. How many of his peers don't think of talking to a single voter as a chore?

I will be voting against Eric D. Coleman (Democrat) who has done nothing to wrong injustices committed by local police departments. Statistically speaking, did you know the Bloomfield CT Police Department writes more traffic tickets to minorities than the makeup of the town? Many folks focus on major crimes and the unequal application of the law to minorities. While this is important, I am of the belief that Bloomfield CT Police department who is run by Betsy Hard is hurting the community by death of a thousand cuts. I wonder how many voters would question the decision of a police chief to not reside in the town they run?



Sadly, even if she were to resign, the next in charge is an even worse choice. Captain Jeffrey Blatter can be thought of as the poster child of authoratative ignorance based on my personal interactions with him. Did you know that he too also doesn't live in town? I know he is coming up on twenty years of service and will hopefully move himself along to another department and suboptimally operate a town such as Granby. I wonder when was the last time the person who is ultimately accountable for community policing has actually made an effort to interact with members of the community?

All politics are local and when it comes to the town government, it is a sad state of affairs. Other than Syd Shulman and Donald Harris, the rest should be voted out. Have you seen the test scores at the Middle school (Carmen Arace) level? They have declined significantly since I was in school. As I understand, the problem is primarily in the lack of leadership from the principal Sam Galloway. In informal conversations amongst both teachers and parents, there isn't much confidence in his ability. As I also understand, in addition to being a school principal, he is a full-time state police trooper. Maybe the challenge is that his heart cannot be in just one job or that he thinks of students as future criminals, only he knows. Regardless of perspective, is the will of the public to have the people who are responsible for the education of their children to moonlight at other jobs?

Friday, July 25, 2008

Thomas Jefferson vs Hillary Clinton


"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
~Thomas Jefferson, 1776

"I would also work to reinstate the assault weapons ban."
~Sen. Hillary Clinton, 2008


Thursday, July 17, 2008

Samuel Adams vs Charles Schumer


"The said Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
~Samuel Adams, 1788

"We're going to hammer guns on the anvil of relentless legislative strategy! We're going to beat guns into submission!"
~Senator Charles Schumer, 1993


Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Five arguments against Gay Marriage

The best blog entry on this subject to date is here...




Pray, Fast and Be Charitable!

Saturday, July 12, 2008