Into the depths of my mind

Death Penalty

demonchild76 — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:19:24 +0000

I am all for the death penalty. I think if you are convicted of any violent crime, a crime against children, the elderly or animals, you should be executed. You are a waste of society and its resources. That being said, Georgia just executed a man despite very little physical evidence and 7 of 9 witnesses recanting their statements and claiming police coercion. I think Georgia and those who denied his appeal made a huge mistake in executing him. Now, I cant say for sure I think he was innocent or guilty, but with that huge amount of doubt, he should not have been executed. At least not until everything was investigated and played out to its conclusion. Georgia may well have executed an innocent man which is injustice for two reasons. The obvious is an innocent man was put to death, but also if he was innocent, then the guilty party has and likely will not be punished for the crime.

Sad.

Bankruptcy

demonchild76 — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:26:40 +0000

In 14 days, my bankruptcy should be discharged. Really the waiting game is to see if GEMB comes for my bed. My credit score according to Experian is 590. Not stellar but up nearly 100 points since it bottomed out at 492 in March. I am finding it easier and easier to not run out and try to get financing or credit cards to pay for things. I have not checked my sister’s credit score to see where she is at after having negotiated with some of her creditors. Of course, she still has a pending suit against her by one of her credit cards.

Freedom of Speech requires no apologies

demonchild76 — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:31:28 +0000

This post comes from a radio show I was listening to on the way home from work Monday. I was listening to Michelangelo Signorele on XM radio. His topic was columnist and self-proclaimed “faggy editor” of Vanity Fair.com Brett Berk. He writes a column called “The Gay Guide to Glee.” In one of his recent offerings, Berk called two characters “cartwheeling, foam party fags.”

Bring in the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation or GLAAD. GLAAD, offended by Berk’s use of the word fag, demanded he and Vanity Fair apologize immediately, and they did. Instead of standing up and saying “No, I have a right to free speech and freedom of the press,” they folded.

It is amazing to me how groups concerned with civil rights, tolerance and acceptance of a certain group are the first to take those away from others. To demand they apologize for exercising their Constitutional rights because the words they used were offensive. The First Amendment does exclude offensive speech from its protections. In fact, I believe offensive speech is the most important speech it protects.

Westboro Baptist Church does not apologize to those they offend because they do not have to. Other hate groups do not apologize to those they offend because they do not have to. Rappers do not apologize to those they offend because they do not have to. Get the point.

GLAAD was out of line to demand an apology from Brett Berk. It doesn’t even matter if he is gay or straight. He has the Constituionally guaranteed right to use the word fag as an insult, a descriptor, etc.

Finances 3

demonchild76 — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:09:46 +0000

My bankruptcy is officially filed. I go to face a federal judge and any of my creditors that choose to show up on April 19. That is a little nerve wracking to think about, but a necessary step. The bankruptcy filing hit my credit report this weekend and my score is now 518. I am sure this will change as my bankruptcy goes forward. My main hope now is that I don’t lose my bed.

File this under “Really?”

demonchild76 — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:02:05 +0000

If you are unfamiliar with the sketch, Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers host the SNL news segment. One of their bits is showing really obvious consequences of actions and statements by people in the shown clips and respond with an indignant “Really?” This was the reaction I had to a news story I heard on OutQ News on XM.

British radio personality and journalist Scott Mills traveled to Uganda to work on a documentary for the BBC called “The Worst Place to be Gay?” One of his interviews were with David Bahati, a member of the Ugandan Parlaiment. Bahati introduced the bill that would further criminalize homosexuality in the landlocked African nation, including punishments of life in prison or execution (if you are gay and HIV positive) for repeated arrests and convictions of being gay (and acting on it). Without this bill being enacted, gay Ugandans are harrassed, assaulted, attacked, etc. because engaging in homosexual activity in Uganda is against the law.

Bahati appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and said he introduced the bill because “$15 million had been invested in Uganda to recruit children into becoming homosexuals.” Let me say this, that whole toaster oven we supposedly get for bringing new members into the fold. Yeah, that doesn’t happen. We don’t try and change people into being gay anymore than we want people trying to change us into being straight. We especially don’t want your children (Well except for groups like NAMBLA which its members need to be drawn and quartered.)

So Mr. Mills interviews Bahati about his bill and Uganda’s treatment of homosexuals. During the interview, Mills revealed that he is gay. Bahati went berserk. Mills was surprised by this. REALLY? Was he really surprised. Did he really think that telling the man who wants to imprison homosexuals for life and execute those who are HIV positive was going to act favorably to his moment of coming out during the interview. Did he really think Bahati would offer him tea and crumpets and talk about the weather and the Queen? In fact, the opposite happened. Mills was followed by police. A hotel Bahati thought Mills and his camera crew were staying at was raided.

The bill has been amended. The life sentence and execution parts are gone, but certain things remain. If you know someone is gay and you don’t report them, you face three years in jail. If you are a gay Ugandan known to be engaging in homosexual activity in another country, they will extradite you to Uganda to face charges. But this post is not about that bill.

It has been two days since I heard the news report about Mills. I am still amazed that he traveled to one of the most dangerous places in the world to be gay, admitted he was gay and was surprised by the reaction he got.

Really?

Facts

demonchild76 — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:06:42 +0000

For seven years, I was a reporter for the Hobbs News Sun. It was my job to get the facts right in all my stories and to not make any connections that weren’t supported by my facts. As I am not perfect, sometimes I got facts wrong and had to correct them.

As an English major studying literature, I took facts and used them to make connections that, at some points, were tenuous at best. Being a subjective writer in that case allowed me freedom to skew facts.

I am bothered, however, when erroneous information is used to villainize people or make a weak connection between two people existing at different times in history.

Once again I had to see the Rachel’s Challenge presentation. I still contend it is a sad world when we have to be challenged to act like decent human beings to one another, but that is not the topic of this post.

During the presentation, the speaker and accompanying multimedia presentation connects Rachel Scott, the first one killed in the Columbine shooting, with Anne Frank who died in a concentration camp.

Granted, the two girls have common bonds. They both kept diaries. They both died young. They both wanted to impact the world. However the statement is made that “Both died because of one man: Adolf Hitler” The video then goes on to say that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold planned the Columbine shootings for April 20th because it was Hitler’s birthday. Um…no.

Yes, in Eric’s writings there are mention of Hitler. Eric liked Hitler’s idea of killing those who were beneath him. Eric differs, however, in that he didn’t pick one race or ethnicity that was beneath him. Eric thought everyone was beneath him. He thought he was a superior being. He thought he was Godlike. And he was a psychopath. In one writing he praises Hitler, the next he condemns racists.

Dylan Klebold, on the other hand, was clinically depressed and suicidal. He likely saw the shootings as a way out. A way to commit suicide that wasn’t lonely. He was also Jewish.

April 20th was most likely picked because they weren’t ready on the original day of April 19th. Did they yell racial slurs at Isaiah Shoals? Yes. But Columbine was carried out by a psychopath and a boy who wanted to die. It was not some sort of Neo-Nazi hate crime. They killed 13 people regardless of race. They planted bombs around the school hoping to kill as many as they could. Not just the minority students or just the Christians. They wanted to kill everyone.

This is not to take away from the tragedy. They were wrong and it was an horrific day, but making connections that aren’t there to benefit and advance your cause.

A good research site on the event is:

Also there is a book

Financial experiment 2

demonchild76 — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 20:44:26 +0000

So I have met with a bankruptcy attorney. For $1600, a meeting with creditors that no one comes to usually, and some paperwork, I should be debt free (with the exception of student loans, a car and a loan that mom cosigned for) by June at the latest.

Manda has settled with all her creditors but one. Bank of America sold her debt to a collection agency and now she is being sued. I am sure she will settle that as well. She will likely be debt free in the next year or so. I will beat her to that.

We still need to get her credit score. Mine at the moment is 546 according to Experian putting me in the “hell no we won’t give you a loan” category. I am sure as I continue to not make payments, that will continue to plummet. Have to hit bottom before you can go up. I will post Manda’s current score when I get it.

Chronicles of a financial collapse.

demonchild76 — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:19:08 +0000

In 1995 or 96, my father filed for bankruptcy because his and my mom’s debt had gotten out of control. My sister and I did not necessarily learn the lessons we should have out of this event.

Fast forward to today. I am going through the process to file bankruptcy myself, and my sister is negotiating with her creditors to get settlements on her debt.

In discussing our financial situations, we decided to see whose credit came out of these situations the least damaged — mine or hers. I believe that initially, mine will be the most damaged because at least she will have paid her creditors something, but I will be able to rebuld my credit faster.

We will see how this works out.

Rachel’s Challenge part 2

demonchild76 — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:08:17 +0000

I am writing this as an addendum to my original post about Rachel’s Challenge.

It has been three weeks since the students went to the Rachel’s Challenge presentation. As far as I can tell, their overall behavior toward one another has not changed on way or the other. The kids still call names, physically bother, etc. each other.

The one thing that has changed is we have trained them to expect some sort of reward for being kind and doing nice things for others. Everytime a good deed is performed the kids say “I should get a chain for that.” They are requesting a paper chain link with their name on it for the school wide chain. So, instead of doing nice and kind things for others because it is the right thing to do, they now expect a reward.

It is a sad state that we have to bribe kids to be nice and kind.

The other thing, the In School Suspension teacher has a group of kids that she works with. They had a Thanksgiving lunch for themselves, their parents and the faculty and staff of the school. The kids who were in trouble and in ISS helped serve the meal. OUr school social worker wanted all us teachers to make chain links for the ISS kids for helping. Um….let me think about that. NO! Those kids are in trouble. They broke the school rules and are being punished. They do not get rewarded for that. They did what the ISS teacher told them to do as they are supposed to do. They wouldn’t have been serving were they not in trouble.

It all goes back to kids not being expected to be held accountable for their actions so that we have to bribe them to act right.

Rachel’s Challenge

demonchild76 — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:45:18 +0000

It has been a while since I have written here. Recently we had the Rachel’s Challenge presentation in Lovington. For some background, the group was formed in honor of Rachel Scott. Rachel was the first student killed in the Columbine Massacre. After her death, her family found some of her writings that talked about being tolerant, kind, etc. to others. After the presentation, the students were challeneged to take Rachel’s challenge.

I have to admit I am baffled by the whole premise. Why do we have to have students and even adults join some group to be kind? Shouldn’t we be kind everyday regardless of some presentation we saw at school?

Now at school we have signs up that the kids signed saying they accepted Rachel’s Challenge. We are making paper chains to start our own “chain reaction” of kindness. I brought an apple and caramel dip tray to the lounge so it wouldn’t go to waste at my house. I was informed I had done an act of kindness. Which made me uncomfortable. I do not want to be recognized or learn to expect recognition for being kind. I am kind because that is who I am. I have always tried my best to be nice to others, to help others and to not make others feel bad about themselves. I don’t need a challenge to do that.

Maybe some need that challenge to do that. I don’t understand people like that. I don’t understand those who feel the need to put others down. I don’t understand those who hate others based on anything other than character. On some level, I hope I don’t ever understand.