Author Archive
Economic Stimulus…Stimulate This!
by ~Aaron on May.04, 2009, under Not Politcally Correct
I’ve been reading up on the economy. The general consensus is that the banks are still broke, the economy is still in recession, and we’re still facing hard times all around. It seems that on an individual level, Americans are not spending nearly as much as they used to. I’m sure we would if we had it to spend and felt like it was going to keep coming in.
We recently had $787 billion in economic stimulus and bailouts. Where did it go? I certainly don’t feel like my financial situation has changed. Has yours? I don’t see that there is much difference on any level that effects the average American citizen. If I have missed something, please let me know. What I do see is businesses filing bankruptcy, families tightening up their budgets, and less money coming in for a lot of people. I heard that as a part of the stimulus bill, we would each receive $13 dollars a week on our normal paycheck. That works out to be a bit over $600 a year. I’m not scoffing at that, but really, $787 billion, and we each get a little over $600? Where did the rest of it go? I don’t feel like it went anywhere that is helping the majority of us.
I got to thinking about this huge number ($787 billion – or – $787,000,000,000) and I wondered how much that broke down to if it were divided evenly among Americans age 18 and over. Keep in mind that this includes everyone over the age of 18 regardless of employment status or anything else, so you could narrow this down even more. I did the research, and according to the census report, there are approximately 225 million Americans age 18 and over. If you were divide $787 billion evenly to this population, each individual would receive around $3000.00. Imagine what would happen to the economy if 225 million people suddenly had $3000.00 each to invest, put in the bank, pay a bill, or buy a car! I think the recession would likely have ended. The auto industry would be just fine, and the banks would be overflowing with money!
Now that sounds like a real bailout and stimulus plan! Let’s not forget that some of that would go back to the government. I mean, you know they would tax it!
Just My Thoughts…
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Civil Union, Marriage, … WHATEVER!!!
by ~Aaron on Apr.30, 2009, under Not Politcally Correct
Wow! I just went through a Facebook comment battle over gay marriage! I didn’t even offer support to either side but was attacked anyway! Oh, who am I kidding! I enjoyed it! I don’t think my friend Kate was offended by my position. I hope not. I just wanted to give a different perspective. Kate, still friends?
Well, the comments started over a YouTube video that supports “traditional values”, and takes a stance against gay marriage. Some of the comments called the group that made the video “ignorant” and other such derogatory terms. While I have to admit that the video was a little lame, I do tend to agree with the values that they support. I think they may have gone a little overboard, but it did raise some good questions.
One speaker in the video made a statement about allowing gay marriage saying that it would take away her rights. One of the commenters on Facebook made the statement that not allowing it took away rights from homosexuals. So there is the fundamental question. Who has the right to the way of life that they feel is right? Obviously, that is not for any of us to decide. Nor is for our government to decide. I bet they will anyway!
So in the comments on Facebook, after reading all of the conservative bashing comments, and the undying loyal support for homosexuality (mostly from heterosexuals?!?), I felt compelled to post this: “If it’s okay for homosexuals to fight for the right to marry, why is it wrong or ignorant for others to fight to keep traditional family values as the norm?”. Now bear in mind that I wasn’t looking to stir the pot. I just wanted to offer these people a different perspective. However, I must have stirred the pot! A couple of them took it quite personally and wasted no time in responding to tell me how they felt. Here is one of the comments. It is filled with fancy language and well, you’ll get the point.
“Because the Constitution allows one to fight for individual freedoms and equality and not for the oppression of others’ rights based on one’s own narrow definitions.
Despite the current state of the culture of the United States which accepts as subject for debate the right of homosexual Americans to have the same chances as heterosexuals, you cannot claim moral authority in the pursuit of chaining others to your religious traditions. Luckily, as we now do not accept the assertions that non-whites and women are not allowed the same Constitutional protections as the male, white privileged majority, our society will in time refuse to acknowledge the fallacious logic of your implicit claim, Mr. Toney, that an appeal to the status quo holds merit in modern, rational ethics.
Fight for whatever oppressive tradition you like, sir. You will not prevail, for the enemy you challenge is the future, and you fight only with outdated, obsolete weapons from the past.”
All that over a new perspective. Well, I didn’t respond directly to this one. I have enough respect for my friend Kate to keep my comments on her post friendly and not go looking for a fight. However, this is my world…
Nice citation of the constitution. Our government has been ignoring it for years unless it suits them. I guess, at the moment, a part of it suits you and your cause. Go with it. That is the liberal way.
I don’t claim moral authority. Nor do I want to chain anyone to anything. Certainly not religious traditions. My logic is not fallacious, nor did I make an implicit claim that an appeal to the status quo holds merit anywhere. The weapons I fight with are not outdated. The future is not the enemy, and I don’t have to prevail. God will prevail. His word is the only weapon, and His kingdom is the future.
If you want to let homosexuals have civil unions, go for it! I really don’t care. Just don’t go teaching in schools that it is okay to be gay because it is not! Marriage has been in all cultures, for about 5000 years, defined as being between ONE MAN and ONE WOMAN. Not two men, not two women, not one man and five women. Why do a bunch of sexual deviates think they have the right to redefine an institution that God created?
Yes, let them have civil unions, but not marriages. Let them have the financial benefits. Just don’t expect the Church condone or recognize it.
Just My Thoughts…
Oh, and this Facebook comment thing is still going on…and on…and on…
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100 DAYS
by ~Aaron on Apr.30, 2009, under Not Politcally Correct
So I watched the Presidential news conference about first 100 days of Obama’s term in office. Did you catch it? I must say, I am impressed by Obama’s ability to avoid questions and take left turns off topic that sound so sincere and important. However, I do see through it. Shouldn’t he just answer the questions honestly?
In the opening address, he seems quite impressed with himself. He makes note of all the new jobs he created, and points out how the economy has moved out of recession. If that is true, why are people still not spending money? Why are people still unable to home loans? As for the auto industry, did they stop to think that maybe people are not buying American cars because the foreign cars last longer, have less emissions, and use less gas and oil? Could it also be that people are not buying cars because the banks won’t approve the loans? I don’t know. Just my thoughts…
There are a host of other issues that I could rant about for days, but I think you get the point.
In case you missed it, here is the opening speech:
There were, of course questions to be answered after the speech. It seemed to me that he dodged a lot of the questions, offering some eloquent rabbit trails and basically saying “We’ve done a good job…”. I was particularly struck by answer to the question about abortion. He was asked if he hoped that congress would quickly send him the freedom of choice act so that he could sign it. You will notice that he didn’t directly answer the question. He only noted that abortion is a moral and ethical issue and eventually stated that he was pro choice. He eventually answered the question by saying that the freedom of choice act was not his highest legislative priority. I am inclined to think that he should seek the council of the Highest Authority, that being God, and rethink his position on abortion.
Here is the entire press conference. The video seems to lag, but the audio is fine.
Finally, here is an excerpt from an interview with Rick Warren that I found interesting.
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America in Submission
by ~Aaron on Apr.24, 2009, under Not Politcally Correct
To be honest with you, I am really blown away by some of the recent events that have taken place concerning our nation! I kept hearing about Obama bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia. I was hoping that it was just something that was taken out of context, but you see the picture! I also watched the video just to be sure, and there it was plain as day!
I really don’t have any issue with our President showing respect or kindness to other world leaders, but I do with a problem with him submitting to anyone other than the American people! He is the leader of the free world. Our nation was established as an independent nation meaning that we do not submit to anyone, and we are no one’s subjects.
My next problem with Obama bowing is that he claims to be a Christian. God clearly stated that we are to bow to no one but Him.
Now, if you look at the situation from a few steps back, you get a view of the big picture. Obama has
no problem with gas being $4.00 a gallon, he bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia and not to any other world leader, and the White House can’t even produce a good lie to calm the people who are concerned about it. Incidentally, we get a lot of our gas from Saudi Arabian oil wells or ones that are owned by the Saudis. I suppose it could be a coincidence, but I don’t think so.
Next, do we support Israel or not? I hope that we do, but it is hard to tell. It seems to me that all Obama wants to do is talk and compromise with other nations that don’t care about the well being of our nation and would do us harm if they got the chance.
Now, what is the deal with Obama administration wanting to RAISE taxes? Didn’t he say during his campaign that he would LOWER taxes? My theory is that they need to raise taxes to pay for the bailout and stimulus that didn’t help very many of us. If we don’t let them raise taxes, what will happen then? I think we will just have a higher deficit, but is that really a big deal? I mean, when was the last time our nation was NOT in debt to someone for something? I think there are other ways to pay without raising taxes, we just need to put people in office that are intelligent enough to figure it out. On that note, why is it that we don’t look for more educated and qualified people to put into our government offices?
Finally, Obama said that “We are not a Christian nation. We are a nation of citizens.” Well, why can’t we be citizens of a Christian nation? I for one am a citizen of a Christian nation whether Obama and the rest of the world like it or not! I am NOT here to work for or please the President, he is to work for me. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t care one little bit about me, my family, or whether we can make it or not in these hard economic times. I will always stand up for Christianity and and declare my faith. If my government doesn’t like it, they will have to start taking away our rights. Let’s see if that goes over with the American people.
Just my thoughts
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Graphic Design
by ~Aaron on Apr.22, 2009, under Photoshop tutorial
A little world I made in Photoshop
Graphic design is one of my most loved “hobbies”. I find it very rewarding. There is nothing like creating something from nothing. I understand what an artist must feel when looking at a blank canvas or piece of stone.
I believe that anyone can create rewarding designs. There are so many tools and tutorials available, that if you can follow directions, you can successfully create almost anything you can imagine! You just need a little inspiration!
Graphic design starts with inspiration, and then an idea of what you want to create. Get a plan together before you start. Do a little bit of research to be sure that you understand the design elements you want to use. Once you have a plan, start playing with your favorite design program. I prefer Photoshop. It is fairly easy to use, and there is not much that you can’t do with it! If you need help, there are more tutorials than you can read! You can find some very specific help topics to create what you need.
One of the most important things to remember if you are creating designs for a web page is to make your pages as “thin” as possible. If you use images that are very large, the page will take longer to load and you are likely to lose visitors. Most of us are impatient, and want to see it now. You can accomplish this by saving images to a web format such .png or .gif. You need a format that gives you a quality image at a small size.
Flash is another design element that I love. However, I have noticed that I lose visitors before the animations load. To assist in keeping visitors, I recommend using a pre-loader for your major flash animations. A preloader lets your visitors know that something is on the way and that it is loading. Without it, it may appear that something is missing, or that it just isn’t loading.
If you need assistance, use a good search engine to search for what you are trying to accomplish. Be specific in your search and don’t be afraid to use an image search. You can also post comments or questions here and I will more than happy to offer my best reply or point you in the right direction.
Have a wonderful day!
Welcome. These are my thoughts.
Feel free to join in by leaving comments. In fact, please leave comments! I am interested in your thoughts too! You can catch the rss feed just above to the right!
