Author: Daniel Roop

It seems that lately I have enjoyed posting about polictics instead of tech/family stuff. I guess sometimes I tend to get all wired up about a topic, and usually I have no outlet to express my frustration, but now with my blog I do. That being said my topic of annoyance is some comments made by the Dennis Hastert, speaker of the house. These points seem to have good intentions however I have a big problem with this quote

???Another bill, offered by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), would put filters in schools and libraries so that kids can be protected from websites and tools that predators use online. We???ve all heard stories of children on some of these social websites meeting up with dangerous predators. This legislation adds another layer of protection.

So why stop there, lets stop allowing children to go to parks because predators use this as a way to interact and take advantage of children. What ridiculous logic this is, anything can be used by a predator. I understand that these sites can be used by predators, and can trick them into potentionally meeting them or whatever these predators do, but seriously do you thinks the kids using the school computers and the library computers are the ones getting caught up in this. Think about the last time you were in the library. Who was using the computer for personal use, now think to yourself, do those people look like the target demographic for predators. No because they are street smart. The people who hang out at the library and use the computer for entertainment would be too much work for a predator. The predators are going after children who are at home on there computer in a place where they can meet alone.

I can be way off her, but I think this is just a fluff bill to make it seem like republicans, no politicians are doing something about the family. Well in my humble opinion. Get your nose out of my family’s affairs. It is MY responsiblity to raise MY children the way I see fit. I will obey the established laws but seriously, lets take some responsiblity as human beings for our actions. If children are going places they shouldn’t, talking to people they shouldn’t, saying and doing things they shouldn’t it is THE PARENTS FAULT. Stop trying to place the blame on other things. When has it ever helped to just simply remove the object of the crime. The criminal will find another way to commit a crime. If you take away MySpace they start downloading music. If you block that they will start drawing dirty images in paint, or writing swear words in big bold font in word. Kids will find ways to be destructive taking away one way of commiting a crime solves NOTHING. Children must be talked to, punished, rewarded paided attention to.

I feel that I always leave these posts half way through but it is because I realize I have complained too much already, and no one really cares what I think for the most part. So I stop whenever I feel I have vented sufficient steam. And that point is now. Bottom line parents start taking responsiblity for your children. You are raising them, not babysitting them. Believe it or not you play some role in they childhood.

I don’t know if I really agree with that statement, but I atleast admire his ability to say what he thinks. I don’t know if anyone else out there in internet land enjoys watching This Week as much as I do, but I very much enjoy the format of the show as well as George Snufolupogas’ ability to direct the conversations and produce quality discussion.

This week they were talking about gas. Here is my two cents on the topic. I have heard a few different arguments and the proponents of the higher price claim it is supply and demand. Here is my answer to that. Gas is not an optional item in our country. Gas is much like electricity and water. And since the gas companies are not moderating themselves by competition I believe the government should step in and regulate. If the big oil companies claim it takes so much money to do drilling and refining that is fine. Then you no longer have to compete you just have to provide fair and reasonable prices, like the electric company. Secondly I believe that when you are showing record profits that means you can drop your prices. The American economy was hit very hard by this in my opinion. I know that if the prices were 3 dollars 2 years ago when I was still in college, there is no way I could afford to visit my girlfriend at the time…now wife Jennifer. Fortunately I am no longer in a situation where having to pay $50 to fill up my gas tank is crippling, but that is not to say that I couldn’t better spend that money. I am to the point where I am actually keeping tabs on mileage to work so once I have Kye potty trained, I will possibly ride my bike instead.

The other big political issue this week is the Illegal Alien Protest. Okay take a second…. tell me what is wrong with that. Illegal Aliens HAVE NO RIGHTS, they are not citizens. That being said I did have a revelation this morning as I was running this insanity through my head. They don’t have rights, by definition. However females and blacks did not have rights at one point, and they protested and now they do. That being said, I think this situation is similar but different. For one, when major advocates of the illegal alien cause is claiming that the term ‘illegal alien’ is comparable to calling an african american the ‘n word’, I have to seriously question whether these are the types of people we want to have as citizens. I mean Illegal alien is a description for a person who is illegally residing in a foreign country. THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE DOING. The n word is a poor transliteration of a name of a country in Africa; intented to be derogatory. Illegal Alien applies to ANYONE whether they are Latino, Irish, or Russian. I agree that there needs to be some way for these people to become citizens. Not knowing how the current system works I can’t provide a good solution, but some sort of temporary work visa while paperwork is processed seems reasonable.

Okay well I think I cut this short, but I think I have been on my soap box long enough tonight.