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© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

I have a confession to make: I voted for Barack Obama.* Why? So that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan might be finished. McCain was adamant that he would not end those wars. Obama was different. Only, he’s not ending those wars. He escalated one, and is maintaining the other. Frankly, there is no end in sight.

I did not oppose the war in Afghanistan back in 2001 (I believed Congress even should have declared war formally), but, unless we simply want to occupy the Afghanistan and colonize it, we should have finished that war long ago. After all, in the 1940s, the United States defeated the world’s strongest military power in less than five years. We cannot defeat a small band of militants in the mountains of Afghanistan?

My issues?

Under a Republican administration we began the war unfunded — mind you, every dollar spent in Iraq and Afghanistan is a future tax. Under a Democratic administration, we continue to fight this war unfunded. (I find it ironic that Republicans oppose Obama, portraying him as a tax and spend president. Bush was pretty much the same type of president, only he wanted to pass on the taxing part to a future administration.)

First Lt. Christopher Babcock who asks if we really support the troops asks poignant questions. Fact is, we don’t. That’s a shame.

——

* Truthfully, my vote was largely symbolic. McCain stood no chance of winning in California, and little chance of winning the presidency at all. I came to the conclusion in 2007 that the GOP had little interest in winning the presidency, especially as it offered as top contenders mostly liberal candidates. Frankly, I had little interest in voting for a pro-war, pro-choice Republican.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

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© 2010, admin. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Google Inc. will shift its search engine for China off the mainland but won’t shut it down altogether and will maintain other operations in the country. The maneuver attempts to balance Google’s disdain for China’s Internet censorship rules with its desire to profit from an explosively growing market.

via Google tries a route around Chinese censors

Go, Google, go!

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

JACKSON, Miss. – A northern Mississippi school district will not be hosting a high school prom this spring after a lesbian student asked to attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

The Itawamba County school district’s board decided Wednesday to drop the prom because of what it called recent distractions, but without specifically mentioning the girl’s request, which was backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The student, 18-year-old high school senior Constance McMillen, said it was retaliation for her efforts to bring her girlfriend, also a student, to the April 2 dance.

via School prom off after lesbian’s date request

Self-governing bodies — our towns, cities, and counties — have the right to set community standards. That right is more pronounced in school systems. So, while the issue of homosexuality might be cast in the media as a question of equal rights, the real issue is the moral health of society. Does one segment of society have the right to recast morality, solely to suit their own desires? Does not society have the right to maintain its standards? If not, then upon what basis do homosexual-rights advocates plea?

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

NEW YORK – Bank of America customers will soon be unable to spend more than they have in the accounts linked to their debit cards. It’s a step that may become a common move ahead of new regulations limiting overdraft fees.

Rules set by the Federal Reserve that will ban banks from charging such fees, without first getting permission from the customer, are set to take effect July 1.

But Bank of America is going a step further than the regulations require. It will simply no longer allow debit card purchases to go through if there isn’t enough money in the account.

via BofA to end all overdraft fees on debit cards

The first time I had run into this problem, I had mistakenly assumed that if there was not enough money in my account, I would not be able to complete the purchase. Being overdrawn by about $5, I was charged three or four times that amount. I was angry. As debit cards are linked to computers, one naturally assumed the bank wouldn’t let ones account be overdrawn. It seemed fail-safe… but not profitable to the banks. This would have been excusable if the technology simply did not exist to prevent, but that was never the case.

I’m glad Bank of America is coming around.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

KAMPALA, Uganda—A Ugandan pastor is showing gay pornography at church to try to garner support for a proposed law that would impose the death penalty for some gays.

Martin Ssempa showed the videos to some 100 adults during a church service Wednesday in Uganda’s capital.

He says he plans to show the films regularly to educate churchgoers on gay sex and also plans to show the videos to parliamentarians. He says some churchgoers cried after watching the videos, which he said he downloaded from the Internet.

Ugandan gay rights activist Julian Peppe condemned Ssempa’s decision to show pornography in church, saying he should be arrested and needs mental rehabilitation.

The proposed bill has sparked protests in London, New York and Washington.

via Ugandan anti-gay pastor airs gay porn in church

The death penalty for homosexuality? Showing pornography in church? It’s hard to know where to begin. Extremism of this sort is symptomatic of mental derangement. First, there is nothing Christian about this movement. If you want to win people to Christ, preach Christ, don’t show pornography in your church. Second, if you are concerned about morality, well, preach Jesus Christ. He is the only one who can change people.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

A family dog is credited with keeping a little girl safe after she spent the overnight hours Friday in 30-degree temperatures near Cordes Lakes, 36 miles east of Prescott.

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dwight D’Evelyn credits the dog, a Queensland Heeler, with 3-year-old Victoria Bensch’s survival.

A Department of Public Safety helicopter crew saw movement and found the little girl and her dog just before 9 a.m. Friday, three-quarters of a mile from her home.

via Family dog kept missing 3-year-old girl safe

Thank goodness.

© 2010, admin. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

The San Matean, the student newspaper at the College of San Mateo, said in an editorial Wednesday that it is concerned that the school has plans to interfere with the paper’s content. Last spring, the paper obtained a document by a faculty committee proposing that faculty members edit the paper to make it is something the school could be proud of…

via San Francisco Peninsula Press Club — Student Paper Fights for its Independence

I edited The San Matean in 1989 and 1990. Our spelling and gramatical mistakes were atrocious, but we were, after all, working on DOS-based machines — OK, we were just sloppy. Despite our shortcomings, we tackled important issues: handicap accessibility, college financing, racism, etc. We put out a paper the best we could, and we learned from our mistakes. (Heck, I’ll never misspell “grammer” again). It is my sincere belief the experience of reporting, writing and publishing made us better students… and, ultimately, better writers.

That non-students (i.e. paid administrators) should edit student work is abhorrent. No, let the students make their own mistakes and learn from them. The last thing we want to teach students is that censorship has a place in American democracy.

Also, read “The San Matean defends free speech.”

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Lindsey Vonn lived up to expectations and won the Olympic downhill Wednesday, ahead of childhood rival and American teammate Julia Mancuso.

In a race characterized by several crashes — including one to Swedish standout Anja Pärson and another to late starter Edith Miklos of Romania, who was airlifted for treatment — Vonn’s bruised right shin proved not to be a hindrance as she sped down Franz’s Downhill course in 1 minute, 44.19 seconds.

“I can’t stop crying,” Vonn said. “This is everything that I ever wanted and hoped for. I had a lot of ups and downs in my career. Standing here today at the finish and to win, is amazing.”

Bless her heart. I was rooting for her. Bad weather forced delays, allowing her shin to heal, and perhaps putting Vonn back in the race.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.