Time to Go

Tens of thousands of anti-war protestors took to the streets today. Meanwhile, seven more US troops died in Iraq today, which brings the total, as of January 27, 2007 to 3,075. That's 3,075 people dead because of a lie. And that's not counting at least 23,000 US soldiers who have been wounded. For a lie.

And what does our brilliant President, the Man-Who-Was-Nearly-Killed-By-A-Pretzel want to do? He wants to send more troops. More. An additional 21,500 soldiers. Why????? So more of these kids can get shot? So we can kill a few thousand more Iraqis before we come to our senses and bail out? Is this war not costly enough? Am I missing something?

At least these people aren't missing anything.....

Look, we need to start removing troops, not adding more. We are clearly not helping the problem. What will Iraq look like when we're gone? I don't know. But I do no what Iraq looks like now. Its a disaster. And it won't improve until we leave.

Maybe Bush's new idea will work. Maybe the extra 21,500 troops will fix everything. But do you really want to trust the President to fix Iraq when he did this to his own country?

Every New Day

This song has gotten me through a lot of rough times. Its by Five Iron Frenzy.

Every New Day

When I was young, the smallest trick of light,
Could catch my eye,
Then life, was new and every new day,
I thought that I could fly.
I believed in what I hoped for,
And I hoped in things unseen,
I had wings and dreams could soar,
I just don't feel like flying anymore.
When the stars threw down their spears,
Watered Heaven with their tears,
Before words were spoken,
Before eternity.

(Chorus)
Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend.
I want to fly higher,
Every New Day again.

When I was young the furthest I could reach,
Was not so high,
Then I thought the world was so much smaller,
Feeling that I could fly.
Through distant deeps and skies,
Behind infinity,
Below the face of Heaven,
He stoops to create me.

Dear Father, I need you,
Your strength my heart to mend,
I want to fly higher,
Every New Day again

{In the live version, Reese sings, "You are not alone. You are not alone. You are not alone. You were never alone." Then comes the bridge.}

(Bridge)

Man versus himself.
Man versus machine.
Man versus the world.
Mankind versus me.
The Struggle goes on,
The wisdom I lack,
The burdens keep piling,
Up on my back,
So hard to breathe,
To take the next step,
The mountain is high,
I wait in the depths,
Yearning for grace,
And hoping for peace,
Dear God.....INCREASE!
Healing hands of God
Have mercy on our unclean souls once again,
Jesus Christ,
Light of the world burning bright,
Within our hearts forever,
Freedom, means love without condition
Without a beginning or an end,
Here's my heart,
Let it be forever Yours,
Only You can make
Every New Day seem so new.


That song has gotten me through so much. The live version on The End is Here is the most powerful song I've ever heard before. I've tried to make that my motto for every day.

Because its important to me......

I learned some time ago that I have an unhealthy relationship with money. Its gotten somewhat better, but I still make money way too important. I'm sure it is because I never had enough growing up.

I use money to show approval. I use money to show love. I enjoy buying presents for people that I love. I enjoy buying presents for people that are important to me. I give money to causes that are important to me. And now, I've realized something else that's important to me.

I was sitting in church, and they were passing the offering plate around. Usually this makes me very uncomfortable. Why? Because I have a very unhealthy relationship with money. I've always felt like tithing was wrong. I felt like I could give money more efficiently to a charity, then I would know where the money was going. Which is a joke, because now I'm in the Public Administration field and its not like most non-profits are very efficient with their money.

But I was sitting in church, the offering plate was making its way back to me and I kept hearing a voice say "Prove its important to you." And I realized that I needed to make a commitment. I needed to commit not just my time but also my money. I've been doing devotionals at night, which is positive, but its not that hard for me to sit down and study. It is hard for me to part with my money.

So I decided I needed to start tithing. On Sunday, I put what I had in the plate, but from now on, I'm going to contribute enough that I can feel it. 20 dollars a week, which is sadly almost ten percent of my income. And when I start making more, I'm going to start giving more.

That was my Sunday epiphany. I realized I needed to start giving to show its important to me.

Stop blaming God

I've been thinking a lot lately about the nature of God and some other religious musings. I was recently in Chapel Hill which is a nice town, but is home to a lot of 18-22 year old atheists. For the record, these are the people that annoy me the most:

1. 18-22 year old atheists who somehow think they can deny the exist of God even though they flunk two or three classes a semester, which should indicate to them that they are dumb.
2. Hippies. So how exactly does having a poetry festival help stop the war? And how is owning a crappy coffee house with crappy coffee a sign of sticking it to the Corporations rather then a sign that you are incapable of having a successful business?
3. Small business owners. Wow, minimum wage and no benefits, where do I sign up?

So at this point in my life, atheists annoy me the most. And the reason they annoy me the most is because of their reasoning. We have a couple of different reasons, and atheists fall into two main groups for me. First, there are the atheists who don't believe in God because they think its cool not to and because they think they understand science. You can't rationalize with these people. Its impossible. They may have gotten Ds in biology and failed chemistry, but some how, they know the truth. The real reason college age atheists don't want to believe in God is because they're lazy. They want to sleep in on Sunday mornings. And that's fine. I don't want everyone to be motivated, because I want to make more money then all the lazy people. But please don't tell me that you know that there is no God, that everything is just random chance.

Now the second group of atheists are the people who don't believe in God because they have crappy lives. First, they'll say that its because there's so much pain in the world. There are tsunamis and wars and famines. This line of reasoning I've never understood. God isn't to blame for wars, people are. God isn't to blame for famines, again, people are. In the United States we have a huge abundance of food, I'm pretty sure if we didn't want people to starve to death, they wouldn't. And as far as natural disasters go, the problem isn't the hurricane or the tsunami, the problem is the lack of emergency shelters and of functional emergency management. Every year, Florida and the Gulf Coast get hit by hurricanes. When people get left on rooftops in New Orleans, that's not God's wrath, that's our government's incompetence.

The second thing this group of atheists will say is less obvious and blatant. Basically, they blame God for the way their lives turned out. Members of my family do this. They don't go to church because they have failed marriages or because they were abused by children. How could God let something like that happen?, they say.

I've thought the same thing myself before. I've never blamed God, never blatantly uttered, "This is your fault". But I have wished before. I've wished I was born into a better family. I've wished I was born into more money. I've wished that my dad would have stuck around. I've wished my mom would have had a better job. I've wished that things had been easier and I wasn't forced to take the long road.

But none of these things are God's fault. It's not God's fault that my dad bailed on me. It's not God's fault we didn't have more money. It's not God's fault my mother had to deal with the things she had to deal with. There has to be personal responsibility. My dad left because he decided to leave. We didn't have money because my mother didn't work and when she finally did start to work, she didn't make much. We went to crappy schools and had crappy food because the government and charities and my parents dropped the ball. This wasn't a case of God punishing us. This wasn't a sign that God doesn't exist. This wasn't a sign that the world is unfair.

It is simply......Cause and Effect. My father was in the Navy, so we didn't have much money. My mother wanted to stay at home, so she didn't have work experience. There were opportunities for both of them. They were both white Americans, they had every opportunity to succeed. But they didn't. Because they didn't want to put in the work.

I can't blame God for my life. I am responsible for it. I cannot wail about the Struggle. I knew from a young age that if I wanted to make money, I needed to work hard. I needed to be either an elite talent, the best painter or musician or athlete, or I needed to go to college and beyond, or I needed to be lucky. I wasn't a particularly good musician and I didn't trust my luck, so I went to college. I got a degree. I went into graduate school so that I can hopefully make good money and like my job when I get out. But if I had chosen not to do that, I couldn't blame God. If I only had a high school education and I worked for little pay, I couldn't blame God. I have to take responsibility for myself.

I also can't blame God for my family life. I believe that I am God's son. I believe God is looking out for me. Should I be upset about this? Should I be angry because my earthly father couldn't cut it? No. I should be happy that my heavenly father is there for me. I should be content to be the child of the person that created me. The fact that I am God's son is a blessing, not a curse. And because I had problems in my life, because I had to struggle, that makes everything that much better. That makes my degree matter more. It makes my perseverance matter more. It makes God's love matter more. The fact that God created me and that I had to go through adversity makes me a better and a stronger man. How could I blame God for that?

The other huge problem with blaming God or denying God is that we do not address the real problems. Hurricane Katrina was the wrath of God. That's easy to say. It helps State Farm and every other insurance company get out paying what they owe. It helps the government escape responsibility. So we wash are hands and blame God instead of asking the real questions, the tough questions. Like, why weren't the levies stronger? Or, why is the population of New Orleans so poor that a huge mass of people couldn't afford cars and therefore be able to evacuate themselves? Then there's, why did the government leave these people to fend for themselves for days?

And that mentality flows right into other people. I'm poor. Its because God made me poor. Its because God made my parents poor. NO! Its because society made your parents poor or because your parents made themselves poor. If you do not have the access to the opportunities to better yourself, that is societies fault. Society is responsible. If you have access to the opportunities to better yourself and you do not, that is your fault. We can address society's problems collectively, but at the individual level, people need to do it themselves.

There were a lot of times when I would walk home late after washing dishes for 6 dollars an hour and I would ask myself, "Why aren't I selling drugs?" And then I'd remember, oh yeah, that's illegal. And I consciously chose not to take the easy way out. And the hard way out of poverty has taken me multiple years. And it has sucked. But it was what I had to do to have a sustainable, livable future.

So if you're an African American in New Orleans, blame society. If you're a poor person in Detroit or anywhere else in the rust belt, blame society. If you're a starving person in a place with high unemployment, blame society. But if you are an able bodied white person living in North Carolina and you can't make any money, blame yourself. And when you realize its on you, you can fix the situation.

I am thankful that I am God's son. I am thankful that I have had the experiences I've gone through. Because those experiences have made me what I am. And I am proud of the person that I have become. So I'm not going to blame God. I'm not going to wish that I was born into a different situation. I am who I am. I'm God's son. And I'm good with that.

The Difference Between Democrats and Republicans: A Handy Photo Reference

Some people say there are no differences between Democrats and Republicans. These people are idiots. But for the rest of us, there may be some confusion. How do you boil down an entire platform into a few sentences? Well, here at Olson's Extremely Biased Guide to the South, we're here to help. But not only will we dumb everything down into a few sentences, we'll dumb everything down into a few pictures.

First things first.....


How Republicans see America





Ever notice how traditional photos only have white people in them? I'm sure that's coincidental.











This is how Democrats see America.....




Hey, I bet police brutality disappeared after the sixties!










This is where Republicans want to put poor people....















This is where Democrats want to put poor people.......





Ahh, part of the beautiful University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The tall building in the background is the library. Books are like kryptonite to Republicans. In the front, on the water, are some geese. Dick Cheney wouldn't mind shooting his friend while pretending to shoot at our geese.







This is their leader...........




Who couldn't control Iraq and almost died from a pretzel.












This is our leader.............

Who defeated Japan, Germany, Italy and the Great Depression from a wheel chair. Guess who FDR took over after? It rhymes with a Mapublican.















And finally, this is the Republicans greatest fear.........



Doesn't the guy on the left look like Pauly Shore? Oh and you can tell the guy on the right is gay because he's wearing a fanny pack. Otherwise, you know, it would be unclear.
















While this is my greatest fear..........



Don't you hate when people like this give Christianity a bad name?

Old Liberal Politics with a Libertarian Streak

Politics. Political views. Its what defines us. You might think, "Politics doesn't define me", but, um, yeah it does. You may think you're apolitical or an "Independent" but you're not. Because there are gut reactions that you feel about certain subjects and those subjects are political. People may get upset when you don't like they're favorite team or favorite movie or favorite food, but friendships die because of political disagreements. So in the spirit of dead friendships, here's my political beliefs....

First, the non-controversial ones. The ones that everyone agrees on. I, like everyone else, think the government should provide good schools, good roads and a good police force. I think we should have a military, I think we should have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I think the bald eagle should be protected, that apple pie isn't the crapiest food in the world, and that I would rather live in America than in Haiti.

Now, the political beliefs that define a person. First, abortion. Abortion's first on most people's list and not just because its alphabetical. I think abortion is necessary. Why? Because not everyone can provide for a child. Some people do not have the intellectual, emotional, monetary or spiritual requirements to provide for a child. These people should have an option not to have children. I don't want someone's kid who they didn't want robbing me in 20 years. Some people might suggest adoption or to have the state take care of the children. Anyone who has ever seen a government group home or an orphanage knows these places are horrible. Is it morally wrong to have an abortion? Yes. Is it morally wrong to have a child you can't provide for? The answer is yes to that to.

Then there's capital punishment. This stays with the alphabetical theme. Now this is not the death penalty, because the death penalty isn't a penalty. Holding is a penalty. Death is permanent. Therefore it is capital punishment. Now our particular system of capital punishment is especially cruel, see the state of Texas as an example. But improper execution of capital punishment shouldn't be the main issue, even though it is pleasantly ironic. If the problem is that we are executing the wrong people, it doesn't mean we should get rid of capital punishment, it means we should stop executing the wrong people. I'd prefer to expand capital punishment. We need to have a way to remove predators from our society. Who are the biggest predators? Child molesters and rapists. These are people that can't be reformed. So we can get rid of them. But we should probably stop executing people who are murderers. Again, not just because its ironic to kill people who kill people. Most people have thought about killing someone else, few people think about raping someone. If the justice system is about reform, then murderers should be released. I think a murderer has an easier time being rehabilitated then a child molester. Or, here's how you kill two birds with one stone....keep rapists and child molesters in with the murderers. I can guess who would win.

Next is creationism. This argument is particularly off the mark. There's a constant, "We should teach creationism. No, we should teach evolution," when really, it doesn't matter. First, it doesn't matter whether we were created or evolved. Because we're here. I believe God created me, but that's beside the point. The point is that our schools are incapable of teaching simple concepts that everyone agrees upon. So why are we wasting time teaching kids evolution or creationism? Let's forget that nonsense and teach kids helpful things like how to make a budget or how to use a condom.

Now lets have a G, for gays! Get out your wigs and Tina Turner CDs and meet me at Scorpios! Okay, here's the thing about gay people. There just gay. Its not a big deal. There attracted to members of the same sex. Thats all. They should be allowed all the same rights as everyone else. They should be able to get married. They should be able to get divorced. I feel like this is 1954. Seriously, aren't we past this? Are my future children really going to have to deal with this retarded issue? And don't bring religion into this, because God is about love not hate. And don't bring the procreation nonsense into this, because marriage isn't about making kids. Jesus never got married, Jesus never had kids. Aren't we supposed to be like Jesus? And beyond religion, aren't we supposed to be nice to our fellow human beings? Isn't this supposed to be America? Are we really supposed to have second class citizens? The people who are against gay marriage are going to look as stupid and intolerant as the people who were against interracial marriage.

Well, right wingers don't like gay people, who else don't they like? Oh yeah, I for immigrants! Here's the thing about immigrants, they're just normal people who happened to have come from some place else. Anyone should be allowed to move to this country provided they're not felons or have serious mental disorders. Our country can absorb millions of people. We have three hundred million people, and we're still no where near capacity. Have you seen the mid West? No one lives there. There are twelve people between Arizona and Texas. There are nine people between Texas and North Dakota. I'm pretty sure some of these places are still territories. And think about all the problems this would solve. All the Palestinians could move to Wyoming and farm dirt or whatever it is they do in Wyoming. Then there wouldn't be a Palestine-Israel conflict. Its amazing to me that when people spend time and energy moving away from their crappy countries, we send them back. Um, there's a reason they moved here, and its not to provide Lou Dobbs with a job.

Now we're going to skip to W for war. No, W isn't for George W, even though it should be. Its for the Iraq war. Most people disagree with the war now, but we can't leave. I'm confused by this. This is like people in a small town, who all agree their town is lame, but won't leave. Did I miss something? The Iraq war, in case you've been living under a bridge for four years, is a complete failure. It has cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives not to mention made life a complete hell for millions of Iraqis. Was Saddam a bad person? Of course. But that's not the question. The question is, Should we, as a nation, accept an administration that lied us into a war and will not let us leave? The question isn't what will happen to Iraq the question is what will happen to America. When a country lets its leaders lie it into a war, those leaders will lie about everything else.

About Me

My name is Jeremiah Olson and I am from the great state of North Carolina. I am in the Masters of Public Administration program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I am 22, have ravishingly good looks (when compared to really ugly people) and am only dozens of IQ points away from being a genius. I am a vegetarian but not dogmatic about it. I am a Christian but not insane about it. I like Thai food, pit bulls, Joe Biden, my niece, and the Carolina Panthers. I hate Republicans, George W. Bush, George W. Bush and George W. Bush.

Now for the fun stuff.

I am the middle child of a family of nine (yes, nine is correct, no typo). My mother had three biological children and then decided to adopt. So she adopted six children. Six at risk children. And the state of California (where we were living at the time of this insanity) let her do it. Apparently social services doesn't have a questionnaire or a process or anything. They just want to unload children on whoever will take them.

It's not that my mother was unqualified to raise nine children, its that everyone is unqualified to raise nine children. There should seriously be a limit. And the limit should be three or four. For all of the people who have multiple children, especially Republicans who feel the need to have a kid every year or two, STOP. Its not healthy. Its not good for the kids. Its not good for the parents. Its not good for anyone. Children are not like cats. They need a lot of attention. If you want to have nine cats, feel free. All you have to do is feed them, give them a litter box and give them a Q-tip to play with. If you want to have nine children.....kill yourself. Because you're hurting society and you should be removed from the gene pool. I hope that's not overly harsh. Oh and if you are going to have nine children, please don't do anything cutesy with their names. Like have all their names start with a J. Or have all their names rhyme. Or have all their names be the names of former presidents (yes I have seen all three of these). Once again, if you are one of those people, consider removing yourself from this life or at least removing yourself from this hemisphere.

My father was in the Navy, which provided him a great excuse for avoiding his family. Thanks a lot Dad! One day, he just didn't come home. And he moved to the mid-West, to Kansas or Nebraska or one of those useless states that we commited genocide of the Native American population to get. Glad we killed millions of people. Because we really need all that corn. But anyway, I could think of a lot of very negative words to call my father, but I'll restrain myself. Because of him, I have one area where I agree with Republicans, which I'll talk about in a further posting.

So after my Dad bailed, we moved to North Carolina where my Mom remarried. Because apparently the state wouldn't give her any more kids, so she decided to marry a man with kids of his own. So I got to move 3,000 miles from coast to coast, but I did get a step father. And for anyone who has kids that is thinking about remarrying, don't. Because your kids will hate their new dad or new mom. They just will. "But he's a great guy." No he's not. He's a low quality guy or else he wouldn't be with someone with so much baggage. And if by some chance he was a great guy, why do you want to straddle him with all your problems? The best is when two divorced people with kids marry each other. Its like a failure synthesis. With our powers of failure combined we can ruin for more lives then on our own!

The good thing about my Mom remarrying is I got to move to North Carolina where my friends are. Charlotte is a beautiful, very underrated city. Its also good because I am a liberal in a somewhat conservative state. Which is good, because if I was a liberal in a liberal state or a conservative in a conservative state, I would be completely insane. Because when everyone around you agrees with you, they don't tell you how dumb your ideas are. Thats how we end up with Trent Lott and John Kerry. I'll remind everyone that Trent Lott basically said that the country would be better of with Strom Thurmond, a segregationsit, as president, and that right before the election, John Kerry basically called the troops retarded. Its much better to live in a place with a multitude of ideas instead of a dogmatic belief in a few dumb ones.

Next I'll write about my political beliefs. It will be fun and exciting and will probably annoy one or two people. And if you're annoyed or disagree, please post a comment. I am need of validation or an argument. Please, please validate me.