dkRanch.net Blog: September 2016

Friday, September 30, 2016

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Selfie while hosting a webinar today

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Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Busy

It’s a busy time. I seem to be running in circles and can’t catch up.

No sign of slowing down soon, which isn’t what I want to do, but life is exciting, and I am knocking a few things off my list as I move through the days.

The first sign of making a change here is recognizing things are crazy. So I need to start looking to change a few things in life.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Friday, September 23, 2016

This makes me sick

My stomach actually is upset. I shouldn’t have watched this.

http://boingboing.net/2016/09/22/cops-pepper-spray-15-year-old.html

But, fuck. I can’t believe someone gets treated like this over a minor traffic issue, and one where no one was really hurt. Clearly the young lady can’t be hurt badly, or she wouldn’t be looking to leave. Certainly this could be handled with asking for a name, or asking someone nearby for a name. If you never find her, what’s the harm here?

I don’t know if this is racism, but I don’t think so. Certainly the officers may have acted rougher or been quicker to use pepper spray than if the young lady was white, but there’s no way to determine that here.

I’m just appalled a teenaged is treated like this.

A sad day in America for me.

Save the Day

Or maybe better, Make Mark Naked. This is a great voting promo from Josh Whedon.

Obviously for the Democrats, and certainly Mr. Whedon is supporting Senator Clinton, but still well done. Humorous, and I’m glad there are people pushing for more votes.

I’ll accept the outcome, but I do want more people voting.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Sweet potato lasagna

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The Flags and Protest

A few quick thoughts. I ran across the protocol for the National Anthem in the US legal code. I have to admit I’m slightly disturbed that this is codified in law, but I guess it’s not too bad. There are no penalties and the law says “should” for all parties, including US military.

Someone asked what I thought about people standing, or not, as the case may be in the recent athlete protests. I wrote this:

“I think plenty of people upset about those that don't stand read the code as "all other persons present must face the flag and stand at attention..."
I have pride in my country, and our anthem. It bothers me when people don't remove hats or stand quietly. Most of that is just laziness and a lack of respect. I should write this more, but I agree with what the various sports people (and others) are doing. They aren't dis-respecting things, but rather making a conscious, respectful (IMHO), protest for injustices they see in our country.
The content and origin of the song does bother me. I would be happy to change our anthem to something that isn't based on war. We have far, far too much of that.”

I’ll add this as well.

I used to make my kids stand , remove hats, put their hands on their hearts. As they got older, I let them decide. The decision to be a patriot or support the government is their own. The decision to respect this country, and it’s anthem, is up to them. Part of the land of the free is that people are free to disagree. They are free to protest. They are free to disrespect the flag.

People are also free to be upset with those that do.

That’s what freedom is.

Anyone may view this as they choose. I stand with the athletes and their protest against what they perceive as injustices against minorities, blacks, the poor, whoever. For those that don’t agree or think these are spoiled athletes, many of them are putting their money and time into supporting causes. Mr. Kaepernick has pledged to donate $5mm this year.

I don’t think these protests are disrespectful. I think they embody the spirit of change and revolution that founded this country, the decision to act when confronted with those issues seen as fundamentally unfair.