Truth Be Told

CAUTION! Childhood illusions shattered in this blog!

Posted on December 24, 2008 by Kirk

Santa Claus, as we now know him, does not exist. There! I said it. The man, Sinter Niklaas (the Dutch pronunciation of Saint Nicholas) was real. He provided small toys and candy for the little children in his village. Eventually, we all know, his story became legend and we now pronounce it Santa Claus.

As parents, I think we all struggle with the dilemma of how long we let our children believe in fables before we destroy their innocence and shatter their trust. In the end (or sometime before that) we all realize that having our children believe in something that is not true is not really healthy for them. Over the last two days my seven year old daughter and I have been having the conversation. Before you jump to the conclusion that I am a mean father, know that she asked me and, combined with other things going on in her mind right now, it seemed time.

The conversation (abridged) went something like this: “Daddy, are you Santa Claus?”

“No, why do you ask?” said I.

She: “I don’t know.”

I: “Do you think Santa Claus is real?”

“No. Yes…. no.”

“Who puts the presents under the tree?”

“Santa… You.”

“Did someone at school tell you Santa isn’t real?”

“Yes, they said Santa was their dad.”

“Do you think I am Santa at our house?”

“Yes.”

“It’s true. Mommy and I put the presents under the tree after you go to bed and I eat the cookies and drink the eggnog.”

Then she started crying. “But I hear Santa on the roof.”

“Really?”

“Yes…. no”

“Do the presents you have gotten or will get change because Santa isn’t real?”

“No.”

“Can we still pretend for the little kids?”

“Yes.”

“What is the real meaning of Christmas?”

“To remember Jesus being born.”

“So what should we do?”

“Be nice to people and love each other.”

Merry Christmas

Posted in morality, Truth | 2 Comments

Does Truth Exist?

Posted on November 22, 2008 by Kirk

Before we can determine the nature of truth, we must be convinced that such a thing actually exits. Some might take it so far as to question our own existence, but I think I will concur with Rene Descartes and conclude that since we are able to think about these questions then we must exist. Certainly, even the most esoteric of you could agree that if we do not exist then truth (and everything else, for that matter) is not really very important. So I will accept my own existence as fact and move on toward the question of truth, itself.

Many people believe that what is true for one may not be true for someone else. If this is the case then these “truths” are not absolute. The question the truth seeker must ask is whether these truths are derived or descended in some way from absolute truth or if truth is always relative. A third possibility is that any truth can be described in “if-then” form; that is that if given certain circumstances and conditions, then a certain truth becomes, in fact, true. Truth, then, is not necessarily relative, but it may be conditional. Another consideration that must be included in our quest is that belief does not constitute truth. Something does not become true simply because many people believe it or because it has been believed for a long period of time.

It would be ideal to start with a most basic and foundational morsel of absolute truth and follow it from conclusion to conclusion in direct fashion to determine what is true and what is not. Unfortunately this assumes two things. First that there exist such an absolute truth and second, that all other truth is derived directly from it.

Truth be told, Kierkegaard said the very same thing: “Life may only be understood backwards, unfortunately, it must be lived forwards.”

Posted in Treatise On Truth | 3 Comments

Governator: What Happened?

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Kirk

Five years ago the people of California removed Gray Davis from the governor’s office. The reasons we had for recalling Gov. Davis were mostly centered around his dishonesty concerning the economic situation of the time and his tax plan. Additionally, the fiscal security of or state was in serious jeopardy, most believed, because of the corruption in Davis’ administration. We replaced him with Arnold Schwarzenegger who promised to protect us from economic corruption and from the extreme special interest groups trying to take over the policy making of our state.

After a one year honeymoon, and subsequent re-election, Gov. Schwarzenegger began to reaveal his true nature and has since been catering to the far left idealogues and doing much of what we elected him to protect us from. Our economy is every bit as bad as we feared Gray Davis would lead us into, the mortgage and real estate market is alarmingly similar to the Enron scandal, and the secular progressives who would destroy our nation are well on their way to destroying California, embraced by the governor.

The most recent evidence of the conversion of the Governator to the left is his switch on gay marriage. He would rather cater to the liberal agenda than defend the voters that he supposedly represents. The governor is completely wrong on this one, for at least two reasons.

First, attempting to turn the issue of gay marriage into a civil rights issue is an insult to those who fought the civil rights fight. Civil rights include the right to own property, freedom of religion, and the right to express one’s self. Civil rights include equal pay for equal jobs, equal protection under the law and equal opportunity. Some may believe that gay marriage falls under the category of equal protection or opportunity; however, neither opportunities nor protections are included in marriage. Marriage is an institution with a long-standing definition as the union of one man and one woman with the intent of forming a family. Marriage is not a civil right. Marriage does not give any couple any further rights than they would have under civil unions or domestic partnerships.

Second, the people have spoken on this issue, at least twice. The governor is supposed to protect us from liberal judges and extreme special interest groups. We, the people of California, passed a law which was overturned by judges with a liberal agenda who told the people that we could only pass this law with a constitutional amendment. Well, here it is. The governor’s job now is to enforce that law, not enable and encourage those who break it.

I have often heard it said that your right to swing your fist stops at the end of my nose. Truth be told, gay marriage is hitting my nose and it is time to stop this hatred toward people of faith by those who would twist marriage, which is created by God, into a perversion of it.

Posted in economy, morality, Politics | 2 Comments

What Next? A Summary of VOTE08

Posted on November 8, 2008 by Kirk

Obviously, we have made history. Some are claiming that they have helped “change the world” and I think that it is a bit premature for that analysis. Electing an African American president does not change the world or even our nation. The fact that we have elected an African American president is evidence that our nation has changed. When the color of our president no longer matters, then we can say that our nation has truly changed.

Much more important than the color of our president is the policy that will come out of this White House and Congress. What we know or Pelosi and Reid (and others) is that policy can not be liberal enough. Obama has the reputation of being the most liberal in the senate. According to his speech on election night, he wants to unify the nation. If he follows this rhetoric with actual governing from that position we will see two key results. First, the leftist ideologues and press corp that is largely responsible for getting him elected will feel betrayed and be very angry. Second, the nation will unify and the world will see us as less divisive and a stronger ally.

Some are saying; “he is not my president,” but he is our president and he is (or will be) the leader of the greatest nation on earth and we must unite behind our leader. Karl Rove said it best when he told us that we should work with our president, persuade him when we can and oppose him when he is wrong.

There are two aspects of our national circumstance over which President Obama has no control. The first is the war in Iraq. Three possibilities exist; it may be over before inauguration, he may be convinced to let General Petraeus complete the task since the surge is working and progress is being made, he may decide to pull the plug and we will be fighting the same terrorists on our soil within his administration. The second aspect beyond the control of the President (any president) is the economy. Most people blame the president, but Congress, consumer confidence, and economic powerhouses like the oil cartel who set price and production determine the state of the world economy, not the President. A friend of mine described it as dropping a new captain on the deck of the Titanic right after the iceberg was struck… too late, won’t matter. The only thing we can do to save our economy is to cut taxes and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I don’t know how the rest of the country decided, but T. Boone Picken’s plan was voted down in California. Only time will tell how the people will respond, but in the 1930’s we began a rash of new thinking that pulled us out of the Depression. It took 20 years, but, by necessity, brought us to new thinking and new ways of doing things. That is what we need now.

Speaking of California… We voted to preserve marriage, but we indicated that the comfort of chickens is more important that parents talking to their daughters before killing a fetus. Go figure! Meanwhile, we have elected to spend billions on the investigation of the possibility of maybe building a high-speed train. The people who support gay marriage really believe that it is a “right” and so they will continue to fight and have already called for law suits and to place a new initiative on the ballot for the next election. Because they believe that marriage is a civil right, they see this as a battle equal to the “separate but equal” issues of racial discrimination. I hope we can ensure the rights of everyone and still protect marriage, which I believe is not a right, but an institution ordained by God and my religious beliefs and not to be twisted into something that it is not. Governor Schwarzenegger has just announced mid-year budget cuts, including $2.5 Billion from education this year. Teachers will lose their jobs and classes will become more crowded. There is less tutoring available and less support for students in general, but the expectations for standardized test scores continue to be raised. As the saying goes: “we have been doing so much with so little in such a short time for so long, that soon we will be expected to do everything with nothing in no time at all.”

Truth be told, only time will tell what the next 4 years will bring. I pray for my leaders, even (and maybe especially) when I disagree with them. Again I hope that the next 4 years are so properous and posititve that I will want to re-elect President Obama, but I haven’t decided yet. I am certain that it will get worse before it gets better.

Posted in economy, Education, Election 08, morality, Politics, press and media | 1 Comment

Can we?

Posted on November 5, 2008 by Kirk

“The people have spoken and they have spoken clearly.” Senator McCain said as he delivered his best speech of the campaign in conceding the election. Senator Obama gave yet another great speech in announcing and accepting his victory. I suppose I could be angry that my guy didn’t win, but I don’t think that will do me, or us, any good.

Besides the obvious historical implications, Obama will inherit a Presidency unlike any other in any of our life times. It seems that every other generation or so our nation undergoes a major crisis and a subsequent political shift. We are watching that happen again now. Our economy is at an epic low not seen since the Great Depression. We will now find out whether President Obama will be the great uniter that he has claimed he will be or the far left leaning ideologue that his voting record indicates.

I believe the war in Iraq will be all but over by the time Obama is sworn in and he will be, basically, locked into following General Petraeus in completing the agenda there. I have big concerns about how the new president will handle Iran and further attempts by terrorists to destroy out nation. It is clear that President Bush made some errors in our relations with other nations and it may well be possible for Obama to create a better environment for dialogue with them.

Domestically, I am fearful of the increase in taxes I think it will take to pay for the programs that Obama would like to put in place and I don’t trust anything Joe Biden says at all. Biden has already suggested that Obama’s $250,000 lower limit for tax increases may have to come down to $150,000. I think that it may come lower than that and it will cause problems for an already struggling economy. On the other hand, Asian markets are already opening up and I believe the rest of the world will follow suit, even if only temporarily. We will have to wait and see if President Obama’s policies will save the economy or sink it further into oblivion, but I believe that we will see improved consumer confidence, at least through inauguration and probably into Spring.

One thing that is certain is that Barack Obama is extremely intelligent and an excellent communicator. If anyone is able to unite people together for the good of the nation, I think he can. I am not yet convinced that he will. I am afraid that with the democrat controlled Congress and the number of extreme left leaders we now have in office combined with Obama as president, that we may move sharply towards socialism.

Truth be told, nothing would make me happier than to have such prosperous times for the next 4 years that I would want to re-elect President Obama. I can’t see that far just yet.

Posted in Election 08, Politics | 1 Comment

To sum It All Up… The propositions (part 3)

Posted on October 28, 2008 by Kirk

Well, here it all is. For those of you who can’t fill out and mail that absentee ballot or are filled with trepidation of facing the polling place next week. I know what you’re all thinking: “if only I knew how Kirk was voting on these… then I could make up my mind.”

1A – Take the fast train, or not. This is too expensive. It might be a good idea, but not now. Vote no.

2 – Protect the animals? Truth is, we already have laws for this. We don’t need more money spent to make duplicate laws and form committees. If you don’t like a way a company treats their animals, don’t buy from them. Let the system work. Vote no.

3 – For the Children, or the hospital beaurocrats? We just gave the same people a 10 year bond 2 years ago. What did they do with it? More accountability and no more money until you do. Vote no.

4 – Parental notification. The anti ads say this will endanger children. The only thing it endangers is Planned Parenthood profits. Don’t let a stranger take our daughters to get abortions without us knowing about it. Keep parenting rights with the parents. Vote yes.

5 – Non violent offenders rehab. This is the only measure on the ballot that saves us money. The program has been working, let’s expand it. Vote yes.

6 – Police funding. I hate t be stingy, but things are tough all over. I thought abut voting yes, because I don’t want to hurt law enforcement, but if 5 passes they have the money right there. Vote no.

7 – Energy A. This is the bad one. Not enough results. Creates a committee that will force energy companies to comply, but the consumer will pay much more. Vote no.

8 – Protect marriage. We already passed this and the liberal judges ignored us. The constitutional amendment can’t be ignored. It’s not about rights, it’s not about freedom. It’s about stopping people from forcing their liberal agenda down are throats and forcing our children to learn morals in school that we, as parents, don’t agree with. Ignore Jack O’Connell. Look at Massachusetts. Vote yes.

9 – Victim’s Rights. Victims already have these rights. This is an unnecessary law. Vote no.

10 – Energy B. This is Picken’s Plan. Google it. Sure, he will get richer (he’s a business man), but he may save our country in the process. This will cost more up front, but less to consumers in the long run and will encourage utility companies to develop clean energy rather than punishing them if they don’t. Vote yes.

11 – Redistricting. This takes the conflict of interest out of redistricting an lets a committee do it rather than congress. I usually vote against committees, but this seems like a good idea. Vote yes.

12 – Veteran’s bonds for homes. Give the returning soldiers an easier road to home ownership. Loans should be paid by the home buyers so no net cost to tax payers. Vote yes.

Well, that’s it. I am not going to say anything about candidates right now except that Alyson Huber’s ad really irritates me. It shows her running against some random “professional politician.” The deception is that she is running against small business owner, Jack Sieglock. He isn’t a professional politician. He has done a lot of good in Lodi and his county and now he wants to represent us in the State. Huber couldn’t find anything bad about her real opponent, so she created a fictitious one she could run against.

Truth be told, I think they all get paid. That makes them all professional politicians. Doesn’t it?

Posted in economy, Education, Election 08, morality, Politics | 3 Comments

It’s About The Money… the propositions (part 2)

Posted on October 24, 2008 by Kirk

You have probably noticed that the economy is not having its best week monthyear. Yet, most of the propositions on the State ballot are asking for more spending. Five of the twelve propositions create bonds to be issued. What many voters do not seem to realize is that “bond” means “loan.” The state has to pay that money back, with interest.

Take the train: Prop 1 was removed from the ballot because it was poorly written and could have resulted in a $9.95 billion bond (pay back nearly twice that at $647 million per year) to do research that may or may not result in a high speed train. Prop 1A has replaced Prop 1 on the ballot and creates the same bond and associated costs to research, develop and build a high speed train system.

Things to consider: A high speed train could reduce individual transportation costs and reliance on fuel (at least for the consumer), but the train still needs energy to run and the money to build it has to come from our depleted state budget.

Energy: There are two energy related propositions on the ballot. Prop 7 requires utilities to increase their clean energy production significantly. The cost to the state is only $3.4 million per year to monitor the adherence of the utilities. Prop 10 is part of the T. Boone Pickens Plan to reduce or eliminate our nations dependence on foreign oil. This proposition creates a $5 billion bond ($10 billion to pay back at $335 million per year) to fund research and construction of wind and solar energy producing sites.

Things to consider: Energy companies never increase their costs without increasing yours and mine. The energy produced as a result of prop 7 will cost us more, at least in the beginning. T. Boone Pickens is the 131st wealthiest man in the country. His plan will make him richer. It will also make our nation free of our dependence on foreign oil. All of the people I can find who oppose Pickens’ plan do so because he is rich and not because they disagree with the plan (although they say they do). Maybe they would like it better if he just agreed to give his money to Obama and let him “spread the wealth around.”

From the sublime to the ridiculous: The children’s hospital bond, Prop 3, creates a bond of nearly $1 billion which would cost twice that to pay back at $64 million per year. The bond provides for construction and renovation of children’s hospitals throughout the state and requires children’s hospitals to provide care for children with life-threatening and terminal illnesses.

Things to consider: I am all for children’s hospitals. Just last election I voted for a 10-year bond to support children’s hospitals. Wait, that was only 2 years ago. Who did what with that money? Maybe we should pay that back before we take out a new billion dollar loan. Don’t children’s hospitals already do the things required by this statutes? I would be concerned that there are those who would take advantage of us by asking for a billion dollars “for the children” when it is not really needed… just a thought.

Truth Be Told, when you look at where the money comes from and who gets it, you sometimes have an easier time deciding what to vote for and what to vote against. It is left to us as voters to decide if the proposition provides something worth the cost and if we can afford it or not. I’ll agree that some things are worth the money, even if we can’t really afford it. On the other hand, with the economy the way it is, I might just vote against anything that costs.

Posted in economy, Election 08, Politics | Comments Off

Fiction, Falacies, and Lies… the propositions (part 1)

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Kirk

With the election less than two weeks away, it behooves us to do a little research into the myriad of propositions proliferating the California ballot this year. Let’s tackle the easy ones first: Propositions 4 and 8. I say “easy” because most people fall sharply on one side or the other of these issues.

Prop 4 is the one requiring parental notification and a waiting period for minors requesting an abortion. Opponents would have us believe that this law somehow makes children unsafe. It is not about safe children! I would like to know what is “safe” about my daughter getting an abortion without me knowing about it. Opponents of this are really in favor of two things: the removal of parents’ rights and the unabated access to kill babies before they are born. It seems that parental rights are the only rights that liberals want to do away with. Planned Parenthood makes a huge amount of money performing abortions and the majority of abortions are given to young women, many without their parents’ knowledge. Planned Parenthood loses money when we, as parents, meddle in the raising of our children. One ad proclaims that we should not pass this law because the girl and her parents should be able to decide what happens. That is exactly what this law provides for: that the girl and her parents, rather than some other adult, decide what happens. Don’t let them take our right to be parents and take care of our children away.

Prop 8 is the constitutional amendment to re-define marriage as between a man and a woman. Several years ago the people of California voted on the definition of marriage. Several liberal judges and San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsome decided to break the law and choose their own course of action, as Newsome says “whether you like it or not.” This amendment does not remove any rights from any alternative life style. It does not outlaw civil unions or rights to visit a loved one in the hospital or even the right to choose a beneficiary. It simply mandates the term “marriage” be reserved for the union between a man and a woman.

These two propositions have something very important in common. God created marriage for one man and one woman, He created sex for those married couples to express love to each other and to have children. The world (pronounced “Satan”) has perverted both of these God given concepts into selfish and corrupt versions of what the Creator intended them to be. So now, any two (or more) people can be joined in “marriage” and sex can be used for selfish pleasure with no consequences. If a baby is conceived, you can just kill it and you don’t even have to tell your parents.

Truth Be Told, this is not just an election, this is a culture war, and we have to take this country back, one proposition at a time.

Posted in Election 08, morality, Politics | 1 Comment

Introduction

Posted on October 18, 2008 by Kirk

Since my freshman year of college (perhaps earlier) I have been fascinated with the world of thought. I am curious about how people come to such absolute conclusions about what is true and I am also curious about how so many people convince themselves, and others, that something that seems to be so obviously false is so completely true. It is somewhat of a cliche to ask the question “What is truth?” But this is, after all, one of the fundamental questions of humanity, along with ascertaining the purpose of life and the concerns that we all have about what, if anything, comes afterwards.

It stands to reason that, if we are going to endeavor to find truth, we must first determine what it is. I first attempted to challenge this question with an extrememly jevinle paper submitted to my freshamn philosophy instructor. My grade was indicitave of my level of thought on the subject. Now, some years later, and hopefully a little wiser, I am drawn once again to this quest.

I am not promising a continuous discourse, but rather, hoping for a periodic discussion that many of you might participate in. I do not intend to abandon my other writings, although the political discourse will soon be fading for a while, but in between my other thoughts I hope to travel a journey towards greater understanding and more unified thought.

I hope you’ll join me and, perhaps, Truth will, in fact, Be Told.

Posted in Treatise On Truth | Comments Off

Observations on our culture

Posted on October 13, 2008 by Kirk

This past weekend I went with my family and visited one of our favorite local tourist attractions – Apple Hill. We go every year about this time. We always buy a way too expensive lunch and a slice of pie made with local apples and bring a frozen pie home to bake and eat later. Sometimes we buy some apples as well. There are a lot of crafts and interesting booths and even more interesting people to talk to. The people running the booths are happy to talk about their craft, even if you don’t buy anything. Apparently, it is getting more and more popular as it was more crowded this weekend than I have ever seen it before.

Most of the people visiting were similar to us; families from various places enjoying the Fall crispness and the harvest of fresh fruit and arts and crafts. I have to share, however, some exceptions that I observed disturbed me and, I think, make a statement on the direction of our culture.

1) A group of 20- somethings (when I first saw them they were using profanity as if it was their normal vocabulary and were not concerned that there were young children around) were stealing apples off the trees in the orchard. They were proud of the fact that they had gotten apples from the trees and not just from the ground and they did not care if people saw them. Of course, nobody said anything, including me. I thought about it, but decided that it could put my children in harm’s way if I said something and they chose to retaliate.

2) A 6 or 7 year old boy running around the pond hitting the fish with a stick. I didn’t see any parents, but they must have been nearby somewhere.

3) A group of 10-12 year olds running around and playing on some decorative trees. When they decided they wanted sticks to play with, they grabbed branches of the tree and broke them off. Again, I didn’t see any parents at the time, but when it was time to leave some nearby parents called them to go. They had been there all along.

4) Another group of kids digging in the ground in the park area. A parent told them it was time to go and one of the boys said “no.” So they stayed.

This brought to mind the environment this year at the high school at which I teach. This year we have had more fights than I can remember. A male student forced a girl into a bathroom and (at least attempted) sexually assaulted her. Another student went through a classroom in order to get to another classroom and gain access to a student he wanted to fight. The teacher tried to stop him and the student pushed her down and slightly injured her. I should mention that both of these students are being expelled and appropriate criminal charges are being filed. A security staff on our campus was also injured breaking up a fight. The rules haven’t changed. The enforcement is still consistent, but the number of incidents is definitely increasing.

This might give one pause and cause many to shake their heads and mutter “kids these days.” I have two responses to that. The first is “no, parents these days, where are they?” Why are so many children not learning responsibility? Why are they not learning to respect the rights and property, or even the physicality, of others? My second response is to the “these days” portion.

I am currently reading a book calledWhen The Mississippi Ran Backwards.It is an historical book about the New Madrid earthquakes and the frontier of the United States in the early 1800s. I bring this up because the times were horrific. People stole what they could, murdered if they felt the need and swindled anywhere possible. Obviously, not everybody, but it was common at the time. I don’t see it being that much different from now. In fact, as we look through history, these phenomenon repeat themselves regularly. Perhaps we wonder why?

I am also reading the book of Job currently. A significant comment is made by Satan when God asks him where he has been. “Roaming the earth and walking around in it” he says.

Truth be told, Satan is roaming and walking around the earth, and always has been. As long as he is free to do so, there will be parents who do not teach their children responsibility and respect. Those children will grow into selfish, self-centered adults who will teach their children that same way of life. It creates a sense of entitlement that is evident from the kid with the stick hitting the fish, to the kid forcing a classmate into a school bathroom, to the young adults stealing the apples, to the adults cheating on their taxes or manipulating the welfare system, to the congress member accepting bribes and pushing for earmarks and the executive running his company into bankruptcy and walking away with a golden parachute.

Posted in Education, morality, Truth | Comments Off