Good Riddance to Another Flag Burning Amendment

The Senate failed to pass a flag burning amendment by one vote. That's a whole lot closer than it should have been. I hate the idea of approving such an amendment, but I also don't want to make a redundant post. So here's a flashback to just over a year ago when the House approved a similar measure that subsequently died in the process. Here's my thoughts from June 23, 2005:

Last night I read the news of the House approving a constitutional amendment that would ban any desecration of the American flag. As we all know from Civics class, it has to approved by 2/3 of the Senate and 38 states in order to be officially adopted. This amendment comes up every few years and apparently never makes it past the Senate but some pundits say that this could be the time. I certainly hope not though.

For a few years now, I have been of the opinion that I can't think of any amendment to the constitution that would pass because of the amount of approval needed. And I don't think that this situation will be any different but it does beg the question of why so many people feel that banning flag burning is so important. To ban flag burning would be ironic to say the least. The flag is a symbol of freedom and to ban the burning of that symbol would be in stark contrast with the freedom that it is supposed to represent. I don't agree with the statement of flag burning and I personally think that it is a pretty cliched and boring way to protest the government but it does no harm to the freedom that we have and it really serves to show just how much freedom we have in this country.

People throw around the word censorship, inappropriately I think, but this would be a true form of the government sponsored control over a certain type of speech. I'm all for patriotism and for love of country, but a flag is a piece of cloth that is a symbol of freedom and not freedom itself. I don't particularly like to see a flag burned but I don't think that a constitutional amendment is the answer. To amend the constitution to prevent the practice goes against everything that the flag stands for.

The Richest Gets Richer

Warren Buffett has given up trying to eclipse Bill Gates as the richest man in the world. He is throwing in the towel and giving almost $31 billion of his $44 billion fortune to Bill Gates. Okay, he's actually giving it to Bill Gates' charity. All in all a very cool move. As much as people decry the wealthy for having too much, I think that most of them are more like Buffet and Gates then they are like Paris Hilton. Gates has vowed to donate most of his money to charity when he dies. He will leave considerable inheritances to his children, but he isn't giving them his vast fortune. Buffet has chosen to follow a similar path.

Gates and Buffett share the philosophy that giving your children too much money is a burden, not a gift, and is not a rational thing to do with all that wealth.

Seven years ago, Buffett told ABC News' "Nightline" that being born into wealth did not entitle his children to fortune.

If only Richard Hilton subscribed to such a philosophy...

Got Lazy?

David Friedman has invented a device that might be the definition of laziness. It's called "Mr. Dunk" and it is designed to help people dunk cookies in milk while keeping their hands clean. The conveyor belt that deposits cookies directly into your mouth should be coming out any time now.

Cruise Photos

I've been extremely busy lately, but I finally got my cruise pictures online. Here are links to all of them:

Days 1 - 3: At Sea

Day 4: Montego Bay, Jamaica

Day 5: Grand Cayman

Day 6: Cozumel, Mexico

Day 7: At Sea

Futurama!!!!!

Stacy sent me this link regarding some wonderful news about Futurama. The rumors are true! Comedy Central is officially resurrecting Futurama for a minimum of 13 episodes starting in 2008! There really isn't much of a reason for me to watch TV anymore, but I will definitely tune in to new episodes of Futurama!!!

The Green Fairy

Absinthe is a pretty disgusting beverage (unless you like the taste of black licorice), but it still feels pretty cool to go into a liquor store in the Cayman Islands and buy a bottle and drink it on Seven Mile Beach.

A Taste of the Islands

I have become such a negligent blogger lately. I started a new job here in Louisiana this past Monday and it has certainly kept me busy. I've been too tired and/or busy in the evenings to get to blogging, sorting my cruise photos or even catching up on my stack of Netflix rentals. But tonight is different! I finally finished going through my digital pictures from the cruise and will have them all online for friends and family viewing by this weekend. But until then, here is a little taste of the beauty that is the Caribbean.

Montego Bay, Jamaica


Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman Island


Passion Island (the "Corona Commercial" beach), Cozumel, Mexico


More pictures are coming so keep checking back!

Back to life...back to reality...

Our cruise came to a bitter sweet end this morning. We had such a wonderful time although it was the same ship and ports of call that we sailed to on our last cruise. The difference this time was that Roxi and her family came with us. Like our other three cruises, this one had a different feel to it than it's predecessors.

Sadly we are back to reality and I will be starting my new job tomorrow. On the Friday before the cruise, I had an interview with Beta Land Services for a job as a landman. It is a little diversion from the recording engineering that I have been focusing on for the past two years, but it is a temporary change so that Roxi and I can be together while she is finishing her dissertation. The good thing is that I'll be making a considerably larger amount of money than I have been for the past two years. We look at it as a way save some money while we prepare for our next big step when Roxi finishes her PhD.

I plan to write about both the cruise and the new job soon, but right now, I am pretty tired after my travels and need some rest before I start this new job.

Cruising Tomorrow!!!

Roxi and I are just about ready to pick up my brother Garrett and his girlfriend Nicole before we head off to Houston for our cruise. We'll be staying with my parents tonight and then Sunday we will all rendezvous in Galveston with Roxi's parents, and my other brother Travis, his fiance Danielle and her family. Our cruise will take us to Jamaica, Grand Caymen and Cozumel. My family and Danielle's family visited all of these destinations two years ago on the same cruise but this time we're adding Roxi's family to our group and I am so very excited to share it with them! Not surprisingly, there is internet access on the ship, but it isn't free so I'm not sure if I'll do any blogging from the high seas, but I will certainly play catch up when we return next week.

Three Days Until The Cruise, Zero Days Until Hurricane Season

Things are going well so far here in Lafayette. Roxi and I have spent the past few days getting settled in together. We are so excited about our cruise starting this weekend. Of course we are going into the Caribbean where hurricanes might be brewing any day now. Of course it is literally only the first week of the season and our last cruise was the same week two years ago so I think we won't have any problems outside of typical tropical rains. Although the predictions are for an active season, I have a feeling that it really won't get going until much later in the summer.