For the Record...

Due to the supposition going on, I thought I should clarify.

I can't run for president for at least 18 years. The constitution mandates that the president must be at least 35. Since 2022, the year in which I will turn 35, isn't an election year (at least for president) I would have to wait til 2024.

Age requirements aside, I have no desire to run for president. It would be stressful, dangerous and extremely difficult to do well. It would also be extremely hard on my family. I think Mr. TBQelite was right when he said, "Being President would be no fun. No fun at all."

w00t for Tony!

As many of you have undoubtedly heard, FOX news commentator and columnist Tony Snow has become President Bush's new press secretary.

I've listened to Tony's radio show semi-irregularly for more than a year and have enjoyed what he's had to say.

Mr. Snow apparently accepted the job on condition that he would be involved in the policy making process instead of just representing decisions to the press. This makes me very happy because Mr. Snow is significantly more conservative than the president and an eloquent advocate for smaller government. I think that a small-government emphasis has been missing from the presidents agenda and I hope that this will change during the remainder of this administration.

Gas Is Expensive

Check out this nifty map that shows current gas prices by county:

Current Price Map

Gas is starting to get expensive and its about time something was done about it.

My proposed energy policy proposal:

Open up ANWR for drilling.
Open up off-shore drilling off U.S. coasts.
Allow standardization of fuel cocktails.
Reduce federal and local gas taxes both head taxes for oil producers and pump taxes for consumers.
Absolutely do NOT try to punish oil companies for high profits.
Allow construction of new oil refineries.
Remove unreasonable restrictions on nuclear power.

Notice how none of my suggestions involve increasing government interference?

George Allen

Mr. Allen says he has "a libertarian sense." He describes himself as more in sync with Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan than with George Bush. "I'm one who dislikes limits. I don't like restrictions. I like freedom. I like liberty. Unless you're harming someone else, you leave people free."*

I'm a big fan of personal liberty. George Allen seems to be the best of the current presidential hopefuls, at least of the ones who have a chance. The question now is, "Can he win?"

I haven't researched him super well yet so he may have a problems but for now he's my choice.

Note: I'd like to see Condi run but she doesn't seem to interested in the position.


*From the Opinion Journal.

Boycott Earthday!

Earth day is a title shared by two celebrations observed on the vernal equinox and April 22nd.

Today I boycotted the first. The day after tomorrow I will ignore the other.

Why am I taking such a harsh line?

Because this year the earth has been unkind to us.

We had a horrid Tsunami to start off the year. It killed an estimated 230,000 people and displaced more than a million and a half people.

It sent a long serious of devasting hurricanes Dennis, Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Katrina caused $75 billion in damages and killed more than 1,600 people. It was more than twice as destructive as any othe storm in U.S. history. The others weren't anything to laugh at either.

"Mother" Earth also lashed out with the Kashmir Earthquake which killed more than 90,000 people in Pakistan, India and Afganistan.

We need to take a hard line with the Earth to punish her for being so cruel. Let's all go out and drive around in our SUV's, do some strip mining, clear cut a few forests and generally loot the planets resources.

Maybe if we show our disapproval strongly enough. Mother Earth will get the message and start being a little nicer.

April 19, 1775

On April19th, 1775, British light infantry and grenadiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Marine Major John Pitcairn set out from Boston on the orders of General Thomas Gage to seize weaponry and ammunition stored by the colonial militias at Concord.

Unfortunately for the British, the Colonials had received notice of the plan, probably from General Gage’s American wife, and were able to send out riders on the night of April 18^th to warn the militia of the impending attack. This allowed the colonists to remove the stockpile and distribute the supplies around several neighboring towns.

On the morning of April 19^th the British advance guard, under Major Pitcairn met with a small band of colonial militia at Lexington, on the way to Concord. About 70 militia men faced down 250 British regulars, ordered by their commander, Captain John Parker to, "Stand your ground; don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."

Pitcairn tried to break up the band shouting, "Disperse you rebels; damn you, throw down your arms and disperse!"

Parker told his men to disperse but before they could a shot rang out. To this day, no one knows which side fired that shot but it has since become known as “the shot heard round the world”.

On hearing the shot, the British opened fire. The Patriots returned a ragged volley with little affect. The skirmish descended into chaos as colonial troops fled and the British officers lost control of their men. Some of the regulars charged with bayonets and Captain Parker witnessed his cousin, Jonas ran through. The militia suffered 18 casualties before they escaped into the nearby woods.

Soon thereafter, the main body of the British force caught up with the advance guard and restored order. The British then continued on towards Concord.

They arrived in Concord and the Concord under command of Colonel Barret militia gave way without a fight, retreating onto surrounding hills. The British searched the town but found little. They burned a few gun carriages and through 550 lbs. of shot into the town’s mill pond (this shot was recovered the next day).

Colonel Barrett recognizing an opportunity moved his men onto a hill overlooking the Old North Bridge, a structure over which the British had crossed to enter the town. This hill and the bridge were owned by militia Major Buttrick who was present in the group. These men were quite literally about to fight on their own land. By this time the militia at Concord numbered about 500. The militia saw the smoke from the burning gun carriages and believed that the British were burning the town. They loaded their weapons.

A contingent of British troops numbering about 115 had been assigned to guard the bridge, and protect the British line of retreat and when they saw the colonials take the hill they retreated across the bridge and began pulling up the planks. Major Buttrick began shouting at the men to quit destroying his property. Both sides moved into fighting positions, the British in a column leading to the bridge and the colonials in a perpendicular line advancing towards the British column. Thus the lines of battle looked like a capital “T” with the Patriots forming the top and British the upright.

A British soldier fired, against orders and his shot was fired by a few other Regulars and then by a volley from the soldiers in the front part of the column. Several Patriots were killed but they continued to advance, holding their fire and waiting for orders. Finally Major Buttrick ordered them to fire. Unlike European soldiers, the militia targeted the enemy officers, wounding half of them in the first volley. Several British enlisted men were also killed.

The British realized that they were outnumbered and outmaneuvered. Their line broke and the British infantry, famed for its fearlessness and discipline fled under fire without orders.

Hearing the fire, Lieutenant Colonel Smith ordered troops from the main British force, at that time still in the town, to reinforce the guard at the North bridge. Coming to the bridge they met the scattered, fleeing rear guard.

The British officers left their men behind and went forward to see what was going on. They passed under the fire of the militia but in the words of one of the Americans, “If we had fird I beleave we could kild all most every officseer thair was in the front, but we had no orders to fire and their want a gun fird.” The colonial militias were not, as they are sometimes portrayed, ragtag bands of misfits with guns. Even after skirmishing with the British for half a day they still did not fire unless fired upon.

The offiers returned and the British regrouped in the town. They were able to make their way out of the town and began the long march back to Boston.

All along the way they were harassed and attacked by the American militiamen. The embattled British faced several major ambushes.

The first known as “The Bloody Curve,” consisted of about 200 Patriots positioned themselves behind a low wall and some trees on the outside of the curve and fired into the marching British. They were joined by another group which fired from the other side of the road and fresh troops which arrived from behind the British and fired into their rear. The British were able to escape by breaking into a run, the Patriots couldn’t keep up because they were moving through the woods on either side of the roads. Nevertheless, the British suffered heavy casualties.

Minor attacks continued up until the British again reached Lexington. The Lexinton Miltia, still under the command of Captain Parker had regrouped and been strengthened with additional men. These men, some of them bandaged, from the fighting earlier that morning prepared an ambush which they sprung only after Lieutenant Colonel Smith came into view. Smith was wounded and Pitcairn had to send his Marines out to drive back Parkers militia. This became known as “Parker’s Revenge.”

The Marines began clearing the hills around the town and during these actions, Pitcairn fell from his horse and injured his arm. Many of the British forces broke and ran. Officers had to threaten their own men with bayonets to make them reform their ranks.

It was now early afternoon and the British were in trouble. Fortunately for them 1000 reinforcements and two cannon under Lord Percy arrived to rescue them. Percy had originally been intended to follow closer but his orders had been misplaced by a servant. Smith’s men gratefully retreated behind the fresh forces which were able to disperse the pursuing militia with cannon fire.

Percy took command and was able to reform the British force, allowing them to rest around a tavern and have their wounds tended to. They then moved on back towards Boston.

They were continually under attack along the road. Militiamen with horses would dismount and fire into the British ranks, then mount and gallop ahead to repeat the maneuver. Other soldiers continued to hide behind cover and fire on the British. The longer range and superior accuracy of the Patriots’ weapons, which were primarily intended for hunting allowed them to engage from outside the enemy’s effective range.

The British made it to Menotomy only to come under attack from the town’s militia and many private residents who fired at the Regulars from their homes. Percy lost control of his men and the frustrated soldiers committed atrocities that were later used to inflame more colonists into open rebellion against the British.

The British continued moving and eventually made their way through Menotomy, then Cambridge and finally onto the road to Charleston. The British turn towards Charleston surprised the Patriots and allowed them to escape the continuous circle of fire that had plagued them throughout the day. The British moved onto the hills of Charleston and supported by the heavy guns of a warship in the harbor gained the better position.

The American forces declined to follow and the battle ended.

April 19^th is a day to remember the sacrifices or our ancestors and to be extra thankful for the freedoms their courage, ingenuity and blood won us. We should never forget the scenes of private citizens, armed with their own weapons defending their homes, land and property.

Simple Pleasures

I was tagged by my homie, Bugblaster of Chez Kneel.

Here's a list of ten simple pleasures with which I have been blessed.

1. Reading
2. Executing the perfect ambush in paintball
3. Winning a treadmill race
4. Veggitating in front of a good movie after a long day at work
5. Opening my paycheck
6. Sitting in C-Building and surreptitiously watching all the weird people
7. Invading someone's comment section
8. Having a sword fight with my four year old brother
9. Blogging
10. Swimming in the summer

Wisdom from Foolishness

Everyday, as I watch governments around the world go about their business, I am increasingly convinced that government while necessary is as an institution fatally flawed. Those capable of acquiring power are rarely the best suited, or even well suited to weild power in such a way to benefit the populace in general.

Even in deomocracy, a system which is heralded as a great marvel because it requires the governors to please a majority of the people. This system is still flawed. It creates a spinelss mass of panderers that won't take a stand. Those willing to hold to their beliefs will always find that some segment of the population will oppose at least part of their position, while another segment finds fault with something else. To get elected they must contort their beliefs minimizing they're unpopular positions and expounding on the policies that they believe will gain them votes. This seems dishonest to me. In the end we are led by the dishonest and the compromisers, hardly an ideal situation. Yet over the thousands of years of human history we have found nothing better.

"To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone capable of getting themselves made President should by no means be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem. "
-Douglas Adams

Even though this passage was taken from a silly book written solely for entertainment, Mr. Adams has the right of this. Mankinds's fallen nature prevents us from ever escaping tyranny.

Fortunately, there is hope for those who know that one day, we will leave this world and enter a kingdom where the Ruler is perfect, loving and merciful. May that day come soon!

Happy Easter

He is Risen!

Matthew 28:1-8

1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."

8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."

Don't forget the resurrection of your Savior amongst the candy, bunnies and other assorted holiday fluff.

1st Corinthians 15:12-19

12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

All Scripture is NIV courtesy of Bible Gateway.

Pulling No Punches

In a time where feel good religion has become the norm across most of the developed world, the Pope laid down a very strong message today during the Good Friday observation.

“Lord, we have lost our sense of sin. Today a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan, a mindless desire for transgression, a dishonest and frivolous freedom, exalting impulsiveness, immorality and selfishness as if they were new heights of sophistication.”

I may disagree with the Catholics on a multitude of theological issues but it is encouraging to see that the church leadership is not going to be playing it up for the media and trying to make everyone happy. Sometimes the truth won't be popular and the willingness to speak it even when it will be met with disdain is something to be admired.

Read a more complete story from The Times of London. Thanks to the Drudge Report for the link.

Sad but True

Glenn Reynolds on American politics:

The good news for each party is that they only have to run against the other, and not against a competent one...it's like the Special Olympics of politics or something.

He's got that one right.

Anti-Endorsement

Mitt Romney has officially been thrown off of my possibly preferable presidents list. I know very little about the man except that he is the governor of Massachusetts and a presidential hopeful. I had nothing against him ten minutes ago and wished him the best of luck.

That all changed when I read this paragraph in the Opinion Journal:

Massachusetts will likely soon become the first state in the nation to force everyone living within its borders to buy health insurance or pay a tax for walking around uninsured. Gov. Romney says by signing such a mass mandate into law, he will achieve the Democrats' goal of universal health coverage on Republican market-oriented principles.

Now, Mr. Romney joins John McCain on the "Definitely won't vote for him in the primary" category. I am sick and tired of big government Republicans ramming additional government spending and ridiculous regulations down my throat. Ronald Reagan had it right when he said, "Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."

I'm Proud to be a Theocon

The Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal had an interesting article today. Entitled "Theocon Moment", the column discussed the possibility of religious conservatives taking control of the Republican party.

This a good time for such considerations, because the last, limping years of the Bush administration find religious conservatives in a position of unusual strength--flush from victory in the Roberts and Alito confirmation battles; relatively untainted by the stumbling and scandals afflicting the GOP; and stronger, in numbers and credibility, than most of their rivals for control of the party. "National greatness conservatism" has foundered, at least temporarily, on the rocks of Iraq, while the starve-the-beast right looks in the mirror and finds the beast staring back, wearing Jack Abramoff's fedora. Which means that for the moment, the closest thing to a credible public philosophy the GOP has to offer emanates from the once-unlikely alliance of evangelicals and Catholics, and their God-infused politics of social reform.

Unfortunately, the article seems to call for Christians to compromise in an attempt to gain votes from the middle. I think this strategy is fatally flawed. You don't gain votes when you sacrifice integrity.

What do you think?

Encouragement

As I was working on my paper this week I was encouraged by several songs.

Normally I don't post song lyrics but this one expresses my feelings probably better than I could.

You Are My God - 38th Parallel

I wonder aloud in curious tones
What is the mind of the God that created me?
I am ever looking through the smallest of eyes
But your eyes see what mine cannot see

Chorus:
You are my God, you are life.
You are the strength I need
You are the love surrounding broken hearts
You set me free.

The world around me is changing
All that was familiar is fading
Those I thought would never leave me left me cold
All I have from the friends that forever I'm known
And the questions of meaning and reason
These small eyes of mine can't see past this one season
But your eyes see what mine cannot see

Chorus

Show me your eyes
Show me your mind
Show me what you see
Show me your eyes
Show me your mind
Show me all I need

Free at Last!

Things have cleared up a bit and I think I'll have time to start posting again.

I finished my paper and submitted it. If you have some bizarre curiousity about the Japanese and want to read the whole thing feel free to email me. Huzzah!

In conclusion:

"The main cause behind the population decline is long-term sub-replacement fertility. This has led to population aging compounded by the rapidity of the change in birth rates and the large increases in life expectancy. Because the birth rate has continued to be low and is predicted to remain so, it is expected that Japan's population will decline dramatically within the next twenty to fifty years. The decline in population has already started.

In the short term, the tightening of the labor market caused by the exit of older workers could provide benefits greater than the costs created by the growing number of retirees as long as the economy remains strong. The tighter labor markets will create fuller employment and higher wages that will in turn increase consumption and savings.

In the longer term, the shrinking population will cause the economy to grow smaller. Because there will be fewer people consumption and savings will go down. The domestic market will shrink and there will be fewer funds available for investment.

If the economy grows smaller Japan will lose economic power and its status as the second largest economy. This could make it more difficult for Japan to achieve foreign policy goals. On the other hand, if the economy shrinks slowly, production per capita could rise allowing for a higher standard of living. Lower population density could also contribute to a better living standard.

Japan has two basic options to counteract the population decline and the economic shrinking that accompanies it. It can raise the birthrate or it can encourage more immigration. Both solutions have social obstacles that would impede them from being implemented. However, the obstacles could likely be overcome if the growth of the economy is prioritized.

The choices that control Japan's population size are social in nature and economic decisions will have a limited effect in making them. It will be up to the people of Japan to decide what course best suits them. Once they have chosen they will have to live with the results whether good or bad."

Why is it that it cost me $14.40 to overnight a letter to Colorado and only 84 cents to 3-day one to Japan?

Japan, Land of the Rising Average Age

I'm getting close to done. I should be unplugged by Wednesday.

I'm currently working on a 6-10 page research paper exploring the effects population decline will have on the Japanese domestic economy and their position as a leader in the global economy. I am completing it for the Morgan Stanley/Bridging Scholarship for students hoping to study economics or business in Japan. I'm hoping that there won't be too much competition but I have a feeling that two $7,500 scholarships will attract a lot of applicants.

This has been SIGNIFICANTLY changed and lengthened. For some reason one of my paragraphs insists on appearing with black text. You'll have to select it to read.

A sample of what I've been up to:

"Japan's demographics have and will continue to be dramatically reshaped by an extended period of sub-replacement fertility. That is, the rate at which women have children has and will be below that required to maintain the size of the population. Just as a growing population has a high percentage of children and low average age, a population with a low birth rate and a shrinking population will have an abundance of seniors and a high average age. When a shift between a high fertility rate and sub-replacement fertility occurs quickly, as it has in Japan, it results in a rapidly aging population and an accelerated period of population decline.

Japan, like many other nations, experienced a high rate of birth following World War II. This high rate(4.54 children born per woman in 1947, 4.4 in '48 and 4.32 in '49, 3.65 in '50 and 3.26 in '51) was significantly higher than the replacement fertility rate (calculated at approximately 2.08) and resulted in a large increase in population and an unusually large generation. This generation is commonly known as the “baby-boom”. After the boom, during the Fifties, the birth rate began to decline rapidly, falling to 2.04 in 1959.

Through the Sixties the fertility rate fluctuated back and forth around the 2.08 replacement rate. An anomalous low of 1.58 was set in 1966 for the unlucky year of Hinoeuma. During this decade the average fertility rate was 2.02.

The early Seventies saw the baby-boomers coming of age and starting families. When combined with a moderate increase in fertility (2.14 in 1970-73) the large number of parents created a spike in births. This is sometimes referred to as Japan's “second baby-boom”.

In the mid to late Seventies fertility began to drop. 1973 marked the last year Japan experienced replacement fertility. From 1977, the birth rate continued to slide to its present low. All the way through the Eighties, Nineties and the first part of the new millennium fewer and fewer babies were born per woman each year.

It is expected that Japan's fertility rate will remain below replacement level for most of the next century. The Japanese National Institute for Population and Social Security Research(IPSS) released a study in 2002 predicting future fertility and population growth along three lines, labeled “High”, “Medium” and “Low”. The United Nations(UN) published a similar report in 1998 with predictions similar to the Medium set from the IPSS. The High and Medium calculations predict fertility rates to rise, increasing and stabilizing at 1.62-1.63 and 1.38-1.39 by 2025 respectively . The Low calculation predicts a continued slide and eventual stability at 1.11 in 2025. These numbers are calculated out to the year 2050.

At present, the low birthrates are starting to have a net negative effect on population. Japan's total population shrank for the first time in 2005, two years sooner than expected. 2005 figures show 1.067 million births and 1.077 deaths, a decline in total population by 10,000. The population would have responded to the low birth rates and started declining earlier but for a steady increase in life expectancy.

In 1947, during the post-war population boom, average life expectancy was at 52 years. As Japan modernized and began to practice modern medicine Japanese life expectancies climbed. Every year, the Japanese are living longer. As of 2004 the average life expectancy was 82 years. This represents a 30 year increase over a 57 year period. As the Japanese lived longer the ranks of the elderly grew and offset the declining numbers of children.

The shrinking is expected to accelerate in coming years. The larger generations of the past are reaching the ends of their lives and the generations that are replacing them are much smaller. For comparisons sake, there were 12.53 million people born in the baby-boom during 1947 through the end of 1951, and 5.97 born during 1996 through the end of 2000. As of 2004, 19.5% of the population was over 65 years old and 13.9% was under 14.

According to the 2002 IPSS calculations, which have so far slightly underestimated the population decline, the population is predicted to decline every year through 2100, the last year forecasted, under all three calculations, High, Medium and Low. The predicted population in 2025 is 124.04 million, 121.13 million and 117.76 million for High, Medium and Low respectively. If the trends on which these calculations are based continue Japan's population will have fallen to 81.764 million, 64.14 million, or 46.45 million. If the Middle variant is correct this represents the population being cut nearly in half in a single century."

Please, please please, if you see an error, typo or any other mistake leave a comment or send me an email. That also applies to any areas where the phrasing is awkward or unclear. Thanks.

Awkward Pictures

Danika and Emily challenged bloggers to post pictures on Friday. I was busy yesterday and so I didn't get around to uploading mine. Today I'm no less busy but I feel like procrastinating and so here you are:

Emily wanted pictures from an "awkward" phase:

When I was little I was very crosseyed. I had eye surgery when I was two, wore a patch for a long time and later upgraded to glasses. I didn't need the glasses for my vision but apparently they help straighten out crossed eyes.

Baby clothes were less cute in the 80's.

Don't I look smart? NOT!

What's more awkward than a bathtub picture?

I experienced another "awkward" stage that started in Junior High and continues to this day. Here are all of the recent pictures I could find of myself. They're are not very many.

Cut from the background of another picture.
It turned out blurry when uploaded for some reason.

A '"Hey Matthew!" Click.' picture.
Again it's grainy. Grr.


This pic was taken a few days ago.
My whole family conspired to make me smile.
Apparently, they didn't want me to submit my "mugshot" to the scholarship selection board.

I'm generally not opposed to smiling and I think I grin as often as anyone. However, whenever a camera is present all the joy is sucked out of my facial expression. Must be the awkward phase.