Republic or Democracy?

My purpose in writing this is not to give a great in-depth dissertation on the workings of our Government, but rather to spark a little ‘thought’ in folks to think about where we are and where we are going as a Country and what it might mean to us. So without further ado, on to the question:

The question is: Are we, that is The United States of America, a Republic or a Democracy? If you ask the average person, they will probably say a Democracy and they would be right, its sad to say. But we didn’t start out that way. This country started out as a Republic. Actually to be more accurate, a Democratic Republic. Now, lets see what the Dictionary has to say:

de·moc·ra·cy (dĭ-mŏk'rə-sē)
n. pl. de·moc·ra·cies

1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through
elected representatives.

2. A political or social unit that has such a government.

5. 5.The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within
   a community.
   

(I took the liberty to underline certain words in the definition.)

re·pub·lic (rĭ-pŭb'lĭk)

n.

1. a. A political order whose head of state is not a monarch and in
modern times is usually a president.

b. A nation that has such a political order.

c. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of
citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives
responsible to them.

d. A nation that has such a political order.

2. a. A political order in which the supreme power lies in a body of
citizens who are entitled to vote for officers and representatives
responsible to them.

b. A nation that has such a political order.

3. often Republic A specific republican government of a nation: the
Fourth Republic of France.

4. An autonomous or partially autonomous political and territorial
unit belonging to a sovereign federation.

5. A group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field:
the republic of letters.

Which one would you want to belong to?

Now if you look at the two definitions that I have put up, they came from the American Heritage Dictionary, you will find a couple of interesting points. I have underlined them to make them stand out.

The first thing that one notices is that in a Democracy, the people are ruled by the elected representatives. Once they have cast their vote, they don’t have anymore rights! Only privileges given them by the majority and that by the elected representatives.

Now in the Republic, the people never lose their rights. The government is responsible to them. The people are supreme, NOT the government!

So, we come back to the question: Are we in todays world a Republic or a Democracy?

The answer is simple, but not obvious. The Government today operates as a Republic within itself and its members. We the People have been relegated to a Democracy. It hasn’t always been that way.

Our Founding Fathers saw a need for a government that would be subject to the People and not the other way around. By setting up a Democratic Republic and giving the right to bear arms to the people they established a form of government Of, For and By the People. This all came to an end in 1886.

More at a later date...

Well I Can't Believe It! They Do Care!

Well, it looks like I might have to eat a little 'crow'! As I said in my last post, I emailed AdSense and told them about the address thing out here. They emailed me back and said after doing some checking (I don't know what they checked, nor do I care) they agreed to sign me up.

So, hats off to Google and AdSense, maybe they care after all.

Richard

Have You Noticed A New Form Of Discrimination?

Well, here I am again, sending my thoughts, opinions and comments out over the Internet, hoping that someone might see them and comment. But whether they do or don't, it does give us an opportunity to voice our opinions doesn't it?

Anyway, I have found a new form of Discrimination today that seems to hit a few of us. No, I am not talking about 'smoking', they have been discriminating against smokers for a long time now. I am talking about those of us who live in areas where there is no mail delivery. I could be wrong, probably am, but I believe that maybe, just maybe, Homeland Security might have something to do with it. Sure, I know that they are trying to do a good "job" and are "working" hard to "protect" us, (mainly from ourselves, I think, they think or something like that). But here is the thing: I have been running into a problem lately that I haven't had in the past, trying to do business on the internet. Doesn't matter whether I am seeking to purchase something or setting up an account or just getting information, everyone today insists on a physical address!

Now, what is the matter with that? You might ask? Nothing, I have one, don't mind giving it out, but just don't try to mail or ship anything to it! It will never arrive! You know those adds on TV where Mr. Brown (UPS) is going across the desert to deliver a package? Or going through the jungle? Well, forget that here! I live so far out in the desert that even the Vorizon (can you hear me now?) man won't come out here, because he knows that they won't hear him!

The other day, I tried to order a refrigerator from Sears over the Internet. No big deal right? Wrong! I knew that "home" delivery was out of the question, so I opted for in store pickup. I went to check out and they asked me for my credit card information. No Problem. Then they asked for the Billing Address on the Credit Card. Now you wouldn't think that would be a problem, would you? Well, it was! Of course the billing address on my credit card is a Post Office Box Number. It has been for around 10+ years! But they came back with a message that said, " We're sorry, but we can not ship to a Post Office Box" !!!!!!! WHAT DOES SHIPPING HAVE TO DO WITH A BILLING ADDRESS?!? I didn't want them to ship it to my Billing Address, I wanted to pick it up in the store! Well, of course, there was no way to fix the problem over the Internet, so I ended up having to call their main office and after about two hours on the phone, going through this menu and that menu and a couple of people, I finally got my refrigerator ordered. They just couldn't understand that there are some places in this country where there is no home delivery of mail! I have been running into this more and more lately.

Google is the latest one that I have had problems with. You would think that a company as big as they are and that supposedly deals with information, would be better equipped to deal with certain situations. But, it seems that they are not. (I will probably be kicked of of blogger.com when they read this.) I signed up for AdSense. That shouldn't be a problem right? Wrong! They asked me for my mailing address where they would send the checks for all of the money that I would earn, so I gave it to them. Simple right? Well, it would be for you or me, but not them! The sign up procedure just wouldn't work with a PO Box. So, I thought, well, maybe I can figure away around this problem, I will just leave out the PO in front of Box and it should go through. Well it did! Hallelujah! It went right through! So, I have been checking my email everyday, waiting for the reply that would say that I could start putting AdSense up on my website. Well, today I got an email telling me that I have been turned down because I gave a PO Box for a mailing address and that there was no way they could work with me except I give them a physical address for them to send (mail) the checks to me. So, I have to give them credit, they did see 'through' my little ruse!

Ok, I said, no problem, I will just give them a call and explain my situation and surely they can work everything out. Did you know that they do not have a phone number for anyone who can work out this kind of problem? That AdSense, doesn't (or so I was told) have a phone number where you can talk to anybody about a problem? I wonder how Google communicates with them? They told me that I would have to go to such and such an address (url) and look through their help information to find my answer to my problem. Well, maybe I am blind, but I couldn't find one. Do you think that Google never thought of such a problem?

So, I did the only thing left for me to do. I wrote them an email and now I am waiting to see what kind of response, if any that I get back.

I will let you know what they say...

Where Have All the good Writers Gone?

Well, you can rest assured that they are not here! So, at least in the mean time, you have to put up with me. At least on this Weblog! I know that they are out there, I have even seen a few. But what is a good writer? I guess there are as many answers to that question as there are writers. Some people judge a good writer by their ability to hold your attention. That sounds good and reasonable to me. But one might also say that a good writer is known by the content of his or her writing. I have known some people who spend their entire lives reading romance novels. They say that this one or that one is a good writer. But I have to wonder about that. Maybe they can hold the attention of their readers, but what are their readers learning? Writing is like Cooking. Just because it tastes good, doesn’t mean that it is good for you. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good pork chop done on the grill. Or that big juicy porterhouse steak grilled to perfection with a huge baked potato swimming in real butter on the side! YUM! But if I ate that way everyday, I would be bigger than a house! Right now, I am only as big as the garage.

In the end I think it is about content and how that content moves the reader. If it can move the reader to think, then it is good. That is of course assuming that in the process of thinking, the reader learns something that is beneficial to both themselves and others as well. But sometimes I would be happy with just getting some people to think.

Have you ever said to your self, “I wish I had a brain?” Well, I know I have, but then you have to have a brain to say that, don’t you? I guess what I am really saying is, “I wish my brain would kick into some other gear than neutral!” I think brains work better though when you use them. I know mine does, the only problem is, it takes so much energy to get it going. Reading can be one way to get the brain working. Especially when you read something that provokes you to thought.

Have you ever heard the saying: Don’t talk about Religion or Politics? Of course you have, just as I have many times. Isn’t it funny that the two most important topics on this planet are also the two most shunned? There is a reason for that, you know. Reading, talking, even arguing over religion and/or politics is a good way to ‘kick start’ the brain into working. I think that most people have a fear of being rejected, therefore they avoid subjects that they perceive will cause them to be rejected. I have learned over the years, that it is not I that is rejected, but sometimes what I say is. After all, I am a nice guy. Anyone who knows me, would have to like me! (Well, that’s just one opinion.)

But to sum it all up, I would have to say, that in my opinion, a good writer is one who not only keeps the attention of the reader, but one who can provoke others to think. Think for themselves and not just ride along with the wave like a bunch of lemmings running to their death to jump off of the cliff, not even stopping to ask, “Where are we going and what will happen when we get there?”

My Brain Is Hurting!

Just a short little note. I have been working on about five projects in the last few days since my last post and still trying to learn new software! My brain is hurting and everything is starting to run together!

I have been working with Front Page for web design for years and I just got Dreamweaver. Need I say more?

Why do people hate Jury Duty?

I had something happen to me the other day that really got me thinking. Why do people, including myself hate the idea of being called for Jury Duty? I would almost bet if you took 10 people off the street and asked them, nine out of ten of them would tell you that if they were called, they would try to find a way out of it. In fact the number would probably be higher.

Everybody you talk to has an excuse or a ‘reason’ that they wouldn’t want to serve, but I wonder how many of them really know the reason? I think they do in their subconscious mind, but I really doubt if they ever really thought it out and know the real reason. I know I didn’t until just recently.

I guess it started back a couple of months ago. I live out in the desert. It is about 20 miles to the highway and most of that is on very bad roads. Once you get to the highway, its another 65 miles to the County Seat. We I got a summons for Jury duty. Now it was in the middle of our rainy season. Out here in the desert the rainy season can be treacherous. Our road become canals and sometimes can have ravines created in them. There are some people who can’t get out for weeks. Well I called the court house and told them my situation. The Clerk called me back and told me that the Judge said he didn’t care and that if I didn’t show up, there would be a warrant issued on me.

Needless to say, I was just a little p**sed! It is a good thing that I have a big truck with 4 wheel drive. The water was over two feet in some places. Anyway I arrived on time. I got the chance to talk to the Judge and told him about a medical problem that I have (I really do) and he excused me.

The next thing I know my daughter gets a summons and she doesn’t have a car. She called up and told them and the Judge told her that he didn’t care. If she had to walk to the courthouse she better be there or go to jail! Now I am really mad! After all, who does this JERK think he is?

I stayed up all night fussing and fuming over this thing until it finally hit me! It wasn’t the fact that we run a ranch out here and have chores that HAVE to be done! It wasn’t any of the reasons that I had worked through that made me so mad. It all had to do with FREEDOM!

Being called to Jury Duty is the one biggest offense that that the Government has place upon the Citizens of this Country that screams the fact that we are not free!

Here in America everybody ‘prides’ themselves on being free! Well we were years ago, but those days have long since passed away! But at least we can ‘pretend’ that we are free.... until we get that summons calling us to Jury Duty! Then there is no way around it. We can’t pretend any longer. It hits us full in the face! We are not free!

Stay tuned for part two. Why we should want to be a juror.

Rick Davis

Well I Am Back About The Mac!

Well, you might have wondered where I’ve been. (At least one or two of you, lol) I have been very busy the last few days working and playing with my new iMac. I still haven’t gotten in all of the software. Apple messed up with the addressing and left the street address off of every package. I have had to call FedEx on every one of them to keep them from being sent back.

It is 2:33 AM right now. Got up because i couldn’t go back to sleep. I got to thinking about this stupid Judge over in Hudspeth County. My daughter got a summons for jury duty. Well, it is about 70 miles, 30 of which is through the desert. Very rough roads. She doesn’t have transportation and she called up to let them know. He told her he didn’t care if she had to walk all the way, she better show up or go to jail! Sometimes I wonder just who these people think they are? America! Where have you gone? I am trying to keep a Christian attitude about this thing, but I would rather have an ‘Old Testament’ attitude!

Anyway, this is supposed to be about the iMac. Forgive my little rant, please.

I have finally gotten almost all of my ‘stuff’ ported over from the PC. I could have used some of the automatic software that is out there, but I guess I just wanted to do it the hard way. The biggest problem I have had with it, is getting the email program to work right. I don’t know why, but it seems that this has always been one of my biggest problems. I know its simple, because I did it in the past, but it just hasn’t hit home yet. I have gotten some of them to work, but still working on others. Fortunately I loaded on FM Ware Fusion. I didn’t want to spend the $200-$300 it would cost to put a new copy of Microsoft’s Windows XP on it, so I used an old copy of Windows 2000 that I had left over from a computer that bit the
dust. I figure that I paid for the right to use it on ‘one’ computer. So, I am using it on ‘one’ computer.

Anyway, it loaded up in Fusion’s Virtual Computer like a dream. It was very simple and it works grate! So I am using Thunderbird From Mozilla to get most of my email. By using Ypops, I can even get my email off of Yahoo without having to go through a browser. So at least in the mean time I have that problem taken care of, even though it is not really how I want it. But I will figure it out.

I have been playing around with some of the software on it and will be putting up some of my thoughts on it soon. But for now I think I am going to go back to bed and see if I can get some sleep. Got to get up in three hours.

Rick

Well the iMac is in.

Well, the new iMac finally came in yesterday. Better late than never I guess. I was very impressed with the way it was boxed up. Not like any PC that I have gotten before. I had ordered it second day air because I don't like getting computers by ground. I wanted to limit the amount of abuse that it would have to go through. But the way this thing was packed, I wouldn't have had to worry about that. It could have been used as a football in a game between FSU and the Gators and survive with no problem.

I must say that it looks much better in person, than it did on TV or in one of the adds on the Apple site. I was a little concerned about how steady it would be on that little foot they have holding up the iMac. But my concerns were totally unfounded. It is more than sufficient to hold up the computer/monitor. Another thing that I was impressed with is the keyboard. I halfway expected it to be on the flimsy side, but I was wrong. It is amazing how thin it is and yet, I believe it to be the sturdiest keyboard that I have ever used in the last twenty years. (My all time favorite keyboard was on the Osborn Executive Computer, back in the '80's.) The keys take a little getting used to, but they are responsive and precise. All, in all, I give it a +9. The screen? Well, I just can't say enough about it. It is great!

I spent the first day just playing around with it. Other than my iBook, it has been a long time since I worked on a Mac. It sure is good to be back 'home'. I did learn something very interesting, at least to me. One of the things that has always bugged me on the iBook, was the mouse cursor. It was always so small that I had a hard time finding it. On the PC I would just change to a larger size by clicking on the mouse settings in control panel.

Well, after all of these years, I found out that the answer to my cursor problems was even simpler to overcome on the Mac. Just click on system preferences, then universal access, then mouse and just adjust the size! DUH! I wish I had know that a long time ago. lol

Anyway, I really like it. Today I did some real work on it, getting it set up and moving files over from my PC Laptop to the iMac. I will write on that later.

Rick Davis

Today is the Day?

Well, today should be the day that my new iMac comes in. It's about time! It's only a few days late. That wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't paid for second day shipping. But when I go up on the net and read what others have said about getting their new iMacs, I guess I am pretty lucky. Just hope it comes in today. I know that it should, it is sitting at the airport waiting to be delivered. We'll see.

Rick Davis

Boy was I surprised!

Well, I guess all good things have to come to an end! "Well, what are you talking about?" you might ask. Then again, maybe you won't. Anyway, here goes.

I just ordered the brand new iMac from Apple. The top of the line 20" model, maxed out in memory and hard drive. Couldn't wait for it to arrive from California! Right, I get this email telling me it is coming from Shanghai, China! What a surprise! Looking back, I know that it shouldn't have been such a surprise, but for some reason, I just didn't figure Steve Jobs as selling out to the Chinese.

I have owned Apple computers in the past. I had the old Macintosh SE and another one, can't remember now what it was, but newer and better. Its really been a long time since I had one. Then I got a iBook, really like it. But my work always dictated to me that I needed a PC (or so I thought), so I have mainly been using PC's.

Well, to make a long story short, I have finally gotten fed up with PC's or should I say, Microsoft! I am fed up with it crashing every time you turn around, or popping up in the middle of your work telling you it has to do an update or some other thing. I am tired of having to mess with virus checkers and other such stuff.

So, I am making the move back to Mac. hmmm... back to Mac, that rhymes. I will let you know how it works out. I KNOW that you just can't wait!

To bad though, it is made in China! Is anything still made here?

Rick Davis

What is wrong with this Country?

I was sitting here wondering, what I could write about that might stir up some gray matter cells on the internet, when I came up with this question. As I said before, I have many opinions and one of them deals with the state of America!

I could go into a tirade about the Government, Politics, Republicans, Democrats and all sorts of things. Not that it would do any good and besides, there has probably been enough said on those subjects anyway. No, I am going to talk about something else, Religion!

I went up on "Your Dictionary .Com" to see how they defined the word Religion:

n.
1.
a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

"Religion" had been the cause of more wars, misery and death in the world then there are books to write about it.

We are at war today, in part, because of 'Religion'! Just because there are those in our Government and Community that don't want to see it that way, doesn't mean that it isn't true.

Hitler's rise to power, in part was achieved through Definitions Numbers 3 & 4. Millions were killed through his reign, both Jews and Christians, among others. How did things get so out of hand that he was able to get away with what he did for so long? I hope to answer that question along with some more in this writing.

Many people in this country think of Christianity when they hear the word Religion. It is true that Christianity is one of many belief systems that fall under the word Religion but true Christianity is more than a 'Religion' by those terms set above. At least in my opinion. True Christianity is God's Love reaching out to man through Jesus Christ, Men (and women) receiving that Love and reaching out to others with that same Love, through Jesus Christ. Walking forth as He would if He were here. Not to push their own agenda, but His.

Now, this may sound off the point, but bear with me. Did you know that you can't measure cold? Cold is simply the absence of heat. Heat can be measured not cold. Where there is heat, cold flees! Here is another little 'tidbit' for you. Did you know that you can not see darkness? Darkness is the absence of light. Since the eye was created to see light, you can't "see" darkness. You can 'perceive' it but you can not see it. Darkness can not stand in the presence of light! It 'flees' from it. In the same manner, Cold can not stand in the presence of Heat, it too must flee from it! So, you might ask, where is all of this going? That is assuming that you are still reading this and haven't thrown up your hands and said that I am crazy.

God is Light! He is Heat (Love). He is Good! Just as with cold verses heat and darkness verses light, evil can not stand in the presence of good!

Just armed with this little bit of knowledge anyone is able to understand that God is not with the Muslims that are killing, not only Christians, Jews and non-Muslims, but each other! And, if we are to be honest, (I hate this part) if we look at this Country with all of its hatred, one for another, drugs, racism (on both/all sides), murders, Government running rampant over the rights of its Citizens, one must come, in fact has to come to the place where one wonders, Where does God stand with us?

The answer is simple: God doesn't! We see the bumper stickers that say: "God Bless America", but my question is: When do we (America) bless God?

Are you still with me? You haven't left yet?

So, then here is where I tell you what my opinion is as to "What is wrong with this Country".

The problem does not lie with the Government. Nor does it lie with the people. It lies with the Ministers of God accross this Country who claim to represent Him, yet they do not! If they did, then they would be preaching against what is going on in Washington today. They would be telling the truth to their congregations about what sin is and how it kills us. If they loved the people as much as they loved themselves, then you would not see drugs in the streets. Drunken men beating up women. People killing one another. Racisim and all of the other evil things that are going on in the Country today.

As a Christian and a Minister, it is my duty to believe what The Bibles says. One of these things is that the Church is the salt of the earth. Salt holds back corruption. Where there is Salt, there can be no corruption!

Stay tuned for my opinion as to how this all got started with the churches getting where they are today.

Rick Davis

Welcome to My Corner of the Internet

Welcome to my corner of the internet! I am new to this 'blogging' thing, so go easy on me for awhile if you read this.

I will be talking about many things on this site. Some of my subjects will be: Computer, Religion, Music, Politics, just to name a few. (I have a lot of opinions on many subjects, lol)

First a little about myself:

My real name is Richard D. Eutsler, Sr. and I am older than some, but not as old a others. ;)

I was a musician back in the mid '60's to early '70's and went by the stage name of Rick Davis. Last year I started playing again and took back the name of Rick Davis and for whatever reason, I haven't figured it out yet, I have decided to use that name for my blogging.

I live out in West Texas, about 60 miles East of El Paso, way out in the desert. I really love it out here, but just as anywhere, you have your good points and bad.

The picture shows what the place looked like when we got here. No water! No electricity! No real roads! But what it did have was a GREAT view and plenty of quite.

We started out with 80 acres and now have 140. Seemed like a lot to me when we got it, but now, out here, it is just a little postage stamp in the desert.

Some of the great things about living out here is that we don't hear the sound of sirens all night and day! It is very quite and peaceful. We now have electricity, but that is another story for a later time.

Well, for now thats it. I will be telling you more later.

Rick Davis