Life, like Elections, is busy

I haven't been updating this as frequently as I wanted to, which is frustrating, but when you have a life outside of the internet frustration happens constantly.

I have been (sort of) following the election. On the Democrat side it seems as though Edwards is not going to go anywhere. He hasn't won a single primary, plus he has actually lost ground over the last two weeks. So it's basically a Clinton/Obama race for the rest of the time. Super Tuesday is basically going to tell everyone who's going to be the nominee.

I also forgot to talk about a few primaries, like Michigan and Nevada, but Michigan was a pathetic race, considering that they didn't even put Obama and Edwards on the ballot (which caused 40% of the voters to case their vote as undecided). I'm happy that they took away Michigan's delegates, because their whole primary was BS. As for Nevada, it was interesting how Obama and Clinton got the same number of delegates, other than that, I didn't really watch it that closely.

South Carolina's Democratic Primary is on Saturday, but I'm not going to watch much of it so I can study for classes :( Oh well, I'll look up the results later.

On the Republican side, Fred Thompson finally dropped out. He barely didn't anything besides look half dead during the debates anyway.

Romney is ahead of the pack, although McCain is finally gaining some headroom. Thankfully Huckabee is fading away. I just don't understand why I really don't like any of the Republican candidates. I'm trying to keep an open mind about them, but each time I tried to do that, I hear something they have said or promoted, and I feel completely grossed out. One of these days I'm really going to write exactly why I don't like most of them (including Giuliani and Ron Paul), but that's going to have to wait for awhile.

Speaking of Mr. Paul, on Tuesday I had a discussion about him with my University's student body president, who I will name C (for privacy issues). C and I were discussing various election topics when the Ron Paul subject came up. C is actually a supporter or Paul, but when I told him that I didn't like him, of course he asked why.

Well, I'll avoid completely spoiling my future blog, but one of the (I will admit shallow) reasons that I don't like Ron Paul is his "fan boys", the stalker like parasites that plague the internet. Although these "fan boys" want every opportunity for Ron Paul to win, they don't understand that others may have serious concerns about his policy making and political alliances. If they find out you don't like him, they go on the offensive and play stupid games. But, it seems as though none of them are even showing up to the plate when it comes to voting, which is rather pathetic, considering how "so much better" Paul is supposed to be above everyone else.

Although I do admit that I like a few of his policies (which I will discuss later), I would not like it one bit if by some miracle he became president. But that's just me.

'Free Will'?

I avoided talking about 'free will' in my last post just because it is a cop out to me. Yet after thinking about it, I'm now incline to do so.

Having the knowledge of something existing doesn't take away your 'free will'. You still have the option not to worship the deity. For instance, explain to me why Lucifer in the Christian tradition decided to rebel when he knew God existed and would (according to the bible) eventually be defeated at the end? His knowledge didn't destroy his free will. In fact, I have read that some sects of Christianity believe that Lucifer and all other angels in the Christian Heaven do not have 'free will'. Now, does that really make sense?

Another small example is Adam and Eve. According to the creation story, God created Adam during one of the seven days. Adam was "perfect" in every way, and was the mirror image of God. God then created Eve so that Adam will have a partner. Adam and Eve were innocent, and didn't know of anything impure. Somehow along the way God decided to tell them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge or else they will 'die'.

Eventually, Eve is seduced by the serpent/"Satan" (in some beliefs) and the Earth fall (and yet live for 930 years, ummm... yeah, I will ignore that for now). When I read that, a several questions come into my head, but since this is focus on 'free will' I will only ask those questions.

1) The Christian God, for a large majority of Christian believers, is "Omni-max": an all-knowing, all-powerful creator who is able to create a universe. So, by those standards, you would expect that he knew Adam and Eve would disobey his rule and mess themselves and everyone else in the planet up for the rest of history). So why does he seem to get angry about it? Do people actual have 'free will' if God knows already what is going to happen to everyone? Calvinist belief suggest that only a select few will be chosen to go to heaven regardless of what a person does in this life. So, if you believe that to be true, that means that nothing we do matters, because in the end of the day God knows who the "selected" ones will be and no one can change that

2) Did Adam and Eve actually have 'free will? They were completely void of knowledge of anything good and bad. Until they ate from the tree of knowledge, they actually wouldn't be able to understand that eating the fruit was a 'bad' thing. Did God inherently give Adam and Eve some sort of compass beyond what we currently understand to measure "positive" and "negative" effects of actions?

Adam and Eve were basically toddlers when they were in the Garden of Eden. Children do not have the inherent knowledge of what is good or bad to the society that they are raised in. As they mature they are taught how what do so that they could be the 'best' citizen in their environment. Adam and Eve were not taught this knowledge. It's like when a toddler is told by his or her parents to not eat a cookie out of a jar. If it is accessible, there is a large chance that they will do it. Yet, a parent usually finds a sensible finite punishment so that the child will learn not to do that again.

Is it sensible that the punishment for eating a fruit be damnation of every single person on the Earth? I honestly cannot fathom if that is the case.

So, does free will actually exist? Should it be applied when discussing religion? I don't know if I can answer that. But, I do think that it is a cop out, which unabated could unfortunately sidetrack a religious discussion when other topics could be used to defend the need for faith.

New Hampshire and the future

I'm pretty sure no one reads this (yet?), but as you can see from below, I was not able to write about the New Hampshire Debate (Republican side was pretty boring, the Democrat side was a wee bit better), or about Ron Paul. I write about the former eventually.

The New Hampshire primary was as interesting as a primary can get. Hillary Clinton won by about three percentage points over Obama, which surprised everyone online even though she was ahead in the polls before the primary for 360 out of 365 days in that state. On the Republican side McCain won, which made me happy only because it kept Romney and Huckabee from winning. Up next is South Carolina, followed by Nevada and Florida. I'm not really that excited for them to tell the truth. "Super Tuesday", a.k.a. February 5 has much more of my interest. But that's still a few weeks away.

I still haven't decided who I want to give my vote to. The catch-22 about this is that I live in Texas, which is a Red state through and through. Even if I vote for a Democrat (which is what I am leaning towards right now), there is a gigantic chance that it will mean nothing at all. I don't care though, I'm still voting because it is my right to do so.

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Since I didn't write in depth about the election, instead I will focus the rest of this blog on my other major interest: religion, particularly my inability to believe.

True Skepticism

Sometimes (actually, make that a lot of the time) I wonder if believing in some sort of "higher power" would be better for me. I have tried to do before, pray for a miracle to happen so I could pass a test, hope a relative or even someone I don't know gets better, earnestly try to hope that God would do something for me just so I could even understand how people believe. But, honestly, it hasn't happened.

I have read blogs from my various acquaintances about their new devotion for God, and every time I wonder "why won't that happen to me?" It's not like I'm not wanting it to happen. I am opened minded about anything. However, I also need to see evidence. I know that's the reason why I cannot believe. I can't take things on blind faith. I want to and need to know the reason why something exist.

Everyday I read about things, from sciences, to politics, to even celebrity gossip. I don't understand everything, yet I continue to do so. Through this knowledge I grasp, I piece together any meaning of my existence. Including the God dilemma.

I can't say that an omnipotent, omnipresent spiritual being who somehow existed without the help of a outside force created a universe out of nothing ever existed. However, if one day I somehow was able to compensate for that creation story, or anyone else's creation story, I might be able to believe. But I need proof. That's all I am asking, and quite frankly, if a being is so powerful, he/she/it should be able to provide me with something powerful enough to blow my mind. If that occurred, there won't be a need for skepticism whatsoever.

Is that selfish of me to say? Is it selfish for me to ask? I want to know.

Suggestions for a popular conservative/liberal blog or news feed

Ok, I will admit that I am a political newbie, and that I'm too lazy to look for some popular (or even obscure) news websites or blogs I can read. If you have any that you enjoy, please tell me. I currently read news stories from Dugg.com, DailyKos.com and sometimes CrooksandLiars.com, but obviously that isn't exactly bias.

Since I know a "neutral" website doesn't exist, I would like to read stuff from both sides. I would especially like to read from some popular blogs, since I like reading from blogs for some reason or another that I don't really want to explain at this time.

Anyway, please give me some suggestions. Oh, and sometime within the next 48 hours I might post something about yesterday's New Hampshire debate and/or Ron Paul. But I really don't want to promise it though, so I won't.

Wrapping my brain around the Iowa Caucus results

I've been thinking about what to say about them in a condensed manner, but I have been drawing a big blank.

But after watching the results this evening and reading about some of the candidates, I do have a few things to say.

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1) I really do not like all of the candidates on the Republican side. Including "Internet favorite" Ron Paul.

2) Conservative Republicans should be worried about Huckabee and his ability to draw in Christian supporters. I honestly believe that a large majority of Christians are smart, intelligent people, but if Huckabee gets into office, it would be Bush 2.0.

Huckabee is not pretending that he supports most of the Conservative Republican's stances (i.e.: conservative economic stance) except for the social conservatism that was adopted by the GOP to get the religious vote. Religion and government should never been tied together like it is right now. There are ways to be "morally" correct in the government without entrenching religion along with it.

3) Over the break I have researched Ron Paul, and although I agree with a few of his stances, I will not vote for him and I doubt that he will get the Republican nomination. I'm too lazy (and tired) to link to stuff I have read on him but within the week I will write about how unfit for the presidency I have found him to be.

4) I still have no idea who I want to vote for, but I really like Edwards and Obama. All of the Democratic nominees seen decent which is surprising to me (because it seems as though in every election I have read about there is one random/"wacky" candidate on each side, and I haven't really found that one on the Democratic side 'yet').

5) I read that the youth turnout for the Iowa Caucus has almost tripled (from 4% in 2004 to 11%). I'm excited that people in my/our age range are coming out to vote, and I hope everyone I know decides to vote during the primaries and eventually the general election regardless of who you are rooting for.
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I'm starting to get really excited about this election. This is the first time I will be able to vote in a presidential election (since I was underage during the 2004 election), and I want to be completely informed about the potential candidate I want to be in office. Although my mind is still pretty undecided, I'm pretty turned off from the Republican side right now.

I'm would love a fiscal conservative type of government, but I have slowly learned that this vision is not possible in the age of the global community. There are other issues that I really fight for now:

- Church/State Separation
- Proper science education in schools
- Proper use and execution of the Constitution pertaining to law creation and enforcement.

I know that I won't get the perfect candidate, but I want someone who will at least fit into some of my requirements. However, none of the Republican candidates are close to my thinking at this time.

::yawn:: I think I'm done for tonight. I'm probably going to write more of this during the course of the election, so look out.

(If you agree or disagree with me with any of my points, please tell me. I would love some feedback.)

A little introduction of sorts. I am a Junior majoring in both English and Computer Science at a middle of the road University (but growing) in the lovely state of Texas.

I have lived in Texas longer than I have lived elsewhere, and I believe that it isn't as bad as people make it out to be (although I understand why it has gotten such bad press).

I am a novice political activities observer. I am currently a Independent and will avoid deciding who I will vote for until I know I have found a person that I am comfortable with. I am an Agnostic Atheist. I am African American. Yet these factors do not completely control who I am or who I am willing (or not willing) to vote for on November 4 and beyond.

This blog is to explore some of my issues and concerns about the United States political environment, along with my passions of religion topics and Church/State Separation issues. And sometimes I will even include social issues which appear on my radar.

My opinions probably won't be the most original. Yet I hope that by writing this blog and gaining feedback by others I will be able to show a full perspective of my present and future thoughts on religion and politics. I will also try to include plenty of sources to back up my statements just encase you want to fact check my findings.

Now let the fun begin.