Guest Post: Don't Take Away Someone Else's Rights!

Today's post was written by Patrick Komlofske. Pat is proud to be a devout Catholic, and the most selfless person I know. He is forever giving his time and knowledge to put a smile on other's faces.  You can learn about his recording business, JMJ Communications, here.

Earlier this week I read a Facebook post stating the following:

Don't like gay marriages?  Don't get one..

Don't like cigarettes ?  Don't smoke them..

Don't like abortions?  Don't get one..

Don't like sex?  Don't have it..

Don't like drugs?  Don't do them..

Don't like porn?  Don't watch it..

Don't like alcohol?  Don't drink it..

Don't like guns?  Don't buy one..

Don't…like your rights taken away??? Don't take away someone else's.

{re-post if you agree}

I've held back a reply because I wanted to think about it.  At first, I wanted to comment: Don't like your parents?  Don't listen to them..  Don't like authority?  Don't respect it.  I thought that I might forget about it, but for several days I kept thinking about how disturbing some of this is.  Then I thought,  "Why am I so closed minded?"

I am an individual that truly loves our Lord.  As the southern bible belt would say; "I accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior".  For the last 20 years I have gained much education from studying beliefs of other denominations and that of my own Roman Catholic faith.  Since 1995, I have owned a recording business where I go to conferences, record their talks, then mass produce them on the spot for others to share.  While I am more informed than many, I am still no expert.  Each event I learn some very profound lessons, and meet many other people who love the Lord as much as I do.  So from that point of view, I thought the words above are words slamming the same morals that most religions try to instill in others.

After some prayer about this, and some objective thought, I am more at ease about it.  I don't see it as a slam on religion because the Church does not write laws, nor does it enforce them.  Every denomination simply educates people on what is right and wrong.  Yes, some ministers will become vigilantes, and try to take the law into his own hands, but that is the exception and not the norm.  It's our political lawmakers who write laws, and who have a means of enforcing the rights we all have.  Thus, the objective side of me says; So since I am not politically correct, and have a more open mind....  Maybe we should change some of our laws.

Don't like drugs and alcohol...  Why not.  People strung out on drugs and too much alcohol have a change in behavior.  They do stupid stuff, and sometimes it adds great humor to our day.  The good part when they are too strung out they don't remember anything.  Don't like them in your face?  Beat the crap out of them..  (we got rights too).  Sure they get behind the wheel of a car, and bad things happen.  That's why I have insurance.  I am ready for a newer car anyway.

Don't like Sex and Porn...  It's only the churches that say don't do it.  Maybe they grab their reasoning from flim-flam, certainly whatever credible basis they use has no reasoning.  It's kind of weird that most denominations (Christian and non Christian) find this to lead to trouble.  What's funny is society wants to smack the Church for all it does.  But again, the Church only informs what is right and wrong.  It does not set or enforce law.  So what's the harm with it, it hurts no one, correct?  Maybe all the people (married and unmarried) with hurt feelings when their partner interacts with another need to learn to chill out and quit being so closed minded.

Don't like abortions?...  People want to be able to choose for themselves.  Perhaps rights should be extended for parents to have this choice for one additional trimester - the fourth trimester.  Maybe after the blob of tissue has come from the womb that people should be able to choose to keep it.  Perhaps it has Downs Syndrome or some other (birth) defect.  Maybe the fetus was black and both husband and wife were white (daddy just found out that mama likes the mail man too, but that's ok, no one should take that right away from her), and they just don't want to keep the child.  They should be able to perform the procedure on that blob of tissue.  Yea, I know some would see it different, but I see it this way.  You take a woman in labor.  Do a sonogram on her, snap some pictures of the tissue.  Then hours later, take that same tissue, wrap it up in a towel, put in a backpack for a few minutes, take another sonogram of the backpack, shoot the same series of pictures, then compare them.  The only difference will be the umbilical cord will be shorter, the rest of the tissue will look the same.  So if someone wants the choice to terminate a pregnancy so be it, if at a later time the only thing that changed in the delivery is time, then it should be their right to a forth trimester to try it out.  What can it hurt?

Don't like gay marriages?  What a quandary of mixed emotions.  This is a "sexual behavior".  Why in the world do our law makers want to rule on what people do in the bedroom.  You hear the church say "hate the sin, not the sinner".  The issue of same sex attraction is not necessary the sin, but what they do with this behavior that becomes sin.  But, people say we need to separate the church and state.  The same goes with separating sex from state.  Don't discriminate someone because of their orientation.  However, do gays need special rights and their own "hate-crime" laws?  As long as my rights and privileges are not taken away because of someone else's sex behavior.  If I get denied from a job offer because I don't fill their quota of x then my choices are not being met.  If people can tease or educate me because I am a Christian White Heterosexual Male, then I have the right to tease or educate non Christians, non whites, women, or non-Heterosexual people.

The list can go on and on.  Our country is full of people who want to make choices, and when they don't get their way, we claim their rights are taken away.  Teenagers are in a difficult time of their life.  Their minds are becoming brighter every day, and they long to becoming adults so they can make their own choices.  They rebel at the idea of adults, especially parents, making decisions for them.  It's like we shoot them down at every opportunity, yet we correct and guide them because we have learned the hard way, and want them to avoid the same mistakes we made.  But, parents need to rule and guide even if they come across as being not too bright.  I got to agree that some laws are just stupid.  In Kansas, you are obligated to wear a seat belt in a vehicle with 4 steel walls around you, but you are not required to wear a helmet if your riding a motorcycle.  The Church does a good job on getting proper morals out, and many people advocate to our law makers that they write laws to enforce these morals.  I guess we need to step back and be more objective about both sides of an issue.  Ask ourselves, who do people feel it should be right to remove restrictions to drug and alcohol use?  They have a good point of view if we would just consider it.  Then to, why do the law makers take these rights away - maybe their point of view has some merit.  Where do churches get the audacity to preach what they preach?  Could they have any credibility?  Could all their studies and research of the early church fathers mean anything at all? 

The above posting is a good philosophical debate students go round and round with in philosophy classes.  Unfortunately, the ones who get persecuted are the churches.  It's not just atheist against Christian.  It's not just Jew against Catholic, it goes from denomination to denomination, from agnostics to doctors of the faith.  God has given all of us a brilliant mind, and a freedom of will.  We all have good intentions.  Maybe we should just say rather than me being "Roman" Catholic, I should just say that I am "Patrick" Catholic, because my theology is comprised of phrases of "I think we should....", or "In MY opinion they should...", or "It is MY choice that government has to...".  King Henry did not like his bishop telling him he can't have multiple wives so he started his own religion.  Today there are more than 14,000 different protestant religions because all are in disagreement with their choices. In my own denomination, I for one, differentiate between "Roman" Catholic's and "American" Catholics.

For all the law makers and everyone reading this; I will close with an invitation to dig a little deeper on your beliefs.  Your opinion is good, but if it is only based on emotions, then dig a little deeper.  I know I don't have a strong foothold on faith and reason so I have to turn to someone with philosophers who have dedicated their life to study of this.  I know I don't understand the bible as it was written so I turn to a church who have experts in theology, who go back to the original languages of the text, and the tradition of the times.  People who studied all the early writings and traditions of the early church.  I surrender to the believe in the Catholic Church.  I am "Roman" Catholic because I yield and try to follow the teachings of the Holy Father on Faith and Morals, and stand with the authority of the bishops.  I feel they have exhausted studying the same principles I am looking for, so why try to reinvent the wheel?

Music Sunday: Cascada Song List

Cascada is a Eurodance pop group most famous for hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate The Dancefloor".  The wildly successful German band is composed of DJ Yanou, DJ Manian, and Natalie Horler.  English-German Natalie Horler is the lead singer of Cascada, and the band name has become synonymous with her.  Her effervescent, witty personality is a breath of fresh air in an era of vapid celebrities.  Here's an example of what I mean...

In no particular order...

1. Evacuate the Dancefloor

2. Everytime We Touch

3. Pyromania

4. What Hurts The Most

5. Last Christmas

6. San Francisco

7. Dangerous

8. What About Me

9. Miracle

10. Truly, Madly, Deeply

Happy Birthday: Why Do We Celebrate Birthdays?

Why do we celebrate our birthdays?  Today is my birthday, and admittedly, I am excited to spend time with my family.  Each year, it feels special when my family takes a day to remember and appreciate what I mean to them.  We generally enjoy dinner at a restaurant of my choice.

Birthdays allow us to look at ourselves within the context of society.  Our laws have imposed age limits on nearly everything- 18 to vote, 21 to drink alcohol legally, 62 to receive Social Security benefits.  Some cultures show great respect to the elderly.  In my view, there is something wrong with this perception of age.  Our birthdays are meant to remember the day we came into this world.  If we view birthdays as a stepping stone to benefits, we lose sight of the significance surrounding the celebration of life.

Each birthday, we wonder if we have accomplished enough given our age, whether we are ahead or behind the predetermined pace.  Abraham Lincoln said it well--"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years."

When we are young, it becomes exciting to advance to the next year because, on the surface, age is associated with increased freedom.  When old, we wish the years would pass more slowly because we begin to realize we only have a limited amount of time on this planet.  In his short work "On Old Age", Seneca discusses our perceptions of time and existence.  As he grows older, Seneca realizes he had developed the habit of thinking about his life with regret at the loss of promise and opportunity.  Then, he reminds himself that young men ought to think of death just as much as old men.  Each day we wake up, he writes, is a gift.  Time takes on a different meaning when we view it as a gift rather than a resource.  

This birthday, I will attempt to view time as a gift, not a commodity.  Even though life can be difficult and hard to accept, the time we have is not something we own.  We were given life completely independent of our will.  Perhaps we can all respect life as an immeasurable, unquantified gift and protect it from the effort to transform it into a commodity.

Dispatch 7/15/11

7:58 A.M.  Still in bed on a peaceful Friday morning.  This past week has been interesting.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 came out in movie theaters.  I believe that is the last Harry Potter movie.  I have not seen any HP movies since the second one, so I'll rely on reviews before I actually catch this flick.  The first book was published way back in 1996.  15 years later, the final movie hits theaters.  The British Open is under way, but Kansas City legend Tom Watson is tied for 59th place heading into the second day.

The FBI opened an investigation into whether Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation attempted to hack into the telephones of victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.  I wonder what will happen if the allegations are proven true.  The government shutdown in Minnesota is expected to end very soon.  Democrat Governor Mark Dayton and the Republican legislature have reached a compromise on the state's budget gap.  A documentary called "The Undefeated" about the rise of Sarah Palin into national politics premiered in the last couple weeks, but it is only showing at a select few AMC theaters.  I'd be interested to see the hatemongering Sarah Palin had to endure.  I'd be willing to bet Tina Fey's impersonations of Ms. Palin on Saturday Night Live barely scratch the surface of the pop culture beat down of the former Vice Presidential candidate.  California governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring public schools in the state to teach students about the historical contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.

I've been thinking about expanding Joe's Musings into a couple more realms.  The possibility of podcasts, radio shows, and Youtube videos are all ideas I have considered.  There's nothing wrong with the blog, but I'd like to expand into different forms of media.  I'll keep you posted if I make a decision regarding this.

Thanks for reading,

Joe Viviano

What's Amazing

You know what’s amazing?  Right now, millions of media gurus are utilizing blogs, forums, podcasts, and wikis to voice their opinion to the world.  “Open source” projects like Wikipedia and Linux have taken mass collaboration to a whole new level.  The way communication has been revolutionized in just the past decade is nothing short of phenomenal.  Websites such as Facebook, Youtube, flickr, Pandora, Skype and many more have become commonplace in the English vernacular.   

For centuries, companies did business without the assistance of the Internet.  Now, you won’t find many companies without an online presence.  Almost all businesses have embraced the rise of the Internet and the Web 2.0 as a means to do e-commerce.  Clusters of businesses participate in a intercollaborative enterprise to maximize profits and ensure customer satisfaction.  Billions of connected individuals can now actively take part in purchasing, wealth creation, and social media.    

MP3 music files are now pirated and downloaded instead of bought and sold in the form of CDs or cassettes.  There is an endless plethora of information at our fingertips, but it is impossible for one human being to access all of it.  Blogs are becoming a highly regarded source of information for many people.  Independent citizen journalists can now report the news and give their insights on current events and pretty much anything for that matter.  

New media is particularly fascinating because they have created a virtual community previously unknown to us.  Millions of individuals can now cocreate products and access markets and information.  That concept just blows my mind.   

Warren Buffett's 10 Rules from Jimmy John's

Last Thursday, I made my ritualistic visit to Jimmy John’s for a double provolone slim and a B.L.T.  I’ve learned many things in my business courses, but I noticed a sign in Jimmy Johns that make me think about business and investing outside the classroom.  As you might know, Jimmy Johns has epic signs, many of which are humorous.  However, this sign contained Warren Buffet’s 10 Rules, and I believe you should carry this valuable list in your wallet or purse so you can reflect upon it from time to time.  

No. 1: Reinvest Your Profits
When you first make money, you may be tempted to spend it. Don’t. Instead, reinvest the profits. Buffett learned this early on. In high school, he and a pal bought a pinball machine to put in a barbershop. With the money they earned, they bought more machines until they had eight in different shops. When the friends sold the venture, Buffett used the proceeds to buy stocks and to start another business.

No. 2: Be Willing to Be Different
Don’t base your decisions upon what everyone is saying or doing. When Buffett began managing money in 1956 with $100,000 cobbled together from a handful of investors, he was dubbed an oddball. He worked in Omaha, not on Wall Street, and he refused to tell his partners where he was putting their money. People predicted that he’d fall, but when he closed his partnership 14 years later, it was worth more than $100 million.

No. 3: Never Suck Your Thumb
Gather in advance any information you need to make a decision, and ask a friend or relative to make sure that you stick to a deadline. Buffett prides himself on swiftly making up his mind and acting on it. He calls any unnecessary sitting and thinking “thumb-sucking.”

No. 4: Spell Out the Deal Before You Start
Your bargaining leverage is always greatest before you begin a job – that’s when you have something to offer that the other party wants. Buffett learned this lesson the hard way as a kid, when his grandfather Earnest hired him and a friend to dig out the family grocery store after a blizzard. The boys spent five hours shoveling until they could barely straighten their frozen hands. Afterward, his grandfather gave the pair less that 90 cents to split.

No. 5: Watch Small Expenses
Buffett invests in business run by managers who obsess over the tiniest costs. He once acquired a company whose owner counted the sheets in rolls of 500-sheet toilet paper to see if he was being cheated (he was). He also admired a friend who painted only the side of his office building that faced the road.

No. 6: Limit What You Borrow
Buffett has never borrowed a significant amount – not to invest, not for a mortgage. He has gotten many heartrending letters from people who thought their borrowing was manageable but became overwhelmed by debt. His advice: Negotiate with creditors to pay what you can. Then, when you’re debt-free, work on saving some money that you can invest.

No. 7: Be Persistent
With tenacity and ingenuity, you can win against a more established competitor. Buffett acquired the Nebraska Furniture Mart in 1983 because he liked the way its founder, Rose Blumkin, did business. A Russian immigrant, she built the mart from a pawnshop into the largest furniture store in North America. Her strategy was to undersell the big shots, and she was a merciless negotiator.

No. 8: Know When to Quit
Once, when Buffett was a teen, he went to the racetrack. He bet on a race and lost. To recoup his funds, he bet on another race. He lost again, leaving him with close to nothing. He felt sick – he had squandered nearly a week’s earnings. Buffett never repeated that mistake.

No. 9: Assess the Risks
In 1995, the employer of Buffett’s son, Howie, was accused by the FBI of price-fixing. Buffett advised Howie to imagine the worst- and best-case scenarios if he stayed with the company. His son quickly realized the risks of staying far outweighed any potential gains, and he quit the next day.

No. 10: Know What Success Really Means
Despite his wealth, Buffett does not measure success by dollars. In 2006, he pledged to give away almost his entire fortune to charities, primarily the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He’s adamant about not funding monuments to himself – no Warren Buffett buildings or halls. “When you get to my age, you’ll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That’s the ultimate test of how you lived your life.”

Movie Review: Horrible Bosses

I haven’t seen a decent comedy in theaters for quite some time.  I endured Bridesmaids and Bad Teachers, both of which are mediocre, but not uproariously funny.  However, I caught Horrible Bosses recently, and I must say, I was pleasantly impressed.  The flick features an all-star cast comprised of Charlie Day from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Colin Farrell, Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, and Kansas City’s own Jason Sudueikis.  Horrible Bosses is a raunchy, foul-mouthed, black comedy that will appeal to anyone who has ever suffered from an unbearable supervisor at work.  The film draws comedic elements from Office Space, The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Bad Santa.  All in all, it contains far more plot than most R-rated laughapaloozas.  

Nick (Bateman) is a hardworking employee hoping to receive a promotion to be the company’s vice-president.  After busting his backside for 8 years, Bateman is infuriated to learn the venomous, sadistic president Dave Harken (Spacey) will also be taking over the responsibilities of vice-president.  When Bateman threatens to quit, Spacey’s character threatens him with a career-killing letter of nonrecommendation and blackmail.  

Nick’s friend Dale (Charlie Day) works as a assistant to an incredibly attractive, but perverse dentist (Jennifer Aniston), who frequently requests HR-violating sexual favors of Dale despite the fact he is engaged and even when a gassed-up, passed-out patient in the room.  

Another friend named Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) loves his job as an accountant at a chemical manufacturing company until his boss (Donald Sutherland) dies of a sudden heart attack.  Sutherland’s corrupt, coke head son (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell) takes over the company and his first order of business is to terminate any overweight or crippled employees.  The son has absolutely no business acumen and no sense of style or social graces- Kurt described his dwelling as Sharper Image throwing up.  

So while venting about their miserable jobs at dinner one night, these three friends fantasize about what life would be like without their bosses.  Predictably, this hypothetical, happy hour scenario becomes a reality when they hire a hitman (Jamie Foxx) who ends up being a “murder consultant”.  From there, Horrible Bosses becomes a hilarious series of blunders as Kurt, Dale, and Nick plot, re-plot, then chicken out of proposed murder plans.  Deciding each boss could meet with a fatal “accident”, the guys plan the perfect crime, and then fail at every point along the way.  The three experience a transformation from middle-class, everyday guys to novice hitmen seeking advice from Jamie Foxx’s character.

There is nothing realistic about Horrible Bosses, and I don’t think the filmmakers expected the audience to believe the story.  It is meant as a outlandish comedy for individuals who have worked 9-5 jobs under an overbearing boss.  Kurt, Nick, and Dale resemble the Three Stooges, especially when they start smacking each other around for stupidity.  The film also explores a rarely discussed issue- sexual harassment in the workplace instigated by female employees.  Men harassing women is looked down upon nowadays, but wow seriously would a complaint to HR be taken if a Jennifer Anistonesque woman was the offender?


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