Unchecked Nationalism usually leads to War.

The renewed proliferation of nuclear weapons cannot be allowed. Please write or call congress and let them know that we do not want our children growing up with the fear we had and that we would like them simply to be allowed to survive. An arms race is not an "America First" policy, it is a recipe for everyone's annihilation. This is the kind of madness that makes Russia our enemy and this is why Democrats said Trump was unfit to have nuclear codes. I am referring to this article from CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/22/politics/donald-trump-strengthen-expand-nuclear-capability

This is serious, this is terrifying, and this is a reversal of nessacary progress towards peace. Unchecked nuclear proliferation in the hands of hard line political strongmen is a possible end to life as we know it. This isn't a partisan issue, this is a human issue and we need to send a strong message to both Putin and Trump on the matter. Unchecked nationalism leads to war and death. Nuclear war could mean death for all or most of us.

Don't Decry Secular Christmas Values

I believe in the idea that Christ is the most important aspect of Christmas, but I refuse to discount or disregard secular Christmas traditions. The whole point of celebrating Christmas so near to pagan and other holidays was to spread the message of Christ by example, not decry older or newer traditions around this time of year. 

The only way to keep Christ in Christmas is to live and act through his teachings, not chastise others. When you lecture people about the meaning of Christmas it only serves to drive them away from Christianity. Keep Christ in Christmas by loving those that don't, not by scolding them. Evangelize through moral and kind actions instead of rhetoric. Let God do good through you so that others may see and benefit from it instead.

Christmas should be a time of unity, not a divisive war on secular or pagan values. Christmas isn't about picking fights with people that have Jewish, Buddhist, Hindi, Agnostic, or even Atheist beliefs. All of us are created equal and if our beliefs aren't infringing on the rights of others they should be respected even if not shared.

Being LBGTQ is NOT a sin!

Christianity Explained

Modern American Nazis

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Geek Central

Invisible Illness

I am one of those people with illness and disability that isn't all that visible by just looking at me. It isn't my fault but I'm treated like it is.First I get the "You don't look sick" comments. Others try to blame my weight, Then they try to blame me for the diabetes until they find out it's type 1. Some assume that I am doing it to myself and that I am currently engaged in bad habits to cause my problems. I'm not, and that is just rude.

Wikipedia has this to say on invisible illness:

Invisible disabilities are chronic illnesses and conditions that significantly impair normal activities of daily living. In the United States, 96% of people with chronic medical conditions show no outward signs of their illness, and 10% experience symptoms that are considered disabling

I have gotten weight loss lectures and the managing type 2 diabetes speeches from people that don't bother to get the whole story more times than I count. Doctors and nurses that stop reading my chart at my weight and diabetes are the worse offenders. They don't realize I'm type 1 and they don't look at the rest of the history before talking to me. They think they have their answer because I'm a fat diabetic and just proceed to the lectures. They don't ask questions and find out that I'm active and eating healthy before they judge and lecture.
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Others are prior co-workers or friends that pipe in with advice when they don't get it. They only know what they see in pop culture and news health reports by ignorant reporters. The colloquial attitudes that dictate diabetes is all the same and caused by eating sugar is what they believe. Here is a clue, I was sick before I was fat, and type 1 isn't the same as 2. It is not preventable or caused by lifestyle issues. Your dietary advice isn't going to cure me and I already exercise more than you.

Putting the fork down and losing weight isn't going to cure my destroyed back that has been through 3 surgeries and is getting worse because I had to have a disc removed., It isn't going to fix my leg after multiple surgeries for a muscle infection. It isn't going to cure the anxiety or depression I have struggled with since I was a skinny active child. It isn't going to cure the fibromyalgia, the wrecked left knee, the degenerative disc disease, the congestive heart failure caused by antibiotics, or the congenital conditions I have. It wont reverse Type 1 Diabetes. I put the damn fork down and got off my butt a long time ago. It helps, but I'm still sick.

These people need to stop judging. I track log and control everything I eat and I am in the gym 3 to 5 times a week when I'm not in a hospital bed. I doubt they could say the same.

Next time you encounter somebody with invisible illness or disability don't judge. It doesn't matter if they look fine, they are not. They didn't do it to themselves so spare the lectures and comments. Have some respect for a change.

Get off your butt and supervise your kids.

Come on folks. I know concussions can be serious, but raising helpless children that can't handle life's smallest bumps and bruises is serious too. As much as current hysteria may dictate, you can't bubble wrap your kids and expect them to grow up to be well adjusted adults.

Apparently a CDC study shows concussions on playgrounds to be on the rise and the equipment being blamed is monkey bars, and swings. Don't do the norm of late and form groups demanding the removal of the equipment. Watch your kids. Maybe teach your kids to watch what they are doing around swings. Another idea, maybe the CDC should spend tax money on more important and less obvious ventures. Kids bumping their heads isn't exactly ground breaking research or news. Dealing with it isn't either.

Okay, maybe some design changes on the equipment wouldn't hurt, but it wont replace parenting. I don't have a problem with parents that choose not to let their toddlers run rampant in the neighborhood unsupervised. Quite the opposite. I know there are tons of "I did __ and I survived" memes online. Yes, I was one of those 4 year old kids playing outside unsupervised and I'm alive and well to tell about it at 40. I was also damn lucky. My playing radius at 4 included a busy apartment parking lot and a neighboring construction site.

Stop wasting tax money. Stop decrying playgrounds, watch your kids!

Marijuana is Unlawful in Every State of the U.S.

I am so sick of pot smokers implying a lot of tripe that I never said. A few pot smokers that I know go ape crap when I point out that despite local laws Marijuana use is still unlawful everywhere in the USA. They need to just back off a little. Pointing out the glaringly obvious federal legal issue looming overhead during an election season is not the same as making statements on whether marijuana use should be unlawful or on it's actual validity as a medication. It isn't a claim that hemp shouldn't be used in manufacturing. It is not a claim that smoking it to get high is it's only use or delivery method.   

I don't with the law. I don't choose not to use it because of the law. Simply put, I choose not to use it because I don't need it and because recreational drug use often leads to addiction and health problems. This is true of Marijuana use as any other drug despite the claims of some users. It's safety compared to alcohol or other drugs isn't the issue. Less harmful for recreational use is still not much of a distinction because recreational use of any drug is harmful enough to be avoided. If I had a condition that was best suited to treatment with marijuana that would be different, but I don't. 

I don't care if you choose to use it or not. Some people have gone off half cocked when I point out the quasi-legal status about denying children with seizures nessacary medication being something I would do. That is rubbish. Pointing out a law isn't the same as supporting it. I wouldn't ever suggest denying a child medication for serious illness. 

If you aren't inflicting it on me or others I don't give a flying frack what you do. I don't support nanny state legislation restricting people's rights for fear of making stupid personal choices that don't affect others. I think it is stupid and unhealthy to use it for recreation but if you aren't getting behind the wheel and killing somebody in a car wreck while high or causing other problems to the public as a result of your drug use I don't give a crap. Go ahead and kill yourself slowly. It's none of my business and I don't want to waste tax money on trying to stop you.

I don't support the current DEA classification and I do believe marijuana has valid medical uses. I'm not starting a fight with pot smokers, but some pot smokers are starting a fight with me with their condescending over reactions and assumptions about my stance on the legality of marijuana use as it stands right now in the USA. I just am just pointing out that what they view as legal could very easily be trampled on at anytime. I am pointing it out because people need to get off their ass and push for change at a federal level as well if they truly want it to be legal.

The federal law is valid from a legal perspective and does supersede the states, even if it is crappy and needs to be changed. The ones going off half cocked at people that point out that it still isn't fixed make themselves part of the problem. All that frustration is being directed to the wrong place. Their dislike of the federal law or lack of compliance where they live isn't the same as it being legal.The claims of a lack of federal police because it is legal are rubbish. I guess they have never heard of the DEA or the FBI that both have offices and officers in their states. Federal agents aren't forcing compliance with federal law at this time regarding marijuana use in some states, but any federal election could put people in office that change that.  I believe recreational use of marijuana is harmful and that the legality is questionable. That doesn't mean I support it being unlawful. Get over it. 

I get told that I'm not educated on the matter and that i need to get my facts straight. Well sorry, but I am educated and I do have my facts straight. I have been told that I don't have any experience or knowledge on the matter and that I just need to shut up. Guess what? I do have a lot of experience and knowledge on this subject. You can't know me, know what I believe, and know what I have done simply because I point out the federal law supersedes local law in this matter. Anybody that graduated or even dropped out of high school in the USA should know this.

I have written to senators, representatives, and other elected officials about getting the DEA classification changed. I have provided donations to organizations pushing for medical and industrial use of the plant. Suggestion that I am compliant because I don't smoke it are rubbish. 

If you don't support the federal law, what have you done for the cause? Using it isn't the same as doing something about the laws. It isn't protest, and it doesn't give you any moral high ground in the matter. Get off your couch, put down the bong and the potato chips. Do something about instead of blasting me for saying it isn't legal.

Upgrade or Switch to a different OS, but don't hold on to an older Windows.

Do you just hate the changes made with Windows 10? Do you dislike the default software, advertising, or UI changes? Well you should probably get over it. Technology changes and computer operating systems are no exception. Holding onto Windows 7 for these reasons are silly.

Holding out for the reasons above won't work very well. It may not be much of an issue yet, but over time you will come to regret it. Especially since the clock is ticking on the free upgrade. I know somebody that held out with Windows 3.11 for Workgroups well into the first decade of this century. Nothing ever worked the way she wanted it to, She was constantly wasting time looking for a work around or compatible 16 bit software to get anything done. She had stuff installed to to give her a Windows 95 type look along and she tried and often failed to run more modern stuff with Win32s. She could have spent that wasted time doing stuff she wanted to do if she had just upgraded. I ended up force upgrading her to Windows XP at some point. I installed third party apps to make it look and feel more like what she liked. She was pissed at first, but when she started using it she was happy with it because everything just worked. I of course made a full backup in case she dug her heels in and wanted it put back the way it was. Fortunately that didn't happen.

I understand this is an extreme example. I realize that Windows 7 is still useful and able to function fine for most people and will for some time still. But with ending support, yes I know you can still get security patches but that is not the same as being a supported product, and the fact that Windows 7 will eventually lose it's usefulness as well as be much less secure, nostalgia isn't a good reason to hold out. It isn't hard to get Windows 10 to look more like what you are used to. Default software and games can be removed or replaced. Advertising can and should be turned off. It's easy. A monkey could do it.

Legitimate reasons to hold out may include hardware compatibility, specialized setups based on Windows 7 that would break with an upgrade (industrial machines controlled by a Windows 7 box, etc...), Privacy issues (even though most but not all are easy to mitigate if you just look at your settings), and specialized software development needs. Even I have had use for old or unsupported operating systems in a few rare instances. I have really a couple old computers that I still have a use for which can not run newer stuff at all or without extreme modification.

I am a strong advocate for Linux, and am in know way a supporter of Windows 10 mind you. I just think that a decision of whether to upgrade should be based on sound facts, not on FUD, not on nostalgia, and certainly not because somebody is to lazy to make a few easy changes to protect privacy and make the UI more suitable.

I think however, that when it comes to Windows 7 you should either upgrade or jump ship to a different OS entirely. Old Microsoft operating systems are not secure and not any better with your privacy than Windows 10. Microsoft has been an expert at mining your data for a couple decades, they just got more aggressive about it recently. If you think you are safer using an older version of Windows, guess again. Also, if you do choose to go to a Linux distribution you will still have to make UI changes and worry about privacy settings in most cases. Ubuntu is a prime example of a Linux distribution that is easy to use but has some privacy issues and some UI issues.