Watch the short video on How SOPA Breaks The Internet on Joost de Valk’s website that explains why SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is a BAD IDEA for the Internet and freedom around the world. When you check Joost de Valk’s About Me page you will see that Joost is a major contributor to the Internet and is highly respected.

You can also click on the “Stop SOPA” ribbon in the upper right-hand corner of this screen for more information.

House takes Senate’s bad Internet censorship bill, tries making it worse should also be read to get a better idea of how draconian this censorship attempt really is.

It took me many years to sort out how I felt about this question. Years ago I listened to both sides of the argument before finally realizing that life without parole is much preferable to the death penalty, no matter how horrible the crime. I would like to share some of the insights behind that conclusion that is even more relevant today.

1. No matter how we feel about the crimes committed, it is clear that many mistakes have been made over the years where people have been sentenced for crimes that they did not commit. Not a year goes by without someone being let out of prison after evidence is uncovered that proves they really were innocent. Some have been locked away for years before being proved innocent. Although there is no way to know for sure how many, but it is obvious that some have been put to death who were innocent. Our system of justice is imperfect, no matter how many safeguards we try to put in place.
2. Some will argue that the death penalty is the ultimate punishment. But this argument is usually made from the perspective of people who have never served time in a rough prison environment. Stop and think  about this for a moment. If your objective is to punish the offender, what do you think is the greater punishment: being put to death or having to live in a tough prison environment without an option for parole? Wouldn’t you rather the offender have the rest of their life in a very restricted environment to think about what they have done wrong?
3. I won’t try to present the numbers, but anyone paying attention will realize that the death penalty is far more expensive in terms of overall average costs than life in prison. Years of appeals are always in order and often reach the steps of the Supreme Court. Even in New Mexico with our sparse population the Public Defender Department estimates that reinstating the death penalty could cost the state millions of dollars extra in increased court costs.
4. You often hear that the threat of the death penalty can deter the most violent crimes. Yet again this argument is usually made from the point of view of law abiding citizens. The criminal doesn’t expect to get caught, so this argument really doesn’t hold water.
5. You also hear the argument that the death penalty brings closure for victims and their families, but this usually doesn’t turn out to be the case. I have seen enough reported evidence over the decades to realize that angry victims are still angry after the death penalty has been carried out and they still haven’t found closure.
6. Although most prison systems are a harsh environment, it is important to realize that even some of the people who have committed the most horrible crimes eventually come around to realize the error of their ways and then try to do their best to make amends. Shouldn’t they have the opportunity to work out the error of their ways while they are still on this earth?

You will notice that I didn’t invoke any religious arguments. No matter which religion or which religious argument is used, there is always someone who can present a counter argument from that same set of religious beliefs.

So in the end, no system of justice on this earth can get it right every single time. Since it is obvious that mistakes have been made and innocent people put to death and supporting the death penalty is more expensive, why not settle for life in prison without parole instead? At least then we can reverse errors when they do occur, but if the innocent person has already been put to death it is too late.

Although I have never belonged to a union, when I graduated from college with a B.S. in Physics, I worked at the Crane Naval Ammunition Depot in Indiana for two years and saw first hand some of the negative implications resulting from union rules and working for the government. I subsequently worked in the high-tech industry for many years and could tell you many stories associated with unions and government bureaucracy to illustrate my concerns, but that will have to wait for another time.

The following quote is from a software developer I know who lives in California. It illustrates the cozy relationships developed over many years between public sector unions and Democrats that is no longer financially sustainable. It ties in very nicely with why Wisconsin Governor Walker has a huge fight on his hands and needs to win. I am sure you can appreciate why I will not identify my friend.

<begin quote> Gov. Walker wants to decrease the power of the public sector unions and has said as much. In fact he campaigned and was elected on the basis of this issue among others. While it’s hard to find good information I believe the following to be true.

1. The current bill would still allow public employees to belong to a union and collectively bargain for wages but not benefits. Presumably they could bargain for non-monetary working conditions but I could find nothing on this issue.

2. The unions did agree to wage and benefit concessions.

3. Nothing in the bill would affect private sector unions.

Let me shed some light on the issue of public employee unions from the perspective of a person, me, who was a public employee for 30+ years and who has benefited greatly from the cozy relationship between public employee unions and Democrats.

When I became a cop in 1973 I joined the union. A small portion of my dues went to a state “union”. During my 30+ years Democrats controlled both houses of the California legislature and always a majority of the local city council. The public employee unions have done a very good job of keeping Democrats in power.

In 1973 I paid almost 10% of my salary towards my pension. My pension was to be equivalent to 75% of an average of my last three years salary. I also contributed to my healthcare (medical & dental) benefits but I don’t remember the amount. Over the years my local union worked hard to get sympathetic candidates elected to the local city council as well as the state legislature. The same was true of the state “union”. The union even raised our dues in order to have more money to spend on elections.

The result was during my 30+ years I went from paying almost 10% of my salary toward my pension to paying nothing toward my pension. I also went from contributing something toward my healthcare to paying nothing. Furthermore when my wife became a state employee we shifted our healthcare from my coverage to her coverage. This allowed us to put all the money the city had been paying toward our healthcare into a city sponsored deferred compensation plan. Another benefit of the “cafeteria” plan of benefits negotiated by my union.

During that time my salary went from being near the median nationwide income to putting me in the top 20%.

At the state level the public employee unions were also working hard. For many years they had been working to “sweeten” public employee retirements. The end result for me was that they eventually were able to get through a bill signed by a Democrat governor they helped get elected that gave public safety employees of the state a 3% at 50 retirement based on their final year of salary. That meant that a public safety employee could retire after 30 years of service with 90% of their final years salary as a pension benefit with cost of living increases.

Once this happened for state public safety employees local public safety employees began to demand the same retirement benefit. As a result I retired in 2002 at the age of 56 with 91% of my final years salary as a pension benefit with cost of living increases since then. Not to mention that I am guaranteed that my purchasing power will never drop below 80% of what it was when I retired. And not to mention $300/mo the city contributes toward my healthcare. My wife’s healthcare is fully paid by the state since she retired. And also not to mention a nice IRA which was partially funded by the city.

When my wife first went to work for the state in 1968 she was actually making more money in the private sector. However the working conditions at the state were better and the benefits where much better offsetting the lower pay. She quit for awhile to raise our children then went back. When she retired her salary was higher than a comparable position in the private sector with fully paid healthcare plus a great retirement. As a state retiree her healthcare benefits are fully paid for by the state. She pays nothing. Plus she was able to “buy” additional years of service credit to increase her retirement even more. All of this provided by Democrats who’s campaigns receive large contributions from public employee unions.

Now as many of you are aware California and many of it’s local jurisdictions are in a dire financial situation. A contributing factor is, besides high public employee salaries and benefits, is paying for retired employees. The City of Vallejo actually declared bankruptcy and one of the factors they cited was their inability to pay their retired employees what they had promised them.

I can’t speak for Wisconsin but in California most public employees other than teachers are part of the CalPERS retirement system. CalPERS is a quasi government agency. In recent years public employee unions have been able to increase their influence over CalPERS policy making and one of the results was telling the state and local governments that CalPERS had lots of money and state and local governments could increase retirement benefits to their employees without having to contribute any more money to CalPERS. Now of course CalPERS is demanding more money from the state and local governments to pay for those increased retirement benefits that they originally said would cost nothing. This at a time when the state and local governments can least afford it.

So as a retired public employee I want to thank all of you for providing me, my wife, and my fellow public employee retirees with a comfortable guaranteed retirement. And I especially want to thank those of you who are strong supporters of public employee unions and the incestuous relationship they have with politicians mostly Democrats. <end quote>

For another viewpoint, take a look at Why I Changed My Mind About Unions.

In this TED video, Dr. Brene Brown from the University of Houston outlines key lessons she learned about herself and all of us about how we attempt to live in a messy and vulnerable world. We all desire connection with others, yet we like to control things to present ourselves as we think we should be, instead of who we really are. Shame is universal and is the fear of disconnection. Yet we need to be vulnerable and be seen for who we really are in order to achieve the connections we so much desire.

What she uncovered in her research caused her to seek therapy for a year to help sort out her strong need for control versus what she had discovered about vulnerability that is needed to live a full life.

One of the keys she uncovered was that people who have a sense of worthiness really believe that they are worthy. They have a strong sense of love and belonging. They have the courage to be imperfect and to be compassionate with themselves first in order to connect with others.

Unlike control, vulnerability is also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, and of love.

Unfortunately, we tend to numb vulnerability. But you can’t numb emotions selectively. Know that “I am enough” and let yourself be seen as who you really are and start living life to the fullest.

Dr. Brene Brown explains these concepts in a very compassionate way in the following TED video.

Be Sure To Read All The Way To The End & Then Share!

I Like You Because of Who Your Are To Me … A True Friend.

And If I Don’t Get This Back I’ll Take The Hint.

Tonight At Midnight Your True Love Will Realize They Like You.

Something Good Will Happen To You Between 1:00pm & 4:00pm Tomorrow.

It Could Be Anywhere: At Home, Yahoo, Outside Of Work, Anywhere…

Get Ready For The Biggest Shock Of Your Life.

Remember: A Good Friend Will Come And Bail You Out Of Jail…

But A True Friend Will Be Sitting Next To You Saying WE Screwed Up, But We Had Fun!

Proud To Be Your Friend!

I’ve Learned… That Life Is Like A Roll Of Toilet Paper. The Closer It Gets To The End, The Faster It Goes.

I’ve Learned… That We Should Be Glad That God Doesn’t Give Us Everything That We Ask For.

I’ve Learned… That Money Doesn’t Buy Class.

I’ve Learned… That It’s Those Small Daily Happenings That Make Life So Spectacular.

I’ve Learned… That Under Everyone’s Hard Shell Is Someone Who Wants To Be Appreciated And Loved.

I’ve Learned… That The Lord Didn’t Do It All In One Day, So What Makes Me Think I Can?

I’ve Learned… That To Ignore Facts Does Not Change The Facts.

I’ve Learned… That The Less Time I Have To Work, The More Things Get Done.

To All Of You… It’s National Friendship Week.

Show Your Friends How Much You Care…

Pass This Uplifting Message Along To Your Friends…

Even If It Means Sending It Back To The Person Who Sent It To You.

If It Comes Back To You, Then You’ll Know You Have A Circle Of Friends.

Happy Friendship Week To You!

You Are My Friends And I Am Honored!

Life Is Too Short For Drama And Petty Things.

Laugh Insanely.

Love Truly And Forgive Quickly.

Have A Blessed Day.

Use ShareThis To Spread The Joy & Brighten Another Person’s Day!