How do we help the Iranians in their fight for democracy?

Unfortunately, we don't. Here's why.

Iran has been ruled by religious zealots for a long time. Since the 70s it has seemed that the Iranian people have been comfortable, at least relatively so, under the leadership of the Ayatollah and a figurehead President.

Today not only are they uncomfortable with the President, but they actually are revolting in the face of divinity. It's the beginning of a new era in Iran. The Iranian supreme leader came out in support of the election results, and this was not enough to dissuade protesters. This is an extremely important point because the Ayatollah's words had gone relatively unquestioned in the past. Previously his words would have been considered other word of God, therefore unquestionable.

Recently there is been an official investigation launched into the election wrongdoing, unfortunately the presidency has no motivation to search for truth, regardless of the outcome. Admission of any wrongdoing, even if the victory would have come in a closer race, would mark the end of the presidency.

The Iranian authorities really have no choice but to attempt to squash the protesters, likely through militant means.

The protesters will face great adversity in the days ahead.

While the US can support democracy, we can't be seen as interfering in another Moslem society. We've toppled regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, where there is little or no support, based on the expectation of delivering the world from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Had we not invaded Afghanistan and failed, and not invaded Iraq without just cause, we may have been able to aid the Iranian people in their quest for democracy. Unfortunately because of poor previous decisions we now can not afford to meddle in the affairs of another Islamic Society without turning the whole of Islam against us.

The vast majority of Islam are peaceful people. While many among them see religious extremists as uncomfortable leaders, the alternative is a democracy delivered to them by Western Christians. Imagine if you will, if militaries from an Islamic country invaded ours because they saw reports of protests against President Bush. There were many who doubted the election results between President Bush and Al Gore. The fact that President Bush's brother was governor in the state that ultimately decided the election certainly fueled conspiracy theories. While many people would have been happier had Al Gore been elected, very few people would have been happy at the prospect of an Islamic nation invading ours and toppling our presidency.

There was another bloody battle in the quest for democracy 230 some years ago. In that battle a underfunded and under armed militia defended itself against the largest empire on earth and literally stole its own independence. Democracy and freedom have an amazing way of finding themselves. Traitors to England are the men we now call patriots in the United States.

Iran is headed for what will likely be a bloody fight toward democracy. The Iranian people are outmanned and outgunned, and the regime currently in power has been known to be ruthless. This may be just the first battle of a long revolution. I have confidence that democracy is divine, however. Whether you believe in Jesus, Allah, or Buddha I believe that peace prevails, but the path to peace can be dangerous and bloody.

To the first patriots of a new Iran, I wish you well and safety. But if you cannot be safe, then I wish you freedom and liberty.

Mountain Dew/World of Warcraft promotion and prizes

Two of my favorite things, World of Warcraft and Mountain Dew, have teamed up to do a promotion with a bunch of prizes.  T-shirts, laptop computers, gaming mice and a bunch of other stuff are being given away.

It's pretty simple.  Click below and sign up for an account.  You earn 100 tokens.The tokens can be used to enter drawings for prizes. Then, you can or an additional tokens by recruiting friends and drinking Mountain Dew.

Anyhow, if you click the link below before you sign up, I'll earn 50 tokens. If I win a T-shirt, I'll post pictures of me wearing it! Dew it. You know you want to!

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt on Amazon

If you haven't seen this page circulating the internet, it's hilarious.

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt

This is a great example of internet meme. Read the comments below the t-shirt, then check out the user photos uploaded. I swear, I totally want this t-shirt now. If I order one, I'll post a picture of me wearing it.

If you order one, send me an email at sunfyre@sunfyre.com, and I'll post your photo here too.

Max to the Vet

Last night we had to take Max, our chocolate laborador retriever, to the vet. The poor guy has been getting a rash on his groin that clearly itches. The vet gave him some medicine, and the worst possible prognosis. He may be allergic to PEOPLE FOOD!

The vet told us to remove all table scraps and cat food from his diet for 2 months then gradually reintroduce things one at a time. This is going to be torture for Max who lets his dogfood bowl sit full all day long. He only eats dog food when he is faced with starvation. (Granted, starvation sets in several times daily for labs.)

Poor Max, my 79 pound puppy, will have to suffer with kibbles and bits.

Cheap Dental Care

One day a man walked into a dentist's office and asks how much it will cost to extract a wisdom tooth.

"Eighty dollars," the dentist says.

"That's a ridiculous amount," the man says. "Isn't there a cheaper way?"

"Well," the dentist says, "if you don't use an anesthetic, I can knock it down to $60."

"That's still too expensive," the man says.

"Okay," says the dentist. "If I save on anesthesia and simply rip the teeth out with a pair of pliers, I could get away with charging $20."

"Nope," moans the man, "it's still too much."

"Hmm," says the dentist, scratching his head.

"If I let one of my students do it for the experience, I suppose I could charge you just $10."

"Marvelous," says the man, "book my wife for next Tuesday!"

Geek Squad Saves the Day

My opinion of the Geek Squad has generally been low, unjustifiably. About two weeks ago I hired them to set up a network in my office. I currently have three employees, two of which work out of my home office. I want to get file sharing and printer sharing set up. Try and try again, I couldn't get everything working myself.

So last week they came out and set everything up in about an hour. And then I broke it.

Sunday afternoon they came and fixed it for free. We had a bizarre issue where one of my computers would not assign an appropriate IP address automatically. After doing all the standard fixes, one computer refused to participate in the network. Finally, Nevin, my geek, assigned a static IP address and explained everything to me. He spent several hours on a Sunday afternoon to make sure everything was working perfectly.

I'm far more confident in the two people that the Geek Squad sent. I'll probably use them again. For home based work or small office work they do a terrific job. Naturally the IT professionals bash them repeatedly, and I'm sure there are some IT flunkies working for the Geek Squad across the country, but I want to thank Nevin and Evan for making me much more productive. Plus, I think their Volkswagen Beetles are pretty cool.

Escaping the Swine Flu Epidemic

Swine flu is on the rise, but soaring even faster is hype surrounding the swine flu. Confirmed cases worldwide are going up, but only in Mexico is there really a crisis at this moment.

In traditional SunFyre fashion, I will make light of any serious situation!

Here's a post I wrote about three and half years ago, 10 Things That Suck about the Flu.

Enjoy... and pass it on to a few friends!

NY Governor Paterson Unveils Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Gov. David A. Paterson on Thursday announced he would introduce a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in New York State, drawing on the soaring oratory of the civil rights movement to call on the Legislature to join the four states that have already authorized such unions.

read more | digg story

Happy Easter

Here are some pictures of my kids from Easter morning.

$1.5 Million to Fight Same Sex Marriage in New Jersey

Millions of people oppose same-sex marriage. Some of them allow for "civil unions", which I believe implies that marriage isn't a civil union. Even if you're not a fan of same-sex marriage, most people don't see it as a threat to their personal freedoms. A few say it's detrimental to society, but there's no indication that that argument holds merit. Several European countries have allowed same-sex marriage for decades, and none of them fell into societal chaos.

California proved that people will will be politically correct when talking about same-sex marriage, but were often vote in the opposite fashion when given the opportunity.

Today was announced that a group called the National Organization for Marriage is going to spend $1.5 million on an ad campaign targeting New Jersey to prevent their law, which allows civil unions, to officially allow gay couples to marry. The group also announced they would be spending money in Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. (Although Iowa and Vermont have already passed laws allowing same-sex marriage.)

I think it's hideous that any group of people can force their morals upon a minority. In America it's Christians, but in other countries we see the same types of abuse and it horrifies us. Muslim nations suppress what we consider inalienable rights of women, however according to their laws women never had these rights.

I'm so disgusted by the fact that people try to legislate morality. Imagine if we took homosexuality out of the equation. What if a group of people felt that African Americans shouldn't be allowed to establish permanent households? The white majority could easily erase the rights of African-Americans to marry. What if we pass a law that said anyone with an IQ of less than 90 was not allowed to get married, or procreate? The rights of the less intelligent would be stomped upon by the average intelligence majority.

Ironically, these examples, which seem extreme by today's society, could actually influence us in a positive way. Let's face it, if we were able to prevent every individual with a below-average IQ from having children, and encourage anyone with an extremely high IQ to procreate like mad, within two or three generations Americans would be substantially smarter. This would better our society, improve our education, and secure our nation as a leader going forward. It's still however wouldn't be a country I'd be proud to call my own. We have a rich heritage of the strength of many protecting the rights of the few.

I don't understand what it means to be a man who loves another man. It doesn't scare me, but honestly I can understand the discomfort. There are lots of things I'm uncomfortable with, but I'm not about to take the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness from anyone.

I am a Christian. Jesus taught me to love one another unconditionally. He taught me that I should spend my time with "sinners" because the perfect among us are so few and needs so little.

I understand the literal translation of the Bible frowns upon sodomy. It frowns upon lots of things that are illegal and accepted by our society. If frowns upon drinking to excess, yet drunks don't make us terribly uncomfortable so we haven't outlawed it. Heck, we even allow alcoholics to marry.

I think it's sad that people cower behind a cross because they are afraid. Christ wouldn't have feared gay people. Christ wouldn't have eliminated their desire for love and respect.

If you are fearful of gay people, that's okay. If you hate gay people, that's okay too. The reason it's okay is because they don't want you on your their team anyhow. You can be fearful and dislike anyone you want, but many of us take personal offense when you trample the rights of others because of your fear or hate.

Finally, why I decided to go on this rant... my mother lives in New Jersey. She is a Christian, married to a pastor. I think if you ask my mother what she would do with $1.5 million to better the state of New Jersey she can find 100 things that Christians should spend their hard-earned money on that would influence the community in a positive way.

If you made a donation to the National Organization for Marriage, shame on you. If you did in the name of Christ, shame on you. You don't have to like gay people. I'm not asking you to or heartedly endorse same-sex marriage. I'm asking you to be smarter with your money. I'm asking you to be generous rather than hateful. And lastly, I'm asking you not to pass on your hatefulness through the media in front of my children. My sincerest hope is that your hatefulness dies when they plant you in the ground, and the world is a better place for it.

I'm a Christian man, married with two children. I'm a fiscal conservative and a Republican. I'm among the last people you would expect to be taking a stand on behalf of gay rights, and I wish I didn't have to do it. I wish common sense and human decency would prevail and that those among us who love differently than the norm would be able to live their lives with liberty and in the pursuit of happiness.