Category Archives: Politics & Religion

Posts on politics and religion. It’s no coincidence that many of these are cross-tagged as Idiocy and Evil.

Bipartisanship is Killing Us

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We’ve lost the middle ground. Whether discussing the economy, guns, abortion, or religion, too many people—especially our politicians—take one side and treat it as an absolute. Their way is the only way, and the media drives the wedge in deeper by encouraging the rest of us to choose sides.

This has to stop.

What was more painful about Romney’s now-infamous 47% statement: his gall to state it in such a demeaning manner, or the fact that it hit home so hard? The zombie-like devotion to one side or the other has disgusted me for a long time, and it’s been rubbed in our faces more and more during the last few elections.

When all we do is choose sides and shout at one another, nothing gets done. The refusal to sit down and discuss both sides of an issue to find a reasonable solution is beyond counter-productive, it’s damn near political sabotage.

The shocking violence at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT yesterday is the most recent in a string of mass violence that we’ve been faced with in recent years. I work in a school district, and we have a K-4 building. Every day I watch those children file out of the building while waiting for my own kids. Sandy Hook is as horrific as it gets.

The moment the news hit, the gun comments started on Twitter and Facebook. “Great, now we’re going to have people trying to ban guns again! You can’t take away my Constitutional right!” Fuck you. “See, we told you guns were evil! Ban them now!” Fuck you, too.

I’m a gun owner. I live in a community of hunters. Yesterday I received a Christmas card that included a photo of a 3rd grader holding a hunting rifle with a scope. Guns do not signify evil to everyone, and there are families who bond in activities involving guns, just as mine did with target shooting.

However, I also do not support the NRA (more on that in a moment). I have an Illinois-issued Firearms Owner ID card, and I don’t look at it as a grave infringement of my rights (in fact, it’s laughably easy to obtain). I do think waiting periods are ridiculous and ineffective, but again, I don’t view them as some tremendous violation of my rights. I support concealed carry, but I don’t believe guns and carry permits should be issued to everyone who wants one.  I don’t even fear gun registration, and I’d be willing to discuss registration as a part of concealed carry.

The NRA causes as many problems as it solves. They do a great job of supporting families who are gun owners, of supporting hunters, and of pointing out the many instances were firearms were used in defense of life. However, they do a shit job of doing anything to prevent  guns from getting into the hands of the wrong people. Take the Operation Fast & Furious scandal, for example: Fast & Furious was hampered at least as much by poor legislative support than it was the incompetence and in-fighting of federal agents.

The NRA should be front-and-center helping create solutions, not entrenching itself with the tired old “out of my cold, dead hands” statement.

This is why, even as a gun owner, I signed the White House petition to immediately address the issue of gun control through the introduction of legislation in Congress. I’m not sure I could have stated it any clearer than this:

The goal of this petition is to force the Obama Administration to produce legislation that limits access to guns. While a national dialogue is critical, laws are the only means in which we can reduce the number of people murdered in gun related deaths.

Powerful lobbying groups allow the ownership of guns to reach beyond the Constitution’s intended purpose of the right to bear arms. Therefore, Congress must act on what is stated law, and face the reality that access to firearms reaches beyond what the Second Amendment intends to achieve.

The signatures on this petition represent a collective demand for a bipartisan discussion resulting in a set of laws that regulates how a citizen obtains a gun.

I just hope our congressmen have the balls to find the middle ground and are willing to keep extreme lobby groups like the Brady Center and the NRA from sabotaging real progress.

If past behavior is any indicator, nothing will change, and before long we’ll have another incident like Sandy Hook or Aurora and the discussion fight will start all over. Then die down again. And again, nothing will get done.

Remember the definition of insanity, folks? I give you the United States bipartisan political system.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

I Rocked That Vote

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And I hope you did, too.

Many years ago, I used to be one of those “both options suck so why bother?” people, but I’ve come to a few realizations since then.

Decisions, decisions... #ElectionDay

Hey, where’s the “Shit Sandwich” option?

For one, there’s more at stake than the presidency. There’s U.S. Congress and there are state legislature and local seats. While the politicians and the media are loathe to admit it, several of these will have a far greater impact on my way of life than the guy sitting in the Oval Office. For example, the county board here was in great contention over whether or not to allow wind farms to be constructed in our county, and a number of seats were turned over.

Then there’s the question of state and local decisions. Today, Illinois had a question about amending our state’s constitution which will directly affect the pension of teachers and other state employees in the future. In the past, several Illinois counties have voted whether or not to allow concealed carry of firearms. School districts have referenda that can drastically impact our property tax bills and the education of our children. Federal government decisions are slow and cumbersome; state and local decisions can hit us immediately.

Don’t like either candidate? That’s fine. Vote Green. Vote Libertarian. Give a third party a voice. Show the Big Two and the media that you’re sick of the bi-partisanship. Don’t think it can happen? We did it in the Illinois governor race a few years ago by giving the Greens 14% of the vote, if memory serves. Voting for third parties is not throwing away your vote because you’re still raising your voice. Not showing up is throwing away your vote.

Finally, there’s the issue of voice. I agree the First Amendment guarantees us all the right to bitch whether or not we cast our vote, but by staying at home, it shows we just don’t care. Poor turnouts show the politicians it doesn’t matter what they do, because we’re not going to stop them. The Electoral College may be a dated, questionable process, but everyone examines the popular vote just the same. One vote may be irrelevant in a county that will lean hard toward red every time, but it reminds the locals that there are still different opinions out there.

So you’re damn right I voted.

Walked there in the rain, had a fine-point pen for filling in ballot bubbles, but I did it. #ElectionDay

All done. Do I get my shit sandwich now?

I’m fortunate it didn’t take any time at all in my precinct. I didn’t have to deal with electioneers, I didn’t have to deal with a confusing ballot or a potentially rigged electronic system, and I didn’t have to jump through crazy oops and show five IDs to obtain my ballot and fill it out.

A number of my friends in larger precincts are dealing with long lines. There are reports of hassles and electioneering. There are stories about voter ID problems and questions. Videos like this one out of a Pennsylvania booth aren’t helping:

There are going to be cheats. There are going to be assholes. There are going to be corrupt officials trying to influence the vote in every way they can, whether or not their parties or candidates are directly aware of it.

This makes it even more important to show up. Keep these bastards honest. In a day when half the people have cameras in their pockets, it’s a lot harder for the people in charge to get away with shady dealings. They’re going to be a lot more intimidated by a recording device aimed their way than they will somebody complaining.

“All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

– Edmund Burke

Don’t be that good man (or woman) doing nothing. Stop making excuses.

Vote.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

SOPA Must Die

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If you surfed the Web Wednesday, I’m sure you ran into a SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) blackout somewhere. If none of that made sense to you, check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s one-page summary of the problems with SOPA.

It’s a good example of Congressmen not understanding what they’re legislating, or what they’re asking this legislation itself to accomplish. A SOPA supporter and PIPA (SOPA’s sister, the Protect Intellectual Property Act) co-sponsor Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) recently posted copyrighted video to his own YouTube channel. His excuse? “YouTube is excluded from the bill as it is written right now.”

Say what?

This means posting copyrighted clips to YouTube violates the spirit of the law, but not the word of the law. In other words, someone can upload pirated crap to YouTube and get a free pass. (Or, more likely, it’s a matter of “We’re afraid of Google’s lawyers.”)

Make no mistake, this is not about protecting the little guy, it’s about protecting big corporate bucks in the guise of protecting the little guy. Do the Hollywood unions like the WGA, SAG, or the production support unions support these bills? Not the general membership. In fact, most creators oppose SOPA, but the bill’s sponsor, Rep Lamar Smith, says they don’t count. It’s all about the lobbyists who are protecting their own interests.

As a creator myself, I’m not a fan of pirates. In fact, I would prefer to deal with pirates like this:

Whoops, I guess that would get my site blacklisted! No, wait, the video is on YouTube. Guess I’m golden after all? Brain hurts. Moving on.

No, I’m not a fan of piracy. But I’m also not convinced they’re doing as much harm to me as some think, and I’m sure as hell not convinced protecting my meager income by destroying the very network I’m leveraging to make a living is going to do a damned thing to help any of us.

The worst case scenario? We end up with a censored, restricted Internet that countries like China and Iran have. We rally behind freedom of speech and condemn other countries for blocking their citizens from access to information, yet we’re attempting to pass legislation to give corporations the same capabilities to shut down websites that China and Iran have. It’ll be a new age of digital McCarthyism, where Hollywood will point a finger and someone will get blacklisted.

It just boggles the mind.

Here are the 67 pinheads (as of this writing) who think $$$ trumps freedom. SOPA may be “shelved” for now, but that’s not good enough, and PIPA has to die with it. Make sure these people understand the damage they’re trying to do, even if it’s just by taking a few seconds to sign petitions like Google’s.

UPDATE

Khan Academy has posted an excellent video explaining SOPA and its problems, as well as outlining some of the scarier provisions of the bill.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

On Apples & Trees

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So my kid got selected to be Joseph in a play. The Joseph.

“This will end badly,” I told the Wife.

“Why do you say that? I think he’ll do fine.”

“Trust me,” I said. “This kid is my clone.”

“How can they screw up? They have no lines, and they  just have to go through the actions the older kids narrate.”

I reminded her his teachers already had to tell him to not hang the Baby Jesus (a doll) upside-down by one leg as he passes Him over to Mary. She felt that meant they solved the problem.

Wishful thinking.

Sure enough, he missed his cue because he was too busy trying to get my attention. Then he passed the Baby Jesus over in a rush. At least he didn’t hold the Son of God upside down again, because if  he did, I’d have been laughing too hard for anyone to continue.

Then, through the rest of the play, he sat front and center and looked like this:

Really Bored Joseph

This is pretty much how I look on the few occasions the Wife drags me to church

Yep. Like father, like son.

To top it off, Little Bird nearly knocked over the giant cardboard box that served as the Inn. She couldn’t see what was happening from inside and kept trying to lean out the window for a better look, and her friend followed. The Inn leaned, wobbled, came apart on one side, then fell back straight when the girls backed off. If it had gone down, it would have taken the Advent wreath with it. Her teacher about had a stroke, and I had to struggle not to laugh.

Leave it to the Oliveri kids to be the troublemakers. If my eldest, one of the Wise Men, had let out a “nyuk nyuk nyuk” as he walked down the aisle (I don’t know who would have coached him to do such a thing), we would have had the hat trick.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Yeah, I’m Irish

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My father’s Sicilian and my mother’s Irish. This explains why I have such a short temper.

Today’s Saint Patrick’s Day. How am I going to celebrate it? By drinking a little Irish whiskey and jamming some Dropkick Murphys.

This, of course, does not make it any different from any given weekend throughout the rest of the year. I’ll be headed out of state with some friends tonight, and it just so happens one of them is Irish and has an equal fondness for a certain Irish whiskey. I’ve located a microbrewery near our destination that will have corned beef, live music, and lots of beer, so a boilermaker or two may be in order if I can convince the rest of my group to check it out.

How do most other people celebrate? By drinking ’til they puke and making wisecracks about the color of the Chicago River. If you’re going to be out and about tonight, have fun but watch out for those guys.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Viva La Revolución

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Revolution is a big deal in the United States. Without it, we wouldn’t even be here. Men like Ben Franklin and George Washington are traitors to the Crown in the United Kingdom, but in the U.S. we’re taught they’re our founding fathers and are our heroes.

Is what’s happening in Tunisia and Egypt any different? They may not have fallen into outright warfare yet, but they’re in a volatile situation and the protesters’ ultimate goal is the founding of a new government. Are there faces and personalities behind the conflict that will become their founding fathers and national heroes? Or will the existing government restore order and bring charges against a handful of people who were simply tired of the government abuse?

Unfortunately the lesson appears to be lost on some of our leaders. While President Obama supports the revolution, our legislators are trying to pass laws that would hamper our abilities to do the same. Specifically, they want a kill switch for the Internet.

This is dangerous territory. One of the first things the Egyptian government did was cut off Internet access in an effort to prevent protesters from organizing and to keep news from spreading to the rest of the world. Fortunately word’s getting out anyway, and all it did was make things worse for the government. (And rightfully so.)

Let’s think about this, Congress. What’s more dangerous? A people with protected speech and the ability to criticize their government, or a people suppressed to the point they can’t take it any longer and it all comes out at once? If our country was founded on revolution, why should the people be forbidden from exercising that same power to preserve it?

Let’s remember how we got here, not emulate the dictators we’re hoping will fall.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.

Big Business and Your Belly

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I sat down and watched Food, Inc. this evening. Doing so during dinner may not have been the wisest choice, but honestly, it’s not so much the visuals that turn your stomach but the way big business has a grip on your health.

Look, I know chicken farming and slaughterhouse operations are no picnic, especially for the animals. I’m willing to accept there are better ways to do these things, and wherever possible I vote with my wallet. My wife and I know locally-grown food tastes better and is better for us, and that’s what we try to stick to for both ourselves and our children. We can’t afford to hit Fresh Market every time we shop, but at least we can pick and choose at Wal-Mart. The end of the movie acknowledges that voting with our wallets is starting to make a difference.

But it’s really not enough, and there’s a lot of shady things going on. To me the movie isn’t so much about the evils of capitalism as it is the ease with which we allow big business to take advantage of it. As usual, on paper it’s a great philosophy, but then people get involved and it all falls apart. Congressmen vote on things they don’t even understand, so they just go with big business and the big bucks because that’s where all the weight is.

I was going to have a long rant, but really, it’s not that interesting and the movie speaks for itself. If you’re on Netflix, it’s available to Watch Instantly. If not, at least track it down at Blockbuster or something. Educate yourself. Yeah, there’s a bit of an environmentalist agenda there, but it’s not hard to see through it and get the idea that some things need to change.

I was going to watch Super Size Me next, but I think I’ll save that for another night. I don’t want to be put off food for good just yet.

About Mike Oliveri

Mike Oliveri is a writer, martial artist, cigar aficionado, motorcyclist, and family man, but not necessarily in that order. His Bram Stoker Award-winning first novel, Deadliest of the Species, was just reprinted by Evileye Books.