Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

The Fairfax Circuit Court Definition of ’45 Days’ Is . . . ?

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One of my biggest, most frustrating pet-peeves is when those in positions of authority fail to follow the very rules they establish. There are tons of examples. I’ve written about some here before, like when the Prince Georges County, Maryland, police performed an illegal home invasion on the Mayor of Berwyn Heights or when the Governor of Illinois tried to sell a vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. If government officials expect us to follow the laws and policies they establish and enforce, then they must follow those same laws and policies themselves. We, as the citizens and the source of all legitimate government authority, must hold all of our government officials to a very high standard.

This is especially important when we talk about our law enforcement and courts. Police officers, judges, magistrates, and their supporting staff must be held to the absolute highest moral and legal standards. I know this is a lot to ask, since these people are (obviously) human and have jobs that are much more challenging and difficult than anything the rest of us can easily imagine, but it is only fair that the people who directly enforce our adherence to the law adhere to the law themselves in all respects.

While certainly not as dramatic as the PG County home invasion, the Fairfax Circuit Court has just violated Virginia law (and likely does so all the time), and it just drives me crazy.

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Happy New Year 2009!

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Welcome to 2009! Lots of people are in the process of doing a lot of retrospectives of 2008, so I’ll do a (brief) retrospective myself: It’s been a good year. I’ve been more physically fit, I’ve been more social and proactive in my writing, I’ve maintained a good job, I’ve got a new car, and more. Most importantly, I have a wonderful wife and a wonderful family.

People are already blathering on about how bad 2008 was, and in some respects it wasn’t so great a year. So what. As we move into 2009, now is the time to focus on what we have and how blessed we are.

I sincerely wish all of you a wonderful 2009. I don’t care if you’re liberal or conservative; Republican or Democrat; Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, or something else; American, European, African, Asian, Middle-Eastern; etc.

Happy New Year. I hope God blesses you and protects you through this coming year.

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Posted in: Life

Economic Woes Lead to Cancellation of 2009

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The United Nations Commission on Annualization (UNCOA) has announced that, due to the worldwide economic crisis, 2009 will be canceled. UNCOA spokesman Mohamed Abbas announced today that, if economic conditions permit, years will resume with 2010 after an empty space in the space-time continuum equivalent to the previously proposed 365-day length of the canceled year.

Critics claim that the cancellation of 2009 will exacerbate the economic crisis, as all existence will cease during the time that would have been the new year. The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, and most other major international stock indexes are expected to disappear during the temporary cessation of time and, thus, there will likely be no economic recovery until time resumes in 2010 or later.

Revelers can expect a cataclysmic disintegration of all time and space as they ring in the New Year. Scientists had previously scheduled a ‘leap second’ to correct for the slowing of the Earth’s rotation, and because the leap second is technically part of 2008 the temporary end of time will actually occur one second after midnight. All citizens of Earth are urged to remain calm as their existence comes to a temporary end. UNCOA officials reiterate the absolute necessity of calling off 2009 until more economic stability can be assured.

Regular posting will resume after UNCOA restarts time.

Website 20.2 Revision

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Today I have launched a minor revision to the web site, bringing the version to 20.2. As has been my tradition for many years, these minor revisions are where I start trying out new ideas that, if well-received, become part of the next major redesign.

The biggest change is a darker blue theme, which is what probably stands out out immediately. I’ve also added a little bit of fancy, new-age, ‘AJAX-y’ code that displays some tasteful Off on a Tangent branding at the top left of the browser once you’ve scrolled down below the header. I’ve made a number of other minor tweaks and adjustments throughout. Let me know what you think!

Note that the little floating branding thing won’t work in Internet Explorer 6 (it screwed things up in IE6, so I basically made IE6 ignore all that code). If you’re still using IE6 you need to upgrade to IE7 or, better yet, to Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Opera now. Website 20.2 will be the absolute last version of this website tested for compatibility with IE6, as support for this ancient and badly-coded Microsoft browser is no longer worth the hours of extra time and effort.

A Military Pattern of ‘Christian Bias’?

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An atheist U.S. Army soldier, joined by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, has brought a lawsuit against the Army accusing them of a pattern of ‘Christian bias’. The examples of this ‘bias’ include quotes from a chaplain and another soldier about their desire to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, a suicide prevention manual that encourages ‘connection to the divine’, and a few other laughably inconsequential things.

First, it is worth noting that Spc. Dustin Chalker is completely entitled to his own religious views (and, yes, I define atheism—a belief that there is no God—as a religion). But it is also worth noting that Spc. Chalker has been unable to present any evidence whatsoever of any criminal discrimination against atheists or other non-Christians. Statements made by other members of the military do not equate to official military policy, and a single sentence in a single suicide prevention manual is hardly evidence of any endemic ‘bias’ in the Army.

As a matter of principle, I agree completely with the Constitutional protection of free religion. This is a civil liberty. I also generally agree with the revisionist doctrine of a separation of church and state, though that’s not what the Constitution says. But neither equates to a freedom from religion. My right to practice my Christian faith does not mean I have a right to go through life exposed only to Christian practice. An atheist’s right to practice his religion does not mean he has a right to go through life without running into others practicing their religions either.

The original meaning of the First Amendment would have allowed government support of religion—even a single, particular religion—provided it was not ‘established’ by the government and the government didn’t limit anybody else’s religious practice. We’ve moved to a much more expansive read of the text, and that’s probably okay in this case, but members of the military still have a fundamental civil right to practice their religion. Spc. Chalker doesn’t have to like it, and I’m sure he doesn’t since the majority of our brave soldiers are Christians, but his suit is entirely without merit.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.