Friday, August 29, 2014

What Sex Laws Should We Have?

For anyone reading this that has not followed the blog, lets list some simple facts. I preach, I have only been with one woman in my whole and have turned down plenty of opportunities, I have three daughters, am a pacifist and all of this can be easily seen by reading previous posts. I believe the most complete connection we can have with another, the chance to be one only occurs between a man and a woman; but, I don't think people go to hell for being gay and preach to gays without ever telling them to change. Don't think you know my beliefs or try and place your hangups or biases or bigotry on me and don't presume to know my opinion. Read what I have to say and think. That means to just listen.

Some people would say that we should not have laws about sex. That would mean that things like child molestation, necrophilia (if you don't know that word, you don't need to), bestiality and rape would all be legal. I don't believe in that, I think they should be illegal. I believe we can outlaw non-consensual sex, that is violence against another. I don't believe you should be allowed to force yourself on anyone or being that has not expressed consent or allowed things to proceed further. At some point you do have to say no or consent may have already been rightfully presumed. We have to figure out where that line might be.

I believe a man can rape a woman even if they are married. Yep, it has to be consensual. I don't believe that the rules of the game are the same when you are not married. There is a reason. My wife enjoyed sex with me and I enjoyed sex with her, for 25 years. If my wife had a complaint it was that we did not have enough sex. The Pimpernel does not tell stories or lie. My wife also liked waking up to sex and when I was rested enough I would wake her up sex, I would please her as she woke, as she was in that in-between place, in between dreaming and waking. I assure you, men enjoy waking the same way if their wives choose to so surprise them. Is that consensual sex? Heck, my wife and I had sex drunk after more than one party. Was that consensual on either of our parts? It felt good and the time and we both enjoyed it and neither ever complained.

I have no interest and am turned off with having sex with two women or entering a woman from behind. These things hold absolutely no attraction to me. A female friend of mine once asked me if I would engage in such activities if my wife had really wanted to experience them. The answer to two women is simple, NO. I would not do it. I am not interested in sex, I am interested in being with someone who attaches to me completely. That left one question and I still cannot answer that. Today, I think my answer would be yes. I would want to please my mate in whatever way I could without violating my own principles. Don't forget I am a pacifist.

What if I really wanted to have sex from behind and my wife did too. Would it be wrong to do such a thing? Should that be illegal? Mutual consent for something that can be done safely? At what point in time do we deem consensual acts to be illegal? Sex with children is easy to put aside, consent requires understanding and a 5 year old does not understand what sex means. They cannot give consent. A corpse cannot give consent, an animal cannot give consent, a person in a coma cannot give consent; but, a person who consents to have drunk sex in advance of getting drunk can give consent.

My wife and I got drunk on our honeymoon night and had sex. Would you wish to jail me because she was drunk? A college girl who is not engaged who gets drunk and a young man who wobbles her to his room and then sleeps with her while she is asleep is not sleeping with the woman in a consensual situation. He is a criminal. He has no idea as to what she expects from him, she is passed out. I had a right to expect more from the woman I married and had children by. I already knew what she liked and what we had come to expect from one another over time. She liked it when I woke her up with sex.

The issue I am discussing is called "informed" consent. It means more than saying yes or no. It refers to reasonableness of exceptions. Let us consider an extreme example of factual situations that might occur. Let us assume that the douche bag, Stephan Hawking, was with a woman. Let us say that he typed out, "Lets have sex" to the woman and it took 20 minutes for him to write it out. Now, let us assume that she said yes, undressed him; put him on the bed and made love to him. If he got back in his chair and typed out, "No, I changed my mind, lets not have sex" after they slept together, would she be guilty of rape?

Now lets talk about how the media manipulates the truth to get you to react.


The media portrays this as a competition between two sides, the sides that say everything is rape and those who say everything is legal so long as there is not a complaint.  Is that true, is that really the question, is the question that simple?

Let me ask this question. A woman goes to a frat party and someone slips her ecstasy, she approaches a man who has no idea that she is high and she starts rubbing him and he gets turned on and starts making out with her, they end up in bed and she has sex with him, is he guilty of rape when he didn't know she had been drugged?

None of this is or will ever be an issue in my life. It is still worthy or consideration when looking at the bigger question, consent. Where is the point of no return? Or what must someone do to indicate that they have reached that point or changed their mind?

Look beyond the headlines and emotions, ask yourself the deeper questions. Agree, disagree with me; but, don't simplify the issues, address them and I will posts responses that are not foul.

My Ever Changing Surroundings

For a little more than four years I have had people living with me that needed a place to stay. One is a younger man that needed a start and I helped him to find his start. He is now engaged and about to move out. I am both sad and happy. We have had plenty of good times and I exposed him to many new restaurants and flavors. As we both like to cook this has been fun for me. I am thrilled that he has found a good job with real career opportunities and a chance to have a decent life. Tonight he thanked me for all that I had done. He is the last of the many people who lived with me in my home.

For the past seven years I have housed so many people that I have lost count and they are all in better situations today. I guess it is only right that as I prepare to retire, they all go their ways. I guess I am feeling empty nest syndrome. My children grew and moved out, the people I helped with a place to stay have all moved out and the people I mentored in business are all now pursuing their careers (and quite well if I may say so).

This last young man was different. I didn't know him at all when I let him move into my house. He was a friend of a friend of one of my daughters and had just lost the couch that he was sleeping on at another home. He was trying to correct a DUI that he had gotten. We took care of that problem. He was a little confused at first, I don't think anyone had ever given him a chance like I did.

At first when he moved into my house we used to talk and listen to music and comedy sketches on my laptop. Later he brought in one friend and then another. Two of them did not have living fathers or strong father figures. Another young man that lived with me for awhile along with his girlfriend did not have strong father figures to look to. I sort of became a dad to these young people.

All these young people watched what I did and how. If I would have done other than my word they have noticed; but, I think I lived my word whether you agree with my beliefs or not. The media doesn't seem to believe that good older male figures (father figures) are important anymore. It is. It is very important. My dad was a great dad and I have always believed that if I could be as good a role model as him, I would have achieved the world.

Sometimes when I do something new and well, I want to call my dad and tell him or ask him how he would deal with a particular situation. Unfortunately my father passed away a few years ago. I am fortunate, I have an older male friend who I can call and bounce ideas off of. He used to be my boss and is retired and now I am about to retire and I still need to have him around.

You might ask yourself what I get in return for mentoring or helping others. It is pretty simple. When one of the young people I helped gets further ahead and tells me how something I did was helpful to them in making the right decision. I feel fantastic, it means I spent my time well helping another. Heck, one of my greatest work achievements was mentoring a young man who is kicking butt and taking names and for the right reasons. He is also now mentoring a young man that had a rough beginning and no good father figure. The young man I mentored is now older and is mentoring another, he already had a fantastic father; but, I taught him the world. I think I was like an older brother to him. I love him like a younger brother.

Anyways, I am sad tonight to see the last of them go. I am sad to see this young man go; but, I am also glad. He is off to make his journey and that is why I help young men, to see them make their journey. I do not have any boys, I have three daughters and I love them all and am proud of them all. I also have two son in laws; but, they both have their own fathers.

I am proud to see young people grow up that were part of my extended family; but, am sad that our time together is over. When I was young my job was to learn. When I became a young adult, my job was to show what I could do. As I became middle aged my job was to see how far I could take it all and how much of my integrity I could retain. I am retiring and will have a new job. I wish I could call my dad and ask what that new job is.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Robin Williams and a Movie You Didn't See and Stuff

My favorite comedian that was also an actor is Don Rickles. In all my years as a stage manager the only person I knew willing to deliver standup was me and I am far from great at it, I just like talking before crowds. Comedy is hard and standup is the hardest. You have to believe in every joke and when one fails you fear they all will fail. At least when I am preaching I don't have to worry if the joke fails as the point is always more important.

When I am preaching, the humor is meant to expose a truth. The Jews asked for rules and God them the ten commandments. They did not go into exile for having gays, they stoned them to death. They went into exile and lost everything because they violated the ten commandments. Jesus reinforced this thought in that when they asked him which was the most important commandment he told them it was to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. When I preach I have told gay people that they didn't even make the top ten of sins and Jesus never bothered mentioning them. That "top ten" reference is done in the form of a joke to highlight a point.

Our biggest problem is not that their are homosexuals in America or that if the government approves them being together they can get a tax break and inherit from one another. Our biggest problem is that we have ignored the top ten and the one that Jesus chose. What if we stopped killing one another or stealing from one another (that is aimed at JP Morgan, our financial system and a government that supports the financial system stealing from us) and cheating on one another, breaking our agreements which is lying. It was the institutional (society wide and accepting corruption) that destroyed Israel, not homosexuals.

The effective use of humor is to make a point that people will remember. Often comedy comes from pain. One of my best jokes was told during my colonoscopy with a camera 6 feet up my 5 foot, 8 inch frame. The best story teller with a point was probably George Carlin or for those of you in England, a Texan named Bill Hicks. They told stories and tried to help us see how silly this world is organized.

Robin Williams did improv and was great at it; but, he was even better when he was making a point in a movie, it gave him a point to steer towards. He got a number of awards for his acting and one of the films he made was called "The Best of Times". It is supposedly a comedy; but, is really a film about mistakes, regret and redemption. I am providing you a link to Hulu of the movie.

Hulu - The Best of Times

Now a couple of strange news items.

Yahoo - Why more U.S. companies will flee to Canada. Not complicated, they are moving to Canada to avoid paying taxes. At the same time they want to claim that their jobs are in America. In fact, Burger King is one of the ones that wants to move to Canada and recently supported a change in the rules that now claims that assembling a hamburger should be treated as a manufacturing job. You can write your own joke; but, I assure you, the joke is on us.

Companies in America have asked to be treated as people. I actually believe in that; but, they must then be treated equally as people and pay taxes the same as other residents. In Canada the average person has a higher tax rate than their billion and multi-billion dollar fellow Canadians. The Canadians pay for universal healthcare and America does not. Yet did not Burger King complain about "Obamacare"? The minimum wage is higher in Canada; but, didn't the fast food companies complain about raising the minimum wage? Maybe these companies just love more social programs and don't feel the US is prepared to provide them. Maybe that's why we sent all of our manufacturing jobs to Communist China. I don't think so. The rise of Globalism and the fact that our political class sold us out to the special interests (wealthy that could promise them a return on their vote) means that we do need to reconsider how income tax is calculated.

I would recommend that income tax only be charged by the federal government. I would also eliminate all deductions and have a simple flat tax. For people that make below the poverty line, I would charge not income tax. It makes no sense to tax people on welfare when we pay for that. Lets say everyone, including companies were charged a flat 15% on all profits, inheritance and any manner of income.

Now some might want to ask about bank bailouts or corporate bailouts. As people, I would give them the same benefits as other people on welfare or disability. $300 a month in food subsidies and another $300 in expenses. I don't know what we gave JP Morgan or GM; but, I think it was a lot more, maybe billions. Think about that.

During the 80s and 90s "corporate raiders" bought stock in American companies and then sold the assets off to China. Keep that in mind. You see the companies were worth more for their parts than their regular income, even though they made a regular income. People stopped buying stock for the annual return (dividend or participation in the profit) and more for the stock value (short term valuations).

Educating Humanity - FBI Interrogates NBC Cameraman For Filming UFO - NBC News Report. I don't really care about the post by the blogger. I have no idea what was going on, I am much more interested in why the FBI interrogated a cameraman over what he filmed. Lets say it wasn't a UFO, okay, then what are they afraid it was that was captured on film and why give him a lie detector test? What did he film and more importantly, why give him a lie detector test?

Have a great week.


Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Getting Better

I did not get up till like 3 today and every muscle hurt; but, the fever has broken and that is valuable. I will continue to rest tomorrow and hopefully will be fully functional by Wednesday, or at least as functional as I usually am.

I am happy to report that four people have in fact met the ALS challenge that I made. I will not be posting all of the videos as this blog is still anonymous and I respect that. This blog is about 7 years old and I have never made a dime from it, requested a dime or given away peoples identities.


Sunday, August 24, 2014

I Have the Flu and it Sucks

A couple of days ago my daughter got the flu, I gave her medicine and avoided direct contact. It didn't work and now I have the flu and a fever. I don't like the fever part and can feel how it is effecting my thinking. Fortunately I have my favorite soup, I hope I can keep it down. Heck, I hope I can get it in me. When I get the flu I often lose my sense of taste.

I feel cold and am sweating, I go from cold to hot and back again. It is quite interesting how a fever effects us and our level of concentration. Don't expect any news from me tonight. Be well.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Hello all,

The Pimpernel contributes to many charities and has housed the homeless for around five years in his own home. I have also made substantial contributions to food banks (one of which I helped start). Since I was in elementary school I have worked and contributed to MDA and UNICEF. THE ALSA foundation supports people and research into Lou Gehrig's disease, a disease that slowly destroys people. There is a challenge going around to either contribute $100 or dunk your head in ice water buckets. People with integrity have done both, I have not been given the challenge; but, will be contributing $400 to charity with the first $100 going to ALSA. The other $300 will be going to MDA (Muscular Dystrophy), a food bank and homelessness.

Once one has taken the challenge, they are entitled to challenge others and I have already begun that process. As this blog is anonymous I will not be posting videos nor calling people out by name on this site. In fact, I have been making personal calls to the people I am challenging. One of them is the president of a substantial company and another is the head of another organization. I am not challenging them for $100, I am challenging them to give $100 to ALSA and $300 to any charities of their choice.

For 7 years I have been writing this blog and it has over 60,000 hits. I have never asked for a dime and do not advertise, this site is not and never will be monetized. I don't roll that way. It will also always be anonymous unless people choose to post identifying information. That is how I roll. Having said that, I want to know if any of you will bother to contribute, if you do let us know and you don't have to identify yourself or prove it to me. It is a moral question. Do you care about others, do they matter? I think we all matter.

One of my best friends died from a similar disease. I watched this lovely man slowly lose everything, his body, his mind and his awareness. It was horrifying; but, he did it with integrity. This is for you Bill, I miss you and love you.

Robbie, you are being called out to take the challenge and challenge everyone on the website that I used to be a member of and let them know that this is from me, if any remember me on it and even if they do not.

If the truth is inside you then I hope your truth is that others matter and that you are willing to help others. Lets have some fun while giving to help others. Peace.

Pimpernel

Friday, August 22, 2014

Let's take out the garbage/

There is a lot of rubbish going around that needs to be discarded.

BBC - Richard Dawkins: 'Immoral' not to abort Down's foetuses.

How does one believe in bringing back a Cromagnon; but  also believe we should kill off people who are not perfect? We all matter. Why does he believe that the existence of people less capable then himself means their lives are not worth living? If most people believe that joy is what we should seek in life and a person with Down's feels more joy than him, then why should the kid with Down's die?

Mr. Dawkins is a swine and proves it everytime he talks.

Mail Online - Are we becoming more STUPID? IQ scores are decreasing - and some experts argue it's because humans have reached their intellectual peak. The article claims that IQs went up because of better nutrition and education. It then proceeds to claim that the decrease in IQ is the result of humans reaching their intellectual top. They never asked the question if nutrition and education have devolved since the 60s,they have. They also ignored the fact that as new skills are more beneficial than others, the SAT and IQ tests have not evolved to track what people bother learning. If the test includes questions about how to start a fire with two twigs, does it even bother testing for what people bother learning? People are not getting dumber.

Why does the world want to convince you that you do not matter? It is never for your benefit that another would tell you that you do not matter and you do, that is what the world hates, it hates that you matter.