I Was Wrong

Just over four years ago, I wrote a journal post explaining why I thought it was unnecessary to go to church. Why fellowship didn’t really mean a church body, why I was good enough on my own and could grow more without attending church or being around other Christians. Why going to church was actually even harmful sometimes – those bad apples would drag me down, you see. I needed to be free.

And for some reason, several more experienced Christians who I had (and have) great respect for took the time to tell me, in far kinder and gentler words, that I was being an idiot. And being an idiot, I ignored them, and did a remarkable job of missing the point and rationalizing my idiot decision. Fortunately, the last four years have done an awfully convincing job of proving them right.

I’ve been going to Redemption Church for about 4 months now, and I love it. However, only tonight did it suddenly click with me that this could be a real home. I attended their 20-somethings ministry, called Seven Ten, and was promptly greeted by several friendly faces who then introduced me to their friends. A couple of hours of fellowship and talking with my peers later and I was back on my way home, and I find myself looking forward toward next week with something that I can only describe as hunger.

So should you be considering the same thing I was and stumble across this post, dear reader: please, don’t be an idiot like me. The church isn’t perfect – no institution with people is – but it’s far better than the alternatives.

eSmoking?

So I had an unexpected email arrive in my inbox a couple of weeks back from a gal promoting an e-Cigarette company called Vapor4Life, who asked if I’d be interested in trying their product and writing a review on my blog. Apparently what made her think that I would be a good candidate is that I  occasionally enjoy cigars, but I’d never heard of e-Cigs being marketed to cigar enthusiasts before, so I clarified with her that I hadn’t smoked cigarettes in years and wasn’t sure if I’d be the best fit. She insisted that I was, in fact, what she was looking for, and sent me a starter kit. So bear that perspective in mind when you read on, because I’m not a cigarette smoker.

My first impression was that the device sure looked cool. She sent me a pair of e-Cigarettes, one white with a faux-ash looking tip, and the other matte black with a diamond-cut glass tip. She also sent along a couple of different types of cartomizers, which are the “flavor” of the e-Cig and the container for the juice they use to generate the vapor. The “body” of the e-Cigarette is simply called the battery, and it came with both a wall charger and a USB charger, which is a nice touch for any mobile electronic device.

She sent me a blueberry flavor and two that were supposed to be like tobacco – the “Wowbacco” and the “Hilton” flavors. I decided to try the Wowbacco first. I attached the cartomizer to the battery – it’s simply screwed on – and took my first drag.

I was expecting it to take a bit of suction to get anything out of it, as I’d heard that complaint before about e-Cigs, but I got pretty much just what I would from a cigar or cigarette. After a few drags, I did notice that there was a slight delay between when you started inhaling and when the vapor released, which definitely lends it an artificial feel. However, it’s really a very small delay, and it didn’t detract from the experience at all.

What surprised me most, I suppose, was that the vapor felt so light in my mouth. There was no heat or sensation of smoke, I could scarcely feel the vapor at all. The taste of this one was also very light and airy – nothing like a cigar, more like a filtered cigarette (which makes sense, given the flavor) – though it’s definitely there and quite pleasant. If anything, this flavor is a bit sweeter than I’d expect. In addition, because there’s no burning happening in the process, there’s no burning smell, no smoky smell at all. So while you get the flavor, divorced from the smoke it feels quite different than the normal smoking experience.

The vapor looks just like real smoke would, though, which is probably why the company helpfully sent along about 50 business card-sized information cards for use when questioned about it that explain the difference between an e-Cig and a regular cigarette. It informs the reader that it does not violate any of the smoking bans across the nation, ending with a polite appeal to allow the holder to continue using his e-Cigarette in the establishment – a nice touch, as I can easily see being confronted over using one of these, especially if it was a white battery with a brown cartomizer!

There’s also really no residual at all to the vapor – after using one for a while and setting it aside, there was no leftover smell in the air and my clothes hadn’t kept any of the odor. That immediately got my attention, because this effectively sweeps aside the need for talking about secondhand effects of any sort. Combine that with the fact that e-Cigs are so darned convenient – take a drag or two and put it back in your pocket! – and I can see the appeal of this as a cigarette alternative very easily.

After using it for a few days, though, I don’t know if I can see these as a good substitute for a cigar. The feel of the thing is just too “light,” and I really like the thicker feel of the smoke when you drag on a cigar. While neither of the flavors I tried was very much like a cigar – the Hilton was my preferred of the two, by the way – I could see them coming up with a decent cigar flavor. I just don’t know if the vapor is a good enough substitute.

Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. It’s a great replacement for a cigarette, as far as I’m concerned – more or less the same experience without the drawbacks. And now that I have one, I’ll probably continue to use it periodically. There’s something to be said for the relaxation that comes from the simple act of smo— er, vaping.

Also – I just gave the other test battery to a friend of mine, so look for a follow up on that here in the near future!

Tonight’s debate

Well, Perry looked almost as tired, but twice as petty. Cain really didn’t look any better, and Romney unfortunately came out looking fairly strong – if only in comparison. Romney, Cain, Santorum and Perry all had more than their share of yelling over each other and talking out of turn like spoiled children. Santorum actually just looked like a jerk the whole time. Gingrich looked and sounded confident, as did Paul, but I doubt either will have much of a chance. I am starting to get that sickening gut feeling that Romney will be our candidate, which means Obama will probably get a second term after all.

So… now I break out the whiskey and go back to reading. Stupid politics.

Another election, another economic plan

The way I see it there are currently four potentially viable GOP candidates to challenge Obama in 2012: Romney, Cain, Perry, and Paul.

Of that group, Romney is essentially a Democrat, and is easily the most liberal of the group, so I have a hard time taking him seriously, much less supporting him. Paul has a lot of great ideas and ultimately I think is the “most right” of the bunch when it comes to how things should be, but therein lies his problem – his idealism gets in the way of practicality, which makes him both naive and politically unfeasible. Would I support him over Obama? Absolutely. But do I think he’s the best man to run against him? No.

So that leaves Cain and Perry, the two candidates who piqued my interest back when they announced and haven’t done anything yet to send me running for the hills. In the last debate, I wasn’t particularly impressed with either – Cain seemed too aggressive, even angry at times, and just kept hammering “999” like a traveling salesman. Perry, on the other hand, looked unsure of himself and entirely uncomfortable the entire time – certainly not the image of a calm and confident leader.

The big issue of the election, though, is the economy, and that’s what sets the two apart most clearly – now, that is, that Perry’s unveiled his plan. Cain’s plan is simple, and we’ve heard it often: 9-9-9, which is a tax reform plan that he suggests will be enough to get businesses revitalized all on its own. The basic idea is that he reduces income taxes to 9% for both businesses and individuals, and adds a 9% national sales tax. This would replace the entire mess of a tax code we have now. The good news: it would abolish the death tax, capital gains tax, and payroll taxes, and simplifies the paperwork significantly – no deductions, no special interests, just 9%. It’s an attractive suggestion.

But I don’t know if it’s worth the tradeoff. First, the income tax as it is now will lower the tax burden on those making a lot of money, and increase the tax on those making a little – and it also means that the 48% of the country not paying any taxes at all would have to start. This is obviously politically unpopular, but it could be manageable IF prices came down as a result of the changes, which would make things more affordable for those with a lower income, or if wages increased significantly and quickly as a direct result. But, I don’t know if that’s likely to happen, due to the third “9” in his plan.

That “9,” his national sales tax, is very nearly a VAT, though it technically isn’t one in the proposed form. A Value Added Tax is a special type of sales tax that is collected at each step of a product’s lifespan – from the sale of the initial raw material all the way to the finalized product’s purchase by the consumer. Each step adds a significant increase to the price of any given product, and the more complex the product, the larger the effect it have. Because it is built into the price, it is nearly impossible to determine how much of a product’s price is based on the tax and how much is based on the market – and then you add another tax on top of that “final” price. Europe has been doing this for a while now, and it’s driven their tax revenues through the roof.  If Cain’s sales tax becomes a VAT, it’s very hard to see how this will not add a massive burden to the average consumer – and ultimately, Cain wants to shift the entire tax burden onto this part of the plan.

Let me add that I do like the idea of moving taxes off of income tax entirely, doing away with that in favor of a national sales tax – I think the FairTax plan is still the best one I have heard, and that is where Cain wants to ultimately end up. His initial 9-9-9 plan is a transitional plan. The problem is that he wants to start the Federal sales tax BEFORE eliminating the income tax. Without cutting off the income tax as a source of Federal income, he leaves open the possibility of it remaining open indefinitely, and alongside a new revenue stream – the sales tax. We’ve all seen that governments are loathe to give up ways to take our money, so I’m not inclined to ever trust one to do so willingly. That makes this plan have a huge potential to backfire and make things worse, instead of better. Cain suffers in that regard from a bit of the Ron Paul naivete, I think.

So let’s look at the Perry plan, then. His focuses less on taxes and more on encouraging job creation. He wants to cut EPA regulations that are stifling current projects and open more projects in the energy sector, allowing drilling in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, alongside expanding projects in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania while encouraging exploration in western states. Now the beautiful thing about this plan is that it is something that can easily be implemented quickly, and would immediately turn into rapid job growth. A lot of these projects are literally waiting on the government’s approval right now, and have thus far been turned down – Perry’s answer is to, basically, finally say yes. So he ignores the problems with the complicated tax code – not ideal! – but instead focuses on immediately getting jobs going by dialing down the regulation and opening up the markets that we’ve thus far kept closed. This is, I think, the best approach for our current situation.

Moving away from our current tax structure toward the FairTax is something I’d love to see happen, but I think our current economic situation is too precarious to undertake that particular journey right now. We need to get people working again, and quickly, and I think Perry’s plan stands a better chance of making that happen.

Given that, I’d say at this point my support is with Perry right now. I’d love to see Cain as his running mate, though, if for no other reason than to make sure Cain’s insistence on a reformed tax code stays firmly lodged in Perry’s ear.