The Golden Bridge

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (Scipio, for short) is considered to be among the greatest generals in the history of the world. About 200 years before Christ, he ended the greatest threat to ever face the Roman Republic by defeating Hannibal of Carthage in Hannibal's own land without any military or financial aid from Rome.

Scipio is credited with being the first recorded man to promote the use of what is sometimes called the golden bridge. According to Vegetius:

"Most people ignorant of military matters believe the victory will be more complete if they surround the enemy in a confined place or with large numbers of soldiers, so that they can find no way of escape. But trapped men draw extra courage from desperation, and when there is no hope, fear takes up arms. Men who know without a doubt that they are going to die and will gladly die in good company.
For this reason, Scipio's axiom has won good praise, when he said that a way should be built for the enemy to flee by. For when an escape-route is revealed, the minds of all are united on turning their backs, and they are slaughtered unavenged, like cattle. Nor is there any danger for the pursuers once the defeated have turned round the arms with which they could have defended themselves. In this tactic, the greater the numbers, the more easily is a mass cut down. For there is no need of numbers in a case where the soldiers' minds, once terrified, wish to avoid not just the enemy's weapons but his face. Whereas trapped men, though few in number and weak in strength, for this very fact are a match for their enemies, because desperate men know they can have no other recourse. 'The only hope of safety for the defeated is to expect no safety.'"
- Vegetius, Epitoma Rei Militaris III, xxi

The golden bridge is the perceived route of escape. It gives people a reason to stop fighting and try taking the easy way out. What they don't realize is that it's actually a trap that ensures their defeat more easily and soundly than fighting to the last man.

If you corner the bear, you get mauled. If you let it run, you get a free shot at its back.

Now, I'm going to throw a thought out there, and I'm sure it's not going to be very popular. Here goes:

In the United States of America, the vote is your golden bridge.

That's not to say that you shouldn't vote. Every American citizen ought to diligently consider exercising this freedom. The key is to not let it fool you into ignoring the deeds that can actually bring about change for the better. As to what those other deeds are, I'll leave that for you to dwell on.

We must not get caught up in the mindset that situations will improve if we just get enough of the right politicians in office. Ain't. Gonna. Happen. Digging up dirt on this politician or campaigning for that poitician are only ways of treating the symptoms of a system that is broken at its core, and those who are truly in control want you to believe that you're really making a difference if you just do these things. As you run across the golden bridge they have set up for you, your back is exposed and they don't have to worry about defending themselves.

Let's be honest. Your right to vote has driven you to complacency. You have used it as an excuse to throw up your hands and say, "I did my part."

If you're one of the sorry creatures that gets upset or depressed when an election doesn't go your way, if you place all your hopes for the future of this country on what the polls are telling you about the next election, you are the problem. Your favorite party isn't going to fix what is actually broken. It isn't driven by moral obligation or patriotic duty, and it's certainly not driven by you. The fact that you and the rest of this country don't recognize the golden bridge for what it is ensures the fate of this land just as the fleeing soldier ensures the victory of his attacker.

Gmail is my E-mail

In the past few months, I have witnessed the rapid spread of a terrible disease.  This disease is not physically harmful, but, let me tell you, it aggravates the snot out of me.  It affects users of the internet, and here are the symptoms:

1) The victims are unhappy with their e-mail services and/or e-mail clients.
2) They are unwilling to fix the problem.

Now, there's a good chance you're rolling your eyes right now and thinking, "There he goes again.  He's writing this just for me because we've been over this a million times."  Well, you're wrong.  I am not writing this "just" for anybody.  I personally know a large number of people infected by this virus.  In recent months, the victim count has grown at a disturbing rate.  You are not alone.

So now you're probably thinking, "Yeah, yeah.  I know you're going to tell me to switch to Gmail again."  Not exactly.  You don't have to "switch" to anything.  More specifically, you can enjoy the benefits of a better e-mail solution while retaining your current e-mail addresses.  To find out how, read this quick tutorial:

Manage All Your Email Accounts with Gmail

As the link explains, you can use Gmail to manage all your e-mail addresses without your contacts ever knowing you are using Gmail!  You can even import all your old e-mail into Gmail.  It's super-duper easy; I promise.

Of course, you're probably thinking, "Okay, I understand the 'how,' but not the 'why.'"  Why would anybody want to use Gmail?

Reason #1: Gmail's web interface is the best e-mail client in existence.

Forget Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, and Apple Mail.  The best software for managing your e-mail doesn't need to be installed on your computer.  All you need is a web browser!  Gmail's web interface has so many great features and options that I can hardly begin to describe them all.  (Of course, the default settings are great too, just in case you don't like to tinker.)

Gmail has an excellent labeling system that is a huge improvement over the typical "folder" systems other clients use.  It also has a robust filter system for automatically managing your e-mail as it arrives.  The search function is fast and effective; I never have trouble finding old messages.  You can also enable hotkeys if you're not a fan of clicking on everything.

Gmail Labs allows you to turn on extra features, including multiple inboxes, forgotten attachment detector, undo send option, and much more.  In addition, there are many browser extensions that you can use to change the way your web browser handles Gmail.

Most importantly, you can access the Gmail web interface wherever you go.  You don't need to install anything!  However, if you're still attached to your current e-mail client, Gmail's service still works fine with the aforementioned e-mail software as well as others.

Reason #2: Gmail (Google) accounts contain many other useful tools.

Your Google account will also come with an awesome calendar that supports all the main features people need in a calendaring system.  These include recurring appointments, meeting invitations that work even with people who don't use Gmail, task management, and more.  Easily access it all from your web browser.

Other features include Google Talk for chat (IM, voice, and video), Picasa Web Albums for photo management, Google Reader for managing RSS feeds and non-RSS web articles,  Google Docs for an online Office suite (yes, it supports common Microsoft Office formats), Blogger for... well... blogging, Google Voice, and much, much more.

Reason #3: There is no better junk filter.

The spam filter is regularly praised by IT experts as being the best of its kind.  I have been using Gmail since it was in its invite-only beta stage years ago, and I think I've only ever had two false positives and maybe five spam messages that didn't get automatically filtered.

Reason #4: Gmail is reliable.

I've never been unable to access my e-mail.  Ever.

If you are concerned about losing your mail, you can back it up automatically using an online service called Backupify.  You can also use it to back up accounts for Facebook, Twitter, and others.  Backupify accounts are available for free until February 15th, so don't wait!

Reason #5: Gmail has a bright future.

Gmail is under very active development; it is constantly being improved.  It integrates well with the latest technology - new browsers with massive plugin support, mobile devices, and various "Web 2.0" applications.  You can be confident that your Gmail account will keep up with whatever the IT industry dreams up next.

I could go on about why I use Gmail, but I'm sure you get the picture.  If you have any questions about Gmail, be sure to drop me a message or leave a comment.  If you already use Gmail, check out this recent article for some advice on getting the most out of your e-mail experience:

Become a Gmail Master Redux

Google also has a list of useful Gmail tips.

Jesus Rifles

- Somewhere in Afghanistan -

"Akhmed!  I am mortally wounded!"

"D'oh!  What ever shall we do, Sarge?"

"Did you catch the serial number on that rifle?"

"ACOG4X32JN8:12, Sir."

"Ack!  That is obviously a reference to John 8:12.  Pull out your NIV and read it to me!"

"No need, Sir.  I can recite it from memory. 'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.''"

"It is just as I feared!  I have been shot by a Jesus rifle.  Avenge me in the name of Allah!"

"But Sir, isn't Jesus one of Allah's great prophe-"

"DO IT ANYWAY!!!"

- Back to Reality -

I know, it's ridiculous, but according to ABC News, this is exactly what Michael Weinstein of the inappropriately named Military Religious Freedom Foundation claims is happening:

"It allows the Mujahedeen, the Taliban, al Qaeda and the insurrectionists and jihadists to claim they're being shot by Jesus rifles, ... We're emboldening an enemy."

Getting shot may or may not tick you off, but if it's a Jesus Rifle (TM) you're sure to be angry.  It's almost like they haven't already decided the States are "the great Satan."

Seriously, though, worshipers of religious censorship "freedom" are making two primary claims when discussing this story.

Claim #1: It violates the separation of church and state.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution reads:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

A violation of the separation of church and state is not necessarily a violation of the U.S. constitution (or any national law, for that matter) because the words "church," "state," or "separation" do not exist in the "establishment" clause.  This issue has nothing to do with congressional laws, so it gets the Bill of Rights nod of approval.

Claim #2: It violates U.S. military rules by proselytizing to the people of foreign nations.

The funny thing about this claim, similar to the one above, is that the people crying about injustice won't actually quote the rules.  Here is what the Uniform Code of Military Justice says about proselytizing:

"Military officials must ensure that service members are neither punished for their beliefs nor subjected to unwanted proselytizing or evangelizing from military chaplains or senior officers and noncommissioned officers, even if the proselytizing or evangelizing is intended as a good-faith effort to salvage the spiritual health of the service members."

What does this regulation have to do with protecting foreigners from harmful messages of love and forgiveness?  Right.  Nothing.

[Edit: Actually, there's more.  For a discussion of General Order No. 1, see the comments below.]

In addition, if you wanted to make the claim that service members are being subjected to unwanted evangelizing from officers, go ask your local serviceman if he'd rather have the Bible-stamped scope from Trijicon or the basic hunting model from Wal-Mart.  (Go on.  It's okay.  They're actually nice once you get to know them.)  I guarantee he'll agree with the officers that signed the contracts for these excellent pieces of American technology.

A private company has every right to stamp references to Bible verses, quoted Bible passages, crosses, or whatever on its products.  And if that company's products are the most effective at saving American lives, the armed forces have every right to purchase them.  Isn't the rule of law wonderful?

Besides, I have it on good authority that Trijicon only hires the very best productivity engineers.  Trijicon is one of, what, two? businesses in Michigan that are successful right now.  Perhaps the media could benefit from the use of some scopes to zoom in on actual problems instead of shooting themselves in the feet.