Wednesday, 10 January 2007
Cut the Yellow Ribbon
Topic: Iraq War
This is an article I came across on Netscape that I had to pass on. It so eloquently states my opinion of the Iraqi war.
Mac
Published on Monday, January 8, 2007 by CommonDreams.org
Cure For Yellow Ribbon Patriotism
by Robert Weitzel
A man I once knew survived his tour of duty in Vietnam. In the privacy of a rented house trailer he drank alone until he finally had the “courage” to kill himself. I don’t know if he saw combat. He never said. I only assumed he had because when he spoke, what he said had the finality of a trigger pull. To my mind, there is only one way to acquire such certainty.
I only saw him on the weekends when he made beer runs for my high school buddies and me. We gave him a six-pack and ten minutes of our time for his trouble and then left him as we had found him, sitting at his kitchen table pulling on an unfiltered cigarette and sipping a lukewarm beer like he had all the time in the world.
I didn’t see him after high school and he was dead by the time I next thought to ask about him. I don’t know that he was a casualty of the war. He might have traveled the same road regardless of Vietnam. But then, he might not have.
Like most returning Vietnam vets before the release of the POW’s, he was not given a hero’s welcome. Hero was a term we seldom used back then; not like today when we toss it out like confetti on the deserving and the undeserving alike.
He came back instead to an indifferent, if not hostile, country. He and his fellow vets were slipped into the country singly or in small groups so as to diffuse throughout the population the “cure” they carried in their marrow, rendering it as ineffectual as a homeopathic dilution.
The “cure” these soldiers brought back from Vietnam was a potion distilled of moments: moments of bravery and sacrifice and sorrow, of bowel-loosening fear, of dehumanizing anger and hostility, of unasked and unanswered questions, moments too damaging to the soul to ever find release in confession.
It was a potion that if used thoughtfully could inoculate the nation against the disease of the god Mars. But it was ignored along with the soldiers. Vietnam vets, like the man I knew, were left to overdose on the potion in their own private hell.
The rally cry, “support our troops,” was born of a sincere desire to separate our feelings for the soldiers from our feelings for the war. It was meant as a mea culpa to the Vietnam veteran and a promise that we would never again make our soldiers the scapegoats for the machinations of the power elite. As a statement of concern for the wellbeing of the individual soldier, “support our troops” is unassailable.
But like the word hero, the vitality of the sentiment expressed by “support our troops” has been sapped by mindless iteration and the Machiavellian genius of warmongers. It has become little more than a patriotic platitude on par with, “God Bless America,” and a euphemism for “support our war.” As a balm to the national conscience for once again consigning our troops to the killing field, it is the battle cry that leads and sustains our country in an unjust war.
In a recent Military Times Poll, only 35 percent of our troops approved of the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war, while only 23 percent believed Congress was looking out for them. The troops are telling us they do not feel supported by the politicians who sent them to the killing field for a dose of the “cure.”
Against the advise of both retired and active duty military leaders, President Bush’s new strategy for winning the war in Iraq is expected to include a “surge” of 20,000 to 40,000 additional troops to help quell the sectarian violence unleashed by the illegal invasion and botched occupation of that country.
A November 2006 survey by WorldPublicOpinion.org revealed that 72 percent of Iraqi Shias believe the presence of U.S. occupation forces only exacerbates an already lethal situation and wants them out of their country within the year, while 91percent of Sunnis approve of attacks on U.S troops.
Our troops, our top military leaders, and the Iraqi people are sending a clear message. It is time to for the U.S. to “cut and run.”
Yellow ribbon patriots finally have an opportunity to support our troops in a meaningful way. They can begin by removing their magnetic yellow ribbon bumper stickers, by listening to the troops and helping to get them home, and by demanding that those who took the country to war with lies and deception be held to account.
All Americans will continue to abdicate their responsibility to the living and the dead and the wounded troops if they are unwilling to inoculate themselves with the “cure” brought home from the killing field.
Robert Weitzel is freelance writer whose essays regularly appear in The Capital Times in Madison, WI. He has also been published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Skeptic Magazine, and Freethought Today. He can be contacted at: rweitz@tds.net
Posted by rj06042
at 11:17 AM EST
Friday, 5 January 2007
No such thing as an Anchor Baby
Topic: Anchor Baby
I wish people would stop using the term Anchor Baby when referring to babies born to Illegal Immigrants from Mexico or any other country, while the parents are living illegally in the United States. These babies are in fact Mexican Citizens who happened to be born in this country. These children do have Dual Citizenship, and when these children reach maturity they have a choice of which country they will choose to be citizens of. But that has absolutely no bearing on the fact that their parents are still Mexican Citizens, unless they have been naturalized and have attained American Citizenship.
My parents were from Canada, and six of my brothers and sisters were born in Canada. My parents moved to the United States when their children were all under the age of 14 years, then my sister Roberta and I were born in the United States. But that did not change the fact that my parents and six of their children were still Canadian Citizens. When I was about 12 years old my parents were naturalized and became American Citizens, and my six older siblings all had to be naturalized as well. Even though all six of them had gotten married to American Citizens that did not make them citizens of the United States automatically.
When I was 20 years old I enlisted in the American Army, and as I was being sworn in, I had to denounce my allegiance to Canada and accept the United States as my country of choice and swear my allegiance to the Government of the United States.
One of my stepsons was born in Japan while his American born natural father was serving in the US Air Force, and his American born mother was living in Japan, but that did not make him or his parents Japanese Citizens. He was born in Japan to American Parents, and when they returned to the United States, they did not have to leave him there, but brought him back as an American.
This is as it should be and not as some people are trying to claim of the Illegal Immigrants from Mexico must leave their American born children here as they are American Citizens and cannot go back to Mexico. That claim is a lie and always will be. The only way is that if one of the parents is a legal American Citizen, then the child born in this country is an American Citizen.
To take that premise to the point of extreme, let us suppose that a pregnant woman was flying from her home in Iceland to visit friends in Australia. And as the plane was flying over the United States she gave birth to her baby, does that make her baby an American Citizen? Will the airplane have to land and let the American Citizen baby off, so its Icelandic Citizen mother can continue on her journey? Or if a pregnant woman was flying over Europe gave birth to triplets, one child over each of the countries of Spain, France, and Germany, would those three babies actually be citizens of those three different countries? Or if a child happened to be born at a time the mother was on a ship in International Waters, does this mean that the child has no citizenship at all?
Of course not, those children are the children of the parents and maintain the citizenship of the country that their parents are citizens of. And so it is with the children born to Mexican parents, no matter where they are born. The woman Elvira Arellano, who is seeking sanctuary in a church in Chicago claiming that we must not deport her because she would have to leave her American born son here is another out and out lie. Her son is a Mexican Citizen, who happened to be born in this country to Mexican parents, and when she is deported he will go with her.
Posted by rj06042
at 5:45 AM EST
Updated: Friday, 5 January 2007 11:28 AM EST
Saturday, 30 December 2006
Conn. Man and Daughter going to Jail for hiring Illegals
An Article from a Hartford, CT newspaper, The Hartford Courant has a piece about a Connecticut man and daughter going to jail for hiring Illegal Immigrants from Portugal
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-guilfordsentencing.dec29,0,2348198.story?coll=hc-headlines-local&track=email_newsletter
I'll bet this makes the people who live on Cape Cod, New Bedford, Fall River New London and Mystic, and many other seaport towns that have a great number of people who's families originated in Portugal real happy.
I would like to hear how Senators Dodd, Lieberman, Kennedy and Kerry explain this treatment of Portuguese, while they are trying to give Illegal Immigrants from Mexico, American Citizenship.
I would also like someone to explain how Enticing aliens with job promises and Harboring aliens are treated as Felonies in Connecticut, but in Texas and New Mexico, are just an act of friendliness
Posted by rj06042
at 11:01 AM EST
Friday, 22 December 2006
Swearing in using Koran instead of Bible
Topic: Koran vs Bible
I find it distressing that a newly elected member of congress Minnesota Rep. Elect Keith Ellison wants to be sworn in using the Koran rather than the Bible.
I feel that there should be one answer to that situation, NO, Not Allowed. This representative was elected in the United States of America under the laws and edicts of The Constitution of The United States. And the Constitution states that the Swearing in of Congressmen will be done with the left hand on the Bible and the right hand raised during the recitation of the vows.
If this person happened to be elected in Iraq or Saudi Arabia or Iran, what possibility do you think the use of a Bible to be sworn in would be allowed? In some of these countries just the possession of a Bible is against the law. Just because here in the United States this person is allowed to possess a Koran does not give him authority to flaunt the laws of this country, and start demanding that we must do things his way or not at all.
What other laws of the United States does this newly elected congressman chose to ignore because he does not believe in them? How many other principles that this country has grown up on does this Congressman want to change because he was taught that only his way is acceptable? How many other organizations does he plan on re-writing their rules because he does not believe in them?
The United States exists because we are a great many different nationalities, cultures, and religions who have learned to exist under a certain code that was set up to serve all using a set of rules and regulations that serve all, no matter if some of the people who live here are of a different belief or religion. There have been members of congress who are Catholic, Protestant, Episcopalians, Mormon and Jewish, and possibly Atheists. And all of these people have been sworn in (Or have affirmed. their oath) using the Bible as the indication of trust.
This same procedure is used at many other functions such as the Court of Law, and any other function that are held where the truth and honesty of the participants are held dear to the members.
But now we have an individual who wants to ignore the procedures that have been the American Way for the past 400 years and do it his way. I say if this person feels that way he should be allowed to move to a country where the Koran is used in all events instead of the Bible.
It seems to me that this person is thumbing his nose at all things American. This congressman is purporting that his family has lived in this country for over a hundred years. I would like to ask if things are so great in the country of his ancestry, what the hell are they doing living here? Or is it that his parents and grandparents, and possibly his great grandparents found that here in The United States of America, where there is such freedom of rights for individuals and the freedom of religion, was and is a much better way of life for all, than the country they left in order to live here instead?
If this person can elect use the book he chooses to be sworn in, instead of the book described in The Constitution, then the people who are Jewish can use the Torah, Mormons can use the Book of Mormon, and that guy from the back woods can use the latest issue of Hunting and Fishing, sometimes referred to as The Hunter’s Bible, and if some day a woman is elected to be President of these United States, she can choose Ladies Home Journal as her symbol of Trust and Honesty . Any and all of these options are making the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of The United States of America, and The Bill of Rights worthless as just other pieces of paper with words printed on them, and all the principles this country was built upon, become the laughing stock of the world.
This is an article I found about Saudi Arabia concerning the possession of a Bible:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=%5C%5CForeignBureaus%5C%5Carchive%5C%5C200505%5C%5CFOR20050519a.html
During the 1990s, Nalliah spent two years in Saudi Arabia, where he was deeply involved with the underground church.
"It's a very well-known fact that if you have a Bible at customs when you enter the airport, and if they find the Bible, that the Bible is taken and put in the shredder," he said in an interview this week.
"If you have more than one Bible you will be taken into custody, and if you have a quantity of Bibles you will be given 70 lashes for sure - you could even be executed."
Nalliah had not himself seen a Bible being shredded but said the practice was widely acknowledged among Christians in the kingdom.
Abuse of Christians and their symbols was not restricted to the destruction of Bibles, he added.
So back to my thoughts and opinion, if and when this Newly Elected Congressman shows up possessing a Koran, how about we do things the Saudi Arabian, Muslim way, and Execute him, and allow the replacement the Governor appoints to fill the open seat, be sworn in using a Bible
Posted by rj06042
at 6:29 PM EST
Friday, 15 December 2006
Well the Democrats don't have the answer
Topic: Iraq War
I am tired of hearing all of the political Pundits during interviews keep claiming, “The Democrats have won control of congress, but they do not have an answer of how to win in Iraq!”
I heard David Gergen make a very similar statement last night (Dec. 14 2006) on CNN. Mr. Gergen and all of the other Super Intelligent Political Pundits seem to imply that because the Democrats do not have a ready answer for this problem which they inherited from the Republicans, the Democrats are dense, because if they did not have the answer they should have stayed out of the situation and just let the Bush Administration and the Republicans take care of it in their own good time.
I would like to pose a question to David Gergen, Bill Schneider, Jeff Greenfield, and all of the other experts and ask, “What is the very simple solution of how to win in Iraq that you know of, that the democrats do not?” I doubt that Mr. Gergen or any of the others will have a ready answer, because there is no ready answer, as a matter of fact there is no difficult answer either. The problem is that we attacked Iraq without having any plan at all.
We invaded Iraq without any solutions planned in advance, other than the idea that every other times the United States got involved in a world situation everything worked out so well. It seems that the Bush Administration failed to comprehend that there were in fact many plans that were made in advance of the commencement of these events, and they were upgraded as the needs became evident. It appears to me that the Bush administration just thought everything would go all right because it always does, and had no comprehension that carefully though out plans had been made in advance of these other events.
I would like to propose a similar but hypothetical problem to all of these political pundits and see what their answers are. You are a Skydiver and you have made your exit from the aircraft, and things are not going quite as well as you had expected. You did not jump quite as far out from the plane as you had hoped, the wind is blowing in the wrong direction so you will not hit your target area, and you are falling faster than you had anticipated. By the way, due to your lack of preparation you forgot to put on your parachute before you jumped, what is your very simple solution to correct this perplexing problem, David?
Posted by rj06042
at 11:28 PM EST
Updated: Saturday, 16 December 2006 12:09 AM EST
Sunday, 10 December 2006
No Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants
Topic: Immigrants
There was a question posed by Lou Dobbs on his program on CNN TV the other night asking whether the people thought that as Gov. Bill Richardson purported that having a Guest Worker program would help solve the Illegal Immigration program? The results were that 92 % of the over 10,000 people who responded said NO! In other words the general public disagree with George W. Bush and Senators Kennedy, Lieberman, Reid, and many others that are in favor of such a program. The majority of American Citizens do not want to offer any kind of favors to the people who have broken every law they can think of to enter this country illegally, gain employment by lying and cheating, live in substandard and unsafe conditions and demand that we must offer them many rights and privileges that are denied to even many legitimate citizens. We already have about 535 people who get and hold onto their jobs by lying and cheating, so we certainly do not need any more.
Posted by rj06042
at 9:31 AM EST
Wednesday, 6 December 2006
Teaching Pigs to Fly
Topic: Iraq War
There are too many people who are claiming that we must come up with the answer on how to win the war in Iraq. What these people do not take into consideration is that the area commonly referred to as the Middle-East, has for centuries been a part of the world which has been ruled by Dictators and Royalty, and most governments have for hundreds of years primarily based on their religious beliefs.
But now we of the United States have decided that these people cannot live under those conditions any longer and they must become Free Democracies like us. But seeing what the 109th Congress did, or didn’t do during the past few years makes that premise questionably at best.
The people who live in that part of the world are not that interested in making any rapid changes, and were quite happy the way they were.
The situation is kind of like what would happen if we have decided that we should teach Pigs how to fly. Now Pigs are not really that interested in learning how to fly. As a matter of fact pigs are very happy being able to wallow in the mud, as it prevents those pesky flies from landing on their backs. Pigs are not prone to running fast or jumping over things, and are satisfied to just walk slowly to get from point A to point B. Pigs are happy to eat a lot and gain weight, and are not really interested in losing weight to get down to a good flying trim. And pigs are not really known for jumping off high places, simulating flight, so even if we could cause pigs to grow wings, the idea of teaching them to fly would be extremely remote, if not impossible as they have no desire to fly.
The same is true of the people of Iraq, as we have invaded their country, disrupted their existing government and Law Enforcement, eliminated their existing military, and caused them to have a free election and eliminate the concept that their government should be based on their religious belief, and should instead set up as a government of religious freedom, like ours.
This is not like a switch that you can turn off the ideas and lifestyles that a people have lived with for hundreds of years, just because you held an election. The changes we are trying to force down the throats of these people will take years, or even generations to accomplish.
They have held their free elections and formed a government, but the government has been infiltrated by outside elements and has done virtually nothing. They have established a new police presence, but it too has been infiltrated by outside forces and has in certain cases become a Death Squad of other religions. They have established a new military, but it has also been infiltrated by outside elements and there have also been many deserters, who after being trained as fighters by the US Military Training Squads, have probably deserted their army and joined the insurgents. We have also supplied the new Iraqi Army with many weapons, the great majority of which are missing, and are probably being used against us by the insurgents.
The idea of establishing a free democracy and freedom of religion and equality of all people regardless of race, sex, religion, color of skin and place of origin is a concept that we in the United States have been working on and trying to get it right for almost four hundred years, and we almost got it.
So the whole idea of fixing the problem we have caused in Iraq is an unanswerable question, as we never should have gone there in the first place.
Posted by rj06042
at 7:58 PM EST
Wednesday, 22 November 2006
Performers and Hecklers
Topic: Performing Arts
Performers & Heckler
There is a big hullabaloo on the news about a Stage Comic, Michael Richards’, insulting the hecklers in the audience, and I for one think the blame is being placed on the wrong person.
Let us look at the situation that existed. There is the audience of say one or two hundred people. These people paid good money to come to this theater or club to be entertained by the performers on stage. Then we have the performer(s) who have written and practiced their routine so they can entertain the audience. Then we have the management who provide the building and furnishings to a comfortable locale to provide the paying customers a place to sit and enjoy the show, and the performers to have a safe and well-lit place to put on their act.
And the way it is supposed to happen is the audience has paid good money to be entertained, the performers have been paid to provide the entertainment, and the Management has been well paid to provide the location for the entertainment to take place, and everyone benefits.
But now we add a different quotient to the setting, Hecklers. The people who came to heckle did not come to enjoy the show, but came to interrupt the show and heckle and cajole the performer and do everything they can think of, if in fact they are capable of thinking at all, to interfere and ruin the performance. The hecklers are by nature Rude, Crude, Inconsiderate, and insensitive of other peoples ability and enjoyment of the entertainment being provided. The Hecklers quite often think of themselves as better entertainers than those on stage, but in my estimation only demonstrate their lack of education, and show their level of stupidity and their lack of consideration of the rights of others.
My question is why didn’t the paying audience tell the heckler(s) to quiet down so the show could go on? Why didn’t the Ushers or Bouncers go to the area and tell the interrupters to be quiet? Why didn’t the Management go to the heckler and demand they either be quiet or leave? Why didn’t the Management escort the interrupters of the show out the door and refund their admission?
My other problem is with the news commentators blaming the Stand-Up Comic rather than the instigators of the problem, the Hecklers. I would like to know how well those High and Mighty News protractors would do with someone heckling them, and well over a hundred people were watching with no one supporting them and no one taking their side? Why is it that none of these news pundits are not putting the blame where it belongs, with the rude, crude, arrogant, insensitive jerks who interrupted everyone else’s enjoyment of the show? I wonder how well these thoughtful intelligent well spoken purveyors of news and insightful commentary would accept it if I were to start testing my brand new Pneumatic Jack Hammer right behind them as they started to give their broadcast, so not a word they uttered could be heard? You can bet your Bippy that none of their comments directed toward me would ever be heard in any Church Sermon, and would be broadcast on TV as about a continuous steady twenty-two minute Beeeeep
I wish the many people who are blaming Mr. Richards, would put themselves in the place of Mr. Richards, and reflect on how they would react in a similar situation, before casting stones at him and blaming him for other people’s rude behavior and indiscretions.
Posted by rj06042
at 4:42 PM EST
Friday, 10 November 2006
Democratic Voters Do Not want to give Amnesty
Topic: Immigration
Democrats DO NOT want to give Amnesty
I do not know where Senators Kennedy, Lieberman, and Reid, and many others ever got the idea that their constituents, the Democratic Voters, ever wanted to grant amnesty and free citizenship to Illegal Immigrants. It just isn’t so, as the majority of the voting Democrats are in the whole scheme of things, are members of the middle and lower income workers in this country. And the people that are suffering most from the influx of Illegal Immigrants taking away many of their jobs, are those very people.
As many of the jobs these Illegal Immigrants are taking are the very same jobs that many of these people were doing legally till the Federal, State, and Local Governments stopped enforcing the existing laws which prevented Companies and Contractors from hiring Illegal Workers without paying their employees legally authorized Benefit Programs, failing to collect and pay legitimate taxes for these illegal workers, and failing to carry the necessary Insurance that is required to hire legal workers.
By the way since the many Fast Food businesses, Hotel/Motel Chains, Discount Department Stores Fruit and Vegetable producers are now hiring these lower paid Illegal Immigrants, you have not witnessed the prices of these products drop dramatically, have you? And I ask you, why not? Or is it that these companies and contractors are pocketing the extra money they are making. And since they are already breaking the law by hiring the Illegal Immigrants, it would not be too far fetched to believe they are cheating on their taxes as well? However you will hear these business owners complain how the prices will rise dramatically if their supply of cheap labor is shut off.
It seems to me, that many of these Senators are looking at the possibility that they will get the votes of the Illegal Immigrants when they become citizens. However the way the situation is set up, these Illegal Immigrants will not gain their citizenship for at least eleven years, if in fact they are still eligible, and a good number of the politicians will probably not be in any elected position by that time and will not gain any benefit from their actions of today.
I believe that the people who are hiring these illegals, the law officers who are not enforcing the laws designed to prevent it, and the politicians who want to pass further laws to allow this situation to continue, should all be held accountable for their actions. Fire them, jail them and throw them out of office, and shut down any company that will not obey the existing laws. There will be new companies that will take their place and new Law Officials and new Politicians that will step forward and show proper respect for following and enforcing the laws that have made The United States of America the great country it is, and keep it as great in the future.. A head of Lettuce and a Dozen Oranges may go up a few cents, but you will have your job back and will be able to afford the increase.
Posted by rj06042
at 5:18 PM EST
Sunday, 5 November 2006
Democracy in Iraq will not work because of Iraqi Beliefs
Topic: Iraq War
I just heard CNN Commentator, Wolf Blitzer talking to former US Senator Max Cleeland, where Wolf mentioned that if the American Military were to leave Iraq the results would be that a civil war would break out and it would be a virtual Bloodbath in Iraq.
I would like to point out to Mr. Blitzer that is exactly what is happening right now, except if the American Military were to pull out, the various sects of Iraqi’s would still be killing each other as they are doing now, but there would not be 100 or more young Americans dying every month as well.
The Iraqi people had their free elections and have elected their free Democratic Government, and everything should be running smoothly, but it is not.
The United States has a freely elected Democratic Government and there are Christians, Jews, Mormons, Amish, Muslims, Buddhists, and many other religions, and Atheists, who all exist among each other in peace. As all the people of each religion accept the believers of other religions as just that, people who believe in a different religion, but are still members of the same Human Race. The same holds true for Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Greece, Italy, Russia, and so on. The premise is that in these countries and their governments exist on, is that Humanity comes first, the Government and the support of the people and their needs comes second, and the freedom of Religion is a close third.
The difference is that the people who live in Iraq belong to three different sects of the Muslim Religion. And have been taught from Infancy that their sect of the Religion is the only Religion and any people who do not believe in that particular division of that religion are not worthy of living, and must be killed. And as long as the people who live there hold that belief, no government except one that hold such a threat over the people they are afraid to act on their own, can exist.
A Democracy as we know it cannot exist in Iraq no matter how long we stay, how many young American Military are forced to die, or how much money we waste there. The conditions that exist there will remain until the people who hold those beliefs have died off or are too old to fight any more.
So no matter how many times GW Bush or any other supporters of the war claim we must stay till the job is done, it will never be completed. And no workable Democratic Government will ever exist in any country that is so divided religiously and has such inborn beliefs.
Posted by rj06042
at 1:46 PM EST
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