I heard a young man tell his parents that there were black people and then there were n___________. He made a case for his position that they rejected as they told him never to say that word in their home again. His parting remark was that the parents had known only the best blacks. He said they had never had to go to school with them.
On the scene is Donald Trump claiming that Mexico is sending us their criminals including rapists. At the same time, a friend from California keeps sending messages via Facebook about the advantages of having immigrant neighbors.
I don't really know whether Donald Trump or my friend have either had Hispanic or other immigrant neighbors. Truth be told, if Trump did, it was probably some chick that had entered his Ms. World or Universe project -- or some wealthy gentleman Trump considered a friendly acquaintance.
More likely my California friend has or has had immigrant neighbors. Yet, I suspect even she would not be living where large groups of Hispanics -- many illegals -- are prone to collect. She and her husband wouldn't be Trump rich, but they probably reside in a middle class neighborhood somewhere.
One problem with Trump's speeches is he doesn't make a distinction between legal and illegal immigrants. We have policies in place for welcoming people from other countries through our front door. Using these policies, it is possible to know a little about new arrivals and where they will go. We used to even use the process for separating the ill from the well and the good people from the bad. To some degree, they control the numbers. With masses of individuals constantly sneaking through the back door, there are no controls.
We also need to address the issue that Trump said as a casual addendum that there are probably good immigrants. And yet we need to keep in mind that entering the United States illegally is a criminal act in and of itself. How can we know if this is the only criminal act they will perform? Will they help other illegals enter, compounding their criminal activity? Or will they settle down as perfect citizens never to commit crimes again? Will they order and receive illegal papers and Social Security cards? Will they drive without valid driver's licenses? When the going gets tough will they raid their neighbor's mailboxes and steal bicycle frames from their neighbor's yards, or will they get second jobs using their illegal papers?
We have the trouble makers who kill beautiful girls with stolen guns . . . who beat up U. S. citizens for the fun of it . . . who participate in drive-byes . . . who let their children become gang members . . . who, themselves, sell illegal drugs ... and the most mystifying of all, behave in a hateful and resentful attitude toward the Born in the USA citizens. Why did they come here if they hate us so? Life is hard enough without having to deal with attitude from people who came here to steal our country. (Yes, I believe that is the goal of MANY of the illegals).
Then there are Trump's least favorite criminals, the rapists. I wonder if he has ever known anyone personally who was raped by an illegal immigrant. Well, I have. She was a friend of one of my children. The man was a handsome guy and probably would have been allowed "Friends With Benefits" status, had he been patient and waited. But, he did not. He took her on a date, raped her and dropped her back near her home, leaving her feeling dirty and used. It was no surprise to me when months later his picture was flashed on the news as a person of interest in another rape.
Two immigrants, one possibly illegal, were wanted as persons of interest in sex crimes against children. I have met all three of these men.
Trump, of course, is a sensationalist. That's how he approaches everything he does, so his acting out and showing off should come as no surprise. That's what makes him so entertaining. I don't see the man as a serious contender for the Republican nomination regardless of current polls. But he has more support than most of us would have expected.
America always needs a president with good people skills and a lot of tact. Trump was definitely hiding out when those were dispensed. But I would like the people of the United States, especially the upwardly mobile media and political set, to know that there is really a lot of truth behind the man's blustering remarks. You guys don't see enough of the truth from your ivory towers through your rose-tinted windows.
There is a lot of crime being committed out here by the immigrant population and not just by the Hispanic community. The fact that Trump is a little more correct than you are does not mean he should be President of the United States. I don't know why he would want to be anyway. I'd think it would be a lot more fun earning stacks and stacks of money. Wish I had that gift.
I guess I'm jus' sayin', there are immigrants and then there are criminal immigrants, and I'm more likely to know the latter than you because I have to live in the same neighborhood with some of them. Apparently a lot of other people know this, too, or Trump wouldn't be doing so well. We aren't rubbing shoulders or doing coffee hours with Herb Alpert, Jennifer Lopez, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio down here folks. You need to remember that when you start going, "Oh, let's help them come here for a better life."
And to borrow a Trump method, let me state as an addendum that I know some good immigrants, too, some really good ones.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Thursday, July 9, 2015
The Issue Is Not The Guns -- It Is The Mental Health
A very beautiful young lady was shot and killed by a known illegal immigrant who had been deported five times. He stole the gun from a federal officer. Nine beautiful people were killed by a lone white gunman they had welcomed into church. He had purchased the gun, apparently legally, with birthday money. Another young man had killed his mother and used her legally purchased guns to kill school children. How in the heck could better gun controls have staved off these tragedies? Police officers in several states shoot and kill people -- most of them black, but some of them white. Some deserved it; some did not. Guns, if not common sense, come with their jobs. But some don't bother with guns, they use choke holds.
It has been a hard spring and summer and we've "only just begun." Of course, our more liberal politicos have shouted for better gun control over and over. But they are wrong and their response is basically ineffectual. And just how can this liberal Democrat be suggesting such a thing? I'll try not to state the obvious cliché, that guns don't kill people, people kill people, true though it is.
Our medical providers spend an awfully lot of time talking about preventive medicine, but you don't hear very many of them -- or Congressmen -- talking about preventive mental health provisions. In fact, our insurance programs do not address much in the way of long-term medical care for the mentally ill. And why might that be? Because it would cost a lot of money which Congress would rather spend on guns to kill ISIS (or for Israelis to kill Palestinians) than to do serious work on our dysfunctional United States of America. And what a model that is setting for our young. You can't be allowed to use weapons to settle your problems, but look at how big our weapons are.
In the early eighties, at my grandmother's visitation, mothers of some of my high school classmates were in attendance. We all played catch up about their children and compared life notes. One particular mother asked question after question. Her daughter was divorced, as was I. We had left the home state. We had gone away to school, etc. At some point she zeroed in - well, did I do anything besides being a divorced mother? I laughed and responded that I was a school psychologist at the time. In words my mother might have used to describe her response -- that flew all over her. Her daughter had not succeeded any more highly than I had, I guess. It wasn't the first time I had been on the receiving end of that family's excessive competitiveness, and I felt the collective sting. It brings to mind the "cheerleader mother" who had her daughter's competition killed. This is definitely not healthy competition. This teaches hate and subterfuge and spite, not a healthy way to strive for success.
Some mothers are such "Tiger Moms" that they cheat their children out of the joy of their youth by programing every living, breathing, waking second of their children's lives with lessons, practices and even my least favorite, sports. (And aren't sports a source of unhealthy competition and poor role models with all the cheating and drug use?)
These mothers -- and a good share of father's -- want to live vicariously through these poor kids and they play a more academic version of the game "mine is longer than yours." Even the parents that succeeded themselves, just must have bragging rights. Once again, not a healthy approach to competition, much less a precursor to a healthy lifestyle.
But the quiet, withdrawn kids don't have that much easier a life. A friend of mine, a college student, called her nephew's school last year and asked for his teacher's help because he was failing science and math. The teacher's response? Why he just sits there quietly and never says a word. She couldn't tell from his test scores that he was drowning? What did he have to do to get the ding dong's attention? Carry a gun to school? Oh, that's right. We parents are supposed to do the teaching at home while commuting from work, picking up kids at three schools, getting one to soccer and another to play practice. Then, we continue the teaching while we cook dinner and prepare the clothes for the next day. Like we are all gifted mathematicians ourselves and understand the homework!!!!
Bully behavior has recently received a lot of noise because victims of bullying have returned to school to exact revenge on kids who abused them and teaching staff that did little or nothing to stop it. I recall an interview with one teacher who seemed to encourage the bullying and maybe even participated in it.
When my children, even I, entered school, teachers knew that they needed to teach us socialization skills. We were graded on progress in these steps just the same as we were in reading and math skills.
Once upon a time we grew up in small towns and cities. There might have been a handful of wealthy individuals, but they seemed to cluster in the same areas of town and go to the same schools. A good teacher could detect the needs of individual students, look for signs of abuse and neglect, encourage the timid, and just plain foster individual growth and development.
Now we are victims of overcrowding. Many of our families are dysfunctional due to alcohol or drugs. Some parents waste their resources on gambling and infidelities. Some children are battered, and some parents know how to make sure the clothes hide the marks of abuse.
We come from all kinds of families, religions, creeds, races, and are placed in little bitty rooms and told to "get along" while our parents are out at home and work complaining about prayer at school, pledging our flag, which white dude offended us, which police officer is a good cop and which wears his badge like a permit to bully others -- even people of their own race.
Yes, there are such officers! A neighbor was stopped over a defective tail light in a small town to our north. Their grocery store advertises in our weekly grocery supplement. The officer asked her what she was doing up in his city anyway and suggested she shop at home next time. I wonder how the businessmen would like that one.
Another individual had been to yet another small city, where he had grown up. While walking back to his new home in a larger city, a police officer offered him a ride. When he got to the drop off point, he told the young man not to return to his city, even though he had done nothing wrong while there.
We are crammed together like sardines. We are placed together whether we have a thing in common, sometimes including language. We are told to get along with each other. We are largely ignored unless we make a ruckus in the classroom or are future valedictorians. Our parents expect us to succeed at everything from soup to nuts, whether we have the aptitude for it or not. The ones of us who take it seriously, try our level best. And then some of the parents look at a B + and say that should be an A. Get it up next time.
I had a very disgusting classmate in college. She became a basket case before every single test. She was just sure she was going to fail every time. And yet, I don't think she ever made less than an A. It was years later that I realized she may not have been just whining. Her fears were probably quite genuine, yet she never failed, but never understood she was a success.
We are probably never going to completely eliminate bullying at home . . . or at school . . . or in our communities. We are probably never going to completely eliminate violence. But, rest assured, if this country doesn't invest a lot more money in researching mental health issues and providing both preventive and remedial interventions to foster good mental health, we are going to see more and more violence even if we eliminate every gun in the world. There are fists. There are knives. There are bombs. There are vehicles. There are sticks. There are stones. There are hurtful and harmful words from our mouths.
Violence like we have seen in abundance for several years is a mental health issue not a gun issue. If the government got the ten best shrinks and an equal number of great psychologists together (and I do not mean Dr. Phil's) and put them in a think tank, they would be hard pressed to develop a comprehensive plan to foster good mental health from cradle to grave. But, if they don't, this dysfunction of ours is going to get worse and worse. The gun controls we have in place now are not effective. But gun control is not the answer because guns are not the problem.
Let me repeat. All this violence is a mental health issue not a gun issue. The guns are simply one small symptom of a major disease.
It has been a hard spring and summer and we've "only just begun." Of course, our more liberal politicos have shouted for better gun control over and over. But they are wrong and their response is basically ineffectual. And just how can this liberal Democrat be suggesting such a thing? I'll try not to state the obvious cliché, that guns don't kill people, people kill people, true though it is.
Our medical providers spend an awfully lot of time talking about preventive medicine, but you don't hear very many of them -- or Congressmen -- talking about preventive mental health provisions. In fact, our insurance programs do not address much in the way of long-term medical care for the mentally ill. And why might that be? Because it would cost a lot of money which Congress would rather spend on guns to kill ISIS (or for Israelis to kill Palestinians) than to do serious work on our dysfunctional United States of America. And what a model that is setting for our young. You can't be allowed to use weapons to settle your problems, but look at how big our weapons are.
In the early eighties, at my grandmother's visitation, mothers of some of my high school classmates were in attendance. We all played catch up about their children and compared life notes. One particular mother asked question after question. Her daughter was divorced, as was I. We had left the home state. We had gone away to school, etc. At some point she zeroed in - well, did I do anything besides being a divorced mother? I laughed and responded that I was a school psychologist at the time. In words my mother might have used to describe her response -- that flew all over her. Her daughter had not succeeded any more highly than I had, I guess. It wasn't the first time I had been on the receiving end of that family's excessive competitiveness, and I felt the collective sting. It brings to mind the "cheerleader mother" who had her daughter's competition killed. This is definitely not healthy competition. This teaches hate and subterfuge and spite, not a healthy way to strive for success.
Some mothers are such "Tiger Moms" that they cheat their children out of the joy of their youth by programing every living, breathing, waking second of their children's lives with lessons, practices and even my least favorite, sports. (And aren't sports a source of unhealthy competition and poor role models with all the cheating and drug use?)
These mothers -- and a good share of father's -- want to live vicariously through these poor kids and they play a more academic version of the game "mine is longer than yours." Even the parents that succeeded themselves, just must have bragging rights. Once again, not a healthy approach to competition, much less a precursor to a healthy lifestyle.
But the quiet, withdrawn kids don't have that much easier a life. A friend of mine, a college student, called her nephew's school last year and asked for his teacher's help because he was failing science and math. The teacher's response? Why he just sits there quietly and never says a word. She couldn't tell from his test scores that he was drowning? What did he have to do to get the ding dong's attention? Carry a gun to school? Oh, that's right. We parents are supposed to do the teaching at home while commuting from work, picking up kids at three schools, getting one to soccer and another to play practice. Then, we continue the teaching while we cook dinner and prepare the clothes for the next day. Like we are all gifted mathematicians ourselves and understand the homework!!!!
Bully behavior has recently received a lot of noise because victims of bullying have returned to school to exact revenge on kids who abused them and teaching staff that did little or nothing to stop it. I recall an interview with one teacher who seemed to encourage the bullying and maybe even participated in it.
When my children, even I, entered school, teachers knew that they needed to teach us socialization skills. We were graded on progress in these steps just the same as we were in reading and math skills.
Once upon a time we grew up in small towns and cities. There might have been a handful of wealthy individuals, but they seemed to cluster in the same areas of town and go to the same schools. A good teacher could detect the needs of individual students, look for signs of abuse and neglect, encourage the timid, and just plain foster individual growth and development.
Now we are victims of overcrowding. Many of our families are dysfunctional due to alcohol or drugs. Some parents waste their resources on gambling and infidelities. Some children are battered, and some parents know how to make sure the clothes hide the marks of abuse.
We come from all kinds of families, religions, creeds, races, and are placed in little bitty rooms and told to "get along" while our parents are out at home and work complaining about prayer at school, pledging our flag, which white dude offended us, which police officer is a good cop and which wears his badge like a permit to bully others -- even people of their own race.
Yes, there are such officers! A neighbor was stopped over a defective tail light in a small town to our north. Their grocery store advertises in our weekly grocery supplement. The officer asked her what she was doing up in his city anyway and suggested she shop at home next time. I wonder how the businessmen would like that one.
Another individual had been to yet another small city, where he had grown up. While walking back to his new home in a larger city, a police officer offered him a ride. When he got to the drop off point, he told the young man not to return to his city, even though he had done nothing wrong while there.
We are crammed together like sardines. We are placed together whether we have a thing in common, sometimes including language. We are told to get along with each other. We are largely ignored unless we make a ruckus in the classroom or are future valedictorians. Our parents expect us to succeed at everything from soup to nuts, whether we have the aptitude for it or not. The ones of us who take it seriously, try our level best. And then some of the parents look at a B + and say that should be an A. Get it up next time.
I had a very disgusting classmate in college. She became a basket case before every single test. She was just sure she was going to fail every time. And yet, I don't think she ever made less than an A. It was years later that I realized she may not have been just whining. Her fears were probably quite genuine, yet she never failed, but never understood she was a success.
We are probably never going to completely eliminate bullying at home . . . or at school . . . or in our communities. We are probably never going to completely eliminate violence. But, rest assured, if this country doesn't invest a lot more money in researching mental health issues and providing both preventive and remedial interventions to foster good mental health, we are going to see more and more violence even if we eliminate every gun in the world. There are fists. There are knives. There are bombs. There are vehicles. There are sticks. There are stones. There are hurtful and harmful words from our mouths.
Violence like we have seen in abundance for several years is a mental health issue not a gun issue. If the government got the ten best shrinks and an equal number of great psychologists together (and I do not mean Dr. Phil's) and put them in a think tank, they would be hard pressed to develop a comprehensive plan to foster good mental health from cradle to grave. But, if they don't, this dysfunction of ours is going to get worse and worse. The gun controls we have in place now are not effective. But gun control is not the answer because guns are not the problem.
Let me repeat. All this violence is a mental health issue not a gun issue. The guns are simply one small symptom of a major disease.
Monday, June 29, 2015
Say What? All Means Everybody?
I'm reminded today of the trek with Dorothy down the yellow brick road, looking for one body organ or another. Today's trek should require all men (which today includes blacks, women, legal Hispanics, legal Asians, gays, etc., etc., etc.) to be in search of real hearts and real brains.
Say what? All men are created equal? Not those people -- those women, those blacks, those gays and lesbians. Can you hear this in your Conservative Christian response to the Supreme Court decision this past week? Well, that's what you are doing. You are acting as though the Declaration of Independence should apply only to white men. I thought we'd come a long way baby. I guess not. It should not apply to women? They were just property of the white male when the Declaration was written. It shouldn't apply to blacks? Most of them were slaves when it was written. It shouldn't apply to gays and lesbians because they are different from us? I think they make us afraid of ourselves.
". . .We hold these truths to the self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. . ."
Yes, folks, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United
states, as implemented in this day and age, do protect the rights of all Americans regardless of sex, age, race, creed, or sexual orientation. And boy do we all have to fight the pompous and self-righteous for every right.
The Supreme Court of the United States did the job it was created to do by our founding fathers. It interpreted our laws in reference to the Constitution to see if it were, indeed, "constitutional". And the members of the panel demonstrated that they can think (have working brains) and they have hearts. They were capable of exercising a compassion which would have made Jesus proud. You remember Him? "Judge not lest ye be not judged." Or, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Or even, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God, the things that are God's."
Yes, folks, all means everybody now. Everybody has a right to the pursuit of happiness not just the people who do it your way. In the end, we will all have to let God be the judge, the rightful judge of us all. Until then, not a one of us knows exactly where He stands on any topic. I'm reminded of George Burns acting as God and saying that the pastor had run out of God's words a long time ago. We can only hope to understand a small portion of God's methods, much less his beliefs and thoughts.
You see, I'm not a really learned Bible scholar, but I can't see exactly where God spoke the word marriage . . . or defined the word marriage . . . or gave us his example of a "true" marriage ceremony. Marriage rules and regulations evolved from mores which man created. They varied from country to country, people to people and clan to clan. It was not written in stone. The rules He wanted us to follow were written in stone with the finger of God and carried down the mountain.
I think there are an awful lot of us that need to get over ourselves.
Say what? All men are created equal? Not those people -- those women, those blacks, those gays and lesbians. Can you hear this in your Conservative Christian response to the Supreme Court decision this past week? Well, that's what you are doing. You are acting as though the Declaration of Independence should apply only to white men. I thought we'd come a long way baby. I guess not. It should not apply to women? They were just property of the white male when the Declaration was written. It shouldn't apply to blacks? Most of them were slaves when it was written. It shouldn't apply to gays and lesbians because they are different from us? I think they make us afraid of ourselves.
". . .We hold these truths to the self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. . ."
Yes, folks, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United
states, as implemented in this day and age, do protect the rights of all Americans regardless of sex, age, race, creed, or sexual orientation. And boy do we all have to fight the pompous and self-righteous for every right.
The Supreme Court of the United States did the job it was created to do by our founding fathers. It interpreted our laws in reference to the Constitution to see if it were, indeed, "constitutional". And the members of the panel demonstrated that they can think (have working brains) and they have hearts. They were capable of exercising a compassion which would have made Jesus proud. You remember Him? "Judge not lest ye be not judged." Or, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Or even, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God, the things that are God's."
Yes, folks, all means everybody now. Everybody has a right to the pursuit of happiness not just the people who do it your way. In the end, we will all have to let God be the judge, the rightful judge of us all. Until then, not a one of us knows exactly where He stands on any topic. I'm reminded of George Burns acting as God and saying that the pastor had run out of God's words a long time ago. We can only hope to understand a small portion of God's methods, much less his beliefs and thoughts.
You see, I'm not a really learned Bible scholar, but I can't see exactly where God spoke the word marriage . . . or defined the word marriage . . . or gave us his example of a "true" marriage ceremony. Marriage rules and regulations evolved from mores which man created. They varied from country to country, people to people and clan to clan. It was not written in stone. The rules He wanted us to follow were written in stone with the finger of God and carried down the mountain.
I think there are an awful lot of us that need to get over ourselves.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Not Our Grandsons
In Loving Memory of My Grandson
Scott Joseph Romano
November 21, 1986 to June 23, 2010
and
To All the American Men and Women Who Lost Their Lives in Afghanistan and Iraq
and especially to
The 22 Veterans per day who take their own lives because they were sent to war and back
without adequate psychological preparation.
In a recent television interview, a correspondent asked an Iraqi soldier what he wanted to see happen in the war with ISIS (ISIL). His immediate response was that he wanted the United States to fight the war. Well, how generous of him to want my grandsons to risk their lives for his country. He is such a noble hero.
So, what is a hero? According to various and sundry U. S. military officers -- and John Wayne -- a hero is someone who is afraid, but fights anyway. Well where the h e double hockey sticks are the Iraqi heroes?
We saw a similar attitude during the Arab spring. Representatives of various countries were jumping off proverbial cliffs and whining for the United States to come and save them.
The United States government, the United States military and the United States grandsons are not the saviors of the universe. However many times I write this and however many times my words fall on the deaf ears of Republican Congressmen and our military leaders, the facts remain the same.
We are wasting our resources and, most especially, our grandson's lives on people so barbaric that they cannot even comprehend the wonderful gifts of freedom and democracy that we have offered them. We no longer have the funding. We no longer have the responsibility. We do not have the political atmosphere. You may not throw away the lives of our children or our children's children on any more lost causes.
If Iraqis lack the will to stand up for themselves and to fight their own battles, how dare you expect our children to do it for them?
And may the soldier who said he will kill both ISIS and U. S. soldiers meet his personal demise the next time he raises his gun.
If my own country won't protect the lives of our sons from such situations as this, you are not nearly done hearing from me.
How about putting a real face on this?
Scott Joseph Romano
November 21, 1986 to June 23, 2010
and
To All the American Men and Women Who Lost Their Lives in Afghanistan and Iraq
and especially to
The 22 Veterans per day who take their own lives because they were sent to war and back
without adequate psychological preparation.
In a recent television interview, a correspondent asked an Iraqi soldier what he wanted to see happen in the war with ISIS (ISIL). His immediate response was that he wanted the United States to fight the war. Well, how generous of him to want my grandsons to risk their lives for his country. He is such a noble hero.
So, what is a hero? According to various and sundry U. S. military officers -- and John Wayne -- a hero is someone who is afraid, but fights anyway. Well where the h e double hockey sticks are the Iraqi heroes?
We saw a similar attitude during the Arab spring. Representatives of various countries were jumping off proverbial cliffs and whining for the United States to come and save them.
The United States government, the United States military and the United States grandsons are not the saviors of the universe. However many times I write this and however many times my words fall on the deaf ears of Republican Congressmen and our military leaders, the facts remain the same.
We are wasting our resources and, most especially, our grandson's lives on people so barbaric that they cannot even comprehend the wonderful gifts of freedom and democracy that we have offered them. We no longer have the funding. We no longer have the responsibility. We do not have the political atmosphere. You may not throw away the lives of our children or our children's children on any more lost causes.
If Iraqis lack the will to stand up for themselves and to fight their own battles, how dare you expect our children to do it for them?
And may the soldier who said he will kill both ISIS and U. S. soldiers meet his personal demise the next time he raises his gun.
If my own country won't protect the lives of our sons from such situations as this, you are not nearly done hearing from me.
How about putting a real face on this?
Friday, June 19, 2015
The Election Cycle Has The Blahs
For some months now, it seems nobody can get very excited about the next presidential election. There are a lot of Republican "also rans" as well as some "ran too soons". There are a couple of stronger candidates who have not gotten their rhythm yet. But no one Republican quite stands out in the crowd.
I suggested a few weeks back that Hillary Clinton go ahead and throw her hat in the ring. (Like she pays any attention to me). I thought that might whoop up the excitement a bit. But, it was such an anticlimax that it hardly made a hitch in the cycle. Her new competition will at least give her someone to practice her debates with and may "give her a run for her money."
The latest development -- The Donald is in the race -- may actually turn up the interest level. Never let it be said that Donald Trump doesn't offer entertainment value. And who knows? We elected a movie star once upon a time. There are those who think he made a fairly decent President.
We'll have to wait and see.
I suggested a few weeks back that Hillary Clinton go ahead and throw her hat in the ring. (Like she pays any attention to me). I thought that might whoop up the excitement a bit. But, it was such an anticlimax that it hardly made a hitch in the cycle. Her new competition will at least give her someone to practice her debates with and may "give her a run for her money."
The latest development -- The Donald is in the race -- may actually turn up the interest level. Never let it be said that Donald Trump doesn't offer entertainment value. And who knows? We elected a movie star once upon a time. There are those who think he made a fairly decent President.
We'll have to wait and see.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Why?
Why, indeed, God?
As a recording of the Reverend Martin Luther King plays to end the CBS Evening News tonight, June 18, 2015, the camera pans groups of people praying, demonstrating, grieving. Alone facing the cameras with her back to a group of people collected in grief, a young woman holds a sign. It's message? A simple WHY?
Rev. King's words were recorded after the death of four little girls at church. Their repetition was after the death of nine women and men in our latest shooting, also at church.
I know there is much that we will leave this life without understanding, but I sure could use an answer from the Almighty as to why violence is allowed to take the lives of people who are worshiping Him and the pastors and missionaries who are serving Him. One would think that these individuals would have the best security He could offer.
Yes. Why, God, why?
As a recording of the Reverend Martin Luther King plays to end the CBS Evening News tonight, June 18, 2015, the camera pans groups of people praying, demonstrating, grieving. Alone facing the cameras with her back to a group of people collected in grief, a young woman holds a sign. It's message? A simple WHY?
Rev. King's words were recorded after the death of four little girls at church. Their repetition was after the death of nine women and men in our latest shooting, also at church.
I know there is much that we will leave this life without understanding, but I sure could use an answer from the Almighty as to why violence is allowed to take the lives of people who are worshiping Him and the pastors and missionaries who are serving Him. One would think that these individuals would have the best security He could offer.
Yes. Why, God, why?
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Why Ask A Military Man?
Now, I'm not casting aspersions on the men in our armed forces. I'm just sayin' -- why ask a general, past or present, if he thinks we should be engaged in hand to hand combat anywhere? That's like asking him if he needs to breathe.
Most little boys (and some girls) had a handful of toy soldiers at some point in their lives. But career military men study strategy . . . probably have maps of various terrains . . . probably move little helmeted men all over the surface . . . possibly even play Battleship. Well, maybe some of the less concrete don't need the props, but you can bet they almost salivate at the prospect of really going to war and getting a chance to implement their ideas and plans. And the best, biggest dreamers are sure success is just around the corner, especially if everyone will let them do it their way.
Now, everybody, including reporters, know that warriors war, and that any one of them can whoop up excuses or justifications for doing so. Thank you Lord for the saner heads that put on the brakes and even lock them in place.
What exactly does everyone think the United States will do for money and equipment if China or North Korea or Germany or Japan ever attack our shores as happened in World War II? After we've pissed it all away fighting Muslims who don't value human life, including their own, where will we get the cash to rearm ourselves?
Then there is the fact that Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., don't really ever have to fight their own wars because other countries are so hell bent on fighting them for them. Why is it people forget good parenting skills and techniques when dealing with international affairs? If doing everything for them makes children too dependent, why on earth do we want to make other countries dependent on us. Sometimes it's better to teach the skills and walk away and let them work it out. We absolutely should not go back if they are too scared to risk their own lives to save their own people.
Do you dudes really think that China is going to loan us money to fight a war against them? Duh!
Mr.. McCain, Mr. Graham, etc., etc., etc., quit sparring for war. Quit threatening boots on the ground over "fraidey" cats who won't fight their own wars. Start storing up resources and paying off loans so we can fight off a big one on our own turf should we ever have to do so. And don't forget to protect us from terror at home, or possible aliens from another world.
Think, think, think, what you propose. These areas are a threat to our security? Not nearly so much as the warmongers in the military and Congress are.
Most little boys (and some girls) had a handful of toy soldiers at some point in their lives. But career military men study strategy . . . probably have maps of various terrains . . . probably move little helmeted men all over the surface . . . possibly even play Battleship. Well, maybe some of the less concrete don't need the props, but you can bet they almost salivate at the prospect of really going to war and getting a chance to implement their ideas and plans. And the best, biggest dreamers are sure success is just around the corner, especially if everyone will let them do it their way.
Now, everybody, including reporters, know that warriors war, and that any one of them can whoop up excuses or justifications for doing so. Thank you Lord for the saner heads that put on the brakes and even lock them in place.
What exactly does everyone think the United States will do for money and equipment if China or North Korea or Germany or Japan ever attack our shores as happened in World War II? After we've pissed it all away fighting Muslims who don't value human life, including their own, where will we get the cash to rearm ourselves?
Then there is the fact that Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., don't really ever have to fight their own wars because other countries are so hell bent on fighting them for them. Why is it people forget good parenting skills and techniques when dealing with international affairs? If doing everything for them makes children too dependent, why on earth do we want to make other countries dependent on us. Sometimes it's better to teach the skills and walk away and let them work it out. We absolutely should not go back if they are too scared to risk their own lives to save their own people.
Do you dudes really think that China is going to loan us money to fight a war against them? Duh!
Mr.. McCain, Mr. Graham, etc., etc., etc., quit sparring for war. Quit threatening boots on the ground over "fraidey" cats who won't fight their own wars. Start storing up resources and paying off loans so we can fight off a big one on our own turf should we ever have to do so. And don't forget to protect us from terror at home, or possible aliens from another world.
Think, think, think, what you propose. These areas are a threat to our security? Not nearly so much as the warmongers in the military and Congress are.
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