In response to the LAPD's iWatch ads asking us to observe each other in fear and report terrorist activities...

Seems to me the real terrorists are the ones who spread venom in an attempt to split the country in two and undermine the president. Those who have openly declared war on him and turned their backs to the needs of the people for the sake of putting party and themselves first above all else. And those who sell our representation to the lobbies for a mess of pottage. They're the ones we should be afraid of.

When terrorists from other lands strike it can galvanize us together in a common goal. But when the domestic kind preach and act they push us further into the "us vs. them" pattern that has threatened our Union since the first ships landed here. If our country falls, it won't be due to al qaeda or other predators, but rather to the subversives within our own borders and the effect we allow them to have on us all.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/23/lapds-iwatch-terrorism-ad_n_331575.html

Dear Congressman Chaffetz

Dear Mr. Chaffetz,

First let me thank you. You were the only one of our legislators to take the time to answer my letter. I appreciate your effort and concern. It makes me feel as though perhaps the people do have a voice in Washington, albeit a small one. I also appreciate your directness in answering questions and issues without the usual Congressional doubletalk. Simple, clear. The rest of your group could learn a lot from you.

We differ on how to handle the economic crisis, though we share many of the same concerns. The first stab at the stimulus bill was certainly bloated and partisan. It was night and day better than the former administration's bail out, but you're right, it had the appearance of being cooked up in a Democrat back room. And I don't trust the Speaker or her friends.

What bothers me is how the Republicans all chose to play partisan games instead of represent the will of the people. Last November we made it very clear that we wanted Washington to take a new direction. We want change. We need it desperately. We watched as Congress lavished our money on Wall Street. Yet when it came time to do something positive for the citizens you refused.

We're in serious trouble. We're losing our jobs and homes at alarming rates. Personally I just lost my business, am facing a career change after more than 30 years and we barely saved our home from the auction block. I'm no different than millions of other citizens. While we're trying to keep from drowning, we see how financial and insurance companies are abusing our hard-earned dollars; how fuel and other corporations are making all time record profits; how our own legislators have the power to correct things but won't. Your answer... do nothing that directly impacts and lifts the rank & file, and give more tax breaks to businesses.

And to add insult to injury, after the bill passed without you, some are quietly supporting it while others are still refusing to accept funds for their constituents, people who want and need them.
With all due respect, I hope the members of Congress that have an "R" next to their names will put away Newt's book of party tactics and start listening to the people who voted them into office. And those with a "D" need to wipe the smirk off their faces. We need you all to work together for our interests for a change. With every election, those that don't will find themselves back in the private sector, watching Congress and hoping they'll represent them... for a change.

Sincerely,

An Open Letter To Congress

Ladies and Gentlemen of our Legislature:

We watched with interest as you responded to the financial crisis on Wall Street. Saw how you came together swiftly and worked as a team to help your friends in that industry. And while there are serious issues with how the money is being handled, still you acted.

We now watch with nausea as you seem intent on derailing any attempts to solve the greatest national crisis since the Depression. Instead of unifying for the common good you play partisan games. You negotiate your struggle for power. Plot to block the voice of “the enemy” at every turn. Waggle your fingers at everyone but yourselves for causing and not ending this terrible recession. It would be appropriate if each of you, Republican, Democrat, junior, senior, leader, rank and file, were to wear togas and play fiddles. You do the Washington Two-step while we, the people, are losing our homes and jobs at alarming rates. Normal Americans can’t afford to put food on the table or take their children to the doctor, but corporations are making record profits, stealing tax dollars for bonuses, hiding assets, and you sit in your hallowed halls with your backs squarely turned against the very people you were elected to represent.

The Whole point is…. You’ll do it for your “buddies” but not your country. That’s sick and VERY Un-American.

We realize it may be too much to ask you to give up your love affair with lobbies and corporate interests. Heaven forbid we should expect you to stop the influence peddling, pandering and wallet padding. And we mustn’t even think of hoping that each of you will obey the law and take responsibility for your actions and hollow promises. But just this once, when we really need you most, couldn’t you take a few minutes of your precious time and work together for the sake of the people?

It’s time to fish or cut bait. Take down the party pennants. Put down the microphones and swords. Belly up to the discussion bar, lock the door and don’t come out until you can shake hands and act in our interest for a change. If you don’t the problems will only get worse and we can’t afford that. And stop blaming the president we just elected for everything. America wants change. We made that clear with our votes. If you get with the program, that change will come. If not, there will be no one to blame but yourselves.

And keep in mind, your jobs are at risk, too. We, the people, are watching. What you do now will determine how we vote. Over the next several elections there may end up being no incumbents left in Washington. Unless you’re content with that prospect, choose right now to do your job. Put aside your petty squabbles and party differences. Leave the egos at the door. Take a stand for our sake, for the sake of your country. It’s the right, and necessary, thing to do.

A Concerned Citizen

John McCain, War Hero

Senator John McCain is playing the POW card. He claims his experience qualifies him to be commander in chief and president. It also protects him from his enemies. The “Hero Pulpit” is high above the crowd and beyond reproach. If that's true, why are his records sealed and the subject taboo? And not just his military records here but the careful notes and logs made by his captors in Vietnam?

Here's a few things we DO know:

1.He graduated at the bottom of his class at the naval academy. Some reports state that he wouldn't have graduated at all if not for his father, the decorated admiral.
2.He crashed 5 planes.
3.He broke both his arms, not from abuse by Viet Cong but failing to hold them in when he ejected after being shot down.
4.He received special treatment in POW camps due to his father's position.
5.He gave military and other information to his captors in exchange for medical treatment not afforded other prisoners.
6.He made 32 propaganda films/tapes for the Viet Cong.
7.He was given access to dignitaries and international reporters.
8.He was kept away from other prisoners much of the time (which makes verification conveniently tough).
9.He was given the nickname “Songbird” because he so freely gave out information.
10.He snubbed the villager that saved his life after the crash, but maintained a life-long relationship with one of his captors.
11.He was not promoted after being released, which is often the case.
12.He went to great lengths to have his military and POW records sealed.
13.He also fought to seal the records of other MIA/POW's and prevent their families from investigating and trying to recover their loved ones.
14.He continues to hedge against benefits for GI's, even though he is the recipient of those benefits.

His whole campaign is based on his status as a war hero. But if he's really the hero he claims to be, why not release the records? Why change and embellish the few stories he likes to repeat? Why not help others who are still missing their soldiers in Vietnam after all these years? Why not speak out for better treatment of GI's and veterans? Why not talk about his experiences candidly and answer questions frankly instead of holding them up as a banner of unimpeachable glory?

Don't get me wrong. I don't question his patriotism. I think we owe a huge debt of gratitude to all our service men and women. They risk and often give their lives for us, while we sit comfortably at our computers and complain to each other about how hard life is. In that respect, John McCain is a hero, just like all the others who wear the uniform in harm's way.

But General Clark was right. In going over his list of experiences, I can't see how any of them qualify him to be president. They certainly don't prove him to be a great military tactician. If anything they point toward failure.

Is this the kind of president we want? One who hides behind the flag, whose only focus is war, and who gets his advice from the lobbyists who work to subvert our economy and our rights? I don't think so! It's time for John McCain to take his place on bingo night at the DAV lodge, where he can tell his stories any way he likes. We need a president who's up to the task of improving ethics on the hill and solving the terrible problems we face here, at home.




References:

http://prisonplanet.com/articles/february2008/020708_never_tortured.htm
http://polidics.com/ethics/fellow-pows-say-john-mccain-was-a-coward-and-a-traitor-in-viet-nam.html
-U.S. News and World Report, May 14, 1973 article written by former POW John McCain
http;//iperceive.net.
Faith of My Fathers by John McCain.
The Nightingale’s Song
The Phoenix New Times March 25, 1999
New York Daily News, June 5, 1969
The interview with Dr. Fernando Barral, a Spanish psychiatrist, was published in the Havana Granma in January 1970. March 25, 1999, The Phoenix New Times
http://www.usvetdsp.com/mcprsrel.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-542277/How-war-hero-John-McCain-betrayed- Vietnamese-peasant-saved-life.html
http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/cin_declassified_landing.htm

The Grace of the Amish

Please read the article by Bruce Kluger, entitled "A Glimpse of Grace."


"In the hours and days following last week's heartbreaking schoolhouse massacre of five Amish children in Nickel Mines, Pa., the story cut across the media landscape like a runaway brushfire.

Almost overnight, we learned the grotesque details of the vicious crime itself, heard the pitiful back story of its deranged perpetrator and were subjected to a flurry of the usual analyses — endless eddies of chatter that swirled about the tragedy without shame or abatement.

Rosie O'Donnell targeted the National Rifle Association in her blistering remarks about the killings; Hannity & Colmes used air time to bring on, then ridicule, a religious zealot who called the murders God's will; and columnists lumped the shocking slaughter into reports of other recent school shootings, as if to imply that this reprehensible act of madness was merely part of a bigger news story. A larger picture. A trend.

The Amish citizens of Nickel Mines were oblivious to it all, their religion having long ago instructed them to forgo TVs, radios and other devices of modern-day mass communication.

Instead, they quietly buried their little girls.

They collected money for the families of the deceased, including the horrified, grieving wife and children of the murderer. They also invited the family to the funerals.

“Grace,” my wife said softly when I told her about this astonishing gesture of humanity by the bereaved people of Nickel Mines. “Pure grace. Maybe we all have something to learn from the Amish.”

Religion is by no means an easy topic of conversation in this country — nor in the world. For many of us, it has lost its power to instantly transform or inspire. Indeed, this year alone, we've stood witness, repeatedly, to the dark and disjointed side of religion, and to its ugliest consequences.

We've seen mounting evidence that Islamic fundamentalists have no intention of retreating from their despicable interpretation of the Quran, bent as they are on deriving from its ancient verses little more than a global death warrant. We've watched in failed hope as peaceful Muslims around the globe largely stand mute in the face of this violence, their leaders unable or unwilling to coalesce into a single voice that might once and for all denounce the perversion of their faith by their misguided brothers.

Over the summer, Lebanese Shiites and Israeli Jews similarly turned a deaf ear to the sacred tracts of their holy books — parables about decency and forgiveness and love — as they went about the business of murdering one another over prisoner exchanges and border intrusions and tiny parcels of arid land.

Catholics worldwide listened in confusion as their new pope, Benedict XVI, reached back to the words of a 14th-century emperor to draw a heavy curtain between the righteousness of Christianity and the “evil and inhuman” teachings of the prophet Mohammed.

And here at home, that small but rabid band of evangelicals continued a single-minded crusade, flocking not to churches, but to talk shows and congressional offices and town meetings, in an unyielding effort to write its own brand of divisive scripture into our laws.

Where religion is concerned, we have reached a moment of critical mass in this nation — and the world — entering into a kind of apocalypse unimagined in the Bible. And our punishment is not the stuff of plagues and hellfire, issued by a wrathful and dissatisfied God. Instead, it is simply the souring of our inner spirit and the crushing loss of our soul. Our undoing is our own.

Meanwhile, the reclusive and serene citizens of Nickel Mines go about their business. They lay their beautiful children to rest, and silently pray for our redemption.

Grace."



This article was first published Oct. 9, 2006 in USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20061009/opthree_09.art.htm
And then at Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kluger/grace-in-pennsylvania_b_31365.html

Graffiti "artists" vs New York City

I just read about the lawsuit against New York by some "artists" who claim that anti-graffiti laws infringe their right to free speech.

This is not an issue about freedom of speech. That's just a tool to give them some validity. If you tell Americans their rights are in jeopardy, they'll jump all over themselves to defend anything, from tagging buildings to writing messages in yellow snow. Call this what really it is... vandalism. Defacement of private and public property. It's destructive and costs us money. If they have a need to express themselves, there are plenty of legal ways to do it.



Huffington Post
Yahoo News

Another Weather Disaster

This text is from a county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota after the recent snow storm. I wish I could meet him and shake his hand.

WEATHER BULLETIN

Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from an Historic event ---

may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.

FYI:

* George Bush did not come....
* FEMA did nothing....
* No one howled for the government...
* No one blamed the government
* No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
* Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit
* Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else
* Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either
* CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm
* Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....
* No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....
* No one looted....
* Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something
* Nobody expected the government to do anything either
* No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera
* No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found

And

* Nope, we just melted the snow for water
* Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars
* The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny
* Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families
* Families took in the stranded people - total strangers
* We Fired up wood stoves
* Broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns
* We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die"
* We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program th at trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
* Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

resourcefully!!!!!!!!!

The Sky Is Falling!

"The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" - chicken little

"Scientists" and doomsayers have been quoting chicken little for thousands of years. Fear is a good sales tool for converting people to whatever their agenda is. But I have yet to see the sky actually fall.

There's so much propaganda out there, it can be hard to tell where the truth lies. There's always an alternative view, and sometimes they happen to be right! Whether global warming is really the issue, or cyclic weather changes, it makes no sense to cry panic. What does make sense is a general trend toward progress. Taking better care of the environment must be balanced by the needs of the people.

Less dependence on foreign oil is good for America. Stop allowing corporate fuel and energy to suppress innovation. We need to learn to use our own resources more efficiently, and not just for environmental reasons, but economical as well. And we can develop alternative methods. More jobs, self sufficiency, less control by foreign powers.Our people will be better off, and it'll help mother nature, too!

Besides, the way we're going, greed and hate will kill us all long before the arctic ever could.

Bringing Katrina Home

We Americans love to disconnect from reality. The majority of us have no clue what was going through the hearts and minds of of those who struggled to survive Katrina's wrath. Nor do we want to. We'd rather spend all our energy bickering about who to blame for everything, and then go back to our sheltered little lives. That's our way. It's so much easier than taking down the walls, feeling someone else's pain and acting in a totally selfless way.

The following account was posted on the internet by someone who chose to be anonymous. That doesn't change the power of the message. The discussion on Huffington Post had been the normal left/right slinging of blame and propaganda. Suddenly this appeared and took me completely off guard. As I read it, I found myself engulfed in howling winds and rising water. The girl in the article will carry the scars throughout her life. I hope that I can carry a small portion of her pain in my heart to remind me that the universe does not revolve around me. The needs of others should be more important than my daily agenda. And in light of her and those around her, my petty troubles seem insignificant. I hope some of you can find a similar change of heart.


"When I took my son to his guitar lesson, I met one of the guitar instructors who is from New Orleans. The instructor said his niece survived the hurricane in one the parishes in Louisiana. He talked to her on the phone recently. This is the niece's account: A whole community of people assembled in the high school gymnasium to ride out the hurricane. The bleachers were full of people. The one hundred plus MPH winds knocked out all the windows. The water entered the gymnasium foot by foot. People on the lower bleachers tried to climb higher, but the upper bleachers were already full. As the storm surge rose to fourteen feet, people started to drown en mass. When the water was high enough, the niece was able to swim out the gymnasium window into the one hundred MPH winds. She said she saw a one-year old baby float past her face down."

New Orleans Bush Bashing

First, let me say how horrifying Katrina's devastation is. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims. This article is in no way directed at them in this terrible hour. It's written in response to Van Jones' editorial Bush's Role in the Drowning of New Orleans on Huffington Post. Lots of people are so quick to blame the federal government for everything bad that happens in America. In this case, most of that blame actually belongs to others. And the pundits can't see that all this bashing helps to divide the nation instead of pulling us together to aid those who so desperately need our help.

* * * * *

Everybody's so quick to blame "W" for all of this. In your article you blame him for the flooding because he diverted money. We were in the middle of a war. Should we have said, hmmm, let's leave our servicemen more ill-equipped and pour money into something that might happen years down the road? I imagine if he'd had a crystal ball things might have been a little different. "Experts" have been warning us of disaster for years. I don't know a state or city that has completely prepared for anything. You gonna blame that on W too?

New Orleans has known about the problem for how long? If you want to blame someone, blame the city fathers for not doing more about the situation and protecting their citizens. Blame the city planners for building below sea level in the middle of lakes and next to a gulf, and putting the city in a bowl with no drainage. Blame the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) who should have stepped right in with a plan developed years ago. Community first, then state, then federal. That's how it works.

You forget that when they ran a mock flood several years ago, 1/3 of the citizens said they'd refuse to evacuate no matter what the government said, even if it was a hurricane. If I were given 3 days warning of an approaching hurricane and I couldn't drive my family out, by hell I'd walk them out! I wouldn't just sit there and blame everyone for making it happen and not rescuing me fast enough.

Another thing... you just have to play the RACE CARD, don't you. Take a natural disaster and turn it into whites hating blacks. I think color was the LEAST of anyone's worries as they tried to get out. It's true that most of NO's survivors are poor and black, which was also true of the community before the flood. That doesn't make it a race issue. It means that New Orleans had a large number of PEOPLE who were poor, under educated and stuck in a rut. Blame the city for not working hard enough to train and motivate them. Blame the welfare system for making it too easy to live on checks and stamps. Blame the people for not having the balls to stand up and change their own lives. Blame bleeding hearts like you who find it easier to complain about it than to dig in and help people improve their lives.

Better yet, stop blaming. There are far too many who need our help, and they need it NOW. Put down the poisoned pen and either start writing checks or handing out food and water. The way to insure America's survival is to help each other instead of tearing each other down.

Terrorist groups in the news

Here's the scenario: a terrorist act is committed. People die, lives are destroyed. Someone claims responsibility and their name is plastered in headlines all over the world. It happened in London. It's been happening as long as I can remember.

Something we've learned about terrorists- negotiation doesn't work. You can coddle them or kill them, but you can't negotiate with them. They're like serial killers. They are intent on the act, committed to the end, which is evidenced by the many suicide bombings.

The English have a policy of discussion and understanding. It works so well there's a whole society of Arab dissidents in London. They are organized and even have their own newspapers! Gee, if ya can't beat 'em, welcome them in!

So what can we, the "cowboy" Americans do? I think the first thing ought to be NO NEWS FEATURING EXTREMIST GROUPS. Don't hand them the fame they seek. The next thing (and I'll probably get nasty letters for this), claiming responsibility for a terrorist act is more than a political statement, it's a confession of murder and should be viewed that way. Whether they pulled the trigger, flipped the switch or took the credit, they are guilty of murder. They should be taken out and shot!

You say, "but we're civilized. We can't do that." Well, our civilized approach isn't working. As long as we are namby-pamby about terrorism, more innocent people will die. Is that what we want? Wouldn't we be better off without a few radicals?

After 9-11, most Americans were unified in the fight. Now that the memory has faded, we're back to the old game of spewing partisan rhetoric. We love to backbite and blame. Will it take another tragedy to bring us together again?

I say no more American lives should be needlessly lost. Put Saddam's head on a pole in front of the White House. If we had done that years ago when we had the chance, imagine how many lives would have been saved! We're told they know where Bin Laden is but the country harboring him won't let us get him. That makes them part of the terrorism! Give them a deadline... midnight on Saturday or your country goes up in flames.

We must not allow extremists any more power. We have to act, hard and fast. Either that or get used to living in a world filled with fear.

My Christmas Wish

This was a letter to a best friend, a soldier serving in Baghdad...

I'm thinking tonight how grateful I am that you and so many others
are willing to sacrifice so much. We're sitting home, fat, lazy, safe (or
at least relatively safe in this neighborhood!), trying to get the spirit
of Christmas in our hum drum little lives. We seem almost oblivious
to the fact that you're over there, a million miles from home, family,
loved ones, in the valiant struggle for freedom.

We think we have it rough here. Financial troubles, traffic jams,
angry bosses, pesky neighbors, the occasional sound of a gunshot
from somewhere else. You're seeing the other side of life first-hand.
How different it would be here if it weren't for you who have either
put your lives at risk or given them up entirely to ensure our safety.
Someone asked, where are Bat Man, Superman and the other super
heroes when we need them? Well, we don't need them when we
have you! The men and women of the armed forces. You are the
real heroes. We owe you a debt we could never repay. And the way
we act sometimes, I hope we're worth it.

We whine and complain. We distort the truth to fit our political slant.
We are quick to point a finger at others and slow to take
responsibility, unless it makes us look good. We are a breeding
ground for laws, lawsuits and lawbreaking. We remove God from our
lives and then blame Him for our problems. We are a country of
greedy, selfish, pompous asses. At first glance, it might seem better
if God would just wipe the country clean and start over.

But we are also a country of hard workers. Of people who dream, and
sometimes fulfill those dreams. We were founded on principles of
faith, and most still cling to those standards. We are a society of
freedom. Free to speak our mind. Free to move about. Free to
worship. Free to help our neighbor. Free to reach our highest
potential or wallow in the lowest depths And we owe those freedoms,
in large part, to you... in Baghdad, and around the world.

My Christmas wish for you is that God will reward you generously for
your efforts. That He will keep you safe and bring you home soon.
That your families will be provided for well in your absence. That
loneliness will be replaced with comfort. That He will guide you in your
activities. That you will continue to do your best and act honorably.
That your work will help to bring peace to a troubled world and keep
our nation free. And that we will be more deserving of your service
and sacrifice.

Merry Christmas (Written 12/25/03)