War Is Not The Answer- Most of the Time

War is not the answer, I keep seeing this on bumper stickers; and it is true.  The problem with this oversimplification is that its argument is an appeal to emotion.  The fact is that wars have and will continue to occur, despite the fact that there is nothing more destructive, unhelpful, and stupid as a human endeavor.  Violence is usually the option of the powerless; those who feel they are correct in all their assumptions and that they must eliminate anyone that fails to agree with them or see their point. Their frustration in not being able to convince others and their fear that they might be wrong is the motivation to violence.  This is the case with Muslim fundamentalists.  They might best be compared with cornered animals, they are frightened and are lashing out with as much energy as they can.

I have actually been in a war, and I can assure you that it is not much fun.  There is a strange thing about war for the individual though; it can be exhilarating.  The closer you come to dying or being hurt, the more alive you feel.  It is very odd to return to civilian life and find that at first life has not the  charm one expected.  Edginess and expectation is the norm, this goes away gradually but never really leaves you.  War fighting is truly boring until something happened, waiting for something to respond to, waiting for time to pass.  When your comrades are injured or killed the feeling is more than that of loss, there is an emptiness that you sort of get used to, and gladness that you are still alive or not hurt and an awareness of the transient nature of life.

There is another war on the way, I am referring to the apparent inevitability of war with Iran.  I hope I’m wrong about this but I don’t think so.  Let’s face it Iran intends to blow something up, most likely Israel.  At the least they intend nuclear blackmail in an effort to dominate their neighbors.  There can be no doubt that the cruel and brutal regime that rules Iran wants to expand its reach to the Arab nations.  Now what?

Even the Europeans and Canadians must pause and consider the situation.  The problem with war is it’s often forced upon unwilling combatants.  No one, not even the much maligned Pentagon, actually wants to step into a hail of hot metal shards or bullets.  The human body does not react well to large puncture wounds.  This war is coming and it will begin in the form of a series of allied air raids on key points in the Iranian countryside where known installations are located.  There will be so-called collateral damage.

No war has ever been won and very few have ever been completely finished.  Today’s world is the direct descendant of World War I, which can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars, which go back to the French Revolution, you can do the rest.  So I agree that war is not the answer, but it is an argument and a last resort. In the case of Iraq it is undoubtedly true that the idea was good but the execution was bad.  Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld definitely underestimated the task of cleaning up; if they estimated it at all.  I am a big fan of President Bush and believe he operates in what he thinks is the best action to take.  For this reason you can get ready for Chapter whatever in the continuation of the War to End All Wars which started in August 1914 and which continues today with a few breaks to rearm.

2006 A special year in Sport

2006 is one of those years when, in the sporting world, a sort of harmonic convergence occurs.  Beginning Sunday with the Superbowl in Detroit, Michigan, continuing with the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and finally July’s World Cup Final in Berlin, Germany spectators should be sated with fabulous examples of athleticism.  Of all these events the World Cup Final will be the most watched, both in person and through radio and television.  The claims of commercial success will be mooted by excitement of the fans.

The Superbowl is the premier event in the United States; of course there are other championships of importance, for example the World Series in baseball, the NBA championship of professional basketball and “March Madness” to determine the National Champions of Collegiate Basketball.  There is no satisfactory tournament to declare a clear collegiate football national champion, so the Superbowl must suffice.  Most years this contest is unremarkable with one team clearly dominating the other; its anticlimactic nature has often cast doubts upon its value.

This year will be one of those different years.  I am picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to win, though it could easily go the other way.  I like the Steelers for the simple reason that the unquantifiable sports element of emotion is on their side.  In such a case any athlete will tell you that all else being equal the team with the most heart or will or desire will prevail. The game will be close and exciting. There will be a large audience for this event, but the best is yet to come.

Turin will present an opposite picture.  The Olympics, except for certain events, is all about individual achievement.  These athletes have trained for years, often in a solitary state and without much financial support, to earn the right to compete.  There is fire in their souls.  The sad thing is that corruption has diminished the importance of the Olympics and reduced it to simply another commercial production that showcases athletic ability.  Its audience is shrinking and not just because of a plethora of competing sporting events.  The Olympics has become the UN of athletics meaning that politics, money, and power have become the object rather than the good of sport.  Yes, hypocrisy has always been in evidence; Jim Thorpe is probably the best example of this.  Yes, politics have always been a key factor in presentation and site selection, Berlin 1936 being the most outrageous example.  The Winter Games in Salt Lake City saw the bubbling over of the corrosive impact of money on sport.  Still, the events will be exciting, the athleticism simply wonderful, the victories, and defeats heart-warming and heart-breaking.  For extended drama the Olympic Games still offer and experience worth having.

Now to the greatest event on earth; the FIFA World Cup Final, an event not to be missed.  This event will have the largest audience, approximately 37 million, and generate the most interest worldwide of any sporting contest. In the United States it will be mostly overlooked, but everywhere else the world will stop turning in places like Iran, Argentina, and England when their teams are playing. It is simply amazing how much interest and emotion is invested in this event. Suicides have resulted when teams lose; players have been assassinated when their side has been defeated. Since its inception in 1930 there have been only seven different winners yet the interest borders on the fanatical. Football is the number one sport in the world, it is played in practically every country and each of them wants to simply participate in the Cup Final; to win is the Holy Grail of sport. It is unlikely that the winner trend will change. I am picking Brazil to win for the sixth time, though England has a good chance of an upset. England is one of the gang of seven. Germany will have a chance to present itself as a premiere sporting nation and a beautiful locale. The rest of the world will wear its heart on its sleeve and be left gasping at the achievements on the field. What a year this promises to be.

Science? Not Again!

Ah, science it can be put to so many uses; actually helping humanity, starting and finishing arguments, interpreted in any way that suits, providing an appeal to authority, and best of all perfect for media distortion. Let's take a look at the latest in genetics. Hooray! We can now go about our daily lives guilt free. No matter what our behavior it's not our fault, it's all in the genes. Of course it makes one wonder about a time behavior wasn't programmed genetically. Was there such a time? If so how did the behavior get programmed genetically, if not how did the Big Bang come to have such an influence over pedophilia, murder, good works, compassion, height, weight, etc.

The study released yesterday claimed that all humanity is racist and this is due to genetic programming. I must say this conclusion raise questions about the relevance or usefulness of advanced education as certified by university degrees. This discussion ties in nicely to the end of the world environmental crisis described in the Sunday newspapers. Are these reports symptomatic of a larger malaise in the scientific community? Is there frustration about not being taken seriously? Or is this simply another case of an editor taking something from a report, perhaps even two lines, that suits their opinion and stipulating its factual nature? I really don't know. I do know that anyone who buys into these hypotheses has stopped, if they ever started, thinking.

Of course there is Global Warming it started about 16 thousand years ago and thank goodness, without it you wouldn't be here to read these words of wisdom. We poor humans have such a short life span and are so egotistical that we tend to think that our lives should be static, no changes from the time we step on earth until we depart. Nature should be immutable, of course that excludes the Theory of Evolution, but so what. Hurricanes may not exceed a certain number per year or else human emissions are too high.

This goes back to the earth's limits. Since we don't know and can't find out what exactly the weather was 30,000 years ago, except that it was frightfully cold in most parts, what baseline are we to use? Of course some scientists will say this, others will say that, who is correct. The answer is neither because the question is insoluble. When you hear that the weather is the worst in 500 years, you must ask how was the weather in the years preceeding.

When you awaken each morning make sure to enjoy the short time you have left, time after all is relative to each unique case, and don't worry about what you read in the newspaper, hear on the radio, or see on television. They may be right or they may be wrong but believe me there a plenty of neurotics ready and willing to take these worries for you.

Can Dissent Be Unpatriotic?

I had a very thoughtful email in response to my comments about Jimmy Carter, whom I stipulated was the worst president ever. Part of the reader's response was that as an "ultra-lefty" he or she was tired of being called unpatriotic for dissenting from the Bush Administration policies. It is difficult to respond to this as I have no idea what kind of dissent has been expressed by the writer, but I will take a stab at it. First let me be clear there is not nor can there be unpatriotic dissent.

Where I think the left goes wrong is in thinking that when they are name calling and flat out lying that they are dissenting. This is of course wrong. When Senator Rockefeller or Senator Kennedy come out against decisions they were consulted on and deny the fact, that is a lie and not dissent. Now, lying is also not unpatriotic. If it were there would be no patriots in the government and there damn few enough now.

Until the left can get over the fact that they must propose something rather than carp, moan, and agonize while ignoring the fact that they are becoming passe, then we will not have dissent only gripes.

What then is dissent? In the modern context it would be statements that George Bush has made poor choices in certain areas, made in such a way as to encourage dialogue. Dissent is not to ignore the actual events as in the who is responsible for the defeat of the Kyoto treaty debate; which was defeated 99-0 in the Senate prior to Bush being elected. Dissent is trivialized by accusing George Bush of causing hurricanes.

Dissent should propose a reasonable alternative. Simply trying to reveal techniques employed by the government to protect the nation, attempting to overturn an election through impeachment (Republicans were guilty of this too), and being thorough dissemblers is not dissent; it is war against the nation itself.

Why don't we see Conservative demostraters protesting the Liberals? Why are fundraising letters 80% scare tactics, why, as an electorate, do we tolerate intellectual dishonesty on both sides? I fear the answer lies in the inability of the general population to think critically or worse they are apathetic to the point of not caring at all. This attitude leaves the field to the wackos on the far left and far right.

The Liberals are going to protect our constitutional rights, especially those made explicit in the constitution. So how do we explain the massacre of the Branch Dividians by Bill Clinton? How do we explain the gutting of private property rights by the expansion of eminent domain? How do we explain Elian Gonzalez being taken from a legal guardian and returned to Cuba? How do we explain the internment of Japanese- American citizens, some second and third generation, during World War II? All these actions were taken by Democrat leadership and any dissent was blithely ignored.

No dear reader dissent can never be unpatriotic in the United States, it is one our core values. The problem arises when only one side is allowed to dissent. Go to a college graduation where a liberal speaker is making the commencement address and see how many conservatives protest, then do the same where a conservative is performing this duty. I think the contrast will be obvious and marked.

Another Environmental Crock

I heard the news today, oh Boy! Too much emission in the atmosphere! (with apologies to the Beatles). I really wonder if there is intelligent life on earth, besides me of course, when something like this can be printed as a serious news story. “Scientists say that emissions are pushing the Earth to its limits.” I have rarely heard any thing so ridiculous, especially given that no one knows if the Earth has limited recovery capacity or even what those limits are. OK, I understand that headline writers have the job of scaring the hell out of everyone, but why not scare people with something scary?

The only time anyone will know what the Earth’s limits are is when, or more likely if, they have been inexorably exceeded, which is not going to happen anytime soon. Remember Paul Ehrlich? We were supposed to extinct as a species by now according to his 1989 book. What about Silent Spring, it now turns out that the entire book was a hoax. How much of this environmental drivel are we supposed to swallow? Oh it makes great press, and the mass of humanity is hysterical enough to believe it, but what prediction other than the return of Christ has been so often wrong?

Guess what? This ecological nightmare is the fault of the United States of America, now there’s a surprise. The USA has assumed a mind-boggling bogey man power on every issue. I think this alone proves the premise that most human beings are pretty dopey. The news media are a modern day PT Barnum, anything to sell newspapers. Unfortunately for them the cable news networks are co-opting the public’s dirty little secret; everyone loves tabloid journalism. What’s worse is that once seen on TV it is assumed to be true.

My fellow earthlings, do not despair you may continue your lives without fear of spontaneous combustion, the rapture, or choking on greenhouse gases.

What about Latin America?

Undoubtedly the Palestinian Elections are of paramount importance to the United States and Europe, but what of the United States’ relationship with Mexico, Central, and South America? The United States has been losing the ideological and economic war in that part of its sphere of influence even before Fidel Castro came to power. Yet there is hope for reconciliation and good relations. There are two major factors that will come into play. First Fidel and his acolytes are actually weak and fearful, despite the Cindy Shehans of the world. Second immigration, legal and illegal, will tilt American public opinion in favor of a gentler view of the Southern Hemisphere.

I say Fidel and his acolytes are fearful, let me present a recent example of this. Recently the US Consulate has be electronically passing world news along to the Cuban people in the form of an electronic ticker-tape. Castro is incensed of course because even though there is undoubtedly some element of propaganda, it is a news outlet he cannot control. In response he is building some kind of shield to prevent its viewing by the Cuban people. Why would he do this if his is a free and open society?

The Southern Hemisphere is a large and diverse place, but many if not most, Americans think of it as monolithic. Nothing could be further from the truth. The cultural and ethnic makeup of each nation is very different as are the agricultural and mineral resources each possesses. The United States has always been Eurocentric which explains the attention paid there and to the Middle East. The Arabian and European history is so intertwined it’s amazing that we are at war there. The simple explanation is Islam v. Christianity, but that doesn’t work anymore. The truth is exploitation of resources without a thought to the people who are ruled by tyrants.

At the moment the United States is about to slip into the same situation south of its borders. The historical relationship of the US to its southern neighbors is that of exploitation and dominance. This does not mean it has been all bad; rather the assumptions are mostly wrong when it comes to even thinking about Mexico and Latin America let alone interacting with its population. The United States assumes that because it is richer, not larger mind you, and stronger that these nations should naturally bend to our will. That this is a mistaken view must seem obvious; it is not I can assure you. The education system in the United States is so poorly constructed that I doubt if one in ten can name all the nations let alone their location on the continent.

This condition will change over the next 50 years. During that time the United States will become more sympathetic to this region simply because many more of our citizens will be second generation immigrants from there. They will become politicians with influence, judges, business people etc. The true union of these two regions northern and southern hemispheres based on trust and respect, will form a block that will be a force to be reckoned with. We must start now if its energy is to be harnessed for good.

A productive dialogue, even with Castro, Chavez, Evo, and company, must be started. By productive I mean the United States should be slow to react to the stupid things said by these “leaders” and a sympathetic vision of how to meet the general population’s expectations and wants should be put forward. An application of the protestant work ethic would be most helpful. The US should delay gratification of its desire for strong influence by laying a solid foundation for the future. This can be done by ignoring, to a certain extent, the demagogue’s that seize power from time to time and prod them along a path that benefits their people and ours.

Some Major Issues for the Next US Elections.

There will be several major issues in the next US election, perhaps lasting even through the 2008 elections.  These will include illegal immigration from Mexico, Iran’s nuclear program, Palestine, dependence on foreign energy sources, all of which are losers for the Democrats as presently constructed.  Why, oh why can’t they come up with a reason to support them?  George Bush is a good president, not a great one as I had first thought, and at least tries to do what he set out to do.  This is confusing to the opposition.

The Democrats are so distracted by anger that they have forgotten that being trusted with the government implies passing legislation that has something to do with real life, not just their donation base.  Bush has missed the boat on a critical issue, that of illegal immigration.  By failing to address this problem he should be in danger of losing support; and he is.  The only saving grace for him is that the Democrats are doing a worse job.  They see votes in the illegal population, which just shows how intellectually bankrupt they really are.  Bush on the other hand doesn’t seem to care one way or the other.  Meanwhile the American voters are getting fed up with the situation.

There will be another war or at least some kind of military action against Iran if a reasonable solution is not found and it will not be.  The Iranians are overestimating their situation.  A joint strike force of US and European bombers can wreak havoc on Iran and its nuclear construction facilities.  This would provide a short term solution, but might result in the loss of any good will that can presently be found among dissident Iranians.  A better solution would be sanctions that are tough and that all nations participate in fully.  This would put pressure on the mullahs and the population and most likely a rebellion would be fomented.  This is the best long term solution.

The elections in Palestine prove the worth of the Bush plan to spread democracy throughout the Middle East; though it is fraught with danger.  There should be some dialogue with Hamas, limited perhaps or even secret.  To promote democracy and ignore the elected party seems a bit strange; after all we do have diplomatic relations with China, Venezuela, Egypt, and other undesirable governments.  We can best support Israel by trying to help Hamas mature.  The American Jewish lobby may make this untenable.

Dependence on foreign energy sources is a real loser for the Democrats as they will oppose any development of domestic resources.  Cynical at worst naïve at best they are held hostage by a minority of environmental wackos.  The new configuration of the Supreme Court may change this and give the Democrats a way out. This is very appropriate as recent studies have shown that the Europeans greenhouse emissions have risen despite their endorsement of the Kyoto treaty while those of the US have actually been reduced even though we did not endorse Kyoto.  This simple fact will, or should, begin to defang those on the far left who are willing to see us crawl instead of standing up for ourselves.

The moral failure of the left is starting to hurt them.  They dance to the tune of the ultra left strident ravings from Michael Moore, George Soros, and others.  Why do you think Ted Kennedy, the killer of Mary Jo Kopechne, and John Kerry, the false hero, are suggesting a filibuster against Alito?  It is simple: money.

Jimmy Carter - The worst ever?

Who was the worst president of the United States? For my money it is Jimmy Carter. He is primarily responsible for the emergence of Iran as an Islamic state. His actions and policies at the time have come to haunt us and the world. I think his “stature” among our enemies is proof of this assertion. Without Carter’s insistence that the Shah be overthrown and Khomeini installed as chief mullah we would not be facing another military “option” in the region. Many people either don’t remember or fail to remember that the US and France insisted upon Khomeini being allowed back to Iran from self-imposed exile. The ostensible rationale was that the Shah was unbearably cruel to his subjects, that he had been illegitimately installed as ruler in 1953, and that an Islamic Republic would be a kinder, gentler, place. Since then tens, if not hundreds of thousands have been executed for various Islamic violations. People like Sean Penn are willing tools of the mullahs. Carter’s plan backfired almost immediately as the mullahs allowed “students” to storm the US Embassy and capture the staff. I had a friend stationed in Iran at the time, a civilian, working on telecommunications for Iran. As an American his situation was tenuous at best. He managed to escape but it was touch and go for a while.

Jimmy Carter’s domestic economic policies were disastrous as interest rates reached 21% and inflation was also in double digits, prices changed almost daily. Being in debt was a good thing because the debt was being paid off in ever cheaper dollars. Savings accounts paid more than 12% but the money was worth less and less each month. Carter was a vacillator, afraid to make decisions. He did follow-up on the Nixon plan to bring China into a full relationship with the US and in fact Carter did establish a full diplomatic relationship with China.

Today Jimmy Carter is an America hater, what could be worse and more ridiculous? He thinks Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro are role models for leadership and morality. Carter is like all ultra left wing wackos: he hates himself, his country, and his lucky birth as a white person in the USA. He is ashamed without reason. Anyone born in the United States is luckier than most people on earth. The personal opportunities here are without parallel, try to better yourself in Cuba, it's worth 10 years in prison.

There were other presidents that were weak, venal, and vain: McKinley, Grant, Fillmore, and Cleveland to name a few. None of them went around the world legitimizing false elections and calling their country the greatest threat to world peace, a statement that flies in the face of the evidence.

The Death Penalty is Unneccessary

The execution of murderers is unnecessary.  I won’t make it a moral issue and say it is wrong, even though the risks involved might make it so.  The death penalty is risky simply because of the lack of checks and balances in the justice system.  Yes, it is true that the convicted have many opportunities to appeal, but are these appeals really taken seriously.  There have been too many instances where prosecutors have behaved, at the least badly, and at the worst illegally themselves.  It is odd to me that the justice system of the United States appears to be interested only in the conviction rate, not in making certain that the correct person is apprehended and punished. Box scores are inappropriate in judging how effective a justice system is.  In my state, North Carolina, we have had occasions where the prosecutors and governor refuse to reconsider a case even in the face of new evidence.  The typical response is “The jury has spoken” which is true but did they have enough information to decide?

We all know of DNA rescues, death bed confessions by others, and accidental evidence finding while investigating another case, why then, do members of the prosecutorial side resist making amends?  The death penalty does something else; it coarsens society itself making life taking that much easier.  It also excuses abortion, which is amazing from both points of view.  The pro-choice side is opposed to the death penalty  yet endorse abortion, and pro-life is generally in favor the death penalty but opposed to abortion; go figure.

Why not consider an alternative?  I have for years proposed that murderers should not be executed simply because death is too easy for them.  This is especially true in the case of torture killings and child murder.  It is my opinion that these criminals should be housed in someplace cold like Alaska, North Dakota, and Idaho, someplace where escape is not an option.  They should be kept in solitary confinement, no communication with their families, television, newspapers, magazines, and take their meals alone in their cell.  This is equivalent to death without putting pressure on society.  When these murderers die in prison their families may be given the option to claim the body or they will be buried in the prison graveyard.  The graveyard should be visible from the prison to remind these monsters of what awaits them.

In every case new evidence must considered and the prosecutors may have little or no say so in the matter.  I also propose that prosecutors that “railroad” a suspect should be severely disciplined with a minimum prison sentence of five years hard time with no chance parole.  It is time to realize that technology makes it possible to prove innocence and there is no need to execute criminals to punish them.

Roe v Wade The Return to the States

I’m just thinking about yesterday’s anti-abortion demonstration, Judge Alito’s confirmation floor debate and vote, and an article about sonograms in the Wall Street Journal.  The abortion debate has undoubtedly divided the nation’s electorate and brought forth evidence of hatred and intolerance on both sides; not to mention the pandering to voters by politicians that consider them too stupid to think for themselves.  This issue will definitely come before the Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade will be reversed if only on a limited scale.  The legislative authority for abortion regulation will be returned to the states; Judge Alito’s confirmation practically guarantees this.  So what?  Does it really matter?

The liberal side of the debate frames the argument as a right of privacy, a “woman’s right to choose” and as the definition of women’s rights in society.  This argument does not really stand up under today’s conditions. At this point nearly all scholars left and right agree that there is no right to privacy explicit in the constitution, reading between the lines is tricky and unreliable.  Further medical advances are making it a difficult “choice” because an accidental pregnancy is quite unnecessary, given the many prevention tools that are currently available; abortion must not be allowed as a method of birth control.  Technological advances are impinging on this problem as sonograms become more sophisticated and the evidence of a living human being waiting to complete its development is clearer, many women (and men) will hesitate before killing the baby.  The last part of the argument is specious.  Women can advance in their careers without abortion; to suggest otherwise is insulting and demeaning to women who want a career.  The interest groups promoting these arguments are now institutions and offer careers of their own.  I don’t know the answer to this question, but how many people are employed by NARAL to promote abortion?

The conservative view is presented in two ways: as a moral issue and as an issue that the voters in each state have a right to decide the question instead of receiving the answer as a court dictum.  As a moral issue I think the argument is accurate but weak in today’s American society; morality doesn’t seem to count for much even at the highest levels.  The morality part does resonate with me as the killing of defenseless people is reprehensible.  There can be no doubt that the fetus is a human being, even if its still in training.  Another thing about the conservative argument that has always interested me is the fact that the Pro-Life leaders are almost exclusively men, which to my mind weakens its credibility.  I don’t mean the credibility that abortion is inherently wrong, I mean that the motives of some of these leaders must be considered suspect.  The stronger argument is to let each state have its own view of the situation, which I think was the original intent of the Roe v. Wade decision.  The more liberal states will have a more liberal view and the same goes for the more conservative states.  Such a situation would actually help develop a greater sense of personal responsibility and “morality” as the people will be in charge of their destinies in this case.

No matter, until the voters get the power to decide this issue it will continue to burn brightly.  There are other forces at work as I mentioned but they will take time to have an effect.  Our country needs to get this divisive question behind us we are facing great threats and cannot continue to waste our time on this.  Unfortunately the two bases of the Democrat party; Afro-Americans and Pro-Choice voters will make resolution difficult, though it may still be a problem for the Democrats.  They are beginning to lose their monopoly on black folks, a single issue party is difficult to maintain.

Seahawks 34- Panthers 14

The Superbowl is set: Pittsburgh v. Seattle.  I had already predicted the outcome of this week’s play and the winner of the Superbowl to be played in Detroit in two weeks.  I was correct then and I am correct now.  At least the Bronco’s stayed in the game when compared to the Panthers, but neither team played up to their potential.  Jake Plummer may be the Bronco’s main offensive asset but he is also one of the team’s biggest weaknesses.  The Steelers handled the Bronco’s in the same way they handled the Patriots: they simply dominated them.  Still the Bronco’s had a chance to pull the victory off.  The Panthers on the other hand didn’t even put up a fight.

Admittedly Carolina was lacking offensive weapons due to injury, but as usual the Panther’s early game performance reveals which team has shown up for the game.  In last night’s case it was the losing team.  Their timing was off; penalties hurt them and definitely helped the Seahawks.  The Panther’s are a very nervous team and they are not able to control their collective anxiety.  I never expected Carolina to win in their depleted state, but they should have been able to make it a contest.  It was obvious from the first set of downs that they game was already over, at least to the keen observer of Carolina Panther behavior it was clear.

The future is not clear for Carolina much depends on the off season and physical conditioning.  Steve Smith will be back and so will most of the team, but John Fox must acquire a better running back to support DeShaun Foster and perhaps replace him.  Last night the team rushed for 34 yards while Shaun Alexander rushed for 132 yards an absolute disgrace for Carolina. Had they advanced the Panthers still would have lost to Pittsburgh as will the Seahawks.

Democrats: Allies of Bin Laden?

Bin Laden and the Democrats are they allies?  I ask this question because of the latest communiqué from the caves in Pakistan.  The loyal opposition is loud in its displeasure that the Bush administration is trying to thwart terror attacks as the opportunity to do so occurs.  Of course by revealing what has been done, in the name of protecting the constitution, they have endangered us to a greater extent.  What is the Democrat plan to protect us?  My guess is that they would take Bin Laden seriously in his offer to negotiate a truce and would happily pull our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq tomorrow if not sooner.  Nothing is going to deter Bin Laden from attacking us. It is amazing that no successful attacks have occurred in the United States since 2001.  He is in the game and is not getting out; only his death will remove him from the stage.  Even then a successor will arise, most likely from Iran or in the pay of Iran.  We are in a war for our very existence; even the French now recognize the danger.  Our Democrat party is determined to make the United States a weak and vulnerable country; a reflection of them personified.

These are the same politicians that protected the constitution by appointing justices that took away the private property rights guaranteed by that document. So whether their cooperation with Bin Laden is inadvertent or intentional it is still there.

Sexual Abuse- More Common Today?

The sexual abuse of children and adolescents seems to be on the increase; but is it?  I wonder about this not because I have personally been a victim of sexual abuse, but many of my friends and acquaintances say that they have been.  In more than a few cases the results have been devastating for the child and for the adult they grow to be.  In today’s world the sexual predators are more violent if not more common.  Recently a senior bishop of the Roman Catholic Church revealed that he had been molested as a child by a priest.  The bishop is more that 70 years old now, which indicates what common sense, will tell; that these acts are not new.

What is new is the willingness of the victims to come forward, and what is really new is that their families are supporting their claims.  A close friend of mine described an incident that happened to him during the 6th Grade.  When he reported it to his mother, he was too afraid to mention it to his father; she dismissed it and advised him to put up more of a fight.  The results were disastrous.  Later he found out that his mother had been raped by a friend of her grandfather’s and she spent the rest of her life repressing the experience.

These pedophiles or sexual predators are really monsters that should be imprisoned for life without parole; the death sentence is too lenient.  A judge in Vermont has demonstrated how little value children have in our society when he sentenced one of these monsters to 60 days to life in prison.  The life part kicks in when he rapes another child, which undoubtedly he will.  Why should we, as a nation, have to wait for this person to rape again?  The news media, particularly cable, sensationalize these acts in a way that stimulates the behavior in a bid to get attention.

I wonder if abortion on demand has reduced the value of children’s lives?

Yikes! The Utility Bills are Here

If the war in Iraq is being waged to benefit the  American consumers of gas and oil for heating, then it is singularly unsuccessful.  I just received my heating bill which was three times higher for December than for January.  The electric bill was “only” twice a high.  This put my cost for heating and lighting my house at roughly $600.  Outrageous is hardly a description of my feelings about this.

There is an artificial stimulation of energy price increase that is the result of opportunism and greed.  It is also related to the difficulty in building new refineries in the United States and the completely misguided prohibitions on drilling in areas we know can provide these resources.

Our friends in the preserve the wilderness movement are misguided and irresponsible.  Their policy initiatives in forested areas have actually caused more damage and loss than good forest management techniques would have.  For example, vegetation, like all life forms, must be able to breathe.  When forests get too thick they die. Many Western forest are dying.

When the world consumes more fuel sources than are being discovered, economies die.  As India and China consume more of the world’s resources other nations must consume less.  This is going to be quite a shock for the so-called developed nations.  At the moment India and China consume 22% of the world’s commodities encouraging price increases from oil, copper, and aluminum to steel.

Sensible exploration and extraction should be our goal, especially if we are determined not to develop alternate fuels.  Between North and South America the riches still to be found in the earth most likely could replace or at least compete with current sources in
Arabia.
I wonder how our wacky liberal friends are going to feel when they can’t push their hate America agenda and have to change it to hate China?

Go Dan Go!

Hats off to Dan Gerstein! I highly recommend that you read his editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal, he gets it. I have been making his points for quite some time and am happy to finally see a Democrat apparatchak see the future through the haze of the “activist base”. The Democrat base reminds me of children that rant and rave when the grownups don’t let them have their way. Dan Gerstein is a former aide to Joe Lieberman, a politician with class, culture, and brain power; in short an old fashion Democrat. He I would vote for, so far no other Democrat is persuasive.

Al Gore is one the people Dan Gerstein is talking about when asks that they abandon the hate Bush platform and come up with something real. I agree. It’s a pity about Al Gore I believe the shock of not being elected has completely unhinged his mind. Al Gore is calling George Bush a criminal, a destroyer of the constitution, and everything else he can think of, he is babbling. I shudder to think what shape we would be in had Big Al been president after 9/11. I’m afraid we would offering the Arabs reparations for insulting Islam or something.

If you can find the time please read Gersteins article.

Semifinal Picks

This weekend sees the semifinals of the US professional foot ball leagues. The playoffs have been well played and pretty exciting. The previous weekend saw the failure of Indianapolis to advance, a real shock as they were expected to win it all. The demise of the Patriots was not too surprising, they’re just being in the playoffs was a surprise to me.

So this  week my picks are the Steelers over Denver and the Seahawks over the Panthers. The advantage hurting the Broncos is the Steelers defense, the cold won’t bother them as they play outside in Pittsburgh.

I’m afraid the Panthers have reached the end of the line. I am hoping for an upset, but it looks like the advantage is with Seattle. The Panthers defense is pretty banged up and their running game suffered a serious loss when DeShaun Foster was injured against the Bears. I predict a fairly close game, especially if Shaun Alexander doesn’t have a great day, if he does then the Panthers will be watching the next two games on TV

Marint Luther King Jr -American Hero

Today we honor and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In my opinion, which I hope I have made clear, is that Dr. King is the greatest modern American hero. He saved the United States from a very violent descent into racial chaos. By adopting the tactics of Gandhi and insisting on non-violent protest he raised the possibility that injustice could be righted peacefully. His opponents, most of white America, were not so kind. There were many instances of violence during the period I have called the Second American Civil War, almost all were cases of violence by whites against blacks. Of course there were riots but most of the victims were black as the vandals burned down their own parts of town. This war continues at a cooler level.

Dr. King lamented the violence, both at home and in Vietnam, this won him many new enemies. When he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace many Americans were outraged. In fact Dr. King was one of the few people who won the prize that actually deserved it. To compare Yassar Arafat to Dr. King simply proves how distorted the world’s thinking has become.

I am qualified to speak to this matter because I grew up during this time and lived through every moment. My early opinions certainly do me no credit, but at least I was able to learn. One of the greatest moments in American history was the day, in Washington DC that Dr. King gave his “I have a dream” speech. Undoubtedly the greatest speech given by an American in the 20th century. Today the goals of Dr. King’s dream have not been entirely met, and they never will be fully realized until skin color is a negligible personal characteristic. Every day that passes in the United States this dream seem less possible. Our politicians make it impossible by playing the “race card” and encouraging their constituents to think of themselves as victims and that they are entitled to government handouts ever so subtly reminding them of their “inferiority”

Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. never saw himself as a victim. He wanted no handouts, he wanted a hand up to an equal level, and then he could take it from there. He realized that he would most likely be killed during the struggle for the right to try to be his best and to have all the advantages every American has. He might have been afraid at times, but he was a man of action; a man of peace. Where is his like?

The Second American Civil War Part 4

I am writing this short series of articles because many people have either forgotten or would prefer to forget the struggle for simple human dignity in the United States. From 1947 , the date the Armed Forces were integrated, to even now the struggle simmered, flamed, and is now beginning to cool. It will be difficult to ever have a perfect calm, but as the generations directly affected by the injustice die then a more rational approach will be taken in judgment. That coolness will be slightly empty because the emotion will be gone and the history will be embalmed.

Today the leadership of black folks still see them as their flock to manage, when in fact some are breaking away as they see their self-interest in conflict with the fossilized likes of Jesse Jackson, Charles Rangel, Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, and Julian Bond to name a few. I am not able to judge their internal motivation for keeping their wounds open, and I do know that all of these men suffered the sting of segregation and can’t accept the changes that have been achieved. The can’t forget and they should not forget, but they should work honestly to keep change alive. It is moribund at the moment, and there will be no change as long as they stay on the plantation run by Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, at the rest of the de facto slave holders.

Back to the story, after the race riots tore across the country people began to think about how to mollify the protestors. In 1965 I went to school with black classmates for the first time in my life. They were nervous, we were curious and some of us were hateful in our behavior towards them. This behavior was strictly learned from parents, siblings, and society in general. There were no fights as the nuns and priests enforced a level of civility that made it possible to have classes and a school life.

At about this time the Vietnam War was escalating, this conflict was one that Dr. King protested as unjust. This did not endear him to President Johnson or J. Edgar Hoover, these two leading lights of liberalism who used secret police tactics to spy on Dr. King. Secret wiretaps of his hotel rooms, his home and phones were employed. Mostly without bothering to secure a warrant, these operations were known as Black Bag Jobs. (What is this controversy about George Bush eavesdropping on our enemies about?)

Anyway they tried to ruin his reputation and destroy his credibility, he won the Nobel Prize for Peace; and he deserved it. About this time Cassius Clay changed his name to Mohammed Ali and he too protested the war. He took the stand of a conscientious objector and refused to be drafted. This cost him dearly. The country was at war with it self, which is the point of these articles. Very few of the leaders at that time covered themselves with glory. Millions of young men were drafted and sent to fight for a reason no one quite understood. I went too.

In 1968 a tragedy occurred that still echoes through our lives. Dr. King was assassinated. This event, which I remember well, caused a tremendous flare up. My fellow soldiers were all shocked and dismayed, in those war places white and black depended on each other simply to survive. We were fighting for our lives of course, but also for Dr. King’s right to say or do what ever he wanted (legally of course) and his right not to be murdered. I said earlier that his death propelled the struggle forward, but also began its collapse. It is my belief that had Dr. King lived out his normal span, say to at least 73, the United States would be in far better shape than it is. Dr. King was a statesman, head and shoulders above 90% of the leadership of the USA. His associates were no where near as effective as leaders or even as human beings. They carved out territories for themselves and exploited those they were supposed to help as cynically as any white man. They corrupted the movement.

The Second American Civil War Part 3

1963 saw the advent of the Freedom Riders, groups riding the Greyhound Buses to towns and cities in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The skirmishes had been heating up for sometime. The idea of peaceful civil disobedience was gaining currency as public opinion began to shift, very slowly, in favor of those demanding that their civil rights be honored . There were Freedom Marches and there were deaths. In 1962 the attempt to integrate the University of Mississippi resulted in riots and the deaths of two French journalists. Three young men, two white and one black, were murdered by police officers near Meridian Mississippi their killers, though known were never prosecuted. Viola Luizzo was shot and killed while driving a black man to his home. Medgar Evars was shot in his driveway by a sniper, the killer was imprisoned 40 years later. The war had begun to heat up in earnest.

The riots in California that destroyed theWatts district in 1964 spread to Atlanta in 1965 and to Newark NJ in 1967. The country was tearing itself apart over race and over the Vietnam war. It is a tribute to the citizens of the United States that the country was able to stay pretty much intact, though those days are still being felt in the political life of the nation.

The greatest hero of the second American Civil War was of course Martin Luther King,jr. Without him the country would have fallen apart and most likely into two armed camps in a situation not unlike Lebanon. The leadership at the Federal level was pathetic. The so-called boy wonder John F. Kennedy wanted to do as little as politically possible to remedy the situation. The Democrat party was pretty much controlled at that time by the Southern members of congress, as they held the majority of the leadership positions. The FBI was corrupt under the control of J.Edgar Hoover, who considered all activists to be Communist agents. Undoubtedly there were communist sympathisers and in fact many black leaders endorsed Marxism as the way to reorganize the country.

The greatest tragedy still lay ahead, an incident that actually propelled and stopped the civil rights movement simultaneously. Come back tomorrow for that discussion

The 2nd American Civil War Part 2

1956, the year my family moved from California to Georgia was an eye-opening experience for me. While attending school in Monterey and Pacific Grove I would take the bus, public transportation. You could sit anywhere on the bus and I usually sat near the door. I don’t remember the buses being particularly crowded but that memory might be a bit foggy as I was just six years old. No black people on the bus, on the horizon, in view, nothing.

I also rode the bus to school in Atlanta, the #2 Westview, which went from my bus stop on Ponce de Leon , stopping at Sacred Heart Church where I got off, then it continued to the end of the line at the Westview Cemetery. There were black people on the bus, they sat in the back. I remember there were vinyl screens that separated the white from the black sections though you could easily see each other. Whites could sit in the back, we school children often did, but blacks could not sit in front. There even stencils posted instructing Negroes to sit in the rear of the bus. This all changed when Rosa Parks decided she was too tired to walk to the back of the bus.

Rosa Parks was the catalyst of the modern phase of the second American Civil War. Though change, real change, was in the air with the 1954 case of Brown vs.Board of Education. Living in Georgia in the 1950s blacks were basically invisible. My classmates and friends, I have since figured out, were white southerners first, Roman Catholics second, and citizens of the United States third. The word nigger was commonplace, even to my surprise and confusion among the blacks you could hear conversing on the street. It was a time of turmoil just beginning, it was not unusual to read in the newspaper of a black man being sentenced to death for raping a white woman or of hearing on the radio about a lynching. At my age then, about 10 years old, it just another thing happening. At age 13 I got a job delivering newspapers and became an avid reader of the Atlanta Journal. The Ku Klux Klan was an organization I became familiar with because they hated blacks, Jews, and Catholics, and I remember feeling a slight sense of fear about them. Nothing, I imagine, like the fear black folks felt.

As I look back on Atlanta in the 1950s and 60s it is a time that seems unimaginable today, but it happened. There was a thriving Afro-American community at the time, centered in Auburn Avenue and the surrounding streets. We called it “Buttermilk Bottom” a slightly nicer name than “Nigger Town”. It’s mostly gone now thanks to urban redevelopment and welfare. We watched on television as Martin Luther King jr. went to Montgomery, Alabama to promote the boycott of the white owned stores in support of Rosa Parks. A judge ordered an end to the boycott, which even at my age, seemed stupid. How can you force people to shop where they don’t want to? The protest worked, the bus rules were changed and the fight was on. I wouldn’t be long before a second Federal invasion of the south would take place.

I happened in Little Rock, Arkansas when Governor Faubaus refused to allow black students to attend Central High School. President Eisenhower was outraged and dispatched the 101st Airborne Division to enforce the law, a visible result of the  Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education.. Only those who lived through those times can know the feelings of fear, and hatred that began to permeate every conversation. We hear about it now, but history is empty of emotion and cannot convey what people went through at the time.

All next month will be “Black History Month” a meaningless gesture attempting to keep these events fresh and to build “Black Self-Esteem”. Until we can see the person beneath the skin these wounds will be difficult to heal.