tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8484916283965295522024-02-08T11:14:07.758-08:00The Lion of the Left SpeaksLion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.comBlogger409125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-25888157164541507332016-07-19T15:22:00.001-07:002016-07-19T15:25:45.832-07:00Update on Bernie...Hello Everyone!<br />
I was shocked and saddened that Bernie was having this health issue (see comment section of previous blog). What you suggested though, sounds like a good idea. Any method of communication with Bernie would be better than no communication. ED the IT guy and Girl Friday have been longing to hear from Bernie and we had been wondering how he is doing. Please keep communicating with Bernie and let us know if there is any chance that he might be broadcasting again. Thank you so much for staying in touch with Bernie! ED the IT guy and Girl FridayLion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-16464813584772179782014-11-13T13:07:00.000-08:002014-11-13T13:09:36.406-08:00THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK YOU...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where
does one start when contemplating how to say thank you for over six years of
support and friendship?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is my
last Thanksgiving in captivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
will be home for Christmas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know
these six plus years would have killed me if not for the support of so
many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps even more
extraordinary is the fact that so many people who wrote and encouraged and
supported me are literally strangers, or people I have never met, and yet I
feel close to many of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think
this may be the most difficult piece to write of all those submitted for your
appraisal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I came to prison a broken man...physically and spiritually.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was that brokenness, and a refusal
to recognize it, which created an environment where poor choices...stupid
choices...bad judgment...runaway ego...criminal behavior...were allowed to
grow, fester and flourish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over
these years, I have worked to fix the brokenness and to restore my humility and
humanity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have used this time to
emerge better than when I surrendered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I had to admit to myself that I was capable of immoral behavior and then
figure out how to re-build...to re-boot...to apologize and to ask for
forgiveness from all those I hurt.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>During this entire process, you were there to encourage and support and
react and offer your comments and observations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You, who only knew me as a disembodied voice on the
radio, stepped up to become friends and caregivers and together we created a
community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I missed so many
important events in the lives of my wife and children, you allowed me to write
and express my sorrow and pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When important people...dear people...friends...colleagues...passed
away, this community was there for me and watched while I wrote about Fr. Floyd
Lotito, Susan Prather, Gene Burns, Lee Rodgers, Tina Henry and others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We addressed politics, war and cynicism
along with calls to arms about rebuilding this nation...saving the middle
class...caring for the poor and calling out the hypocrisy of the 1%.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How was all this possible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the eyes of society, and maybe even some of my family members, I
committed a crime worse than all others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(save for maybe Michael Vick)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was labeled deviant and perverted and the natural response to my crime
was supposed to be to shun and condemn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If many had had their way, I would become a pariah who slinks away in
the night never to be heard from again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was not to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I admit
to a terrible mistake and accept the consequences which separated me from those
I love and care about the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
acknowledge all the pain and suffering I caused them and the embarrassment and
humiliation the public nature of my crime caused them, friends and other family
members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did the crime and did
the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You refused to let that
be the final act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You were angry
at me...puzzled at how I could put my career and family into such
jeopardy...outraged that I gave aid and comfort to those who want our republic
to morph into an oligarchy...sad I showed such horrible judgment and for the
hurt I caused by exploring a world of pictures which should not exist and which
causes a great deal of pain for those depicted.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, you refused to write me off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You refused to let one mistake define what you thought of
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You hoped I would learn from
this and you wanted to know what I learned and how this all affected me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You wanted a dialogue, a give and
take...a chance to explore all of this and so off we went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one would have believed this was
possible to sustain over years and years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thank you...thank you...thank you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have to thank two people who made this all possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little did they think, when they wrote
to me in Texas and offered to help me in any way they could, they would spend
almost 6 years posting pieces and setting up and maintaining this blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These lovely people, both with very
busy lives, took on this project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the early days it took so much time just to get one piece
posted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would type it...have it
edited by an inmate in Texas...snail-mail it to them...hope they could read my
writing over the edits...they would then have to re-type it and, finally, post
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite this immense amount of
time, and the effort this consumed, they never complained and always offered
encouragement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They know who they
are and I hope they know I owe them a debt which cannot be estimated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I want to thank James Howell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He wrote to me so frequently...offered to teach me chess by
mail...encouraged me to try to meditate and I did not write back to him
frequently enough and yet he continued to correspond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>James, thank you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A woman, Linda Hadaad, wrote and was so supportive of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her one-woman campaign, after the
government turned down my pleas to be transferred out of the hellhole which is
Texas, is why I was finally transferred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She beat the federal government and I benefitted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(one day I will be able to tell the
story about Texas and how horrible it was and how traumatic for it to be the
first "joint" I was sent to and how if I had not gotten out of there
I would not have survived this experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will need some help to work through all that fear and
tension and isolation.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are so many others I could thank here, but I am deathly afraid of
leaving someone out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every person
who wrote to me...sent cards...magazines...commented on the blog...sent me
encouraging articles and more, to all of you, on this special Thanksgiving, I
thank you from the bottom of my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>( I have no idea how to meet you all, but I so want to shake your hands
and hug you, and probably cry, and personally thank you for all you have done
to help me get home)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On Thanksgiving, I will sit in a room with hundreds of other men sharing
some turkey and stuffing and they will have no idea how special this day it to
me and no idea of the hundreds of you who will be right there sharing the meal
with me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will recall 18 years of
Thanksgiving days that were spent at St Anthony's Dining Room and the joy I
experienced sharing with all the folks benefitting from that amazing
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will smile knowing you,
and so many others, donated over $5 million, through the KGO Thanksgiving
Charity Drive, to help those who were in desperate need at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will tear up knowing I will be home
for Christmas and that this is my last Thanksgiving as a prisoner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will spend some quiet moments thanking
God for allowing me to see my sins and shortcomings, and knowing that in spite
of them She loves and forgives me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I will be expressing gratitude I made this journey from start to finish
and I am a better person because of it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THANK YOU....THANK YOU...THANK YOU...THANK ALL OF YOU VERY MUCH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL.<br />
<br />
Read The Lion of the Left's Thanksgiving Prayer next...</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com168tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-24226645052558556032014-11-13T12:51:00.001-08:002014-11-13T12:51:17.072-08:00THANKSGIVING PRAYER 2014... <div class="MsoNormal">
All loving, wonder filled and creative God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We come together to celebrate a day of
thanks and gratitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
understand on any day there are numerous reasons to give thanks and chronicle
our blessings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We realize how
giving thanks humbles us and reminds us of all we have been given and our
responsibility to give back to others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On this Thanksgiving Day, we keep in mind that for many a rising tide
has not lifted all boats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While
our nation attempts to help those in need, this day reminds us the real
work...the real aid...the real sustenance so many need will come from
individuals...from us...as we share our bounty with others...with
strangers...with anyone in need.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Please bless all who work to grow and market all the glorious food we
lay out on our tables today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Extend your grace to those who spent countless hours to prepare and
present the recipes and dishes we love and which give us so much comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help us to appreciate the friends and
family who gather together with us on this day to tell and retell stories which
reveal who we are and the love, which binds us all together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Oh source of all that is good...please keep close to your heart those
today who are troubled, sad or alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Inspire us to remember all those who don't have a roof over their
heads...food on their table or clothes on their backs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never let us forget how lucky we are to
live in a land of plenty with so much for so many.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As we look around this table, we give thanks for all those who know our
faults...see our shortcomings...recognize our limitations and yet love us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As always, when we stop to give thanks...to love others...to welcome the
stranger...feed the hungry...clothe the naked...heal the sick... and visit
those in prison, it becomes much easier to realize the world is alive with the
grandeur of God.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-27673372903791141032014-09-21T16:35:00.001-07:002014-09-21T16:35:16.941-07:00AGAIN?<div class="MsoNormal">
Americans have been called a nation of sheep, easily
frightened and quick to look for a leader who will promise to conquer those
fears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have an even more
troubling tendency and that is how they refuse to learn from history and keep
repeating the same mistakes with the misguided belief this time America's
military might can defeat the boogey man and everyone can get back to watching
men beat themselves into an early grave on Sundays and beat their significant
other or progeny on Monday.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I want to scream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5,000
dead in Iraq and a couple hundred thousand wounded and broken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1,000 dead in Afghanistan and tens of
thousands wounded or broken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Iraq
and Afghanistan are dysfunctional and failed nations where religion and tribe
are more important than nationalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were told after September 11, the way to conquer our fear of
terrorists...the way to strike back at those who attacked us...the way to
prevent the bad guys from getting over more deadly weapons was to invade and
conquer Afghanistan and Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
were told we could turn them into western democracies and that the people would
welcome our assistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were
told the citizens of those two nations just needed our help to train them and
then they would be able to defeat their enemies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Over 70% of Americans now say Afghanistan and Iraq were not worth the
effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pundits declared a new
period of isolationism in this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Americans want problems here at home fixed...create more jobs...open up
access to college...a payroll tax holiday...rebuild our crumbling
infrastructure..stop being the world's policeman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President Obama has been using this playbook for the last
six years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a maroon!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Americans now say the President is too
soft, and not aggressive enough in his foreign policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is weak and after being horrified by
videos of some gruesome executions by ISIS, the majority of Americans now want
us to strike back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being no fool,
Obama declares a long, open-ended campaign against the terrorist threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are even told these terrorists
represent a direct threat to this nation's security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lest anyone get too concerned, despite this imminent threat,
we are told we aren't going to start Iraq War 3.0...no boots on the ground by
the president.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you believe him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you ever heard of the concept of
incrementalism?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It started with extra soldiers to guard American embassies and
consulates in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(150-300) Then,
we needed troops on the ground to coordinate air attacks, identify targets,
liaison with Kurdish and Iraqi forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(400?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we are told
about Special Forces being used to identify more targets and help train Iraqis
(300) and all of a sudden there are as many as 1,000 American combat soldiers
in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are there to defeat
ISIS despite the fact no one can define what either victory or defeat would
look like.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, has
testified in front of the Senate that if the fighting in Iraq grows more
difficult, we will need to put more combat troops on the ground in Iraq serving
on the front lines alongside Iraqi military forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder
what will happen then?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What will John McCain, Lindsey Graham, every Republican presidential
candidate, Dick Cheney and the gang say if ISIS kills American soldiers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will the American people do if an
American soldier is executed horribly by ISIS?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a battle is going badly, will the Pentagon hesitate to
send in the cavalry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
many?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For how long?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At what cost?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If ISIS retreats into Syria with American prisoners will the
military be ordered to invade to get them back and defeat ISIS?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you sensing a pattern yet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regressive Republicans are frothing at
the mouth at the thought of another fight...another bite at the Iraqi apple and
they will clamor for another use of force vote in Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember the last one?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember how Hillary, John Edwards,
John Kerry and all but 23 Democratic senators voted?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Pentagon has issued an assessment of Iraqi military forces and
essentially says they are useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They couldn't beat the Little Sisters of the Poor at Parcheesi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They won't fight to save their own
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Much the same situation
exists in Afghanistan)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dempsey
says American boots may be needed on the ground in Iraq "...if the
fighting grows more difficult."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What do you think are the odds ISIS will kick Iraqi ass and we will be
told the only thing that will save them, and of course save the United States,
is for American combat troops to turn the tide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would be great satire if it wasn't so tragic and a
recipe for disaster...again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The cherry on the top of this particular cake is a statement last week
by Moqutada Sadr saying if American troops return to Iraq, his Sadr brigade
will fight them again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>American
soldiers would be caught between Sunni ISIS and Shiite Sadr and once again
would be in the middle of an unwinnable civil war.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You have it in your power to stop this in its tracks now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's an election year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>American politicians have to be gob
smacked about the head and arms by constituents telling them there will be no
vote on the use of force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obama
has to hear loud and clear there is no grey area...no wiggle
room...incrementalism will not be allowed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will Americans once again be frightened into wasting blood
and treasure on a fool’s errand?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop it
now!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Write, call or email Hillary
and ask her what her position are vis-à-vis Dempsey’s comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will she once again cave to political
expediency like she did in 2002?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is she afraid of being accused of being soft on ISIS?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn't she say in an interview in the
Atlantic Obama is too soft and not aggressive enough and she would arm
"moderate" Syrians (whatever that means) and support a more focused
Iraqi response?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let the White
House know how dangerous this incremental ratcheting up of force truly is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We already know what the Republicans
will say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are we going to stumble
and bumble and create monsters in the night so that once again we will commit
America to an unwinnable strategy?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sit here amazed, aghast and agog to be writing about a new military
adventure in Iraq because Americans are pissed at the brutality and immorality
of ISIS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it possible they have
publicized all of this brutality just to evoke this exact response and lure us
into an intractable situation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are
they using Iraq and Syria as a tar baby?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When will we ever learn...when will we ever learn?</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-28484635503182561272014-09-12T16:41:00.002-07:002014-09-12T16:41:21.178-07:00QUESTIONS...<div class="MsoNormal">
I watched the President address the nation and announce a
new strategy for dealing with the Islamic State (ISIS).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not lost on me that as I write a
response to it today on September 11, eleven years after this nation was
attacked, it was an attack which was used to justify two wars and a dismantling
of American values as we know them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By the time the president asked God to bless America (do you think ISIS
asks Allah for the same thing?) it seemed there were more questions raised than
answers given.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____"...there will be no American combat troops in
Iraq."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"...we will not
be dragged into another ground war in this area."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have over 600 troops in Iraq now and
are flying hundreds of missions over the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What will we do if these troops are attacked...get
trapped...taken hostage...killed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Will we send in a rescue force and will we fight to get out people back?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____"...Americans will train Iraqi troops."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn't we spend over 10 years and $100
billion of our tax dollars training and arming the Iraqi army?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the first instance of a shot fired
in anger, didn't they run like hell?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of ISIS's weapons are American taken from the "well trained"
(in the opinion of the Bush and Obama Pentagons) Iraqi forces?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why will they fight better this time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they can't, or won't defend their
own land, what can we do to help?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____"...this is a long term commitment, but we will
continue until ISIS is degraded and destroyed."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Powell Doctrine says you don't use military force unless
it is overwhelming...you have a clear concept of what victory means...you have
a clear and definable exit strategy...in other words you can define success and
when you have won.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does
victory look like in this case?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
ISIS is pushed out of Iraq, but is still occupying Syria is that victory?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we attack ISIS in Syria and destroy
its infrastructure, but it still exists as an Al Qaida-like guerilla force is
that a win?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do we know we won
and can stop this commitment?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____"...we have a coalition which will bear some of the
heavy lifting in this effort."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who is in this coalition?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Will Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the U.A.E. (United Arab Emirates),
Egypt and other Arab nations be putting actual boots on the ground in
Iraq?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this a coalition similar
to the phony one Bush told us he had for the Iraq war?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about money?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who will help to pay for all of
this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Iraq is producing millions
of barrels of oil a day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will they
put up the billions necessary to save their own nation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(remember when Paul Wolfowitz testified
to Congress how the Iraq war would pay for itself?)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____"...we will attack anyone, anywhere who is a
threat to our national security."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If we attack and degrade ISIS in Syria, won't this allow the Assad
regime to then turn their focus on the rebels and crush them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will our actions help keep Assad in
power thus benefitting Iran tremendously?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____"...I will ask Congress for permission and funding
for moderate Islamic rebels fighting the Assad government in Syria."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What moderates?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently, Farid Zachariah wrote a piece
about the myth of the moderate Islamic fighter and movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He says there is no such beast as a
moderate Islamic fighter or militia or army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The "moderate" are consistently overpowered and
chewed up by the extremists time after time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we arm so-called moderates, how long before those same
weapons are used against us or our allies?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____The President says we also want to arm the Kurds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do we do when these well-armed
Kurdish militias are used to back up a demand for Kurdish independence in
northern Iraq?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this the
beginning of another Iraqi civil war with us in the middle of it again?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____What about Iran in all of this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we "degrade and defeat"
ISIS, doesn't this benefit Iran directly?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do we arm Hezbollah militias if they join us in fighting ISIS?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we prop up the government in
Baghdad, which is still closely linked to Tehran, are we playing right into
Iran's hands?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____Can we "win" in Iraq if we don't get some
sort of resolution between the Israelis and the Palestinians?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel just announced it is illegally
seizing more land on the West Bank for Jewish settlements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How is it we don't connect ISIS and
Syria and Iraq with what is going on in Israel?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
_____These are just some of the questions the President's
speech raises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will we demand that
Germany, France, Italy, and the rest of the NATO countries increase their
military budgets and shoulder some of the burden caused by Putin and Russia and
Iran and ISIS?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can we afford to
take on ISIS, Russia, put troops into Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as
a hedge against Russian aggression?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If they won't pony up, what should we do?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe the biggest question is raised by those who claim it is an
incontrovertible fact that ISIS represents a direct, imminent threat to the
security of the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In what way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, Americans, or others with
European passports could come to this country and commit acts of
terrorism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought we already
assumed this was a possibility we have to confront every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn't this the justification behind the
Patriot Act and the destruction of the 4th amendment?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn't this the stated defense of the massive illegal actions
of the National Security Agency?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Don't they tell us they need to hear every cell phone call...read every
email we send...see everywhere we go online in order to protect us from these
fifth column assassins?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have
lost most of our privacy and constitutional protections based on the premise we
are being protected from the very attacks we say we now have to go back to war
to stop, aren't we?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the
new threat ISIS represents to our nation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They can't attack us militarily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They can't send troops over here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They can't harm our institutions or culture or democracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, they killed two American
journalists in horrific fashion and I would love to get the guy or guys who did
that, but that is not a threat to the integrity of this nation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We are told ISIS is a danger we have never seen before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wasn't that what we were told about Afghanistan...about
Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, everyone was sure...there was no doubt...the threat
was real...it was scary...we couldn't afford to wait for mushroom clouds over
Manhattan remember?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aren't we told
the same thing about Iran and its attempt to get a nuclear weapon?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ISIS is a new immanent threat to us,
yet Russia which has thousands of nuclear weapons and has directly threatened
us and our neighbors...Russia which is invading allies and crushing
democracies...Russia is a foe we can't even impose strict economic sanctions on
and the president has completely ruled out any military action whatsoever to
deter them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We soft peddle
Russia's actions and the threat it represents and fan the flames of the more
"serious" threat in the form of ISIS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does this make any sense?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A new Wall Street Journal poll says more and more Americans want us to
attack ISIS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it the outrage we feel about what
they did to the two journalists?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What is the outcome Americans want?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same regressives who refuse to pass legislation to
rebuild this country...repair our crumbling roads and bridges and an
electricity grid which is one transformer away from blacking out half the
nation...lower interest rates and principal on student loans...provide more
money for basic research and job training for Americans, are the same
regressives now calling for pouring money back into the War Department so we
can ramp up our military efforts against ISIS just as they did when they wanted
to go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The American people seem once again to have been frightened or
steamrolled into agreeing with them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-90810578507403833142014-09-09T21:03:00.000-07:002014-09-09T21:04:14.095-07:00COMING HOME...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When my oldest
son and I talk, he frequently reminds me there are only two dates that
matter...the day you go to prison and the day you come home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As my time as a guest of our government
come to an end, I anticipated all kind of feelings and reactions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I played it in my head, it would be a
time of great celebration...an explosion of freedom...a cornucopia of foods
missed over the years...a welcome home party of epic proportions...a moment of
unrequited joy for my family and for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Reality, as is usually the case, is far more messy and complicated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I haven't been writing as much as in the past and I was perplexed as to
why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Midterm elections and the
control for Congress are up for grabs in November.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Russia has invaded Ukraine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ISIS continues to roil Syria and Iraq committing unspeakable
crimes against innocent men, women and children. (The same chicken hawks that
lied us into Afghanistan and Iraq now want us to do it all over again.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new report confirms the top 1%
are vastly richer today then in 2010 or before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every cell phone call we make is being monitored by the
government and mysterious cell towers are appearing all over the country and no
one seems to know who owns them or what purpose they serve, but the suspicions
are ominous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these items
should be grist for my mill and yet my pen lays silent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It dawned on me the answer may lie in the fact I have a little more than
three months left before I go home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since I have already served over 72 months, 3 ought to be a walk in the
park.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next 3 months should be
a joy-filled, smile-inducing, countdown to an event worthy of an epic
party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's known as being,"
short to the door" in here and most of those in my housing unit would be
thrilled to switch places with me and have such a short time left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, not so much.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Please don't misunderstand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don't want to spend one more day in here than necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I take full responsibility for the
actions which put me in here and once again offer an apology to anyone I have
offended, but will always bristle at a sentence which in no way reflects or was
commensurate to the crime committed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, as the door approaches, my fantasy about going home has run
smack dab into reality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The reality of going home has caused a whirlwind of thoughts and
concerns and more than one sleepless night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For over 6 years my job has been to survive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My obligation has been to make it day
to day and to do the work necessary to fulfill my promise to my wife to come
home healthier and better than I left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dealing with bills and jobs and children and an economic disaster of
historic scope was the responsibility of my wife and family and you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Responding to, and caring for, my son's cancer, my wife's health
emergency, my daughter's pulmonary embolisms, my brother's heart crisis, my
sister-in-laws fight with cancer, my sister's neighborhood in San Bruno
destroyed by a natural gas explosion and the harm to her family, my son's loss
of sight and much more, which all occurred while I have been here in exile,
fell to others and all I had to do was worry and pray and hope they could
handle it all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a little more than 3 months, the weight and reality of the world will
slam squarely back down on my shoulders and there will be many people with expectations
for me and the life they will expect me to begin to live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about earning a living?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you re-introduce yourself to
your wife after 6 plus years in which she has had to be the bread winner and
family glue...6 years where she had to face fear and loneliness and terror by
herself with no shoulder to lean on and no partner...6 years of anger about how
she was let down and betrayed and disappointed by a man she married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've missed six years of my children's
lives as well as the fact that all of my family has been embarrassed and
humiliated publicly by my actions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I come home, do I fade away into the ether, slink away silently
into the night and hope people forget what I did?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What job or jobs will I be allowed to hold and will anyone
hire an ex-felon with my crime?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Will society allow a second chance or a shot at redemption and even if
it does, how does one go about securing such outcomes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there a media company out there
which would be willing to endure the heat and controversy which would be
associated with hiring me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(although I guarantee the shows would be electric and dynamic and
entertaining as hell from a host who is chastened and humbled with so much to
say)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this and more has
crowded into my head and now I can't stop thinking and wondering and
speculating and it seems to be crowding out everything else.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I find myself obsessed with two concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First, I want to be in physically as good a condition as
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means taking a very
disciplined approach to exercise every day without fail as well as a focus on
what I'm eating, and not eating, to get down to as good a weight as
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, approaching the
door forces me to assess me and to make sure any progress I have made turning
myself around...progress getting pride and ego under control...progress in
understanding how my actions affect others...progress in walking out the door a
better husband and father and friend...progress in my relationship to a God who
gave me so many talents and gifts and now wonders if She may have made a
mistake...that I can bring all of this with me back to a world which will try
to distract me and derail me and tempt me and fool me if I let it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I cannot promise this mental quagmire or thought storm makes as much sense
as would overarching joy at coming home...getting away from this dysfunctional
system designed to encourage recidivists not deter them...spending these last
months planning the huge welcome home party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could be writing this to an audience of one, but I wanted
to articulate to you why my production has slipped and why I am not as
motivated right now to write about Obama et.al.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I apologize for the naval gazing but it seems to be
increasing as the days drop away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is much more to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is more to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have learned so much and want to pass it on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please bear with me over these last few months as I try to
sort through all these feelings and questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have all been on this journey together and I owe so many
of you, and especially the minders of this site, for your friendship and
support over these six plus years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have used this space to think and explore and to reveal to you what
has been going on with me along this path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have some more roads to travel together I believe.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-30505061167158897562014-08-11T16:57:00.000-07:002014-08-11T16:57:22.478-07:00I'D TAKE A BULLET FOR YOU...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine being
able to board a train in San Francisco and three hours later be in Los
Angeles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comfy seats...club
car...WiFi...no overhead bins...no sitting on the tarmac for hours waiting...no
airplane at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's the stuff of
great fantasy and Jerry Brown says he wants the state of California to build
this bullet train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can't think
of a worse idea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don't get to see local papers very often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(who would have thought I would miss the Chronicle?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once in a while one will cross my bunk
and I get to see what's going on in the Bay Area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One story seems to jump off the pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the disaster that is the
construction of the new part of the Bay Bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an on-going series of revelations revealing a comedy
of errors and outrageous incompetency on a grand scale.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>From the snippets I get to read, CALTRANS chose a Chinese company to
make the steel for the bridge even though it had never been involved in a
bridge project before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The company
balked and failed to follow stringent requirements for the manufacture of the
steel and for the quality controls needed and instead of firing them and
finding someone new, CALTRANS granted the exemptions and made excuses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now inspectors are finding corrosion and
bolts which are shearing off and evidence the company did not manufacture the
steel up to standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The steel
is exposed to elements and water and salt and reacting to them when there
shouldn't be a reaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are
also reports of suspect concrete used in pilings and other places on the bridge
as well as well as innumerable other problems and all of this plus a price tag
which isn't even close to any original estimates and gives a new definition to
the term sticker shock.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The latest outrage is the accusations that employees of the state who
raised red flags about many of these concerns or warned about problems with the
steel, concrete, structural plans, incompetence or criminally bad engineering
were fired or demoted by CALTRANS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A report issued in January confirms an environment in which critics or
whistleblowers, or just people trying to do their jobs, were intimidated and
brow beat into shutting up and looking the other way or else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the last few weeks, three more
employees have come forward to accuse CALTRANS of firing them because they
dared to raise questions about the quality of the work being done.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is typical of the government's reaction to criticism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This happens on Pentagon procurement
all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(the colonel who
blew the whistle on the Bradley Fighting vehicle that it hadn't been tested and
would kill everyone inside if struck by a rocket propelled grenade, was
transferred to Greenland until Congress stepped in)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Companies get government contracts and then cut every corner
possible to maximize profit including shoddy material, poor construction and
bad design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When someone raises
questions about the practices, they are the ones attacked by a government
bureaucracy which reflexively circles the wagons to protect itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is exactly what CALTRANS appears to have
done in this case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As far as I can
see, and I don't have all the data, no one in the upper echelons of CALTRANS or
anyone in the state government, has lost their job because of this
debacle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one has been brought
up on criminal charges, charged with obstruction or for cheating California
taxpayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As is typical, the
whistleblowers lose their jobs while the higher ups stay untouched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brown, of course, has done nothing and
held no one accountable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one
has been fired nor has the leadership of the agency been shaken up and in fact
he denies there are any serious concerns about the structural integrity of the
bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the very least
taxpayers and commuters will both have to pay more through higher tolls and
more tax revenue, and will be on the hook for billions in repairs and
maintenance costs far into the foreseeable future.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now this same governor...this same CALTRANS...this same incompetent
group of state employees, contract supervisors, engineers and designers want to
spend more than $60 billion to build a bullet train from San Francisco to Los
Angeles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given what we know about how badly they
blundered on the Bay Bridge and given how the costs were out of control...given
their willingness to ignore or cover-up problems with materials, design,
construction and other key facets of the project, you are being asked to let
them have at another major construction undertaking?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is the definition of insanity?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"They" say it will cost about $60 billion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This means it will cost at least twice
that, or more, when it is finally completed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"They" say it will be constructed with the best
materials...the most advanced designs...using advanced high tech engineering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know they will hire an incompetent
company to save some money (which you will pay for at the back end when it's
poorly completed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The company
will try to cut every possible corner to maximize profit and if anyone raises
an alarm, they will be fired or demoted as CALTRANS, or whoever is in charge,
protects their own jobs at your expense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"They" say safety will be their highest priority just as it
was with the Bay Bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How safe
does that make you feel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"They" say this will create much needed construction and other
jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not spend far less money
repairing the state's infrastructure of roads and bridges which are in terrible
condition and actually create more jobs right now in the construction industry
and related fields?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is impossible to look at the debacle of the new Bay Bridge and then
rationally hand these same people over $60 billion of your tax dollars to do it
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The State of California,
and the governor, (perhaps any governor) is incapable of building this train
on-time, on budget, safely and they will stick taxpayers with the tab and it
will never live up to even half of the promises being made about how it will
perform and how much prosperity it will bring to the state.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My grandmother used to say the proof of the pudding is in the
tasting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you use the Bay Bridge
as an example, it tastes like ass and smells just as bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would never vote, nor support
anything which involves CALTRANS in a big construction project and the
bureaucrats who come with it after watching how poorly they performed on
something as vital as this bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Would you?</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-26853063644775550212014-08-10T01:05:00.003-07:002014-08-10T01:05:43.248-07:00A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SECTION "A"...<div class="MsoNormal">
Reading Section A of the Wall Street Journal for Thursday,
August 7th, left me wanting answers...full of thoughts and comments...aghast.agog
and wanting to throw it all into one Mulligan's stew of a literary meal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>___ Bank of
America is going to pay $17 billion for ripping off people with bogus sub-prime
mortgages and securities which were issued by Countrywide Financial Bank and
Merrill Lynch and Co., companies which B of A purchased at the height of the
depression of 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This follows
$13 billion which J.P. Morgan paid in fines, $7 billion by CitiBank, and
numerous other banks who have admitted to committing fraud and theft and
malfeascence on a global scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not one bank official will be charged with a crime and the fines are
perceived as just the cost of doing business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(It almost reminds one of a mob operation where payoffs and
bribes to cops and judges is just a cost for doing their business too)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fearing the beating of an expired
equine, how is it possible these "banks" could commit such egregious
fraud and do serious damage to the nation's economy, causing millions of
Americans to needlessly lose their homes, exacerbate the income gap between the
1% and everyone else, and yet not one person is punished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can Eric Holder et. al. go to sleep
at night with any sense of being part of a "Justice" department?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gang at Justice trotted out the
cheerleaders and pom poms trumpeting their latest triumph, a triumph which
solidifies once and for all the reality if you are rich enough and steal big
enough, you can pass Go, collect your $200 and not ever even need a get out of
jail free card.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Compare this to
the federal prison system where more than 200,000 people are incarcerated, not
one of whom can be claimed to have wrecked our economy, stole hundreds of
billions of dollars, (hell Maddoff only stole about $20 billion maybe), threw
millions of Americans out on the street and saddled our children's generation
with debt and the probability of not being able to achieve any where near the
economic success of their parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How does that equate?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
___ If you want to know where you stand vis a vis privacy,
the N.S.A. (National Security Agency), government spying and constitutional
protections, it appears we are all totally screwed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A federal judge, who used to sit on the secret F.I.S.A.
(Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court, has written letters to a
congressional committee opposing reform legislation aimed at curbing the
electronic rape which has been going on in this country since 2001.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Federal District Judge John Bates,
doesn't like a bill by Sen. Patrick Leahy which, among other things, would
advocate creating public interest advocates who would represent you and me, in
front of the secret court, when the government is asking to give you or me a
cyber colorectal exam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently,
the F.I.S.A. court grants about 99% of the government's requests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(so much for judicial review)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea that someone ought to be
looking out for us to prevent a government fishing expedition into your most
personal information seems to offend Judge Bates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He seems to find transparency un-American.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has written at least three letters
opposing reforms championed by Leahy, the A.C.L.U., 4th amendment defenders and
those concerned about an intelligence community run amok.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My question is why he is allowed to
write and lobby on this issue at all?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The judiciary is supposed to be a check on the executive and legislative
branches...it's supposed to be blind taking up neither side in a dispute. It’s
supposed to be an impartial arbiter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, how can it be in anyone's best interest when federal judges want to
shape legislation they might later have to review?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What's worse, given what Bates has written, how would like
to have your case of government spying allegations come before him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you think he would rule?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bates went so far as to argue a
lawyer representing you and me would create an adversary to fight the
government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn't like that
concept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We want it to be adversarial...we want
the government to have to defend its actions...we want someone challenging
their assumptions and demanding a show of probable cause...we want it to be
hard to get permission to shred the 4th amendment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently Judge Bates finds the concept abhorrent and
thinks judges should be writing, and then reviewing, the laws of the land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is 1984 scary.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
___ Currently, the United States is threatening Iran with
possible war if it develops, or gets close to developing, a nuclear
weapon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crushing economic
sanctions have been justified as a means to convincing them not to continue to
push to be a member of the nuclear club.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty which allows
it to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. says that is
not what they are up to and they will suffer until they knuckle under.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The president says military action is
possible if the status quo doesn't change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(President Bush got the American people to support a war in
Iraq by claiming Saddam was trying to build a bomb and that could not be
allowed...even if it was a lie)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A
new report say Israel stole over 200 lbs. of bomb-grade uranium from a
Pennsylvania company in the 60's, from which at least two Hiroshima-sized bombs
could be fashioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know they
did it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We kept it a secret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(from us)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel has refused to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation
Treaty and by law the U.S. should be imposing economic sanctions as well as
refusing to sell them military equipment and other assistance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ignore the law for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We allow them to deny they have nuclear
weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We turn a blind eye as
they modernize them and as they threaten to attack Iran, and drag us into a
disastrous war we could not win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is the same Israel we condemn for killing women and children in
Gaza, and then resupply them with the very ammunition and weapons they used to
carry out those attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is
our ally about whom we conveniently ignore their flaunting of our laws and
about whom we know they got their bombs by stealing from us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People then wonder why we are not seen
as an honest broker in the Middle East.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
___ Women prefer Democrats and their economic plans over
Republicans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women are more
concerned about income inequality and the growing gap between the 1% and the
rest of us and thus believe Democrats will do more to address this problem than
will Republicans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If women vote in
decent enough numbers, they could blunt the Republican effort to take over
control of the Senate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Men love
the GOP...love the gap between the 1% and everyone else or at least aren't
troubled by it...love the idea of a pro-business, anti-labor Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The midterm elections in November could
result in the largest gender gap in any national election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here's to hoping it's a women's world
in November.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
___ From the bat-shit crazy department...President Obama's
popularity is at an all time low and Americans give him poor marks in his
handling of foreign policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
say it's not "muscular" enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, the same polls say these Americans don't think the crisis in
Syria, Libya, the South China Sea, Egypt, even the Ukraine are any of our
business as a nation and do not support any use of American forces in those
arenas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you tell me based on
these opinions, what course the President should steer internationally which
would garner approval from the American public?</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-23135739629293567902014-08-04T10:03:00.000-07:002014-08-04T10:03:00.398-07:00PROPORTIONALITY...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Subject to new
updates, at least 1,400 Palestinians have been killed in the latest battles
with Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to
international agencies, from one third to one half of those killed are children
and over 80% of the dead are civilians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Israel has lost 53 soldiers, which are too many, and 3 civilians so
far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(also too many)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gaza has lost its only power plant
which not only produces power for homes and lighting and air conditioning, it
also is needed to run pumps which produce drinking water for Gazans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Palestinians are thus left in the
dark, sweltering and without potable water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israeli infrastructure is secure with no damage from
thousands of rockets which have been launched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel's "Iron Dome" anti-rocket defense system is
said to shoot down over 80% of the rockets which represent the most serious
threats to person and property.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thus, while Israelis face stress, psychological trauma, fear and the
rare chance someone might be killed, Palestinians face imminent death,
privation, and the destruction of most of their societal infrastructure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without debating right or wrong, the
above facts point to a serious moral problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The threat to Israel and Israelis is not in any way
proportionate to their military response.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Roman Catholic Church, and to an extent most Christian
denominations, has promulgated over hundreds of years what has become known as
the "just war" theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is a moral approach to the question of whether any war can be morally
justified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I find the theory
lacking, and while the Church has rarely put any moral force behind it's
decisions on just wars, it can be a starting point to examine armed conflict
between states and people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(the
Church condemned the Iraq war because it violated the "just war"
theory, but refused to sanction or condemn Catholic members of Congress who
voted to use force...a reluctance it has never had for members who vote to
protect a woman's right to choose.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the key criteria in judging the just cause of any war is the
concept of proportionality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is the
alleged grievance caused by one nation, justification for the response of
another?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(it was on this criteria
the Church, along with most mainline Protestant churches in this country,
condemned the Iraq war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The United
State's response was disproportionate to the provocation represented by Saddam
Hussein.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is clear to me; Israel's ongoing aggression in Gaza is morally
disproportionate to the threat represented by the rocket attacks by Hamas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hamas rockets are incapable, due to
their own shortcomings and the Iron Dome system, of causing the death and
destruction which Israel has brought down upon Gaza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the tunnels, which Israel says Hamas uses to smuggle
weapons into Gaza as well as use to sneak attackers into Israel, have not
resulted in significant property damage or loss of Israeli lives.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>1,400 dead vs. 3 could not be any clearer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Gaza loses its power plant, hospitals, schools and
even open-air market places, Israel loses very little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no moral equivalent between
the damage and carnage Israeli forces are raining down on Gaza vs. the damage
being done by Hamas to Israel and its citizens.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite all the rhetoric from the Palestinian side, Israel has a right
to defend itself, but it does not have a moral right to use self-defense as an
excuse to try to force the Palestinians to abandon their political support for
Hamas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The truly immoral and
disproportionate aspect of Israel's actions is they continue to attack
civilians and children who could not and cannot stop the launching of the
rockets even if they agreed with Israel's position.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Justifying innocent deaths by accusing Hamas of using human
shields doesn't get Israel off the moral hook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing that, and attacking anyway, puts the onus on the
Israelis even with the immoral actions of Hamas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As their homes and towns are laid to rubble, the people in
Gaza are not in a position to do anything affecting Hamas' strategy or military
decisions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even though Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies it, the
only explanation for the destruction in Gaza is an attempt by Israel to cause
regime change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel appears to
believe that by punishing the population of Gaza...killing them...destroying
parts of cities and towns...shelling beaches filled with children...the people
will remove Hamas from governing Gaza and replace it with something more
acceptable to the Israelis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is the same mentality which President Bush was guilty of in Afghanistan and
Iraq and you see how well that has worked out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Netanyahu is on the record as opposing a two state solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His cabinet is full of advisors who
refuse to ever accept such a possibility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even as 16,000 more reservists are called up to pursue a ground war,
Netanyahu's government reveals plans to expand illegal settlements on the West
Bank and Jerusalem. (settlements which the United Nations, United States and
Europe all agree are illegal and steal land from the Palestinians)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To think Palestinians will reject Hamas
in the face of a continual Israeli occupation is to ignore reality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Israel does have the right to defend itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has the right to close or destroy tunnels which allow for
Hamas to attack within the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Israel has a right to exist and to live without fear of attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel has the right to respond to
provocation, but the response must be proportional to the provocation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The United States has been an enabler for Israel since its
inception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arm them and ignore
their development of nuclear weapons while threatening war with other nations
who attempt to get a nuke of their own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have refused to sanction Israel for disproportionate responses in the
past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We turn a blind eye as more
and more Palestinian land is stolen by Israelis and settlements built.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel knows it can get away with
virtually anything, particularly in an election year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The current humanitarian crisis in Gaza is not matched by an
equal humanitarian crisis in Israel and the U.S. is silent on the disparity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Israel sees no downside to their current
offensive.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't have an ounce of Solomonic wisdom in me and don't know how to
split this baby to bring about peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I do know it has to involve a two state solution...it has to involve an
end to settlements and giving back the land...it has to recognize Israel's
right to exist in peace with secure borders...it has to represent hope for both
sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do know the only thing
Israel is doing now is sewing the seeds of future wars and deep-seated hatred
along with more destruction and the current offensive is immoral.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-63741563538080070892014-07-25T16:01:00.001-07:002014-07-25T16:01:15.567-07:00HUDDLED MASSES YEARNING TO BREATHE FREE...<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a knock on your door and you open it to discover a
7 year old child alone, cold, hungry and in shock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do you do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do you slam the door?...tell her to go away?...sic your dog on
her?...call the National Guard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or
do you invite her in and wrap her in a blanket, give her some food and
drink?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you make her feel safe
while trying to figure out where she came from?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You do call the police and social services in the hope they
can find her family and knowing she will be kept warm and protected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Questions about how she got to your
door and why she is alone and where she came from would all be secondary to
meeting her immediate needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Right?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s baffling to me how a humanitarian crisis has morphed into an
existential threat to our nation's security, and yet it is what is happening
since thousands of unaccompanied minor children began washing up on the shores
of this great country seeking asylum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The rhetoric and hyperbole from regressives borders on the maniacal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One Texas congressman likens the
children to an invading army while invoking images of the invasion of Normandy
on D-Day and calls on the state's governor to use all force, including
warships, to stem this human tide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another southern member of Congress claims the children are carrying the
Ebola virus and could cause an American pandemic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regressive talk radio talks in dystopian terms of the end of
all our borders and the collapse of American culture if these children are not
stopped and force used to deter any future attempts to enter this nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our infrastructure and institutions are
on the verge of imploding due to this children's crusade.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These flights of fancy
and fact-less frenzy would be the stuff of great satire were it not for the
serious crisis occurring and the fact some Americans are buying into this
nightmare scenario.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The conspiracy
theories are flying fast and furious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These children are coming here at President Obama's behest to become a
new voting block for the Democratic Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(considering the average age is about 9-11, those elections
they will tilt Obama's way would appear to be quite a few years hence)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This human tidal wave is a result of a
2012 law signed by Obama slowing the deportation of some children by this
nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(in reality it is a 2008
law signed by George W. Bush which mandates that undocumented children be
protected and placed with any family which can be found in this country)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This crisis is a result of borders
which are not secure and they are not secure because Obama wants more and more
new immigrants to bolster his political power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(under this president, the budget for the Border Patrol has
increased dramatically to its highest level ever and there are more border patrol
agents now than at any time in history and the numbers continues to climb)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is even talk by the likes of
Sarah Palin and others that this is an impeachable offense because Obama is
deliberately undermining the strength and security of the nation by encouraging
or ignoring all these children at our border.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the real facts are examined, the reason for this mass movement of
children is readily apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
highest percentage of children are coming from nations like Honduras, El
Salvador and Guatemala.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These also
happen to be the most violent and unstable nations in Central America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees says Honduras has the highest murder rate in the entire
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crime and mayhem from drug
gangs and criminal wars, along with crushing poverty, has trapped these
children and their families in the middle of it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(as proof look at a nation like Nicaragua which has a low
homicide rate and rate of violence...very few of the children appearing at our
borders are from there or from other more stable and less violent nations in
the area)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Texas governor Rick Perry wants to put the National Guard (with fixed
bayonet's?) on the Texas border.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Under questioning on Fox News of all places, Perry had to admit the
Guard could not arrest anyone or hold these children and it was unlikely they
were going to shoot them (right?) so what good would they do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perry said they could scare the kids
and send a message back to their homes so no more will venture forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm sorry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These unaccompanied minors, some as young as three years
old, have trekked over thousands of miles of mountains and deserts, against all
odds, to escape abuse and violence, but the sight of some soldiers is going to
frighten them enough to get them to turn back or not to leave in the first place?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The U.S. has facilities to handle about 8,000 children and families at
any given time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are not
enough camps and bases and old prisons to hold them all right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are not enough medical personnel
to evaluate them for illness and disease and not enough food and beds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obama is asking for billions to remedy
this, but regressives say it's too much money and are refusing to pass his
request.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Perry, along with El
Rushbo have shouted about a looming health crisis because these children haven't
been vaccinated against things like measles and chicken pox.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ironically, because of free health
care, the children from Guatemala are more likely to be vaccinated than
children in Texas)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps the most disturbing image among all the news footage, more
disturbing than shoeless, hungry, emaciated children begging for help while
some of their companions lie dead on the desert floor, is the picture of crowds
of angry white Americans attacking buses carrying the children, screaming at
them and refusing to allow them to be sheltered in their communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(this is happening all over the nation
from California to Michigan)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
is it they are so angry about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What threat do these children represent?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who have they offended by risking their lives to escape
violence, abuse and poverty?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of these children need to be kept safe, warm, fed and clothed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They then need to be evaluated to see
if they have family in this country and why they fled and what dangers they
would face if repatriated back to their homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not going to be quick or clean but it is the right
moral choice to make in a "Christian" nation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The "invasion" of these children shows the real moral fault
lines in this nation and again they fall along racial and economic concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are the same racial and economic
concerns which created the No Nothing Party, the Klan, the Chinese Exclusion
Acts, Japanese internment camps and the signs saying" no Irish need
apply".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lady Liberty carries
a torch to light the way for those children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who among you wants to snuff that out?</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-13915730410175005612014-07-25T15:52:00.004-07:002014-07-25T15:52:43.164-07:00THE VOODOO THAT YOU DO SO WELL...<div class="MsoNormal">
When George Bush ran for the presidency in 1999, he promised
to cut taxes resulting in "...a tax cut to sustain our nation's prosperity
and reflect our nation's decency."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He went on to promise, "...a higher standard of living for all
Americans."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pulitzer Prize
winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston says that those tax cuts
actually stole $48,000 from every American taxpayer, a total of $6.6 Trillion
(yes with a "T") over 12 years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Where is the prosperity we are all supposed to be enjoying? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unemployment and under employment are
continuing drags on the economy which still cant shake off the last
depression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(except for the 1% who
are richer today than before the depression of 2008 along with the hedge funds
and Wall Street)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Students graduate
now with debt levels the equivalent of a first mortgage resulting in their
inability, as they go into the job market and marry and start families (maybe),
to be able to purchase a first home. This undercuts one of the basic
foundations of a healthy economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(much of this debt is the result of lost revenue on the federal and
state level due to tax cuts and much of this debt is taken on by the children
of the middle class for whom tax cuts were supposed to be a godsend)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The job market is dismal for most middle
class Americans who watch their productivity increase but their wages do not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Johnston analyzed long term personal incomes as reported by American
taxpayers from 2000-2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"...in 10 of those 12 years, when the Bush tax cuts were in effect,
the average income was lower than in 2000.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The total net loss for the taxpayers over those 12 years was
$48,000.” says Johnston.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He goes
on to ask, "...after 12 years of tax cut mania real hourly wages are now
6% lower than they were in 1972-1973.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hourly workers today make less than their counterparts 40 years
ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where did it all go?"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>According to Johnston, hold on to your seats, over 33% of that money
went to just 16,000 households and about 95 cents of every dollar went to the
top 1% while the 99% lost ground.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When Al Gore debated George Bush, he accused him of "funny
math" and even used the line Bush's father used against Ronald Reagan,
accusing Bush of using "voodoo economics".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bush laughed him off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He repeated the mantra of trickle down theory that when the rich get to
keep more of their money, all boats are raised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(isn't it funny as we debate raising the minimum wage, the
same argument doesn't work for regular folk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why isn't it good for America for the middle class and poor
to keep more money in their pockets?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Twelve years later it is clear by Johnston's analysis
that tax cuts have become an albatross around the neck of most Americans and
the only boats being raised are luxury yachts belonging to the 1%.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tax cut mania trickled down from the feds to the states as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is a loss in revenue
necessitating cuts in most infrastructure projects resulting in a continuing
degrading of roads, bridges and utility grids across the land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The prime example of this is the state
of Kansas, where Republican governor Sam Brownback dramatically cut personal
taxes promising on explosion in economic activity and new job growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brownback is now fighting for his
political life as Kansas has had to take a butcher knife to the state school's
budget and is running up debt as it borrows to cover the revenue
shortfalls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The state is unable to
fund road projects or repair bridges and faces an increasing deficit.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Americas electrical grid is being compared these days to that of a third
world country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The loss of a few
key pieces could shut down most, if not all, of the nation's ability to deliver
electricity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(in Gaza electricity
is only on four hours a day...Egypt maybe 8 hours...Iraq about 12 hours
maybe)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Civil engineers say
thousands of bridges are in need of repair and the nation's interstate highway
system is falling apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Congress
can't even come up with the revenue for that)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When asked about all of this, Washington, and regressives in
particular, throw up their hands and bemoan the lack of money and site the
rising deficit as the reason their hands are tied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(a deficit of their making to a great extent)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(In the master plan for education in California, the University of
California system is supposed to be free to residents of the state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, as tuition increases year over
year, that goal is lost due to cuts in state funds due to lack of revenue)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>$6.6 Trillion is missing from the incomes of average, gum-chewing
Americans while the rich continue to get richer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(in just the last few days, the Wall Street Journal is
reporting how one hedge fund, in collusion with banks, avoided paying over $6
billion in taxes...one fund)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
his new book, Thomas Picketty states the wealth of the 1% is approaching levels
similar to the wealth enjoyed by French nobility just prior to the
revolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gap between the
rich and everyone else is the worst in this country since the Gilded Age at the
turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regressives are outraged and offended any time class is discussed or the
gap between the rich and everyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To bring this up is to be a Marxist, Communist, Pinko symp and it's a
direct assault on capitalism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pope
Francis, as well as his predecessor Pope John Paul II, both proclaimed free
market capitalism to be immoral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Pope says it puts too much power into the hands of the wealthy and
puts everyone else at their mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Warren Buffet says there is a class war going on and his class is
winning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Johnston's research,
along with PInketty, shows Buffet is right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you cut taxes for the 1%...when you tax investment
income and carried interest differently than you do income generated by
labor...when you create a code where a hedge fund can avoid $6 billion in
taxes...when corporations are avoiding billions more in taxes by buying
companies in other countries...when Mitt Romney can make over $50 million in
one year but pay a tax rate of around 18% while middle class Americans are
paying in the mid twenties range...when Wall Street creates more and more
millionaires while Main Street is falling apart and behind, something is very
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fact is this is not a
mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don't have to go
looking for Professor Plum in the library with a candlestick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's clear what has happened and the
only question is when will the 99% force some balancing of the scales.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-34627943590842360142014-07-04T16:26:00.002-07:002014-07-04T16:26:38.612-07:00COME AND SING A SIMPLE SONG OF FREEDOM...<div class="MsoNormal">
On this Fourth of July, I sit behind fences covered in razor
wire, watched over by guards whose job is to seriously curtail my freedom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tonight we may be able to glimpse
fireworks from the local town, but what are we to think upon when they light up
the night sky?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one here is
"free" in any sense of the word, but we brought this on
ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We made choices which
put us here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is your excuse?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I once heard a speech in which a prominent Silicon Valley icon expressed
his view that all freedom is economic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is only when a nation's economy is healthy and the widest swath of its
population benefit from this, are the people really free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are afraid to leave a job you
hate...if you can't leave a city of state because you can't sell your house or
don't have a job or have lost your house or can't afford to buy or rent one
anywhere else...if your health is held captive by plans you only receive
through your employer or because you are dirt poor...if jobs are so scarce or
offer such low wages you can't afford to live where you are nor seek to
relocate...if workers allow themselves to be pitted against one another in an
economic race to the bottom by abandoning the one power they have-to bargain
collectively-then how free is anyone in this land on this day?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This nation was founded on a principle of representative government...a
republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does anyone feel today's
government, whether in Washington, Sacramento or locally, represents us or our
wishes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Americans in poll after
poll say they want more jobs...they want a more robust economy...they want
educational opportunities and a chance their children will be able to achieve
more than their parents...they want a foreign policy which is honest and which
sees solutions outside of the brute use of military force...ironically President
Obama is being constantly dinged in popularity because he seems to be listening
on foreign policy)...yet, the grease which coats the wheels of government is
not popular opinion or popular elections, but rather the billions of dollars
ponied up by those for whom the word populist is an anathema.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Would a truly free people allow one half of one percent of the
population to keep to themselves 80% of the wealth produced in this
country?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wouldn't a truly free
people storm the halls of Congress demanding change...demanding the end of
special tax breaks...demanding that investment income be taxed at the same rate
as income generated by labor...demanding, as they did at the turn of the 19th
and 20th centuries, the capitalists share more of their profits with those who
produce them?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Would you like something to smile about...a note of optimism...a lesson
from history on this Independence Day?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Would you like some hope?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the beginning of the 20th century, the so-called Gilded Age, the gap
between the rich and poor was as dramatic as it is today, perhaps worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congress was bought and paid for by the
Morgan's, Rockefellers, Carnegies, Stanford's, Hopkins, Crocker's and Huntington's
who also owned most of the media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, people rose up...they elected Progressive politicians...they passed
laws making it easier to form unions, outlaw child labor, create a 40 hour work
week even the beginning of an environmental movement and the creation of
national parks and nature sanctuaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Monopolies were broken and worker's pay began to rise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people demanded and got government
to mandate cleaner food and drugs and safer places to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Safety nets were created to keep people
from falling so far into poverty it could kill them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this was done by Americans, populists who demanded
change and received it from the Roosevelt's, Taft's, Lafollette's and
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can be done.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am not free today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, I'm not sure how free I was before I became a guest of the
federal government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How free are
you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much do you feel in
control of your life or the lives of your children and neighbors?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you free to express any opinion you
wish?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you free to change jobs,
or move to a better city?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How free
are you to affect the direction of this nation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you free from fear and anxiety?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this a nation where everyone has a
shot or has it become a collection of oligarchs where only the privileged few
get to participate freely in all the benefits this nation has to offer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I significantly less free than you
on this 4th of July behind my fences and razor wire?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be
nice if on this day if we engaged in a few moments of reflection, in between
the beer, burgers, dogs and fireworks, on the promise this experiment represented
on July 4, 1776.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We appear to be
at a similar crossroads as were the founding fathers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will we continue to be oppressed by a far off government
which doesn't represent us, or will we again declare our independence and throw
off the economic and political chains shackling us at the direction of those
who want to preserve an oligarchy very similar to the one in place in London
238 years ago?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope you have a glorious holiday and hope even more, after the last
sparkler and piccolo Pete is fired, you will step up and demand this nation
change for the better from sea to shining sea.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-57075414938650521102014-06-30T20:53:00.003-07:002014-06-30T20:54:22.238-07:00THEY DIED FOR WHAT?<div class="MsoNormal">
In a small town in Pennsylvania, parents and friends of
Americans killed in Iraq are joining the ranks of Cindy Sheehan and asking what
possible reason could there be for the sacrifice of soldiers from their town in
the war in Iraq?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are reacting to the swift collapse of Northern Iraq in the face of
aggression from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) forces...attacks
which resulted in Iraqi army personnel refusing to fight, running away,
stripping off their uniforms and banging on doors begging for civilian clothes
to disguise the fact they were in their own nation's army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are the same Iraqis that American
taxpayers spent billions training and equipping only to see them fold like a
house of cards at the first sign of danger.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It would appear Americans died to set up a sham-democracy so corrupt and
venal that Sunni citizens would rather be conquered by al Qaeda-like forces
than be governed by the central authorities in Baghdad led by Prime Minister
Nouri al Maliki.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ironically, all of this was predicted by President George Herbert Walker
Bush (Bush 41) when he rejected pleas by national security advisors like Dick
Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Pearl, Douglas Feith and politicians ranging
from John McCain to Lindsay Graham to Mitch McConnell who all wanted him to
keep American tanks rolling into Baghdad in the first gore in the Gulf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bush famously proclaimed Saddam Hussein
wasn't worth one more American life and added taking Baghdad would leave a
power vacuum which America would have to fill to prevent civil war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately for almost 5,000 American
soldiers, those same voices were able to con Bush's son (Bush 43) into thinking
he was wiser than his daddy and America could impose democracy in an area where
Sunnis and Shiites had not shared power since 950 CE.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now these same American parents and friends, who lost sons and daughters
in a war to prevent Iran from controlling the entire region, face the prospect
of America coordinating and cooperating with Iran to try and save Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have to watch as Iran increases
its influence over Iraq, and at the same time props up the Assad government in
Syria and attempts to control Lebanon, while pursuing a nuclear weapons program
and yet might end up as an ally with America in an attempt to stabilize a
nation on the brink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are imposing crippling economic
sanctions on Iran to force it to give up its nuclear ambitions yet now want, or
have to beg? for their help?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is through the looking glass sort of stuff.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While Iraq is in crisis, in this country the same voices who got us into
this situation...who cost America over $ 1 Trillion, 5,000 dead, hundreds of
thousands wounded...who created a deeply divided nation which is now decisively
isolationist...are at it again. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John McCain wants airstrikes and boots on the ground
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheney attacks a weakened
President Obama as Lindsey Graham accused the president of being soft on
terrorism, all laying the current disaster, one of their creation, at Obama's
feet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Columnists in the Wall Street Journal are harkening back to the scare
tactics of Vietnam creating a new "domino" theory which goes if Iraq
falls there goes Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and eventually ISIS will
be on the border with Texas.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A new
poll says the majority of Americans disapprove of Obama's handling of foreign
policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, are these Americans
saying he shouldn't have ended our involvement in Iraq?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do they want a continued military
presence in Afghanistan?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do these
recently polled Americans want U.S. military forces introduced into the Syrian
civil war and are they also in favor of a military strike and war with
Iran?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aren't these the same
Americans who tell pollsters America should fix problems at home and stop
trying to be the world's cop and stay out of foreign adventures?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>House Speaker John Boehner accuses the
President of napping while Mosul burns, but when asked what he would do
differently, he runs for cover saying he doesn't have enough information to
offer a solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the mantra of all the
regressives and the regressive corporate media...Obama is a weak-kneed
sissy-boy, a modern Chamberlin presiding over a new Munich, but when confronted
with questions about what the foreign policy of the GOP would be, the silence is
deafening from most and positively frightening from McCain, Cheney and Graham
among others who want to use a broken military and young Americans as cannon
fodder to prop up a government in Iraq so hated and corrupt people would rather
be conquered than continue to live under Maliki's oppression.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maliki has been told unless he reforms his government...unless he
includes Sunni officials in key positions...unless he stops persecuting
minorities...unless he puts Sunnis and Kurds in top positions in the military,
America will not act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far he
has refused to do any of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now,
Obama is saying Maliki needs to go even though he was just re-elected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is nuts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Iran is sending troops into Iraq to fight and diverting more
from Syria while refusing to yield on its nuclear program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should American military assistance be
used to help Iran solidify its control over this Islamic crescent?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Critics of Obama want airstrikes in Iraq and the use of American Special
Forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(boots on the ground)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They want America to arm
"moderate" rebels in Syria even though no one can define what is a
moderate and the so-called moderates in Syria can't fight any better than the
Iraqi army.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To his credit, Obama refuses to be stampeded like Bush 41, and perhaps
can avoid another disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
actively listening to his constituents who tell him they oppose the use of
military force in foreign adventures while at the same time knocking him for
listening to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>America is
schizophrenic right now on this subject and Obama knows it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever he does it has to be measured
and limited and not capable of drawing us back into the quicksand which is Baghdad.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-40039308941317031912014-06-06T16:18:00.002-07:002014-06-06T16:18:44.265-07:00THE RHODES LESS TRAVELLED...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A number of
people have written to me to let me know Randi Rhodes is going to retire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to their accounts, she has
decided to move to Costa Rica, what a wonderful place to live, with a male
friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One writer claimed she had
just signed a new three-year deal to do her show, but decided to pull the plug
anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All who wrote expressed
both sadness and dismay about her departure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I share those feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also seemed to them Rhodes left feeling defeated and
cynical and convinced America is going to hell in a hand basket.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was jealous of Randi for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was tapped by Air America as one of their national
"liberal" hosts and I thought I was as good, if not better, than
Randi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I thought I was better
than all the Air America hosts, but then again I didn't get to where I am today
due to a regular sized ego.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, when I began to listen to Randi I saw what they saw and
realized how good she was and how the information she relayed daily to her
audience was solid and prescient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
did great research and uncovered facts and perspectives which put events into
the proper context...a context you were not going to get from the corporate
media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was also funny and
acerbic and summoned up outrage which revealed a passion for her work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was clear she wasn't just getting a
pay check...these issues were vitally important to her and she wanted her
audience to care as much as she cared.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps in this way we see the essential difference between progressive
and regressive talk shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the
regressive side, whether it's Hanbaugh, O'Reiley, Coulter, Ingram, Beck et.al.,
it has always seemed clear that at the end of the day they were performers who
figured out a good gig and milked it for all it's worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the best example of this is
"the Weiner".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
"Weiner" came to San Francisco as a Berkeley educated professor,
sponsored and championed by the left of the left including people like Alan
Ginsburg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti and fit in nicely with the beat
generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was going nowhere
until he got a shot on KSFO.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
quickly discovered vitriol and hate and bigotry sold and it was a recipe for
making allot of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What gets
ratings is extreme regressivism, anger and bombast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He never looked back and has been irate all the way to the
bank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this same vein, Glenn
Beck has now admitted he was making up and faking the attacks and the
propaganda he spewed forth and apologized for his performance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In contrast, people like Randi and Rachel Maddow and Keith Oberman, Peter
B. Collins and Stephanie Miller, Ray Taliaferro and even myself, did what we
did because we looked out on a landscape dominated by corporate interests and a
news environment where every debate started in the center and moved away from
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one has or is in it for
just a paycheck and no one shape shifted like their counterparts on regressive
radio.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you perceive a world in which the audience is misinformed or lied to
or truth is covered up and obfuscated, it almost gets to feel prophetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A prophet, in Hebrew scripture, acted
as the conscience of the people reminding them what is true and valuable and
calling them back to ethical and caring behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why a prophet is never accepted in his or her own
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People don't want to hear
what they may be doing wrong or how they may have screwed up or that they need
to clean up their act and governments and the 1% hate it even more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(there is nothing prophetic about
regressive radio...it's a call to retrench and re-turn to a time of dominance
by white males.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's why it goes
down so easily for most ditto-heads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>None of their values or prejudices are challenged.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Since 2001, Randi watched a nation stampeded into two wars by the use of
lies and faux patriotism and fought off criticism she was soft on terrorism or
hated her country or was a commie or socialist and any other number of
attacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She railed against a
Patriot Act which eviscerated the 4th amendment and a government which cut
taxes for the rich, put two wars on a credit card and then used the excuse of
the debt and deficit to gut the social safety net, crush the labor movement and
increase the financial distance between most of America and its moneyed
elite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While she was on the air,
an entire generation went to college and graduated with debt equivalent to a
first mortgage and no jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
watched as Bill Clinton and George Bush deregulated Wall Street leading to a
depression surpassed only by 1929.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then she had to watch Obama bail out Wall Street and destroy Main
Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(have you read Geithner's
book yet?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is an admission of
exactly what Randi and so many said was really going on) The war on terrorism
morphed into a war on civil liberties and privacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(thank you Edward Snowden)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Randi has a 2016 presidential race to look forward to
between Clinton and Bush again?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite the first 14 years of this century, which would render any
optimist moot, I do not share Randi's's cynicism, if that is accurately how she
felt, about the direction of the country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All is not lost and knowledge is still power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The American people will respond when given the
information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it isn't going to
be on terrestrial radio then it may be through pod-casts and Internet
streaming, but there is a thirst which needs to be slaked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I sit in a prison where I have experienced random acts of kindness
convincing me of the goodness of so many people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also a system which begs for reform and when the
average American finds out how their taxes are wasted and how this system just
perpetuates itself, they will demand change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they are informed about the need to change the college
system...change the tax code so it treats the 1% the same way the other 99% are
treated...resists the building pressure to export domestic oil and natural gas
and the war drums beating again...is informed enough to resist the call for
military force to replace diplomacy and demands a government who cares about
the middle class more than the uber class, change will come.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is still a need for prophetic talk and information, but being a
prophet takes its toll.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You paint
a target on your back and you fight every day and lose more fights than you
win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day you wake up and long
for someone else to come along and take up the cause and let you rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Randi Rhodes gave her all and says she
has had enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has served her
nation and audience well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
thought of living in Costa Rica is very attractive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her stead others will have to continue the
fight...continue to entertain and inform...continue to inspire...continue to
expose the truth about capitalism and the 1%...continue to call on the best of
people rather than appealing to selfishness and greed...continue to progress
into the future and not champion a regression into the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will have to support them and
listen and rally to causes so cynicism does not triumph.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Please email or tweet or write to Randi and thank her and wish her
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a class act who
deserves a "well done."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
PS Would one of you be kind enough to email her, or whatever,
and send her my best wishes.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-43391994971677118282014-05-31T17:58:00.002-07:002014-05-31T17:58:17.308-07:00REMEMBERING...<div class="MsoNormal">
Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember Americans who
gave their lives in defense of their country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ceremonies will be held at all national cemeteries, at the
tomb of the Unknown Soldier, flags will be prominently displayed and the
president will give a speech honoring the fallen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All this pomp and attention is nothing more than
sentimentality unless we truly remember what this day is and isn't about.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We should remember the over 5,000 Americans who lost their lives in two
wars over the last decade which were immoral and unnecessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we wind down our involvement in
Afghanistan, and acknowledge the disaster which was Iraq, we need to remember
how jazzed, gung-ho, emotionally charged, Americans were to go to war after
September 11, 2001.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The country
was jingoism central, egged on by a White House where the end justified the
means, and we wanted a chance to get at those "rag-heads",
"sand-niggers", "A-rabs" and get our pound of flesh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Voices of opposition, moderation,
caution were drowned out by the martial music introductions of the latest on
CNN and the corporate media and accused of being soft on terrorism,
unpatriotic, traitors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Americans
ignored the colossal incompetence in Afghanistan which allowed Osama Bin Laden
and Mullah Omar to escape at Tora Bora.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Omar still alive and well and leading the Taliban and killing
Americans)...ignored the fact Saddam Hussein and Iraq had nothing to do with
September 11th (over 70% of Americans thought Hussein had a hand in the
planning and execution of the attack at the time we invaded)...ignored the lies
and propaganda from the White House and Congress (don't forget Hillary Clinton,
John Edwards, and John Kerry were among the Democrats who voted to go to
war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would President Hillary
Clinton do today about Syria, Ukraine, Nigeria and China?)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Young Americans were used as cannon fodder for political gain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were used to "force"
democracy on the Middle East.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
were sacrificed on the altar of political gain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Afghanistan, they had their legs cut off as resources
were diverted to prepare to invade Iraq while still fighting a war in
Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(at one point Special
Forces troops who spoke local languages were sent to Iraq replaced by forces that
spoke Spanish)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Iraq,
despite testimony by the joint chiefs it would take as many as 500,000 troops
to successfully invade and pacify the country, the war was conducted on the
cheap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Calamitous decisions were
made to disband the Iraqi army and to fail to impose security and civil order
leaving an inadequate American force caught in the middle of a growing civil
war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this based on lies
emanating from the White House and amplified by a corporate media more
interested in profit than truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(does the name Judith Miller ring a bell?)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On this Memorial Day, it isn't enough to remember the dead...to put
flags on their graves...to play TAPS and give 21 gun salutes if that is all we
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to refuse to be stampeded and
act like sheep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to be much
more cynical and realistic about the use of force and what it can and cannot
accomplish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>President Obama is getting whipsawed in public opinion polls for not
being tough enough in his foreign policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Americans tell pollsters they want a more muscular president and don't
like his over dependency on diplomacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These same Americans are the ones who also say, by more than a 60%
margin if the Wall Street Journal poll is to be believed, we should fix what
needs to be fixed here at home and not get militarily involved in new foreign
conflicts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So on Memorial Day
which is it?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should we send troops to Syria to depose the Assad regime?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(there are reports they are still using
chemical weapons to attack their people)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should NATO, which means us, station troops in Eastern Ukraine to oppose
Russian forces?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should we somehow
force Russia to give back Crimea?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should we be planning a military assault on Iran to stop their nuclear
weapons production?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about
American boots on the ground in Nigeria to rescue the kidnapped girls or as
peacekeepers in Mali, South Sudan or Somalia?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about China?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Should we be signing mutual defense pacts with Japan, Vietnam, the
Philippines or Taiwan promising to come to their aid, which means sending young
Americans into harm's way, if they get into a conflict with China?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should we go to war to protect
Israel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Senator John McCain says
if he were president he would have sent troops into Nigeria to find the girls
whether the nations leaders agreed or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is so easy to get into wars, but as we now know not very easy to end them
Cindy Sheehan once asked President Bush why her son had to die in Iraq. (a
nation falling apart at the seams as we speak)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Memorial Day do we have any better answers as to why
Americans died in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada et.al.?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are drums beating again in this country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite annual reminders on Memorial Days, Americans once
again have forgotten the cost associated with foreign adventures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obama is pilloried for not being tough
enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(which means being willing
to sacrifice American lives)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet,
because of previous political/military failures, he commands a broken military
with skyrocketing suicide rates, sexual assaults, and posttraumatic stress and,
despite national rhetoric about honoring the nation's soldiers, a Veteran's
Administration which can't meet the medical needs of those who have already
served let alone those in the future.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the best and most moral response we could make on Memorial Day
is to remember not to treat the military like it’s a video game and protect
those who serve their country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps our leaders might remember not to use American's soldiers to
make political points or to rise in polls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps we need to decide which it is...fix what needs to be
fixed at home and reduce a bloated military budget or police the rest of the
world while everyone else sits back and watches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing is clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We insult the memories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice if we
don't learn from our mistakes and promise to be more careful in times to come.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-51797314008273294352014-04-17T17:49:00.002-07:002014-04-20T19:02:19.658-07:00PEACE...<div class="MsoNormal">
Modern life is anything but peaceful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are on edge and on the go
constantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our waking hours, and
perhaps even in our sleep, are dominated by concerns about how to pay
bills...care for, or be a part of, family...work (which we may not like nor
have passion for or find fulfilling) or searching for work at a time when the
economy is in limbo and a job, any job, is a keeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are bombarded with cultural messages to spend and
consume.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(which means acquiring
the money to do so)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do we have the
latest phone, TV, car, dress, purse, Jimmy Choo shoes, skinny jeans or the
latest styled jacket?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are on
edge over a love life, or the lack of one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adolescents are tweeting about fears of what they will be
when they grow up and adults self-medicate because of how their lives have
unfolded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add to all of this the
sheer, real, ear-splitting, nerve-jangling noise which is a constant of modern
life and the last thing that one can say is we know a lot of peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(is it any wonder anti-depressants are
a multi-billion dollar industry and a new study says depression among
adolescents is up over 60%)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As we approach the celebration of Easter, we do so fragile and
splintered yet the whole point of Easter is we have a chance to restore peace
to our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the apostles,
and others, discovered that Sunday morning is an insight...a hint...an epiphany
about life and how to have a peaceful one where you do not have to be
afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See, this is the key to
the good news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus' message was
not about heaven, or afterlife, or kingdoms to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From His baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist, to His
appearance in the upper room, Jesus consistently told those around Him to be at
peace and not to be afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
was he so sure?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why was He
seemingly fearless and peaceful?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What did He know that we didn't?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus knew how close He was to God...the more He trusted in God...the
more He let go of things, the more peace flowed over Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He describes this closeness as like
that between a mother or father and a child...intimate...Abba.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now comes the good part...Jesus proclaimed this same relationship with
God is ours for the taking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We too
could be so close to God that peace will flow like a river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We too can take all the noise,
pressure, stress, which is day-to-day life and let it roll off of us like water
off a duck's back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can trust in
God so implicitly that not even death can stop us nor do we have to fear
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Resurrection, which we
celebrate on Easter, is ours too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is the good news.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It sounds so easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who
wouldn't want to be at peace and not to be afraid anymore?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, when we look around we don't see
allot of peace...don't feel peaceful...we worry and fear...the world certainly
isn't peaceful, so what happened?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sin is what happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have freely chosen to attach to things...to this world...to our basic desires
for pleasure and satisfying our desires...for ego and pride...and the result is
not intimacy but rather separation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(since God created all "things", God by definition cannot be a
"thing", God must be "no-thing"...nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we hold on to things...prioritize
things...seek out things...we lose intimacy with God) There is no clearer
reason why I am in prison and why I chose to hurt my family and myself than an
obsession with things and a failure to trust in God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(interestingly, this is the same message of Buddhism<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which teaches the more you let go of
things, the better you can handle the suffering which life throws at you)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jesus' message is constant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Love your neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love
your enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn the other
cheek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgive an infinite number
of times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever you do for the
least of your brothers and sisters you do for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Implied in all of this is a focus on others, developing a
closeness with God which promises you two things...you will be at peace and
don't have to be afraid any longer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Have you ever had a genuine moment of peace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A moment of living without fear?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not why not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If so, how badly did you want to experience it again and again...seek it
out...try to replicate it if you could?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the upper room, on His first appearance after Easter, Jesus breathes
on them (recalling God breathing on Adam and Eve in Genesis) and says,
"...peace, my peace I give to you."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the central message of the gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can do what Jesus did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can be intimate with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can experience peace because we
trust in God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sin sews doubt and
fear, but Easter is the celebration of a man who was at peace and wasn't
afraid...even when faced with his own death...sin lost.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is my last Easter in captivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will come out of this place, and this experience, less
afraid and more at peace than at any time in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All I needed to achieve this was to have my ego crushed,
pride stripped, every "thing" taken away and the time to contemplate
the state of my relationship with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was forced to let go and to trust, which was so, so hard, in God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am still a work in progress, and I
still love certain things, most especially my wife and children, and can be
filled with fear, but the Easter message, ..."Alleluia, Alleluia, He is
risen," fills me with joy and I wish all of you that same joy.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happy Easter, and please remember the world is alive with the grandeur of
God.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-10867349174108519642014-04-13T11:01:00.001-07:002014-04-13T11:01:35.956-07:00FYI...Hello fellow fans of the Lion of the Left! Some of you have asked for the Lions's mailing address. Here's the information that you asked for:<br />
<br />
Mr. Bernard Ward<br />
#90569-111<br />
FCI Low<br />
3600 Guard Rd.<br />
Lompoc, CA 93436<br />
<br />
You can only send envelopes that weigh 16 ounces or less. Don't send any stationery, stamps, travel magazines, books, or porno. The Bible is the only book that is permitted. The Lion would love personal hand-written letters from you and greeting cards are O.K. Have fun!<br />
<br />
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-76907929393579927802014-04-13T10:52:00.001-07:002014-04-13T10:52:08.322-07:00SELFIE...<div class="MsoNormal">
On a recent phone call, my son informed me he had read
around 10 pieces from this blog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>"Dad, I got bored and thought I could be watching HBO instead, so
that's what I did."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took no
offense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That he was reading them
at all was a triumph for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of
the reasons I decided to write this at all was to show my children I wasn't
crushed nor was I going to just fade away into the night under a cover of shame
and embarrassment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other
reason not to take umbrage was these comments were coming from a member of a
generation which has raised the art of navel gazing to a sacrament, so
naturally commentaries on politics, foreign policy, circumspection or theology
will create a dissonance forcing them to look up and actually perceive what is
going on around them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is now the era of the selfie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You buy a cell phone now, not to make or receive a call, but rather
based on the quality of the camera...whether there is on the front and the
back...the ease with which it allows you to take pictures of you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It gets even more convoluted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Studies show people don't actually want
to talk to each other directly over the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They prefer to text or email or leave a voice message or
post a message on Facebook than engage in actual live conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The phone is ordered for its screen
size, touch screen, design, with its actual function as a phone a long, last, concern
now resembling an electronic vestigial organ.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I find myself chortling at the irony of coming from the generation which
grew up in the 60's and was accused of narcissism on an Olympian level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"It" was all about tuning in,
turning on and dropping out...make love not war...yippies and hippies vs.
straights...we had to have our own music and clothes (sort of dumpster chic)
and our politics...we took drugs to turn inward and see ourselves clearly,
allegedly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today, "it"
is all about taking pictures of myself and chronicling everything and anything
I do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I'm now officially the old, curmudgeonly, grumpy old man shaking his
liver-spotted fist at the non-sense of his children's generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a natural progression and
flashing in front of me is Dick Van Dyke in Bye, Bye, Birdie singing about kids
and why can't they be perfect like we were in every way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, this obsessive need to share
and over share with religious-like fervor still cannot be left without some
comment.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why would I care about where you ate breakfast, lunch or dinner
today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tens of thousands of
pictures are uploaded to the "cloud"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(oh come on you have to love the "cloud"...it now
refers to some gigantic storage unit in the sky when for us it was a way to get
a contact high in the back of someone's car or their bedroom) of what people
ate at their latest meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(the
next logical progression is the uploading of what it looks like at the other
end, an evolution not to look forward to with relish)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The phone you don't call anyone on anymore tracks your every
movement so your friends, and "friendly" big brother, can know what
stores you frequent, restaurants you like, concerts you attend, political
rallies you support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The phone
which no longer has any connection to Alexander Graham Bell, is a game-playing,
picture taking, electronic spying mirror which can be used to catalog every
moment of your day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the
premise of all of this is it builds community...keeps us connected to each
other...makes us feel social...the same folks who don't want to talk to each
other...sit across from each other in a restaurant staring at their
phones...refuse to make eye contact when they are pedestrianatiing (and now
have to be warned by public service announcements not to cause auto accidents
because of their inattention)...completely avoid any intimacy with anyone
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(they use dating sites
because they can't "meet" anyone any other way)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The ultimate beneficiary of all this is corporate America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(you remember them don't you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They keep telling you they wont do any
evil and only want to connect the world and are not at all interested in making
money off of you)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Samsung got huge
returns by encouraging Ellen DeGeneres to take a "selfie" at the
Oscars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(do you think she was
paid?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boston Red Sox slugger,
David Ortiz used a Samsung phone to take a "selfie" with President
Obama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the mega data being
created each day by all the texting and tweeting and pictures and sharing is
vacuumed up by advertisers so they can pitch you, prod you, push you, play you
into buying their product.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(not to
mention what the NSA is doing with all of this information)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Facebook spent $19 billion to buy
"What's App" to commoditize every "intimate" activity we
have with anyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, we
don't even ask for directions anymore (something 60's men were supposedly very
bad at) and now use Google maps to get from point A to point B leaving a trail
of electronic bread crumbs for anyone to follow and observe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(ANYONE !!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is not surprising this kind of long form blog could be boring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try and reduce discussions about health
care or the Russian incursion into Crimea or the raging debate about same sex
marriage to 140 characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it possible
young people are not more liberal on social issues, like gay marriage or the
legalization of marijuana, than their parents, but rather just take a pass on
anything not reducible to a tweet or a selfie?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I sound like my parents and
their horror over Elvis' hips or the Beatles hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, watching an entire generation turn themselves into
a product for corporate profit...observing the emergence of a device even
George Orwell couldn't imagine...commenting on narcissism on steroids was too
good to pass up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An additional
benefit is it gave me a reason to write about my son, who I love, and the pride
I have knowing that he is purposely reading some of this blog even if he gets bored.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-87380548823642109052014-04-06T08:33:00.002-07:002014-04-06T08:33:25.914-07:00ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF ONE'S BIRTH...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've been
adding to this blog for almost six years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(not so much in the last few weeks...just sort of down...sorry)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A friend reminded me I wrote a piece on
my 60th birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have the
ability to go back and re read it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I cannot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I have no idea
if this will repeat themes from birthdays past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as this is my last birthday while being held
against my will, I thought it an apt moment for reflection.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first birthday in prison is soul sucking and psychically
torturous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why was I born?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at what I have done with my
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would it have been better
not to have been born at all?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
do I survive all the future birthdays in prison?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please don't wish me a happy birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm glad my parents are dead and can't
see what I have done to their name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>How will my wife and children cope?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will they ever forgive me?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This birthday occurs with the realization I should be home by Christmas
and there will be no more birthdays in captivity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also occurs to someone quite different than the man who
cried and zombie-walked his way through that day in 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least I've answered one query as I
have survived up until now and I wouldn't have taken bets on that back in the
day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That first birthday, in Beaumont, Texas, took place far away from
home...hell, far away from civilization and intelligent life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If my brief sojourn in the South is any
window on that world, this nation is doomed to remain fractured forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had met a former head of allegedly
one of the most violent drug gangs in Texas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a Puerto Rican from the Bronx trying to convert to
Buddhism from cultural Catholicism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He taught me about prison and prison culture and how to get my head out
of my ass and see trouble brewing before it starts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew he couldn't protect me, his people would never have
gone for that, but told me to get to his bunk if violence broke out because no
one could fault him for protecting his house and the people in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On that first birthday he presented me
with a gift...a pair of non-prison issue, thick, wool gloves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were gorgeous and warm and
valuable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would have thought
such an act of kindness could happen in Beaumont, Texas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gift was a counterpoint to the
isolation...soul losing...recriminations...self-loathing I was going through at
that time and were a miracle of sorts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There will not be any gifts on this birthday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be visit from some friends...a former Maryknoll
missionary who was a total stranger until he visited me three or four times
now...an ex Franciscan and a dear friend from the City who has been a source of
comfort and support through this entire journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there are any tears, they will be tears of joy and the
soul nearly sucked out in Santa Rita, Oakland, Dublin, Oklahoma City, after a
14 hour bus ride with no food, Beaumont, and Lompoc, seems to be making a
comeback.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Birthdays are moments, snapshots, of where we are and where we have been
and contain the hopes of what we might be in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been consigned to the scariest
place on earth...alone with my own thoughts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If one is at all honest, and willing to take a plunge into
the ether which is ourselves, prison offers a chance to assess and unpack the
behaviors and beliefs which led to the current circumstances.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On this birthday I can admit to so many shortcomings and bad choices
which were mixed with an oversized ego...pride on steroids and an absolute
belief life had wronged me, cheated me, played favorites and I would do
anything, break any rule, reject any limits in order to get what was rightfully
mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a good heart, but a
dark spirit which encouraged me to take risks, put my family in jeopardy and
disappoint my friends all in the name of achieving fame and fortune.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A Franciscan friar who was a guest with me here for a while, Rev. Louis
Vitali O.F.M., convinced me the way to do this time was to imagine it as a
monastery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's all men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We live in "cells".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an inordinate amount of time
for prayer and reflection and celibacy is easy to maintain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He nailed it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have said publicly I didn't have an active prayer life
out of fear one day God would answer back and make demands on me I couldn't, or
wouldn't, carry out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, I pray
begging to hear Her voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said
Mass here for the first time in 30 years and it moved me deeply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It showed me how badly I wasted my
chance to be a good priest and, ironically, how much better I would be
today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After everything is taken
from you, including your reputation, it is possible to see what is real value
and on this birthday, if you said I could have anything I wanted, it would be
to be home celebrating with my family basking in their presence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is still much more work to be done on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to face the justifiable anger of
family and work to regain trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
hope God is not done with me yet and search for a new epiphany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would like to work with the poor and
do some prison ministry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't
know if anyone will allow me back in the media, but boy would I have something
to say and from a very different perspective.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Finally, if I can be so bold as to offer some observations on this
day...we all make mistakes and we have to seek forgiveness, including forgiving
ourselves, and not allow the mistake to define us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please reject all the culture around you which glues you to
your phone, computer, TV screen and a plethora of other distractions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am convinced they are like fool's
gold and have neither intrinsic value nor recipe for happiness or
fulfillment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, seek out
people and places and times you love and moments of care and banish the easy
path of cynicism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You, and I, were
given a gift...this life...and it is a chance to be someone who cherishes what
is real and loves with all your heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Please learn from my mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At least then maybe this tragedy can have a positive outcome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am thankful I was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am grateful to have four children and a wife who love me unconditionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am blessed to get a chance to reboot
and see what Bernie 2.0 will look like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am lucky to have all of you to call friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a happy birthday.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-4401123804398621812014-03-13T01:49:00.001-07:002014-03-13T01:50:22.039-07:00MOM JEANS...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Two new posts from The Lion:</span><br />
<br />
Daily Show
host Jon Stewart ran clips of regressive pundits on Fox attacking President
Obama for being weak and for an ineffective foreign policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As proof, they pointed to the "mom
jeans" the president wore while tossing out the first pitch at a baseball
game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By wearing "mom
jeans", Obama became the 21st century equivalent of Neville Chamberlin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At last weeks regressive religious revival meeting in Washington D.C.
(CPAC), Republican regressives took to the stage to attack the President for
being feckless and timid, weak and soft when it comes to foreign policy, in
particular in dealing with Iran and Syria and now Russia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The President is a doormat being
stepped on and muddied by foreign leaders eager to test his metal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even as these attacks drew hoots and
hollers from the audience, what wasn't said was a deafening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At no point did any speaker sight
former presidents George W. Bush or George H.W. Bush, or their party, as
examples to be emulated and the reason why Americans should again elect
Republicans to the White House.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Republicans promise not to wear "mom jeans", but beyond that
they range from fuzzy to fanciful in their critiques.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don't like the President's diplomatic strategy with
Iran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do they propose
instead?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few, most notably Sen.
John McCain, would use military force to bomb and destroy Iranian
facilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This despite the
widely accepted belief a military attack could only delay the inevitable while
crushing any moderates left in the country and justifying Iran's pursuit of a
nuclear weapon to its people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
would also justify Iran's use of asymmetrical warfare through the use of
Hezbollah and Hamas in attacks on Israel, soft American targets around the
world, attacks on shipping or attempts to shut down the straights of Hormuz
possibly driving the cost of a barrel of oil to $200-$300.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(can you imagine what would happen to
our economy if oil jumped to that price?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It would make the depression of 2007-2008 look like a walk in the
park...oh, also imagine if we were exporting energy too and what that would do
to the price?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others, like
Florida Senator Marco Rubio or Texas Senator Ted Cruz, want more economic
sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More economic sanctions
would do nothing to affect Iran's military budget (look at North Korea) and
would guarantee they would walk away from any new or ongoing negotiations since
there would be no advantage to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Still other Republicans say let Israel do it for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing could be a bigger disaster for
us were that to happen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These same critics attack Obama on Syria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once again McCain and others say we should use military
force to topple Assad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are
the same voices which screamed to get into Afghanistan and Iraq and we saw how
well that turned out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some say
Obama should have armed "moderate" rebels in Syria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When pressed, none of the President's
critics can identify who is moderate and who is Al Qaida.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(these same congressional experts
called for arming the mujahideen in Afghanistan much to the benefit of the Taliban
and Bin Laden.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe we should
have a no fly zone over Northern Syria they say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are silent when confronted with what to do about
resistance from allies in the region and Europe...what the rules of engagement
would be and what would be done if a plane is shot down...where they would get
the money to pay for this plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(perhaps we can cut back further on food stamps, day care tax credits
and the earned income tax credit while cutting taxes more for the 1%)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of this perceived weakness and stumbling by the President is
directly responsible for Putin's actions in the Ukraine we are told.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Obama had bombed Syria after Assad
had used chemical weapons...if he would have bombed Iranian nuclear facilities...if
he had armed some rebels, any rebels in Syria...if he carpet-bombed Libya after
the attacks in Benghazi...Putin would never have dared to invade the
Ukraine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You mean the same Putin who invaded and
annexed parts of Moldova and Georgia...you mean that Putin?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You mean the Putin who moved into
Georgia with impunity while George W. Bush was attacking and bombing and
invading Afghanistan and Iraq?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That Putin?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All of the weeping and gnashing of teeth by regressives cannot hide the
fact they have nothing to offer as an alternative policy or solution to these
problems or to growing unrest in Africa, Egypt, Thailand, or anywhere
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They accuse the President of
playing checkers while Putin plays chess, yet when asked how they would differ
from the President's policies they look like deer caught in the headlights and
manage to sputter how they would be stronger and more resolute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not one regress is advocating military
force in the Ukraine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They offer
no plan on how to get the European Union to back strong economic
sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(something the E.U.
seems determined to avoid)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
asked for alternative proposals, they are mute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only comments they offer are how the "mom
jeans" wearing president is at fault or is too soft and not up to the task
at hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the equivalent of
playing with matches in a room filled with gasoline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They undercut the President...give the impression of
disunity in the nation...provide aid and comfort to our enemies and hurt our
ability to bring pressure on Europe to step up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Obama has not helped his own cause very much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hillary Clinton sounds more hawkish and strident than John
Kerry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obama did blink in Syria
when he ignored the red line he himself laid out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(remembering of course that Congress at the time made it
clear it would not support the use of force in Syria.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The attack in Benghazi was a debacle
and his attempt to restart his relationship with Putin and Russia has yielded
view dividends and looks naive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(although Syria has increased the pace of getting rid of chemical
weapons and Iran is still at the table talking and Russia at least didn't
torpedo these efforts)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>President Obama faces allies economically dependent on Russia who are
reluctant to take Putin on and seem to be willing to even let him have the
Crimea if he is nice about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(shades of Munich)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
same allies are not much better when it came to Syria and Iran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite this, the President has to
forcefully respond to the Russian aggression and he must be creative since
military force is off the table.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is tiring and disheartening to watch politicians who offer no plan of
their own...no solution...take no political risk...have no responsibility for
foreign policy...refuse to stick their necks out and then attack the President
for being weak and soft because of the style of jeans he chose to wear when the
last time most of them, and their party were in power they invaded two
sovereign states on specious grounds, cost the American taxpayers over $1
trillion in treasure and the loss of thousands of young soldier's lives in
blood in what is now recognized as a foreign policy disaster of biblical
proportions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'll take mom jeans over that any day.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-45553381060882334622014-03-13T01:42:00.001-07:002014-03-13T01:42:11.350-07:00MISDIRECTION...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Believing in
the axiom,"...a crisis is a terrible thing to waste", powerful forces
in Washington are trying to use the situation in the Ukraine to argue for
lifting restrictions on the exporting of American natural gas and oil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the Arab oil boycott and shock in
the early seventies, with the arrival of long gas lines and fears of
compromised national security, it is illegal to export natural gas or oil in
order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, with the advent of
horizontal drilling and fracking, America enjoys a surplus of both items and
the cheap prices that follow when supply exceeds demand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not for long if the Speaker of the
House and others have their way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a Wall Street Journal column, Speaker John Boehner calls on President
Obama to speed up the permit process that would allow for the construction of
facilities to process, freeze and export liquefied natural gas and allow for
the export of domestic oil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Boehner claims these resources can be used as a way to undercut Russia
by offering natural gas to Russian customers in Europe in the event Russia cuts
them off because of their support for sanctions connected to the invasion of
the Ukraine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boehner is not
alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Democrats from energy
producing states like North Dakota and Louisiana are lending their voices to
the cause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The longer the crisis
in Ukraine, the louder the demands will get.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Boehner et.al. sight numerous studies claiming America will produce more
natural gas and oil than it needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(increasing pressure for the Keystone pipeline too)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>America, they say, needs to punish
Russian president Putin by stepping up and giving Europe all the natural gas it
needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They see this as Putin's
Achilles heal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They say this, and
call for new export authority, despite the fact even if new permits were issued
today; it would be seven to ten years before any significant exports could be
produced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why are they pushing
so hard now?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Supporters of exporting American energy need to use the current crisis
to scare Americans into supporting a policy that is against their own economic
best interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a classic
example of "misdirection".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While you are intent on the crisis in the Ukraine, maybe even getting
angry, maybe want to strike back at Putin and Russia, you will translate all
that emotion into concrete action by supporting a lifting of export
restrictions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The oil and gas
corporations are chuckling knowing if you were left to your own devices you
would never cut your own throat, but the crisis in the Ukraine is exactly the
distraction they need to overcome your common sense.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All this natural gas being discovered is a huge boon for this
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Companies are moving
manufacturing plants back to America from overseas because it's cheaper due to
lower energy costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jobs are being
created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Utilities are shutting
down old coal-fired plants and switching to natural gas because it's
cheaper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will have a dramatic
effect on the reduction in greenhouse gases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abundant natural gas could lead to more vehicles on the road
powered by it and even more jobs created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It can reduce energy costs for the average home putting more money in
consumers pockets in an economy where 2/3 of it is dependent on consumer
spending.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these benefits,
and more not even envisioned yet, disappear if you allow the "surplus"
to be given to foreign markets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only beneficiaries then will be the energy corporations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The law of supply and demand is simple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More demand drives up the cost and uses up any surplus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you want to see this in real time,
look at the effect this harsh winter in the Midwest and East has had on the
price of natural gas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has
skyrocketed in a few months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
despite the alleged surplus.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now imagine Boehner gets his way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Imagine we build huge LNG export operations at ports along the Gulf
Coast from Louisiana to Texas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
gas is exported to Europe and the rest of the world raising demand until it
exceeds the supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The price goes
up here at home of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Manufacturers lose the price edge the get from lower energy costs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Utilities have no incentive to close
old and damaging coal-fired plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Home heating bills will be huge and all of this susceptible to market
forces which Americans would have no control over.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't
need to tell you what the energy companies will do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will justify price increases due to the heavy
demand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(not from Americans)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will say there is nothing they can
do about it because the market dictates price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will do exactly what they do with gasoline where price
continues up and rarely goes down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Supporters of exporting energy say there is so much Americans won't be
hurt and besides, we have to do this to hit back at that thug Putin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Houdini would be proud)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is most
distressing is to see Boehner and Sen. Landrieu from Louisiana, and others,
putting short term political and financial gain ahead of patriotism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Landrieu is running for re-election and
Boehner sees a yellow brick road for Republican coffers from the huge profits
energy companies will achieve at your expense and they are willing to put
narrow self interest ahead of what is in the nation's best interest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is in America's best interest to have a cheap abundant energy
supply.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in America's
interest to have manufacturing return and give them an edge over foreign competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in America's interest to utilize
natural gas and oil for domestic consumption saving American families billions
of dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in America's
interest to be able to end a detrimental dependency on foreign energy sources
that drive political decisions about war and peace.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you allow the exporting of energy, it plays right into the hands of
those who will always choose a quick buck over what is the best long-term
policy for all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boehner, and
company, want you outraged at Putin, teary-eyed for the Ukrainian people,
demanding something be done to punish Russia, so you won't notice how you are
being sold a bill of goods which will harm you, your children, the environment
and America's one chance for energy security.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please keep your eye on the prize and don't get fooled into this energy
version of 3-card Monty.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-54784704566011733472014-03-06T18:17:00.001-08:002014-03-06T18:17:07.238-08:00DEJA PINTO...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was
young, my family owned a Ford Pinto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You remember the Pinto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was ugly, with a four-cylinder engine, which barely made it up and down the
hills of San Francisco and, if rear-ended in a crash, exploded like a Molotov
cocktail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, that Pinto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ford knew if the car was struck from
behind it could turn into a fireball and people died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The company made an actuarial decision that it was cheaper
to pay off a few lawsuits by the families of dead or disfigured drivers, than
it was to recall the car and fix the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The account of their callousness towards unsuspecting
customers is now the stuff of legend and we were told it couldn't happen again
because now they teach ethics in business schools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reality is Ford embodied corporate evil...questionable
ethics (if any)...everything which is wrong with the amoral corporate culture
and they were an object lesson to future companies about how much you could get
away with and stay in business.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>General Motors knew in 2004 they had a problem with the ignition switch
in certain model cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the
ignition key was on a heavy key chain, or got jostled in some manner, it could
cause the switch to jump from "run" to "accessory".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would kill the engine and render
the air bags useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2005,
they got their first report of a fatality due to the defect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They notified their dealers about a
fix, but told them not to bring it up unless a customer specifically asked
about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knew this could
kill but directed their dealers not to volunteer any information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the ensuing years, 12 more people
died, many more injured, and yet it is only in 2014 that General Motors finally
issued a recall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and they are
sorry and you shouldn't blame them because this was done by a different General
Motors than the current company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Huh?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(N.B. my daughter owns one of these cars mentioned in published
reports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had no idea about all
of this and when she inquired was told she had nothing to worry about, as the
dealer hadn't heard anything negative about her car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm not kidding)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I taught a class on ethics, as part of the Theology department, to
juniors and seniors in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first day I singled out a student and presented her with a scenario
in which she is the head of a corporation, which produces toxic waste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they process it and clean it up it
will cost a fortune and hurt profits, but if they dump it in the local river
they will make money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
indignantly responded she would never agree to dump in the river.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then mentioned if she didn't dump,
she would be fired, lose her home, her kids would have to leave school and she
would never work in the industry again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She pondered for a moment and then said, "...oh, then I guess I
would have to rethink my decision."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Welcome to corporatism 101.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When are we going to learn?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is great pressure on President Obama to approve the Keystone oil
pipeline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This despite numerous
reports of the poor safety recorded of its owner, Trans Canada.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(the promise they would never build
something, which would leak)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
West Virginia, and throughout the nation, corporations which store and work
with toxic chemicals operate essentially on the honor system, due to corporate
pressure against regulation, and promise to voluntarily police themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In West, Texas, no one in the town new
what was being stored by a chemical company until it exploded and wiped out
homes, a school and a few people as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Recently in Pacheco, Ca, Tesoro Oil Company had a pipe burst and spray
workers with acid causing burns and injuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When federal inspectors showed up to investigate the
incident, the company refused to let them on the property claiming they had no
jurisdiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(this was only the
latest in a series of problems at Tesoro)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Supporters of fracking want us to trust the companies pumping toxic
water into the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
companies will spend whatever, do whatever to protect local aquifers and ground
water and there is no need for more regulations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was it P.T. Barnum always said?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of the most evil organizations in this
nation, spends hundreds of millions of dollars trying to eliminate or dilute
regulations aimed at monitoring corporate America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were behind the de-regulation of the financial
industry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(how did that work
out?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They oppose regulations
forcing corporations to be more transparent and to hold them responsible when
they cause harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They oppose
attempts to get companies to bolster their cyber security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(can anyone say Target?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Recently, they were in front of the
Supreme Court trying to gut attempts by the Environmental Protection Agency to
regulate greenhouse gases produced by corporations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At every turn, corporations ask us to trust them when they
cannot be trusted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apple says
trust us that your iPhone, iPad and Macbook aren't being made by slave
labor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Google says trust us we are
really giving away our Android system for free, until you find out that anyone
who uses it for an app has to make Google search the default setting locking
out anyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Silicon Valley
screams about too much regulation stifling innovation while they sacrifice your
privacy for their profit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(and
give the government backdoors to spy on all y our online activity)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That's the bottom line you can never avoid...the bottom line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A corporation will always choose profit
over principal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's their nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The phrase "corporate ethics"
is an oxymoron.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only check we
have is through regulations and lawsuits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(regulations are certainly not a panacea since the same corporations
spend millions lobbying to water them down like they did with the Dodd/Frank
financial regulation legislation rendering it toothless)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Corporate America constantly tries to
get Congress to pass, and the President sign, so-called tort reform to make it
more difficult than it already is to hold them accountable for their corrupt
practices...trying to prevent anyone from suing them for any reason.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 10 years, General Motors knew their cars were killing people and did
little or nothing to stop it until the butcher's bill got too high to
ignore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, they are sorry and
join the likes of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Barclays,
Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs et.al. who are so sorry for almost destroying the
world's economy, costing millions their homes and jobs while paying nice
bonuses to their leaders for doing exactly what is in the corporation's best
interest no matter who is harmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WILL WE EVER LEARN?</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-17594646979172512432014-02-24T01:35:00.002-08:002014-02-24T01:37:36.892-08:00YOUR RIGHTS...MY NOSE!<div class="MsoNormal">
The Puritans fled England in order to worship free of
government interference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first
they did when setting up the Massachusetts Bay Colony was prohibit religious
practices other than theirs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite the ratification of the 1st amendment, Americans have tried to
use their religious views for the purpose of discrimination for over 200
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arizona is the latest
battleground.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The amendment prohibits a national religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its purpose was to allow citizens to worship in any form
they chose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, for a long
time that meant your choice was to be white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant or find
yourself excluded from the political and social life of this nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(usually it meant a white, Anglo-Saxon,
Protestant, male)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under the guise
of practicing their free religious beliefs, Americans sanctioned slavery, war
and sanctified male chauvinism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They constructed a public school system that denigrated Catholicism and
Judaism, approved restricted clubs and organizations, and passed laws limiting
the rights of fellow citizens using God and the Bible for justification.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In Oregon, a state that had a large Klan presence in the early 20th
century, a law was passed prohibiting parents from sending their children to
anything but a public school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
was aimed at the Catholic schools that dotted the state and originated from a
hatred of the Church and its influence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(it was overturned by the Supreme Court in its Pierce vs. the Society of
Sisters decision)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When women
started to agitate for the right to vote, the pulpits were filled with voices
excoriating the idea of a fully enfranchised woman as being antithetical to
biblical exhortations demanding women be obedient and subservient to men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was scripture which was used to
justify the expansion of this country from coast to coast with adherents
claiming God gave them a manifest destiny to conquer all the lands and either
kill, or convert, the "heathens" they found.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ironically, when Mennonites and Quakers
pointed to their biblical, religious commitment to pacifism, and refused to
serve in the military, they were thrown into federal prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess religious preferences can only
go so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the first
amendment, their religious views did not supersede the nation's need for war.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Across the land today, the cry of religious freedom rings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the new way discrimination and
prejudice are being packaged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Catholic bishops claim they have the right to deny coverage of
contraception to employees in their health insurance because they oppose
contraception on religious grounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(not really since these same bishops approve of the use of the rhythm
method which involves the same intention as any other form of birth
control)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Landlords are trying to
use religion to justify not renting to unmarried couples who might be engaging
in biblically prohibited adultery or breaking other commandments behind closed
doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(how do they know?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Owners of pharmacies claim they should
be able to refuse to sell the morning after pill because they oppose abortion
for religious reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(despite
the scientific evidence which shows the Plan B pill is not an
abortafacient)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now, states
like Arizona are attempting to pass laws permitting business owners to
discriminate against same-sex married couples because of biblical jeremiads
against homosexuality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The action
in Arizona continues an unbroken chain from Massachusetts Bay to Phoenix, of
Americans trying to use their first amendment religious protections to impose
their views and deny fellow citizens similar privileges guaranteed them in the
Bill of Rights.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Imagine if the Arizona bill allowed businesses to refuse service to
mixed race couples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
laugh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Less than 50 years
ago laws existed throughout this nation which made it illegal for an African-American to marry a white person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The laws were defended by evangelical preachers using the Bible which,
according to them, prohibited such arrangements in order to protect against the
mongrolization of the races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(do
you remember the rule at Bob Jones University prohibiting races from dating
each other; again claiming it was in accordance with their religious
beliefs?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine if Arizona's law
allowed businesses to refuse service to Catholics or Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jews?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christian religious views have been used to massacre Jews and
discriminate against them for 2000 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Prominent fundamentalists like Jimmy Swaggert, Oral Roberts and Pat
Robertson have consistently claimed God doesn't even hear the prayers of Jews.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the same crowd which called the
Catholic Church the whore of Babylon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(we had a whole political party dedicated to anti Catholic sentiments
called the Know-Nothing Party).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Pope was frequently accused of unspeakable crimes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How deferent should the constitution be
to these views?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In San Francisco, the Olympic Club was forced to admit women...Augusta
National Gold Club shared the same fate...what if they claimed a religious
belief in the subordination of women and were opposed to women and men mixing
in social settings?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could they
engage in such discrimination?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Regressives have chaffed for years over their inability to impose their
cultural norms on everyone in this nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They rail against a court system which has checked them each
time they attempted to impose their views and to take away rights from other
Americans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When the Catholic Church is engaged in religious activities in its
churches and parishes, it should be, and is, free from government
scrutiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, when the Church
operates secular institutions...secular businesses...such as hospitals,
adoption agencies, universities, charities and is engaged in the secular world
serving all people and employing many non-Catholics, it is subject to the same
rules and constitutional strictures as any other business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(the Catholic Church opposes
divorce...should a Catholic employer be able to fire an employee who divorces
his or her spouse?)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a
fundamentalist Christian opens a pharmacy, it isn't limited to serving only
other Christians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They engage in
commerce and are open to all customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their religious freedom stops at the tip of a customer's nose.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throughout our history, religion has been used to justify prejudice and
discrimination and eventually the courts have stepped in, and sometimes actual
Christianity has prevailed, prohibiting such actions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Arizona regressives want to turn back the clock, instead of
turning the other cheek, to an era when religion could be used as a cudgel to
enforce and justify bigotry and prejudice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The struggle continues and this too will end up in the
courts at some point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a
shame the tenets of the little Jewish carpenter from Nazareth have been used
for such immoral purposes rather than to draw us closer to God and each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm sure She wishes it were otherwise.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-55389497573376611272014-02-17T01:37:00.000-08:002014-02-17T01:37:06.562-08:00A MUSING'S...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>...At least one
anonymous NFL executive told ESPN his locker-room was not ready for an openly
gay Michael Sam to be a part of that environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn't see how he could fit in or mix with the other
players.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A New Orleans Saints
player worried about showering next to a gay teammate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you substitute African American for
gay you would think this a trip in the Wayback machine to 75 years ago in
baseball and football front offices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Do we never learn?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...Am I the only one to notice the Winter Olympics is not the most
ethnically diverse athletic contest?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Does it matter?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...It appears Congress is going to pass a "clean" bill raising
the debt ceiling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is on the
heals of a bi-partisan budget agreement at the end of last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Experts say raising the debt ceiling
without any drama, or threats of default, will go a long way to calming
financial markets and the American economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who should get the credit?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...It seems every other week there is another tweak to the Affordable
Care Act. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regressives scream each
time that this is proof it has to be repealed and is a disaster and
unconstitutional and the end of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is amazing how poorly it was written considering all the
input lobbyists for the health insurance industry, the chamber of commerce etc
were given into its construction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(perhaps it would have been easier to just eliminate the insurance
market completely)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It might be of
note to remember when George Bush rolled out his Medicare prescription drug
benefit, millions of seniors were immediately dropped by their pharmacies and
could not get access to the medicine they needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Democrats in Congress immediately passed a number of fixes,
including paying pharmacies to issue drugs to seniors, simply acknowledging it
was a need that had to be met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can
you see regressives doing the same thing?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...I like the sport of curling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It seems to me to be shuffleboard, or bocce ball, on ice and while it
should be as interesting as watching paint dry, I found it fascinating and like
watching the skills involved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(just once Id love to see one of them throw what is called in here a
"hater" stone which is thrown as hard as possible with the purpose of
just slamming into anything and everything in its way)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...Taking shots at Justin Beiber is like shooting fish in a barrel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would you have done if you were
given millions of dollars when you were 16 or 17 with no parental
supervision?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come on...admit
it...you would be just as obnoxious and out of control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No excuse for his behavior, of course,
especially driving while impaired, but don't lump him in with Miley Cyrus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suspect Dolly Parton is right when
she observes everything Cyrus has done has been calculated to gain attention, press,
and to expand her brand while Beiber hurts his by being a train wreck and not a
wrecking ball.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...I'm still depressed by the 49ers loss to Seattle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Seattle coach, and Marin County
native, Pete Carrol is a coach who broke every rule he could to win some
national championships at USC and was rewarded with a job in the NFL and left
just in time to miss the sanctions and punishments his actions resulted in from
the NCAA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, this is three
chances for Jim Harbaugh and he is 0 for 3 and maybe it's time to stop the adulation
and start asking some serious questions about his performance in big games.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...Have you watched the Crazy Ones with Robin Williams on CBS?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is getting better and better and
funnier and is my favorite new comedy, along with Mom, for the year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...I want to highly recommend Doris Kerns Goodwin's new book about Teddy
Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even though it takes place more than 100 years ago, it could easily be
describing the economic conditions in America today particularly the growing
gap between the 1% and everyone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then, Americans rose up, voted out the corporate stooges and benefitted
from a Congress, and president, committed to advancing the cause of working
folks and growing the middle class...a Congress which created the 8 hour day,
40 hour week, overtime pay, outlawed child labor, regulated safe working
conditions, set aside national parks, broke up monopolies, created union
friendly labor law and set the scene for 70 years of prosperity and the
expansion of the middle class. (it's called progress and they were called
Progressives)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So why can't the
same thing happen again today?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...I know this is heresy among the morning news cognoscenti, but the CBS
Morning News is the most watchable of the morning news shows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can't take the smile and smarm of
George Steppinalloverit or Matt Lauer or the faux camaraderie orchestrated by
ABC or NBC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For at least the first
forty-five minutes, CBS gives a straightforward, comprehensive presentation of
the news.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...The founder of the Home Depot says he might not donate some of his
millions to refurbish St. Patrick's cathedral in NYC because he is offended by
Pope Francis I criticism of trickle down economics and his call for the Church
to have a fundamental commitment to helping the poor and disenfranchised among
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ken Langone goes on to say he
knows other wealthy Catholics who share his distaste with a Pope who condemns
the powerful for exploiting the powerless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow I don't think Mr. Langone owns a WWJD bracelet do you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>...Average, working class folks are finding it harder and harder to
afford to live in San Francisco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you could, how would you address this growing gap between those who
live in the city and those who are paid to maintain it for all the rest but are
excluded from the privilege of living within its boundaries?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>...I'm being asked what job I should seek when I am no longer a guest of
the federal government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would be
interested in any ideas or tips you may have.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-848491628396529552.post-52924025165595019542014-02-07T19:07:00.000-08:002014-02-07T19:07:02.825-08:00GOTCHA...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bill O'Reilly
helped write books about the killing of Abraham Lincoln and Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on his performance before the
Super Bowl, if given the opportunity to interview both men, O'Reilly would have
asked Lincoln why his wife was spending so much of the tax payers money on
sprucing up the White House, and for her own personal wardrobe, and he would
have asked Jesus why He ran away from his parents...caused them so much anxiety
and acted so irresponsibly when He was 12.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a ten-minute interview before the game, O'Reilly interrogated
President Obama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This interview
comes at a time when, amazingly, Democrats and Republicans admit the gap
between the rich and everyone else is the widest its been in over 100 years...economic
stagnation has crushed mobility meaning if you are born poor you are likely to
stay poor...(so long Horatio Alger)...Syria isn't getting rid of its chemical
weapons or destroying the weapon's factories...Iran is still pursuing a nuclear
weapon and wreaking havoc in Syria and throughout the region...tensions in Asia
between China and its neighbors are rising...cyber attacks are now a bigger
threat to this nation than physical terrorist attacks...stocks are taking a
beating...we now know the N.S.A. is spying on every phone call, email and all
internet activity including anything on your Facebook page, Twitter feeds and
any web site you have ever visited (you would think he might be interested in
the gutting of the 4th amendment)...job growth is anemic and what new jobs are
being created don't pay enough which is why there is a huge debate about
raising the minimum wage...and Jersey Shore has been replaced by a group of
southern crackers who make Snooki look like a Rhodes scholar.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So what does O'Reilly do with his precious ten minutes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He jumps on Obama about the Affordable
Care Act, firing Kathleen Sibelius, the attack on the consulate in Benghazi and
the I.R.S. investigating regressive political organizations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wants to know if telling people they
could keep their insurance if they liked it was Obama's biggest mistake in his
entire presidency?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(in the latest polls, most Americans
don't like how the law was rolled out, are skeptical about increasing costs but
also say leave it alone and quit trying to repeal it)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>O'Reilly went for the "gotcha" question right out
of the box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He continued with
questions about why Obama didn't fire Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sibelius?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(also something
Americans waiting for the Super Bowl to start were vitally interested in)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In his way-back-machine-like
questioning, O'Reilly moves on to challenge the president on Benghazi,
"what did you know and when did you know it?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Did anyone use the word terrorism
in front of you?"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Were
you covering up just to win the election?"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As stated before, the Affordable Care Act is a settled issue for most
Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They aren't sure if
they like it...don't know how it will affect them ultimately...millions have
insurance who never had it before...and they say "enough" leave it
alone except to tinker if necessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No one, except a Fox habitué, cares if Sibelius was fired or not...the
Senate just issued a report from a bi-partisan commission, which did not find
any Benghazi cover-up linked to the President...and due to the I.R.S.
"scandal" the rules have been changed so regressive Republican rich
guys can't hide behind non-profit 501(c)4 groups while they attempt to hijack
elections.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>O'Reilly didn't ask a single question about what the American people
worry about on a daily basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
played to his audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He failed
any journalistic test.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Which is
ironic since he was apoplectic when I told him he wasn't a journalist, but
rather just a talk show host, when I appeared on his show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sunday proved my critique was spot on.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Recently, the publication "The Week” ran an item about a poll
showing Americans who neither watched nor listened to news on a frequent basis
were better informed on issues than viewers of Fox News.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Glenn Beck now admits everything he
said and did on Fox was a setup, a hustle, a sham intended to play to the
audience and follow the Roger Ailes playlist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, O'Reilly reinforces all of this by playing
"gotcha" with the President, exploring no new ground, and only
informing his Fox minions leaving the rest of the audience out in the cold.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>President Obama did not exactly cover himself in glory during the
exchange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When asked about his
"...if you love it, you can keep it" comment, he admitted he
shouldn't have said it, but didn't add much more than that, nor did he ask
O'Reilly what his or Fox's substitute would be if the law were repealed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(this could be because regressives have
steadfastly refused to offer any alternative knowing it wouldn't cover as many
people, nor would it reduce costs)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When asked about Sibelius, the President claimed he always held people
in his administration accountable for their actions, even as he gave Sibelius a
pass and did not fire her, which is exactly what he should have done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Score one Bill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Benghazi, he would not say what then
Secretary of Defense Panetta told him in the early moments after the attack,
dancing around the word terrorism, when he should have answered straight up
that the talking points issued after the attack were wrong and misleading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(while pointing out all of the false
"facts" put out by Fox and repeated by O'Reilly.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was interesting to see O'Reilly so obviously toadying for his Fox
bosses and the older, white, mostly male audience the network caters to,
instead of demanding from the President what he will do now to create
jobs...rebuild the nation's infrastructure...enunciate our foreign policy
position vis-à-vis the Middle East, Ukraine, China and the South China
Sea...why he has been so unable to address the real concerns of Americans on
Super Bowl Sunday.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>O'Reilly decided to shoot some fish in a barrel...pick off some
low-hanging fruit...pander to his base...boost his own ego...rather than do the
responsible thing and push the most powerful man in America about issues most
Americans, other than Fox aficionados, wake up every day filled with worry.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Super Bowl Sunday, in those ten minutes running up to the kickoff,
there was no new chapter in Profiles in Courage written by the
"journalist" from Fox.</div>
Lion of the Lefthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01452320468745423207noreply@blogger.com1