RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM AN IDLE MIND

ENEMY OF THE STATE

2011-09-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

ENEMY OF THE STATE

I am not sure how this happened. I don’t know when it happened. I am unaware of what I did to have this happen. But I am now considered by many of my countrymen, and by my government, an enemy of the state.

An enemy of the United States of America. Me. An enemy of the state.

At the age of 66, the very principles that I have believed in my entire life have led me to be labeled an enemy. After working more than 50 years, paying taxes, raising my five children, spending thousands of hours volunteering with various organizations, and obeying all of the laws that applied to me (with an occasional lapse with regard to speed limits), I have lost my status as a citizen of the country in which I was born. How did this happen? Apparently, it happened because I believe in the fundamental principles upon which my country was founded.

Since I do not believe in the progressive agenda of the President, he has labeled me a bitter man, clinging to my guns and my bible.

Since I believe that all foreign nationals who enter the United States should do so legally, with proper documentation, the President has said that I am the enemy, and must be punished.

When I and others objected to the 870 billion dollar “Stimulus” legislation, the President said that I should move to the back of the bus.

As a person who disagrees with abortion on demand, am a member of the National Rifle Association, and believe that all elected officials must adhere to the Constitution of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security, appointed by the President, has identified me as a potential domestic terrorist.

The Congressional Black Caucus, of which the President was a member when in the Senate, has called me a racist who wants to see Black Americans hanging from trees.

The Vice President has called me a terrorist, as I agree with the limited government objectives of the Tea Party protesters.

The Vice President has also called me a barbarian, because I believe in the free market system of American capitalism.

The President of the Teamsters Union, speaking from the same podium as the President, has called me a Son of a Bitch, and the Chairperson of the President’s party agreed.

While the former Chief of Staff to the President did not call me a terrorist, he did say that if I disagreed with the President, I must be retarded.

When I urged my State’s representatives in Congress to defeat the bill raising the debt ceiling, because of the phony spending reductions included, I was called a hijacker by members of the President‘s party, intent on destroying the economy of the nation.

Democratic members of Congress, presidential advisers, and liberal pundits have all agreed that I only oppose the policies of the President because he is Black, and I am therefore a racist.

The Attorney General of the United States, appointed by the President, has called me a coward.

Because I agree with the Tea Party agenda of limited government and reduced government spending, I am labeled a radical extremist by members of the President’s staff, as well as Democratic members of Congress.

Because I have deep religious convictions, I have been classified as a fringe voter, intent on making America a Theocracy.

When my parent’s generation went to war, they were called patriots and heroes. When my generation went to war, we were called baby killers and war criminals. Apparently, the definition of the citizen soldier had changed. When the Founders and their supporters outlined the ideas for a new form of government, they were considered traitors and enemies of the state by the King of England, but referred to as heroes by succeeding generations of their fellow Americans. 236 years later, because I revere the ideals they espoused, I have now become an enemy of the state. I guess the definition has changed, because I certainly haven’t.

CAP AND TRADE IN IOWA

2010-02-03T19:37:00.000-08:00

CAP AND TRADE IN IOWA

With winter maintaining an icy grip here in Iowa, we are all faced with the prospect of the cost of heating our homes. At least for this year, our utility bills may be a bit lower, as the cost of natural gas is comparable to last year, and coal (the main source of our electricity) is stable. However, the Waxman-Markey energy bill commonly referred to as Cap and Trade, will have some significant effect on future bills.

In theory, this bill is supposed to reduce carbon emissions. In fact, it is a massive tax on many industries, with particular emphasis on energy producers. The bill establishes a limit to the tons of carbon emissions each state may emit. If your state exceeds this limit, it can either pay a penalty (an excise tax), or purchase carbon credits from other states that do not exceed the limits. So, how will this impact Iowa, and the entire Midwest?

Not surprisingly, the bill favors the states of the sponsors, and penalizes other states. Specifically, coastal states will potentially reap large credit payments from mostly Midwest and Southern states. In other words, we will subsidize some states, through higher utility rates, with the increases used to buy credits from the states which will benefit from the skewed limits placed by the government. Let me illustrate, using the EPA figures included in Waxman-Markey. The following illustrates the initial tonnage allowed for specific states, and the allowances for ongoing years.

California - 87 now, between 99-127 in 2012
New York - 57 now, between 58-69 in 2012
Massachusetts - 24 now, between 23-27 in 2012
Oregon - 20 now, between 20-23 in 2012

Notice how these four states, all Obama supporters with influential members of a Democratic Congress, all receive large increases in the allowed carbon tonnage. So, how does this compare to our neck of the woods?

Iowa - 36 now, 21-29 in 2012
Wisconsin - 55 now, 34-44 in 2012
Minnesota - 56 now, 33-45 in 2012
Indiana - 75 now, 52-61 in 2012

Gee, all four of these states are reduced in allowable emissions from present usage. In fact, the reductions are substantial. What this means is that utilities in these four states will be required to buy credits from the other four states, which receive an increase each year. I sure am thrilled at the prospect of my utility rates “skyrocketing”, (Obama’s word), so that we can subsidize the rates in California, New York, Massachusetts and Oregon. I am sure our neighbors are also excited by this prospect. Keep in mind that all of these costs will ultimately be paid by us.

The bottom line is that beginning next year, we can either be cold, or pay a lot more to stay warm. Frankly, I have problem with that. This bill has passed the House of Representatives (I guess Mr. Boswell is actually a Congressman from California), but has not yet cleared the Senate. I will be watching to see if our Senators care about us at all, or if their constituency is actually on the East or West Coast. To be honest, though, it may not matter. The Environmental Protection Agency already has the regulatory power to enact these provisions, without Congressional approval. Lisa Jackson, the EPA Administrator, has announced her intention to institute the Cap and Trade regulations without Congressional action, under her regulatory authority. Right now, it looks like it sucks to live in the Midwest. Stay warm all.

If you would like to fact check my comments, feel free to do so. A good link is:
http://www.eenews.net/public/25/12747/features/documents/2009/10/13/document_cw_01.pdf

LUCY

2009-11-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

LUCY

I lost my best friend on Sunday. While we only had her for four years, her impact on our family was in much greater proportion than her size.

In my 64 years, I have always had large dogs. When our Rottwieller had to be put to sleep because of advanced arthritis, I felt that we should not have another dog. Losing a pet is like losing a family member, and in my late fifties, I did not want to deal with any more losses.

After more than a year, my college age daughter brought home a tiny little furball named Lucy Belle. A Silky Terrier puppy, she was not much bigger than my hand. I had no experience with small dogs, other than yappy little ankle biters. Lucy, however, did not fit that description from the very beginning.

Like all Silky Terriers, Lucy topped out at about 14 pounds. However, she thought she was a big dog. All of her neighborhood canine friends are big, including Ava the Retriever, Charlie the German Shepherd, Beau the Yellow Lab and Wrigley the Boxer mix. Our extended family also includes larger dogs, especially my oldest son’s two rescue Dobermans. Lucy fit right in, playing with them, and tearing up the yard with the best of them. They accepted her as an equal, and all of them became fast friends.

Lucy loved company, and on our many walks, made friends with all of the neighborhood children. She would play ands run with the older ones, and was very gentle and affectionate with the younger ones. Many small dogs are nervous around children, but Lucy loved kids of all ages. Her soft and luxurious coat was an invitation to them to pet and cuddle with her, and she loved the attention.

She also assumed the duties of watchdog, and pest control expert. No one could approach the house without our little dog bell letting us know, and she stopped the local rabbits from eating my wife’s flowers and plants. She played roughhouse with our young grandson, and enjoyed tug-of-war, fetch, and tag with anyone who would join in. But it was her impact on my health that I will miss most.

2008 was my year without a summer. For me, summer meant lots of camping with the Scouts, training new adult leaders in Scouting, fishing, hiking and other outdoor activities. However, beginning that May, I had a stroke, heart attack, and quadruple bypass surgery. Upon my release from the hospital, my first physical challenge was to walk, made difficult by my substantial weight loss (dropping from 175 to 135 pounds), and leg pain from the stripping of veins for the bypass.

Lucy became my physical therapist. Our walks were the first step in my recovery. She somehow knew that I was not the same person I was before, and was patient as I slowly built up my endurance. The first walks were only four or five houses from home, and at a very halting pace. As August turned to September, we were walking a mile, at a rate close to that prior to my medical issues. When I began my cardiac rehab sessions in September, the staff were surprised that I had already progressed to that point. I could only say that my little friend Lucy encouraged me to work on regaining my strength.

More than a year has passed since I graduated from cardiac classes. This past summer, I again went camping with my grandson, attended baseball and basketball games, helped coach Little League, and resumed my Scouting activities. While all of these activities are part of my life, what I looked forward to each day were the walks with our little girl. They provided me with both physical exercise, and a chance to reflect on what is important. Family first, community and friends, my faith, and all of the issues of the day are worthy of thought, and are best shared with good friends who don’t pass judgment or criticize, but simply accept who you are. Lucy fit all of this, and more.

Lucy charged out of the house this past Sunday, perhaps to chase a rabbit, and out into a street. She didn’t make it across. Like all Terriers, she was a sight hunter, and if locked onto a target, ignored everything else. The emergency room veterinarian did all he could, but her internal injuries were too severe, and she passed away without a sound.

We lost our eldest daughter in October. As my Grandson and I left the animal hospital, he said that he thought Aunt Kim was now walking Lucy. He said he was glad that Lucy had a friend in heaven, waiting to take care of her.

I have loved all of the dogs we have had over the years, but Lucy will remain special to me. A tiny dog with the heart of a lion, and a true friend who helped me regain my health, leading me to what I call my “bonus year”. Thank you for being part of our family, my little friend. You will remain in my repaired heart for the rest of my days.

CHILDREN, SAFE SCHOOLS AND WASHINGTON

2009-10-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

CHILDREN, SAFE SCHOOLS AND WASHINGTON

I have remained silent about all of the “Special Advisors” and assistants to President Obama, despite my serious misgivings about their qualifications and personal agendas. However, as a parent and grandparent, and past and present volunteer with youth groups, I cannot in good conscience remain silent about one of President Obama’s appointments.

Kevin Jennings has been named as the person in charge of the “Safe School” program for the Department of Education. As such, he is to be responsible for programs and policies that are supposed to protect our children while they are in school. I find this hard to understand based on his admitted actions when actually confronted with a real case of child abuse.

Let us first agree that a sex act between a fifteen year old and an adult significantly older than the child is statutory rape, and certainly qualifies as child abuse. No High School Sophomore should be considered fair game for a predatory adult, and an adult who craves sex with a minor is certainly a predator.

In 1988, while a teacher at a High School in Concord Massachusetts, Mr. Jennings counseled a 15 year old student who was engaging in a sexual relationship with an adult who was significantly older, that began in a bus station in Boston. The sum total of Mr. Jennings’ advice and counsel was to tell the child; "I hope you knew to use a condom." Over the next two years, until the student graduated, Mr. Jennings was aware of the ongoing relationship between the student and the adult, yet he took no action. I would note that Mr. Jennings has written about this, so there is no doubt as to his actions, or lack thereof.

I am not familiar with the laws of the state of Massachusetts, but I do know about laws pertaining to the rape or abuse of children in my state of Iowa. As outlined in Iowa Code section 232.69, there are categories of people who are mandatory reporters when they examine, attend, counsel, or treat a child in the scope of professional practice or in their employment responsibilities. Among the listed mandatory reporters are teachers and other employees of schools. In Iowa, Mr. Jennings would have been required by law to notify the appropriate authorities of this relationship, and take active steps to protect this student.

The failure to take the required actions in Iowa is a criminal act under Iowa Code, to wit: Iowa Code section 232.75 provides for civil and criminal sanctions for failing to report child abuse. Any person, official, agency, or institution required by this chapter to report a suspected case of child abuse who knowingly and willfully fails to do so is guilty of a simple misdemeanor. In addition, any person, official, agency, or institution required by Iowa Code section 232.69 to report a suspected case of child abuse who knowingly fails to do so, or who knowingly interferes with the making of such a report in violation of section 232.70, is civilly liable for damages.

The bottom line is that in Iowa Kevin Jennings would be admittedly liable for both criminal and civil actions for his failure to act on behalf of this student. I say admittedly because he has included this information in his own book. In his defense, he has stated that he was young, and could have handled this differently. I would ask if the state of Massachusetts has similar laws to my state, and do they inform teachers of their responsibilities as mandatory reporters? If so, did not Mr. Jennings violate the laws of Massachusetts? If not, why not? If Massachusetts does not have mandatory reporting laws, why are such laws not in place?

May I respectfully say that this appointment is beyond inappropriate, but is in direct conflict with the goals and stated mission of this position. Mr. Jennings has already shown that he does not have the best interests of our children at heart, as shown by his disregard for the safety and welfare of a student in his care. He should have the good grace to resign, and if he fails to do so, he should be fired. The safety of our children is too important to be entrusted to someone who so blatantly has failed to act in a responsible manner when presented with a real life situation.

TO BE A CUB FAN

2009-08-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

TO BE A CUB FAN

Many of my friends here in Iowa know that I am a lifelong fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. They attribute this to the fact that I spent my childhood growing up on Waveland Avenue in Chicago. I was fortunate that I had a Grandfather who was a Cub fan, and often took me to games at beautiful Wrigley Field. As a boy, the only present I wanted for my eighth birthday was an autographed baseball from Hank Sauer.

My friends, and even my family, often tease me about the fact that I was born in September, 1945, the last year in which the Cubs appeared in a World Series. While I have waited my entire life of 63 years to see the Cubs in a series, the fact that it has been 101 years since last they won a World Series is beyond a topic suitable for teasing.

But the long wait for me to see my team play in a World Series is not the main topic for this piece. Rather, it is to discuss why I have raised all five of my now adult children to be Cubs fans. While only two of the five were born in Chicago, all of them root for the Northsiders. I happily instilled in them a love for this benighted team, not out of nostalgia, or a misplaced loyalty to my boyhood idols, but for very practical reasons. Please let me explain.

Raising my children to follow the Cubs, rather than another baseball team, has allowed me to provide two separate and distinct advantages to each of my offspring. Any person raised as a Cub fan is automatically imbued with life lessons which will help them deal with the challenges they will face as adults, and instill in them a faith in the system of American values which have enabled us to become the greatest nation on earth. And before you write me off as a complete lunatic, please bear with me.

First of all, being a Cub fan is not easy. Traditionally, Americans tend to favor winners. It is easy, for example, to root for the New York Yankees. Their record over the decades, and the super stars they have fielded, makes it easy to admire them and claim a share of their glory. But the truth is, most teams, and most people, will never achieve the level of success that the Yankees have produced. Rather, we do the best we can with the skills and abilities we have, and with a bit of luck we will reach a level of success that is commendable, while not record setting. In other words, our expectations are more realistic, and our goals are achievable. A life lesson well learned.

The Cubs often have a player of superior ability, but he remains a rose among the thorns. A single star, while attaining personal success and adulation, can remain an also ran in the race for a World Championship. Baseball is indeed a team sport, and despite an individual of great talent, the team will only rise to the level of its collective skills. A co-worker of mine had a sign on his desk that read, “It is hard to soar like an eagle when you work with a bunch of turkeys”. A lesson learned that while you do your best, not all of those around will equal your effort. That is a fact of life that Cub fans understand all too well.

In life, we all face disappointments, and deal with failure at some point. For those who are well balanced in their outlook, failure and disappointment leads to renewed efforts to overcome adversity, with some degree of eventual success. Cub fans are realists when it comes to immediate expectations, but have an undeniable optimism about the future. While the fans of other teams wait with bated breath about the final outcome of their team’s season, Cub fans often look toward next year by the mid-season All Star break. While others bemoan the collapse of their chosen team’s standings in the last month of the baseball season, Cub fans have the anticipation of next year long before the current season ends.

The “three player” rule is another advantage of being a Cub fan. We spend months agreeing that the Cubs are only three players away from a World Series team, but can argue for hours about which three players we need. Some teams may need various numbers of players to improve, and that number changes from year to year. For us, we know it only takes three. A cynic might say that the three are the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, but we know the three specific players that need to be acquired.

For Cub fans, despite over a hundred years of disappointment, hope springs eternal. The American spirit of never giving up, or giving in, is a mainstay of the psyche of Cub fans. We know that next year will be different, and things will be better. The failures of this year do not deter us, and there is almost nothing that will dampen our enthusiasm for our team. This is more than a lesson, but rather a guiding principle that can be applied to every aspect of our lives. I think forgiveness may also play a part in this. Again, we don’t hold grudges about mistakes made in the current season, but seek ways to overcome these setbacks.

Americans have always prided themselves on inventiveness, and originality. In less than two hundred and forty years, we have come from a small group of disorganized colonies to the most free, powerful, wealthiest and successful nation in history. In that vein, I think it beyond argument that the Chicago Cubs have found more unique and original ways to lose ball games than any team in history. This may be the factor that makes the Cubs so beloved of their fans. In them, we see all the foibles, miss-steps, lost opportunities, mental lapses and inadequacies we all fall prey to from time to time. Yet despite this, we fans remain true to their cause, and ever hopeful that next year will be “The One”.

Let me close by saying that I have no way of knowing how long it will take for the Cubbies to appear in a World Series, let alone win a championship. What I do know is that I will remain a fan for the remainder of my days, and like my children, will always have hope for the future. Let the games begin, and it’s never too early to say “Wait til next year”.

TO MY GRANDSON

2009-06-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

TO MY GRANDSON

Dear Keirick;

Your eighth birthday is fast approaching, and I wanted to put down some thoughts as you finish up Second Grade, and prepare for next year.

I was very proud on your first day of school, when you were the only one in your class of five and six year olds who knew the pledge of allegiance. When your teacher asked you to lead the class in the pledge, my heart swelled.

You surprised me when you asked Grandma to get you a policeman costume for Halloween. I had not appreciated how much you admired your uncle and two cousins who are police officers. Your comments about police protecting and helping people were wise beyond your years.

I put copies of the pictures you and I took at the Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge on your Mom’s computer. That way, you can look at them any time you want. I know from the questions you ask, that you worry about your Uncle Patrick and Cousins Keith and JoAnn while they take on their very important jobs. I hope you understand my answers, and know why they can’t always be with us when we want. I worry about them too, but we both know they are very smart, and they know what they are doing and how to take care of themselves and their friends. Like all of our family, they want to protect you, but sometimes must be away while they do that. Just remember to include them when you say your bedtime prayers, and all of the men and women in the military.

You won’t understand this part for awhile, but you were a very big help to your Mom when she was sick from the cancer medicine. She tells me that you have even made dinner for both of you when she was too tired from her college classes and medicine to cook. I don’t know how or when you learned to do some of the things you help your Mom with, but I do know that every time you help it is just like saying “I love you” to your Mom.

When you started first grade, you were able to officially join the Cub Scouts. You have already been to Scout Camp many times, helping your Mom and me with different Scout activities. That means you know some things the other Cubs won’t know yet, and will be able to do some things they haven’t learned. Don’t be a show off about the things you know, but help your fellow Cubs learn how to do those things themselves.

Like all parents and grandparents, I wanted my children and grandchildren to be smarter, healthier, happier, freer and more prosperous than my generation. Your test scores have already shown that you are much smarter than I was, and your level of activity is an indication of your health. What worries me now is the prospect that you may not have the same freedoms and opportunities that I had. And for that, I take responsibility.

I had the duty to future generations to insure that the principles upon which our Nation was founded were protected, nurtured and grown. And in this regard, I have not kept that duty well. While so many adults are worried about the economy, jobs and finances, we have looked in the wrong places for the answers to our questions. We are relying on others to fix things, instead of fixing things ourselves. And the ones who we look to for help are often the same folks who caused our problems.

As a Scout Leader, I have tried my best to be true to the twelve points of the Scout Law. To me, the most important is to be Trustworthy. But I have broken that law, by allowing people who are not trustworthy to become the leaders of our country. Many of our elected officials have lied, cheated and even stolen from others. Yet I, and others like me, have not cared enough for your future to demand better behavior from those who have authority and power. And now, they are taking away the freedoms I had all of my life. By the time you reach adulthood, I fear you will have been given a country very different from the one I found as a young man.

I want to make a promise to you, and I know that you trust me to keep my promises. I will do whatever I can to help bring our country back to our values and character. I will not just let things happen, but will take a more active role in becoming a true citizen, trusting in our founding principles to give you a country and a future that cherishes our freedoms and opportunities. I cannot guess how things will be as you grow up, but I will do my best to give you a country where you can make your dreams come true; and that will make my dreams come true.

With Love

Grandpa

A REMARKABLE EVENING

2009-03-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

On Monday night, March 30th, I attended a lecture at the Tifereth Israel Synagogue in Des Moines. The guest speaker was Brigitte Gabriel. Frankly, it was one of the most remarkable evenings I have ever experienced.

Ms. Gabriel is a Lebanese Christian, who survived the Lebanese Civil War while a child. She was saved from slaughter by the Israeli Defense Forces when they moved into Southern Lebanon. She later lived in Israel, and now is a resident of the United States. As a former journalist covering the Middle East, she is uniquely qualified to discuss the current events there, as well as the impact of Islamic extremism in the United States. If you have read either of her books, you have a basic understanding of the nature of her talk.

I would not be presumptuous enough to try to encapsulate the content of her talk. It lasted about an hour, with another hour of Questions and Answers. What I would rather do is discuss the venue, and the audience.

I arrived early, in order to become familiar with the Synagogue, never having been to Tifereth Israel before. I first went to the lounge area outside of the community room. In the community room, Ms Gabriel and a panel of local congregation members were hosting a large number of educators from the Des Moines area. High School, Middle and Grammar School teachers, numbering well over one hundred, were at the Question and Comment point. I listened in for awhile, but the questions were mostly inane, suggesting that most of the invited attendees had little comprehension of the nature of Islamic extremism. I heard the words tolerance and diversity in numbers too large to count. I felt I was at risk of having a brain numbing experience, so I went to the sanctuary.

The sanctuary, built in 1929, was done in a classic style, reminding me of the synagogues I visited in my youth in Chicago. I was comfortable in this setting, and sat in a pew just two rows from the lectern. Being early, I was able to watch and visit with many of the attendees for the evening lecture as they arrived. This was the first highlight of my evening.

I must point out that security was very evident. I am sure most know of the very real and explicit threats that Ms. Gabriel has received since beginning her education activities on the nature of violent Islam. But this is Des Moines, not Toronto, New York or Southern California. As it turned out, the security (Des Moines Police Officers) were mainly occupied with directing folks to the rest rooms, and insuring that Ms. Gabriel was not hugged into asphyxia.

My first conversation was a brief one with former Iowa Governor Robert Ray, and his wife Billie. I have met him on numerous occasions, and was pleased that he remembered me. As always, they were gracious, and greeted many of their friends and admirers with grace and courtesy. Sitting next to me were a middle aged couple who are members of the congregation. The wife was very knowledgeable on the history of the synagogue and its congregation, and gave me a brief education on Tifereth Israel. Behind me were a white couple and an African-American man who were members of an evangelical church in the neighborhood. We had an interesting discussion of heart healthy diets, as the African-American man was also a survivor of stroke, heart attack and by-pass surgery. Turns out we shared the surgeon, and had graduated from Cardiac Rehab at our mutual hospital just two months apart.

By 6:50 PM, the pews were filled, and additional folding chairs had been brought in for the side aisles and open spaces. I would guess total attendance at well over three hundred. I cannot describe adequately the diversity of the audience. College students from Drake and Grandview, High School students, parents with their children, married and single adults, middle aged and elderly people; all mingled in a delightfully haphazard manner. Not surprising for Iowa, the conversations among the guests were lively, friendly, and filled with introductions, handshakes and laughter. Three hundred strangers drawn together in what was for many an unfamiliar setting, but with a shared desire to learn.

After appropriate acknowledgments and introductions, the emcee turned over the microphone to Ms. Gabriel. The audience was immediately enraptured by both her personality, as well as the content. She spoke without script (no tele-prompter), referring to a single page of notes only when using an exact quote, or with reference to specific figures or names. The attendee reactions were among the most sincere and genuine I have ever witnessed. Laughter when she make a humorous remark, serious attention when she spoke of matters of importance, and free flowing tears when she talked of her childhood as a Christian child under attack by Moslem former neighbors and friends. The savagery of her experiences was underscored by her obvious emotion.

After the formal talk, Ms. Gabriel opened the floor to audience questions. Again, this is Iowa. Those wishing to ask questions lined up quietly at the microphone, and waited their turn politely and quietly. I was fortunate to be the second person to raise a question, and I introduced myself before posing my question. Every person who followed did the same, introducing themselves and telling the audience why they were here before posing their question. As with the audience, the questioners reflected the wide background of attendees. Among the expected folks who were Jewish, Christian, native Iowans and transplants; were three who stood out. One was a Lebanese Christian who was also a refugee from the turmoil of the seventies. Another was an African Christian from Darfur, and the third was a Muslim African, also a refugee from Darfur.

All of the questions were relevant, and polite. Ms. Gabriel answered each with thoroughness, and occasionally a passion, that showed her knowledge and experience on the issues presented. While she may have expected the standing ovation she received at the end of her formal presentation, I detected a bit of surprise on her face when she received another standing ovation at the end of the Question period.

After the event itself, there was a reception with light refreshments, and a book signing. As before, I met a variety of people during the reception, including the Rabbi of Tifereth Israel, the Cantor, the couple who sponsored the event, and a host of Jewish and Christian folks who all shared a common theme. The theme was a heartfelt thank you for the opportunity to attend, and an admiration for the guest of honor.

I had the privilege of speaking with Ms. Gabriel for a few minutes, and found her to be an engaging and intelligent conversationalist, who made those around her comfortable in a way that only very special people have. I would offer two thoughts from her that I wish to share.

“To tolerate the intolerable is in itself a crime.”

“Although the majority of Moslems are peaceful, their silence makes them irrelevant.”

THE PASSING OF A HERO

2009-03-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

The word hero is attached to many people in American culture. A Quarterback throws the winning touchdown with 6 seconds left in the game, and he is called a hero. A movie actor makes a political statement while accepting an award, and he is called heroic. A politician takes a stance on an issue based on popularity polls rather than ethics and principle, and he is deemed a hero.

I think we have lost the meaning of what constitutes heroic actions, and what makes a hero. I once heard that a hero is someone who controls his fear five minutes longer than those around him. While there may be some truth to that, I think true heroism involves so much more. Some heroes are made, and some are born, but they do have some common traits.

Heroes do what most of us can’t do, or won’t do. Heroes are driven by a desire to do what is right, not what is popular. Heroes put the safety and welfare of others before their own safety and welfare. Heroes have a strong belief in personal responsibility and honor, duty to God and country, and service to others. And heroes understand that we all will face a crisis decision at some point in our lives, and they neither avoid nor defer that decision at a critical time.

In my life, I have been privileged to know many heroes, both within my family and among my friends and acquaintances. My parents were heroes to me, as were my uncles and cousin who fought in World War II. I still view my brother, who served in Korea, though the eyes of a seven year old who felt that his big brother would always be his protector. My son, nephew and niece, who today wear the uniform of our Nation, are my heroes. So too are my nephews who serve in law enforcement, risking their lives to defend others. More than twenty of my former Boy Scouts who serve, or have served in the military, are true heroes. And many members of my own generation, who fought with courage and honor in the jungles of Vietnam.

I write this because my family has lost the last warrior of our greatest generation, our beloved Uncle Bobby. Major Robert Meyer, United States Marine Corp. (ret.) left us on Thursday. I was fortunate that I could spend several days with his bride, children and grandchildren as he fought his last battle. He was a larger than life man, and a role model of what a man should be to all in our family. My purpose in this piece is not to recount his actions in multiple wars, or his contributions to our country in those times between conflicts, but simply to acknowledge the man.

My uncle was a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle and great uncle to four generations. And he fulfilled all of those roles with honor. A loving husband and father, his time with his family was always golden. Never too busy to regale we younger ones with stories of his experiences, he did so with both insight and humor. He never discussed actual combat with us, but rather the experiences he had with his fellow Marines. His insights into the evolving technology of aviation, from his time in propeller bombers and fighters, into the jet age and beyond, bred in me a love of history that remains to this day.

He was a Marine to the end, fighting with all that was in him to remain with us for a little bit longer. As I left my extended family, and returned to my own family three states away, I had one enduring vision. When I was a boy in Chicago, Uncle Bobby was stationed in California. My mother and I drove to Glenview Naval Air Station to pick him up for a short visit with my grandfather and other family members. We drove onto the tarmac (no super security in those days), and watched as he taxied his fighter jet toward the hangers. As he opened the canopy, I watched as he removed his helmet, and carefully positioned his kepi on his head. He climbed down the short ladder, jumping past the last two rungs, and snapped a crisp salute to the ground crew. That done, he ran to my Mother, swooping his sister up in a giant bear hug. He then reached down to me, and hoisted me onto his shoulder. As we walked back to the car, several airmen walked by, saluting my uncle. He looked up at me with his trademark grin, and reminded me to return the salutes, because I was riding on the shoulder of a Marine. Despite my youth, I knew that I was in the presence of a hero, and I was so proud that others knew it too.

America has lost another hero. One who fully understood what “Semper Fidelis” means, and who lived it his entire life. Goodbye Uncle Bobby. Semper Fi!

GUESS I'M A BIGOT

2008-12-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

GUESS I’M A BIGOT

Name calling in America, especially in the political arena, has reached epidemic proportions. Discussion, debate and differences aired in a reasonable tone today are as rare as the spotted owl. If anyone espouses a view that others disagree with, name calling is often the immediate response by the person holding the opposing view. While our political leaders should be setting an example of civil discourse, they seem to be among the first to sink to schoolyard tactics, avoiding any possibility of compromise, and reducing themselves to name calling bullies.

No matter what side you might take on any issue, there is no shortage of people who will immediately label you with a demeaning moniker, meant to identify you as some type of fanatic whose views should be discounted out of hand. This knee jerk reaction to any statement made with which you may disagree has reduced many of our fellow Americans to be identified as either “US” or “THEM’.

I certainly have views on many subjects, some of which may be viewed by many as controversial. Fine, I can accept that many people of principal will disagree with my positions. But while I am always willing to listen to opposing views, I rarely hear any rational arguments refuting my positions. Rather, I am inundated with a variety of invectives; defaming my intelligence, sources, upbringing, heredity, ethics or humanity.

I thought I would take a more proactive stance in this matter, and just admit to being a bigot, at least by the standards ascribed by a number of people and organizations. In fact, I believe I qualify as more than just a plain old run of the mill bigot, since I hold politically incorrect views on a wide variety of issues. So that there is no doubt, I have decided to list some of these views, and ascribe the appropriate label. However, I will not use obscenity, sexual proclivities, bathroom functions or other descriptive phrases that should not be used in front of my wife or children.

Like Dr. King, I believe people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. It is this belief that causes me to take the position that affirmative action was indeed appropriate at one time, to allow minorities time to catch up in those areas where equal opportunity did not exist. However, institutional racism has been legally exorcised from America, and even individual racism has been reduced to the level of social unacceptability. I believe affirmative action, practiced as raced based hiring and promotion, and educational preference based on race are neither needed nor fair. In many circles, this opinion qualifies me as racist.

I firmly believe that the Jewish people deserve a homeland, in the historic land in which they first became a nation. As such, they deserve the support of all fair minded people. That they have achieved this, and created the only fully functional democracy in that part of the world, should foster admiration and respect by all. This particular belief will cause me to be considered a Zionist (which the United Nations defines as racism), racist Nazi, genocide enabler and a host less dignified or printable descriptions.

I agree with the statement by a prominent Muslim scholar that while most Muslims are not terrorists, most terrorists are Muslim. While the majority of Muslims do not participate in acts of terror, nor engage in hostile actions against others, it is also indisputable that 15 of the major 18 areas of conflict in the world involve Muslims, primarily engaged in actions against non-Muslims. For this opinion, I am labeled an Islamophobe, a racist and a hate monger.

I believe that the United States is the noblest nation on earth. We are by far the most generous, easily outdistancing every other nation in personal per capita donations to charity and relief efforts, while also supporting our government in sending aid to those in need in amounts far exceeding any other nation. We are the only nation to have fought two wars to end slavery. (Those of you who are bereft of any knowledge of history will have to figure that one out on your own.) We have historically been generous to those we have defeated in war, and steadfast in our efforts to aid allies in need, both with our blood and treasure. We are one of only a handful of nations that understands the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are personal freedoms granted by God to all mankind, and that governments are instituted for the express purpose of allowing these rights to flourish. For this opinion, I am labeled a nationalist, xenophobe, and some names that cannot be repeated.

I believe that I am an American. I have a heritage that goes back to Ireland and Germany, but I am neither an Irish-American nor a German-American, as I was born in the United States, to parents who were citizens. I was raised and remain a Catholic, but am not a Catholic-American. If you were born a German citizen, and later became a United States citizen, then you can refer to yourself as a German-American if you choose. But if you are a native born citizen, you are an unhyphenated American. Frankly, I find the use of hyphens to determine your status to be divisive, and contrary to an American culture that seeks to create a homogenous population with a shared history and common societal ethics. For this view, I have been called a bigot, racist, anti-diversity, and culturally deficient.

I could go on, but I think these five points will illustrate my basic core values. As an American, I have the right to hold these views freely, and express them in any manner I choose, so long as I don’t interfere with the rights of others to express their views. Those with other views can certainly dispute and debate these issues with me, and I gladly do so. However, when a conversation devolves into name calling, my participation in the debate ends. Frankly, those who resort to labeling and name calling bore me, as the use of invectives is generally a response used when a rational counterpoint does not exist.

I would have mentioned my positions on gun ownership, same sex marriage, abortion, illegal immigration and a host of other issues, but the response would simply be more of the same, with little or no imagination used to refute my positions. I do find myself slightly bemused by the inability of those with opposing opinions to offer intelligent responses, but I guess my father was even more perceptive than I thought, when he told me “Those who use obscenities and name calling do so because they lack the intelligence to express themselves in any other manner.”

BABY NOT YET

2008-11-16T12:55:00.000-08:00

BABY NOT YET

When I lived in the Kansas City area, I had a friend from work with whom I car-pooled. He was originally from New Orleans. I, as a native Chicagoan, had a great time every day comparing language differences and local customs from our respective hometowns. One thing that struck me was his term for eggs. Specifically, he called them ‘chicken not yet’.

Perhaps that is the term that the pro-abortion advocates should use with respect to unborn babies. Fetus can be troublesome, because too many people equate fetus with an unborn baby. Embryo is not quite right either, as many of the aborted have fully developed arms and legs, fingers and toes, eyes and noses. Too recognizable to be called an embryo, as they appear human. Extraneous uterine material has never caught on. That term must be too scientific for mere plebeians. So perhaps, in the continuing quest to come up with a terminology that will dehumanize the unborn, and make the abortion process more acceptable to us, the pro-abortion activists can use the term ‘Baby Not Yet’. The ‘baby’ part would be their version of warm and fuzzy, but the ‘not yet’ part would place the unborn in an egg category. Abortion would then become the elimination of a woman’s ova, albeit a rather large one.

Semantics aside, I have had some thoughts on the abortion issue that I have tried several times to articulate, without much success. I think my emotions get in the way, and cause me to lose my rationale. I am, if nothing else, persistent; so I thought I would try again to put my thoughts to paper. If I use a different approach, with a slightly different terminology, perhaps I can get through this without succumbing to vitriol.

We are a nation with a criminal justice system based on a simple premise. Every person accused of a crime, no matter how horrendous, and regardless of the amount of evidence accumulated, is innocent until proven guilty. The entire process is designed to afford the maximum protection to the accused, based on this presumption of innocence. The indictment process, pre-trial hearings, right to remain silent, right to an attorney, and rules of evidence are all designed to place unprecedented restrictions on the prosecution, while providing many opportunities for the accused to get off if any of the rules are violated. No other country on earth has as many protections in place for those accused of breaking its laws. As a strict constitutionalist, I do not quibble with any aspect of this process. I am ferocious in my desire to protect we the citizens from any unfair advantage by the government.

My question is simply why we, as a nation, do not apply the same standard to the unborn? The rules applied to abortion seem absolutely arbitrary, with no basis in law or science. They are based on opinion rather than fact, and supposition, rather than evidence. Indeed, appearance rather than proof.

If this were a just nation in all respects, rather than selectively, abortion would have to meet the same strict criteria as our criminal justice system. Just take a few of the pro-abortion positions, and apply the same type of criminal provisions regarding the rules of evidence process, and you will get my drift.

1) A fetus can be aborted if not viable outside of the womb. Actually, a 1-year-old child is not viable outside of the care of an adult. They cannot obtain food or shelter, protect themselves from the elements or predators, or avoid hazards to themselves, such as fire and flood.
2) A fetus does not have awareness, nor can it feel pain. There is no scientific proof for this statement. In fact, the reverse is true. There are several studies now available, which show that a fetus can be startled by loud noises, awakened from sleep by the mothers cough, and calmed by certain music and voices. Further studies, although recent, have shown that pain receptors develop very early during pregnancy. A simple blood test performed on a fetus draws a reaction. Severing limbs, crushing skulls, vacuuming out internal organs, all show evidence of causing extreme pain to the unborn.
3) A woman has a constitutional right to abort a baby, as it is her body, and the right to choose is constitutionally protected. Please show me what article or amendment specifies this right. I do recall an equal protection clause, as well as some troublesome wording involving equal status. Apparently, some are more equal than others.
4) A fetus is not a human until born. Again, should not the same standards used in criminal proceedings be used to determine this most basic issue? If a criminal is innocent until proven guilty, should we not also say an unborn baby is a human until proven otherwise?

I could go on, but an improvable statement by the pro-abortion lobby would counter any argument I might cite in defense of the unborn. What I will never understand is why the Liberal Left, who claim to be the protectors of individual rights against the forces of the Evil Right, refuses to defend the right of a baby to live, while fighting to insure the rights of murderers to all the protection society can provide. Science continues to learn more and more about when life begins, and as each new fact comes to light, it reinforces the arguments against abortion on demand.

An accused murderer must go through a prolonged legal process, involving dozens of people. Judges, attorneys, prosecutors, juries, Appeals Courts, judicial reviews, and clemency pleas are all part of the process. If execution is involved, a decade or more may be required before the sentence is carried out. In abortion, one woman can make a snap decision that she does not want the inconvenience of motherhood, and within a day, complete the abortion process. No appeal, no review, and no one to defend the life within her.

We live in a country where we have the right to make choices every day. But with choice comes responsibility for our actions and consequences to those actions. A criminal makes a choice to commit a crime, and must accept the consequences when caught and prosecuted. A woman makes a choice to have intercourse, with pregnancy one of the consequences of the action. Yet it is the baby who must accept the consequences should she choose to have abortion. Just as victims do not choose to have a crime committed against them, and yet they suffer the consequences; so to a baby does not choose be conceived, not does this unborn person choose to be aborted.

The bottom line is that in America, you are better protected if accused of murder, than if you are a baby in the womb.

A POLITICALLY CORRECT GUIDE TO LANGUAGE

2008-11-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

A POLITICALLY CORRECT GUIDE TO LANGUAGE

There is no doubt that language, and its usage, can be a highly effective tool to affect both perception and attitudes among people. Inspiring language can impel the listener to do things that would normally be beyond their capability. Depressing speech can cause those who are easily influenced to develop negative feelings that can have a disastrous impact on a variety of activities.

The movement to instill politically correct language on America has reached a stage where most of us need to realize the true agenda of the progressives who are foisting these speech patterns on us. The actual aim of this devaluing of speech is to redefine Americans into Europeans, so that like so many of our European cousins we can no longer distinguish between right and wrong, or good and evil.

The term Illegal Alien is now a big no-no. We are to use the term Undocumented Workers. But what are we to call those who are here illegally to commit crimes, obtain free medical services, or free education? Many news services now refer to terrorists as dissidents, militants, and even (God help us all) freedom fighters. The mobs of Muslim youths in France, when torching an average of 100 cars per day, were characterized in the media as disenfranchised youth. By the way, the nightly car burnings continue in France. It is now so routine that the press doesn’t even bother to report it anymore.

If we carry this to its logical conclusion, I guess we should get used to the following.

Drug dealers will now be referred to as unlicensed pharmacists.

Suicide bombers will henceforth be called actively involved demolition experts.

Child molesters will be pitied as they are sexually dysfunctional at a chronological level.

Bank robbers will become income redistribution enablers.

Kidnappers would be unauthorized temporary daycare providers.

Vandalism, rather than being a crime, will be celebrated as freeform artistic expression.

Carjackers will soon become involuntary automotive distributors.

Street gang thugs will be referred to as disadvantaged youths. Oh wait, that has already happened.

My Grandfather said that seventy-five was the perfect age for a person to exercise free speech. At that age, he said, one could say anything to anyone and get away with it. Even if people disagreed with or were offended by the statement, an age related excuse could always be thrown out to mitigate what was said, and it would soon be forgotten or forgiven. I can’t wait until I hit seventy-five, so I don’t have to worry about political correctness.

I GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO

2008-11-02T16:07:00.000-08:00

I GOT NOWHERE ELSE TO GO

So, what can I expect from an Obama Presidency, a Reid Senate, and a Pelosi House?

The elimination of the Bush tax cuts will immediately raise my income taxes by 24 percent. This increase will impact our household income, based on my wife’s salary, and my retirement pension.

The Obama tax plan will increase the number of working people who don’t pay income taxes from 35 percent to almost 45 percent.

The promised 25 percent cut in defense spending will put our nation at risk.

Energy costs will skyrocket with the implementation of ‘cap and trade’. The coal industry will be bankrupted.

A private army, answerable only to President Obama and outside of constitutional constraints, will be created.

Abortions will increase dramatically as a result of the ‘free choice act’.

Non union workers will lose their right to a secret ballot when voting on unionization, leaving them open to intimidation, threats, and physical harm with the ‘card check’ act.

The proposed hate crime laws will eliminate free speech in our houses of worship.

Medical care will be distributed and rationed by unelected bureaucrats, rather than medical professionals.

The ‘fairness doctrine’ will monitor free speech, and squelch dissenting voices. Criticism of the administration will result in legal threats, investigations, and official harassment.

The Supreme Court will be packed with judges who do not have any respect for the Constitution, as personal agendas will be acceptable.

The President will ignore Constitutional constraints and responsibilities, as he believes it is “fundamentally flawed”.

Gun owners will be restricted in what they may purchase, and the type of ammunition they can use. Home owners will be criminally charged if they use a firearm to defend their family or property. Gun manufacturers will be driven out of business through new taxes and restrictions. Legal gun owners will eventually have their firearms confiscated, as we saw in New Orleans, Washington and Chicago.

Radio stations that criticize the administration will lose their FCC licenses.

I wish I was making these up, but each of my comments is the result of listening to Barack Obama statements, reading his writings, or watching how his campaign staff acts. In other words, there is documentation for each of the statements I have made.

When asked why he would not quit his basic training in “An Officer and a Gentleman”, Richard Gere famously replied “I got nowhere else to go”. America has been the world’s last, best hope for over 230 years. I fear that is about to change. Will my grandsons grow up in the freedom I have enjoyed, or will America fundamentally change? I hope not, because I too have nowhere else to go.

INCONVENIENT TRUTHS ABOUT OIL

2008-05-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

INCONVENIENT TRUTHS ABOUT OIL

Before my recent retirement after a career of almost 40 years, I had the unique opportunity to work in the technology areas for a major oil company, an international financial operation, and one of the world’s largest international banks. As a result, although not an expert in either exploration or production of crude oil and its impact on financial and consumer markets, I did have access to information that most American consumers did not. This was not secret data, nor was it proprietary information. It was simply a case of facts the media was not interested in reporting, and our politicians felt were not germane to their own agendas. Let me start with a few simple facts.

At the time of the 1972 OPEC oil embargo, the domestic production of crude oil in America peaked at about 10 million barrels per day. This domestic production accounted for almost 2/3’s of our total needs, resulting in about 1/3 of our needed crude to be imported. The chilling effect of the embargo on our economy, and ability to provide for the national defense, resulted in our political leadership pledging that the government would work to allow America to achieve energy independence in 10 years. What have we achieved so far?

By 1980, domestic crude production had fallen to 8,572 million barrels per day, while our oil usage climbed to 16,058 million barrels per day. Imports had risen to 7,486 million barrels per day, or 46% of our needs. In 2005, our total crude oil requirements were 20,802 million barrels per day, while domestic production had fallen to 7,486 million barrels per day. The 15,624 million barrels per day necessary to keep America and her economy moving were met by imports, which now account for 75% of our needs. So much for the pledge to make America independent of unreliable foreign sources. What went wrong?

Of natural crude, we have large reserves off the coasts of California and Florida. However, no drilling in these areas has been permitted by law since the late 1960’s. China, however, by using agreements with Cuba to drill in this area, will begin doing so shortly.

America also has additional reserves in the Gulf areas, from Florida to Texas. However, no drilling is permitted in most of these areas. Mexico, however, has no such restrictions.

In Alaska, both onshore and offshore, we have large areas of proven reserves, which are not allowed to be developed by law. Canada has no laws prohibiting such development.

In the mountain Western states, large amounts of oil are available in the shale rock formations. However, EPA regulations prohibit their development.

In the far West, vast areas of tar sands remain undeveloped due to environmental restrictions. As with the geographic areas noted above, most of the land is owned or controlled by the federal government. Canadian use of tar sands is a major source of their oil exports.

The conversion of coal to oil, a technology available for over 100 years, remains another untapped resource, due to legislative and environmental restrictions.

The bottom line is that America could have become energy independent with regard to crude oil by the mid 1980’s. In the area of electricity, the addition of more coal fired generating plants, nuclear power plants, and additional hydro electric plants could have made the need for gas and oil fueled electrical plants unnecessary by 1990. That would have freed up more crude for other purposes, and reduced our overall consumption of oil. In addition, our electrical generation capacity would substantially exceed our present needs, rather than the sporadic shortages we now experience.

Some analysts have estimated that if all of these options had been initiated in the immediate aftermath of the OPEC embargo, crude oil today would have a domestic price of 40-45 dollars per barrel, with secure supplies, and uninfluenced by foreign costs or international speculators. Why didn’t this happen?

It is popular to blame the oil companies, oil cartels, or greedy speculators. But in truth, we are in a bed of our own making. It is not the usual suspects who have passed laws based on bad science, radical environmental lobbies, self interest, political agendas or ignorance of technological advances and free enterprise economics. It is the result of our own government, mainly through the ineptness of Congress. At the risk of sounding glib, the following old saw comes to mind. If the opposite of Pro is Con, what is the opposite of Progress?

One need only look at the energy bill recently passed to confirm my opinion. While this 86.3 billion dollar legislation (including 3.8 billion in pork that has nothing to do with energy) does tell the auto makers how to build cars, tell us that we can’t buy incandescent light bulbs after 2012, and demand that we continue to use 1.25 gallons of gasoline to produce 1 gallon of ethanol (subsidized by us of course); it does not result in one new gallon of gasoline, or one watt of new electricity.

So who is to blame for the “new” energy crisis we face? Look no further than Washington DC. For 34 years, through Republican and Democratic controlled Congresses and Presidencies, they have done all that they can to create what we, the consumer, must now face. And I see no hope that they will do anything to correct the situation they have created. The resources are there, the technologies are proven, and the self corrective economic system is in place. We need only a government that is both accountable and responsive.

HEROES WALK AMONG US

2008-05-01T15:35:00.000-07:00

HEROES WALK AMONG US

To see him in a normal social setting, the casual observer would note only the college student, dressed in a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans. Of average height, you might notice that he had an above average muscular build, but nothing to make him stand out in a crowd. The very slight limp, as he crossed the room, would be hard for most people to detect.

The other young man is certainly notable for his height. Standing almost 6’5”, with the build of an athlete, he does stand out. But his youthful face and business casual attire would peg him as a young man just entering the business world.

These two young men, both well known to me, have several things in common. Both are Eagle Scouts from my very small central Iowa BSA district. Both are the same age as my youngest son, and served with him as summer camp counselors at our local Scout reservation. One is currently a college student, while the other graduated with my son from Iowa State. They have one more thing in common. Both are decorated combat veterans, and survivors of wounds received in Iraq.

The college student is Sgt Mike F. Mike joined the Army after attending our local Junior College. He was sent to Iraq with a Bradley Fighting Vehicle Unit. His leadership earned him an early trip back to the US, not to be excused from serving in combat, but to train with the first Stryker Brigade before they were deployed to Iraq. While in Iraq for the second time, he led a squad into a building to clear it of terrorists. Entering one room, he was bayoneted from behind by a terrorist hiding in a closet. After disposing of his attacker, Sgt. Mike returned to his Stryker, and put his Scout experience to work. He grabbed a roll of duck tape, wound it around his bleeding leg, and rejoined his squad. He was not seen by any medical personnel until his entire unit returned to their forward operating base. He was stitched up and kept overnight for observation, returning to his unit the next day. He completed his entire 15 month tour without any further interruption. He told me the limp can be fixed with some tendon repair, but that can wait until he finishes his graduate degree.

The tall young man joined the Army ROTC while in college. After graduation, he went through his initial training, and was accepted into Army Ranger training. Second Lieutenant Mike S. was sent to Iraq with his Rangers, and saw his first combat two days after arrival. In the first month, he learned about one disadvantage to his height. He was struck in the head by a snipers bullet. It pierced his helmet, and he describes how “it kind of rattled around doing some minor damage to my forehead, ear and hairline.” Several months later, while on patrol, he was hit by a rocket propelled grenade. The warhead missed him, and so did not detonate. However, the fin left a deep gash in his thigh. He finished his patrol before seeking medical care and multiple stitches. Asked how he completed his mission with the pain from his leg, Lt. Mike said he didn’t really notice the pain. He was too busy looking for the second RPG that usually followed an initial attack. While Mike survived both wounds, neither the sniper nor the RPG shooter did. He has a month off, before returning to duty. He was offered a position with Army intelligence, but instead applied for Special Forces training. He is excited that he was accepted for this assignment.

So, two young Iowa sons, exceptional not in appearance, nor notable for athletic competition, or business success. Average in most respects, they would not be noticeable while in a mall, at church, or having a cold tall one with friends. They are among the thousands of quiet heroes that walk among us every day. Yet most of us do not know them, nor do we thank them. Two young men who do the things that most of us can’t do, or won’t do. Yet, everything we are able to do so freely are the result of the quiet courage of men and women like them.

I look at these young men , and the twenty-two other former Scouts and adult leaders (my Air Force son among them) serving in the military from my small District here in flyover country, and I am in awe of the character they show every day. We are indeed blessed that we have heroes that walk among us. Unknown, unrecognized, but there when we need them the most.

TAXES AND CANDIDATES AND LIES OH MY

2008-01-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

TAXES AND CANDIDATES AND LIES OH MY

Call me cynical if you will, although I prefer being tagged as a skeptic if I am categorized by my view of political pronouncements. Frankly, I follow my father’s advice, when he told me to believe nothing that I read or hear, and only half of what I see. If I cannot prove a statement by any politician to my satisfaction, I consider it a misrepresentation at a minimum, or an outright falsehood at the worst. And when it comes to politics, there are more falsehoods than exaggerations.

One of the most repeated claims today by many in politics is that the tax cuts initiated by President Bush benefited the wealthy and major corporations, with little or no benefit to the middle class and lower income people. These tax cuts are due to expire in 2010, and the only constant I am hearing from the Democratic candidates is that they all intend to allow these cuts to expire. The current leadership of both the House and Senate, now controlled by Democrats, agree with the candidates and want these “unfair” cuts to expire.

I am not stuck on stupid, so I understand that if you give the same break to the middle class that you give to the upper income population, the wealthy will keep more money than me, as they have more to begin with. Cut the taxes on my middle class income at the same rate as someone in a much larger income bracket, and they will get greater benefit in actual dollars saved. However, my skepticism comes into play when politicians say that the middle class was not treated equally with upper income taxpayers by these tax changes. It took me ten minutes to establish the facts to my satisfaction, and I challenge others to follow my example, and see for yourself what happened when the tax rates were adjusted under the Bush tax changes.

Step 1 – Pull out a copy of your Federal tax return for 2002, the last year before the changes to the tax rates took effect. Write down just two figures; your taxable income and the amount of tax you paid.

Step 2 – Divide the amount of Federal tax paid by your taxable income. This will give you the actual percentage rate of taxes you paid in 2002.

Step 3 – Pull out a copy of your Federal tax return for 2006, the most recent year where the revised tax rates have been in effect. Again, write down just two figures; your taxable income and the amount of tax you paid.

Step 4 – Divide the amount of Federal tax paid by your taxable income. This will give you the actual percentage rate of taxes you paid in 2006.

Step 5 - Subtract the 2006 tax rate from the 2002 tax rate. Did the rate go up or down?

Please let me share the actual results of this exercise when my wife and I did this. In the interest of full disclosure, we used our 2005 Federal return, as that was the last full year I worked before retiring halfway through 2006.

In 2002, on a decidedly middle class income, we paid a Federal rate of 17.9 percent. In 2005, we paid Federal taxes of 13.6 percent. Our tax rate had dropped 4.3 percent. In other words, our Federal tax burden was reduced by a substantial 24 percent. Actual income was not a factor, as our taxable income had only gone up 1.6 percent from 2002 to 2005. There also was no change in dependants (our five children are all adults), nor any significant change in any other deductions or credits as evidenced by the very small increase in our taxable income. During that three year period, my income remained flat, and my wife received only a modest raise.

The bottom line is that the tax cuts had a sizable impact on the Federal taxes we paid, and that impact was beneficial. Should we elect a presidential candidate committed to allowing these cuts to expire, with a sympathetic congress that also believes these favorable cuts should go away, I have no doubt that my wife and I will pay more in 2010 than 2009, even if there are no new taxes or raises in existing taxes, simply because we would go back to the 2002 rates. Before you nod in agreement when you hear the candidates talk about unfair tax cuts, please take this simple five step test yourself, and then decide if what you are being told is true or not.

When considering how my wife and I will vote in 2008, one factor that will come into play is simply this. If we have a Democratic President, and a Democratic congress, they have already told me that my taxes will go up 24 percent. This may be one time when candidates are telling us the truth.

SELECTING A CANDIDATE

2008-01-08T14:28:00.000-08:00

SELECTING A CANDIDATE

A good friend of mine, Anne Lieberman, wrote an interesting piece at her blog on the differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates for their respective party nominations for President. You can read it here. http://bokertov.typepad.com/btb/2008/01/democrats-are-m.html

It got me thinking about the method my wife and I use to select candidates that we will support, in both local and national elections. We do try to achieve agreement, so that our votes don’t offset each other, and usually wind up with the same candidate. I thought I would share this method of selection, in hopes that it would assist some of the undecided voters facing the very serious task of exercising the most important right we have, that of selecting the people who will represent us, and make decisions affecting our lives, our city, our state and our nation.

In the interest of full disclosure, we are both registered as Republicans, but never vote strictly on party affiliation. Rather, we make every attempt to be objective, and base our preference on actual positions. Before retirement, my years as a financial analyst and system administrator have had a profound impact on the way I make decisions of importance. Therefore, this method may prove useful to any reader, regardless of political persuasion.

We each make a list of the ten issues that are most important to us, and can actually be affected by the candidate for whatever elective office we are rating. We rank these ten issues with a weighted score of 1 to 10. The most important issue has a point value of 10; the least important has a point value of 1. A perfect score on all issues would result in a score of 55 points from each of us. I would mention at this point that no candidate for any office we have rated ever achieved an individual score of 55, let alone a combined score of 110. Using all informational assets available, we research each candidate’s position on these issues. Since we are both Chicago born skeptics, we not only look at statements, speeches and position papers from the current campaign, but also view their past positions and voting records, to determine their commitment to their present positions.

After we have each worked separately, and scored the candidates appropriately, we combine our scores for each candidate. If there is any significant disparity in our selection, we discuss where the divergence lies, and work to resolve the differences. Usually, we are able to agree on a single candidate, and vote accordingly.

We do have several simple rules to our methodology. One is that we will not vote for any candidate who scores less than 56, out of a total of 110 possible combined points. This rarely happens, but is not unheard of. In the 1996 presidential election scoring, Bob Dole scored 48 on our combined ratings, and Bill Clinton scored 45. After discussion, we agreed on a write in candidate, and voted neither Republican nor Democratic in that election. On each issue, there are only two possible point values. For example, if the issue is illegal immigration, and it is rated as the third most important to us, the candidate can either get an 8 or a 0 from each of us. In other words, we either agree with the candidate’s position, or we don’t. There is no equivocation or ‘spinning’ in our system. We leave that to the politicians.

I don’t make the claim that this is a perfect system, but it does work for us. It provides us with at least a semblance of objectivity rather than partisanship, and induces us to research candidates on their records and positions, rather than rhetoric and personality. The most important aspect, at least to my bride and I, is that we can and do discuss politics with each other without rancor or argument. That two contentious Chicagoans remain married after 42 years shows that logic based decisions, rather than emotionally based perceptions are better, even if less than perfect.

A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS POEM

2007-12-07T12:16:00.001-08:00

We are already celebrating Chanukah, and Christmas is fast approaching. I think it is appropriate that we be reminded of why we are free to celebrate this Holy Season, and who it is that stands between us and those who seek to destroy these freedoms.

I have posted this poem before, after first hearing it read on a radio show several years ago. I have tried to get substantive evidence as to the confirmed author, but have only managed to get a long list of claims and attributions. I will simply post this, and again give my thanks to “Anonymous”, a person who truly understands the foundations of our Nation.

Dedicated with love to my son, half a world away again this Christmas, and my nephew, recently returned from harms way; and all of my friends with family defending us.

A Different Christmas Poem

By Anonymous

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,

I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,

My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,

transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,

completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,

So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,

But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,

Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,

And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,

a lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,

Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,

standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,

"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,

You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,

Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.

Then he sighed and he said "It's really all right,

I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,

That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,

I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"

Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',

And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,

But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,

The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

"I can live through the cold and the being alone,

Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,

I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,

Or lay down my life with my sister and brother...

Who stand at the front against any and all,

To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,

Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,

"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?"

It seems all too little for all that you've done,

For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,

"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,

To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,

To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,

That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”

WE ALL NEED TO PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL EVERY NIGHT!

2007-11-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

3 BLIND MICE AT ANNAPOLIS

I have watched with interest the preparations for and beginning negotiations of the Mid-East ‘peace’ conference being held at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis Maryland. I have been fortunate to count among my friends several graduates of the Naval Academy, and know two young men who currently attend this fine institution. I greatly fear that this storied place may become synonymous with images of failure, meaningless pronouncements and the possible sellout and subsequent destruction of a democratic ally of America.

I am no foreign policy wonk, nor do I have any particular expertise as a professional pundit or expert observer. On the contrary, I have a healthy distrust of anyone advertised as an ‘expert’. My Grandfather often reminded to beware of those who call themselves experts. The Titanic, he would say, was built by experts with extensive schooling; while the Ark was built by amateurs with common sense. Using his reasoning, I can only equate this conference as the bound being led by the blind.

When I say the bound, I am referring to the multitude of attending countries that have a firm anti-Israel position, based on culture, religion and prejudice. Indeed, many of them have codified this attitude within their laws, firmly cementing a predicable bias in anything they say or do. I am going to ignore those countries in this piece, as I think anything further I would say or write would be superfluous to the main issues.

What is germane to the conference is the participation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, and United States President George Bush. Or, as I cited in the title, the three blind mice. And why, you may ask, do I feel this analogy is appropriate? My simplistic view, as a certified resident of flyover country, is based on my application of common sense, as taught to me by my grandfather. As a casual observer, I can only base my opinions on the positions taken by these men, and the position of the two countries that are the actual prime movers of the current situation in that troubled area of the world.

Prime Minister Olmert has the lowest opinion level by his own countrymen of any Israeli leader in recent memory. His withdrawal from Gaza has established a terrorist enabling autonomous region that launches almost daily attacks against Israel, and is governed by Hamas, an organization whose very charter demands the destruction of Israel and elimination of all Jews from the area. He has not learned yet that the Palestinians do not want a separate state. Rather, they want it all, with no compromise, and no Israel. Yet he continues to offer the Palestinians more land and independence, further endangering Israel’s very existence. Thus his lack of support by Israelis. He is indeed both blind, and mouse like in his actions.

President Abbas has no control over Gaza, and his grip in the West Bank is tenuous, enforced by his police with assistance from the Israeli security forces. Hamas won the election in the West Bank, as well as Gaza, and have called this conference meaningless. Abbas can’t even control Fatah, the paramilitary and terrorist based wing of his own organization. If he thinks any negotiations by him will be accepted by the Palestinians, he is also blind to reality, and will (if lucky) be soon banished to some mouse hole.

President Bush has a domestic approval rating only slightly better than Congress. His positions on illegal immigration, and other issues, have even eroded his support among those who elected him. He has invited a myriad of nations to the conference, all but two with no real involvement or influence over the issues being discussed. Four of the participants, Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon could have resolved the Palestinian issues over the four decades when they had control over the Palestinian people. All they did was segregate these people from their own citizenry, and aid in establishing the attitude of victimhood and revenge that has grown over the years. If Mr. Bush thinks their participation helpful, he is blind to the facts, and is being toyed with as a cat plays with a mouse.

The only countries that have any actual influence are Saudi Arabia, and Iran. The Saudis have religious credibility within the Sunni community and financial credibility through their infusion of money into the region. Unfortunately, the financial support goes mainly to terrorist organizations, to insure them the money necessary to arm and carry on the attacks on Israel. Their standing within the social and religious areas is through their support of spreading the precepts of Wahabism within the Muslim populace. This brand of Islam preaches racial and religious hatred, and specifically calls for the genocide of Jews. That the Saudi representatives refuse to shake hands with the Israeli attendees, or even appear in photos with them, makes it pretty clear to this observer that they have no interest in any peaceful settlement.

Iran continues to support and arm Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, rearming them so that they can restart their active campaign to destroy Israel. Hezbollah, like Hamas, has at its core belief the complete destruction of Israel. Let me remind you that Hezbollah is second only to Al Qaida in the murder of Americans, and are as much an enemy of the United States as is Al Qaida. The President of Iran has repeatedly called for the destruction of both the United States and Israel, and a continuation of the Islamic Jihad against all things Western and democratic. Somehow, I doubt that an equitable settlement is in their interest.

The bottom line to me is that the entire comedy of this conference is an exercise in futility. The Palestinians do not want an accord, they want Israel to disappear. Almost all of the attendees want the same, even if they do not want to participate directly in Israel’s destruction. Any pronouncement by the three main participants will be considered meaningless due to their weak standing at home and the overwhelming opposition to the continued existence of Israel by most other nations at the table. My only question is how destructive the results can be to our only true friend in the region, and ultimately, to our own interests and influence.

But that is just my opinion, and I could be wrong. After all, I am no expert.

THE GREAT IOWA PUMPKIN CAPER

2007-10-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

THE GREAT IOWA PUMPKIN CAPER

Now that the excitement and activities of Halloween are past, I would like to share some thoughts about the GREAT IOWA PUMPKIN CAPER, and its national implications.

Over the past few days, Iowa has been the subject of many humorous comments from television and newspaper commentators and pundits, internet news sites, and bloggers of every stripe. Usually, comments about Iowa are limited to the Caucus season, or have to do with our rural background. We have come to expect that, and quietly continue to provide our children with an educational system that is consistently ranked in the top four of the fifty states, a crime rate that is infinitesimal compared to most states, and an agricultural system that not only feeds the Nation, but provides foodstuffs to the world. From a personal standpoint, I am rarely embarrassed to say that although a Chicago native, I have happily lived in Iowa for more than nineteen years, and continue to do so even though now retired.

However, what I and many of my neighbors and friends are calling the Pumpkin Caper is not only an embarrassment, but is an indicator of a new governmental program that may portend issues of concern to all of us. I can think of no other way to describe this other than to call it a stealth tax that could be applied many other products and services, both at a state level, and a national level.

The short version is that Iowa is now charging sales tax on pumpkins. That this happened in an agricultural state is the reason for the recent surge of media comments. How this happened should be a fair warning to us all.

The news stories have the basic story wrong when they call it a new tax. It is not a new tax passed by our state legislature and signed into law by our governor. Rather, it is based on a decision by those nameless and faceless government bureaucrats who are answerable to no one.

Like many states, Iowa does not levy a sales tax on food. Therefore, most farm produce is sold tax free. However, in a secretive move not covered by any oversight, and not noted or reported on by any local media, the Iowa Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Department of Revenue, reclassified pumpkins from an agricultural product to a decoration. As a decoration, pumpkins are now subject to the state sales tax. This action was taken under the radar, by two department heads appointed by our newly elected Democratic governor. A new tax, without any legislative action.

I want you to take a moment to consider the implications of this action. The state has opened a new source of revenue by simply reclassifying a product. If we want to avoid paying sales tax, we must request a tax exemption form, and certify that the pumpkin will be used for food, and not as a decoration. Most retailers were not aware of this tax change until after the Halloween season was upon us, and most pumpkins sold. They must now pay the tax out of their own revenue, putting a strain on the small grocers who have a limited income already. Does this mean that if I hang some leftover ears of sweet corn from my door for Thanksgiving, that the Department of revenue will knock on my door demanding that I pay a tax on them, because of its use as a decoration? How about if my grandson carved the pumpkin, but my wife then baked the seeds as a treat for him? Is this dual use, requiring a different form. I don’t know, because this entire process was completed in secret.

With national elections looming, and so many candidates already talking about instituting new taxes, or allowing previously passed tax cuts to expire, will this strategy expand to other states or federal taxes. Can other states or the Federal government increase our taxes by reclassifying certain products and services? Can other Governors and a new President, with their own appointees in place, use the process of product classification to increase their revenues without any opportunity for either the electorate or our representatives to consider the issue? You may think not, but are you willing to bet your spendable income on it?

While you may consider me an alarmist, I would ask that you read the wording of the original Stamp Act put in place by the British Government when we were still a colony, and then remember what stimulated the patriots who fought for our independence. Their first battle cry was “No Taxation Without Representation”.

UPDATE

A little light can often cure a multitude of ailments. And embarrassment can even work on our politicos, even in today’s liberal environment.

The good news is that the Governor of Iowa has suspended implementation of the pumpkin sales tax, and advised the Iowa Department of Revenue to refund the tax monies already collected.

The bad news is that the classification of pumpkins as a decoration rather than an agricultural product was suspended, not rescinded, as the media reported. That means the process and the classification remains in place, and can be reinstated by executive order, again without legislative oversight. In addition, as a test application, the use of product classification to change tax status was a success, and can be applied to many other products and services in the future to enhance governmental revenues. And not just in Iowa, but at state and Federal levels. I am confident that this is not the last we have seen of the use of a stealth tax.

DAY OF ATONEMENT

2007-09-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

Day of Atonement

I was thinking a bit yesterday about the coming Day of Atonement, and it’s applications for a Christian. As a Catholic, I can see some relationship with the sacrament of Reconciliation, but there are significant differences. It was then that I read an e-mail from Patrick, my youngest son, currently in Korea assigned to (deleted) AFB. It was just a short note, the kind he sends every two or three days. But in among the day to day items, was the following statement.

“Also found out today that my commendation medal from (deleted) AFB
went through. I should be presented the medal by the commander within a
few weeks, but am now authorized to wear the ribbon. It's certainly one
of the highest ranking medals an enlisted member can get without
actually being in combat, so I am very proud to earn it.

Things are well and I will be giving you and Mom a call sometime this
weekend and definitely in time for your birthday.”

Pretty matter of fact, and would not mean much if you did not know the story. Certainly not an item Patrick would brag about, other than to let me know his “ribbon rack” will have a new addition. Long story short, he was alone in the control tower when a potentially disastrous situation occurred involving two Air Force A-10’s, and a civilian aircraft. One of the A-10’s, and the civilian aircraft were both in distress, and there was a possibility of a mid air collision occurring within seconds, as well as one or the other distressed aircraft crashing if not landed quickly. Patrick’s quick thinking and his handling of the situation resulted in all three aircraft landing safely, without any injury to any of the occupants. By the way, none of these aircraft were assigned to Patrick’s base. There are details that he could not share with me, and some things I cannot share with you. But the story is riveting, with about 150 seconds of heart thumping suspense.

As a result, he was recommended for a special commendation, which was approved and will be awarded to him at his new assignment.

Back to the Day of Atonement. While I understand the purpose of the day, I do not feel I am in the proper frame of mind to truly behave in an appropriate manner. You see, I am in a state of pride. Not in myself, for I know that would be sinful, but in my son. He was responsible for saving the lives of three or more people. Those who have read my previous writings about my son know how I feel about him. But this award is illustrative of why I feel such pride. I believe I am justified in feeling this way, because whatever pride he feels is muted, and will no doubt pass, as have his thoughts about the many brave, ethical and loving things he has done in his life.

If I may offer a quote from the Torah, “He who saves one life is as if he saves the entire world.” I will think about my faults on another day. Today, I am enjoying the feelings that I have from raising such a son.

May you derive peace of mind and spirit on this day.

GOODBYES - AND OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF

2007-08-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

GOODBYES – AND OTHER IMPORTANT STUFF

I have put aside almost everything to do with politics, Congress, stocks and market issues, foreign policy, the environment and virtually anything else that seems to trip the collective triggers of Conservatives, Liberals, Libertarians, Socialists, Communists, Traditionalists, Progressives, Religious and Secularists; at least for the last week or so. I found it very easy to do, because I had some really important things that required my attention.

I had two goodbyes that demanded my attention. One goodbye was to my youngest son. He came home on a very short leave from the Air Force, before leaving for his next assignment, half a world away. We will not see him for at least 12 months, and possibly longer. I have written about him before, in previous posts, and will not repeat my feelings about his service. Suffice to say that my pride in him is in constant struggle with my concerns for his safety. I guess that puts me in company with millions of others who have family in the military.

The other goodbye was to my oldest and dearest friend. In High School, we were ushers at the same suburban Chicago movie theatre. We stood up for each other at our respective marriages, and served as Godfather to each others daughters. Like many of our generation, he came home from Vietnam with physical and emotional issues that were never completely resolved, and contributed to his premature death at 61. I shall miss his friendship, and pray he now has the peace that eluded him for the last few years of his life.

My oldest grandson is beginning his college years, and my youngest grandson has begun 1^st grade. My middle grandson continues to grow and mature, and is beginning to test his talents and interests. I am so proud of all of them, and eagerly wait for the weekly updates they provide on how school is going, and what other activities have triggered their participation.

My youngest daughter received a clear blood test for her leukemia the day before her brother left for his next duty station. That made four clear tests in a row. Too early to use the “R” word yet, but a hopeful sign that maybe they got it all this time.

As you can see, I was dealing with really important stuff that has immediate impact on my family. Maybe we need a week like this once in a while, to remind us of what is really important. I just don’t want any more goodbyes for awhile. I hate goodbyes.

THE NEXT ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

2007-04-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

THE NEXT ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would alert you to the next massive environmental disaster. Unlike the well publicized, albeit unproven issue of global warming; this one will come within the next ten years, and will affect us all. And this disaster will be the direct result of the actions of environmentalists, politicians, state and Federal government, and we, the consumer. The most frustrating part of this looming catastrophe is that it is avoidable.

So what is this approaching calamity? Simply stated, it is water contamination. Imagine for a moment a country without safe drinking water. No water for cooking, washing ourselves and our clothes. No way to water our crops or our gardens. Water that can cripple you, cause mental retardation, creates birth defects and genetic mutations. The ramifications are almost beyond comprehension. What could possibly cause this? Don’t we have all kinds of laws about water quality? Haven’t we spent billions of tax dollars to clean up our waters? Aren’t businesses governed by strict rules about water pollution? The answer to all of these is yes. So where will this contamination come from? Allow me to illustrate, and perhaps, educate.

My son has a ceiling fixture in his bedroom that does not provide enough light for a room that size. The fixture is limited to four bulbs, not to exceed 60 watts. In an effort to brighten the room, my wife looked for an alternative that did not involve replacing the fixture. She settled on replacing the 60 watt incandescent bulbs with the new energy efficient fluorescent bulbs. Not only do they use less electricity, while increasing the brightness of the room, they are advertised as lasting up to 5 years.

I have seen these bulbs featured on environmental news stories, magazines and newspapers, and even praised by political figures. Efficient, cost effective, brighter, environmentally friendly, and easy to use. Apparently, they have no downside whatsoever. I understand that some state and city governments are even advocating outlawing the sale of traditional incandescent bulbs, and mandating the use of this new tool to reduce global warming.

I examined all of the verbiage on the package of four bulbs my wife subsequently purchased. Terms such as “simulates natural light”, ‘uplifting and bright light”, “enhances colors” and “energy saving” were featured prominently. Being a bit of a skeptic, I did read the small print cautions on the back of the package. These advised against using in areas where they would be exposed to the weather or temperature extremes, and should not be used for emergency lighting or with dimmer switches. Nothing there that would cause me concern, so I began to install them. I was putting the fourth bulb into its socket when I noticed some very small print on the base of the bulb itself. Please allow me to quote from the bulb.

“Contains Mercury – Dispose According to Local, State or Federal Law”

Not being one to knowingly break the law, I thought I better look into this a bit. It turns out that because these bulbs contain mercury, they must be disposed of through a licensed hazardous waste facility. I called the closest such location, which is 22 miles from my residence. Yes, I was informed, they will accept these bulbs. The current cost for their processing is 50 cents per bulb. Why, I asked, was this necessary? I was informed that mercury is one of the most dangerous elements that they handle, and the most expensive to store. Why, I asked, is it so dangerous? That is when I learned of all of the health hazards attributed to mercury, and why it must be carefully handled. Mercury, it appears, is both forever, and is transferable from one medium to another. Contaminate a lake with mercury, and it gets into the fish. Eat the fish, and it gets into you. If a bird eats the fish, it gets into the bird. A cat eats the bird, and the cat is now mercury poisoned. And mercury poisoning is forever.

Now, before you write me off as an alarmist, consider this. If we replace tens of billions of incandescent light bulbs with these new bulbs, they will eventually burn out, and have to be replaced. Of the burnt out bulbs, where do you think they will go? Will people drive the 22 miles, as I will have to, and then pay a premium to dispose of these now useless bulbs; or will they simply be thrown into the weekly trash? I think we both know they will end up in the trash. That means they will go to local landfills, and will be broken while being dumped. The mercury will eventually leach into the soil at the landfill, and being a heavy element, will work its way down to the groundwater. The same groundwater that we use every day.

Five years from now these bulbs will burn out and be thrown away. Another five years for the mercury to leach into the groundwater. Result? A new environmental disaster that we will have created by following the consensus decision that using these light bulbs is a good idea. I think I may have been right when I defined ‘Consensus’ as broad agreement of improbable theories by factually disadvantaged individuals with no background in the field being discussed.

I will now ask some critical questions. Why are these products not labeled on the package as containing a dangerous ingredient? Why are the environmentalists not telling us what is necessary to properly dispose of these products? Why are our elected officials not informing us of the potential risks we incur by using these products? I have my own answers to these questions, and other questions that have crossed my mind. I will leave it to you to define your own answers. But I will leave you with one clue on where to find the answers. As with so many other issues and problems we face, it usually come down to “Follow the money”.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF COURAGE

2007-04-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

A DIFFERENT KIND OF COURAGE

There are many different kinds of courage. Certainly, the men and women of our military display courage every day. There are those who act on the courage of their convictions by speaking out on issues that concern them. Police and firefighters are known for the courage they exhibit in their chosen professions.

In the last several weeks, we have heard about three prominent Americans and their fight with cancer. It is indeed unfortunate that so many have politicized their respective struggles to overcome this terrible disease that has most likely affected the family of every one of us. The story that should be told is that no matter what one’s political persuasion, social standing, religion or race, we are all potential victims of this affliction. Indeed, I think the real story is how we deal with it, rather than who we are. That the Snow family, the Edwards family and most recently Fred Thompson are reacting with dignity and courage should be the lesson, not the political impact on the Edwards campaign, the Bush presidency, or the political future of Mr. Thompson.

I want to relate the story of one young woman, and the battles she has fought. For one so young, she has displayed a different kind of courage than that displayed on the news. She has the courage to stay alive. Indeed, without that courage, she would most likely not be here today. And her story is the one I wish to share in detail.

From birth (premature) to age sixteen, she was the kind of child that most parents both desire and dread. Strong willed (perhaps from being the youngest of five), stubborn, tough, talented, competitive and smart. Early on, she exhibited extraordinary talent in both music and sports. By her mid-teens, she could play piano, trumpet, French horn and saxophone. Her favorite instrument was the clarinet, with her idol being the great Benny Goodman, whom she emulated in both style and substance. She was in marching band, jazz band, symphony and orchestra; as part of the High School music program that became the first in the nation to be awarded a Grammy for excellence.

Her athletic skills also showed while still young. In Grammar school, she set a girl’s softball league record for stolen bases in a season (68 steals in 16 games). By High School, she played on the state champion basketball team, soccer team, and softball team. She certainly would not have stood out in a crowd, at 5’3” and 110 lbs. But on the field and on the court, her courage and spirit allowed her to play beyond her size. But sixteen proved to be a pivotal year.

It started with unexplained blackouts and irregular responses to physical efforts. After many tests, and the loss of her ability to participate in any athletics, she was diagnosed with a heart ailment that caused her heart rate and respiration to speed up to dangerous levels while at rest, and slow down to dangerous levels when engaging in strenuous activity. Four different surgical procedures did not correct the problem, but did cause her to miss so much school that she was required to transfer to an alternative High School. Her ability to pursue her music was also curtailed, as the new school had no music program.

With the loss of her ability to participate in either music or sports, she turned her interest to academics. What was once a third choice now became her primary activity. She turned from a solid C student to an Honor Roll student overnight. Her grades and college test scores earned her entry into the pre-med program at a noted University. But the extreme rigors of the curriculum were more than her health could handle, and she was not able to pursue her medical school goal. By this time, she was also experiencing serious muscle pain, and suffered multiple incidents of broken bones caused by such normal activities as stepping off a curb.

The heart issue was finally addressed after several occurrences which were severe enough to necessitate resuscitation, once by a team of EMT’s, another during a surgical procedure, and one by her father. A brilliant cardiologist, brought in to consult, corrected the improper cardiac responses by implanting a specially designed and programmed pacemaker defibrillator device. This same specialist referred her to another doctor, who identified the pain and bone issues as arthritis and fibromyalgia. However, all of the doctors were puzzled as to why one so young, and formerly in such good physical condition, was experiencing such an advanced case of what is essentially an older persons medical condition.

Not waiting for doctors to decide her fate, she continued her education. After finishing nursing school and passing the medical boards for certification, she continued on with her education. While earning three additional Associate Degrees, she was elected President of the local chapter of Thi Betta Kappa, the Junior College equivalent of the prestigious Phi Betta Kappa honor society. A regular on the Deans List and the Presidents List, she refused to be bound by physical problems, or allow her condition to limit her educational interests. It was at this time that an unplanned pregnancy brought one more opportunity for her to exhibit both courage and character. Her decision was never in doubt, and she took on the task of being a single parent, while continuing her studies. While her family stood with her, providing monetary and more importantly, emotional and logistical support, it was her strength that allowed her to not surrender to circumstances.

Another curve ball, this one unhittable, was thrown at her before her son’s first birthday. She was advised that many of the physical issues she was dealing with, outside of the cardiac condition, was the result of Lupus. The tests showed that not only her muscles and bones were affected, but she had already suffered some damage to both her kidneys and her liver. At a point when many would have given up, she decided instead to move closer to the University that she wanted to attend to complete her graduate work and post graduate studies. Setting up a student housing residence, and getting her son ready for Pre School and eventually parochial school, she felt she was finally getting all of the health issues, if not corrected, at least under control. Fate, however, had other plans.

During a routine blood test used to monitor the Lupus, other abnormalities were detected. After some additional tests were ordered and studied, the diagnosis was acute lymphocytic leukemia. The cardiac device precluded her receiving radiation therapy, and the Lupus excluded her from a bone marrow transplant. The only treatment would be chemotherapy, with a number of ‘cocktails’ available. The first set of infusions did not have any significant effect, which caused the University Oncologists to conduct an extraordinary battery of tests. Certain tools were not available, as you cannot do an MRI on a patient with a pacemaker, as one example. However, an observant doctor, acting on a hunch, went looking for any undetected tumors, which might interfere with the treatments. Sure enough, he found two small cancerous tumors hidden between an arm bone and the attached cartilage. After surgically removing these, the next set of chemo infusions did show an improvement. After some months, she was declared in remission. During all of this, she maintained her class schedules, and was named to the Deans List.

The remission of the leukemia was short lived, with its reappearance several months later. Another round of chemo therapy, with a stronger set of chemicals, was ordered. This time, after tests showed the cancer again in remission, the doctors continued the chemo treatments for another six weeks. This was to ‘insure’ that they got it all. For the next six months, this appeared to be the case. Courage, will and years of prayers had hopefully given her the opportunity to live her life with some degree of normalcy.

The normalcy ended four weeks before her twenty-seventh birthday. A blood test taken while dealing with her semi-annual case of pneumonia showed that the leukemia had again shown its persistence. A new round of chemo therapy is being undertaken, and the results will not be known for some time. This young woman, and her now five year old son, are dealing with it as just another inconvenience. She refuses to consider herself a victim, and will not tolerate that sentiment from either family or friends. Her intensity has not been diminished, and her resolve to win yet another battle is unshakable. So yes, I do believe that this woman’s life is a study in courage. Not of the kind of courage usually cited, but the courage to lead a normal life under extraordinary circumstances.

Courage comes in many forms, and takes many shapes. There are courageous people all around us, but it often is a quiet courage that usually goes unrecognized. Perhaps you might take some time and think about your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. If you think about them in depth, I would be willing to wager that you can find many of those you know are courageous in ways that never occurred to you before. And after that, think about your own life and experiences, for you may discover that you also are more courageous than you realize.

I SUPPORT THE TROOPS...BUT

2007-04-08T12:45:00.000-07:00

I SUPPORT THE TROOPS….BUT

How often I have heard this: “I support the troops, but”. The “but” may be any of a number of qualifications, most of which we have all heard. I do not wish to address the “buts”, as I am really not concerned with the reasons so many Americans feel it necessary to add some disclaimer or explanation to the statement. Frankly, I don’t care what kind of exclusion follows, because the insertion of the word “but” is proof that the first part of the statement is a lie.

If you feel it necessary to add any disclaimer, qualifier, limitation or equivocation to the sentiment that you support the troops, the addition of such an addendum is a self-indictment that you really don’t support the troops. Whether spoken or written, those who feel they must add the word “but” to their statement of support are being disingenuous at best, or intend to deliberately deceive the listener or reader. In either event, they are in point of fact, lying. And we should recognize that, so that our response is appropriate.

Those who support the troops are rooting for them to win, whatever and wherever the conflict, and whatever the reason for that conflict.

Those who support the troops want them to have every resource necessary for them to win. That includes funding, equipment, training, reinforcements, encouragement, recognition and leadership.

Those who support the troops want accurate, honest and complete reporting on the progress of the conflict, without agenda driven commentary disguised as reporting. Editorials and opinions should be so identified, and properly belong on the editorial page.

Those who support the troops want them to use whatever lawful tactics, rules of engagement and methods are necessary to defeat their adversaries, without excessive limitations that either restrict their ability to achieve their objectives, or endanger themselves unnecessarily.

Those who support the troops do not want any unrealistic or artificial timetables or politically driven “benchmarks” put in place that may have unintended consequences.

Those who support the troops do not want our elected representatives undermining their efforts by exaggerating the successes of the adversary, or diminishing the accomplishments of our military.

Those who support the troops do whatever they can to provide assistance and comfort to the families of our military.

Those who support the troops understand that the men and women in the United States military are often the best and brightest among us, and recognize that they are the most honorable, humane and noble military ever to take the field.

There are many more indicators I could cite to assist you in identifying those who actually support the troops, and those who do not. However, I will add just one more that I consider relevant, and vital. I am sure you have more examples, and invite you to add them to your own list.

Those who support the troops understand that America cannot afford any more ties when dealing with an adversary in armed conflict. The world must have a clear understanding that opposing the United States on the battlefield will result in the destruction of any aggressor that engages our troops, because that understanding will lessen the chances that it will be necessary for our military to prove the point again and again.

So please, if you are one of those “support the troops, but” people, do not bother offering your explanations to me. I already know what you really think.

THE RISE OF CHRISTIAN ANTI-SEMITISM

2007-03-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

THE RISE OF CHRISTIAN ANTI-SEMITISM

Please allow me to begin with a disclaimer. I am neither a priest nor a minister. I have never attended a school of theology, and my specific religion is irrelevant, other than to say I am a Christian, albeit an imperfect one. Indeed, I am the first to admit that I am a practicing Christian who is not yet very good at it. Hence, the need for practice. My views on this topic come from a background in systems management, which relies heavily on progressive logic.

Even the casual viewer of main stream media must have noticed an increase in anti-Semitic rhetoric over the past few years. Although much of the news we receive has been edited and scrubbed, the rise in both verbal and physical assaults on Jews is becoming more apparent. At this stage, most of the organized hate incidents in the United States have been verbal, such as during demonstrations, or written in publications and internet sites. Physical violence here have primarily been individual acts, such as the LAX shootings, and the Seattle murder of five women at the Jewish Federation; but European anti-Semitic activities are involving more and more physical assaults that are organized, pre planned, and carried out by groups of perpetrators.

Both France and Germany have experienced a marked increase in vandalism and desecration of Jewish sites over the past several years, in particular involving Temples and cemeteries. France, more than any other European country, is also dealing with, or rather failing to deal with, a rise in assaults on Jews. It has become such an issue that French Rabbis are discouraging members of their congregations from wearing any clothing or adornment that would readily identify them as Jews. The European Union created a commission to study this increase in anti-Semitic activity. It was so damning that the original report was buried, and only a brief edited version was released. Much of the violence was attributed to neo-Nazi skinheads in Germany, and the influx of Moslem immigrants in France. But the rhetoric being used in both European government and media, disguised as criticism of Israel or the Zionist movement, is in reality anti-Semitic.

I am not going to address the hateful speech, actions and publications engendered by the Moslem populations both here and in Europe. Anti-Semitism is a core premise of Islam, espoused even by the so-called moderate clerics. I do want to make some points about the creeping rise of this attitude among Christians. European and American ‘progressives’ are increasingly expressing views that are not only critical of Jews, but in some cases, justify actions designed to endanger Jews.

Let me now make what many will consider an inflammatory statement. You cannot be a Christian, and be anti-Semitic. Let me repeat this. You cannot call yourself a Christian if you harbor anti-Semitic attitudes. I say this for some very specific reasons.

The first point is that Jesus was a Jew. By tradition, any child born of a Jewish mother is by right a Jew, no matter the ethnicity of the father. Whether they practice the Hebrew theology and traditions or not, they are and will always be a Jew. Jesus was born of Mary, a Jewess of the house of David, and a native of Nazareth.

Both Mary and her husband Joseph, as well as Jesus, were raised within the culture of the Jewish community, and followed all of the laws and customs contained in the Torah and related teachings. They were practicing Jews for their entire lives. Jesus was born, lived, and died as a Jew. There is nothing within His teachings which contradicts the Jewish theology. The philosophical differences between His interpretation of the Bible and that of the scholars of His time were within the normal theological ranges that have been common in Jewish history throughout the ages. That is why He was crucified by the Romans, rather than being stoned by Jews. If He had been proven guilty of blasphemy, He would have been executed by stoning (with the permission of the Roman governor). Blasphemy was not proven, but the Romans felt threatened enough to crucify Him for sedition. Hence, my assertion that He not only lived as a Jew, but He died as a Jew. He was buried according to Jewish custom, after being executed according to Roman law.

The Apostles were also practicing Jews. Had they not been, they would not have reached the understanding that Jesus was the Messiah prophesized through much of Jewish history. Again, they followed Jewish law, and maintained Jewish traditions. None of the Apostles were martyred by stoning in a Jewish community, as their teachings were not blasphemy. Most were killed for refusing to acknowledge the official religions of Rome, or due to trumped up charges of rebellion or sedition against the empire.

The first Christians were Jews, and for much of the first century, Christianity was considered a sect of the Jewish faith. Even among early non-Jewish converts, there was an expectation that they would first accept Judaism, and then be baptized as Christians. All of the first Christians were Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah prophesized in the Old Testament. Converts to this new sect, whether Jewish, or pagan in the ensuing years, also accepted the validity of the Old Testament.

In order to be a Christian, one must accept as truth some very simple assumptions. You must accept that the God of the Old Testament is the one true God. You must accept that God made a covenant with the Jewish people, and that by accepting the terms of this covenant, the Jews became God’s chosen people, favored above all others. You must also accept that as proof of their status, a Messiah would be born from this people. God even specified though prophesy the tribe and family from whom this Savior would come. You must also accept as a matter of faith that Jesus fulfilled the prophesies of the Old Testament, and He was the promised Savior. Finally, if you are to be called a Christian, you must also accept the events as told in the New Testament. At the last supper, Jesus referred to the wine He shared as “The Blood of the New Covenant”. By so doing, He established a new means of achieving God’s acceptance. However, He in no way indicated that the old covenant, with the Jews, had been abrogated. Those accepting this new faith would be added to God’s chosen by affirmation, rather than by birth. But in no part of the New Testament are Jews replaced by Christians. Rather, they are added to the growing number of those counted as God’s people. In other words, believers in The Christ are now among the chosen, along with Jews.

My final thought may sound flippant, but I state it with all seriousness. If you profess to be a Christian, and harbor anti-Semitic feelings, you are potentially treading on some very dangerous ground. Remember, Jews are God’s family, and you should always respect the family of The Boss..

A PROUD FATHER SPEAKS

2007-02-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

A PROUD FATHER SPEAKS

At 2:30 PM EST, Friday, February 23^rd, my youngest son recited his reenlistment oath to serve his country for another four years. He was on duty at the time, but was relieved by a fellow Airman so that he could have the oath administered, and a few pictures taken. He then went back to his job, and finished his scheduled assignment.

When reciting this oath, he swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. He swore to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and obey the orders of the President and his appointed officers, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

His decision made, and his commitment sworn to before God and man, he will remain with that small segment of our population who have voluntarily chosen to put aside the tranquility of civilian life to defend the very document that was created to insure that tranquility. As a college graduate with numerous skills and practical experience, he will use his talents and knowledge to help insure that we can continue to enjoy the blessings of being Americans. He has chosen to give a portion of his life to service, benefiting and protecting millions of others, rather than benefiting his own well being, prosperity and safety.

To say that I am proud of this young man is a gross understatement. I know his character, his ideals, his goals and his reasons for joining the military. His intelligence, generosity, loyalty and ethics are also well known to me. Yet, I cannot but stand in awe of his dedication in following the path he has chosen. Along with those other men and women of honor who have made the decision to serve our Nation, he represents the true ideal of the citizen soldier. These men and women were not coerced, cajoled, intimidated, drafted, bribed, enticed or fooled into taking on the task of protecting and defending our way of life. They have taken this oath freely, knowing the tasks they will be given, and with a clear understanding of the risks inherent with their decision.

The military of today is much different from that of my generation. They are better trained, better equipped, better led and better educated than at any time in our history. They have proven their ability to successfully carry out complicated orders under impossible conditions, while maintaining a level of humanity and honor that is unprecedented in world history.

When we look at the oath they have taken, we should take note of what it says, and consider what it does not say. They swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not just one state or region. They have sworn to protect and defend all citizens who live under the ideals set forth in the Constitution, not just one specific religion, color, race or sex. They have sworn to obey the orders of the President, and duly appointed officers, within the rules outlined in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Not a Democratic or Republican President, nor a conservative or liberal President, male or female, or certain color or religion. In other words, they have sworn to be Americans, first and foremost. Any other designation is transparent to them, as it should be to us all.

There will be those who say that I have idealized our military men and women. Perhaps I have, but I can only judge by the many I know who serve, or have served, in these difficult times. Without exception, they have been intelligent, honest, brave, dedicated and honorable in their motives and actions. That they have chosen this course in their lives is testament to the vision we should all have of the citizen soldier, for they represent all that is good in America. I am proud of my son, and all of the men and women with whom he serves. They are indeed our best and brightest, for they understand better than most what being an American is all about. While a simple “Thank You” seems woefully inadequate, if said from the heart, it still says it best.

I HAD A DREAM

2006-12-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

I HAD A DREAM

It is 4:30 in the morning, and here I sit in front of a monitor, putting down my thoughts because I know that there will be no sleep for me until I do this.

I awoke an hour ago, hot and sweaty, shaken by my dream. As with most of us, I do not usually remember dreams, although they occur most every night. But this one was so clear, and so personal, that I choose to remember it. My heart tells me that I must remember it.

Evening had been a normal one. My Chicago Bears were playing on ESPN in the Monday Night Football game, in St. Louis against the Rams. While the Bears won, I was concerned about their erratic defensive performance, the strength of this team. My middle son had joined me in the second half, so I had someone to discuss the game with as the final quarter ended. Our conversation turned to the arrival of the Christmas season. I told my son about the weekend visit my wife and I had from our five year old grandson. The lad is very excited, but not about the obvious. He is very precise, and can hardly wait for Christmas, because three days after Christmas, his Uncle Patrick will be home on leave from the Air Force. He also knows that his cousin Keith will be home on leave from Afghanistan for both Christmas and New Year, an unexpected bonus.

I cannot say what may have triggered my dream, as I deliberately avoided watching any news, or reading any news web sites today. I did not want to let the news of the day spoil the feelings of contentment from having our little houseguest this weekend, or preparing for our youngest son getting his first leave home in almost two years. And yet, a vivid dream not only interrupted a sound sleep, but focused my attention on who I am.

In my dream, I was in Europe, and it was Christmas Eve. I was in a Catholic church, shortly before midnight Mass was to begin. Although it seemed strange that I was in Europe, never having been there; being in a Catholic church for Christmas was a normal event for me. I picked up a parish bulletin before being seated, and was conversing with an unknown fellow American. The bulletin mentioned that this was a special Mass of Reconciliation, and that Jewish neighbors of the church had been invited to attend the service.

While standing in the back of the church, I watched an elderly Jewish man enter, remove his hat, and walk up the side aisle. I do not know how I knew he was Jewish, any more than how I knew I was in Europe. It just was something I knew. The elderly man went about half way up the aisle, and slipped into the unoccupied last seat at the end of the pew. In seconds, a woman at the opposite end of the pew asked him to move, as she was saving space for some friends. The man smiled, apologized, and moved several rows back, again seating himself at the end of the pew. This time a man asked him to move, as that pew was reserved for his family. The old man again moved back a few rows before trying to seat himself. And for the third time, he was asked to move. By now, he was past the last pew, just in front of me and the man with whom I had been conversing. The old man looked at me, and said that he had never been to a Christian service before, and had hoped to sit close enough to the altar to watch the celebration of Christ’s birth. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes, and glanced at the mostly empty church. “I guess”, he sighed, “there is no room for me, again.” As he raised his arm to put on his hat, the coat sleeve slid back, revealing the dark numerals tattooed on his forearm. And then he was gone.

The man I had been standing with and I did nothing as the old man left. But after he was gone, the fellow American turned to me and said “It is happening again, and we did nothing”. The American looked me in the eye, and asked a simple question. “We did nothing”, he said again, “so what does that make us?”

Indeed, what does that make us? Or more to the point, what does that make me? It was at that point that I awoke. I lay in bed for some time, expecting to fall back asleep in the pre dawn darkness. But my head echoed with the repeated phrase “And what does that make me?” So here I sit, wondering why this is so disturbing that my sleep has been disrupted. And then the pieces began to fall into place.

I had watched the Israeli settlers leaving Gaza, followed almost immediately by the start of daily rocket attacks on Israeli towns from the vacated areas. Land for peace seemed not to be working, yet I did nothing. So what does that make me?

During the summer, I watched and read of the military conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. While thousands of Hezbollah rockets rained down on Israel, I saw news reports that seemed only to mention Lebanese buildings that had been hit by Israeli artillery or aircraft. Despite the glaring prejudicial tone of most news reports, I did little to counter it. So what does that make me?

I have read the disturbing reports of the significant increase in anti-Semitic acts all across Europe, but like most Americans, it has been a side piece in the news. It is their problem, not ours. There are no American voices crying shame on you at Europe, so what does that make us?

I have followed the John Bolton departure as our ambassador to the United Nations, knowing that we are losing a good and decent man. He has confronted the outrageous corruption and hypocrisy of the U.N in a direct fashion, advocated eloquently and effectively for American interests, and was the only diplomat to defend Israel in front of the General Assembly when faced with the most egregious displays of anti-Semitism yet seen in that organization. Among other issues, he pointed out that Israel was the subject of more resolutions of condemnation that all 191 other member nations combined, by the U.N. Human Rights Commission. His departure is the result of blatant politics within our own country, yet I did nothing to protest this display of Congressional malfeasance. So what does that make me?

I have seen former high officials of our government castigate Israel with both malicious and fallacious statements. Former Secretary of State James Baker once stated “F**k the Jews, they didn’t vote for us anyway”. He was rewarded with the Chairmanship of the Iraq Study Group. Former President Jimmy Carter has written another book which propagates media distortions and erroneous material, again blaming Israel for every problem in the Muslim world. He is rewarded with prime time news interviews, to help sell his book. Like most Americans, I have not let my voice be heard to refute these sentiments. So what does that make me?

I watch the evening news, and hear spokesmen of different advocacy groups blame Zionism for the spreading hated of America and the West because of Zionist influence on America’s foreign policies, and our continued support of Israel. The networks failure to offer any refutation of these claims is never criticized, as we continue to believe it is a journalist’s obligation to not take sides. Yet they do take sides, by not countering these allegations. As a viewer, what does that make me?

Leaders of Muslims states, most notably Iran, make almost daily threats that they will destroy Israel, bringing on a second Holocaust, all the while claiming the first Holocaust never occurred. Yet I do not yell my outrage at this disgraceful activity, and my government continues to pander to despots’ intent on destroying an entire nation. So what does that make me?

The leader of my own faith visits a Muslim country, and prays in a Mosque with the very people who continue to discriminate against and persecute the tiny Christian minority within that country, yet speaks not of this injustice. I do not give voice to this inequity, so what does that make me?

My father told me that the first step in solving a problem is to ask the right questions, so that you can identify the nature of the problem, and fix the root causes. I am far from resolving any of the problems I have mentioned, and the scores of related issues that are too numerous to describe here. But I am beginning to ask the questions, the first of which, for me at least, is “What does that make me?”

THANKSGIVING

2006-11-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was established as a National Day of Thanks by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Prior to that, Thanksgiving was a regional Holiday,
celebrated at different times, and not in every state.

Although the United States was in the midst of the bloodiest war in our history, President Lincoln felt that we still had many things to be thankful for, and
wanted to remind Americans of the blessings we enjoyed.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we have family and friends who will not be with us. Some are separated by distance, others by circumstance, and
some because they are serving our Nation. But as we enjoy this Holiday, I think it appropriate to read the Proclamation as written by President Lincoln. As
then, although we have family and friends in harms way, we still have many things to be thankful for, many of which are mentioned in the Proclamation.

Please have a safe and wonderful day, and may all of your loved ones be with you in spirit, if not in person.

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly
enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to
penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled
magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations,
order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while
that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of
peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the
mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased,
notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength
and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing
with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully
acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set
apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I
recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence
for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the
lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation
and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the
Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

CNN's Sniper Film - THIS TIME IT'S PERSONAL

2006-10-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL

I rarely lose my temper, but that does not mean I don’t have one. Generally, I am disappointed in certain actions or words I disapprove of by people or organizations, rather than angry. But this time, I am really angry at CNN, because I am taking it personally.

When a CNN executive accused U.S. troops of targeting journalists in Iraq to stop their reporting, I viewed it as anti-military left wing rhetoric, with no basis in truth. I think most Americans who bothered to read this story agreed with me. When CNN showed the U.S. Marine shooting a terrorist pretending to be wounded, while attempting to set off the explosives wired to the booby-trapped body next to him, I knew that any reasonable inquiry would exonerate the soldier; and I was right. As CNN showed the embarrassing pictures of the detainees at Abu Ghraib over and over, I ascribed it to their agenda to discredit American forces, in much the same manner as Illinois Senator Dick Durban when he compared our soldiers to Nazis and the Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot. Again, they were just pushing their well documented agendas, with little regard for its repercussions. But this time, they have crossed a line that no news agency in the United States should cross. They have become a news service advocating for the enemies of our Nation.

I am referring, of course, to their decision to broadcast the sniper “Snuff Film” provided by a terrorist organization in Iraq. CNN defends this with the absurd argument that they were reporting the “unvarnished truth”. The truth is that they have played, on international television, the worst form of pornography, the “Snuff Film”. That they have done so to advance the cause of the Islamic terrorists is not an opinion that I have arrived at lightly, but the evidence is beyond circumstantial. When taken in context, it is obvious to me that they are rooting for the other team. While CNN would certainly refute this, I think the facts speak for themselves.

Beginning with the attacks on the United States on September 11th, CNN has scrubbed much of their coverage. As with other main stream media, they have abstained from showing all of the video and pictures from that day. Never has the viewing public seen the pictures of those victims who leapt to their deaths from the World Trade Center, rather than suffer the pain of being burnt to death. Most Americans have never seen the tape and pictures of scores of bodies lying on the sidewalks and streets of New York, before the collapse of the twin towers. The sounds of bodies hitting the pavement have never been heard on CNN, out of their “sensitivity”. CNN has also shielded us from the graphic videos of helpless prisoners being shot or beheaded by terrorists. While most Americans are aware that these incidents have occurred, they are not aware that hundreds of bound innocents have been murdered in this manner, and that the practice continues to this day. The terrorists not only take pride in these murders, they provide the videos to news services on a regular basis. But the American media, including CNN, has decided not to show them, as they are “disturbing”. The murder by beheading of three Christian schoolgirls by Islamists in Indonesia was not even reported by most media; let alone the broadcast of the pictures of these young girls with their heads resting on their chests. Not one American news service has ever shown the cartoons of Muhammad that sparked world wide Muslim rage, including the deaths of scores of people, out of “respect” for Islam. But they are perfectly willing to show an entertainer like Madonna showing her disdain for Christianity by turning the crucifixion of Jesus into a vaguely obscene musical skit.

What CNN and most of the mainstream media have actually done is to do their best to hide the true nature of the enemies of the United States. While claiming that certain images are too graphic for us to see, the effect is to hide the barbarity of those against whom we struggle. Some of these decisions are due to cowardice. The media is simply afraid that taking a truly unbiased journalistic stance will put them at risk of becoming a target for Muslim rage, which often turns deadly. Certainly CNN has admitted they deliberately omitted reporting on the atrocities of Saddam Hussein, although they were well aware of the horrendous acts committed by his regime; because their access to him might be restricted, and their personnel placed at risk. And yet, they appear to have a direct pipeline to the terrorists, and are on the priority mailing list of these murderers.

The airing of the sniper footage by CNN has, in my opinion, placed them at a new low. The intent of the terrorists in filming the sniper attacks is to show that they can kill Americans at will, without repercussion. The recent upsurge in attacks aimed at Americans in Iraq is a blatant attempt by the terrorists to influence the upcoming elections. The timing of this film is an obvious propaganda ploy, meant to augment the reporting of increased American casualties, and discourage Americans from supporting the efforts in Iraq. CNN has become the willing tool of the Jihadi propaganda strategists. Yet, the actions by CNN go even beyond this. And this is where it becomes personal.

CNN claims it was unable to identify the American soldiers shot in cold blood for our viewing pleasure. This is beyond oversight. It is a blatant falsehood. The U.S. military keeps very detailed records detailing the circumstances surrounding every American casualty. Eyewitness accounts, wound examination, situation reports and after action reports are all on file, and can be used by the appropriate authorities to identify each of the soldiers shot on the video. What I find reprehensible is that there are families here who may have seen their loved ones shot down on television. Families receive a fairly detailed account through official sources of the circumstances surrounding each casualty. The soldier’s commanding officer will usually send a personal letter to the family, often providing additional detail. Finally, the comrades of the fallen soldier will often write to the family, with even more detailed information. The bottom line is that a little investigative journalism on the part of CNN would enable CNN to identify the soldiers who were cut down. That they did not make this effort allows them to avoid the confrontation with the families of these men, and the subsequent criticism CNN would receive if they showed the deaths of Americans who have an identity. Anonymity serves their purpose, but exposes the families to the pain and horror of watching their son, brother or father die in prime time.

Why is this personal? My youngest son is in the military, as is a nephew. I also have a number of friends and former Scouts in harms way, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I take this action by CNN in a very personal way, as it could be a family member or friend who appears on the next episode of Prime Time Snuff. I do not want to have a public viewing of the last moments of someone I know so that CNN can achieve an “exclusive report” in their ratings race, while advancing the image of how effective a terrorist sniper can be.

CNN claims to have a mission and vision statement, and adheres to a standards and ethics code. May I also suggest that they also have a motto, borrowed from a movie. The motto, aimed at we viewers, is “The Truth? You can’t handle the Truth!” CNN is living up to that motto.

2006-09-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

MILLIONS OF AMERICANS TORTURED!!!
Government Does Nothing

That bastion of virtue, Human Rights Watch, has again decided that they know best how to win the fight against Islamic terrorists. They have recently made headlines with press conferences claiming that Jihadist Abu Zubaydah was subjected to illegal interrogation techniques that amounted to torture. As near as I can tell, the torture techniques used consisted of playing music by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and confining a helpless Abu to an area that was deliberately kept chilly. Oh, the humanity!

In researching this story, and examining the evidence offered, I quickly came to realize that millions, perhaps tens of millions, of Americans have been subjected to torture, and continue to be victimized by these horrendous techniques even today. And yet, our government does nothing to end this inhuman treatment of our own citizens. And so, I am pleading with Human Rights Watch, perhaps with the assistance of the ACLU, to take a stand for America, and include these innocent victims in their investigation.

As the father of five now adult children, I too was a victim of this assault on human dignity. From the time my oldest daughter reached the age of twelve, until my youngest son left for college, I was subjected to an almost non-stop exposure to the most horrendous barrage of torturous behavior. From Twisted Sister and Kiss, through Whitesnake and AC/DC, all the way to Nine Inch Nails, I had to endure their propensity to play whatever current version of Rock and Roll was popular at the time. Having seven people in an average middle class house meant that there was no refuge from the noise pollution, except by going to work. Perhaps that is why I never complained about not missing a day of work for over ten years. Indeed, I often wrote off vacation days, spending that time at the office, rather than being home. For more than ten years, the assault on my freedom to listen to the music of my choosing was continual. Surely Human Rights Watch would agree that the denial of my right to listen to opera, while subjecting me to the blaring tones of Mettalica, was both unconstitutional and torturous.

My second exposure to the techniques of torture is more personal, and involves a sensitive subject. You see, my wife of 41 years is still going through the pangs of what is euphemistically called “change of life”. Additionally, before my retirement, a number of my co-workers were experiencing this same physical change. The impact on me both at home and work was dramatic, and uncomfortable to the point of physical pain. My comfort zone for temperature is between 75 and 80 degrees. However, my wife and co-workers felt a temperature of 55 to 60 degrees better suited them. At least, that is what it felt like. As any husband whose wife has gone through this trauma will attest, complaining or protesting this environmental assault is not only fruitless, but can be dangerous. Again, as with the music, I was given no choice and no vote in the critical decisions regarding thermostat settings. Constitutional rights were ignored in a number of areas. The loss of my voting rights, freedom of speech, and even the right to a non-hostile workplace were routinely trampled. And yet, the government failed to protect me; ignoring my plight, and millions like me.

I am formally requesting that all American fathers and husbands who have been subjected to this barbaric treatment be included in the ongoing investigation by Human Rights Watch. After all, should we not be protected from this treatment? All I am asking is that we be accorded the same rights as the Jihadists, terrorists, murderers, beheaders and bombers that Human Rights Watch, the ACLU, and similar organizations are so intent on protecting. And if this action proves successful, my next target for possible legal redress will be the media, for airing the Simpsons and Family Guy. Both cartoons are demeaning to husbands and fathers, and I find their depictions hurtful. In fact, I am so upset about these portrayals, I may cry. I think I need a Latte and a hug.

ACCIDENTAL COMEDIANS

2006-09-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

ACCIDENTAL COMEDIANS

An English philosopher, Horace Walpole, is best remembered for one quote. He wrote “The world is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel.” While I admit to being a “feel” type person much of the time, I did have reason to find some dark humor in several news stories in the last two or three days. While the circumstances are anything but humorous, I did find a sardonic variety of amusement in the following stories.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced, with a perfectly straight face, that Syria would increase it’s monitoring of the Syrian and Lebanese border to halt any arms shipments to Hezbollah. Apparently, Mr. Annan believes that the Iranian, Chinese and Soviet weapons used by Hezbollah against Israel were smuggled into Lebanon without the knowledge or participation of the Syrian government. My first thought was that Kofi would have a very successful career as an actor in Hollywood after his term expires in the United Nations. His ethics, political outlook, prejudices and obvious talent at delivering the most outrageous statements as fact would be a nice fit in the fantasyland of the entertainment industry.

My second thought was that he may actually believe the things he says. If that is the case, I have some retirement property in Florida that he may wish to buy. It can be viewed at low tide, but only during the dry season. Bring your hip waders Mr. Annan, for more reasons than just the mud.

The second item that brought a wry smile to my face was the release of a new al-Qaida tape from al-Zawahiri., the second in command of that terrorist organization. Mr. al-Zawahiri threatened continued death and destruction to Americans, and all things associated with Western culture. While this was not new, he did offer to mitigate this mayhem if Americans would immediately convert to Islam. According to Mr. al-Zawahiri, a mass conversion of Americans would be viewed positively by the Jihadists, and our lives would be spared. Like Mr. Annan’s Syrian announcement, these pronouncements were made with a perfectly straight face. What made me believe this was actually a satiric monologue, rather than a serious statement, were the things left unsaid.

Muslims in Afghanistan who believe in education, more freedom for women, voting for political leaders, and other aspects of modern culture are routinely murdered by the adherents to the seventh century philosophy as enforced by the remnants of the Taliban. Mr. al-Zawahiri did not explain which type of Islam he expects us to embrace.

In the same vein, Mr. al-Zawahiri did not specify if he expects us to become Shiite or Sunni Muslim. While Americans may believe the distinctions are similar to deciding between becoming a Baptist or a Lutheran, Muslims seem to take this much more seriously. Events in Iraq show quite clearly that many Sunni Muslims take great pleasure in slaughtering Shiite men, women and children, while Shiite Muslims seem to share this value system as they continue to abduct, massacre and bomb scores of Sunnis on a daily basis. Making the wrong choice of which sect to join appears to carry some serious ramifications.

Also untouched is the matter of ethnicity. In the Darfur region of Sudan, Arab Muslims continue to murder, rape and dispossess tens of thousands of Black African Muslims. Does this mean that if we convert to Islam, White American Muslims will be required to make war against Black American Muslims? And since I am not an Arab, which ethnicity would I have to join?

The final unstated requirement has to do with Jihadist factions. I would assume Mr. al-Zawahiri would expect us to join al-Qaida, or at least support them. However, relationships between different terrorist organizations seem to be a tenuous matter. Having to choose between al-Qaida, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and the plethora of lesser known organizations can be a dicey thing, since they are apt to shoot at each other almost as often as they shoot at us.

All of this leads me to suspect that the offer to spare Americans from murder if we convert to Islam is actually an expression of Mr. al-Zawahiri’s wry sense of humor. He knows that even if we do convert, we will almost certainly make some wrong choices among the multiple options I have mentioned. Therefore, we would still be targets, and the continued efforts of the Islamists to exterminate us could continue unabated.

OK Mr. al-Zawahiri, we get the joke. Perhaps you and Mr. Annan could form a comedy act after your regular employment ends. Kind of an alternate universe Martin and Lewis. I’m just not sure which of you would be the straight man.

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #8 - FIRST MISSION

2006-08-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #8 – FIRST MISSION

The following is the eighth in a series of letters home from my nephew. We are publishing them so that we may all have a better understanding of the young men and women who are placing themselves in harms way to protect us, and our way of life. They have been following him through his training, and continuing into his deployment. We do so with his permission, and the concurrence of his wife and son.

S/SGT Keith is an army veteran and civilian police officer who joined the active reserves after the September 11th attacks. He and ten members of his MP unit have been called up for deployment to Afghanistan to train U.S. soldiers and new Afghani police officers on arrest and detention procedures. All eleven are either police or corrections officers. This is the third letter from Afghanistan, describing his first training mission. We are withholding his last name out of courtesy to his family and simply thank him for his service to our country.

Hello All Aug 27, 2006

I just returned from my first training mission yesterday, and it is good to be back at Bagram Air Base. My first trip was to the Forward Operating Base, or FOB, at Ghazni. Ghazni is about 110 miles southwest from Bagram and it took us approximately 45 minutes to get there by helicopter. The trip started very early on Monday morning because we had to be at the hanger by 3:00 AM. The flight itself didn’t leave until 5:30 AM. So for that two and half hours we sat around the hanger, until we were moved to the flight line. We sat there until the flight crew was ready to crank up the CH-47. A CH-47, or Chinook, is a very large helicopter that has two horizontal rotors. It is meant for hauling fairly large amounts of cargo and/or troops.

The flight out to the FOB was very interesting. As soon as we cleared Bagram it was as if I was flying in a time machine. The further we flew from the air base, the further back in time we seemed to travel. For the first 10 minutes of flight or so, there was a fair number of buildings and small towns that could easily be seen. The reason for this is because the helicopter never seemed to fly higher than 1000 feet or so above the ground. Plus, the Chinook has a large ramp, for loading and unloading, in the rear of the aircraft. This ramp remained open for the duration of the flight with one of the flight crew seated on the open ramp manning a machine gun. There are also gunners on the left and right side of the aircraft. I was able to take some nice pictures and video from the windows and the open ramp.

As we neared the mountains that surround Bagram my journey back in time continued. The small villages were replaced by compounds. These compounds appeared to be made of mud brick, and were themselves surrounded by walls of mud. Inside these compounds I could see several buildings, none of which had windows, electricity, or indoor plumbing. But what struck me the most was that inside the compounds there was green foliage, trees, and crops. The different shades of green would jump out at you due to the contrast with all the sand, dirt, and rocks that were outside the walls. When we entered the mountains some of the compounds were built right into the side of them. Every now and again I would see goat herders tending to their animals. As we moved farther into the mountains the compounds were replaced with small groups of tents. Again, every once in a while, I would see people and animals on the sides of the mountains, or in the valleys.

There was a few times during the flight that when I looked out of the window, I was starring directly at the side of a mountain. The helicopters have to fly through the mountain passes since they are too high to fly over. Bagram is at an elevation of 5000 feet above sea level, and Ghazni is 7200 feet above sea level, and the surrounding mountains rise thousands of feet higher than that. If the helicopters try to fly over them, the air is too thin, and the rotors are unable to create enough lift.

When we arrived at the FOB we were met by a Master Sergeant who gave us a brief tour of the base. It was quite a brief tour since the FOB is rather small and really has nothing to offer. The Post Exchange, or PX, is about the size of a single car garage, and offers only the essentials. He also showed us where the Chow Hall was located as well as the tent where we would be staying. The Chow Hall was fantastic. While it was small and didn’t offer the variety of foods that they do in Bagram, the quality of the food was much better. The tent we stayed in, on the other hand, was not better. It was air-conditioned but it was situated right next to 2 generators that made it impossible to hear yourself think. It made it rather difficult to sleep as well.

On Tuesday we were not scheduled to teach any classes since the soldiers we were to train were out on a mission and not set to return for another day. We did have to conduct an inspection of the Field Detention Site, or FDS, which didn’t take very long. The FDS was in good shape and we only noted a few minor things that would be very easy for them to address. Wednesday we conducted our training session. We had a class of about 20 infantry soldiers who appeared to take a lot from the training. Our training was geared towards advising the soldiers how to better document the reasons for detention so a better case can be built against the detainee. We also discussed the collection and processing of evidence, as well as many other topics. Apparently our training session received a good review because we were asked to give an abbreviated version of the training to the leadership the following day.

Friday we began our odyssey of trying to get out of the FOB and back to Bagram. We had seats on a flight for Saturday but since we were done training we figured we would try to get back early. The trick with this is you never know when a helicopter is going to land at the FOB. This isn’t United Airlines, and they don’t follow a set schedule, for obvious reasons. So we spent about 8 hours on Friday sitting near the landing pads waiting to see if a helicopter would come in on its way to Bagram that had room for us. Several landed, but none of them had room for us, so we wound up spending another night in the tent next to the generators, sleeping on cots.

We spent the evening attempting to watch a movie on my laptop. Actually, watching the movie wasn’t the problem, it was the hearing part that was difficult. We were watching The Dirty Dozen of all things, when we heard and felt a large explosion. Due to the loud generator we couldn’t hear the warning siren, but we knew it was in-coming mortar fire. We made our way to the bunker and remained there for about 30 minutes before returning to the tent. Then, just like in Kandahar, as soon as we got into the tent another mortar round impacted near the FOB, so back out the bunker we went. We were later told that a total of 4 rounds were fired at the FOB, but none of them made it inside the wire.

Saturday we woke up early and made our way to the flight line so we wouldn’t miss our flight back to Bagram. While we were waiting I asked the Master Sergeant who had been our liaison if anybody was injured in the mortar attack. He stated that everybody was fine and that in his 11 months at the FOB they had been fired upon 30-35 times and a mortar round had never made it inside the wire. Never say never, right? Not 10 minutes later a mortar round impacted inside the wire approximately 200 meters from where we were standing, so off to the bunkers we went again. We only remained in the bunker for about 15 minutes because some helicopters were inbound and we were hoping they were our ride out. They weren’t, so we would have to wait another 8 hours before our ride to Bagram arrived.

After another 45 minute flight we were back at Bagram. I was very glad to be back “home”. I couldn’t wait to once again enjoy my lumpy bed, internet and cable service. I get Sunday off to unpack and get settled in before I return to work on Monday. I am scheduled to go out on another training mission in the not too distant future and am looking forward to it. Despite the generator noise and extremely thin cot, I really enjoyed the mission.

Well that is all for now. You’re probably all tired of reading this thing anyway. Upon my return to Bagram I was greeted with several pieces of mail and packages which was fantastic. I also have purchased a cell phone and have used it several times to call the family. I again thank all that contributed to the fund that was used to buy it. Time seems to be passing a bit quicker for me now and I hope the same is true for all of you. I am closing out my first month over here and hope that the passage of time picks up even more speed. I love and miss all of you and try not to worry too much. I am in good health and good spirits and hope all of you are the same.

Talk to all of you soon,
Keith

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #7 - WEEK 1 IN THEATER

2006-08-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #7 – WEEK 1 IN THEATER

The following is the seventh in a series of letters home from my nephew. We are publishing them so that we may all have a better understanding of the young men and women who are placing themselves in harms way to protect us, and our way of life. They have been following him through his training, and continuing into his deployment. We do so with his permission, and the concurrence of his wife and son.

S/SGT Keith is an army veteran and civilian police officer who joined the active reserves after the September 11th attacks. He and ten members of his MP unit have been called up for deployment to Afghanistan to train new Afghani police officers. All eleven are either police or corrections officers. This is the second letter from Afghanistan, describing his first week in theater. We are withholding his last name out of courtesy to his family and simply thank him for his service to our country.

Hello All, Aug 18, 2006

Well I have been here for a little over a week now and I am starting to get settled in. My living area, while small, does offer some privacy which is something that can be in short supply over here. As I mentioned last time, I have been buying small items here and there in an attempt to personalize my area just a bit.

Our first few days here were spent going to some briefings and in-processing. Some of the briefings that we had to attend were on subjects such as protocol, uniform requirements, health services, response to warning sirens, and mines. The last briefing was probably the most important of the briefings, seeing how there are 50,000 mines located around Bagram Air Base. The best advice that they can give is, “Don’t walk off the roads or sidewalks, and stay out of the grass.” After we were done with the briefings I had some time to walk around the base and find out where things are located. Bagram Air Base is a huge facility that is home to over 10,000 troops and support personnel. Then during the day the population swells even more as locals, who have been cleared, come on the base to work. They are paid between $3-$6 dollars a day for their efforts. Based on the number of locals walking around, they are happy for the opportunity to earn money.

The base itself offers more than I thought it would. There are numerous gyms, one of which is only 50 yards from where I live. There are also 4 chow halls, so when you get tired of one you can just walk to another. If the chow hall food doesn’t appeal to you all you have to do is walk to the Post Exchange area. Over there you can choose from Burger King, Subway, Pizza, Italian food, and Green Bean Coffee, which is like a Starbucks. The Post Exchange, or PX, is a good size and offers just about anything you might need. If the main PX doesn’t you can walk to the North PX and see if they have what you need up there. If you make the walk, which is about a mile from where I live, you can reward yourself with some Dairy Queen. War is hell.

Also by the PX are some merchants who sell local goods. They offer a wide variety of items like furs, rifles, jewelry, clothes, and of course rugs. On Fridays you can walk to the bazaar, which is set up near the main ECP or Entry Control Point. I walked up there, which again is about a mile walk, or you can catch the shuttle that runs up and down Disney Drive. On the way I passed by some bombed out buildings and the remains of an old Russian tank that sits in the middle of a mine field. The bazaar is rather large, containing dozens of merchants who are rather aggressive in their selling techniques. If you enter their area they will try to block the exit and start holding items up for you to buy. If you see something that you like, let the haggling begin.

Then we spent the next several days being brought up to speed on our duties, which will vary. I have already been named as a Team Leader for the Mobile Training Teams. These missions will involve traveling by air to FOB’s, or Forward Operating Bases, to train the personnel. These missions will last for several days, to several weeks, depending on the training needs. I will be going on a training mission in the near future to observe.

One day during the week I attended my first Fallen Comrade Ceremony. Last week 3 Americans were killed and the remains of all soldiers, American or Coalition, come through Bagram on their way home. Disney Drive, which is named in honor of a fallen soldier, as all things are here, was shut down to all vehicular traffic and everybody comes out and lines the sides of the road. Then a 998, which is like a Humvee with an open bed, drives down the road with a flag draped coffin in the back. As it passes civilians remove their hats, and military personnel salute. It was a rather somber event and I was glad to attend, but I hope I don’t have the opportunity to attend any more. It seems every time I “forget” where I am, something happens to remind me.

One of our training days involved going to the range. The range is located “outside the wire”, or off Bagram Air Base. This would be my first trip outside the wire as a member of a convoy. As we prepared, the reality of where I am was once again driven home. We climbed into an up-armored Humvee with your basic load, which is several hundred rounds of ammunition, not including the crew served weapons that top each vehicle. The best part of being in an up-armored Humvee is the air-conditioning. We moved out of the gate and entered Bagram Village almost immediately. I was immediately struck by the poverty. It was like going back 30 years in the blink of an eye. Also, there are people everywhere, but they know to get out of the way of a convoy, because we don’t stop for anything. We drive down the middle of the road as fast as we can safely do so. Vehicles also know to pull to the side of the road and allow us to pass. We exit Bagram Village and continue out into the county side. We pass by old buildings that have been bombed. Again, the scars of war are everywhere that you look. Little children run up to the side of the road from the tents that they live in and wave and motion for us to give them food or water. Some adults do the same, but others yell at us, or even spit as we pass by. Once we arrive at the range, sheep and goats are roaming in the area. The herders see us and immediately start banging long sticks on the ground to get the animals moving. We also fire a few rounds toward the mountains which gets them moving a bit faster.

The longer we stay in the area, the more the locals start to gather. This is amazing because we are in the middle of nowhere. There isn’t a habitable building for miles, and we are at the foot of the mountains. Apparently the locals gather to collect all the brass from the expended rounds which they will turn in for money. With all the .50 caliber rounds that we shot, someone is going to have a good pay day. After spending several hours out at the range we load up and convoy back to Bagram. Going through town I try to watch everybody, but it’s impossible. If an IED is on the side of the road, unless there is a big red arrow pointing at it, there is no way to see it because the streets are lined with garbage. The best sign is that the streets are very crowded with people. They say that if something is going to happen, many times the locals are aware of this and stay off the streets. Still, I am happy when we return to the safety of the air base.

Well that is all for now. I will send another update after I return from the training mission, as I am sure I will have much to talk about. Thanks to all who contributed money to the fund back home at work. It was unnecessary, but very much appreciated. I am going to use the money to purchase a cell phone. One of the merchants at the PX sells cell phones and calling cards for a Pakistani phone company. With it, I will be able to call home without having to wait to use a government phone, so again thanks to all.

I love and miss you all very much. I told myself that it didn’t matter whether I was away at training in the US, or if I was overseas. Gone is gone, regardless of the distance. Well, I was wrong. The miles do matter. Try not to worry too much about me. I am safe and plan on staying that way. I get the most comfort knowing that people are keeping my family in their thoughts. Talk to all of you soon.

Love
Keith

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #6 - ARRIVAL IN THEATER

2006-08-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #6 – ARRIVAL IN THEATER

The following is the sixth in a series of letters home from my nephew Keith. I am publishing them so that we may all have a better understanding of the young men and women who are placing themselves in harms way to protect us, and our way of life. They have been following him through his training, and will continue into his deployment. I do so with his permission, and the concurrence of his wife and son.S/SGT Keith is an army veteran and civilian police officer who joined the active reserves after the September 11th attacks. He and ten members of his MP unit have been called up for deployment to Afghanistan to train new Afghani police officers. All eleven are either police or corrections officers. This is the first letter from Afghanistan, describing his transit, arrival and assigned quarters. I am withholding his last name out of courtesy to his family and simply thank him for his service to our country.

Update #6 Aug 08, 2006

Hello All,

Let me start this off by saying that I have arrived in theater safe and sound as I’m sure most of you have already been made aware. It was quite an adventure that took me through several states, several countries, and 6 airplanes; but we made it. Those states included Texas, Maryland and Delaware. Then we proceeded through Germany, Qatar, and finally into Afghanistan.

The best of our stops was in Germany. I really enjoyed being back there, getting to enjoy some of the food, and of course, beer. We spent the night on a small army base not too far from Ramstein Air Force Base; in a warehouse that was set up to handle soldiers who are in transit. On the base was a small Kantina that served all the local favorites, and is owned by a German family. I was surprised at how much of the language I remembered, considering how many years it has been since I was stationed there.

After we left Germany our next stop was in Qatar before we moved onto Afghanistan. We flew to Kandahar Airfield which is in the southern portion of the country. Our intent was to remain there for only a short time while we waited to catch our final flight north to Bagram. While we were waiting our commander and another member of the detachment took the opportunity to meet with some of the people we will be working with down in Kandahar. While they were away our flight schedule changed and we were set to leave a few hours early. Obviously we could not leave two of our people behind, so I volunteered to stay behind and let our commander know what had occurred. Another member of the detachment also stayed behind with me as the rest of the detachment moved north. By the time our commander returned, there were no more flights going north for the night, so we had to remain in Kandahar.

I must say that when we first arrived in Kandahar, and I was walking into the building that acts as the terminal, I walked by a memorial that commemorates all who have fought and died during the war on terrorism; and also those who died on 9/11. When I entered the building that was the last stronghold of the Taliban, I immediately noticed how it had been scarred by war, and not just this war. I’m sure some of them were inflicted during the Russian invasion. I found myself feeling as though I should be quiet and respectful, almost like I was in a museum. After advising our commander of the situation, we were given a tour of the base, which is quite large. This portion of the country is no longer under the command of US forces, but has been turned over to NATO forces. As we toured the base I saw soldiers from countless other countries, and realized the enormity of this operation.

Shortly thereafter, we had some dinner and we were set up in quarters for the night. I was extremely tired. I probably hadn’t slept more than 3 hours at a time for 5 days, and was really looking forward to a good nights rest. Unfortunately, as many Generals have said, plans are fantastic, but the other guy gets a vote also. Well the other guy cast his vote at about 11:00 PM when he started lobbing mortars into the base. I didn’t hear the detonations, but I sure did hear the warning siren. We left our room and made our way to the bunkers until the “all clear” was sounded about 20 minutes later. We returned to our rooms and tried to fall back to sleep, only to have to return to the bunker after only 10 minutes, due to another volley of mortar shells that were inbound. This time we did hear the detonations as one impacted approximately 150 meters away from our bunker. Again, after about 20 minutes, and some return fire from the perimeter element, the “all clear” was sounded and it was back to bed. This is when I found out exactly how tired I was, because I fell asleep almost as my head hit the pillow. I would have thought that I would have lain in bed thinking about what had just happened, but apparently I was too tired to think about anything just then. I guess my body’s vote was to save it for the morning when I’m better rested.

The next day we were able to get 4 seats on an Air Force C-17, which is a large cargo plane, and made the final leg of our journey. We arrived in Bagram and were met by the rest of the detachment. We spent the rest of that day going to some briefings and moving into our new quarters. Now I know in conversation I have stated that I have my own room, but let me explain what I mean by that. I am living in a B Hut, which is basically a wood building that is housing 8 of us. The interior is separated into living areas by ¾ high walls that create some privacy. Everybody ends up with an area that is approximately 8 feet square. In that area I have my bed and a cabinet to hold my uniforms and other items. I went and purchased a rug, a fan, and a small television. We have access to cable television and internet in your individual area for a monthly fee, which I was more than happy to pay. Not sure how the wife feels about that though. I wish they made a television remote so I could change the channels at home all the way from here. I know she misses me doing that.

The next couple of days will include some more briefings, and we will begin on the job training so we can relieve a detachment of soldiers who are nearing the end of their deployment. I am looking forward to getting started as I feel time will pass faster once I am able to get into some sort of routine and start doing my job.

Well, that is all for now. I love and miss all of you and will forward another update when time permits. With internet access in my room it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Talk to all of you soon. Let the countdown begin!

Love
Keith

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #5

2006-08-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #5

The following is the fifth in a series of letters home from my nephew Keith. I am publishing them so that we may all have a better understanding of the young men and women who are placing themselves in harms way to protect us, and our way of life. They have been following him through his training, and will continue into his deployment. I do so with his permission, and the concurrence of his wife and son.

S/SGT Keith is an army veteran and civilian police officer who joined the active reserves after the September 11th attacks. He and ten members of his MP unit have been called up for deployment to Afghanistan to train new Afghani police officers. All eleven are either police or corrections officers. The unit is presently departing from a base in the Southwest, where they have been training with a Navy unit before shipping out. This letter was written after a 7 day leave to visit home, and prior to the communications blackout period while he transits to his assignment in Afghanistan. There will be a gap in this series during this blackout period, but will continue after he is established at his assigned location. I am withholding his last name out of courtesy to his family and simply thank him for his service to our country.

Hello All, 7/31/06

Well life down here has been somewhat mundane since our return from leave. Part of the reason we were able to get 7 days of leave was because our commander agreed that we would act as assistant instructors at the Detainee Operations training area for a week when we returned. The thinking being that our mission involves a training aspect so we would benefit from the experience. The real reason was that our commander, an E-7 (Sergeant First Class) went over and around a Major to a Colonel to get us the 7 days of leave, so the Major with the bruised ego was trying to get even.

The first day that we went out to the training area we spent a few hours in a classroom, by ourselves, waiting while the soldiers that we were supposed to assist train attended some classes. When it came time to conduct practical exercises, to practice what they had been taught, we were distributed among the trainers to assist with the training tasks. We did this for about 2 hours and then we returned to our private classroom to wait for the afternoon group, and do the same thing. If this is the Major’s idea of “punishment”, I can handle it. The next day we were sent to one of the weapons ranges to assist the instructors with shotgun training. We arrived early in the morning, 0630, and helped set up sun shades over bleachers and the ammunition point. We also removed the shotgun shells from the boxes, just to make it easier to hand them to the soldiers. Then we had to wait for the training company to arrive, which they finally did around 0930. When the range opened for firing we were all assigned an area, I was assigned to the range tower. The range tower is about 30 feet high, and contains a PA system. The person in the tower controls the actions of the firing line, and gives the firing line all of its directions. So I spent the next 3 ½ hours or so up in the tower acting as a second pair of eyes as to what was happening on the firing line. Oh, by the way, did I mention that the tower has air conditioning? I sure hope the Major that made me spend the day out here has air conditioning in his office.

The next day we were scheduled off with our final day to assist with training to be Friday. When Friday rolled around we didn’t have any transportation back out to the Detainee Ops training facility. I called one of the instructors at 0700 to advise him of this. When he got back in touch with me it was about 0900. This instructor, who thought it was silly to have us out there so close to deployment, told me that he would advise his boss at 1200 that he just got the message. One of the benefits, at least in this instance, to being in the middle of the desert is that cell phones don’t always work well. With that, the instructor told us to enjoy the day, and use the time as we saw fit.

The rest of our time here has been spent taking care of some last minute arrangements and getting packed. We are limited in how much gear we can take, so packing becomes very important. Every time you unpack your bags and repack them, there seems to be more room. I’m not sure how that works, but it does. Also, I have already limited myself on the number of bags that I can bring, because one of mine is my guitar. Wonder if I can fit the M-4 rifle in with the guitar? Imagine the look on the face of the TSA worker that opens up that guitar case and finds an M-4 rifle.

Now that all the training and administrative work is done, it is time to move forward. I am anxious and nervous at the same time. I have many questions that I will obviously not get answers to until we arrive in theater. Some of those include; what will living conditions be like? Will I enjoy the duties that I am assigned? How often will I be able to communicate with my family? And on and on and on. The time down here has been long and uncomfortable. Maybe they do that on purpose so you actually look forward to leaving and going overseas. Or am I giving the Army too much credit?

I do not know when I will be able to send out another update. Without getting into specifics, we are set to deploy in the not too distant future, and travel to Afghanistan could take some time. Be assured that when I have the opportunity to send an update out, I will. This communication “blackout” period will be especially difficult for my family, who are used to hearing from me daily. I know that you all will watch out for them while I am not able.

I will talk to all of you soon. As always, thank you for your continued support of me and my family. I love and miss you all.

Keith

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #4

2006-07-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #4

The following is the fourth in a series of letters home from my nephew Keith. I am publishing them so that we may all have a better understanding of the young men and women who are placing themselves in harms way to protect us, and our way of life. They have been following him through his training, and will continue into his deployment. I do so with his permission, and the concurrence of his wife and son.

S/SGT Keith is an army veteran and civilian police officer who joined the active reserves after the September 11th attacks. He and ten members of his MP unit have been called up for deployment to Afghanistan to train new Afghani police officers. All eleven are either police or corrections officers. The unit is presently departing from a base in the Southwest, where they have been training with a Navy unit before shipping out. This letter will be the final correspondence detailing his training experiences. After a short leave, he will transit to Afghanistan for his deployment. There will be a gap in this series during his transition, but will continue after he is established at his assigned location. I am withholding his last name out of courtesy to his family and simply thank him for his service to our country.

Hello All, July 16, 2006

Well, the end of the training cycle has finally arrived. We concluded our training on Friday, July 14th and also found out that we are getting a week of leave prior to deployment. All in all I would say that it was a good day.

Our final training tasks were CQM, Close Quarters Marksmanship and Urban Operations. We had been told by others who had been through the training that it was enjoyable and that the instructors were professional, and they were not mistaken. The CQM training took place out at a range about 30 miles from where we are housed. There are two ways to get to the training area. One is to take the highways which is not the most direct route and can take you 45 minutes to an hour. The other way, the way we chose of course, was to take a tank trail that cuts through the desert and shortens the trip by about 15 minutes. A tank trail is nothing more that a 30 foot wide gravel road that is all chewed up by the tracks on the tanks. Now imagine riding down this trail at 45 mph in an 11 passenger Dodge van. The ride was bone jarring to say the least, but we did have fun with it.

When we arrived out at the training area on Day 1, we were given a brief class on marksmanship techniques that included standing, kneeling, and aggressing the target. (Walking towards it in other words.) These techniques are different from the normal qualification course where you shoot from either the foxhole or prone position. After the class it was time to do some shooting and it was fun. These instructors were able to put over 100 soldiers through the range in about 3 hours. This was quite different from the Rifle Qualification Range and 9MM Range that took all day long. The difference, I believe, being that those ranges were run by civilian contractors and the CQM range was run by Army personnel.

After the range we were given a class and demonstration of the Army’s method for room and building clearing. Then we were broken down into groups. Our Commander was able to talk to the instructors and have all of us put into a group of our own. Since our training began we have been split up and have not had the opportunity to train together. We were then released for the day and we took the tank trail back.

On Day 2 we hit the tank trail early in the morning and headed out to the range. The range area, which is located at the base of some mountains, consisted of a small village containing several small building and one large compound type building. The day started off with us practicing the room clearing techniques in “glass houses”. These are houses made of stakes and engineer tape that simulate rooms and doorways. We practiced in these for several hours before we moved to the actual “village”. We again practiced in the “village” before we were given blank ammunition. On this go around the “village” was full of role players who shot at us or just got in the way. The training went well and I enjoyed it very much, despite the 100 plus degree temperatures.

The next rotation was to develop a plan on our own and assault the compound building. We developed our plan and off we went down range to secure and search the compound. Before we even reached the compound we came under “mortar” attack and sniper fire. Our plan worked well and we didn’t sustain any “casualties” during the training. When we were done for the day our instructor was very complimentary of our performance. I was very pleased with our training because it also gave us the chance to grow as a team.

The next portion of our training was the Urban Operations task. This is another exercise that is meant to bring all of the previous training together into one large scale mission. That mission is to cordon off an entire village and conduct building searches looking for weapons, ammunition and HVTs, or High Value Targets. The mission requires a company sized element. One platoon sends out Observation Teams to collect intelligence. Then the rest of the platoon moves into position to secure the routes in and out of the village. The other platoons make up the search teams, the casualty collection point, and the detention area. I was assigned to one of the observation points. We positioned ourselves on a 20 foot high berm about 100 meters northeast of the “village” and watched for anything unusual. Then once the search teams moved in we had the best seats in the house to watch the show, and what a show it was. The “village” consisted of approximately 20 buildings, and over 50 role players. Anything you can think of that these role players could do to make things difficult on the troops, they did. It was a good 2 days of training and each operation into the village showed the improvement of the entire element.

At the end of the day we took part in our final AAR, or After Action Review. The Army has an AAR after every training exercise to discuss what happened and how the training could be better. Now in theory, this is a good concept, but after a long day in the hot sun all you want to do is take off the 50 pounds of gear and hit the showers. But we made it through the last one without any problems, even though the instructor leading the AAR broke the all-time HOOAH record.

Well it’s time to put this thing to rest. My next update won’t come until after I return from some leave. When I get back here we will have 7 days before we deploy to Afghanistan. I look forward to seeing all of you when I get home.

Love and miss you all
Keith

HOW SOON WE FORGET

2006-07-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

HOW SOON WE FORGET

The ongoing Israeli response to the continual attacks by Hezbollah has caused the left wing apologists in the United States and the anti-Semitic leadership and media in Europe to demand a cease fire by Israel, while claiming that the Israeli response is “disproportionate”. Forgotten is the fact that Israel, at the request of the United Nations, withdrew from the buffer zone in southern Lebanon, while the UN did nothing to stop Hezbollah from moving into the area, effectively taking control of southern Lebanon. The United Nations, European Union, and other enablers did nothing to implement the UN resolution demanding that Hezbollah disarm. No one took any action to stop Syria from importing Iranian weapons, and then shipping them to Hezbollah. They couldn’t even bring themselves to criticize Hezbollah for six years of firing almost daily rocket attacks into civilian areas of Israel. The upshot is that Israel has decided to clean out the rats nest on their own, after the recent significant increase in deadly attacks by the terrorists in this noxious organization.

If we, as Americans, had any sense of loyalty to our own dead and crippled, we would be cheering Israel for taking this long overdue action, while offering any assistance they may request. Regardless of your feelings about any other policy or position taken by Israel, and whether or not you agree with the U.S government’s ongoing support of Israel, this particular action should instill a feeling of gratitude by us toward Israel. And if you have to ask why, then you have forgotten, like many other Americans, who it is that is being targeted by the Israeli armed forces. Allow me to remind you.

April 18, 1983 – Hezbollah terrorists bombed the United States Embassy in Beirut. Sixty three people were murdered, including 17 Americans, and hundreds wounded or crippled. May I point out that an Embassy is the sovereign territory of the nation it represents. Therefore, attacking an embassy is an act of war.

October 23, 1983 – The United States Marine barracks in Beirut was bombed by Hezbollah. Two hundred and twenty Marines, eighteen Naval personnel, and three Army soldiers were murdered that day, and another 60 were wounded or crippled.

June 25, 1996 – The Khobar Towers residence, housing United States military personnel in Saudi Arabia, was bombed by Hezbollah. Nineteen Air Force personnel were murdered, and three hundred and seventy two were wounded or crippled.

Hezbollah has also been implicated in the targeted murders of other Americans in the Middle East. If they were a nation, we would have every right to declare war on them. However, we follow the rule of law, while Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations do not. We must understand that Hezbollah is to Lebanon what Al-Qaida was to Afghanistan. They have suborned the government, intimidated the Lebanese populace and military, and have been the de-facto rulers of southern Lebanon for six years. That they are a threat to Israel should be obvious. That they are also a threat to America has been forgotten.

Those who say this is not our fight, and Israel should show “restraint”, have a severe case of selective memory. Hezbollah has murdered no less than two hundred and seventy- seven Americans, and wounded or crippled more than four hundred and thirty others. It seems to me that Israel is doing what we should have done twenty-three years ago. Instead of condemnation, we should be sending the Israeli Defense Forces Thank-You cards.

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #3

2006-07-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

LETTERS FROM A SOLDIER #3

The following is the third in a series of letters home from my nephew Keith. I am publishing them so that we may all have a better understanding of the young men and women who are placing themselves in harms way to protect us, and our way of life. They will follow him through the remainder of his training, and into his deployment. I do so with his permission, and the concurrence of his wife and son.

S/SGT Keith is an army veteran and civilian police officer who joined the active reserves after the September 11th attacks. He and 10 members of his MP unit have been called up for deployment to Afghanistan to train new Afghani police officers. All eleven are either police or corrections officers. The unit is presently at a base in the Southwest, training with a Navy unit before shipping out. This series are his letters home detailing his training experiences, and will continue through his deployment. I am withholding his last name out of courtesy to his family and simply thank him for his service to our country

July 8, 2006
Hello All,

Well, another training task has come to an end, which means we are that much closer to completing our training. We spent the last several days encountering the ECP/FOB, Entry Control Point/Forward Operating Base lane. This training is, to an extent, meant to bring all of the previous training tasks together in one large scale live fire exercise. The first day was spent covering some classes, death by power point as I like to call it. Then we went out to the training range and did a walk through of all the different rotations we would have to man for the next 2 days. The first station was controlling the entrance to the ECP, which included tasks such as vehicle and personnel search, and providing the manpower to properly protect the FOB should it come under attack, which of course it will since that is the whole point of the range.

The second station was the CCP, or Casualty Collection Point. The job of the CCP is to respond to anywhere in the ECP area and recover casualties, quickly access their injuries and apply life saving measures. Then you place the injured soldiers on a litter and carry them back to the CCP where they receive more care while awaiting the arrival of a simulated MEDEVAC. The next station was the QRF, or Quick Reaction Force. This is an element that is mounted in Humvees and responds to the main wall of the ECP and assist in repelling any attacks. The fourth and final station is the Reserve Force. These are the troops that are not manning any of the other stations and are called upon to assist any of the previously mentioned stations should they become overwhelmed. Considering this is training there shouldn’t be any doubt that this would certainly occur. As I said earlier, this training is meant to marry all the previous training. The only problem was that the unit that we were attached to had not yet received that training. Another problem was that the unit is a Head Quarters Unit. That means “paper pushers”, supply personnel, cooks, and the like. Not that I have anything against the soldiers who perform these duties; after all we are all infantry first and foremost, but lets be honest. Also they were very “rank heavy”, lots of higher ranking NCOs and Officers.

We were split into 4 platoons and luckily the 11 of us were able to stay together, something that has been rare during our training. On day 2 our first task was to man the CCP for this blank fire exercise. Everybody took their positions, the ECP was opened and the fun began. After the main gate dealt with some role players, explosives were detonated to simulate a VBIED, or Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device attack. After that, more explosives to simulate RPG and Indirect Fire, followed by the appearance of targets down range and the “fight” was on. It wasn’t long before the calls poured into the CCP for litter teams down range. The “fight” lasted approximately an hour and we had to recover 16 casualties with only 3 litter teams. Needless to say, we were exhausted.

Our next assignment was to man the ECP itself; and I was assigned, once again as RTO. Apparently the HQ Unit found out I was a cop and decided to again exploit my radio skills. This of course was fine by me because only the RTO and Commander don’t have to hit the ground when the explosions start; we are allowed to stay up on one knee. Doesn’t sound like a big perk, but when you’re wearing all that gear, having just carried 6 litter patients, and are 41 years old, believe me, it’s a perk. Our scenario began much like the first, but we came under a mortar attack to kick off the “fight”. The instructors quickly made the Commander a casualty leaving me to deal with a soft spoken Lieutenant, not the best combination during a fire fight, simulated or not. This is when I finally realized that this training was more about leadership than anything else. This will become clearer shortly, so stay tuned.

Our next stop was the Reserve Area where we spent about 20 minutes before being called up into the “fight”. The higher-ups had discovered that things went much smoother when they called for reserves as soon as the shooting started. I luckily was not sent forward and was able to eat a quick meal before our next rotation. Our final stop was the QRF, but since there were too many of us and not enough seats in the Humvees, the extras went to the ASP, Ammo Supply Point and aided in keeping the ammo flowing forward. By the time the training day was over we had gone through 20,000 rounds of ammunition and I had not fired a shot.

On day 3 we were to repeat the actions from day 2, only do it better and with live ammunition. The cycle of rotations was to stay the same, with us going from CCP to ECP to Reserve and ending with QRF. I was assigned as the Commander’s full-time RTO. The CCP ran very smooth and much better than day 2. Then we moved to the ECP where the instructor again “killed” the Commander. About 20 minutes later the same instructor told me to stop doing the Lieutenants job for him or he would “kill” me too. Five minutes later, I was “dead”. Next it was to the Reserve area where I again acted as the Commanders RTO and therefore didn’t have to respond forward into the “fight”. Our final assignment was the QRF. Finally the instructor didn’t “kill” the Commander, but he “killed” me as soon as I got out of the Humvee. See what I mean about this exercise being more geared towards the leadership.

All in all it was good training that demanded a lot, both mentally and physically. The days were long, going from 4AM, until after 8PM each day, so we were all glad when it came to a conclusion. The next and final 6 days of our training will cover CQM, Close Quarters Marksmanship, and Urban Operations, which promises to be fun. I will send another update when we complete those tasks.

I look forward to seeing you all soon. Hopefully we will get some leave once we have completed our training and before we deploy to Afghanistan.

I love and miss you all
Keith

KEITH LETTERS HOME #2

2006-07-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

Keith Letters Home #2

S/SGT Keith is an army veteran and civilian police officer who joined
the active reserves after the September 11th attacks. He and 10 members
of his MP unit have been activated for deployment to Afghanistan to
train new Afghani police officers. The unit is presently at a base in
the Southwest, training with a Navy unit before shipping out. The
series will be his letters home detailing his training experiences, and
continuing through his deployment. We withhold his last name out of
courtesy to his family and thank him for his service to our country.

July 3, 2006

Hello Everyone,

I can’t remember when I last sent you all an update, so I will cover the last 10 training days and that should be plenty of info.

We started our final phase of training and started off with TCP, or Traffic Control Point Operations. The purpose of a TCP is to, obviously, control traffic, but it is used more as a check point. The task was to establish this check point and control the flow of contraband in and out of not only our check point, but also the nearby village that was populated with role players. The training lasted for 3 days with the last day consisting of a practical exercise. From the moment we established the check point the scenarios started. I was assigned as the NCO in charge of the entry point nearest the village, and I loved it. It gave me a chance to use my brain, which the Army doesn’t always allow you to do. It was our mission to handle the “villagers” as they approached asking for assistance, taking photographs, trying to steal our supplies, and smuggle weapons or explosives through our point. Luckily, we were able to stop the influx of all contraband, much to the dismay of our instructors. Finally, they “killed” me by sniper fire in an attempt to disrupt our operation, but it didn’t work. Another member of our detachment, who is also a cop, took over and we moved right along.

At the conclusion of our training the instructors advised us that they had been trying to “kill” us all day long, but we weren’t giving them the opportunity. All in all it was good training and I enjoyed it very much. I especially enjoyed the chance to interact with the role players and have to think on my feet and adapt to the situation.

Immediately following the TCP training we moved into Convoy Operations which is, at minimum a 7 day cycle. As with all training we started off in the classroom before moving out in the desert to put the “battle drills” into action. Covered in the class were such things as, respond to small arms fire, road blocks, recovering downed vehicles, recovering personnel, communications, and of course, respond to IEDs. We spent the next 2 days practicing these drills before moving to the practical exercise. During the exercise we were presented with 9 scenarios while traversing an 8 mile course. Needless to say, the fun never stopped. Again, we all really enjoyed this training, and lets face it, this is an important training topic. I believe that approximately 85% of the casualties in Iraq are due to IEDs and Convoy Ops. Good thing that we’re going to Afghanistan.

After 3 days of that we moved into the live fire phase of Convoy Ops. The Army sure has changed, not too long ago the Army never would of thought of letting soldiers train and move under live fire. This cycle was to last 4 days, with the final 3 days spent on the live fire range. This again, was some very good training. I was assigned as the radio operator after the company we were attending the training with learned that I was a cop. We then spent 3 days moving up and down the live fire range executing the battle drill we had learned while the gunners in the Humvee turrets laid down massive amounts of suppressive fire.

On the final day the instructors decided to make me a casualty. The guys were so busy asking me what reports to send up on the radio, even though I was “unconscious”, that they forgot to put me of the Medevac. I told them afterwards that if that really happens my wife will initiate a full investigation into what went on and they’ll all end up on CNN.

Today, July 3rd, we spent the morning cleaning our weapons and the vehicles that we used. Then in the afternoon we moved under cover of completely unauthorized civilian clothes to the hotel of our Unit Manager. Once we arrived at the pool he treated us to grilled streaks, chicken, brats, and burgers. Who says Officers are no fun!?

As of today I believe that we have 10 training days left. After that comes validation for deployment, and hopefully a pass or some leave. I will keep you all posted on those developments as the become more clear.

Well that is all for now and I will send another e-mail when I get the chance. Personally I would rather train everyday so that I can move onto the next portion of this deployment. As you all are aware this time spent training doesn’t count towards the year that we have to do in theater. I love and miss all of you terribly, and can’t wait till I get the chance to see all of you. Also, I continue to be moved beyond words by the support shown to my family. When I get home, the drinks are on me!

Love and miss you all.
Keith

Letter #1 From Keith

2006-06-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

As a support service to family, friends and interested readers, I will post letters from my nephew Keith from time to time.

Brief background - Keith is an Army veteran who joined a suburban Chicago police department after his military service. After the September 11th attacks, he joined the Army Reserves, and was assigned to an MP unit. He and ten others from his Unit are now at an Army training base in the Southwest United States, undergoing training before deployment to Afghanistan. Because of his police background, Keith is being used as an instructor during this training. He was recently promoted to Staff Sergeant, hence the reference to his initiation.

Keith is the youngest of five boys, and is married to Kim. They have one son, Jimmy.

Hello All, 6/17/06

I know it’s only been a few days since you heard from me, but we have a free day today so I figured that I would take advantage of that. We completed the Detainee Ops phase yesterday with a day long practical exercise. It was our task to run a Detainee Camp, Camp Outlaw, for approximately 10 hours. They even fill the camp with role players who dress and act as detainees. Many of the role players were the same that participated in our riot training exercise.

Everything that could go wrong in a detainee camp went wrong throughout the day. This obviously is designed to manufacture stress, which for the Navy personnel that we have been training with, it did. They had to deal with everything from minor problems, to a full out riot that lasted over an hour. It was actually pretty funny. They were throwing sponge grenades, plastic bottles, tennis balls, water balloons, and at one point, a plastic rat. During the riot I took cover in the guard shack and ate my MRE lunch.

We, again, acted as assistant instructors for the Navy people, and were there to give them guidance if they needed it, and boy did they ever need it. But when all was said and done, they didn’t do too badly considering none of them have experience either in law enforcement or corrections.

Needless to say though, I am very glad that this phase is over. Our Brigade Commander, Brigadier General XXX and Brigade Sergeant Major, Sergeant Major XXX, were down here today. They came down to observe some of our training, and took some time to talk with each of us. Kind of a long trip to make just for the 11 of us, don’t you think? But it was a nice gesture, and they had kind words for all of us. Our next phase which starts on Monday is Urban Warfare, which should be fun. Tomorrow I have to make up Land Navigation training that I missed when I had to attend that Advocate training. I hope it isn’t too hot since this is Dismounted Land Navigation, on foot in other words.(ha-ha)

My eyes are back to normal, thank God. For those of you who didn’t know, I was having some difficulty with my vision after being hit with the OC, or pepper spray. My vision was blurry and it wasn’t getting better after 4 days, so I went to the Troop Medical Center. They think, and I agree, that it was just taking time for my eyes to recover since it is so dry down here. They gave me some drops and those really seem to help. I was a bit nervous about the blurriness since as I told the nurse, all I have is my eyesight and my sense of humor, and I’m not that funny.

I tried burning my first DVD with the laptop the other night, and it seemed to work. It contains some brief footage of the night fire M-4 qualification range, which I thought Jimmy would get a kick out of. It also contains some footage of people at the decon station after being sprayed with the OC. Finally there is some footage of my promotion and brief hazing. If you listen, not to the profanity, you can hear me doing Richard Gere from “An Officer and a Gentlemen” while I am being sprayed with the hose doing push-ups.

Well that is all for now. As always I will continue to keep you all updated on my progress and hopefully soon conclusion to this training. Again I must say how grateful I am to all who continue to keep my family in their thoughts. The support that you have shown through your actions and phone calls gives me great comfort. I hope that when I get home, it’s possible for me to properly thank all of you.

Talk to all of you soon
Love and miss you all.
Keith

DRESS CODES - THEN AND NOW

2006-06-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

DRESS CODES – THEN AND NOW

When I entered the business world in the 1960’s, there was not much discussion about dress codes in American offices. Men were expected to wear white shirts and ties, with a business suit. Women wore dresses, or skirts and blouses. These were the expected norms, and accepted by most office workers.

The youth movements of the time began to infiltrate this stratified world with our female coworkers demanding that pant suits be accepted attire for them. The advent of the mini skirt brought another ripple into the business world, as companies began to define how short a skirt could be and still be acceptable. It was then a short trip to the once a month casual day, and then the spread of the ‘Casual Friday’ concept. By the time I left the world of office attire, ‘Business Casual’ was accepted by most corporate entities, including the most conservative banks and investment houses.

As a supervisor and manager, the most contentious discussions I had with employees concerned dress code provisions and penalties. To be honest, I never treated this part of management responsibility as a life or death matter. My sometimes cavalier attitude caused me more grief from senior management than most employees could have ever imagined. When discussing approved skirt lengths for instance, one senior manager said that four inches above the knee was the shortest a skirt should be. I first asked how that could be measured without risking a sexual harassment complaint. My second comment was to ask if the four inch rule would apply to a female employee who was 5 ft 10 inches tall with a 40 inch inseam, as well as a 4 foot 10 inch employee with a 26 inch inseam. You don’t have to be a math major to understand that an arbitrary standard length would have a significantly different result on these two examples. I was accused of not taking the matter seriously, to which I admit guilt.

The last discussions I sat in on were to determine the acceptability of jeans with strategically placed cuts and rips. I suggested issuing non form fitting jumpsuits to all employees, in standard gray pinstripe. A small company logo over the breast pocket, and a rank insignia on the left sleeve identifying their job classification would complete the look. I was invited to leave if I had nothing constructive to add. That ended my participation in dress code meetings.

What brought this to mind was a comparison of penalties for dress code violations. In most cases, employees found to be out of compliance were sent home to change. This could result in an unapproved absence, and some unpaid time off. Repeated offenders risked unpaid suspensions, ranging from one to five days, depending on the frequency of wearing inappropriate attire. Termination was not part of the discipline code, unless other work related issues were also involved.

I have recently noted news stories about students being sent home for clothing deemed inappropriate or offensive, and in some cases, suspension from school has been enforced. By and large, in all of Western society, the most severe punishment in either business or school for dress code violations is to be sent home. Embarrassing, but not life threatening.

By comparison, dress code violations in Moslem countries, and even in Western countries with large Moslem communities, can indeed be a matter of life and death. In particular, women who violate Islamic dress codes do so at great risk. I would call your attention to some of the more recent incidents involving violations of Islamic dress codes.

At least fourteen young girls were burned to death in Saudi Arabia when attempting to flee their burning boarding school. Since the fire occurred in the middle of the night, after they had gone to bed, they were not wearing the required long robes and head scarves. The religious police forced them back into the fire, where they perished.

In Afghanistan, women who dared to wear nail polish had their fingernails ripped out by religious police. Female doctors, teachers and other professionals who did not wear the burqa while at work were arrested and shot. The Taliban eventually solved that issue by forbidding these women from working at all.

In Indonesia, a supposedly moderate Moslem nation, three Christian schoolgirls were beheaded for attending a school that allowed them to wear a uniform where the skirt showed part of their lower legs. The girls were not Moslem, but the beheaders were, so I guess the Islamic rules applied.

In Iraq, two members of a men’s soccer team, and their coach, were dragged into the street and shot. The crime was wearing shorts after a soccer practice. At least we know that the penalties for dress code violations for men can be as sever as those imposed on women.

In Taliban ruled Afghanistan, men were beaten, imprisoned and flogged for shaving.

Moslem areas in Nigeria erupted in rioting, leaving over 200 people dead, when a world wide beauty contest was scheduled in that nation. Apparently, the possibility of seeing a woman in a bathing suit was enough of an incitement that killing and looting was considered a proper response by local Moslems.

As noted above, in the case of the three Christian school girls, one must adhere to Islamic dress codes even if not a Moslem. This is not only true in Moslem nations, but can now be observed in Western countries as well.

France, Norway, Sweden and Australia have experienced a frightening rise in gang rapes committed by young Moslem men, against native European women. Apparently, by not wearing appropriate clothing and head scarves, even non-Muslim women in Western countries are fair game to gangs of Muslim men, since they dress like “whores” by showing bare legs, arms and heads.

“Honor” killings in England, Germany, and other European nations have increased, as Moslem fathers and brothers are killing female family members for not wearing traditional, accepted clothing.

In Germany, female teachers have been attacked by Moslem students for not wearing head coverings in class, even though the teachers are not Moslem.

It would appear that the differences between accepted standards of punishment for something as simple as a violation of a dress code carry a much more severe penalty by the followers of Islam than most other religions and societies. Could it be, just as a matter of discussion, that there really is a clash of cultures, rather than the simple misunderstandings that the media keeps repeating? Could it also be that while Moslems continue to berate Westerners for their lack of understanding and respect for Islam, that the followers of Islam have no intention of reciprocating by understanding and respecting the culture of the West?

While we have not seen the gang rapes and honor killings experienced in Western Europe and Australia, the increasing radicalism of some Moslem communities in the United States, fostered by the fundamentalist clerics in certain mosques, is causing me great apprehension that we too could experience this trend. And I have not heard any specific condemnation of these trends from the mainstream Islamic organizations in America. Why the silence by them, and the media that supports them? As my Grandfather once said, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”. I hope that the death penalty for dress code violations is not something we should prepare for.

Tom Glennon

LIBERALS, LANGUAGE AND RACISM

2006-05-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

LIBERALS, LANGUAGE AND RACISM

Many of our most liberal Democrats in the Senate have voted against an act to make English the official language of the United States. My own state, Iowa, has had this same debate in every legislative session for several years. While I certainly agree that immigrants who wish to become citizens of the United States must learn English, the debate over language looks kind of silly to me. My sixty years of speaking only a single language (3 years of Latin in High School do not count unless you have a perverse need to read Caesars Commentaries on the Gallic Wars in the original), and the many places I have lived in over the years, may have given me a little different perspective.

I am a bit bemused by those native born Americans who say that immigrants should speak English before they are allowed to enter the United States. If that were true in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, many of us would have been born in Europe. Certainly, my German Grandparents would have been excluded, and my Irish Great Grandfather would have been turned away also. He spoke a form of English, but with such a heavy brogue, only another Irisher could understand him. However, they all managed to learn English, meet the health and residency requirements, and pass the history and civics tests required for them to become citizens.

While growing up in Chicago, and living there during my early adulthood, I lived in and visited many ethnic neighborhoods where European languages were more commonly heard on the street than English. Polish in Logan Square, and German in Andersonville. Friends in Little Italy chatting in their native tongue, with Yiddish spoken a few blocks away in Rogers Park. While many of the older folk never mastered English ( thereby giving up the opportunity to become citizens), their children grew up speaking the language of their parents native land at home, but used English at school, work, while shopping, and most other places. In turn, their children could barely understand the Grandparents, and spoke the original language not at all. In other words, English became the common language on its own merit.

While thinking about the current discourse about immigration, may I take just a moment to tell all of our politicians to stop saying we are a nation of immigrants. This is factually incorrect, misleading, and obfuscates the discussion. According to the Census Bureau, over eighty percent of American citizens were born in the United States. We are a nation of the descendants of immigrants. That includes me with my Irish and German family roots; and my wife, with her Cherokee roots.

I certainly think most rational people would agree that English is one of the most difficult languages to learn. It has the largest vocabulary, by far, of any spoken tongue on earth. We have about 60,000 words that are in daily use, and over 400,000 conversational words in total. Add to that another 250,000 technical and scientific words, for a total of over 650,000. An American six year old has a working vocabulary of 5,000 to 6,000 words, more than some languages have in their entirety. However, it is our usage of English that makes it truly difficult. To be honest, some aspects of English lack rationality. Rules are made to be broken, yet exceptions prove the rule.

The reason I mention the Liberals in the title of this piece is that the opposition to making English our official language comes primarily from Liberals. That is certainly the case in Washington, as well as Iowa. I think I may have identified the underlying reason for this, and I halfway agree with Harry Reid. He said the bill making English the designated language of the United States was racist. I agree that racism may be part of the issue, but the racism that is showing its ugly head is in the Liberal opposition to the act. I believe the Liberals do not think the illegal immigrants now in America, and the millions more who would gain access to America through the Senate sponsored Immigration bill, are not intelligent enough to learn English. In other words, Senator Reid is essentially saying that Spanish speaking immigrants are not as capable as an American born six year old. I, for one, do not agree with the Senator and his racist enablers in the Congress.

This is a claim I do not make lightly. However, previous generations of immigrants had to survive in a country that used only English in all of its governmental activities. Election ballots, drivers’ license tests, public school classes, state and local publications and every other aspect of official life were in English. There were no provisions for Polish, Italian, Greek or German versions of governmental materials. Yet today, many of these activities are conducted in English and Spanish, as well as other languages on a more limited basis. It would appear that our Liberal friends are either more solicitous of the needs of Spanish speaking people than those who spoke European languages, or they fear that these newcomers to the United States lack the capacity to learn English. Since Liberals lay claim to the idea that we are all equal, this use of Spanish cannot be because of preferential treatment. Therefore, our Liberal compatriots must think Spanish speakers are unable to learn English, and require special assistance to integrate into American society. I find this attitude both demeaning and disrespectful.

As I pointed out earlier in this piece, I fully understand that English is not an easy language to learn, but I think anyone who desires citizenship should have both the desire and ability to communicate in the language of our culture. By the way, I am speaking of American English. The English themselves will be the first to tell you that we don't speak English, we speak American. And so it starts.

Reasons why the English language is so hard to learn. With thanks to those friends who provided many of these examples.

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it wastime to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was ruled invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the two doors to close them.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger. Neither is there an apple or a pine in a pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England, nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies; while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. While on the subject of food, I do not want to get into a discussion of hotdogs. That would be an essay of its own.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth?
One goose, two geese. So one moose, two meese.
One mouse, two mice. So one blouse, two blice, right ?
One index, two indices? Where did that one come from?

Doesn't it seem odd that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is the leftover an odd or an end? If the teacher taught, why didn't the preacher praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Mobile means moveable, and immobile means non-moveable. Flammable means it will catch fire, but so does inflammable. You have to go to something that is non-inflammable before you are safe from fire. And why is abbreviated such a long word?

Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what other language do people recite at plays and play at recitals? We drive on Parkways, and park on driveways. Ship cargo by truck and truck cargo by ship? And neither pertains to a car. And is this the same truck we don't have to put up with? We have noses that run and feet that smell. How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.That is why we can only see the stars when they are out, but when the lights are out, we can't see anything. And I think the lights may be dim, if not completely out, in Washington.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK FROM MY GRANDFATHER
"YOU CAN'T CONTROL WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT YOU, BUT YOU CAN CONTROL IF WHAT THEY SAY IS TRUE."

T. J. (Tom) Glennon

2006-05-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

I MET A HERO

This past Saturday, I spent a beautiful Spring day at our local Boy Scout Reservation, Camp Mitigwa, near Boone Iowa.

As a volunteer with the Scouts since my transfer to Iowa in 1988, I can honestly say that some of the best days I have experienced as a parent and grandparent have been at Scout Camp. This day was no exception.

The Scouts were holding an open house at the camp, with tours and displays showing all of the activities and areas available to Scouts and their families. This particular event was aimed primarily at the families of Cub Scout aged boys, and the tours were set up accordingly. The reproduction of Lewis and Clarks Fort Clatsop featured pan fried bread for the attendees to sample, and examples of the equipment and clothing used by that expedition for them to try. The blockhouse at Fort Madison fired its cannon every hour. Bug juice and snacks were available at each station, so the children would stay hydrated and energetic during their walk through the extended forest areas. As with all Scout activities, especially Cub Scout events, this was for the entire family, and families are who attended.

My participation was to set up a model campsite, complete with tents, cots, sleeping bags, and the attendant equipment necessary for an outdoor weekend. As part of the demonstration, I laid a small fire in the fire ring, and had long camp forks for the youngsters to make Smores. Marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers are a staple of Scouting, as Smores are the preferred nighttime snack for Scouts of all ages. It was great fun helping the younger visitors make this all American staple, and especially so when I saw 8 year old “big” brothers making a Smore for their younger sisters, and equally “big” sisters helping their younger siblings. Some of the parents had never had one before, and were amazed that their children seemed to instinctively know how to create this treat. We even had an eighty year old grandmother try her first ever Smore, proudly made by her 7 year old grandson.

Among the visitors this day was a young man, in his late twenties, accompanied by his 7 year old son, and 5 year old daughter. There was a lull in my site at the time, so I had a chance to visit with him longer that most. He had the usual questions about Scouting, including training for volunteers. As we talked, it became obvious from his demeanor and appearance that he was either in the military, or had been until recently. The buzz cut, physical fitness and erect posture were certainly clues, but his continually calling me sir was the clincher.

I asked him what branch of the service he was in. When he replied that he had just finished seven years in the Air Force, I simply said the first thing that popped into my head, and that was “Thank You”. He was a bit surprised at that, and so I explained that I appreciated his service to our country, and that we don’t say thank you nearly as often as we should. I asked about the areas he had served in, as my youngest son is also in the Air Force, and I was curious if they had perhaps crossed paths.

It was my turn to be surprised when he said that he had just completed his second tour in Iraq. He looked toward the campfire, where his son was making a second Smore for his younger sister. His voice dropped a bit, and he said in a matter of fact voice that he had returned safely and unharmed, but his marriage had not survived his second tour. As a newly single parent, he wanted to find activities for his children that would help them grow, and provide some diversions when he was not available. That piqued my curiosity, and so I asked what his plans were now that his Air Force enlistment was ending.

He replied that he had transferred to the Army, and had been accepted into Officer Candidate School. After he completes OCS, he will begin his training as a combat helicopter pilot. Officers pay, together with flight bonus, would enable him to afford the child care and education that he wanted to provide for his children. In a quiet and unassuming voice, this young man, father of two children, had brought home just how remarkable are the men and women who serve this nation of ours.

The life they have chosen is one that requires them to sacrifice many of the everyday things we take for granted. Parents in the military give up precious time with their children and spouses, missing many of the activities so much a part of our lives. The risk of injury or worse puts a strain on their extended families, which in turn adds to their own pressures. Loneliness, boredom, worry, fatigue, frustration and heartbreak are things experienced by all of us, but not to the degree and frequency of those who serve in the military. And yet, they not only serve, but do so willingly, and with a determination that most of us would be unable to sustain.

I am very glad to have met this young man, for he helped to remind me of the dedication of this small number of remarkable individuals, without whom we would not be able to experience the every day pleasures of normal lives. He also reminded me that every man and woman serving in any branch of the military is indeed a hero, whether they are in harms way or not. If not for what they do, we could not be who we choose. And a simple “Thank You”, although it seems inadequate, is less than some often get.

2006-03-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

TO FIX A LEAK

My Grandfather, wise man that he was, once told me: “Tommy, lad, neither common sense nor common courtesy are common”. I had an opportunity recently to test my level of common sense.

I was putting up some pegboard around my workbench in the basement. I thought I had marked everything properly, and followed the “measure twice and cut once” rule. However, I failed to note a small cold water feeder pipe next to one of the studs to which I was affixing the pegboard. Sure enough, I put a nail through the pipe, resulting in a steady stream of water spraying out across the workbench, and rapidly creating an indoor pool in my basement. Fortunately, I was alone in the house, so my long suffering wife did not witness my latest do-it-yourself faux pax. Unfortunately, I was alone in the house, so I had to deal with the entire situation myself.

Enter common sense. I suppose I could have grabbed a sponge mop, and begun cleaning up the water which was fast approaching the stacked boxes of Christmas decorations. Even better, the wet-dry shop vac could handle the water faster than the mop. But in this moment of crisis, common sense kicked in. The first thing I had to do, I quickly realized, was shut off the water. Even in my embarrassment induced trauma, I understood that cleaning up the puddles was an activity that should follow only after controlling the influx of water. It would accomplish nothing if I allowed the water to continue its flow unabated while dealing with a continuously growing pool. And so, I turned off the water main, sleeved the leaking pipe, and then cleaned up the now stabilized flood.

I mention this story, not to add to my already damaged home improvement reputation, but to talk a bit about immigration. Or, more specifically, the influx of illegal immigrants.

I hear a lot of talk among our Washington representatives about how to deal with the issue of massive numbers of immigrants in this country illegally. I wish I were as smart as the politicians, and all of the talking heads and pundits who opine almost daily on how to deal with the issue. As I understand it, there are between twelve and twenty million people in this country illegally. Another five hundred thousand to one million illegals enter our nation each year. I understand that the majority seek only employment, and a chance for a better life. I also understand that a segment is not here for legitimate purposes. Gang members, drug dealers, rapists and other violent types are among the people who regularly cross our borders without any serious effort at regulation or control. Even terrorists are suspected of being among the multitudes entering America surreptitiously. The illegal border crossings seem to be centered primarily on our southern border with Mexico, as our boundary with Canada is not yet producing this vast number of illegal entrants.

As of yet, no serious action has been taken by our government to control this situation. Neither Democrats nor Republicans, Representatives or Senators, can agree on a “comprehensive” plan for addressing this deteriorating situation. And while the bickering and posturing continue, no action of any consequence seems to be taking shape. May I humbly suggest that we apply my solution to the leaking pipe incident.

I have heard about all of the different aspects that must be dealt with. Guest worker programs, amnesty, earned citizenship, expanded immigration quotas and the untaxed underground economy are all, I am sure, issues that are of great consequence. However, should not the first step in this entire process be to turn off the water? Smarter people than I can deal with all of the complexities of our immigration policies, but it seems to me that we should deal with them one at a time, in a reasonable manner, and in the proper order. And the proper order would seem to be to cut off the flow of people entering America illegally as a first step. Not doing so simply makes the problem larger, and the solutions more difficult with each passing day.

It is not my intent to discuss the morality of our nation’s policies, or the necessity of having the expanded workforce that immigration can supply. Nor do I wish to demonize those who seek to enter America for legitimate purposes, legally when they can, and illegally when they feel they must. I am simply saying that America should be in control of those who enter this country, and due diligence must be exercised in determining the legitimacy of those seeking entry. The leak must be stopped if any other action is to have any meaning. And the leak must be stopped now.

As Granddad also said “Waiting to climb will not make the hill any smaller”.

2006-03-17T15:03:00.000-08:00

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO …

The words are not the only things that have changed in the Academy Awards. The announcement used to be “And the winner is”. At some point, it was changed to the more politically correct “And the Oscar goes to”. I suppose it was changed to make those who did not win feel better about themselves. If there are five nominees, and one is the winner, the other four must therefore be losers. Not good for the fragile egos of our Hollywood icons.

The Oscar show has become something of a barometer for America, and our culture. In recent years, there has been almost as much controversy about the host as there is about the nominees, and eventual winners. No longer do we get the gentle humor and satiric observations of our lives and times. I think that we shall not see the likes of Bob Hope and Johnny Carson again. Even the slightly sharper tongue of Billy Crystal was aimed more at Hollywood insiders, rather than politicians or America itself. Today’s hosts seem to delight in mean spirited witticisms, taking the cheap shot, or making blatantly political statements.

The winners themselves no longer use the public forum of an acceptance speech to thank those who helped them reach this plateau. Rather, they view this as another opportunity to show us where their political or social views lie, and where the blame should be laid for all of the worlds ills. And usually, the blame falls on America.

However, it is not my intent to discuss the politics of the elite of the entertainment world, but rather, to talk about music. More specifically, the music of the movies, as honored by an Academy Award. Allow me to take you on a brief review of Oscar music.

The 1930’s was a time of deep economic woe in America. The Depression affected almost every American family in one way or another. Movies were one of the few entertainments left to the working folks, and attendance increased steadily. The nickel admission allowed us two hours of entertainment, and an escape from the tribulations of daily life. Hollywood responded with musicals, comedies and lighthearted looks at life, accompanied by music that reflected a positive attitude. Oscar winning songs included classics like “Sweet Leilani”, “The Way You Look Tonight”, “Thanks for the Memory”, “Over The Rainbow” and “Lullaby of Broadway”. Songs that said, “Hey guys, stay positive and things will get better”.

The 1940’s were the years of World War II, with millions of Americans fighting for the very survival of our country. Many of the brightest stars in Hollywood actually joined the military, and saw combat. Some of those who could not join the fight formed the U.S.O., and took entertainment to the troops at the front. The entertainers who stayed behind made movies. Some were stories of the men doing the fighting and dying, while others were designed to lift the spirits of those left behind, and provide a respite from the hardships brought on by the war. Again, the music that won Academy Awards reflected these same feelings. Time honored tunes like “When You Wish Upon A Star”, “White Christmas” and “You’ll Never Know” reflected the war years; while “Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah”, “Buttons And Bows” and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” were immortalized in the years following wars end.

The 1950’s brought in the new film noir genre movies, reflecting the more sophisticated tastes of a post war people. But the winning music in the movies reflected a positive attitude brought on by an increasingly affluent America. Romance, love, humor and sentimentality were reflected in such winning music titles as “Mona Lisa”, “Secret Love”, “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing”, “All The Way” and “High Hopes”.

The decade of the 1960’s was a time of radical change in American society. Again, Hollywood and it’s music reflected the times, with traditional song stylings like “Moon River” and “Call Me Irresponsible” at the beginning of the 60’s, and the haunting sounds of “The Shadow Of Your Smile” and “Windmills Of Your Mind” finishing the era. A sense of whimsy remained, as winners also included “Talk To The Animals”, and “Chim Chim Cher-ee”.

The 1970’s were a confusing time for many of us. We were in transition in our taste in movies and music. This eclectic phase bounced around the Oscar world, causing the “Theme From Shaft” to win one year, followed by “The Morning After”. Traditional sounds won the decade, however, with other Awards going to hits such as “The Way We Were”, “Evergreen” and “You Light Up My Life”.

The 1980s allowed for the inclusion of what we now refer to as soft rock into the world of the Academy Awards. “Fame”, “Flashdance”, “The Time Of My Life” and “Up Where We Belong” entered the mainstream, as did the generation that sang along. Some winners were hard to classify, but tunes like “Say You Say Me” and “Let The River Run” have outlived the movies in which they were featured.

Nostalgia must have ruled the 1990s, as love was featured in a preponderance of the movie songs that took home the Oscar. “You Must Love Me”, “My Heart Will Go On”, “Beauty And The Beast”, “Sooner Or Later” and “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” led the way. Or maybe it was the cartoons. Six of the ten winning songs in the 90’s were from animated films, while one was from a film adaptation of a cartoon strip.

So now we are in both a new decade, and a new century. We opened this decade with an alternative rock song as the winner, in “Things Have Changed”. Boy, did that song get it right. It was followed by a rap song winning with “Lose Yourself”. And the 2005 winner of the Oscar for best song was “It’s Hard Out There For A Pimp”. I think this was the first time the words of an Academy Award winning song had to be altered to make it suitable for network television. The lyrics of “Lose Yourself” were not sanitized; as it was not played at all. That was also a first.

Even though I am just a casual observer, I am able to classify the music for most of the decades that the Motion Picture Academy has given its award for best song. I can identify the mood of the country, and the culture of the average movie goer, by the songs that became Oscar winners. But I must admit I am not able to quite get a handle on what this year’s winners says about movies, the movie makers, or the people who vote on the Oscar ballots. I simply cannot believe that a song about a pimp, and the problems he faces while managing his stable of hoe’s, is a reflection of American society, or a measure of the mood of the country. But I can draw my own conclusions about several issues that could be indicative of this trend. You may agree or not with these conclusions, as I claim them only as my own.

Hollywood no longer has any idea what is happening in the real world in which most Americans live. The movies that are coming from our entertainment industry have a definite disconnect from we the people.

Much of the music associated with these films is at best forgettable. Great tune masters and songwriters, while still among us, are being ignored by a Hollywood elite that is more interested in “cutting edge” and provocative themes than in popular trends.

Media moguls are lamenting the continued decline in attendance at their movies. I might point out that movie attendance actually increased during the Depression, when people were hard pressed to come up with the price of admission. Today, Americans have more disposable income that at any time in history, yet they are not spending it on movies. Could it be that they are not interested in the types of movies being made?

The American public is increasingly viewing the Hollywood elite as unpatriotic, anti-military, or just plain loony. The stars of yesterday were aware of their need to be role models during World War II; but today, it is difficult to get most stars to give any substantial support to the tens of thousands of service men and women serving our Nation in harms way. The U.S.O. has scaled back its entertainment of our troops overseas because most Hollywood stars just can’t be bothered. And how many of our current crop of leading men have joined the military?

Today’s Oscar winning music is a reflection of the disparity between the lives most of us live, and the rose tinted world in which today’s movie idols live. I know the music and movies of my parent’s generation, and can sing along with “Over The Rainbow” and “White Christmas”. And I naturally know the music of my own generation, and can appreciate the efforts of the writers, and the feelings they were expressing in their creations. My adult children know the tunes of many of the Oscar winners from sixty and seventy years ago, so timeless were these melodies. I find it very difficult to believe that my Grandchildren will be singing along with “Its Hard Out There For A Pimp” at any time in the future, let alone fifty years from now. But I could be wrong.

2006-03-17T15:02:00.000-08:00

INFIDEL

I have been letting thoughts about Islam, Judaism and Christianity roam about the back recesses of my mind. In particular, comparisons between these three religious philosophies have been plaguing me of late. As a Christian, a Roman Catholic to be precise, as well as a lifetime student of history, I am trying to come to grips with some paradoxes that I cannot reconcile. The completely inappropriate response (at least in Western eyes), to the fairly innocuous cartoons of Islam’s founder has given me pause to reflect on the response by different societies to perceived cultural ‘insensitivity’ and tolerance of religious diversity.

From a historical standpoint, I know that there have been periods in Christian history that should leave us less than proud. From a beginning as a new sect of Judaism, to the centuries when Christians were brutalized and demonized, Christianity ascended to the status of official religion of what would become the ‘Holy Roman Empire’. As the dominant religion, it was a short trip from being oppressed, to becoming the oppressor. Christianity became intolerant of other religions, particularly Judaism and Paganism. Institutionalized bigotry became accepted. With the rise of Islam in the 7th Century, this antipathy was extended to Moslems. However, because of the methods in which Islam was spread, primarily through conquest and forced conversion, there is arguably justification for this attitude. Later, during the Reformation, and the subsequent establishment of Protestant religions, hostility between the various Christian denominations became common, and is still with us today, although to a lesser extent.

What I find difficult to understand is the transition of the Christian and Jewish religions from intractable dogma to a more moderate stance of tolerance and understanding, while Islam seems to have taken the opposite course. All three religions are based on premises contained in the Old Testament, including the 5 Books of the Jewish Torah. Both Christianity and Judaism have kept the moral values contained in these tomes, but have disavowed the extremist positions on such items as adultery, diet, adherence to arcane rituals and restrictions, and many other areas of the Old Testament. No longer do Christians or Jews stone adulterers to death, imprison or execute ‘blasphemers’, or send people into exile for violating a dietary rule. In other words, the evolution of Western Society has allowed us to become more tolerant of both dissent and difference. Christianity and Judaism have espoused less violent methods of dealing with differences, and adopted the view that religion is both sacred, and personal.

Islam, on the other hand, appears to be regressing in its views. The rise of Wahabism within the Muslim world has led to a more extremist, less tolerant attitude towards non-Muslims. The use of the term “Infidel”, once rarely heard or understood by most Westerners, is now commonly understood as a point of reference to identify those of us who are now considered the enemies of Islam. What has made us a perceived enemy is not our attitudes toward Islam, nor our actions with regard to Islam. We have become the enemy simply because we are not Moslems. “Infidel”” is an all encompassing term used by the extremist Moslem. It includes all Christians and Jews, Buddhists, polytheists such as Hindus, and the Animist and Traditional theologies such as those found in Africa, Australia and America in their native populations. Quite a broad spectrum to direct animosity towards.

While broadening the scope of the worlds people they consider enemies, Islam has also taken a giant step backward with regard to its interpretation of how God wants sinners or transgressors treated. Islamic Law, as now practiced in a number of countries, includes stoning women for adultery, genital mutilation of female children, beheading for converting from Islam to another religion, imprisonment and torture for ‘disrespect’ toward Islam, and death by various means for blasphemy. While publicly calling itself the ‘Religion of Peace’, many Moslem clerics are telling their congregants in Mosques that Jews are the sons of pigs and apes; Christians, as the children of whores, are not worthy of any place in society; and Polytheists are heretics that must be exterminated. A quick comparison of two similar events, and the reactions to them, will illustrate the difference between Islam, and most other theologies.

How many remember during the early stages of the Palestinian Intafada, when a large number of terrorist Palestinian gunmen invaded the sanctuary of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem? These thugs took over one of the holiest shrines in all of Christendom. They even shot at Israeli soldiers from within the Church, since they had taken their weapons with them. While inside, they abused and intimidated the clerics trapped within, and deliberately despoiled and debased the religious symbols revered at this site. Defecating and urinating on relics; defacing icons, statues and other religious artifacts brought only laughter from these men. After a lengthy standoff, safe passage to other countries was arranged for the terrorists, and they finally abandoned their occupation of this shrine. The Israeli defense forces never attacked the church, nor shot at the terrorists while they were near the building. In other words, the Israelis respected the Christian shrine, which the Moslems defiled. As part of this respect, the Israelis allowed known murderers and terrorists safe passage, to insure the safety of the Church which most Christians consider the birthplace of the Christ, and well as those held hostage within.

During all of this, there was no outcry for vengeance against Moslems from any Christian sect, although all of Christianity was insulted, belittled and disrespected by these events. Indeed, the reaction of Christians was primarily one of patience, and cooperation with the authorities to achieve a peaceful resolution. Many of the Moslem criminals went to predominantly Christian countries as part of the agreements ending the siege. To my knowledge, there has been no retribution brought on them by any Christians.

As a counterpoint, the false report of a Koran being mistreated at the detainee facility at Guantanimo triggered worldwide Muslim protests, arson, rioting, and deaths. With this response as an example of the extremist reactions by many adherents of Islam, the cartoon response should not have come as a surprise. The murders, rioting, looting, arson and calls for the beheading of the Danish cartoonists and editors who published the drawings stand in stark contrast to the response by the West for the violations of the Church of the Nativity. Indeed, the publications by a Danish newspaper have resulted in the deaths of Christians in Nigeria, and the burning of their churches. Yet, by no stretch of the imagination, are Christian Nigerians connected in any way to the publications that have inspired the Moslem reactions.

In another study in contrast, the terrorists and their enablers in Iraq have repeatedly used mosques to store weapons, train killers, assemble bombs, recruit new members, and launch attacks against American and other coalition troops. Indeed, they often fire at our troops from inside the mosque itself. Yet, American commanders continue to honor the sanctity of the mosques, avoiding collateral damage to the edifice even if this puts their troops at risk. If a mosque is threatened by coalition forces, the clerics vow that any action against a holy place will bring massive retribution. Yet terrorists, who claim to be the true followers of Islam, continue to kill fellow Moslems by the score, even going so far as to destroy Mosques. But these offenses have yet to inspire any significant or sustained outcry from the Moslem world.

At last count, of the 18 main areas of armed conflict in the world, 15 of them involved Moslems. I have not read the Koran, and have no intention of doing so. The contents of the Koran are not relevant to any of the issues that face us today, and there is a simple reason I say this. If the Koran authorizes the beheading and brutal murder of defenseless people, enslavement of those deemed unworthy, genocide against those of another religion, forced conversion of people to Islam, the rape and murder of children, and all the other horrors that are even now being committed by these monsters, then Islam cannot claim to be the religion of peace. In fact, it cannot be called a religion, but rather a cult-like movement incapable of any rational tenets.

On the other hand, if these barbarous acts are being carried out by seemingly large numbers of Moslems in defiance of the teachings of the Koran, then the entire Moslem community shares responsibility for not stopping this insidious movement from spreading evil in the name of Islam. If they don’t vigorously and publicly take action against the beast within their faith, they have shown that they agree with the terrorists, their methods, and their goals. If that is the case, the Koran itself has become irrelevant, as the proponents of Islam are ignoring their own teachings.

I will be called intolerant for my thoughts. Many will say I am a bigot, a racist, or that I am Islamophobic. I can’t stop the name calling, and I won’t be drawn into debates with those who do not know history, and cannot see what is clearly happening. As my grandfather would say, I have been called worse names by better people. What I would say is where is a substantiated argument against what I have stated? And I am not referring to revisionist history, or what happened in the 12th century. I am talking about 2006, and what is occurring now. We cannot change the past (although some would rewrite it), but we do have control over the present, and can influence the future. So what say you, the sons and daughters of Islam? Are you an enabler of terrorists and their goals, or are you indeed part of the ‘Religion of Peace’? If the former, at least have the courage to say out loud what you mutter in the mosque. If the latter, where are the massive protests against the killers and the horrors they are bringing down on the innocent? Again, where do you stand?

2006-03-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

A POLITICALLY INCORRECT FOUR YEAR OLD

I noted with interest the story of the six year old boy suspended from school for touching the waist of a female classmate. The charge was sexual harassment. This followed on the heels of the two first graders suspended for bringing their GI Joes to class, along with the rubber four inch long rifle that comes with the doll. The charge here was violation of the zero tolerance weapons policy at their school. You have also no doubt heard about the grammar school boy who was suspended for drawing a picture of his family. It showed his father holding a rifle. That his father is in the army, and is presently serving our nation in Iraq, did not seem to satisfy the school administrators, who said the picture violated school policy as it showed a weapon.

The venerable battleship, the USS IOWA, can’t find a home to serve out her days in dignity as a museum in San Francisco, since the Board of Supervisors doesn’t want to glorify the military. The University of Washington declined to approve a monument to Marine hero Pappy Boyington, the WWII ace and medal of honor recipient, because he did not display the characteristics that the University wants to ascribe to its graduates.

These occurrences are causing me to have grave concerns about my four year old grandson. In an America where political correctness is the rule, progressive education preaches relativity when discussing right and wrong, violent criminals spend less time in jail than their victims spend in the hospital, patriotism is a choice rather than an obligation, and religion is treated like a contagious disease; he is going to stick out like a sore thumb. I fear that he is destined to run afoul of the zero tolerance mania affecting schools, or go against the efforts to turn all of our young men into metrosexuals. You see, he is being raised as a boy.

My daughter, his mom, was an athlete in school, and encourages him to try any sport he has an interest in. She is quite willing to pitch to him and play catch with a baseball, run pass patterns when he wants to throw a football, serve as a tackling dummy when he wants to practice blocking and tackling, and play defense against his attempts to drive to the hoop. And if she is not available, grandpa will do as a substitute. Mom, who is a nurse, is also active in the Boy Scouts, serving as a Commissioner and medic at various Scouting functions. He is eager to reach 1st grade, so he can join the Cub Scouts. He already has said he wants to be an Eagle Scout, just like his uncle. He has been to the local Scout camp on numerous occasions for events in which either his mother or I have participated. He is already an experienced camper, and looks forward to being a real Boy Scout.

He also has a strong case of hero worship for two of his uncles. His mother’s oldest brother has a small acreage, and this four year old has been on the tractor, front end loader, and Bobcat. This uncle has an auto repair business, and the lad enjoys working with him, handing him tools, and learning how cars work. The other uncle is in the military, preparing for deployment to the Middle East. Because of his uncle’s status in the service, my grandson has had the opportunity to be in a tank, a helicopter, and a Humvee. He has been on the observation stand to watch the soldiers practice on the rifle range, and heard the 105’s and 155’s fire. He knows American soldiers are the good guys, and that they keep us safe from bad guys who hurt little children.

His other grandfather is a bow hunter, and is teaching the boy how to use a bow properly. A cut down reflex bow and shortened practice arrows have facilitated his enjoyment of this activity, and he can hit his target at fifty feet eight out of ten tries. I am a sport shooter, and my grandson has watched both skeet and stationary target shooting with rifles and shotguns. Two of his older cousins are police officers, and he has seen their pistols, and knows why they have a need for them. He thinks police are cool, and dressed as a policeman last October, during Halloween. He knows police are the good guys, and are there to help and protect us.

My grandson also joins us at church services, and has a healthy respect for the awesome power and love that God has for him. He says that God makes thunder so that we will get out of the rain that the plants need to grow. He thinks guardian angels are kind of like grandpas, because they are there to protect him, and keep him from getting hurt. He is beginning to understand that while hurting people for no reason is bad, protecting yourself and your family is OK, even if you have to hurt someone to do that. He kneels at church, and stands at attention and salutes when he sees an American flag. For a four year old, he has a pretty good set of priorities.

Yes, he is being raised as a boy, so that he will be ready to be a man when the time comes. That is, if he doesn’t have to change to accommodate the school rules. My grandfather told me fifty years ago that neither common sense nor common courtesy are all that common. I sure hope the common sense part doesn’t cause him problems.

2006-03-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

WHEN YOUR SON GOES TO WAR

I had long expected the call, but a chill went down me as I heard my youngest son Patrick’s voice on the phone. “Dad, I got confirmation today. I have some weapons refresher and other location specific training in March, and will be deployed to the Middle East in late April or early May. If all goes as expected, I should get a ten day leave before I ship out.”

Before I could ask, he volunteered that his deployment would be to Afghanistan, Iraq or Kuwait. As if he knew I was having trouble getting out a question, he continued that he did not have the specific dates yet, nor was he sure how long his deployment would last. Now I know, with frightening certainty, how my sister felt when her youngest son told her he was being deployed with his reserve unit to Afghanistan. A plethora of feelings all jumbled together, but with one overriding emotion. Fear. North Carolina and Iowa never seemed so far apart. I wanted to see his face, put my arm around his shoulder, tell him how proud I was, and that everything would be OK. But I couldn’t.

For 230 years, American parents have dealt with the reality of sending a child to war. For all that I have read about how a family copes, and all that I have written about the subject, I thought that I would be prepared to respond in a reasonable manner. But I was wrong. From the day he left for Basic Military Training, I knew this was a possibility. He had joined the military after the September 11th attacks, and after operations in Afghanistan had begun. We all understood that it was a perilous time, and would be so for many years to come. But somewhere inside me, I thought that he might draw an assignment in Europe or Asia, out of harms way. Perhaps, based on his education and experience, he might get a training post stateside. In other words, I avoided the possibility of his going to an area of conflict, and would remain in a safer environment.

In retrospect, I was a classic case of delusional avoidance. But now reality, and reality really does bite, has come to my household. I have several months to get used to the idea that my son will be in an area where people want to kill him. I have to learn how to talk about this with my wife, sons, daughters, and grandchildren. But mostly, I have to be able to talk to Patrick in a normal manner, so that he does not sense the fear in me. A fear that he does not share, and pray God, will never experience himself.

I should not be surprised at the choices he has made, because he has become the man he wanted to be. The problem is me. He is going where I can’t, and how can I be a proper parent if I am not there to protect him? As with all of my children, I have always been there when he needed me. Through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, all the way to Eagle. I never missed a campout or high adventure trip. Little League, High School baseball and soccer, I seldom missed a practice, let alone a game. Whether a win or loss, through the inevitable injuries and occasional disappointing performance, Dad was never far away. College was an hour drive away, and I was there when he performed with his fraternity in the campus variety show, and when the frat house needed a fall cleaning.

Like all of my children, he is so much smarter than Dad. Four years on the honor roll attests to his intelligence. Spending his college Spring Break rebuilding a camp for children with disabilities is just one example of his humanity. Never shy with his family, always the first to hug his parents, brothers and sisters; his love of family is always visible. A leader born or made, he is nevertheless one who leads by example. In every respect, a better son than I was to my father. A better brother than I have been to my brothers and sisters. A better uncle than I am to my nephews and nieces. And a better example for others than I will ever be. And because of who he has become, he is going to a place I cannot go. To a place where people want to do him harm. A place where I can’t protect him.

So what do I do now? There is no manual for how a parent should act when sending a child off to a hostile place. There are no instructions on how you say goodbye to a child who has volunteered to do the things that most don’t have the courage or conviction to do. I can’t find a check off list on what a parent should do when you send a child off to war. We are on our own, and have to deal with the realities without any pre-determined action plan. So we do the best we can.

Instead of the twice a week phone calls, we will talk a bit more often before he leaves. My last words of every conversation have been “stay safe, and I love you”. I think we will find some extra opportunities to say “I love you”. I am proud of this young man, as I am of all my children. I am fortunate that my youngest daughter is outspoken enough to remind me that I don’t say that as often as I should. I will correct that with all five of them, as well as my son-in-law and daughter-in-law. I will make sure I never miss an opportunity to tell them I love them, and I am proud of them.

I will also continue to talk to anyone who will listen about the pride I have in the young men and women with whom my son and nephew serve. As they continue to honor us with their sacrifices, I will continue to be their advocate while the rest of my family is safe at home, always remembering that we are safe because of what they do. I will make sure that I understand what the implications are if we do not give these men and women the support they deserve. I will continue to give voice to the reasons they have chosen to do this necessary work. I will not hesitate to refute the scurrilous claims of those who make untrue accusations about our military men and women, demean their service, or doubt their resolve.

And I know that all of my family and friends will continue to pray for the safe return of my son, my nephew, former Scouts and Scout Leaders, schoolmates of my children, and all of the others who presently serve our nation. And I will take comfort in my son’s closing words during that phone call. “Don’t worry Dad; I have a lot of friends there.”

2006-03-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

WE ARE NOT AT WAR!!!

Did I get your attention? The heading may be a bit controversial, and is admittedly designed to be so. The anti war reader who denies the existence of the War On Terror will take note, because they think this piece will agree that there is no real war. The more conservative reader will also take a look, ready to refute the premise that we are not at war.

If you have read this far, let me make a further clarification. When I say we are not at war, it is a half truth, or ‘spin’ in today’s vernacular. But I will stand by the statement that we are not a nation at war. We have a military at war, and an administration that understands we are in a war; but for most Americans, war is an exercise in semantics, and does not touch their daily lives. While it may read like I am playing word games, I think the psychology behind my statement is critical to our well being as a nation.

In both the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War, the citizen soldier comprised the bulk of the fighting forces, as there was no professional American army in the Revolutionary War, and only a small corps of professionals in the Civil War. Most of the fighting and dying was done by volunteers, and later, draftees. Both wars were fought on American soil, and there were significant casualties among civilian non-combatants. Tremendous damage was done to homes, businesses, farms and other non-military properties. In other words, both wars were very personal to virtually every person who lived in America.

World Wars I and II were fought by a combination of professional military, volunteers, and draftees. While American soil was essentially untouched, a war economy coupled with shortages and rationing kept the overall population aware of the war and its consequences. Nearly every family in America had one or more members serving in harms way, and a personal involvement and commitment to victory was felt by the vast majority of citizens.

Korea and Vietnam saw a societal change in the perception of those wars. Combat operations were again conducted by a combination of a professional military, volunteers, and draftees. However, the American economy never had to accommodate a war footing, and there was no rationing of critical goods, or shortages of consumer products. American soil was never threatened, and there was no danger of civilian casualties or domestic property loss. The American population began to distance itself from direct involvement in these conflicts, except for the families of those actively serving in the military.

The current conflict has several aspects. We were involved in a conventional conflict in Iraq, and a somewhat conventional military operation in Afghanistan. Both of those are now asymmetrical conflicts, involving guerilla warfare against our military and the indigenous population by non conventional forces. In addition, we are faced with the terrorist campaign against American targets both domestic and abroad, by non military forces both foreign and home grown. But many in America do not seem to be aware of the threat, or particularly committed in the support of their own country. Why is that?

I think there are several factors to be considered. First and foremost, the American military is, for the first time, comprised entirely of a professional corps of volunteers, for whom military service is either a career or a supplemental employment. With no draft, and a reduced military force, only a small percentage of Americans have a member of their immediate family serving in any military branch. For most of us, there is no personal or blood involvement with the present conflicts. Note – In the interest of full disclosure, my youngest son is in the Air Force, presently stationed in the U.S. He has been informed that he will be deployed in the Spring, but has not disclosed the location or duration. My youngest nephew is in the Army reserve, preparing for deployment to Afghanistan, where he will serve a twelve month duty assignment.

The present hostilities also have little or no impact on the economy. Low interest rates, tax cuts, new job creation, and growing internationalism have led to a booming economy, with no shortage of consumer goods and services. Economically, the conflicts have had no negative influence on the quality of life for most Americans. We are insulated from feeling we have a stake in the outcome of this new type of threat. As a people, we have become uninvolved in the relationship between us, and those who protect us.

The media has played a large part in our lack of understanding of this new type of war, by using political correctness and sanitized coverage of events and their causes to push an agenda that is not in our best interests. For example, we have all seen the very graphic and embarrassing pictures of detainees in Abu Ghraib. Although the acts committed were humiliating to the detainees, no physical injury was visited upon those prisoners. Yet we have seen these photos again and again in the media. We also have seen many images, again replayed with unwarranted frequency, of civilian casualties, along with editorialized commentary. However, the media has sheltered us from pictures of the two jetliners flying into the World Trade Center, and never shown the photos and videos of scores of people either jumping or falling to their deaths from the twin towers. Nor have they ever shown the images of scores of helpless captives having their heads severed, or shot at point blank range, with the ensuing blood, screams and gore. The torture rooms operated by the Jihadists found in Fallujah during a sweep of that city some months ago received only the briefest of comment in the media, with no mention that these are common in areas of intense terrorist activity.

These factors, and others too numerous to mention in this piece, have created an environment where many Americans do not understand the nature of this conflict, have no sense of the threats directed at us, and have no personal stake in how the conflict is waged. As a result, we are witnessing events that would be unheard of in the recent past. A war that can impact every American is trivialized in the media, politicized by our representatives, mischaracterized by its opponents, and propagandized by our enemy. And what is the result of all this?

Members of Congress have falsely accused our military of committing war crimes and atrocities, comparing them to Nazis and the murderous regime of Pol Pot in Cambodia, with no mention of the thousands of real victims of the terrorists.

Media executives and reporters have accused the American military, with little or no refutation, of targeting journalists and deliberately killing them.

Political leaders have stated that the American military is broke, and is incapable of winning the present conflict.

Entertainers have stated that American soldiers are trained to murder civilians, and that committing atrocities is part of American strategy.

Advocacy groups claim that terrorists captured by our military on foreign ground, in direct combat with our troops, are entitled to the same rights and protections as an American accused of a civil crime, including attorneys, civil courts, and the restrictive rules of evidence used in American courts.

Protective and preemptive actions by governmental agencies to protect America from terrorist activities are decried in the media, as well as by political and social critics, as illegal, immoral and unnecessary.

Major news outlets routinely compromise the actions of both the military and security agencies by releasing sensitive information on strategies, tactics, allied assistance and intelligence gathering. While the leaking of this information is itself a crime, the media and many political and social leaders are targeting the very agencies which protect us, while ignoring the negative impact these stories have on national security.

A walk in certain cities will find signs posted in store windows and other public displays of support for the terrorists, and approval of the killing and maiming of American troops.

Many political leaders, educators and social critics publicly praise the activities of terrorists, even referring to them as freedom fighters, with no rebuttal and no consequence for the most inaccurate and outrageous comments.

Certainly, each of us could cite more examples of behavior that is at the least unpatriotic, and at worst seditious. Instances of college professors calling for troops to attack their officers, or students cheering the deaths of American soldiers, could be the subject of an entire book. But my main point is that those who fall into one or more of these categories do not seem to have any concern that their actions or views will be rebutted, nor that there are any consequences to their actions or comments. It is time that this course be reversed.

As a first step, BE HEARD! Free speech is a fundamental right of all Americans. However, with free speech comes the responsibility of accountability for what you say. If your congressional representatives say things with which you disagree, call or write them, expressing your disapproval. Remember, the primary goal of all politicians is to get reelected. If the position they adopt threatens their election prospects, they may very well change their stance.

Newspaper and television revenue is derived primarily from commercial sponsors via advertising. When news is reported in a biased, inaccurate or patently incorrect manner, let the editors know of your displeasure. Falling circulation in newspapers, and lower viewer ship of television news, has direct impact on advertising revenues, and consequently, profits. The possibility of continued loss of revenue could serve to encourage more accurate reporting.

As a final point, pay attention to the statements and actions of social activists, entertainers and teachers. While they too have the right of free speech, we have the right not to subsidize those who support anti American views, or who disrespect our military men and women. Again, let your voice be heard, so that they understand that there can be economic consequences to encouraging terrorists and showing support to those who would harm us by offering them aid, comfort or support.

Bad behavior by politicians, news media, entertainers and social leaders should no longer be tolerated without reproach, let alone be rewarded.

2006-03-17T08:59:00.000-08:00

A Different Christmas Poem
By Anonymous

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
a lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.
Then he sighed and he said "It's really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother...
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?"
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.”
WE ALL NEED TO PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY PERSONNEL EVERY NIGHT!

2006-03-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

SANITIZED FOR YOUR PROTECTION

“All the news that we think is appropriate for you to read.”

There has been a lengthy and often vociferously argued dialogue about the possibility of agenda driven news in the main stream media. Arguably, all reporters are human, at least by legal definition, and therefore have their own prejudices and biases. However, they often state that their reports are not contaminated by their personal beliefs, and opinion is properly ensconced on the editorial pages of our newspapers, and in the opinion segments of television news. Since I am not a journalist, I am not bound by the supposed boundaries which the professionals say guide their reporting. I am, alas, all too human. Therefore, what I write often expresses my own personal values, experiences, viewpoints, and priorities. To this I plead nolo contendre.

The recent disturbances in France, which have either ended or become so routine as to no longer be considered news, gave me an opportunity to follow a developing story using a single source, to determine if the news I was reading was accurate, complete, uncensored, and contained enough information for me to make a reasonable assessment of what was actually occurring.

The single news source was easy for me to select. As a resident of central Iowa, there is only one major newspaper, the Des Moines Register. For a small city paper, the Register has a long and illustrious history. The large number of journalistic awards it has received over many decades is way out of proportion to its size and readership, and would lead one to believe that it would present a clear and concise view of events, without prejudice and with no thought to directing it’s readership to a predetermined conclusion.

The following is a five day synopsis of the results of the stories contained in the Des Moines Register.

Saturday, November 5th. In the only story about the events in France, the following words were used to describe the perpetrators of the unrest. Marauding youths, attackers, rioters, troublemakers, youths, and gangs. The story was an A/P piece, under the byline of Jamey Keaten.

Sunday, November 6th. In an A/P story under the byline of Elaine Ganley, the disturbances were attributed to arsonists, youths, and Africans and their French born children.

Monday, November 9th. In the only story today, another A/P article by Elaine Ganley, the trouble was attributed to rioters, youths and minorities, arsonists and the French born children of Arab and Black Africans.

Tuesday, November 8th. The only story today was another A/P wire piece, under the byline of Jocelyn Becker. The ‘civil unrest’ was attributed to rioters, youths, vandals, teens of Mauritanian and Tunisian parents, and the French born children of Arab and Black African immigrants. It was the result of the death of two teenagers.

Wednesday, November 9th. The A/P story of today, again the only article in the Register, was under the byline of Sebastian Rosella. It mentioned immigrant suburbs, youth gangs, young vandals, gangsters, and extremists looking to expand their turf.

In reading the five articles in the Des Moines register, I got the impression that France was experiencing an unusual rise in teenage vandalism. Certainly, this is something Iowans can identify with. We often have to deal with out of control youths who throw rolls of toilet paper over the trees at the football coaches houses, use spray cans of paint to write their girlfriends names on highway overpasses, and knock over mail box posts as an end of graduation party exercise. We are a more urban population now than in decades past, so outhouse and cow tipping are now considered passé.

On closer reading, the French problem seemed to be centered on teens who are the children of African immigrants. This would be puzzling to us, since Iowa is home to a surprising number of immigrants from Mexico, Southeast Asia, Nigeria, the Balkans, and most recently, the Sudan. While we read of gangs like the Crips, Bloods, M13 and others; street gangs, immigrant or otherwise, are not a major threat in central Iowa. Beer parties resulting in teenage drunk drivers doing themselves harm is a bigger concern here.

Imagine my surprise when I read accounts from other sources, including main stream media, and discovered that the rioting involved scores of cities, thousands of rioters, scores of buildings burned, and tens of thousands of vehicles destroyed. Another surprise was that the rioters were exclusively Moslem youths. I was unable to confirm any acts of violence committed by Christian, Buddhist, Animist, Hindu or atheist teens.

None of the stories carried in our paper included photos. None of the stories mentioned that the rioters were Moslems. None of the stories gave an accurate picture of the scope of the riots, or the extent of the damage caused. No mention of the quotes from rioters that among the reasons for their actions was a rebellion against French culture. No sound bites of Molotov cocktails being hurled to the shouts of Allah Akbar. Of the deaths and injuries, not a word.

The Des Moines Register has a new editor, who wrote an inspiring opinion piece in the Sunday, November 6th edition. In it, Carolyn Washburn gave us her pledge, that we can depend on the Register to continue to be a part of the efforts to improve Des Moines. Her pledge included many promises to be active in the areas of diversity, equality, education and quality of life issues. I find it interesting to note that nowhere in her pledge was there a mention that the Register would provide accurate, complete, unbiased and uncensored news to central Iowa. It is sad to note the passing of another once great newspaper. The Des Moines Register now stands as an example of another institution that has accepted the sacrifice of accuracy in favor of political correctness, fairness in favor of opinion, facts in favor of slant, and integrity in favor of agenda.

The Register has adopted the mantra that the news should be sanitized according to their beliefs, so as not to offend anyone. If that means they will edit the news to fit their own ideas, it shouldn’t matter to the readers, because they (the editors) know better than we (the readers). That all of the French riot stories came from a single source, the Associated Press, is an indication that the Register has found a source that meets their idea of how the news should be presented, and no other source is necessary. Apparently, the use of another source might offer a conflicting view of the story, which would only confuse we poor plebeians. This seems to be the case in many of the media, but most noticeably in the traditional print media.

My father told me before his death in 1963 that to retire, I needed five different sources of income. I think that this rule is true of the news also. If we rely on a single source, we will only get the viewpoint of that source, and they may be wrong. I wonder if the polls ever ask how many news sources the respondents used in formulating their opinions?

Tom Glennon

2006-03-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

MEIN KAMPF – PART DEUX

In Mein Kampf, dictated by Adolph Hitler to Rudolph Hess during his 18 month imprisonment after the failed coup against the German Republic, a detailed plan for a future greater Germany was laid out. Included were plans for overcoming the limitations on the German military mandated by the Treaty of Versailles, a plan to dismember neighboring countries to expand the borders of Germany, the elimination of Jews from German territory, and the establishment of German hegemony over all of Europe.

When Hitler achieved political dominance, he promptly began the process of implementing those plans laid out in his book. The world, and in particular Europe, chose to view Mein Kampf as propaganda, meant to further Hitler’s political career. His rearmament program was ignored. The militarization of the Rhineland was ignored. The increasing segregation and marginalization of German Jews was ignored. His demands for the partition of Czechoslovakia, and the subsequent loss of that countries independence, were agreed to in a policy of appeasement. It took the outright invasion of Poland, with the assistance of the Soviet Union, before democratic Europe woke to the perils of a Nazi Germany. The most surprising aspect of this sequence of events is that so many people in positions of authority did not seem to be aware of the coming storm. Hitler had written exactly what he was going to do, yet the elite of Europe were surprised when he did it.

A recent policy statement from Iran’s new president should be a stark warning to all clear thinking people in the world, but in particular, to Europe and the United States. Israel, due to its history, already understands the sequence of events which even now is unfolding.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a major policy speech in honor of Jerusalem Day, one of the closing commemorations of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. This speech was essentially a foreign policy speech, outlining some very specific goals of the government of Iran. Ahmadinejad had some very interesting things to say about the future course of Iran’s relations with other nations, as well as how the government views other Muslims.

Not surprisingly, the speech contained the expected screeds against Israel, Zionism, and Jews. What were new were the very specific threats against Israel, the United States, and certain member states of the United Nations. And just what did the president of Iran say? Let’s take a look.

On Israel and the United States, Ahmadinejad was quite specific. “Is it possible for us to witness a world without America and Zionism? You had best know that this slogan and this goal are attainable, and surely can be achieved.” “Very soon, this stain of disgrace (i.e. Israel) will be purged from the center of the Islamic World.” The president of Iran is specifically threatening to attack and destroy not only Israel, but the United States as well.

On Europe, he was again pretty specific. Referring to Western Democracies as the “World of Arrogance”, he said “We are in the process of an historical war between the World of Arrogance (i.e. Western civilization) and the Islamic world, and this war has been going on for hundreds of years.” “This occupying country (i.e. Israel) is in fact a front for the World of Arrogance (i.e. The West) in the heart of the Islamic world. This means that the current war in Palestine is the front line of the Islamic world against the World of Arrogance”. The president if Iran is acknowledging that the invasions of Europe by Muslims over the past thousand years are a war that is ongoing, and will be continued.

With regard to those who are not Muslim, he said “In this very grave war, many people are trying to scatter grains of desperation and hopelessness regarding the struggle between the Islamic world and the front of the Infidels…”. The president of Iran is categorically stating that Muslims are at war with Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and any other non-Muslim.

When speaking of those Muslim countries which have reach an accord with Israel, Ahmadinejad had this to say. “…He is an egoist and his hedonism leads him to recognize the Zionist regime – he should know that he will burn in the fire of the Islamic Ummah (nation).” Egypt, Jordan, and any other Islamic nation which may agree to peaceful relations with Israel are now threatened with destruction by the president of Iran.

The parallels between the Ahmadinejad foreign policy speech, and Hitler’s articulated goals in Mien Kampf, should not be ignored. Yet, the few mentions in the media about this major address seem to focus only on his call for the destruction of Israel. An analysis of his entire commentary should be raising warning flags all over the world. Yet sadly, this seems not to be the case. President Ahmadinejad has articulated not only the future actions of Iran, but has done much to explain the Iranian government’s actions over the past 20 years, which appear to be unexplainable to most western governments and media.

Iran has been the chief enabler of terrorism by Islamic Jihadists for twenty years. This seems to be perfectly understandable if Iran considers itself at war with Israel, Europe and America. Iran not only supports many of the terrorist organizations in the world, but they even established their own vassal organization, Hezbollah.

Iran considers the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as only the first step in the elimination of the Jewish state, and the creation of a greater Palestine. Doesn’t this seem to remind one of the fate of Czechoslovakia?

Iran is unquestionably on a course to develop nuclear weapons. They already have the necessary delivery systems to attack not only Israel, but much of Europe, thanks to the North Koreans, Communist China and Russia. The statements by the president leave little doubt that he will use these weapons when they are available, since in his opinion, a state of war already exists between Iran and the West. Do memories of the rearmament of Germany come to mind?

Despite these clear pronouncements of the official policies of Iran, we continue to treat these comments as just another political exercise, much like an American campaign promise. A member state of the United Nations has directly threatened two member states, as well as those who do not share a specific religion. Yet Iran remains a full member, with all rights and privileges intact. Iran is continuing its development of nuclear weapons, yet many of the western governments continue to use offers of aid and trade to get a voluntary discontinuance of their arms programs. Does the word appeasement ring any bells? Iran continues to subsidize any number of murderers and terror organizations, yet most countries continue to maintain diplomatic relations with this government. Iran is a major provider of supplies and personnel to the ‘Insurgency’ in Iraq, yet no condemnation of this support has been heard. Iran has stated its intention to continue the Islamic war against European civilization, yet the only thing the European capitals seem able to do is issue statements saying Ahmadinejad’s comments are “unacceptable”.

I think that the United States, Europe, and the United Nations need to get a healthy dose of reality, and respond to the Iranian government in terms it will understand. There may still be time to avoid a military confrontation, but that time is fast disappearing. The recall of Iranian diplomats from more than 40 posts so that any moderates can be purged is but the next step in the implementation of the policies so clearly enunciated. The replacement of suspected moderates by hard line Islamists will signal an escalation of demands and terrorist activities by a government committed to creating chaos. I would suggest that the following be implemented without delay.

Iran should be expelled from the United Nations. They have clearly violated the very basic membership requirements as listed in the UN charter.

Diplomatic relations with Iran by all European nations should be terminated. Iran has already stated that it is at war with Europe, and has been for centuries.

All economic and trade relations with Iran must be severed, and a total embargo on all incoming and outgoing goods should be enforced. No nation should continue ‘business as usual’ with a country with whom they are at war.

As with any infectious disease, the political manifesto expounded by Iran’s leadership must be isolated. While this will undoubtedly create hardships on the citizenry of Iran, a quarantine of this regime is necessary to protect the world from an ideology gone mad. If effective, these actions may result in the people of Iran taking back control of their destiny, rather than allowing fanatics to dictate their future. However, with the political will of Europe in doubt, and a mainstream media ruled by political correctness and blinded by an agenda of ‘understanding and tolerance’, I frankly doubt that any of these actions will be taken. It will be up to the mullahs of Iran, and their presidential front man, to decide the fate of Israel and Europe, with a potential death toll not seen since 1945.

The world did not believe Adolph Hitler when he said what he would do when he achieved power in Germany. And the world appears to not believe Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he states what his intentions are. Is 2006 going to be our 1939, or have we learned that the arrogance of power will cause extremists such as Ahmadinejad to tell us in advance exactly what they have planned? Will we listen?

BIO
Tom Glennon is a retired Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.

2006-03-16T16:12:00.000-08:00

UNREMARKABLE PEOPLE

I am filled up and maxed out with the whiners, finger pointers, blame throwers, and professional victims who are featured on the daily newscasts, and in most of the print media. So many of the people we have put in positions of responsibility and authority have failed to live up to our expectations, and seem to diminish further even as we watch. At a time of national need, in the wake of Katrina and all that she wrought, we seem to have found an amazing number of unremarkable people.

We seem to have become a nation where no one takes responsibility for their own actions, anything that goes wrong is someone else’s fault, every tragedy is the result of some misguided policy, and scoring political points for your party is more important than the welfare of our fellow citizens. The flood waters in New Orleans were still rising when those who should know better began hurling unfounded and wildly inaccurate accusations at anyone they could think of, rather than offering substantive assistance. Charges of racism, political payback, and deliberate malfeasance were flying while our fellow citizens were clinging to life on rooftops. Excuses for looters taking appliances, guns, and jewelry were being made while residents in three states were wilting under extreme heat, with no water to drink. While children were looking for their parents, politicians were calling for inquiries, or demanding resignations. The only person thus far who has not been criticized in the very able General Honore. I suspect, from what I have seen of him, that no one has the guts to launch any spurious comments at the good General. He seems more than capable of correcting anyone who casts aspersions on him.

I don’t have the skills, or frankly, the energy of youth, to assist directly in any of the storm ravaged areas; so I do what I can. I make monetary donations to those agencies that I know will use the money wisely, to help those most in need. I pray, both for those already lost, and for those who will need so much in the coming months. I support my state and church efforts to supply the basic needs to those in the affected areas, as well as relocation, job and educational assistance to keep their lives moving forward. I thank God that we have so many brave people who are willing to put themselves in dangerous conditions to make heroic efforts to help their fellow citizens. And I am proud when I see the efforts of the people of Houston, and so many other areas, helping their neighbors through extraordinary circumstances.

I do these things because I am an American, and that is what we do best. We help others when they need help, our own as well as others around the world. Tens of millions of Americans are doing the same things, and yet we still feel some guilt that we cannot do more. And we cringe, mentally if not physically, when we hear the self-serving comments and blame gaming of those from whom we expect better.

As I write this, people are still dying in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Despite the best efforts of those brave souls working 20 hour days in the devastated areas, more will die still. Yet, to many of those to whom we look for leadership, we hear petty comments and cheap shots that are not suitable for political campaigns, and are downright shameful in the face of the effects of Katrina.

Maybe I speak only for myself, but just maybe, I speak for many. To all of the political leaders at every level, local, state or federal, Democrat or Republican, community, social or religious figures, I ask only the following. Shut up, and do your jobs! You can engage in all of the political positioning you want when the people are safe and secure. You can play blame games, or pass laws, or reorganize agencies all you want when our fellow citizens have been accorded the assistance they need and deserve. And maybe, after some time for reflection, you will think before you speak and consider consequences before you act. And if it is more important that you protect your reputation than it is to protect the citizens who elected you, maybe you should consider another line of work.

Tom Glennon

BIO

Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.

2006-03-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

ANONYMOUS HEROES

The main stream media, television, newspapers, and even news web sites and e-zines are neglecting meaningful stories that are critical to American morale as the War On Terror progresses.

All of the media are very quick to report each American casualty, killed or wounded, as well as Iraqi and Afghani civilians killed or wounded by the terrorists. Every bomb that disrupts the rebuilding of Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s infrastructure gets prominent attention. Any misconduct by American military personnel, whether real or imagined, is blared in headlines from coast to coast. Off the wall protesters, making unwarranted charges either against our government or our military, are featured newsmakers. Politicians disparaging our military with spurious charges are assured of a forum that makes the evening news cycle. With all of this, is it any wonder that many Americans are confused or misled about our progress in dealing with those who threaten us?

I have four very simple questions, which all of the media should know, yet I am confident that NONE can answer.

How many Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, or Distinguished Service Crosses have been awarded since operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq? What are the names and actions of those receiving this medal?
How many Unit Citations and Unit Commendations have been awarded since operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq? What units received these, and what were the actions of those receiving this recognition?

Either these awards for valor are presented at secret gatherings in undisclosed locations, or none of our military have performed any deeds of heroism in Afghanistan or Iraq. Or is it possible that the media is only interested in reporting news that is negative, and are not reporting details on commendations for bravery? We know how many Purple Hearts have been awarded, since the media keeps close count of casualties. We know how many terrorists attacks have occurred in both theaters of operation, as the media keeps close count of these on a monthly basis. However, any heroic actions by our troops, and recognized with commendations for valor, are regularly ignored by all of our media. Whether these actions resulted in inflicting enemy casualties, or were actions that saved others from harm, they are not considered newsworthy.

I am disheartened by this lack of recognition for those who daily face death and injury on our behalf. If the heroism of our young men and women were recognized as prominently as the allegations of mistreatment at Gitmo, perhaps the American people would get a more balanced view of our military operations. Since when has it become journalism’s job to influence public opinion by accentuating stories that are detrimental to America, while ignoring anything that might cause pride or recognition in our successes? Do we no longer have any real heroes, or is that designation only applied to sports figures, or actors who mouth uneducated opinions about subjects of which they have no knowledge? Have our news suppliers been so perverted by their political agenda that news is now more propaganda than information? Harsh words, yes, but I do not use them without some justification. If the media cannot answer my four simple questions, then their own ignorance is proof of their deliberate obfuscation of events.

The failure of the media to report on other areas of success is yet another example of the tunnel vision that is now accepted practice by our news providers, but would be too lengthy to discuss in this piece. For example, we should be demanding reports on how many schools have been built in Afghanistan, or how many hospitals have been staffed and supplied by America in Iraq.

All of us share the blame for this situation, by our failure to insist on accurate and complete reporting by the media. By accepting the news as provided, without any oversight or review as to accuracy and balance, we have told the media that we will believe what they tell us, and react as they expect. Until we voice our concerns to the parties charged with providing us news, we will continue to be fed information that favors a single viewpoint. And too often, that viewpoint is not in our nation’s interest.

All societies need heroes. We need examples of how to behave in times of danger, and how to react to stressful situations we may face. We need to see the faces, and learn the details of those who lead by example. But the most heroic of our fellow citizens continue to do their duty in shadow, and we know them not at all.

Tom Glennon

Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.

2006-03-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

MY GREATEST GENERATION

They are all gone now, except the youngest, my Uncle Bobby.

Dad was in the Coast Guard, considered too old for active Navy duty. Uncle Roy was in the Navy, as was his brother Wally. Their youngest brother, Bobby, was a Marine pilot. He had begun flying at fourteen, using the money from the job my Dad got him at a drug store to pay for his flying lessons. Sneaking off to Palwaukee airport outside Chicago, where a sympathetic World War One veteran gave a young boy a chance to learn to soar with the eagles.

Wally and Roy served on aircraft carriers, with the hope they could watch out for their younger brother. But Bobby flew off fixed bases in the Pacific, flying the top line F4U Vought Corsair. What Wally and Roy wound up watching were Kamikaze pilots trying their damnedest to kill them. Uncle Roy had back problems the rest of his life from one of those pilots.

Dad went first, while I was still in High School. Uncle Wally was next, a few years after Dad. Uncle Roy held on until after I was married, and had transferred away from Chicago. But I went back, with my then small children, for his services. Two of my nephews blew taps at the cemetery. It was the first time I remember my retired career Marine Uncle Bobby crying. He is in North Carolina now, still playing his beloved golf, and still referring to my Aunt Helen as his bride.

Gone too is my oldest cousin, Bob. He landed at Utah Beach on D Day. Temporarily blinded by an artillery shell air burst, he returned to the front after only a few days of recovery. He lost a leg in France. His oldest son gave the eulogy. Until he spoke, most of the family never knew about the medals for valor Bob received. Like my other family members, they never talked much about the war.

I hear a lot of discussion about the use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and the thermo-nuclear bomb dropped three days later on Nagasaki. It seems many historians, commentators, and pundits are still discussing the use of these weapons. Serious debates about the need for their employment, the moral implications, and the precedents set. Speculation, coupled with revisionist history, seem to make this an academic issue, open to many interpretations. However, to me, it is not academic. It is very personal.

You see, all of my family survived World War Two. Unlike 405,399 other American families, mine never received that dreaded visit from the Western Union man, bearing a telegram that started “We regret to inform you”. One limb lost, burns, scars and shed blood were all felt deeply, but at least they came back. But that could have been very different.

An invasion of Japan would have resulted in an estimated one Million American casualties, over a third of whom would have been killed. Based on the experience of Okinawa, up to twenty million more Japanese would have died. Would my Uncle Bobby, Uncle Roy and Uncle Wally have survived? Cousin Bob would have been here, as he had already been discharged with the loss of his leg. Dad too, would have survived, as he was never called to combat duty. But of the others, I understandably can’t say. But I can say that ending the war without an invasion of Japan insured that those who were still alive would remain so. Because the war ended when it did, I grew up with an Uncle Roy, Uncle Wally, and Uncle Bobby. And because the war ended when it did, 350,000 other American families welcomed back their sons, brothers, fathers and uncles. And twenty million Japanese survived to rebuild both their country, and their society.

Thank you, Harry Truman, for making the tough decision. Thank you, Harry Truman, for making the right decision.

Tom Glennon

BIO

Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.

2006-03-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

“THIS JUST IN”

Announcer
“We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you the following breaking news.”

Reporter
“A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has informed this reporter that the threat level indicator has been raised to Orange, based on reports that four Amish men from Lancaster Pennsylvania are being sought as potential suicide bombers.” “It was reported that a particularly virulent sermon by one Elder Yost, expressing views determined as ‘anti English’, may have prompted the young men to take action against…”

Station News Anchor
“Uh, John?” “I think you have the wrong copy” “The report you are reading is marked Draft.” “I think you have a newer version of the announcement.”

Reporter
“Sorry Brian, you are right.” “Here we go”. “A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has informed this reporter that the threat level indicator has been raised to Orange, based on reports that four Boy Scouts from Troop 213 in Pleasant Hill Iowa are being sought as potential suicide bombers.” “It was reported that at a particularly virulent Court of Honor, the Scoutmaster mentioned the twelfth point of the Scout Law, that a Scout is ‘Reverent”. “As the Troop is sponsored by Charity Lutheran Church, it is feared that the Scouts are going to target any non Lutheran group…”

Station News Anchor
“John?” “I think you are referring to copy marked Revision 1.” “Please see if you have the newer copy.”

Reporter
“Right you are again Brian.” “I have the proper copy here”. “A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has informed this reporter that the threat level indicator has been raised to Orange, based on reports that four Grandmothers from the Scottish Rite Retirement Center in Duluth Minnesota are being sought as potential suicide bombers.” “It was reported that at a particularly virulent AARP meeting at the Center, a speaker denouncing the rise in the cost of blood pressure medication may have triggered a violent reaction by the suspects against drug industry targets, including…”

Station News Anchor
“Let me interrupt you, John.” “You apparently have Revision 2 at your location.” “Let me quote from the correct copy.” “A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has informed this reporter that the threat level indicator has been raised to Orange, based on reports that four young men, recent immigrants from Afghanistan, are being sought as potential suicide bombers.” “It was reported that after a particularly virulent anti American and anti Jewish sermon at Friday prayers at the Newark New Jersey mosque of …”

Announcer
“We interrupt this coverage of a breaking news event to bring you the following editorial from this stations management.”

Station News Director
“Good evening”. “In a news report yesterday, we carried a story from our Baltimore correspondent that stated the National Security Agency facilities at Fort Meade Maryland had announced that in a newly translated batch of electronic correspondence from certain foreign websites, it was determined by the Agency that ‘Islam’, previously identified as the Religion of Peace, actually translates as ‘Submission’. The NSA spokesperson further stated that, when placing this new meaning into context, identified the term as a call for submission of the entire world to the Islamic way of life.”

“This station aired the story without securing any input from additional resources. Since then, we have been assured by several other sources that Islam is indeed the Religion of Peace.” “We apologize for any misrepresentation of Muslims or the religion of Islam, and we deeply regret any confusion or distress this story may have caused to our Muslim viewers or the Islamic/American community.” “Thank you.”

Announcer
“We now return you to our interrupted coverage of a breaking news story, which had previously interrupted our regularly scheduled programming.”

Station News Anchor
“This just in.” “A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has informed this station that the threat level indicator has been raised to Orange, based on reports that four unidentified persons of indeterminate age and sex are being sought as potential suicide bombers.” “The four alleged suspects, of unknown national origin or citizenship, may have been encouraged by misunderstood statements uttered by a non denominational religious authority at an undisclosed location.” “The alleged suspects may be targeting an unidentified location for reasons yet to be determined.”

“This announcement is provided as a public service to our viewers, and to demonstrate our commitment to bringing you the latest news that may affect you, our audience.”

“We now return you to our regular programming, already in progress.”

Tom Glennon

BIO

Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

His 38 year career spanned numerous assignments with a major oil company, an international finance company, and lastly with a major banking company. Most of his working experience was with credit card operations and technology.

He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.

2006-03-14T19:48:00.000-08:00

The continuing violence in and around Gaza caused me to revisit a specific occurrence that struck me in a very emotional way. The following is a personal view of the events in Gaza on May 2, 2004.

LEGACY – The Chaos Of Gaza

With the death of Arafat, and the election of Abbas as President of the Palestinian Authority, I thought perhaps the Palestinians could gain control of their own future, and insist that their leaders reach a fair settlement of the issues between themselves and the Israelis. Perhaps. But I think not. The election of Hamas to lead their political infrastructure guarantees that the Palestinians will continue to be represented by the faceless monsters who roam the through the Middle East bent on terror, mayhem and murder, regardless of who the nominal leader may be. So long as they continue to produce ‘freedom fighters’ capable of the most dastardly deeds, they will not realize their hope for their own place in the sun.

Let me illustrate the face that the Palestinians have shown to me, but in narrative form rather than as a wire service news clip.

This is the story most Americans read in May, 2004. The mainstream media sanitized it for our protection.

Dateline Jerusalem: May 2 – Five Israelis were killed on a road in the occupied territory of Gaza this morning. Both Fatah and Islamic Jihad claimed credit for the successful attack.

What happened that morning has a bit more to it than these two sentences. The following is a narrative of the probable events of that day, based on the evidence left behind, and similar attacks over the course of several years. While some of this reconstruction is conjecture, it is based on the best available evidence, as well as comments from both Fatah and Islamic Jihad members. Unfortunately, there are no witnesses to this attack, other than the gunmen, as there were no survivors among the targets.

Tali Hatuem was very careful to buckle the children securely in the car before leaving home. Very safety conscious, her car contained the proper restraints for each child. Her four young daughters were very precious to her.

Leaving the small settlement where they lived, she turned onto the main road, and drove into another beautiful May day. She did not expect the stinging pain from the gunshots that penetrated the car into the driver’s compartment. Both she and the car were crippled by the many shots that hit the small vehicle. The car rolled to a stop, with Tali’s wounds severe enough that she was unable to unbuckle herself, or make any attempt to flee. Of course, with their mother immobile, the children also stayed in the car.

The two hooded men arose from their place of concealment, their automatic rifles held at the ready. They approached the car carefully, knowing that some of the residents of the settlement carried weapons. However, as they came nearer, they noted with relief that there was no man in the car, and the female driver appeared gravely wounded.

Relaxed now, and feeling more confident, the two young men reached the disabled auto. In the drivers seat was 34-year-old Tali Hatuem. She was too weak to make any defensive move at all. The first man slowly raised his rifle, and placed it against Tali’s temple. The loud retort of the gunshot echoed through the car, bringing screams of terror from the back seat. Blood and brains splattered across the front passenger seat. The gunman then noticed the large bulge of Tali’s belly. Although she was clearly dead, the man wanted to take no chance the baby might be saved. He aimed the Kalashnikov at Tali’s abdomen, and squeezed off two more rounds.

The second man was now at the open window of the rear seat. He first noted 11-year-old Hila. She was starting to make a move to cover the other occupants. Seeing her as the most likely to cause a problem, the man shot her in the face, from a distance of perhaps 12 inches. Again, the car’s interior was sprayed with the gore of the now dead girl. Both men now brought their weapons to bear on the remaining occupants. 9-year-old Hadar was screaming, while 7-year-old Roni and 2-year-old Merav were both crying. None were making any defensive moves, and they were too scared to take evasive action. Merav was especially vulnerable, as she was safely strapped into a child restraint seat.

The two men took their time, calmly putting the muzzle end of their automatic weapons against the temples of the three girls. One at a time, they blew apart the children’s heads, silencing forever the annoying screams.

Smiling, the two shouldered their rifles, and calmly walked away from the acrid smell of cordite and the sickly sweet smell of massive amounts of blood and brains. They had done a good days work. In the name of Allah, they had eliminated 5 enemies of Islam. In fact, they had not only killed these hated Jewish infidels, daughters of pigs and monkeys; but in killing the female children, they had eliminated a future generation of these most hated of people. They would have been more pleased had they known that the unborn child of Hila was also a daughter. Later news reports would comment on the Israelis killing several suspected “militants” in another “targeted attack”. There was never a news report on the fact that the “targeted attack” was, in fact, the elimination of the men responsible for the slaughter of the Hatuem family.

Did we grieve for these dead, or are they incidental in the greater scheme of things? Did their deaths generate the same outpouring of condolences as that of Arafat? Is there a linkage here? What does this incident have to do with Arafat? Actually, they are directly connected.

The two men were members of the Islamic Jihad faction of the Fatah movement. Fatah and Islamic Jihad were both founded by Arafat, under the auspices of the PLO. Financial support, weapons purchases, salaries and reward bonuses were all paid directly by Arafat from funds received by the Palestinian Authority, from both the European Union, United Nations and the United States. The Fatah movement, and others, still run training camps where men learn the use of weapons, and the skills of ambush.

And what of the men themselves? Both were products of the schools run by the Palestinian Authority, where, from the age of 5, they had been taught that Jews are not human, but vermin to be exterminated. Both were raised watching television that pictured all non-Muslims as inferior, and all Israelis as enemies to be killed in any way possible. Both attended mosques where the Imam’s preached that killing any Jew, at any time, would be rewarded by special treatment in Paradise.

The chaos that is the Palestinian Territories pits at least six rival groups, all vying for dominance. The Palestinian Authority itself has police and security personnel. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Fatah all maintain armed bands of men and potential homicide bombers who are at war with each other, as well as continuing their attacks against Israel.

Arafat’s legacy of hated, murder, terror, and intolerance will live on long after him. The Palestinian educational system, entertainment industry, local media and the religious leaders have all worked hard to insure that the fanaticism they have constructed will infect generation after generation. And we can expect that this will not be the last time we hear of this kind of attack by the ‘freedom fighters’ of Islam. But the next time you read the one or two sentence news blurb, think about the actual events, and the participants. And if you can’t grieve for the victims, I would suggest you grieve for yourself. This is what the Islamic fanatics have promised they will bring to all who oppose them.

Dedicated with a heavy heart to the memory of

Tali – Mother – Age 34
Hila – Daughter – Age 11
Hadar – Daughter - Age 9
Roni – Daughter – Age 7
Merav – Daughter – Age 2
Unnamed – Daughter – One month from birth

Tom Glennon

BIO

Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.

2006-03-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

WHAT INSURGENCY?

A recent article in a European news source identified Osama Bin Laden as “A Saudi Dissident”. The New York Times has called the arch murderer Zarqawi “A Jordanian Fighter”. The BBC, Reuters, a large number of American and European newspapers, and other news services refuse to use the “terrorist” designations for anyone, lest they offend the sensibilities of murderers. London news services refered to the four men identified with the first London bombings as “bombers”. Frankly, this wimpy way of describing killers has put me over the edge. The recent arrest in Iraq of a man who admittedly has beheaded over one hundred helpless captives was profiled as an “insurgent”, by those few news services that bothered to report the story. According to a European wire service, an attack in Gaza was carried out by an Islamic Jihad “Field Operative”.

Language can be a very powerful instrument in shaping thought or opinion. When used properly, language can inspire, inform, educate, comfort and even amuse. However, when used to advance an agenda, language can confuse, mislead, propagandize, obfuscate and disguise outright fabrications. The words we use in communicating ideas, events, observations and information can affect the perceptions of those who read our words. In both North America and Europe, the use of politically correct adjectives and identifiers has often disguised or ignored potentially important information.

That being said, I have been irritated for some time by the use of the words “Insurgency” and “Insurgents”, as well as “Militants” and “Fighters” in describing the horrific actions of those persons the American, Iraqi and Coalition forces are opposing in Iraq. My dictionary defines insurgent as one who is rising in revolt against a political or governmental authority, or a member of a political party in opposition thereof. I don’t think this is accurate in the case of the Iraqi violence against the military, as well as the targeting of Iraqi civilian men, women and especially children. I think some other words can better describe the perpetrators of this violence, based on who they are, and their motivation.

Thugs/Gangsters – Those Iraqis who are committing acts of violence against indiscriminate and often innocent targets for money. A fair number of those involved are simply doing it for profit. They are paid to kill.

Psychopaths/Sociopaths – These are at least some of the bombers, assassins and beheaders. They are involved because they enjoy killing and torturing.

Religious Fanatics – Those committed Jihadists who are driven by their version of religion to kill any Infidel, as well as those Muslims who work with or associate with Infidels.

International Terrorists – Those non-Iraqis who are there to kill in order to advance their own political or social agendas. Their target is not important, only that more chaos is created.

International Criminals – Those who were involved in the former Baath Regime, and are guilty of crimes against humanity. They fear facing the justice that a stable government operating under a rule of law may impose.

I am not aware of anyone killed or captured thus far who meets the less inflammatory definition of Insurgent. Political Correctness has become a disease which is not only infecting the media, but many governmental leaders, who are now using the PC phrases to describe those defective individuals who are killing their fellow humans at an alarming rate. While I use the Iraqi situation as an example, I am aware that this trend to use misleading descriptions of violent acts is not limited to one country, or one event. The inability of the average person in the West to understand fully the nature of the challenges they face is at least partially due to the inaccuracies of media coverage.

I would like to see more accurate descriptions of the people involved in these acts of murder and indiscriminate violence, so that we can better understand both their motivations, and the nature of the enemies we all face. We should demand the media show some courage by calling these people what they are, rather than the sanitized language now in use.

Tom Glennon

2006-03-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

THE NEFARIOUS INFLUENCE OF THE BOY SCOUTS

The looming arguments regarding the naming of a replacement on the Supreme Court for retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor reminded me that the other woman on the Court is Ruth Bader-Ginsberg. Justice Ginsberg’s main qualification for being named to the Supreme Court appears to be her work as an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Add to that the possibility (probability) of Justice Rehnquist retiring, and the naming of replacements becomes an even more urgent topic. This led me to begin thinking about some of the main issues that the Supremes will be considering over the next few years. A number of these issues will of course be brought before the Court as a result of suits brought by the ACLU. As in the past, I am sure Justice Ginsberg will not recuse herself from considering these issues, despite her past association as an employee of the ACLU. The final point in this train of thought brought me to the ACLU itself, and what role it plays today. My association as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America has given me some insight into the agenda of the ACLU, and I thought I would share these thoughts.

We owe a great deal of thanks to the ACLU and other advocacy groups who protect us from such divisive influences as God, Religion, and The Boy Scouts of America.

Most recently, with another victory in their Campaign against the Boy Scouts, the ACLU and their allies have cited both the Scout Oath, which includes the phrase “Duty to God and my Country”, and their policy of excluding openly homosexual persons from serving in Unit Leadership roles, as reasons to censure and limit Scout activities. These obvious prejudices, although apparent to the Progressives, may not raise to a fever pitch the citizens of the Red States. To aid them in their quest to rid America of the subversive messages spread by organizations such as the Boy Scouts, I think they can use the following to bolster their arguments that this organization must be immediately restricted, if not stamped out.

Several years ago, the polling firm of Lou Harris and Assoc, one of the oldest and most respected pollsters in the country, conducted a survey entitled “Values of Men and Boys in America”. They surveyed four groups. Male adults who had been in Scouting as boys, male adults who had never been Scouts, Scout age boys who were in Scouting, and Scout aged boys who had never been in Scouting. Some of the results of this survey are as follows.

77% of the boys in Scouting said they had learned the value of Honesty from Scouting.
76% of the boys in Scouting responded that they had learned Teamwork in Scouting.
72% of the boys in Scouting stated they had learned or reinforced their Respect for Life and Property from Scouting
70 % of the Boys indicated they had developed or increased their Self-Confidence from Scouting.

Honesty, Teamwork, Respect and Self-Confidence are certainly things that should not be taught to our children. They have successfully been banished from our schools, and now the fight must be carried out to the Non Governmental Organizations. But wait, there is even more evidence of the agenda espoused by this organization which is attempting to influence our youth.

Among the adults surveyed who had been Scouts when young, the following questionable behaviors were established, which have carried over into adulthood.

88% of the men said they learned the value of working with others to accomplish goals.
85% said they learned how to set goals, and plan actions to accomplish them.
80% stated they developed an awareness of health and fitness habits which they still followed.
87% responded that they participated in learning activities that led to career choices, hobbies, or other activities that they still participated in as adults.
79% said that Scouting had a positive influence on their family lives as youths, and impacted their families today as adults, spouses and parents.

Again, those troublesome behaviors such as Teamwork, Accomplishment, Health and Family Values which still influence these men years after their Scouting experience.

The final measurement of the undue influence Scouting has had on our society can be illustrated by showing the disparity of the lives of men who were Scouts, and those who were not.

98% of the men who were Scouts had graduated from High School, while 83% of the non-Scouting adults had High School Diplomas.
40% of the former Scouts had graduated from College, while 16% of the non-Scouting men had College Degrees.
33% of the men who had been Scouts earned in excess of $50,000 per year, while 17% of the non-Scout adults were in that salary range.

Most disturbing of all is this. Although former Scouts comprise about 10% of the adult male population, 70% of the men in “Who’s Who In America” are former Scouts.

This organization is obviously unfair, as it produces citizens who not only believe in God and Country, but refuse to accept mediocrity in themselves and others. They actually espouse notions that with hard work, education and strong family and social values, people can succeed without Government help.

We are urged to dig deep in our pockets and support the ACLU in their fight to purge the influence of this bigoted, hateful group, and ban them from any visibility in American culture. The success of the Campaigns to eliminate Christ from Christmas, and God from Government should illustrate that these goals can be met.

Besides, the ACLU needs the money to help in their support for the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). The ACLU is defending the right of this organization to run a web site advocating pedophilia, including how to target and seduce children. Since the ACLU is providing this valuable service for free, there is a need for financial support to continue the Campaigns against God, Christianity, Values, Family, and all of the other threats to a progressive, secular country.

Tom Glennon

2006-02-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

ARE DEMOCRATS ANTI AMERICAN, OR JUST ANTI YOUTH?

With the upcoming hearings on President Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court, questions regarding Judge John Roberts’s character and values will be asked by the Senate. Many of those Senators attended the 2000 Democratic Convention. Perhaps it is not out of line to examine the character and values of those who will be doing the questioning.

I think most Americans have a least some awareness of the media sanitizing news coverage, or presenting news in a slanted way. However, I don’t think the majority of people realize how pervasive this biased coverage is in the mainstream news services. Some of the more militant Democrats are still obsessing over the 2000 election of G W Bush, and the loss of the presidency. I cannot help but wonder if the election coverage in that year would have swung the election even more into the Bush-Cheney camp if the major networks, wire services, and newspapers had reported the opening of the Democratic convention that year. Let me refresh your memory if I may.

All of the news providers gave coverage to the speeches, “spontaneous demonstrations”, interviews and platform discussions which occurred during the 2000 Democratic convention. For almost an entire week, party partisans had a free rein to demonize George Bush, and the Republicans. No matter how outrageous or inaccurate the statement, the main news outlets were there to provide a forum. Despite all of the air time and print space devoted to this convention, not one newspaper, major television network or wire service had any mention of the opening ceremonies for the convention. Ever wonder why? If you watched the opening on C-Span, you know the answer.

The official opening of the 2000 Democratic convention included a flag ceremony, with a Posting of the Colors. This ceremony was conducted by an Honor Guard composed of Eagle Scouts from the Boy Scouts of America. Young men, invited by the event organizers, in full uniform, proudly carrying the flag of the United States. They had every right to expect a respectful acknowledgement of the appearance of their country’s flag on the stage, with an appropriate response from the conventioneers. They had every right to expect that, but that is not what happened. Rather than doffing the sometimes silly headgear often seen at conventions, and having the audience rise to salute this symbol of our nation, the Democratic conventioneers rose to issue a chorus of boos, with accompanying inappropriate hand gestures. Boos, hisses, hastily written inappropriate signs and hateful comments are what greeted these young people. Not by just a few, but by a majority of the attendees in the hall.

To their credit, the Scouts ignored this response, and concluded the ceremony with dignity. Not so the Democrats, who continued their display even after the Scouts left the stage. None of this ever made the mainstream news. While that does not surprise me, it has left me with some questions that I have not been able to satisfactorily answer.

1) Was the response of the convention goers generated by the appearance of the
American flag on the podium? If so, were they just ashamed to be in a room with a
patriotic display, or were they voicing a more deeply held resentment toward the country
itself.

2) Were the boos, obscenities and dismissive gestures aimed at the Scouts
themselves? If so, was the message an anti Boy Scout response, or was
it directed against all young people who choose to lead an ethical life? If
the opening had been conducted by a gangster rap artist, would the reception
have been different?

3) Among all of the dignitaries and prominent Democrats in attendance, why was
there not one word of admonishment to the conventioneers about their behavior?
Al Gore, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer,
Charley Rangel, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durban, Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid and all
the other leaders of the Democratic Party were aware of this, yet none spoke in
defense of the Scouts, nor did they chastise the attendees for this display. Neither
were there any editorials about this occurrence on any television network or
in any newspaper.

The silence of both the media and the Democratic luminaries can only lead me to the conclusion that they all agreed with the convention response to the Posting of the Colors. By not condemning these actions, I must come to the belief that it was condoned. So I again ask, are the Democrats and the admittedly liberal media anti American, anti youth, or anti Boy Scout? I believe this is a fair question, based on their actions or lack thereof. I fear that we shall never see a response, and the question will remain unanswered. But I have my answer regarding their character and values. And that’s all I need to know.

Tom Glennon

BIO

Tom Glennon recently retired as a manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.

His 38 year career spanned numerous assignments with a major oil company, an international finance company, and lastly with a major banking company. Most of his working experience was with credit card operations and technology.

He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.

Married for 40 years to Judi, they have five adult children, and three grandsons.

2006-02-28T18:11:00.000-08:00

Dude, Who Stole My Party?

I have a confession to make. It should be made public now, before Dan Rather and the 60 Minutes Team shows up at my door with documents about my past that, although forged, are still accurate. I admit, now and publicly, that I was a Democrat, for more years than I should have been.

I was born just after World War II ended, so I am in the front line of the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation. Growing up Catholic in Chicago, of Irish and German heritage, I was of course brought up to be a Daley Democrat. The most powerful person in my neighborhood wasn’t the Mayor, Governor, or President. Neither was the Alderman, Senator or Congressional Representative. Not even the Parish Priest was the most powerful or influential person to my family and all the others in my near North neighborhood. No, the person most recognized as a person of authority and influence was the ward heeler, our Democratic Precinct Captain.

Have a streetlight out? Need a job for your brother-in-law, so he and your sister can move out of your attic? Garbage pickup missed your house? Local bully picking on your child? Son needs a recommendation to get into a Union Trade School? All of these problems, and more, were within the purview of the Precinct Captain. He had the ‘clout’ (a Chicago word often misused and misunderstood by persons without a Chicago background) to get things done for you. Your only responsibility was to turn out and vote on every Election Day, and be sure to vote correctly.

Actually, there were three political parties in Chicago back in the forties, fifties and early to mid sixties. You could belong to the Conservative Democrats, Moderate or Centrist Democrats, or Liberal Democrats. I don’t think I heard anything about the Republican Party until I entered High School. Local politicking was fun, because there were so many catfights between the three Democratic Parties. However, when it came to election time, the votes went to the Democratic candidate for whatever office was being contested, whether he or she was a Liberal, Moderate or Conservative. Accommodation, compromise and reality checks with the actual voters eventually arrived at platforms and candidates that were acceptable to all views within the Chicago Democratic Party.

I was very comfortable while a Democrat, because I could maintain my liberal inclination on social issues, moderate views on fiscal policies, and conservative views on crime, defense and foreign policy. The Democratic Party of my youth and early adulthood was a three-winged bird, and had diversity in its makeup long before diversity became just another buzzword. But shortly after the mid-sixties, a terrible event occurred that has repercussions that are felt today. Sometime during this period, SOMEONE STOLE MY DEMOCRATIC PARTY!

I don’t know if it was a plot engineered by Gene McCarthy, George McGovern, Ed Muskie and the Massachusetts wing of Liberals Gone Wild; but suddenly, the Democrats became an exclusively Liberal Club with a progressive and secular agenda, rather than a representative Political Party. My own doubts began with the Democratic led opposition to the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act. It was Republican support that enabled these important bills to pass. This was followed by the withdrawal of support for American troops by the Democrats in the late sixties. I then began to evaluate the direction the party was going. After involving America in a war in which I lost friends, the Democratic Administration’s lack of a win strategy, and subsequent actions by the Democratic Congress to insure the defeat of South Vietnam while disparaging our military, gave me reason to question the new attitude of the Democratic Party. And this began while a Democrat held the presidency. While Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement certainly had an impact, the change was too rapid for the dramatic shift to the Left to be the result of only those two issues. I’m not sure what other forces drove this turn to the far left, but suddenly, I was disenfranchised from the party in which I was raised. The divorce became final when the Democrats adopted the unrestricted abortion on demand plank in their official platform.

Rapid though this change was, it was not apparent to the media (or at least not reported on) until the unexpected first Reagan election, and his subsequent landslide re-election. The phenomenon of the Reagan Democrat seems to have been a surprise to many, but it shouldn’t have. Not since Lyndon Johnson had there been a Democratic candidate for the Presidency who could balance Liberal, Moderate and Conservative tendencies within the Democratic electorate. The swing to radical liberal stances on all issues had become entrenched by 1980. As I recall, that was when the term “knee jerk liberal” came into vogue. The only successful Democratic candidate for President since 1980 was Bill Clinton, and he rode the moderate or centrist vote, never voicing any opinion that might be considered too liberal. Clinton never took a stand on anything without first checking with focus groups and conducting numerous polls.

Let’s fast forward to 2004. Why are Zell Miller and Ed Koch considered such oddities? That a Democrat would abandon his Party’s Presidential candidate, and support a Conservative Republican (although many Conservatives would say GWB is not a Conservative) should not be a surprise. Like me, Senator Miller and Mayor Koch both came from a Democratic Party that had three wings, so they could work to incorporate the views they held on specific issues, while remaining among the Party faithful. However, like me, Zell and Ed did not abandon the Democrats. The Democrats abandoned us, verbally burning us at the stake for not towing the party line. When the shift to the left became the only acceptable view within the Democratic Party, our own Party disinherited both moderates and conservatives. The most prominent person of the last quarter of a century to travel this route was President Reagan himself. A Democrat when he arrived in Hollywood, and still a Democrat when he was President of the Screen Actors Guild, he became Governor of California as a Republican. When asked why he left the Democratic Party, he replied that he had not. Rather, he said, the Democrats had left him.

I am now a Registered Republican, since I seem to favor more Republican candidates then Democrats. I want to be part of both the Caucus system, and the Primary system here in Iowa, so I must choose between Democratic and Republican registration. However, I consider myself more of a Conservative Independent with a slight Libertarian bent, as I have not voted a straight ticket in any election since the Democrats left me with no way to express my beliefs. I wonder how Democrats like Henry (Scoop) Jackson and others of his mien would react to the new Democratic Party of howlers like Howard Dean, anti military propagandists like Dick Durban, and blame America first proponents like Ted Kennedy. Would they also switch to Republican, or perhaps Independent status? An interesting question, but one that I am not qualified to answer. What I do know is that the Republicans seem to have room for Moderates, Liberals and Conservatives, while the Democratic Party does not.

While a three-winged bird may appear odd, it is still more likely to fly than a bird with only one wing. That may be why the Republicans have a brighter future than the Democrats.

Tom Glennon

BIO

Tom Glennon recently retired as a Manager with an international bank. A Chicago native, he retired at the location of his last assignment, in the Des Moines, Iowa area.
He is an award winning speaker for the Volunteer Oil Industry Communications Effort, an industry advocacy group, and writes essays and opinion pieces for a variety of on-line and print publications.

Tom has served on his County Republican Committee, as well as having served as the County Campaign Chair for Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). His volunteer work has covered a variety of community based efforts, including youth athletic organizations, Junior Achievement, Youth at Risk, and the Boy Scouts.