Declaration of Independence Banned at Calif School
Wed Nov 24, 2004 04:12 PM ET (Reuters)
That's the People's Republic of California, not China. It should not come as a great surprise that the state that mandates grade school students be educated about Islam but thinks "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is trespassing far across the line has produced another ruling devoid of reason: The Declaration of independence is unsuitable reading material for impressionable young fifth-graders. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and William Penn will no doubt lead our children to new depths of depravity previously unimagined by the greatest criminal deviants of all time.
If California wants to be truly consistent, they must immediately stop paying their school employees in U.S. currency and accepting payments in that form. Henceforth, all education, and indeed governmental, financial transactions must be conducted through the medium of gold, silver, or some other non-Christian-deity tainted metal. I would suggest glass beads as a suitable medium of exchange except for the fact that this time of year makes me mindful it was exactly such trinkets that were brutally used by the ruthless (WHITE) European settlers to defraud the gentle, innocent, and naive indigenous peoples of this great land when taking possession of Manhattan.
Sadly, California is not unique in holding and expressing these views in our country. They simply have a greater concentration of intellectual deficients per capita than any other region of the land, and are further hampered by a compulsion to display their handicap for all the world to see. Even the Supreme Court of the United States erred in providing such an exaggerated broadening of the separation concept. The First Amendment admonishment that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" does not that government and government monies will have zero interaction with anything that might even remotely be associated with (Christian) religion. The Amendment only means that Congress will not establish the Church of America and require all good citizens or else, nor will they prohibit citizens from practicing any religion of their choosing or none.
Religion was the primary motivating factor inspiring many of the earliest colonists to journey to this continent. Religion was an important element in the lives of many of our founding fathers. These are historical facts, not inventions of the Vatican designed to bring a wayward nation under the thumb of the Pope. Contrary to popular belief, common sense and common courtesy are not prohibited anywhere in the Constitution. More widespread practice of these would go far to solve any number of the problems we face as a nation.
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
Saturday, November 20, 2004
David Stern: The NBA Has One Chance To Get It Right Here
The Detroit Pistons/Indiana Pacers game on November 19 is a complete disgrace to professional sports. In addition to the civil and criminal charges certain to arise as a result of this event, the NBA must severely sanction both the teams generally and the players specifically involved.
The first step that needs to be taken is for the game to be declared a forfeit by both teams. No one deserves a win for this one. If there is any justice in the world, both teams will then fall one game shy of making the playoffs at the end of the season.
Second, just as any other employer is held accountable for the actions of their employees on the job, the teams involved need to be fined and sanctioned to drive home to them and to others in the league that this is a team issue and not simply the unfortunate actions of a few individuals. It would not be out of line to strip each team of their highest draft pick in the next draft. This will hurt them in a way that will get their attention and the collective attention of the league in a manner that fines alone could not possibly accomplish.
Prompt meaningful action by the league office can salvage this situation and permit the NBA to establish a standard of conduct that other professional sports leagues will be forced to match. Selecting a few scapegoats, imposing token fines and wrist slaps, and sweeping this matter under the rug with an "aw shucks, boys will after all be boys" attitude will only further diminish the respect for all professional athletes and organizations in this country, and hasten the day when the amateur contests become the venue of choice for family oriented sports entertainment.
The first step that needs to be taken is for the game to be declared a forfeit by both teams. No one deserves a win for this one. If there is any justice in the world, both teams will then fall one game shy of making the playoffs at the end of the season.
Second, just as any other employer is held accountable for the actions of their employees on the job, the teams involved need to be fined and sanctioned to drive home to them and to others in the league that this is a team issue and not simply the unfortunate actions of a few individuals. It would not be out of line to strip each team of their highest draft pick in the next draft. This will hurt them in a way that will get their attention and the collective attention of the league in a manner that fines alone could not possibly accomplish.
Prompt meaningful action by the league office can salvage this situation and permit the NBA to establish a standard of conduct that other professional sports leagues will be forced to match. Selecting a few scapegoats, imposing token fines and wrist slaps, and sweeping this matter under the rug with an "aw shucks, boys will after all be boys" attitude will only further diminish the respect for all professional athletes and organizations in this country, and hasten the day when the amateur contests become the venue of choice for family oriented sports entertainment.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Hey Unions - Get a Grip!
I arrived at the Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening. Thursday morning, I awoke to discover myself camped within a labor protest. Since Thursday morning, members of UNITE HERE Local 11 have been growing louder and rowdier in their demands for "justice". (As an aside, while dining across the street last night a couple of starry eyed young folks were wondering amongst themselves if maybe the protesters across the street had some extra signs or something they could carry. "Wouldn't it be fun to walk around with them out there for a while?" one girl asked her friend. Gee, should we have the drinks before or after protesting someone else's cause?) The justice they seek is wage increases and what they characterize as the (right) of free health care.
UNITE HERE, and all you other unions out there, get a grip! This free health care nonsense has got to go. Any potential support I might have had for the Verizon workers a while back went right out the window when one striker on a network newscast explained that he had no choice but to strike because he loved his family and children and the company actually wanted him to (Gasp! Horror!!) PAY for a portion of his health care! News flash - nearly all of those who are fortunate enough to have health care have to pay for a portion of it. At the moment, I am one of the millions of Americans who are not fortunate enough to have a portion of my pay confiscated to pay for health care. I can only hope to be so lucky.
As scary as it is, I muddle through and work hard for the prospect of and belief in a better tomorrow. Sure I want my employer to give me free health care. Doubling my pay and throwing in a few extra paid days off wouldn't bother me too much either. Reality is somewhat different though, and unlike many of the uninformed hooligans parading around the streets of Los Angeles the past few days, I am mature and intelligent enough to understand and accept economic facts.
Kids, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Whether it is free health care and negotiated wage increases, or the government imposing "minimum living wage" rates from outside the economic system, the costs are paid for somewhere. You may get that extra dollar an hour, but the inflation it fuels will likely wind up costing you a dollar five or a dollar ten. The doctor isn't going to look at your child's swollen tonsils for free. If your employer does pick up the cost of that office visit, it will inevitably be at the expense of hiring more employees and expanding the business. It may even require layoffs to make ends meet and keep the business afloat. And don't expect the employer to just raise his prices and keep everything chugging along the way it had been. For every business that tries to do that, there are plenty more who will hold the line on costs and continue to sell a reasonably priced product. I am one of millions who will not pay more for a product just because it supports welfare programs for union bosses who promise the moon to the rank and file, and all too often wind up delivering a low lying smog layer instead. While somehow miraculously maintaining and expanding their own wealth and power.
The day of the labor union is not done. Unions can still perform very useful functions within our society and ensure a balance remains between the obligations of the employer and the needs of the employed. Union mentalities have changed very little since they were first formed, ignoring the fact that the world is not what it was a century and more ago. It is time for everyone to grow up, and as un-American as it may seem take some personal responsibility for their lives rather than lean on the ill-conceived fantasy that handouts and cradle to grave freebies are what is meant by "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
UNITE HERE, and all you other unions out there, get a grip! This free health care nonsense has got to go. Any potential support I might have had for the Verizon workers a while back went right out the window when one striker on a network newscast explained that he had no choice but to strike because he loved his family and children and the company actually wanted him to (Gasp! Horror!!) PAY for a portion of his health care! News flash - nearly all of those who are fortunate enough to have health care have to pay for a portion of it. At the moment, I am one of the millions of Americans who are not fortunate enough to have a portion of my pay confiscated to pay for health care. I can only hope to be so lucky.
As scary as it is, I muddle through and work hard for the prospect of and belief in a better tomorrow. Sure I want my employer to give me free health care. Doubling my pay and throwing in a few extra paid days off wouldn't bother me too much either. Reality is somewhat different though, and unlike many of the uninformed hooligans parading around the streets of Los Angeles the past few days, I am mature and intelligent enough to understand and accept economic facts.
Kids, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Whether it is free health care and negotiated wage increases, or the government imposing "minimum living wage" rates from outside the economic system, the costs are paid for somewhere. You may get that extra dollar an hour, but the inflation it fuels will likely wind up costing you a dollar five or a dollar ten. The doctor isn't going to look at your child's swollen tonsils for free. If your employer does pick up the cost of that office visit, it will inevitably be at the expense of hiring more employees and expanding the business. It may even require layoffs to make ends meet and keep the business afloat. And don't expect the employer to just raise his prices and keep everything chugging along the way it had been. For every business that tries to do that, there are plenty more who will hold the line on costs and continue to sell a reasonably priced product. I am one of millions who will not pay more for a product just because it supports welfare programs for union bosses who promise the moon to the rank and file, and all too often wind up delivering a low lying smog layer instead. While somehow miraculously maintaining and expanding their own wealth and power.
The day of the labor union is not done. Unions can still perform very useful functions within our society and ensure a balance remains between the obligations of the employer and the needs of the employed. Union mentalities have changed very little since they were first formed, ignoring the fact that the world is not what it was a century and more ago. It is time for everyone to grow up, and as un-American as it may seem take some personal responsibility for their lives rather than lean on the ill-conceived fantasy that handouts and cradle to grave freebies are what is meant by "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Why Fly DCA?
I haven't tried to park a car at what is now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport since the '70s. (In all candor, it was my parents doing the parking then as the local constabulary would have frowned mightily had I been discovered behind the wheel. But the point is still valid.) Given any say in the matter, it will be at least another thirty years before I fall prey to that nightmare again.
Yesterday, I was flying out of DCA. Child care and other considerations made it impractical to be dropped off at the airport or even the nearest metro station, which is still well over one hour from my home. And forget about the concept of a taxi. Driveway to parking spot ran me 94 miles. I don't care to imagine what a taxi would charge for that run, even if I could find one willing to go from my area.
When I got to the airport, MapQuest having served me almost flawlessly well for once, the signs informed me that all lots were full. Short term. Daily. Economy. Probably even the congressional private lot for all I know. Actually that last lot may not exist any more, but I can clearly remember years ago before the first expansions at National seeing signs in a fenced off lot within spitting distance of the main terminal reserving spaces for Representatives, Senators, and Supreme Court Justices.
At the economy lot, the gal in the attendant's booth was less than helpful. No, she didn't know of any off-site parking facilities. Try the hourly garage. (For three days? I'm tending to lean toward "not"!) After thirty minutes of driving back and forth past the lot hoping to see a driver pull out - which is the only way the gatekeeper would let any of us would-be travelers in - I listened to the advice of the radio recording and decided that maybe the hourly lot wouldn't be too exorbitant after all with the miracle of the expense report, especially since not making the trip at all would be even more costly to all involved. I drove past garage B, then garage C, just in time to have orange cones placed in the roadway and the "Full" sign flash red.
Seeing red myself, I trekked back to economy parking world, arriving just in time to see a beat up old red Chevy pickup leaving the lot. On went the turn signal. I stoically ignored the honks and glares from people behind who wanted to get past me or take my shot at entering the lot. With a lot of determined, impolite, and borderline improper language, I finally bullied Ms. Gatekeeper into acknowledging that the truck just leaving had to have occupied a space. Without too much further delay, I was finally granted access to the promised land.
One benefit of attempting to park at Reagan National is that I got to meet a delightful woman. She was wandering about the lot searching for her red Mustang. (There was a lot of red at the airport yesterday, wasn't there?) I drove her up and down the rows, speeding her search and saving the feet of a woman old enough to be my mother, but without any luck finding her car. I did come across another empty space though. Before I could tell her how bad it made me feel to kick her out and wish her the best, she suggested I should take the space and that she would find her car on her own. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I didn't put up even the slightest pretense at wanting to continue driving in circles until we might eventually find her Mustang.
And so it was that forty seven minutes after arriving at the airport two hours early I finally had a place to park. With waiting for the shuttle bus, check in, and security, I wound up reaching the gate ten minutes before boarding. So much for arriving responsibly early and enjoying a relaxed, low stress traveling experience.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is trying to keep up with the times without the physical capacity to do so. The short term garages are a magnificent improvement over what they replace, and made the extensive terminal expansion of the past decade possible. With so much invested in infrastructure, it is clear that the goal is to keep DCA a vital part of the Metropolitan air transportation strategy for years to come. Great, I'm all for that. Changes need to be made though. Slap a few garage decks over the existing economy lot and make the place inviting for the travelers. The other garages have already proven that if they build them then like good little lemmings we will come. But as long as they make it impossible to reliably use the airport at need, more and more customers will find the means to take their business elsewhere.
Yesterday, I was flying out of DCA. Child care and other considerations made it impractical to be dropped off at the airport or even the nearest metro station, which is still well over one hour from my home. And forget about the concept of a taxi. Driveway to parking spot ran me 94 miles. I don't care to imagine what a taxi would charge for that run, even if I could find one willing to go from my area.
When I got to the airport, MapQuest having served me almost flawlessly well for once, the signs informed me that all lots were full. Short term. Daily. Economy. Probably even the congressional private lot for all I know. Actually that last lot may not exist any more, but I can clearly remember years ago before the first expansions at National seeing signs in a fenced off lot within spitting distance of the main terminal reserving spaces for Representatives, Senators, and Supreme Court Justices.
At the economy lot, the gal in the attendant's booth was less than helpful. No, she didn't know of any off-site parking facilities. Try the hourly garage. (For three days? I'm tending to lean toward "not"!) After thirty minutes of driving back and forth past the lot hoping to see a driver pull out - which is the only way the gatekeeper would let any of us would-be travelers in - I listened to the advice of the radio recording and decided that maybe the hourly lot wouldn't be too exorbitant after all with the miracle of the expense report, especially since not making the trip at all would be even more costly to all involved. I drove past garage B, then garage C, just in time to have orange cones placed in the roadway and the "Full" sign flash red.
Seeing red myself, I trekked back to economy parking world, arriving just in time to see a beat up old red Chevy pickup leaving the lot. On went the turn signal. I stoically ignored the honks and glares from people behind who wanted to get past me or take my shot at entering the lot. With a lot of determined, impolite, and borderline improper language, I finally bullied Ms. Gatekeeper into acknowledging that the truck just leaving had to have occupied a space. Without too much further delay, I was finally granted access to the promised land.
One benefit of attempting to park at Reagan National is that I got to meet a delightful woman. She was wandering about the lot searching for her red Mustang. (There was a lot of red at the airport yesterday, wasn't there?) I drove her up and down the rows, speeding her search and saving the feet of a woman old enough to be my mother, but without any luck finding her car. I did come across another empty space though. Before I could tell her how bad it made me feel to kick her out and wish her the best, she suggested I should take the space and that she would find her car on her own. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I didn't put up even the slightest pretense at wanting to continue driving in circles until we might eventually find her Mustang.
And so it was that forty seven minutes after arriving at the airport two hours early I finally had a place to park. With waiting for the shuttle bus, check in, and security, I wound up reaching the gate ten minutes before boarding. So much for arriving responsibly early and enjoying a relaxed, low stress traveling experience.
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is trying to keep up with the times without the physical capacity to do so. The short term garages are a magnificent improvement over what they replace, and made the extensive terminal expansion of the past decade possible. With so much invested in infrastructure, it is clear that the goal is to keep DCA a vital part of the Metropolitan air transportation strategy for years to come. Great, I'm all for that. Changes need to be made though. Slap a few garage decks over the existing economy lot and make the place inviting for the travelers. The other garages have already proven that if they build them then like good little lemmings we will come. But as long as they make it impossible to reliably use the airport at need, more and more customers will find the means to take their business elsewhere.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Air America . . . .
At my wife's prompting, I began listening to "the other side". As one who is partial to the politics of Limbaugh, Hannity, and company, for me the other side resides on Air America.
My first experiences were with the morning show "Unfiltered". The show instantly took me through a time warp back to the old college days. The passion! The vitality! The maturity of potty humor! Not what I was expecting, to say the least.
Al Franken was at least a bit more sober and mature. While I can't agree with the majority of what he holds dear, at least I can listen too him, grant him the right to hold an opinion, and find his style of delivery to be no more offensive than that of Rush Limbaugh.
I will continue to make an effort to give other Air America programs a chance, and hope that the others are more in line with Franken than Unfiltered. "The Other Side" should have a forum for expressing their views, and "My Side" should listen if only to know what is being opposed. But the opposition needs to speak with a mature, intelligent voice if they are to have any hope of their ideas being given serious consideration.
My first experiences were with the morning show "Unfiltered". The show instantly took me through a time warp back to the old college days. The passion! The vitality! The maturity of potty humor! Not what I was expecting, to say the least.
Al Franken was at least a bit more sober and mature. While I can't agree with the majority of what he holds dear, at least I can listen too him, grant him the right to hold an opinion, and find his style of delivery to be no more offensive than that of Rush Limbaugh.
I will continue to make an effort to give other Air America programs a chance, and hope that the others are more in line with Franken than Unfiltered. "The Other Side" should have a forum for expressing their views, and "My Side" should listen if only to know what is being opposed. But the opposition needs to speak with a mature, intelligent voice if they are to have any hope of their ideas being given serious consideration.
Monday, November 15, 2004
Thank You, Juan Valdez
Mmmmmmm. Coffee.
Homer can have his doughnuts. As far as I'm concerned, a world without coffee is a world not worth living in. More than once, I've joked that I would quit any job where they stopped serving coffee in the office. That resolve was put to the test once when the company I worked for was emerging from the ashes of a disastrous ownership experience under the far more competent guidance of a new owner. For the first two days of the revived company, coffee was not available. Then they expected me to pay for it! By Friday, the free flow of the nectar of the goddess had been restored and I never had to make the painful choice between paying bills and making good on my threats.
And for the record, I'm a purist. You never saw Juan and his donkey carting around sugar cane or leading a cow, did you?
And what the @#$^*! is a soy mocha latte?
Homer can have his doughnuts. As far as I'm concerned, a world without coffee is a world not worth living in. More than once, I've joked that I would quit any job where they stopped serving coffee in the office. That resolve was put to the test once when the company I worked for was emerging from the ashes of a disastrous ownership experience under the far more competent guidance of a new owner. For the first two days of the revived company, coffee was not available. Then they expected me to pay for it! By Friday, the free flow of the nectar of the goddess had been restored and I never had to make the painful choice between paying bills and making good on my threats.
And for the record, I'm a purist. You never saw Juan and his donkey carting around sugar cane or leading a cow, did you?
And what the @#$^*! is a soy mocha latte?
The Rules of War?
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/041115/325/f6mtb.html
About the only positive item of note in the above news story is that at least Amnesty International is being an equal opportunity abuser this time, and not dumping all the ills of the universe exclusively at the feet of the United States.
It would be nice if non-combatants didn't die in war. It would be nice if no more damage were inflicted on opposing forces than minimally necessary to achieve objectives. It would be nice if buildings, works of art, and other personal and public property were not destroyed in the resolution of human conflict.
Heck, it would be nice if war never transpired at all.
But, the world is not a John Lennon song. What would be nice frequently isn't what is real, or realistic.
War sucks. War is brutal, hellish, disgusting, and to be avoided at all costs. Attempts to preserve the populace from paying the price for the folly of their leaders is commendable, but ultimately war is a conflict of political will employed to fill the vacuum of failed diplomacy. Any attempts to convert war into a Sunday afternoon football game - details at 11:00! - not only fail to comprehend what war is and must remain, such attempts only make war a more rather than less likely event.
Those who wish for white light and fuzzy bunnies may someday be horrified to discover their wishes have been realized.
About the only positive item of note in the above news story is that at least Amnesty International is being an equal opportunity abuser this time, and not dumping all the ills of the universe exclusively at the feet of the United States.
It would be nice if non-combatants didn't die in war. It would be nice if no more damage were inflicted on opposing forces than minimally necessary to achieve objectives. It would be nice if buildings, works of art, and other personal and public property were not destroyed in the resolution of human conflict.
Heck, it would be nice if war never transpired at all.
But, the world is not a John Lennon song. What would be nice frequently isn't what is real, or realistic.
War sucks. War is brutal, hellish, disgusting, and to be avoided at all costs. Attempts to preserve the populace from paying the price for the folly of their leaders is commendable, but ultimately war is a conflict of political will employed to fill the vacuum of failed diplomacy. Any attempts to convert war into a Sunday afternoon football game - details at 11:00! - not only fail to comprehend what war is and must remain, such attempts only make war a more rather than less likely event.
Those who wish for white light and fuzzy bunnies may someday be horrified to discover their wishes have been realized.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Another California Jury Verdict!
Permit me to begin by stating that I suspect to identify Scott Peterson as the scum of the Earth is to elevate him far beyond his just station in life.
That said, I cannot help but feel that once again we have endured another uniquely Californian media circus attempting to pass itself off as a sober judicial proceeding. From the point of initially wandering the state in search of a community that was not tainted by pretrial media coverage - do we really want jurrors from communities who cannot read and don't have access to even broadcast news coverage? - to the most recent act in the drama of unseating jurors until a panel was found that could "start at the beginning of the deliberative process again" and fairly evaluate all of the evidence presented in under twenty-four hours, this case has recalled every mis-step of the O. J. Simpson trial. Only this time, the prosecution couldn't quite manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
And remember - the epilogue has yet to be written: Will Scott fry or will he rot?
Why not save everyone time and money in the future? When the police have selected a suspect for The People to try, why not simply flip a coin and convict or acquit based upon the result? The outcome is bound to be as fair and impartial as the results derived under the current system, and who knows, might even yield the correct verdict.
The Robert Blake trial could be grandfathered in to be tried under the current system of justice in California. That way the networks won't be cheated of their investment in that made for TV mini series.
That said, I cannot help but feel that once again we have endured another uniquely Californian media circus attempting to pass itself off as a sober judicial proceeding. From the point of initially wandering the state in search of a community that was not tainted by pretrial media coverage - do we really want jurrors from communities who cannot read and don't have access to even broadcast news coverage? - to the most recent act in the drama of unseating jurors until a panel was found that could "start at the beginning of the deliberative process again" and fairly evaluate all of the evidence presented in under twenty-four hours, this case has recalled every mis-step of the O. J. Simpson trial. Only this time, the prosecution couldn't quite manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
And remember - the epilogue has yet to be written: Will Scott fry or will he rot?
Why not save everyone time and money in the future? When the police have selected a suspect for The People to try, why not simply flip a coin and convict or acquit based upon the result? The outcome is bound to be as fair and impartial as the results derived under the current system, and who knows, might even yield the correct verdict.
The Robert Blake trial could be grandfathered in to be tried under the current system of justice in California. That way the networks won't be cheated of their investment in that made for TV mini series.
Goodbye President Arafat
Yasser Arafat is gone at last, laid to rest amid a scene that probably made a number of Marines happy that they were in a relatively safe place like Fallujah instead of Ramallah.
There is little question that the late president placed his own interests first, those of his people second, and all other concerns a distant last. That he was able to manipulate sentiment enough to lay claim to a Nobel Peace Prize is evidence that he was a Player of the highest order - and a quite successful one at that. Whether he ever had any interest in achieving a sustainable peace with Israel is open to debate, though that debate is one in which both sides come to the table with unshakable convictions firmly in place.
Israel - you must now exhibit the courage to permit the Palestinian people to elect a leader of their own choosing, not merely one of your anointing. Further, you must permit that leader to lead. Setting unrealistic and unachievable demands, preventing those demands from being fulfilled, then administering punishment for the refusal to comply with your directives can not continue.
Palestine - you also bear a burden of responsibility to choose leadership that will look towards tomorrow and provide a future. Fighting a fifty year old war that cannot be won will only ensure that several additional generations suffer the same hopelessness now endured.
The past has shaped the present. That does not mean that everyone is locked into an immutable future. The present is ever an opportunity to shape a past that has led to a broader and brighter spectrum of possibilities than has so far been achieved.
There is little question that the late president placed his own interests first, those of his people second, and all other concerns a distant last. That he was able to manipulate sentiment enough to lay claim to a Nobel Peace Prize is evidence that he was a Player of the highest order - and a quite successful one at that. Whether he ever had any interest in achieving a sustainable peace with Israel is open to debate, though that debate is one in which both sides come to the table with unshakable convictions firmly in place.
Israel - you must now exhibit the courage to permit the Palestinian people to elect a leader of their own choosing, not merely one of your anointing. Further, you must permit that leader to lead. Setting unrealistic and unachievable demands, preventing those demands from being fulfilled, then administering punishment for the refusal to comply with your directives can not continue.
Palestine - you also bear a burden of responsibility to choose leadership that will look towards tomorrow and provide a future. Fighting a fifty year old war that cannot be won will only ensure that several additional generations suffer the same hopelessness now endured.
The past has shaped the present. That does not mean that everyone is locked into an immutable future. The present is ever an opportunity to shape a past that has led to a broader and brighter spectrum of possibilities than has so far been achieved.
Monday, November 08, 2004
Will Israel Be The Dog That Caught The Mail Truck?
At long last it looks as though Israel may soon have what it has dreamed of for decades - a world without Yasser Arafat. Best of all, they won't even need to justify themselves to the world at large for having done the deed.
Super. Now what?
Just like the dog who catches the mail truck is bound to be at a total loss as to what comes next, has the Israeli leadership fully considered the ramifications of getting what they want? With Arafat out, someone else will have to be in. I seriously doubt the Knesset will have the privilege of making that appointment.
Though the reigns may not have been pulled as tight as most would like, isn't it reasonable to believe the Arafat did exert a moderating influence over Hamas and other like minded organizations? What is to prevent someone from that fringe of the movement assuming Palestinian leadership?
Then, I fear, Israel will have placed itself in a completely untenable position. They will justifiably claim a right and necessity to protect their very existence. How long, though, will the world stand by, particularly the Arab world, while Israel employs helicopter gunships against sticks, stones, and pipe bombs, asserting that it is a vital national security interest to blow up women and children in refugee camps? Of course there is not the faintest hint of justification for Palestinian homicide bombers to take the lives of innocent Israeli citizens either, but even in the best light Israel must eventually come off looking like the gigantic schoolyard bully picking on the weakest available victim.
Can Israel, more than any other people on this planet, possibly get away with committing cultural if not outright racial genocide in the name of preventing their own? Less imaginable, could any Israeli citizen truly harbor such a sentiment?
Super. Now what?
Just like the dog who catches the mail truck is bound to be at a total loss as to what comes next, has the Israeli leadership fully considered the ramifications of getting what they want? With Arafat out, someone else will have to be in. I seriously doubt the Knesset will have the privilege of making that appointment.
Though the reigns may not have been pulled as tight as most would like, isn't it reasonable to believe the Arafat did exert a moderating influence over Hamas and other like minded organizations? What is to prevent someone from that fringe of the movement assuming Palestinian leadership?
Then, I fear, Israel will have placed itself in a completely untenable position. They will justifiably claim a right and necessity to protect their very existence. How long, though, will the world stand by, particularly the Arab world, while Israel employs helicopter gunships against sticks, stones, and pipe bombs, asserting that it is a vital national security interest to blow up women and children in refugee camps? Of course there is not the faintest hint of justification for Palestinian homicide bombers to take the lives of innocent Israeli citizens either, but even in the best light Israel must eventually come off looking like the gigantic schoolyard bully picking on the weakest available victim.
Can Israel, more than any other people on this planet, possibly get away with committing cultural if not outright racial genocide in the name of preventing their own? Less imaginable, could any Israeli citizen truly harbor such a sentiment?
Friday, November 05, 2004
In The Beginning
All beginnings are difficult. The challenge of commencing the journey stands in the way of traveling toward the destination. Often, once the first steps are taken the ultimate path leads far astray from what was first expected. Then too, if we are truly fortunate the journey never ends. Reaching the end of the road is a failure. What are we to do with ourselves if we have nowhere left to go tomorrow?
I know where I think these first steps are leading. Expect this to be a repository of political and social commentary, and maybe even the occasional historical reference to facts that some might prefer were forgotten. With good fortune this blog will become a dialogue, or at least a forum for examining dissent.
As with all journeys of worth, I am pleased at the prospect of the start. I am even more enthusiastic to encounter the digressions and unimagined discoveries to be found ahead. So, I invite you to strap yourself in and come along . . ..
I know where I think these first steps are leading. Expect this to be a repository of political and social commentary, and maybe even the occasional historical reference to facts that some might prefer were forgotten. With good fortune this blog will become a dialogue, or at least a forum for examining dissent.
As with all journeys of worth, I am pleased at the prospect of the start. I am even more enthusiastic to encounter the digressions and unimagined discoveries to be found ahead. So, I invite you to strap yourself in and come along . . ..
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