Random Thoughts

Las Vegas has decided not to try for an NBA franchise. They figure it would tarnish the city's reputation...Is Barry Bonds sponsoring a team in the Tour de France?...Dick Cheney's heart procedure will cost him money out of his own pocket. Seems that Blue Cross won't cover the cost of a search warrant..."We've been decimated by the return of 37 players from last year's 0-12 team" - from a college FB coach...Instead of going through the hassle of breeding and training dogs to fight in order to satisfy his gambling urge, why didn't Michael Vick just do what many wealthy athletes do: bet on their own sport...Whatever happened to Osama Bin Forgotten?...If Hillary is elected President, will there be more male interns in the White House?...It has been predicted that a team from Minnesota will win the Little League World Series this year. That is, if there are no injuries to key Twins players...John Edwards' poverty tour stopped at the John McCain headquarters this week..."The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it (doing drugs), convict them and send them up the river, too." - Rush Limbaugh, 10/5/95...Barak Obama has learned that if you bicker with Hillary, you look more presidential..."You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.'' — George W. Bush, Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001 - Maybe literacy should begin in the White House...

Church and State

The question of the separation of church and state is never ending. Those in favor of including more religion in government will say that "separation of church and state" is not in the Constitution. They are correct, those exact words are not to be found there. However, the "establishment clause" and the "free exercise clause" are in the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Basically, they state that the government shall not establish a religion and that the government shall not do anything to prohibit the free exercise of religion. So far, this country has done pretty well in keeping religion out of government. But, there are always those who want to infuse their religion into government and schools. This country was not founded on the Christian religion. (see Quote of the Week). Yes, it's true that the founders were Christian, but they were wise enough not to force their views on the country, but to allow freedom of religion, a freedom they did not have in Europe where there were state religions. Those who see a breakdown in society and our youth, blame taking the 10 Commandments out of school as the reason. A more valid reason would be the breakdown of the family. I, for one, don't need or want the school to teach my child values and relgious principles. That is too great a responsibility to leave to the schools. If anyone has a doubt as to the effect of a government forcing religion on its people, look at Afghanistan and the Taliban. Look at Iran. If we have more religion in government, there will be less tolerance and more persecution, however subtle, of people who have different views. Leave religion to our churches and families and America will be just fine.

This Week's Good Book: The Martin Luther King Trilogy: "Parting the Waters,54-63", "Pillar of Fire,63-65", "At Canaan's Edge,65-68" - by Taylor Branch

Taylor Branch spent 24 years of his life researching and writing this trilogy on Martin Luther King. His America in the King Years series is both a biography of Martin Luther King and a history of his age. No timeline can do justice to its wide cast of characters and its intricate web of incidents. This is not for the casual reader. It totals over 2200 pages. The series actually begins back in the early 1800's with the black churches founded by slaves in the South. It is fascinating and reveals much history of which I was unaware. The absolute brutality and violence against blacks in the post-reconstruction era extending into the 1960's is portrayed in great detail. The reader can feel the hopelessness of the blacks in the South because the racism was government-sanctioned. Imagine living in the state of Mississippi where a black was murdered and a white jury sets the murderers free. Imagine the local sheriff, sworn to uphold the law, is involved in murdering civil rights workers. Another frustration that I experienced in reading was that the FBI, under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, was out to get Martin Luther King. The FBI had him illegally wire-tapped for years. I can't understand why Hoover was so against King. Then, when some of the racist murderers are tracked and caught, the FBI took such great credit for it. A favorite cop-out was to hint that the civil rights movement was communist-backed. This series should be a must for history teachers and students of American History. It is the most thorough and detailed writing about the civil rights struggle.

Between Iraq and a Hard Place

Ok, my patience is running thin. I had to write about Iraq. This won't be a long diatribe, but it will hopefully cause some thought about the larger issues. First, what do we do now?? Bush got us into this mess and there will be NO good strategy, either staying or getting out. Secondly, why are we there? All the initial Bush reasons for starting this war have been proven invalid. There were no WMD's when we invaded. Either this administration is incompetent in their intelligence gathering or they lied to us. Take your pick. Al Qaida was not there. Do you think a ruthless dictator would allow a rogue group the freedom to operate in his country? Was Saddam a threat? Do you remember the no-fly zone? Heck, he couldn't even fly over 2/3 of his country! And, the weapons inspectors were having him destroy missiles that they found. Enforcing U.N. sanctions? Assuming that the removal of Saddam's government is complete, then why are we still there? Even so, things were going to turn out ok. Iraqi oil was going to pay for the rebuilding, Iraqis would welcome us with open arms and the insurgence is in its final throes (2005). (All of these claims are from our Vice President Cheney.) Now, Al Qaida is definitely in Iraq. Why wouldn't they be? Since there is now a wild west open frontier atmosphere, any terrorist group can thrive there. A larger issue that has not been addressed is Iran. Which country is the biggest threat in the region? Iran. And which country is their historical rival and counterbalance? Iraq. Now that we have removed the biggest obstacle to Iran's regional desires, what happens? We have created a void in the region and Iran is definitely filling it. If we get out you can expect Iran, via the Shiites, to attempt to establish another Islamic state, something that Saddam would never do. His Iraq was a non-sectarian state. If we stay, we will continue to lose American lives and spend more billions of our tax dollars for a dubious cause.

We can't force the various factions in Iraq to get along.

A final question. Why haven't Iraqi troops been trained to defend themselves in 4 1/2 years? Doesn't the training of American Army and Marine ground troops take place in about 90 days?

Mission Accomplished!

This Week's Good Book: "From Love Field - Our Final Hours With President John F. Kennedy" by Nellie Connally

"Mr. President, you certainly can't say Dallas doesn't love you!" These words were spoken by Nellie Connally just moments before shots rang out in Dealey Plaza. Nellie Connally was in the car that fateful day in Dallas when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and her husband, John Connally, Texas Governor was severely wounded. What was supposed to be a day to show Texas hospitality to the president and his wife, instead turned into a day of tragedy, a seminal moment of American history. Ten days after the assassination, Nellie wrote down notes so that her grandchildren would know about the events of that day as they affected the Connally family. Nellie Connally had to deal with the death of the President in her home state and the transition of power to Lyndon Johnson while attending to the long recovery of her husband John from his wounds. There were those who said that a liberal president from the Northeast would not be welcome, or safe, coming to Texas. However, prior to the fateful and fatal moment Texans showed the Kennedys great warmth and hospitality on the two-day swing through San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth. Then, a minute by minute look at the events following the shots in Dealey Plaza. From Love Field is a good read for anyone curious about the Kennedy assassination or who remembers "where they were when JFK was shot." Nellie Connally died in September of 2006.

This Week's Good Movie - Land and Freedom

Ken Loach's Land and Freedom won two awards at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and was also considered as the best European Film of 1995. The Spanish Civil War of the 1930's is the setting. The idealism of the anti-fascists who are opposing Franco becomes soured when they realize that the Communist faction of the rebels becomes controlling and dictatorial. The lack of proper training, the poor arms that they carry, the lack of discipline (one of the soldiers refusing to march) and the endless pointless political infighting (see the scene where they debate over the collectivization of that land they have captured) are all displayed. The lack of unity among the anti-fascists was a large factor in the Franco victory which allowed his fascist leadership to rule Spain until 1975. This film shows the authoritarian nature of C0mmunism. When you have a revolution, be careful what you may get after the revolution. This is a good film about a war of which most people have little knowledge. It should be noted that Hitler, in supporting his fellow Fascist Franco, was able to test his war machine prior to unleashing it on the rest of Europe.

This Week's Good Movie: Papillon

Starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. They called him Papillon, meaning "butterfly." If only he had wings to go with the name. Unable to fly, Henri Charriere virtually willed himself free. He persisted until he did the impossible: escape Devil's Island. Based on Charriere's bestseller and shot in Spain and Jamaica, Franklin J. Schaffner's film of Papillon united two stars at key career junctures. After a decade of fine work in The Great Escape, The Sand Pebbles and Bullitt, Steve McQueen found in Charriere another ideal tough-guy role. Coming off The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy and Little Big Man, Dustin Hoffman again distinguished himself as Dega, Charriere's scruffy friend. McQueen's character reminds me of Cool Hand Luke with the determination to be free exhibited by Paul Newman. Papillon shows us the inhumanity of colonialism at its worst. This is a great adventure film with great acting by big names.

This Week's Good Book: "Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton" - by David Gergen

Few observers are as qualified to comment on the merits of presidential leadership as is Gergen, having served as a speechwriter and adviser to four chief executives. In these finely etched tales of his time with Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton, Gergen not only explains what made these men tick but also draws broader lessons on what makes for presidential greatness. This is not a book to herald the right or the left. It is an objective book written by one of the few people left in Washington with credibility. Whenever I see Gergen on TV, I know that I am going to get an unbiased viewpoint. Tell me where else you can get that! This is an excellent book for anyone interested in history or the current situation in this country.

Liberals are Evil!

Yes, that's right. Liberals are evil! At least that is what conservatives have convinced many people to believe. It has been a remarkably successful campaign to redefine a term that has been in political and cultural use forever.

Webster defines liberal as: "Function: noun: a person who is liberal: as a : one who is open-minded or not strict in the observance of orthodox, traditional, or established forms or ways b capitalized : a member or supporter of a liberal political party c : an advocate or adherent of liberalism especially in individual rights."

Since when is open-minded considered to be bad? It all comes down to semantics. And when you want to simplify political discourse, it is convenient to apply a label, especially when the label is so distorted.

Think about where America would be without liberals. (in the true sense of the word) Had there been no liberals, America would: (1) still be an English colony; (2) have slavery; (3) still have child labor abuses; (4) have no Social Security or Medicare for retirees; (5) still have legal segregation in the South; (6) have much more polluted air and water; (7) have no Black stars in sports, including representing America in the Olympic Games.

I could go on and on. My point is that the meaning of the term liberal has been distorted terribly, as if a liberal is a bad person. Whenever someone throws that term out, ask them to define it. That should be a challenge. Or, ask them if the following Americans are evil: Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King. These great Americans were responsible for great changes for the better in our country. They could be considered liberals because they were open-minded and made changes.

So, let's get back to genuine political discourse and throw out the labels and just listen honestly.

God Bless America!