It's Time For American Muslims To Get A Grip

We give the Muslim community far more of a pass when it comes to scrutiny than most nations. They yell loud and long about profiling and we run away with out tail tucked between our legs. Even when we have them dressed in the uniform of the United States Army or a cab driver from Denver intent on blowing up the New York subway system. I'm sick and tired of Americans looking like the enemy!

Just what would you think? A group of Muslims in a parking lot in Henderson, Nevada. Seven of them. Praying. The scene made someone nervous and police were called. The Muslims were questioned for around a half hour. Now a complaint has been filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations stating the scope and length of the stop was unreasonable and served no legitimate investigative purpose.

Did it not? I'm sure it made whoever notified the police feel better. Remember, when in Islamic countries we are expected to act as they do and when it comes to attire, women must abide by their laws. The old adage of when in Rome do as the Romans do. It should go both ways but we seem faint hearted when it comes to expect the same. To go to prayer in a public parking lot is, to me, a gesture of "in your face America".

Why does it rile me so much? Because they want a pass on their unwillingness to reign in their own. Look at the map. Look at the proximity to Boulder Dam? The next picture is of the highway. It goes right across the top of the dam. After 9/11 the government was so concerned about an attack on the dam they rerouted truck traffic and instituted vehicle searches for others.

So great was the concern they are permanently re-routing the highway. This is the progress as of last fall when we went through, a bridge a long way from being finished. Meanwhile the vehicle searches continue and nerves remain on edge especially with the escalation of terrorist activity within our own borders.

I don't feel like being politically correct today. As far as I'm concerned the authorities should have been called and the questioning was prudent to say the least. If the Muslims want better relations with the Americans it's time for them to be more vocal against jihad and quit pretending they are shocked, shocked that they should be suspected of anything other than praying in a parking lot in Henderson, Nevada, a blink away from Hoover Dam.

A Lousy Life For A Dog!

When I opened Facebook this afternoon, I found a request to become a Fan of the Kootenai County Dog Park Association. Of course I did.

I remember well the fun Bacchus and I had when we still lived in Rochester, New York. He was just a puppy then and his favorite playmates were the Labs who played fetch in the river. I more often than not went home with a very soggy doggy.

Other dogs have a more noble calling than Bacchus did in being my constant companion for nearly ten years. Some, like Gunner, are called to duty for their country. They can suffer the same fate of our soldiers though their job is to minimize it. Especially when it comes to road side bombs that they are trained to sniff out.

Many are Labs and they're very good at what they do. Though a far cry from going hunting with their human buddies, it's a game for them. Except for Gunner. He's suffering from PTSD. A dog? Why not?

Like the humans who train them, they're on the front lines of the war. If they fail and are not themselves killed, they witness all sorts of horror. Just like their human companions.

We know what it does to the men. They live with memories that sometimes last a lifetime. They can have recurring nightmares. They can be spooked by loud noises; become recluses . Some never recover. Why not a dog? They say they pick up on our moods, our fears, why not the horrors of war?

Gunner will not be asked to sniff out more bombs. It's tough enough to get him to leave the safety of his kennel. His handler is hoping he can can help Gunner shed enough of his demons to just be a good pet.

It's the first time since we lost Bacchus the Hub was moved to comment, "I don't really want another dog but I'd take Gunner." Unfortunately the sounds from the gun club down near the airport are probably enough to spook him.

Wishful thinking aside, somehow I feel the wars have gone on way too long when even the dogs suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD, for our furry friends, should be an acronym for Pats, Treats and Snuggles for Dogs!

Up Yours!

What is the one exam people hate more than anything else? A colonoscopy, right?

President Obama has inadvertently shown exactly why we don't want a medicare type system for the country by virtue of his colonoscopy. You see, he had a virtual colonoscopy. If you're on Medicare, you can't. Dr. Mark E. Klein explained it quite well in Today's Wall Street Jounal . He explains that it takes about 15 minutes and requires no sedation. Though if polyps are found that have to be removed in a second procedure, only about 10% of people have them. It is also perfectly safe, eliminating the possibility of perforation and all that goes with that.

So why would this highly approved procedure be turned down in favor of the traditional one? Because it could "identify possible abnormalities outside the colon that might lead to further testing and additional costs". Hello? If they find something abnormal wouldn't you want to find out what it is and what to do about it? I would!

Then too, he goes on, there are the huge numbers of people who refuse to have the traditional procedure and that can lead to untimely death that's quite preventable!

I find it interesting that the President personally chose a procedure that those of us over 65 cannot have unless we're willing to pony up out of our own pockets. It wouldn't be because it's, in the long run, less expensive, more comfortable and, most importantly, safer.

How timely, as the health care war is heating up for the final battle. I fear we're not so much being governed as much as we're being ruled. There are privileges to being a part of the ruling class. Those of us who aren't part of it are close to having to live by their dictates while they enjoy the finest medical technology available.

And they wonder why we're angry.

No One Escapes My Wrath Today!

Especially the media!

First, however, I'm going to go out on a limb and applaud Jim Bunning for standing up to Congress and it's insatiable spending. While everyone and their pet dogs have been castigating him, I think his timing is brilliant. You see, it got the attention needed! Had he held up legislation on anything that wouldn't affect people already in dire straits it would not have gotten his intended effect. It did; he got the compromises he wanted and the Senate was held to task. Don't let the Democrats use it against the Republicans. As Mr. Bunning said, we've got to start paying for things!

To the media. Where were you when you reported on the President's check up where it said he needed to not only lower his cholesterol, continue efforts to quit smoking and curb his alcohol intake? You wanted to spare him embarrassment maybe? Might it have something to do with how he handles stress? No, I'm not criticizing him. If I had his job I'd be a raging alcoholic I'm sure and other than Bush, I don't know of any President that didn't like to tip a few. But it is part of the health report and I shouldn't have had to go to a British paper to find it!

Speaking of the President, let's have a look at Obama Motors formerly know as GM. While Congress is still raking Toyota over the coals for brake problems it seems GM is recalling 1.3 million cars with steering problems! Is the pot calling the kettle black? And don't call me racist; it's a figure of speech.

As for the Toyota brake problems, why was nothing noted about the witness who with the proper amount of anguish told of how she called her husband because she wanted to hear his voice one last time? Excuse me? She was calling her husband on a cell phone while her brakes were failing! And she lived to testify about it. At least give her a ticket for inattentive driving!

Then there's the deal about Congressmen pocketing what's left over from the per diem allotted for their foreign junkets. There is a rule that they are supposed to return any money not spent. Many claimed to be unaware of the rule. Right. Read on. They have no rule requiring receipts for expenditures. Have you ever heard of a business man with an expense account doing this? These per diems are not a lot of money but it's the principle. Sloppy business practices. Our government and those in it. Representative Alcee Hastings, D-Fl, said, "You are all concerned about nickels and dimes and I'm not." Except they're not his nickles and dimes! They're ours.

Representative Solomon Ortiz, D-Tx, who doesn't repay such monies said, "If that was the policy, you could never get many members traveling." Not a bad idea. Especially when they are so arrogant to as to have a "tacit understanding that if lawmakers don't spend the money they get to keep it." Really. And who's idea was that?

One last item. Don't think just because Obama is adding a few band aids stamped "Republican ideas" to the health care bill that it has suddenly become a good one. It hasn't. And to the Blue Dogs and those who are about to retire who think those band aids are enough to allow changing your vote to yes, you ought to remember why you voted no in the first place. More on this tomorrow when the new "outline" is out!

There now. I feel better. I hope anyone who takes the time to read this does not!

Still Playing The Race Card Is The Pitts!

Back on the 19th of February I wrote a post pondering the idea of having a Mad Hatter wing of the Tea Party movement for those who are more centrist than right. After reading a recent Leonard Pitts column I'm thinking it might really be a good idea.

I read Mr. Pitts with some regularity because he is in our paper on Mondays and there is little else other than retreads of old news picked up from the AP. Mr. Pitts often gives interesting insight into what it's like to be black in today's America. Of late he seems to also think that everything that's wrong with America is because we have a black President and we're not happy about it; especially the Tea Partiers.

There is much in his column I would like to refute. First he quotes from one of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann's diatribes in which Mr. Olbermann suggests the tea party movement is the "outcry of people who haven't yet made peace with the fact that their President is black." There was a time Mr. Olbermann's commentaries had some substance about the abuses of power while Bush was in office, now they are little more than shilling for the President who he will never let us forget is black. That is racism. Nuanced perhaps, but racist never-the-less.

Mr. Pitts goes on to suggest people voted for Obama because they liked his policies, eloquence and intelligence. The last two perhaps, certainly not his policies for he had none other than hope and change. We've found out what voting for eloquence alone can do and it has nothing to do with race. It is not a reflection on the President but rather on us!

He then asks if Republican Condoleeza Rice were President if that first pot of tea would have been brewed. I contend that it would have had we been as dissatisfied with her policies as we are with Obama's. It has nothing to do with race. And actually by using Rice as an example is he not contradicting himself? He took race right out of it!

I am not a Tea Party member so I can not speak for all of them. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Pitts seem to be doing a good job without me. I do know we have such a movement locally, in redder than red right down to the neck Idaho. I do not believe it's driven by racism. It's driven by differences over policy.

Mr. Pitts seems to be a very angry man these days. I, as an independent voter, am too. When I look and listen to the President the last thing I'm thinking about is his race. It's about which ever policy he's talking about. I would like to think there are many more people like me than those Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Pitts dwell on.

There is no good purpose in constantly emphasizing the President's race. It resolves nothing. It irritates those like me who are not happy with either side. I thoroughly resent the idea that anyone would accuse me of being racist just because I don't like the President's policies.

The ones keeping the issue alive are those who dwell on it and keep speaking of it. Perhaps they should take a look through Alice's mirror and see if they can tell who the racists really are. Forget about the one in the funny hat higher than a kite from inhaling mercury vapors. That would be me. Looking for people to come to my party. No racists allowed.