American Muslims Deserve Their Places Of Worship Too

Are we letting our fear of jihadists get out of hand? We have shared this country with Muslims far longer than the time that has elapsed since 9/11. How much did we think about them? Not much I'd wager. Especially those who freely adopted western dress and U.S. law.

Then everything changed, exacerbated by the incidents at Fort Hood, the shoe sole bomber, the "underwear" bomber and the scare in Times Square. These are all valid reasons to be cautious, but to lump all Muslims residing on U.S. soil as no more than terrorists is no more right than lumping all blacks as violent gang members.

There are passionate opinions about plans to build a mosque a couple of blocks from "ground zero". "Why not," say some. "No way," say others. I ask why not some place else? Let's presume it is to be no more than a place of worship and set aside questions about funding and the Imam. Is it not, plain and simple, distasteful to build a multi-million dollar 13 story tall building? Photos of the architectural rendering are a bit flashy to say the least. A mosque is one thing; an in-your-face reminder that Muslims were in fact those who brought down the World Trade Center because they hate us is quite another. If the Muslims want to show they are sympathetic to what happened there, why should it not be them instead of us making the concession on the location? Not to mention the design!

On the other hand, in other parts of the country, from Nashville to Temecula, Muslims have been meeting ugly resistance to both new mosques and the expansion of existing ones. Once more a minority in our country is living in fear. Fear of us.

Yes, the Muslim population is growing and much of it is from immigrants that have been coming in since 1990. Legal immigrants I might add. Are they jihadists bent on our annihilation? Or could they possibly be Muslims looking for a better life than what they had in their countries of origin? Certainly there will be bad apples. But not necessarily barrels full.

These actions do no more than encourage the very thing we want to discourage. Radicalization!

I agree there should be no consideration of a parallel legal system bringing in Sharia law for the Muslim community. While some if it's dictates, like dressing modestly and forbidding adultery are of merit, their methods of punishment are not. If they, like everyone else, want the privilege of living in our country then they must obey our laws. Not those they left behind.

It's sad that we have become so suspicious of one another based on nationality, race and religion. It will take a special discipline on our part, collectively, not to let it destroy the very things for which we we stand. Prudence. Vigilance. And maybe the glimmer of an idea that man is a basically decent being.

I may be expecting too much.

Guest Hosts Do It Better

I did something last night that is quite unusual for me. I watched Hannity. Last week I found myself watching another show that rarely crosses my television screen ~ Greta Van Susteren. What made me stop? Guest hosts! Hannity had Liz Cheney and Greta had Dana Perino.

Both ladies did something that must have shocked their guests. They actually stopped talking after having asked a question and gave the guests time to answer. I found it so refreshing I had to listen.

I've given up listening to the MSNBC line up because of their mean spirited negativity. On Fox you have a choice ranging from pomposity to just plain stupidity. Hannity, especially, seems to get on a kick and it will last a week or better. His current kick is about some small town that allegedly used Google Earth to spy on it's citizenry to see if there were changes on their property that would warrant either an increase in taxes or a fine.

His question is whether or not Google has the right to spy and perhaps catch him in a Speedo in his back yard. Obviously he has never used Google Earth. To catch him in his Speedo would have been strictly by chance. Just to be sure I looked up our house. It even has a street view, which I understand, I could have removed if it was an issue to me. It's not.

More than that, the views are several years old. I could tell by the landscaping. The trees were much younger and the season was late fall. No one was in the yard nor on the street.

Yet evening after evening, before we'd switch to some other nonsense, there he'd be harping on Google's invasion of his privacy. This is but one example of what these talk shows, no matter the political slant, have to offer. Not much.

Hub tells me a large screen high def TV is out of the question. Why bother watching something where the picture has more clarity than the subject matter!

That's his take and I can't disagree. Mine is why the heck can't I get such a gig? I can harp on stupidity as well as any of them!

Spud Nuts

When I get to wondering why the Obama's don't get the idea that Michelle visiting Spain with 40 of her nearest and dearest plus the government entourage it takes to accompany them, at our expense, doesn't sit well with the public when so many can barely afford to get themselves to the food bank, or we have the likes of Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters facing ethics charges, I look no further than the state of Idaho as a starting place.

Today's mail brought the perfect example. A flier screams at me, Idaho Voting Laws Have Changed! Photo ID is now required at our polling place. Or - drum roll - vote absentee! Does anyone see the irony in this besides me?

Of course this is the state that in recent years saw the the election and following departure of Senator Larry Craig famous not for his legislative record but rather his rest room activities in Minneapolis. And Congressman Bill Sali who must have the cleanest feet around since one or the other was in his mouth so often. We mustn't forget the Aryan Nation folks who continue to jab at us and the fact that you can get a pass on darn near anything if you're a Republican.

I've been commenting on ideas in Net Roots: Online Progressives and the Transformation of American Politics by Matthew Kerbel. One point I thought essential in weeding out bad candidates and where Independents could make some inroads, is let no candidate go unchallenged. It's far from becoming a universal practice, but it might have saved Idaho the embarrassment of having Phil Hard running unopposed. Phil Hart believes taxes are unconstitutional therefore he doesn't pay them. He has lost case after case, is breaking the law which he has sworn to uphold and yet is on the state House Revenue and Taxation Committee.

To add insult to injury, the House ethics committee, unlike in DC where they've had the sense to have equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, has a majority of Republicans since they are the majority party. So Mr. Hart gets a pass and even retains his seat on the committee. And they worry about showing ID at our polling place!

So here we are. Karzai is complaining about us again, this time for backing his own ethics people for removing one more corrupt official, the Muslims want to build a monumentl unto themselves yards from ground zero in New York while we agonize over political correctness and the President's wife and "friends" choose to vacation at a Ritz Carlton resort in Spain!

Does anyone anywhere "get" it?

What Can I Possibly Say?

I'm sitting here crying. Absolutely. Crying. My friend Hannah, the vet tech who usually was with Bacchus when he visited, Oly's Mom, just called. She offered to give Oly to us.

She loves him dearly, adores him, but thought he'd be the ideal match for us. He's well trained. He's no longer just a puppy but by no means old. And he's a Saint. She had everything answered. When we wanted to travel, with our old kennel closing, she'd keep him. If something happened to us, he'd go back to her. Even my vet, at lunch the other day, said if we got another dog and something happened to us she and her husband would give him a home. Wow. If you wonder why I've thought so highly of these people, there is no better explanation than this.

No. There are two that have to be in concert with this decision and there aren't. Hub has made up his mind and there is no changing it. There is our age. My medical condition, whatever it is. The expense. Not immediately but as we age and the dog ages, the expenses increase. Just like with us. We were fortunate to be able to give Bacchus the very best care available. But it was expensive. Very.

And the heartache. The final months with Bacchus were bittersweet. We knew we were going to lose him. We just didn't know when or how. It was difficult. It was more than difficult. I was a mess. I'm more open with my feelings, but Hub, too, hurt more than I knew. And still does.

As much as I miss having a dog in the family, the rest hasn't faded to the point that I'm ready to look down a similar road again.

Oly has a wonderful, loving home with two Labs as playmates, and humans much younger and more energetic than I will ever be again. I couldn't, wouldn't, remove him from that. It's where he belongs. It's his home.

But the thought, the gesture is unlike anything I've ever experienced. I will never, ever forget it. Thank you Hannah. From the bottom of my heart. What more can I possibly say?

This Was My Dog Day Of The Summer!

Remember that little fuzz ball? The one on the right not too sure about the big guy next to him? It was about this time last year and I haven't seen him since. His Mom and I and Dr. Prince had lunch together and talked mostly about dogs. What else!

How I've missed that over sized bundle of joy that is a Saint Bernard! The scent of the fur, the softness of it. Even "the look" of saintly tolerence while receiving hugs for which he really wasn't in the mood. Too hot!

Sigh. It was a great change of pace for a summer day. Great memories and a short nonsensical piece of video by which to remember a close encounter with a furry kind.