Religious Bullies

Have you ever noticed how many wrongs are justified by religion?  A case in point is the young woman I wrote about yesterday.  Executed after having been accused of adultery by her Islamic tormentors.

Why is it when the word 'religion' comes into play such behavior is given a pass?  I'm not going to spend time tracking misdeeds through the centuries.  All the monotheistic religions have had their low points.  The current high of low points, however, seems to belong to the radical Islamists.  They not only seem bent on destroying the lives of all those who don't believe, or interpret, as they do, but also all visages under the pretext they are symbols of paganism.  They seem not to care that paganism itself is a religion of sorts.  Never mind the historical and cultural significance of that which is to be destroyed.

Back in 2001 Afghan Taliban demolished the magnificently huge 2000 year old statues of Buddha. The reason was to stop the worshipping of false idols.  The world stood by aghast.  And let it happen.  If it had been done under any other pretext than religion would the world have stood by?

I don't think for a moment that the Taliban are stronger in their beliefs than others.  I do believe they know they have the world cowed and act with impunity.

Does that seem a little harsh? Consider this.  It's being reported that Muslim clerics are now encouraging Egypt's new president to destroy Egypt's Pyramids!  Why?  For the same reason; they are symbols of paganism.  Apparently technology has progressed to the point where this would not be that difficult an undertaking if the spirit is willing.  I wouldn't bet that it isn't.

So far the fanatics that call themselves Christians in the western world haven't taken to destroying historical structures or killing those they hate, at least not in the numbers the Islamists do.  Does that make them less fanatical?  I don't think so.  Just a bit more civilized in a society that does demand consequences for egregious actions.

On the other hand, there is a steady infiltration of radicals into the west.  What's to come?  When we deny permission for the building of a mosque will they destroy one of our great cathedrals or synagogues?

My sensibilities say no, impossible.  My intellect say it's entirely possible as long as it's under the guise of 'religion'.

It's Time To Get Tough!

Why is it we keep rewarding Afghanistan for bad behavior?  First there are the unaccounted for billions we've already given them.  Then there are the unending apologies for waging their war and training their troops for which ours get killed.

Now we have bestowed upon them the designation of 'major non-NATO ally'.  Whatever that means.  I really don't see that we are going to get anything for it.  They will get billions more.  Why are all the pledges going their way?

The President has accused Americans of having become soft.  Perhaps we have.  After all, we have his example to follow.  Where is the pledge from Karzai that he won't try to manipulate the system and run for office again?  Where is the pledge that he will stop his military from killing ours? What about furthering women's rights?  Why aren't we demanding results before we hand over the money rather than forking it over and hoping for the best?

At least the rest of the world is beginning to toughen up.  In an effort to get countries to pony up some $16 billion in development aid between now and 2015, they have put conditions on the deliverance of the money.  About 80 of them.  Let's face it, money is tight everywhere.  Pouring billions into openly rogue nations isn't sitting well with their own citizens who are in dire straits of their own.

We can only wait and see what will happen as Afghan elections get closer. The killing of our troops continues as of yesterday.  And women's rights?  How many of you watched the painfully hideous execution of a young woman while the men stood around cheering.  They pumped nine bullets into this woman who huddled helplessly.  She had been accused of adultery and had been tried and executed within in an hour of the accusation.

Money Mr. Karzai?  Not another bloody cent.  You say it was the Taliban?  They were on your soil not more than 50 miles from Kabul where you were no doubt counting your gold pieces in the security of your palace.

What can you possibly do for us?  You can't even protect your women from the monsters within your own country. Nope.  Not one red cent more. And don't expect an apology.

It's Only Money

What is it Everett Dirksen said?  "A billion here, a billion there,  pretty soon you're talking about real money."  I'd say so.

How is it that last month 80,000 jobs were supposedly created and 85,000 people went on the disability roles?  This pretty much negates the jobs created and adds an additional burden to the already overly burdened tax payers who pay those disability benefits.   I'm trying to make some sense out of the dollars here and seem not to be grasping it.

The official figure for  the unemployment rate remains at 8.2 percent.  In reality it's much higher but reporting that would make the administration's attempts at fixing our economic woes even more dismal.

So how is it that this President set the billion dollar goal for campaign fund raising?  Man, that's a lot of money to get oneself elected.  On the other hand he is failing miserably.  He's out there pleading for cash.  Even to the extent he'd like you to have your wedding guests contribute to his campaign rather than give you a gift! That might indicate people don't think he deserves another term to waste even more of our money.

On the other hand Mitt Romney is hauling it in.  In June alone he raised $100,000,000.  One month!  Do you find it difficult to believe that we as a people have that sort of expendable income to give to political candidates? No one is worth that kind of money even when freely given by others.

I can't help but think what that kind of money could be used for in our ailing economy.  How many jobs would $100,000,000 fund for how long?  What's more a billion!

Something is very wrong with this picture.  Our priorities are all screwed up.  We shell out millions upon millions to people we know are a crap shoot at best yet the charity drives are running at full tilt.  Even they don't want used items anymore; new or 'gently' used coats for the local winter coat drive.  Come on.  Look at the economy!  If kids get a new coat they're going to wear it until it falls apart and even then it will most likely be patched up and handed down to the next in line!  How many are able to shell out for a new coat for a coat drive?

That having been said, however, even a fraction of that campaign cash could get new coats for every youngster in the country with money left over.  It seems to me a far better cause than pouring it into campaign coffers.  After all, no matter who wins, there are a lot of us who will still be left out in the cold!

John Wayne She Ain't

According to FOX News Hillary Clinton   has apologized to Pakistan for a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Boy, how today's reality differs from yesteryear's fantasies! One of the memorable lines in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon was spoken in some context by John Wayne's character, Captain Nathan Brittles. "Never apologize.  It's a sign of weakness."

Apologies seem to make up a great deal of our foreign policy these days.  A great deal of our national psyche. Most of it occurs in Afghanistan for the killing of their supposed civilians.  Never mind the 'apology tour' the President took after he was first elected. Now the Pakistanis.  If their military weren't up to their ears in cahoots with the terrorists perhaps the mishap wouldn't have happened. Even so, it is war and the military is just that, military.  Unexpected, unplanned and regrettable deaths come with the territory.

I get the feeling we're being played.  We've extended our regrets for the incident every which way but naught.  We didn't utter the 's' word - sorry. ' Regret'  didn't do it.  'Sincere condolences' for the loss didn't do it.  They wanted to hear 'sorry'.  Now they have. I can almost hear them crowing, "We did it, we made them say it!"

Of course we got something for it.  The vital supply lines into Afghanistan are to be reopened.  Let's hope they uphold their end of the bargain. They've been held hostage since the incident, costing the U.S. billions in rerouting expense. Personally I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Tomorrow we celebrate our independence from the tyranny of King George III.  Today we  face another type of tyranny - that imposed on us by political ideology on one side and apathy on the other.  The freedoms we fought so hard to win are being siphoned away from us slowly and methodically.  When will we reach the point of no return?

It's not so difficult to foresee.  When apologizing for everything others haven't liked about us becomes the norm.  When leading from behind becomes the norm.  When parsing words into expedient definitions becomes the norm.  I could go on and on.

As long as any of my generation live and remember what we were in the heyday of John Wayne, unabashed flag waving patriots, the memories will be preserved.

I worry though about what happens next.  All those norms I mentioned are today's normal.  What the youth of this country will grow up knowing.  With the tendency we now have to revise history just as we parse definitions, when we're gone so will be the country my generation and those who came before created and grew.  No more. It isn't even being sustained.

Will there be another John Wayne?  No one comes close at the moment.  It certainly isn't an Alec Baldwin with his tempermental petulance.  Is the pendulum swinging back?  I don't see it.  All I see is division, distrust, partisanship and the depression that can't help but accompany it.

There is so much potential and pockets of success still out there.  It just isn't getting the press nor the support of a more and more repressive government.  Independence Day.  Just what does it mean to you?  Have you thought about it? Will you fight for it?

Weather As An Analogy

Ever since JFK was assassinated, I've seen a parallel between events and weather.  I remember that day.  My family was on the way to New York City.  My Dad had business, my Mom was going for fun and I was tagging along to visit some friends.  It was cloudy when we stopped for gas and the station attendent told me the news.  The President had been shot! I immediately rushed to the car and had Dad turn on the radio. We drove on in shocked silence.

As the news turned from bad to worse the rain came.  It wasn't an angry rain, more gentle and cleansing, but oh did it rain.  The restaurant where we had dinner was hushed.  We stopped by my friend's apartment and sat around for a short period trying to make small talk.  We failed miserbly.  The next day, the rain had stopped though the clouds remained.  Dad's business meetings were cancled, there was no fun for Mom and me?  Well, I just went numbly with the flow.

 It was winter of course so the clouds were expected.  It's the rain I remember most.  It seemed like the heavens were expressing the feelings of the country - crying in grief than cleansing the horror.

The storms that have recently hammered the Washington D.C. area brought a lot of that back to mind.  I see horrendous storms ahead.  Full of destrucive winds, driving rain, lightening that crackles, downed power lines, people suffering in extreme heat.   The fire storms in the west too. Devastation. The storms will all end.  The people will pick themselves up and move on.  It's what we Americans do.

But just what is the analogy?  The storm that is brewing over health care.  The implications of whether it's a tax as the Supreme Court has ruled, or a mandate as the administration continues to say.  There is a difference.  Oh, yes.  A huge difference.  There are the problems of implementation.  States saying the won't implement the law.  Law suits forming.  The Republicans insisting on repeal and replace but with what?  Everyone is stumbling around in a daze - even those who think that at least for the moment they have won.  Because they don't have the people.

Then there is the economy which is still struggling.  The unemployed and under employed facing a new tax burden.  Food prices rising because of the droughts and fires.  Oil beginning to go back up because of continued economic instability in Europe.  Stormy.

Iran is playing war games.  Syria continues to stink with the stench of death.  Egypt has a President that wants us to release a terrorist.  Hong Kong Chinese are protesting the visit of China's president.  Mexico is about to elect a President from a party of corrupt thugs.

The lyrics from Stormy Weather say, "Don't know why there's no sun up in the sky."  Actually, I do!