Politics -Time For Some Acceptance?

I'm feeling kind of sad today.  Maybe it's seasonal affective disorder.  Maybe it's just plain defeat. It's time to realize that the country is leaving me and my kind behind.

I've just finished listening to the umpteenth discussion on sequestration with each panelist blaming those of the opposing party. It has gotten so tiresome I wonder why I even bother listening what's more commenting on them.

Maybe we have too many independent contractors in Congress these days.  Especially in the Republican Party.  You'd think among all those men and women in the House there would be a core group who could get together on a policy and convince the rest to, in essence, lead follow or get out of the way. But they don't get out of the way.  They dig in their heels and prevent any chance of a cohesive agreement.

The Democrats love to bully and intimidate.  That's because winning is the only way and they are the least fractured of the two parties at this particular time.

We know from the State of the Union speech, if not before, where the President is coming from.  There is no question.  I'm on the losing side.  I do think we have a spending problem.  Not only do we spend too much we also spend on projects that had better have been left to the states or to the private sector.

The President has no interest in friend or foe outside our borders so the world will go it's own way without any form of guidance what-so-ever.  I believe we will pay for abdicating our position as leader of the free world and so will others who have depended on us. It saddens me that it's no longer deemed important.

I watch the parties scrap like junk yard dogs, snarling and gnashing their teeth at one another with the only concern being winning their point.  It doesn't matter what is best for the country.  It has become no more than a patch of dirt on which to do battle.  Unlike me, fewer and fewer are paying enough attention.  Who can blame them?  As I said, it gets so tiresome and it never changes. Then to add insult to injury, under-informed voters come to the fore during the silly season and vote for the most ludicrous of reasons, usually self-indulgent ones.

When I was born FDR was President.  The first I was aware of was Truman.  I remember seeing the headlines about Dewey beating him. Wrong. I've seen many since. Some have been better than others to be sure but I don't believe there was ever one as detached from the people as our current one.  Whether you agreed with their ways or not, they were for God and country, not self. What has happened to that?  I ask the same of Congress.  I ask the same of our own local politicians.

Self used to be paired with reliance.  No more.  Basically I'm doing no more than preaching to a one person choir.  Why?  I keep waiting for the pendulum to swing back but I don't see that it has reached the end of the arc it is now following.  Heck, I'm even too old for my own mood swings!  Oh well, maybe the sun will come out tomorrow.

Oscar Pistorius - Another Gun Tragedy

With the news that paraolympic hero Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girl friend, I immediately wondered if the tragedy would have occurred with our current gun laws and those proposed.

My conclusion is a resounding yes.  Why?  Because no one would be looking at him as unfit to won a gun.  What makes him so very different than Chris Dorner?  No one was paying him much mind either because until the madness began no one was expecting it.

By all accounts Mr. Pistorius was a wonderful young man.  He had certainly overcome tremendous odds.  He liked guns.  He was a hunter.  He spent time at a local shooting range.  Just like so many others.

He had a temper too and neighbors talked of a domestic disturbance the night of the shooting.  How many people would fit his profile and how many of them own guns?  More than I can count on one hand.  The question is what made him so angry that he pumped four bullets through a bathroom door and into his lady?

He claims it was a tragic accident.  The police are charging him with murder.  Chris Dorner said he was  unjustly dismissed from the police department.  The police said it was justified.  Something inside was asunder, however, with both men.  Something acquaintances, even close ones, did not see.

Granted, Mr. Pistorius was in South Africa and Mr. Dorner here.  If nothing more it shows gun violence has no borders.  It also shows that registration and background checks may do no more good than searching every living soul passing through our airports.

The problem it seems is that a potential killer may be an everyman until an unknown stress point is passed.  How is that to be detected?  There is no way.  Had either man not had access to guns would their inner rage have manifested itself in some other way?  Probably.  Unless one is just plain evil, something triggers the rage beyond control.

I don't know that kind of anger and hope I never do.  I've know men who have abused their spouses yet had been nothing but warm and friendly with me.  Had I not known the spouse I'd have never known or even imagined.  Is it so much different with a shooter?

It's just confounding.  I don't know that universal carry permits are a grand idea.  It just puts weapons more readily in the hands of anyone likely to snap. Should I too have a weapon, would my reflexes be fast enough to protect myself against an unsuspected attack?  I doubt it. Even with training. And Mr. Pistorius didn't need but four bullets to do unmitigated damage to his friend, purposely or not.

After the rhetoric dies down, I don't expect much to happen in the way of meaningful new legislation.  Congress may legislate something, but it won't be meaningful because we don't know what that would be.

The guns are out there.  The people who own there are out there.  Those who have yet to snap are also out there.  It's no wonder I don't particularly like crowds and watch my back at the ATM when someone comes up behind me. It's not a comfortable way to live, but the circumstances causing it have long been in place.

Cops As Judge And Jury

Even though a charred body bearing the drivers license of Christopher Dorner was found in the burned out cabin, don't bet the case is over.

A little research into his pre-manifesto days indicates Mr. Dorner was a less than stable individual. Police records show he had troubles from the very beginning. Everyone was against him.  In other words he saw himself as a victim.  His problems extended into his private life with a failed marriage and a restraining order against an ex-girlfriend.

After having completed military service he had more trouble fitting in. His police department probation was extended to the point he had to patrol with a training officer. One wonders why he was even on the force with his penchant for filing apparently unfounded grievances.

Somewhere in his twisted mind he decided to kill those who caused him so much pain. He had to know he wasn't likely to survive.  The police community is extremely tight knit and doesn't take kindly to their own being targeted, what's more killed. Going after family members make it worse.

I understand that community being angry and scared.  The chief says he was highly trained but the evidence suggests otherwise.  He struggled with the basics.  Never-the-less he was armed and dangerous and the police were on edge making a volatile situation.

So finally they think they have him surrounded in a cabin.  They try to smoke him out with tear gas and make no headway.  They resort to incendiary tear gas which they knew would ignite the cabin into an inferno.  They had to know he'd not escape it.

The question I have is if this was the proper course.  Had he not been an ex-cop having killed a number of their own would they have used the same tactic or would they have called in a team to try and negotiate with him to surrender?  Did he not have the right to a trial by jury?  Did they want to exact revenge rather than seek justice?

He was obviously unbalanced.  No one questions that.  He killed.  No one questions that.  But did the authorities have the right to use a tactic that practically guaranteed his death without exhausting every other approach?

In some of your minds I'm sure you feel they had every right. To those who already have a fear and/or loathing of the police, however, I fear it will be seen as one more instance of overkill, pardon the pun, and do nothing to change those minds about the brutal excesses of authority.

I don't view it as a winning situation for either Mr. Dorner nor the police. Certainly not Mr. Dorner who  is presumed dead.  The only plus side is they didn't resort to using an armed drone.  But only, I suspect, because, as of yet, they don't have them.

What's Happening To Us?

Our country seems to be suffering mood swings. Tomorrow brings the State of the Union address which I expect to be contentious, insulting to the Republicans and to our collective intellect. The aftermath too will be contentious. Some of which is valid.

There is good reason to question the credentials of those chosen to fill cabinet vacancies.  There is good reason to still be angry over Benghazi.  There is good reason to be disgusted with Congress as a whole.

When I read about people who lift my spirits like Dr. Ben Carson yesterday and new Medal of Honor winner Clinton Romesha today, the brief moment of brightness swings to the dark side of our psyche.

How many gun crimes have we had since Sandy Hook?  Several, including yet another today.  The one getting the most attention however, is the former sailor and police officer who has definitely gone over to the dark side. Whether or not Chris Dorner was rightfully or wrongly accused of filing a false report about a fellow officer is an internal problem.  No matter how unjust he felt the outcome, he does not have the right to punish the entire police community by killing them.  That's an understatement if ever there was one. He has obviously lost it and certainly qualifies as one who should not have access to guns.  But he does.

Then I ask, why is there a Facebook page called We are all Chris Dorner full of support for him and against the police? He's being turned into some kind of sick cult hero by equally disenfranchised fans. What kind of people do this?  How many of us really have such deep seated resentment of authority and more importantly, why?  It's crazy!

In a another vein there is the disintegration of our culture and what is and is not acceptable.  Anything goes.  Everything is funny.  If it isn't racist of course.  Take the Justin Bieber skit on Saturday Night Live. He pulls out the waistband of his trousers, sticks his camera in and, wink, wink, takes a photo and tells Hillary to check her e-mail.



He's an eighteen year old kid of questionable talent and appeal.  I cannot believe the producers of Saturday Night Live thought this was appropriate under any circumstance and is certainly demeaning to Mrs. Clinton.  I may not care for her political views but I do respect what she has accomplished for herself. And so should 18 year old Canadians.

I certainly hope Mr. Bieber is not in our country on one of our questionably named genius visas!  Maybe he could share a plane with Piers Morgan and the can both exit the country via Toronto so Mr. Bieber can get off.

I don't know any more.  I get on one of my rants and realize it's an age thing.  My generation has different values and we're seeing them disappear and can do nothing.  I will never stop wondering what brought about the change, where we lost our direction.  Sometimes I think we took the wish to have a better life for our kids farther than we should have and threw caution to the wind in favor of indulgence.

It's beginning to remind me of Sodom and Gomorrah. I'm wondering if two men will appear to give us our due.  If any of us are lucky enough to escape the wrath remember to not look back. That pillar of salt would be bad for the diet. So say the PC police.  Politically correct.  Where are they when they could do some good?

Black And Not At All Scary

Not long ago a member of a local school board was at a public forum where guns were being discussed.   He quoted an incident where he described them as being black and scary and his wife had quipped that so was Obama.

You would not believe the charges of racism and insensitivity this generated. For the record, it is a comment I'd likely have made to Hub under similar circumstances.  Obama is black and his policies are scary.  That's the point that was missed.  His  policies.  Not the fact he is black.

Oh, my, the race card is alive and well.  What is needed to squelch the nonsense? Perhaps more blacks having the courage to speak out.  Enter Dr. Ben Carson and his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast.

Best known, I believe, for his work on separating co-joined twins,  this John Hopkins neurosurgeon will soon be known for a whole lot more. He's my new hero as a practitioner of truth and common sense.

There he stood at the podium, President Obama to his left as you faced them, saying this country does have a debt problem. That our educational system is sorely lacking. There are more simple answers to health care than those being imposed on us.  Admitting he was politically incorrect, he also made clear he was not apologizing for it.  He emphasized that we need truth in what we speak, not pandering.

Every time a person of color steps to the fore I am encouraged.  In the recent past we've had Alan West and Herman Cain and more recently Tim Scott. They are as good an example of "everyman" that I can think of.  They believe in the greatness of our country and worry about the path on which we're being taken.  They speak truth for all of us, not just people of color nor minorities and we need more of them. We need them shouting so the accusation of racism is drowned out.

We don't need more poll workers who brag about having voted twice for the President plus a few extra times for various family members who pass through her home on occasion.  We don't need voters who vote for the President because there was a free cell phone in it for them.  We don't need voters who vote because of color be it black or white, or any other, as the sole reason.  We don't need people of color being told they aren't black enough should they disagree with the President.  These are the people who are racist.

It would be note worthy if the President listened to what Dr. Carson had to say and actually found merit in it but I'm willing to bet he did not.  He isn't a listener. He has a single minded vision and strategy and no amount of talk is going to change it unless, maybe, it comes from someone he really respects.  So far, however, he hasn't shown any respect for people who disagree with him.

It's a start though, when a man such as Dr. Carson will stand before him, as one of his own, and tell him that in many respects he is wrong. The message wasn't delivered to people of color in particular, it was aimed at all of us.  It would be helpful, though, if those of color who did listen would see the merit of his critiques and step forward in agreement.

It wouldn't be racist.  It would be patriotic.