Syria - Should We Or Shouldn't We?

There was a period of time that I thought the West needed to intervene in Syria in some manner to stop the slaughter of civilians.  It didn't happen.  There was a lot of huffing and puffing and false predictions and empty threats.

Now, some 100,000 deaths later, it would seem we're going to do something.  There is still the dithering as to exactly what, when and the question, the big question, as to what the end result will be.

That concerns me.  We are now agreeing that chemical weapons have been used. Though that's not a positive.  It remains unclear who used them or maybe both sides did.  Let's presume for the moment it was the regime.

Do we have a clue as to how many there might be and where?  While we dither the Syrians have plenty of time to relocate their assets and prepare for an attack.  What exactly are we going to attack since the President has said this isn't about regime change though I can't figure out why.

Oh sure, the rebels might be worse than the regime.  In the long run perhaps, but in the short term it's hard to imagine.  And do we really think that by lobbing missiles at targets we hope are accurate that we won't add to the civilian carnage?  That won't endear us to anyone.

We have to remember too, that Syria is not a signatory of any agreement to not use chemical weapons so does it not beg to question the legality of our launching an attack to punish a sovereign country who has done nothing to us?  Is that not an act of war?  Oh sure, words will be parsed to justify it.

Then too what might their allies Russia and Iran do?  Is Russia capable of hitting our war ships?  Israel is of course in the cross hairs and what better time to hit them than during the upcoming chaos?  It also leaves the turmoil in Egypt on the back burner for the time being and when the cat's away all sorts of mischief can be done by the mice!

My feeling is there is too much confusion surrounding the what's and wherefores to do anything militarily at this point.  There is no end game.  There is no one to take the regimes place that we have enough confidence in to support.  Plus our record in that area has been dismal.

It will do nothing to stabilize the region and will have the rest of the watching world scratching their heads and wondering what we could possibly be thinking this time and what we expect to gain.

The time for intervention of this type seems to me to be long past.  Level the battle field for the rebels we think we can trust, who have been promised but are still waiting, and let them fight it out.  A lethal attack for the sake of "doing something" is no reason to add to the conflict and will solve nothing.

The action, it has been said, is partially to save the President's legacy.  Why would he want to make it any worse than it's already going to be?

The Mad Dog Days Of Summer

It's hot outside.  I'm hot.  Hub is in the kitchen creating, as only he can, hot salsa made from Hatch chili peppers. With the heat comes madness at this time of year.

Crime is escalating.  We've even had a killing here in Coeur d'Alene by a cop against a man who allegedly posed no threat except to himself.  Nothing for which to die at the hands of another, especially a cop.

Neighboring Spokane has had a slew of killings over the past couple of weeks. The most egregious was an 88 year old man who was beaten to death by two teens in a robbery that netted them $50.

Pretty awful, right?  Especially since the man, nick named "Shorty", was small in stature and the teens were pretty strapping at 15 and 16.  It has been on the national news so you may have seen it.

The boys are black.  And not the best of boys, having had run ins with the law before.  More was made of the fact the man was a vet who survived a shot in the leg at the battle of Okinawa during World War II.  He came back and lived a long productive life and was still active at 88 considering at the time of the attack he was sitting in his car waiting for a friend for a date to shoot pool.

The police chief has been on the air assuring us that the attack was not racially motivated but rather a crime of opportunity. Why? Is every crime committed by black on white or white on black racially motivated?  Have we really sunk so low that that's a truth?  I have no trouble believing the chief.  What I do wonder is why so much was made that and the fact the victim was a vet.

To me it didn't add to the story nor change how I felt about the attackers.  Two young trouble makers looking for an easy score beat to death an elderly man.  It doesn't matter that they're black and it doesn't matter that the victim was a vet.

What matters is two young men felt motivated to do this and chose what they thought was an easy target.  An old man.  It's horrible and senseless and is happening far more often than acceptable.  As for the Coeur d'Alene incident, no mention was made of race nor military service of either the officer or the victim.  Only a news photo made his race clear.  This too is horrible and senseless and is happening far more often than acceptable.

All the descriptive enhancement makes it no more so or less. It's egregious crime.  It's madness. 

Race, The Fear Factor And Politics

Race equates fear.  Even our President seems to be willing to promote this philosophy.  How a son of his would look like Treyvon.  They'd look like the three that recently killed a young baseball player and the two that beat to death an 87 year old sitting in his car too. It's the wrong comparison, Mr. President, for I doubt if you had a son they'd behave that way because they would have been taught better.

Just for the heck of it I'm going to explain who I fear and why.  The President says he experienced women holding on to their purses more tightly when he or others like him approached.  It was the 'black experience'. I'd do the same but it would depend on their dress and demeanor, not their color.

But you see, it's not just blacks.  I cringe when I see a bunch of white kids using foul language, dressed like nothing that should be allowed in a decent place of business and hogging the sidewalk or whatever.  It's the dress and demeanor.  They take pleasure in intimidating.

I've lived in both Texas and southern California where Hispanics actually dominated in some areas.  They never gave me pause because they weren't known for criminal behavior and didn't appear threatening. They were industrious, hard workers.

It's pretty much the same with Orientals.  I think of them more as achievers than anything else.  They don't appear threatening, even in groups.

On the other hand, there was a time  I'd not have given a thought to people of obvious middle eastern heritage.  Today I find myself tending to steer clear.  It's because of how they are now perceived, justified or not.

It's an issue of which I'm now keenly aware because we're inundated with it thanks to the media.  When terrorism is emanating from those middle easterners and you hear about it enough it affects you.  When the crimes that get the most publicity are crimes committed by blacks against whites and you hear about it enough it instills caution if not fear.

I have never been witness to an administration that made more of a point of race than this one and then calls foul when it's pointed out.  Instead we should be looking at the crimes and what inspires young men to kill for a thrill or $50.  Of course we know what a lot of it is.  The old cliche, the breakdown of the family.

I might add that it's also too much welfare.  The more kids, the more money.  The father is necessary only to create the kid. It's an evil, ugly, vicious cycle with no easy fix. We're creating a society of dependency. We did it with the native Americans, we're doing it with the poor blacks.  Meanwhile, those of a different skin color who are industrious are moving up and in and will one day dominate our society and we will be relegated to the status of the failed.  All because our leaders blame all the wrong reasons for why our society and civility is deteriorating. They go for the feel good fixes rather than those of substance.  Substance requires effort from all sides. It's work and it isn't easy.  But the fix would be a real one.  If only...

If the politicians feel the policies of this President are bad for the country it's time for them to say so rather than quaking in their boots in fear of being called a racist.  It's time for them to understand it's those who call them racist  who are the racists and move ahead.  He and his administration are the leaders of the whole country no matter the ethnicity.  To continually use it as a wedge is a disservice to the entire country and in the end it will be more than a footnote in his legacy. And it will be deserved.

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire!

When you see sky like this in the summer in the western United States you can bet it's not a cumulus cloud!  It's more likely to be a wild fire.

We rarely travel during the summer months but for some reason this year we've been out and about twice.  Never again.  Too many people, too hot and too expensive!

Then there are the fires. We were headed to Billings, MT for an art show and some casual poking around the area, the zoo, on down to Red Lodge, through the Parks to Jackson and the galleries, then home. We didn't see clear sky until we got to Jackson.  There's a huge fire clouding Missoula, another hovering over Bozeman, Billings was hot and smokey then the Bear Tooth Highway fire outside of Red Lodge was so intense the air stung your eyes and dried your throat. There were at least three fires in Yellowstone.

We passed fire fighting base camps everywhere.  You talk about unsung heros!  You want to salute when you see the Hot Shot trucks.

Then the people. A lady standing outside the motel Thursday morning commenting how you could smell the smoke as she puffed on a cigarette.  Irony at it's best?  And the cigarette butt lying on the path a short distance from the Pictograph Caves just south of Billings where the surroundings and the grass was so dry it crunched under your shoes.

This isn't my usual type of 'return from vacation' monologue, but every summer the west burns.  Perhaps we don't grasp the vastness of it unless we try to get out and about.  We had the same experience in July when we were mostly in Utah.

It's just sad.  The beauty that is the west is disappearing bit by bit.  It takes far longer to grown back than to burn and burn it does. For those young men and women who year after year manage to save untold homes and acreage from the wrath of Mother Nature, thank mothers of a different sort for you!

We sure don't need man to add to the insult on our land by building selfishly or camping stupidly.  Mother Nature, in the form of lightening strikes, does well enough on her own!

Too Many Walls

The Vietnam Memorial Wall and it's accompanying War On Terror Wall is in town for the weekend.

Hub lost his law school roommate in the war, a Navy pilot shot down and never recovered.  We went to find his name and give a nod of honor and remembrance.

Having never seen the full scale wall in Washington I was overwhelmed with the immensity of even this scaled down version.  I stopped in my tracks and my eyes teared.  As so many before me have thought, "So many names!"    

As the world seems to be imploding around us it brought to mind that each and everyone one of those war dead has a name and those who loved them.  What a waste of so many human lives.  American lives.

It makes me more determined than ever to keep voicing my opposition to those who feel they have the right to demolish our constitution for their own ends.  All the names on these walls gave their lives so it couldn't happen.  We owe it to them to let it not have been in vain. I will be out of town for the next week. I can think of nothing better to leave you with to contemplate.