I know I wasn't going to write a commentary this weekend, but did anyone really believe that? Really? Even I knew I didn't believe that.
Because two of my nephews and one of my nieces have to work in restaurants on Thanksgiving, and had to for several years, one of my sisters opens her home on Black Friday, to what one of my friends calls "Italian Thanksgiving," because we are, after all, half Italian. So, it was with some sense of sharing a "new" experience that I write this.
My sister had 28 people in her home on Friday. We (yes, I was there cooking) made 10 pounds of potatoes, mashed, 8 pounds of mashed turnips, 12 pounds of apple/cranberry potatobread-cornbread stuffing, 4 pounds of home-made fresh cranberry sauce, and two turkeys, totaling 35 pounds. We also had home-made brussell-sprouts, corn, creamed onions and so many other smaller sides. But no lasagna. I felt like we were working in a restaurant kitchen.
The day before, Real Thanksgiving to the rest of you, I made 4 pumpkin pies, 2 coconut custard pies and 4 home-made holiday/Christmas stollen, for breakfast and then dessert. Those of you who know me since the olden days, you know, the 60s, know that I worked as a baker while going to high school and college at Tulip Bake Shop in Floral Park. Been doing that ever since.
So, finally, at 3 pm, after all the prep, the cooking and baking,the taste-testing, the carving and the setting it all on the table, all 28 of us sat down to eat our feast. Pass the potatoes, pass the stuffing, mmmm, cranberry sauce, oooo, turnips, a prayer of thanks and grace, and toasts all around. And less than an hour later, belts were being unbuckled, and chairs were pushed back from the table.
Sound familiar?
I bet you all did the same on Thursday. The difference really was that you got up and watched football, real NFL football, while we watched college on Friday afternoon and Friday evening. But all the rest was probably the same, right?
Anyway, the point of all this is that because some of the gang has to work because restaurants are opened on Thanksgiving, my sisters, parents, brothers and assorted nieces and nephews, with their spouses, other halfs, and kids have come up with a unique way to celebrate what the rest of you call Black Friday. And none of us were seen hide nor hair in a Wal*Mart, Macy's or Costco, anywhere on Long Island or elsewhere. Trust me, in this economy, the sales will still be there, without the crush of the mob.
And we had a better time, making Italian Thanksgiving a better way to celebrate a real family day. Try it next year; you just might like it.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Thanksgiving Thoughts
This commentary will be the last one until Tuesday, December 3. I am taking a few days off and taking a weekend jaunt for the Thanksgiving Weekend. Taking a few days off from time to time is good for recharging the batteries.
I know that on Friday many of you will fall into the trap set up by the media to highlight the pluses or minuses of retailers Black Friday sales. I have commented on the fact that some retailers plan to open Thursday, to try and get a head start on the Christmas shopping season. As if opening at 8 pm will make that much of a difference.
Black Friday, of course, is the day retailers hope to put their books into the "black", a very cogent and professional accounting term which describes the financial condition of the business. Before this, they had been working in the "red", or negative position, where they were losing monies from their bottom line.
Now that we have dispensed with the Accounting 101 class, let's realize that this weekend will be very busy in the malls, the highways and byways leading to the malls, and the restaurants and diners, where shoppers will go to take that break between Macy's and Sports Authority.
Home improvement stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, etc, will also be busy in their seasonal and garden departments, selling trees, wreaths, roping, poinsettia and other flora necessary to decorate our homes for Christmas. Of course, the items necessary to complete the look like lights, lawn ornaments, nativity scenes and so forth will also be walking out the doors with the Christmas trees.
Stores like Wal*Mart, K-Mart, Sears and other big box store retailers will do their best to compete with Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Best Buy, PC Richards, etc, to sell comparable products at reduced, more affordable prices. And don't forget that Costco, BJ Wholesale and other member warehouses will be equally busy.
All weekend, at extended hours.
Home shopping channels will be vying for those limited disposable consumer dollars with Christmas-themed items interspersed with their usual products. Christmas sets will abound even as backdrops to every stage. And hosts will hawk all of this by mentioning Christmas or holiday at every opportunity. And, of course, liberal return policies will be mentioned as a final hook, which brick and mortar retailers cannot possibly offer.
And, finally, on Monday, the Internet gets to join the party. Internet sales for electronics of all stripes are expected to surpass last year on Monday, as more people each year have decided not to fight the crowds and the traffic.
So, enjoy today as you prep for the big feast. Many pies and breads will be made to be enjoyed with your turkey, lasagna, stuffing, mashed potatoes and all the other fixings which will complete your meal. The cooks and bakers will need help, like wash the dishes and pans, wipe the tables, take out the garbage, or pour them a cup of coffee. But, DON'T think you are going to do the main work involved. Remember, too many cooks....
Tomorrow is the family day, so when you get up remember that the parade starts at 9 am and football starts at noon. But don't forget to be involved with your family. And, after dinner, you can't blame your nap on just the tripophan in the turkey. There were more than just a couple of pounds of carbs on your plate that you ate, too.
Enjoy your weekend, friends, as I will enjoy mine. Please be safe and smart as you travel out and about. For those of you traveling long distances to be with loved ones, whether you are driving or flying, please keep an eye on the weather and plan to leave early if you can, should difficult weather conditions be forecast.
And let me say something to my faithful readers, who have grown in numbers since I started this commentary. Thank you for your loyalty, friendship, respect and kindness. I truly appreciate you and your feedback, whether you agree or not with my views. I am thankful to you that you take an interest in reading mine and trust me, I read yours, as well. You have helped me grow in this world of blogging, teaching me a few things as I try to reach out to you and make you think of things which you may have thought not possible. Thank you.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. See you next week!
I know that on Friday many of you will fall into the trap set up by the media to highlight the pluses or minuses of retailers Black Friday sales. I have commented on the fact that some retailers plan to open Thursday, to try and get a head start on the Christmas shopping season. As if opening at 8 pm will make that much of a difference.
Black Friday, of course, is the day retailers hope to put their books into the "black", a very cogent and professional accounting term which describes the financial condition of the business. Before this, they had been working in the "red", or negative position, where they were losing monies from their bottom line.
Now that we have dispensed with the Accounting 101 class, let's realize that this weekend will be very busy in the malls, the highways and byways leading to the malls, and the restaurants and diners, where shoppers will go to take that break between Macy's and Sports Authority.
Home improvement stores like Lowes, Home Depot, Menards, etc, will also be busy in their seasonal and garden departments, selling trees, wreaths, roping, poinsettia and other flora necessary to decorate our homes for Christmas. Of course, the items necessary to complete the look like lights, lawn ornaments, nativity scenes and so forth will also be walking out the doors with the Christmas trees.
Stores like Wal*Mart, K-Mart, Sears and other big box store retailers will do their best to compete with Macy's, Bloomingdale's, Best Buy, PC Richards, etc, to sell comparable products at reduced, more affordable prices. And don't forget that Costco, BJ Wholesale and other member warehouses will be equally busy.
All weekend, at extended hours.
Home shopping channels will be vying for those limited disposable consumer dollars with Christmas-themed items interspersed with their usual products. Christmas sets will abound even as backdrops to every stage. And hosts will hawk all of this by mentioning Christmas or holiday at every opportunity. And, of course, liberal return policies will be mentioned as a final hook, which brick and mortar retailers cannot possibly offer.
And, finally, on Monday, the Internet gets to join the party. Internet sales for electronics of all stripes are expected to surpass last year on Monday, as more people each year have decided not to fight the crowds and the traffic.
So, enjoy today as you prep for the big feast. Many pies and breads will be made to be enjoyed with your turkey, lasagna, stuffing, mashed potatoes and all the other fixings which will complete your meal. The cooks and bakers will need help, like wash the dishes and pans, wipe the tables, take out the garbage, or pour them a cup of coffee. But, DON'T think you are going to do the main work involved. Remember, too many cooks....
Tomorrow is the family day, so when you get up remember that the parade starts at 9 am and football starts at noon. But don't forget to be involved with your family. And, after dinner, you can't blame your nap on just the tripophan in the turkey. There were more than just a couple of pounds of carbs on your plate that you ate, too.
Enjoy your weekend, friends, as I will enjoy mine. Please be safe and smart as you travel out and about. For those of you traveling long distances to be with loved ones, whether you are driving or flying, please keep an eye on the weather and plan to leave early if you can, should difficult weather conditions be forecast.
And let me say something to my faithful readers, who have grown in numbers since I started this commentary. Thank you for your loyalty, friendship, respect and kindness. I truly appreciate you and your feedback, whether you agree or not with my views. I am thankful to you that you take an interest in reading mine and trust me, I read yours, as well. You have helped me grow in this world of blogging, teaching me a few things as I try to reach out to you and make you think of things which you may have thought not possible. Thank you.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. See you next week!
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Obamacare and Religious Employers
In today's Sacramento Bee:
"President Barack Obama's health care law is headed for a new Supreme Court showdown over companies' religious objections to the law's birth-control mandate.
Amid the troubled rollout of the health law, and 17 months after the justices upheld it, the Obama administration is defending a provision that requires most employers that offer health insurance to their workers to provide a range of preventive health benefits, including contraception.
Roughly 40 for-profit companies have sued, arguing they should not be forced to cover some or all forms of birth control because doing so would violate their religious beliefs."
Guess what? These companies are right. Why should they be forced, BY THE GOVERNMENT, to violate their religious precepts? What is this, separation of church and state except if it is to the advantage if the state?
The employees who work there signed on knowing that they were working for entities whose basis, while not affiliated with any specific faith as a faith-based employer, like the Catholic Church's Catholic Health Services, nevertheless, was formed by deeply religious people, who held to specific religious precepts, like the owners of Hobby Lobby, Conestoga Wood Specialties, Autocam, Corp and so many others.
On June 17, I wrote a commentary called "The Constitution, the Church and Obamacare", which I said in part:
"So, because it is technically an insurance company, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that the insurance company provide sterilization, reproductive, and pregnancy prevention and termination services as part of its plan offering to the employees of the employer's insurer. Got that? The Church is required to provide abortion services to its female employees, in violation of its sanctity of life tenet. And yet, in its hospitals, abortions are not performed nor permitted.
From a Constitutional standpoint, this is a violation of the premise of separation of church and state, as well as, a violation of the first amendment, to wit: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Currently, the Church and others are suing the federal government over the the violation of those rights under the Constitution by being forced to comply with this part of obamacare.
There are at least a dozen separate cases pending in the federal courts, and ultimately one or more of these cases will end up in the Supreme Court. The exemption that HHS issued last year will expire on August 1. If the Supreme Court does not rule on any pending case before then, the Church will be in technical violation of the law at that time, unless Secretary Sebellius issues an extension of the exemption."
Amid the troubled rollout of the health law, and 17 months after the justices upheld it, the Obama administration is defending a provision that requires most employers that offer health insurance to their workers to provide a range of preventive health benefits, including contraception.
Roughly 40 for-profit companies have sued, arguing they should not be forced to cover some or all forms of birth control because doing so would violate their religious beliefs."
Guess what? These companies are right. Why should they be forced, BY THE GOVERNMENT, to violate their religious precepts? What is this, separation of church and state except if it is to the advantage if the state?
The employees who work there signed on knowing that they were working for entities whose basis, while not affiliated with any specific faith as a faith-based employer, like the Catholic Church's Catholic Health Services, nevertheless, was formed by deeply religious people, who held to specific religious precepts, like the owners of Hobby Lobby, Conestoga Wood Specialties, Autocam, Corp and so many others.
On June 17, I wrote a commentary called "The Constitution, the Church and Obamacare", which I said in part:
"So, because it is technically an insurance company, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act mandates that the insurance company provide sterilization, reproductive, and pregnancy prevention and termination services as part of its plan offering to the employees of the employer's insurer. Got that? The Church is required to provide abortion services to its female employees, in violation of its sanctity of life tenet. And yet, in its hospitals, abortions are not performed nor permitted.
From a Constitutional standpoint, this is a violation of the premise of separation of church and state, as well as, a violation of the first amendment, to wit: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Currently, the Church and others are suing the federal government over the the violation of those rights under the Constitution by being forced to comply with this part of obamacare.
There are at least a dozen separate cases pending in the federal courts, and ultimately one or more of these cases will end up in the Supreme Court. The exemption that HHS issued last year will expire on August 1. If the Supreme Court does not rule on any pending case before then, the Church will be in technical violation of the law at that time, unless Secretary Sebellius issues an extension of the exemption."
The government has overstepped its authority with this law, as it pertains to people's faith. Let's hope, finally, that the Roberts-led Supreme Court gets it right this time and states that the government cannot force an employer to do something which is an anathema to its core principles. If if rules in favor of the government this time, any semblance of religious freedom is gone forever in this country.
We have come a long way since 1620 when the pilgrims and others came here to practice their religions freely, without interference from the state. The state, with this law, has found a loophole that even the King of England didn't think of. And the pilgrims left anyway.
And by the way, to those of you who consider yourselves atheists and agnostics, in the same commentary, I also said the following:
"Understand that when I use the term "Church" in this commentary, I mean all religious entities, faith-based employers, and others whose views while not mirroring the Catholic Church, certainly are not secular in any way. Even atheistic views are respected here, since there are some atheistic views which are not state-based. And, also understand that, at best, I am a cafeteria Catholic, so I don't agree with all of the Church's positions."
So, this law in essence is a violation of our own, personalized moral views which each of us lives as we see fit, while not violating another's or society's views of right and wrong. Therefore, this law should be found unconstitutional, based on its violation of the First Amendment, you know, the one which guarantees that no law will be made to make us violate our own precepts.
Mr Chief Justice, just remember that if you take away the religious freedoms for one, you have taken it away for all. And the pilgrims will be rolling over in their graves.
And by the way, remember this as you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner, the reason why you can give thanks.
"Understand that when I use the term "Church" in this commentary, I mean all religious entities, faith-based employers, and others whose views while not mirroring the Catholic Church, certainly are not secular in any way. Even atheistic views are respected here, since there are some atheistic views which are not state-based. And, also understand that, at best, I am a cafeteria Catholic, so I don't agree with all of the Church's positions."
So, this law in essence is a violation of our own, personalized moral views which each of us lives as we see fit, while not violating another's or society's views of right and wrong. Therefore, this law should be found unconstitutional, based on its violation of the First Amendment, you know, the one which guarantees that no law will be made to make us violate our own precepts.
Mr Chief Justice, just remember that if you take away the religious freedoms for one, you have taken it away for all. And the pilgrims will be rolling over in their graves.
And by the way, remember this as you sit down to your Thanksgiving dinner, the reason why you can give thanks.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Is It Christmas or Holiday?
It's the evening of November 25 as I write this, and what is the significance of that? It's Christmas Day in 30 days from today. Yes, that's right, CHRISTMAS DAY.
Today's modern society is either afraid or ashamed to say Christmas. Yet retailers depend on this time to get their books into the black after being in the red all year. Hence, Black Friday. And this year, because Hanukkah is so early, the Christmas sales will really be the sole driver of the "holiday" shopping season.
When you hear the word "holiday", which holiday comes to mind? Fourth of July? Martin Luther King day? How about Valentine's Day? Or, why not Fathers Day? These are all holidays of a sort, after all.
Let's face it, friends. It's the Christmas shopping season. What else are we shopping for? Beethoven's birthday on the 16th? I don't think so!! We are shopping to give our loved ones CHRISTMAS presents, not holiday presents, right?
So then, why are we afraid to say CHRISTMAS? Is it because there is the religious implication? It is the day we, as Christians, celebrate Jesus Christ's birthday. You know, Christ's mass. And for my non-Christian followers, it's ok to recognize the existence of Christ, the man. Just like Christians recognize Moses, Buddha, Muhammed, Vishnu, Confucius and so many other founders of great theological philosophies.
Christians carry on the tradition the Magi began, by bringing Jesus gifts which would symbolize his life and death; gold for royalty, frankincense for body fragrance and myrrh as an anointing oil. Today, of course, we give none of that. I mean, myrrh? What would we do wit that? Instead, we give DVDs, CDs, clothes, toys, romantic gifts to loved ones and friendship gifts to acquaintances. We love to give.
To sum up. It's really ok to say Christmas. The PC police can't prevent you from saying it. Even our Federal government recognizes Christmas as the legal name for this day. We don't say "Mithras Day" even though it's his birthday, too, according to the ancient Roman calendar. The legal holiday is Christmas, since the mid-1800s.
So, friends, there is no need the cringe when someone wishes you a "Merry Christmas". It isn't so greeting to prothelysize you or convert you to the dreaded (?) faith. Instead, you can take it as a warm greeting of joy and friendship, much like the man who gave the name to us. And, quite frankly, Jesus Christ, as a Jewish carpenter, was probably known as Joshua Bar Joseph, which meant he had a traditional Jewish name and upbringing. His name is a cacophony of Latin and Greek, Joshua becoming Jesus and Christ as the anointed one. His divinity is accepted only by Christians, but his human attributes of kindness, warmth and understanding of his contemporaries' feelings should be society's guiding principles.
Let me be one if the first, if not the first, to wish you and your loved ones a Very Merry Christmas. I will take your greeting back into my heart and cherish it always.
Merry Christmas!!!!
Today's modern society is either afraid or ashamed to say Christmas. Yet retailers depend on this time to get their books into the black after being in the red all year. Hence, Black Friday. And this year, because Hanukkah is so early, the Christmas sales will really be the sole driver of the "holiday" shopping season.
When you hear the word "holiday", which holiday comes to mind? Fourth of July? Martin Luther King day? How about Valentine's Day? Or, why not Fathers Day? These are all holidays of a sort, after all.
Let's face it, friends. It's the Christmas shopping season. What else are we shopping for? Beethoven's birthday on the 16th? I don't think so!! We are shopping to give our loved ones CHRISTMAS presents, not holiday presents, right?
So then, why are we afraid to say CHRISTMAS? Is it because there is the religious implication? It is the day we, as Christians, celebrate Jesus Christ's birthday. You know, Christ's mass. And for my non-Christian followers, it's ok to recognize the existence of Christ, the man. Just like Christians recognize Moses, Buddha, Muhammed, Vishnu, Confucius and so many other founders of great theological philosophies.
Christians carry on the tradition the Magi began, by bringing Jesus gifts which would symbolize his life and death; gold for royalty, frankincense for body fragrance and myrrh as an anointing oil. Today, of course, we give none of that. I mean, myrrh? What would we do wit that? Instead, we give DVDs, CDs, clothes, toys, romantic gifts to loved ones and friendship gifts to acquaintances. We love to give.
To sum up. It's really ok to say Christmas. The PC police can't prevent you from saying it. Even our Federal government recognizes Christmas as the legal name for this day. We don't say "Mithras Day" even though it's his birthday, too, according to the ancient Roman calendar. The legal holiday is Christmas, since the mid-1800s.
So, friends, there is no need the cringe when someone wishes you a "Merry Christmas". It isn't so greeting to prothelysize you or convert you to the dreaded (?) faith. Instead, you can take it as a warm greeting of joy and friendship, much like the man who gave the name to us. And, quite frankly, Jesus Christ, as a Jewish carpenter, was probably known as Joshua Bar Joseph, which meant he had a traditional Jewish name and upbringing. His name is a cacophony of Latin and Greek, Joshua becoming Jesus and Christ as the anointed one. His divinity is accepted only by Christians, but his human attributes of kindness, warmth and understanding of his contemporaries' feelings should be society's guiding principles.
Let me be one if the first, if not the first, to wish you and your loved ones a Very Merry Christmas. I will take your greeting back into my heart and cherish it always.
Merry Christmas!!!!
Monday, November 25, 2013
The Karzai Gambit
From Monday's LA Times:
"KABUL, Afghanistan — In a dramatic face-to-face rebuke to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a grand council of Afghan dignitaries voted Sunday to approve a proposed 10-year security agreement with the United States by the end of the year, agreeing to an American-imposed deadline.
The white-bearded chairman of the council, known as a loya jirga, told Karzai he miscalculated when the Afghan president demanded a delay in signing the agreement until next spring. Chairman Sibghatullah Mojaddedi lectured Karzai, warning that if he delays signing the agreement, "I’ll resign and leave the country.
"If he had listened to my advice, we wouldn’t have this problem today," Mojaddedi, 89, a former Afghan president and longtime confidant and mentor to Karzai, said as the president sat stiffly a few paces away.
But Karzai remained adamant that he will not sign the accord until after the Afghan presidential election in April. That stubborn stance has infuriated U.S. officials, who Friday imposed a Dec. 31 deadline."
Since October 7, 2001, the United States has maintained a military presence in a country which, at the time we made our presence known, harbored the "mastermind" of the 9-11 attacks on NYC and DC. Initially, we were welcomed by the people as their savior from the dreaded Taliban. As you recall, this was the group which stifled individual freedoms, placed women in subservient positions in society, and championed the causes of Osama bin Laden.
Once we drove the Taliban out, we installed a "more democratic" form of government, led by Hamid Karzai. He was brought to Washington, sat in the Presidential box at a joint session of Congress for the State of the Union speech, and was lauded by President Bush for his support of our troops and our cause.
Over the years, we have learned that the Karzai family has been involved in and may have led the lucrative opium and heroin drug trades, making millions, if not billions, while American and NATO troops continued to be maimed and killed to support this corrupt government. We had long ago lost our primary objective of capturing bin Laden, when in December, 2001 we had our best chance to capture him at Tora Bora and lost him, probably with the support of anti-American factions of Afghan society. Yet, we continued to fight opposition forces with the hope that we would somehow be fighting for democracy and freedom for the Afghan people.
President Karzai has made his feelings known that he would be willing to enter into a coalition government with the Taliban, and yet we continue to maintain our presence. Americans continue to die not only in the field of battle, but also by Afghan support troops on our own bases. And we stay. And we want a Status of Forces agreement. Why?
We should learn the lessons from the Soviet occupation and subsequent withdrawal of Afghanistan in 1989 that this country is a lost cause for whatever improvement we thought we could teach the people to advance into a more modern society. They didn't want the Soviets there, and they certainly don't want us there, either.
A Status of Forces agreement in this society would be unenforceable because the troops which stay would be like ducks in the arcade. They would continue to be shot at, would not have the right to retaliate, and ultimately, while the agreement would protect them from prosecution by the Afghan government, would not protect them from persecution by the people in the streets. And the Afghan government would stand idly by as it happened.
So, let's take down the bases and the other assets we built, pull the troops out now and let "our pal" Karzai twist in the wind. After all, that will be his fate, much like Mussolini at the end of WWII. We should not provide safe passage to this most anti-American of people. Let him bribe the warlords with the billions of American dollars he has stolen over the years. He will still be strung up when it's all over.
Yes, we finally got bin Laden, with no help at all from Afghanistan, or for that matter, our other "ally" in the region, Pakistan. The sooner we leave these barbarians behind, the better off we will be. The world views us with disgust and disdain anyway, so let's just bring our troops home and be done with it.
Good luck to you, Mr Karzai. You certainly earned your fate by your own actions against your own people. And don't come calling on us to save your ass from your destiny. We were there and you dumped all over us. You earned it all by yourself, just like you did with the lifestyle you lived while we were there. It's called justice for abuse of power.
Say hello to Osama for us.
A Legacy For Our Time
It's a funny thing about parents. They love to remind you of things which may have interested you from your childhood. Mine reminded me this weekend of my passion when I was a kid, and my passion throughout my life. Those of you who know me or have followed me for a while know that, actually, I have two: History and Political Science.
Since the 1960 election, I have loved following political campaigns and elections. I have stayed up into the wee hours of the morning waiting with the journalists for the key to primaries and elections to see them finally break for my candidate or the other guy. And this started with that special campaign in 1960.
So, anyway, my mom gave me a reprint of the November 23, 1963 edition of the New York Daily News, which was included this past Saturday as a commemorative of that horrible day in our history. I certainly poured over that paper, reliving the stories which were trapped deep in my mind, and while doing so, I noticed some things which you never see anymore, ever, in a paper or in any other media.
In 1963, terms like "Negroes", "Christmas", "cigaret"; ads for cigarettes, liquor, porn movies and "exotic" dance; and names like Newman. Woodward, Wayne, Simmons, Signoret, and so many others, abounded toward the back end of the paper. Much of this is unheard of now, especially so in our politically correct world. After all, a person today would be offended because someone said "Negro" or "Merry Christmas", wouldn't they?
It's really sad that we are afraid of terms which were so commonplace 50 years ago or that we like to believe we could have stopped smoking or drinking by not advertising them in a paper. Who really was being naive?
While I recognize that our society has evolved over the years, it's a shame we really haven't grown up. We are stunted in our development because we want to turn a blind eye on our history, especially since we have suffered so much national trauma since November 22, 1963. Folks, this was the day we lost our innocence and we will never recover it. By denying our past, we are damaging our future.
Kennedy's assassination was the first in a series of national pain suffered by all of us born after WWII. Vietnam, the MLK and RFK assassinations highlighted the rest of the 60s, the Watergate scandals, gas lines, inflated interest rates and the Iran Hostage Crisis ruled the 70s, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the Challenger disaster, Iran-Contra and the stock market crash of October, 1987 augmented the negatives of the 80s, and countless negative issues since then have dominated our country and our world.
Certainly, to say "If Kennedy were alive today..." is preposterous. He would be, after all, approaching his 97th birthday in May. But it's too bad his ideals seemed to have died with him. Our country is worse off because he died much too soon.
Perhaps, we need to take that trip down memory lane once in a while so we can see where we came from and where we are, so we can get a better sense of where we are going. Then, maybe we can take those lessons and apply them to our lives, both personally and nationally. It really can't hurt more than what hodgepodge we concocted up to now.
And then, the lessons of the past brought to us now, at this time, will serve as a reminder that some of us did well before us, and some of us can make it better with good, old-fashioned common sense. That is really the Kennedy legacy.
And then we too, can leave this place in better shape, with a better goal than how we found it.
Since the 1960 election, I have loved following political campaigns and elections. I have stayed up into the wee hours of the morning waiting with the journalists for the key to primaries and elections to see them finally break for my candidate or the other guy. And this started with that special campaign in 1960.
So, anyway, my mom gave me a reprint of the November 23, 1963 edition of the New York Daily News, which was included this past Saturday as a commemorative of that horrible day in our history. I certainly poured over that paper, reliving the stories which were trapped deep in my mind, and while doing so, I noticed some things which you never see anymore, ever, in a paper or in any other media.
In 1963, terms like "Negroes", "Christmas", "cigaret"; ads for cigarettes, liquor, porn movies and "exotic" dance; and names like Newman. Woodward, Wayne, Simmons, Signoret, and so many others, abounded toward the back end of the paper. Much of this is unheard of now, especially so in our politically correct world. After all, a person today would be offended because someone said "Negro" or "Merry Christmas", wouldn't they?
It's really sad that we are afraid of terms which were so commonplace 50 years ago or that we like to believe we could have stopped smoking or drinking by not advertising them in a paper. Who really was being naive?
While I recognize that our society has evolved over the years, it's a shame we really haven't grown up. We are stunted in our development because we want to turn a blind eye on our history, especially since we have suffered so much national trauma since November 22, 1963. Folks, this was the day we lost our innocence and we will never recover it. By denying our past, we are damaging our future.
Kennedy's assassination was the first in a series of national pain suffered by all of us born after WWII. Vietnam, the MLK and RFK assassinations highlighted the rest of the 60s, the Watergate scandals, gas lines, inflated interest rates and the Iran Hostage Crisis ruled the 70s, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the Challenger disaster, Iran-Contra and the stock market crash of October, 1987 augmented the negatives of the 80s, and countless negative issues since then have dominated our country and our world.
Certainly, to say "If Kennedy were alive today..." is preposterous. He would be, after all, approaching his 97th birthday in May. But it's too bad his ideals seemed to have died with him. Our country is worse off because he died much too soon.
Perhaps, we need to take that trip down memory lane once in a while so we can see where we came from and where we are, so we can get a better sense of where we are going. Then, maybe we can take those lessons and apply them to our lives, both personally and nationally. It really can't hurt more than what hodgepodge we concocted up to now.
And then, the lessons of the past brought to us now, at this time, will serve as a reminder that some of us did well before us, and some of us can make it better with good, old-fashioned common sense. That is really the Kennedy legacy.
And then we too, can leave this place in better shape, with a better goal than how we found it.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The Iranian Travesty
I haven't read the entire agreement yet, but I already don't like the latest "deal" the United States has made with Iran. But my bigger fear is: Did John Kerry or Barry O read it? After all, these guys have a habit of not reading something but signing onto it. And then when somebody reads it, it's a lot worse than we could have imagined.
The countries that did agree to it, Russia, China, France, Germany, the UK and the US, took four whole days to agree on something that couldn't be agreed on since 1979. Makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?
No? Me either.
And what was Iran's motive to finally agree to the terms as set forth by the "major powers"? Could it be a sense that nuclear is bad? No. Or that they are relinquishing their fanatical goals of regional, if not world, domination? No, again. Or, maybe, it has developed a sense of peace and justice for all? Three strikes and yer out!
No. Surprisingly, it's about the the almighty dollar. You know the one, our father who art in pocket, dollar be your name. These geniuses, led by Secstate Kerry, agreed to GIVE Iran up to $7 BILLION in relief of sanctions should it agree to this six-month interim agreement. I guess the world is more secure? Does anyone remember Munich, you know, peace in our time? Chamberlain holding the "paper in my hand"? No? These idiots don't.
Under the agreement, Iran has agreed to stop enriching uranium above 5% and dismantle "the technical connections" required to enrich it above 5%. It will also neutralize its stockpiles of 20% enriched uranium, which experts say represents 90% of the effort required to produce weapons-grade uranium. Finally, it will allow inspections of its the Arak reactor and whether it will be coming online.
Of course, King Barry, who likes to remind us "as president and commander in chief that I take my responsibility seriously" to negotiate yet more of our freedoms and security away to appease his "friends" in the world community which he desperately seeks approval. Even Hitler didn't care what the "world community" thought about himself. But this guy seeks to be loved by anybody. Doesn't that make him a prostitute?
And what about Israel? Israel is not a signer to this "treaty" but is a victim of it.
The countries that did agree to it, Russia, China, France, Germany, the UK and the US, took four whole days to agree on something that couldn't be agreed on since 1979. Makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?
No? Me either.
And what was Iran's motive to finally agree to the terms as set forth by the "major powers"? Could it be a sense that nuclear is bad? No. Or that they are relinquishing their fanatical goals of regional, if not world, domination? No, again. Or, maybe, it has developed a sense of peace and justice for all? Three strikes and yer out!
No. Surprisingly, it's about the the almighty dollar. You know the one, our father who art in pocket, dollar be your name. These geniuses, led by Secstate Kerry, agreed to GIVE Iran up to $7 BILLION in relief of sanctions should it agree to this six-month interim agreement. I guess the world is more secure? Does anyone remember Munich, you know, peace in our time? Chamberlain holding the "paper in my hand"? No? These idiots don't.
Under the agreement, Iran has agreed to stop enriching uranium above 5% and dismantle "the technical connections" required to enrich it above 5%. It will also neutralize its stockpiles of 20% enriched uranium, which experts say represents 90% of the effort required to produce weapons-grade uranium. Finally, it will allow inspections of its the Arak reactor and whether it will be coming online.
Of course, King Barry, who likes to remind us "as president and commander in chief that I take my responsibility seriously" to negotiate yet more of our freedoms and security away to appease his "friends" in the world community which he desperately seeks approval. Even Hitler didn't care what the "world community" thought about himself. But this guy seeks to be loved by anybody. Doesn't that make him a prostitute?
And what about Israel? Israel is not a signer to this "treaty" but is a victim of it.
"What was reached last night in Geneva is not a historic agreement, it is a historic mistake," Netanyahu said. "Today the world became a much more dangerous place because the most dangerous regime in the world made a significant step in obtaining the most dangerous weapons in the world."
"We're worried about the agreement but our job is to keep up the warnings," said Yair Lapid, Israel's Minister of Finance and part of Netanyahu's coalition government. "We're not comfortable but this warning needs to be done. We have six months until there is (hopefully) a better agreement." Voicing what he called Israel's right to self-defense, he said, "I want to clarify that Israel will not let Iran develop nuclear military capability."
"We may be the only child in the room saying the king has no clothes but that's what we must do."
Israel is our only real ally in the region, if not the world, and once again this President has spit all over her. My friend, Ed Koch and I got into many debates about this President and his disdain for our ally. I am glad, thankfully, he isn't alive to see that the man he supported for President over Mitt Romney just put the knife through Israel's heart with this deal. He would be devastated.
So, now what? Does this administration sit back and rest on its laurels for a "job well done"? Or does it find a way to put some real teeth to this deal. And what about the Senate? Now that the Dictator has taken away any shot to filibuster, do the Dems who supported Israel roll over and play dead to King Barry's whim?
I hope my Jewish friends remember what was done in Geneva to Israel and who did it. Please remember that it will be the gutless Democrats who went along with this travesty in the Senate.
The world community is watching our next action. Soon, lawlessness by rogue states could prevail and this may have been the action that blew up the box.
And Pandora, along with the countries which hate us, will be laughing at our foolishness to believe we have "achieved peace in our time."
Friday, November 22, 2013
The History of THE Weekend
The solemnity of November 22, 1963, fifty years later, can be matched only by December 7, 1941, April 12, 1945, August 6, 1945 and September 11, 2001. Each of these dates mean something very serious, very reverent to those who were alive at the time the significant events of history exploded off the calendar.
For the rest of us, we recognize the importance in history of the dates mentioned, but if we weren't alive at the time, we have no memory of why it is so, and how each affected us and our country.
For me, certainly, I was a 12 year old kid when I learned of JFKs shooting and subsequent death. As one who served as an altar boy, I was aware of death from a general sense. And I had known kids my age who died well before they should have.
But the death of JFK was different. He was our leader, after all, and someone had the audacity to take him from us. Why? As we now know, there are many conspiracy theories which beg to answer that simple question and in 50 years, we are no closer to the answer than we were at 1pm CST that horrible afternoon.
For baby-boomers, this was the first significant event that we could see change our country. The other dates, Pearl Harbor, FDRs death and Hiroshima, well, our parents told us about those events from their perspective, or we learned about them in school. But the death of JFK, like the terrorist attacks in NY and DC were current events to us and we were able to take in our own memories with those events.
That weekend for all of us was the "WEEKEND FROM HELL" and we saw our country change right before our eyes as TV grew up and matured overnight. First came the landing of Air Force One on Friday night at Andrews. We saw the casket come off the plane and placed into the waiting hearse for the drive to Bethesda.
Next, came the Saturday dirge as it rained in NY and DC all day. This made the events played out on TV even more maudlin than they were, because our mood as a nation, as a people, was already well into a depressive state without having a dreary day on top.
When we thought it couldn't get any worse, on Sunday morning we watched horrified as the alleged assassin was assassinated before our very eyes. I recall turning to my dad as we both stared shocked at the TV, unbelievingly. As that day dragged on, we saw the caisson carry his body to the rotunda of the Capitol building, through the streets of Washington, lined 10 deep with mourners, as they stood for hours in the rain waiting to catch a glimpse of the flagged-draped casket.
Mrs Kennedy went to the casket with her six year old daughter to kneel and say a prayer at the funeral bier. The casket was surrounded by a military honor guard, from each service branch, which stood at attention through the wee hours of Monday morning, with a TV camera focused always on that scene.
The weather on the 25th was much better, with a crisp, sunny autumn sky as the backdrop. We saw "John-John" salute his father at his mother's urging and his sister hold a flag in her hand, while holding her mother's. Then the procession began with the family, Jackie, Bobby and Teddy, leading the hundreds of national and international dignitaries to the church and later, to Arlington, where JFK was laid to rest.
The military, the riderless horse with boots placed in reverse in the stirrups, and the incessant drumbeat were all permanent touches of our senses that day. We watched as the procession continued on foot all through the District, crossing the Potomac River Bridge, until the mourners arrived in Arlington. We watched Jackie kneel and light the Eternal Flame, which burns brightly to this day.
Finally, mercifully, that tragic weekend came to an end, as we watched President Johnson greet the likes of De Gaulle, MacMillan and Adenauer to accept their condolences and their regrets on behalf of all of us.
TV played an important part in this weekend, which will live vividly in the minds of all who were alive at that time. TV has certainly played an important part this month to remind all of us of those events. I would venture to guess that TV will continue to remind us of those terrible events in the months and years to come.
But nothing will make the same impression on us as our own memories of that terrible weekend of our history. To me, that was the day, the weekend, that changed our country forever. We will never be the same again.
"And sure there's simply not, a more congenial spot, than happy everaftering, than here in Camelot."
For the rest of us, we recognize the importance in history of the dates mentioned, but if we weren't alive at the time, we have no memory of why it is so, and how each affected us and our country.
For me, certainly, I was a 12 year old kid when I learned of JFKs shooting and subsequent death. As one who served as an altar boy, I was aware of death from a general sense. And I had known kids my age who died well before they should have.
But the death of JFK was different. He was our leader, after all, and someone had the audacity to take him from us. Why? As we now know, there are many conspiracy theories which beg to answer that simple question and in 50 years, we are no closer to the answer than we were at 1pm CST that horrible afternoon.
For baby-boomers, this was the first significant event that we could see change our country. The other dates, Pearl Harbor, FDRs death and Hiroshima, well, our parents told us about those events from their perspective, or we learned about them in school. But the death of JFK, like the terrorist attacks in NY and DC were current events to us and we were able to take in our own memories with those events.
That weekend for all of us was the "WEEKEND FROM HELL" and we saw our country change right before our eyes as TV grew up and matured overnight. First came the landing of Air Force One on Friday night at Andrews. We saw the casket come off the plane and placed into the waiting hearse for the drive to Bethesda.
Next, came the Saturday dirge as it rained in NY and DC all day. This made the events played out on TV even more maudlin than they were, because our mood as a nation, as a people, was already well into a depressive state without having a dreary day on top.
When we thought it couldn't get any worse, on Sunday morning we watched horrified as the alleged assassin was assassinated before our very eyes. I recall turning to my dad as we both stared shocked at the TV, unbelievingly. As that day dragged on, we saw the caisson carry his body to the rotunda of the Capitol building, through the streets of Washington, lined 10 deep with mourners, as they stood for hours in the rain waiting to catch a glimpse of the flagged-draped casket.
Mrs Kennedy went to the casket with her six year old daughter to kneel and say a prayer at the funeral bier. The casket was surrounded by a military honor guard, from each service branch, which stood at attention through the wee hours of Monday morning, with a TV camera focused always on that scene.
The weather on the 25th was much better, with a crisp, sunny autumn sky as the backdrop. We saw "John-John" salute his father at his mother's urging and his sister hold a flag in her hand, while holding her mother's. Then the procession began with the family, Jackie, Bobby and Teddy, leading the hundreds of national and international dignitaries to the church and later, to Arlington, where JFK was laid to rest.
The military, the riderless horse with boots placed in reverse in the stirrups, and the incessant drumbeat were all permanent touches of our senses that day. We watched as the procession continued on foot all through the District, crossing the Potomac River Bridge, until the mourners arrived in Arlington. We watched Jackie kneel and light the Eternal Flame, which burns brightly to this day.
Finally, mercifully, that tragic weekend came to an end, as we watched President Johnson greet the likes of De Gaulle, MacMillan and Adenauer to accept their condolences and their regrets on behalf of all of us.
TV played an important part in this weekend, which will live vividly in the minds of all who were alive at that time. TV has certainly played an important part this month to remind all of us of those events. I would venture to guess that TV will continue to remind us of those terrible events in the months and years to come.
But nothing will make the same impression on us as our own memories of that terrible weekend of our history. To me, that was the day, the weekend, that changed our country forever. We will never be the same again.
"And sure there's simply not, a more congenial spot, than happy everaftering, than here in Camelot."
Thursday, November 21, 2013
JFK and Us
In Thursday's WaPo:
"He has become fodder for aninterpretation industry toiling to make his life malleable enough to soothe the sensitivities and serve the agendas of the interpreters. The quantity of writing about him is inversely proportional to the brevity of his presidency.
He did not have history-shaping effects comparable to those of his immediate predecessor or successor. Dwight Eisenhower was one of three Americans (with George Washington and Ulysses Grant) who were world-historic figures before becoming president, and Lyndon Johnson was second only to Franklin Roosevelt as a maker of the modern welfare state and second to none in using law to ameliorate America’s racial dilemma.
The New York Times’ executive editor calls Kennedy “the elusive president”; The Post calls him “the most enigmatic” president.Most libidinous, certainly; most charming, perhaps. But enigmatic and elusive? Many who call him difficult to understand seem eager to not understand him. They present as puzzling or uncharacteristic aspects of his politics about which he was consistent and unambiguous. For them, his conservative dimension is an inconvenient truth. Ira Stoll, in “JFK, Conservative,” tries to prove too much but assembles sufficient evidence that his book’s title is not merely provocative.""
You must go back to 1946, when JFK ran for the first time for Congress. He was defined in a Look Magazine article as a "fighting-Irish conservative", which, as revisionist history has defined him, quite the opposite. Revisionist have tried to make him look like the second coming of the New Deal, when he was really a fiscal conservative and a believer of what is now called "supply-side economics". During his remaining 17 years, he never really wavered from that concept.
While he had several Keynesian economists as advisors, as president, JFK chose as Treasury secretary a Republican Wall Street banker, C.Douglas Dillon, who 30 years after the assassination remembered Kennedy as “financially conservative.” Kennedy’s fiscal policy provided an example and ample rhetoric for Ronald Reagan’s supply-side tax cuts. Kennedy endorsed “a creative tax cut creating more jobs and income and eventually more revenue.” In December 1962, he said:
“The federal government’s most useful role is . . . to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures. . . .[I]t is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.”
JFK was the penultimate "cold warrior", who was a true anti-communist and a believer of a strong military. While he campaigned in 1960 to be in favor of changing our attitudes toward the old Soviet Union, once he became President, he recognized that his vision of the world view was not all that different from President Eisenhower's.
We can certainly discuss the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the erection of the Berlin Wall, Vietnam and even the Cuban Missile Crisis as foreign policy blunders. But in each case, this man was not afraid to stand up to the Soviets and garner world opinion to his side. THAT was his success story, the winning of the hearts and minds of neutral powers to his side.
To me, Kennedy and Reagan were men cut from the same cloth, with like ideas and ideals, gifted with a great sense of humor and communication skills, and the ability to transcend party for the good of our nation. You cannot convince me otherwise.
So, on the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the day the world and our nation changed forever, remember that JFK admonished us to "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." And ask what happened over the last 50 years which made us change the order those goals.
Johnny, we hardly knew you.
Turkey or Walmart
In Thursday's USA Today:
"Thanksgiving is a day for: A) Eating turkey. B) Shopping.
If your answer is "A," there are still some national retailers who agree — and are bragging about being closed on Turkey Day. They say it's what employees and many customers want. Among them: Nordstrom, Dillard's, Home Depot, Costco, BJs, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and Ross stores.
Never mind that much of the big news this holiday season has been about major retailers, from Walmart to Target to the newest entrant, Macy's, announcing their Thanksgiving Day shopping hours.
While it can hurt the bottom line for one day, staying closed on Thanksgiving can be a big plus, too. "I appreciate brands that make the gutsy decision to defer some revenue and stay closed," says brand guru Erika Napoletano. "They're celebrating their most important asset — their employees.""
So. The latest "controversy" is whether retailers open on Thanksgiving. Just about five years ago, or so, the flap was whether retailers should open at midnight. And before that, it was whether to open at 4am on "Black Friday".
In an economy which truly has not recovered since the Great Recession, why would we care if a retailer chooses to open or not on a holiday. After all, competition in the retail business industry requires some companies to look at their bottom lines and decide whether the profit margin will benefit from an earlier opening. In addition, most of these stores are known to hire seasonal employees. Why would we wish to deny a teen or young adult, or a senior for that matter, to make a few extra dollars to have money to buy Christmas or Chanukah gifts for their loved ones.
If we disapprove of the early opening practice, here is a novel idea: just shut up and stay home. We are not happy if we can't complain about things which really have no societal import. So in this, we just fall into lockstep and complain, complain, complain.
Does this make us happy? No. Will the retailer listen? No, again. Will we go shopping early? Probably, if only we can "beat the crowd" and get our own good deal. But we will still complain.
And, what of the companies which will choose to stay closed on Thanksgiving? Are they doing so out of some egalitarian position of social good? I don't think so. After all, Lowe's and Home Depot don't depend on the number of Christmas trees sold for their profits. "Black Friday" for these companies is March 1, when outdoor seasonal products, like grills and mowers, are expected to sell. And for others, like Norstrom, TJ Maxx and Dillard's, well, it's a business decision to stay shuttered until Friday.
Ultimately, will it really matter? In the the long run, by December 15, hardly anyone will remember which companies were opened or closed. Instead, we will have moved on to the "next big issue" which will be bothering us to no end.
So there you have it, friends. Choices for you to make. Turkey? Football? Pumpkin pie? Or Walmart? Which decision will you make that will really make a difference in your lives? Or does it really matter when you think about it?
In the meantime, please pass me another piece of pie, with whipped cream? And, put the volume up? I can't hear Al Michaels and Chris Collingsworth.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Abortion, Texas and the Court
In Tuesday PM edition USA Today:
"WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to continue enforcing abortion restrictions that opponents say have led more than a third of the state's clinics to stop providing abortions.
"WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to continue enforcing abortion restrictions that opponents say have led more than a third of the state's clinics to stop providing abortions.
The justices voted 5-4 to leave in effect a provision requiring doctors who perform abortions in clinics to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.
The court's conservative majority refused the plea of Planned Parenthood and several Texas abortion clinics to overturn a preliminary federal appeals court ruling that allowed the provision to take effect.
The four liberal justices dissented.
The case remains on appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. That court is expected to hear arguments in January, and the law will remain in effect at least until then."
I think this is prudent, given the fact that the basis of the law being challenged is the part section which requires that the performing doctor is affiliated with a hospital within 30 miles of his or her clinic.
Why doesn't Planned Parenthood find that to be a reasonable and commonsense approach to PROTECT THE WOMAN'S HEALTH. Does it feel that the abortion is the goal? That abortion is so exclusive a right to be used as birth control rather than as an exception to a circumstance which was not the mother's choice, ie, rape, incest or other harm to her?
In 1973, when Roe v Wade was ruled upon, we didn't have so many "choices" available for pregnancy prevention, and that "back-alley doctors" seemed to be the rule. The premise of the Texas law is to makes certain a doctor can bring his patient into a real hospital should complications arise, rather than leave the woman to some spurious solution.
The logic Planned Parenthood is actually supporting is counter to its name. A planned parenthood would be a choice where the mom (and dad) needs education and guidance to assist in bringing the pregnancy to a successful conclusion, not nip it in the bud via barbaric options.
As those of you have learned about my positions on this issue via several commentaries this past spring since the Gosnell case, abortion should be a choice of last resort, not first. And 20 weeks (almost FIVE MONTHS), by the way, is plenty of time in which to make it.
So, let's hope for the baby's sake that this will finally drive a stake into the barbaric tomes of those who support abortion on demand. Or we may be snuffing out the life of one who figures out the real cure for cancer or other human malady.
Just because the doctor needed to be affiliated with a nearby hospital.
The Liar and the Blamer
In Tuesday PM edition WaPo:
"President Obama on Tuesday sought to redirect some of the political blame for the botched rollout of the federal health insurance exchange to Republicans, characterizing GOP lawmakers as rooting for the law’s failure.
Addressing a gathering of business executives, Obama acknowledged that the health-care rollout “has been rough, to say the least,” and he lamented the government’s archaic information-technology procurement system.
Obama said that fixes to the HealthCare.gov Web portal are underway and that the exchange will function for a majority of people by the end of November. But the president said staunch opposition from congressional Republicans is inhibiting the law’s implementation."
He is trying so hard to deflect the blame from himself, isn't he? He is like the kid who has his hand in the cookie jar and his older brother put it in there. And glued the cookie to his hand.
If anyone still thinks he is a man with integrity, then your head is in the sand. I am sorry, but this man is the worst President we ever had. Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech is a work of genius and oratory compared to this absolutely inept fool.
How can he think he can get away with blaming the Republicans because he didn't ask the right questions to his team over the last 3 1/2 years. In a week where we honor the life and death of two great Presidents, any Democrat who still wants to stand by this totally incapable fool needs to recall that the last great Democrat President is now rolling in his grave as this man continues to destroy your party and our country.
You really should be ashamed of yourselves if you continue to support this dissembler and absolutely incapable individual, who can't even remember that this nightmare of a law was his brainstorm and he lied to get it passed.
And Dan Pfeiffer decided to tweet out a snarky response for why Barry decided to skip the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of the delivery of the Gettysburg Address, by blaming the the website issues of health.gov. Why? Was Obama sitting down at the programmer's desk working to fix the code?
It's really time to begin impeachment proceedings against this incompetent liar. If Democrats find that standing by him now will help their political fortunes, then they are really drinking the kool-aid and are totally drunk from the affects of whatever is in it.
We can't wait as a nation until next November for the House to bulk up and the Senate to turn dramatically over. By this time next year, we will be in a worse position than we were in the spring of 1974. The AMERICAN thing to do now is to save our country from greater harm.
And, remember, it will be the Democrats' fault if they don't act now to help get rid of this disaster.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
The Gettysburg Address
150 years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln delivered by all accounts, probably the most significant speech given by a President, not given as an Inaugural Address. It was written on an envelope and took less than five minutes to deliver.
When he was done, the audience sat stunned, stoically, hands on their laps. He thought his speech made no impact, due to the non-response. After all, he followed Edward Everett, who gave a 2 1/2 hour speech and was greeted with cheers and applause. He thought he failed.
Everett was accorded the honor to deliver his speech as the main speech to dedicate the hollowed grounds where Union soldiers died. His 13,000+ word speech began as follows:
- "Standing beneath this serene sky, overlooking these broad fields now reposing from the labors of the waning year, the mighty Alleghenies dimly towering before us, the graves of our brethren beneath our feet, it is with hesitation that I raise my poor voice to break the eloquent silence of God and Nature. But the duty to which you have called me must be performed; — grant me, I pray you, your indulgence and your sympathy."
And ended two hours later with:
- "But they, I am sure, will join us in saying, as we bid farewell to the dust of these martyr-heroes, that wheresoever throughout the civilized world the accounts of this great warfare are read, and down to the latest period of recorded time, in the glorious annals of our common country, there will be no brighter page than that which relates the Battles of Gettysburg."
Today, no one remembers this speech.
Lincoln was invited as an afterthought, because one of the planners felt it would be wrong to slight the President of the United States on such an occasion.
What follows is the entire address, which could just as easily be applied today with all the turmoil in our country.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Lincoln was invited as an afterthought, because one of the planners felt it would be wrong to slight the President of the United States on such an occasion.
What follows is the entire address, which could just as easily be applied today with all the turmoil in our country.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Thank you, Mr Lincoln.
A Canadian Tragedy
Most Americans don't realize that Toronto, Ontario: Canada is the fifth largest city in North America, as of the 2010 census. And before the end of October, no one really knew or heard of its mayor, Rob Ford.
Americans shouldn't be snickering over the troubles Mayor Ford is having right now. After all, former Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry had his share of issues back in the 1980s. And, there are so many others.
The issues at hand for Mayor Ford have been well-documented over the last several weeks. These include his self-admitted alcohol and cocaine abuse, his allegedly violent temper, as displayed during an explosive interview with CNN's Bill Weir, and other examples of imbalance.
Americans shouldn't be snickering over the troubles Mayor Ford is having right now. After all, former Washington DC Mayor Marion Barry had his share of issues back in the 1980s. And, there are so many others.
The issues at hand for Mayor Ford have been well-documented over the last several weeks. These include his self-admitted alcohol and cocaine abuse, his allegedly violent temper, as displayed during an explosive interview with CNN's Bill Weir, and other examples of imbalance.
When asked why he had decided to come out with the truth now, Ford swore at Weir saying, "I’m not gonna run around and be phony and lie... I was tired of all these allegations and bullsh*t. Excuse my words. Sorry, I shouldn’t swear in front of the kids."
Mayor Ford was stripped of most of his power Monday in a chaotic City Council vote that occurred after the embattled pol got into a screaming match with the public and accidentally bowled over a fellow councilor.
An agitated Ford was caught on video charging toward the Council's galley during the tense vote, apparently to come to the assistance of his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, who had entered into a verbal confrontation with a spectator.
But as he ran, the overweight Ford slammed into Councilor Pam McConnell, knocking her down. Ford quickly caught McConnell and helped her back up, before returning to the Council floor, and apologized for the accident.
The Council later voted to strip Ford of many of his powers as mayor and cut the budget of his office by 60%. The measure, which also allows his staff to defect to the office of the deputy mayor, effectively leaves Ford with no legislative power.
Sadly, this popular politician may have someday become Prime Minister of Canada. But now, he is reduced to a joke for late night TV hosts, both in the United States and Canada. And who is suffering from this humiliation the most? His family.
His life is very fragile now and needs to recognize that. He needs to resign now and take care of what is truly important in his life or soon, he will be alone with no one to support him in his recovery.
And that would be the saddest outcome of all.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Our Lost Innocence
This Friday, November 22, we will be remembering the death of one of the most enigmatic, and yet iconic, Presidents of the 20th Century, if not our history. Since last week, we have seen a flurry of stories on TV, in the newspapers and even commemorative issues of magazines, reflecting on the life, and death, of John F Kennedy, our 35th President.
Since his death, we have learned that he was not a god, but rather a human being like the rest of us, with failings in personal behavior and errors in judgement. As another great human once said, "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone." Please. Enough of the salaciousness.
For this 62 year old man, I look at the Kennedy presidency with a fond nostalgia through the eyes of a twelve year old kid, wishing always for that day gone by, before we lost our innocence. On October 12, I wrote a commentary called "The American Tragedy", where I outlined the "would-have-beens" had JFK not died, and instead, served a second term.
Certainly, had he lived, so much of what has happened in the last 50 years probably either would not have happened at all, or short of that, would have happened differently. For the full list of probabilities, please read that commentary.
Over the last 50 years, we have listened to the many conspiracy theories which are at odds with the official Warren Commission findings. I will tell you that in 1964, we still accepted anything the government told us because there was a now-lost faith in the integrity of government officials. Today, of course, we look at everything our leaders say with a discerning viewpoint. And with good reason.
I have read the Warren report and honestly, I don't believe Oswald did it by himself. As good a shot as he was believed to be, there is no way he was able to get three shots off that fast with such a simple rifle. Perhaps,if it were a semi-automatic, it may have been possible. But it required great speed and accuracy to be that exact.
He certainly could have been a player in the plot, hired by any group who had a grudge to settle with Kennedy. But I firmly believe he did not act alone. And Jack Ruby? Well, the first rule of assassination is to kill the assassin. And the snitch.
All of this, and more, will be reviewed, skewed and tattooed this week, as commemorative stories are told over and over again. But there is one fact that remains: Kennedy died well before he should have and America is worse for it.
Because of his death, the Country and the World changed forever on November 22, 1963.
Since his death, we have learned that he was not a god, but rather a human being like the rest of us, with failings in personal behavior and errors in judgement. As another great human once said, "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone." Please. Enough of the salaciousness.
For this 62 year old man, I look at the Kennedy presidency with a fond nostalgia through the eyes of a twelve year old kid, wishing always for that day gone by, before we lost our innocence. On October 12, I wrote a commentary called "The American Tragedy", where I outlined the "would-have-beens" had JFK not died, and instead, served a second term.
Certainly, had he lived, so much of what has happened in the last 50 years probably either would not have happened at all, or short of that, would have happened differently. For the full list of probabilities, please read that commentary.
Over the last 50 years, we have listened to the many conspiracy theories which are at odds with the official Warren Commission findings. I will tell you that in 1964, we still accepted anything the government told us because there was a now-lost faith in the integrity of government officials. Today, of course, we look at everything our leaders say with a discerning viewpoint. And with good reason.
I have read the Warren report and honestly, I don't believe Oswald did it by himself. As good a shot as he was believed to be, there is no way he was able to get three shots off that fast with such a simple rifle. Perhaps,if it were a semi-automatic, it may have been possible. But it required great speed and accuracy to be that exact.
He certainly could have been a player in the plot, hired by any group who had a grudge to settle with Kennedy. But I firmly believe he did not act alone. And Jack Ruby? Well, the first rule of assassination is to kill the assassin. And the snitch.
All of this, and more, will be reviewed, skewed and tattooed this week, as commemorative stories are told over and over again. But there is one fact that remains: Kennedy died well before he should have and America is worse for it.
Because of his death, the Country and the World changed forever on November 22, 1963.
Real Child Abuse
In today's USA Today:
"WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The exuberant comments were left on a story about a 27-year-old Catholic school teacher accused of raping a 14-year-old.
"Boy, did I go to the wrong schools!" said one. "I wish I had just ONE teacher like this!!!" said another. "I wish it happened to me when I was a teen in grade school," said a third.
It's a sentiment unlikely to be expressed when the perpetrator is a man and the victim a teen or preteen girl. In this case, though, the roles were flipped: the former teacher in court was a woman, Amanda Iles, and her alleged victim a male student at the White Plains school.
It's a double standard brought by society, experts say, to female sex offenders — one that not only minimizes the victimization of young boys, who are left with lifelong emotional scars, but contributes to lighter sentences for the women involved."
There is a problem in our society when we ignore abuse by female teachers on impressionable boys or silently condone this horrible behavior.
I have previously written on this subject on August 2 in my commentary "Sexual Abuse of Power", wherein I discussed other teachers accused of similar conduct, to wit:
"In the case of Redlands, Ca teacher Laura Whitehurst, she has been found guilty of having sex with three underage boys, one of whom was 14 at the time she started, and has given birth this summer to one of the boys' children. She has been fired from her job.
And finally, an Ohio teacher, Julie Hautzenroeder, has been placed on administrative leave while she faces trial on August 14 for having sex and smoking pot with two underage boys. Her seven year old was asleep at the time."
We were appalled when former Penn State Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky was accused, and then convicted, of abusing and possibly raping so many young boys in his charge. Why? Because it was "homosexual" abuse? To me, it was abuse of his position as a mentor to children in need of a father figure.
Similarly, the abuse by some priests, in violation of not only their vows but also of society's laws of unacceptable behavior, for abusing altar boys and in some cases altar girls, really has nothing to do with celibacy, but rather, the fact that if they weren't priests, they would still be sexual predators. We need to understand that many Catholic clergy take their vows seriously and that the Church has a process called "laicization" which allows priests, nuns, brothers and others to be relieved of their vows appropriately.
In 2005, Florida teacher Debra Lafave, who had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old boy, received a sentence of house arrest for three years plus seven years probation. In 2010, Beth Modica, a former Rockland County, N.Y., prosecutor who had sex with two underage boys, was released from state prison after spending just 21 months behind bars.
There are so many other cases which would take pages to outline and discuss.
Children, boys and girls, need to be protected from sexual predators no matter if they are men or women. And if the predator commits this heinous crime, the punishment needs to be comparable. We can't call it "rape" if the victim is a girl, but treat it as "sexual initiation" if the victim is a boy. In both cases, scars will be left on impressionable children who will carry these views of sex into adulthood.
And tragically, some of those children will themselves become predators because the issue wasn't addressed properly when they were kids.
"WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The exuberant comments were left on a story about a 27-year-old Catholic school teacher accused of raping a 14-year-old.
"Boy, did I go to the wrong schools!" said one. "I wish I had just ONE teacher like this!!!" said another. "I wish it happened to me when I was a teen in grade school," said a third.
It's a sentiment unlikely to be expressed when the perpetrator is a man and the victim a teen or preteen girl. In this case, though, the roles were flipped: the former teacher in court was a woman, Amanda Iles, and her alleged victim a male student at the White Plains school.
It's a double standard brought by society, experts say, to female sex offenders — one that not only minimizes the victimization of young boys, who are left with lifelong emotional scars, but contributes to lighter sentences for the women involved."
There is a problem in our society when we ignore abuse by female teachers on impressionable boys or silently condone this horrible behavior.
I have previously written on this subject on August 2 in my commentary "Sexual Abuse of Power", wherein I discussed other teachers accused of similar conduct, to wit:
"In the case of Redlands, Ca teacher Laura Whitehurst, she has been found guilty of having sex with three underage boys, one of whom was 14 at the time she started, and has given birth this summer to one of the boys' children. She has been fired from her job.
And finally, an Ohio teacher, Julie Hautzenroeder, has been placed on administrative leave while she faces trial on August 14 for having sex and smoking pot with two underage boys. Her seven year old was asleep at the time."
We were appalled when former Penn State Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky was accused, and then convicted, of abusing and possibly raping so many young boys in his charge. Why? Because it was "homosexual" abuse? To me, it was abuse of his position as a mentor to children in need of a father figure.
Similarly, the abuse by some priests, in violation of not only their vows but also of society's laws of unacceptable behavior, for abusing altar boys and in some cases altar girls, really has nothing to do with celibacy, but rather, the fact that if they weren't priests, they would still be sexual predators. We need to understand that many Catholic clergy take their vows seriously and that the Church has a process called "laicization" which allows priests, nuns, brothers and others to be relieved of their vows appropriately.
In 2005, Florida teacher Debra Lafave, who had a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old boy, received a sentence of house arrest for three years plus seven years probation. In 2010, Beth Modica, a former Rockland County, N.Y., prosecutor who had sex with two underage boys, was released from state prison after spending just 21 months behind bars.
There are so many other cases which would take pages to outline and discuss.
Children, boys and girls, need to be protected from sexual predators no matter if they are men or women. And if the predator commits this heinous crime, the punishment needs to be comparable. We can't call it "rape" if the victim is a girl, but treat it as "sexual initiation" if the victim is a boy. In both cases, scars will be left on impressionable children who will carry these views of sex into adulthood.
And tragically, some of those children will themselves become predators because the issue wasn't addressed properly when they were kids.
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