Thursday, June 28, 2007

Murphy Texas Loves Pedophiles

I have just finished listening to a story that is unjust and disgusting in the extreme, and it comes from a state usually thought to be tough on crime.

Dateline NBC was in Murphy, Texas to do one of their excellent programs on catching pedophiles, and thought it would send a message to stay away from this Dallas suburb if you are a pedophile. Instead it turned into a mess that will have ramifications for years to come.

One of the monsterous pedophiles was an assistant district attorney from the neighboring Kauffman County, a Mr. Louis Conradt Jr., who allegedly engaged in sexually explicit online chat with an adult posing as a 13 year old boy. When the police and the Dateline crew showed up at his home to arrest him, he shot himself.

He was one of 25 men caught in the sting, and because of this shooting the district attorney is refusing to prosecute the other pedophiles, and the Murphy City Manager who approved the operation lost his job in the ensuing furor.

Is there something wrong here, when a good thing happens, i.e., a pedophile saved the taxpayers money prosecuting him, by killing his monstrous self, thus keeping him from hurting other children in the future. This is how all of these cases should end, as the country does not now protect children. There are judges giving suspended sentences or mere fines around the country to these men who prey on the most innocent in our society. There needs to be a tough law that says that if you touch a child you are done, either you are in prison forever or you are gone from this planet. Hell, Texas just passed a law stating that pedophiles can be put to death, so what this Murphy prosecutor is doing is absolutely ridiculous. What is it professional courtesy to a fellow district attorney. This could be, as some of them are as bad as pedophiles, using the system to destroy people of their choosing, often innocent or poor people who cannot get justice.

The mayor is also a coward, as he thinks that using television cameras to capture what these men did raises questions. You think! The only question that should be raised is why he and the district attorney wish to give refuge in their city to these pedophiles. There are also questions about amateurs being involved, but these amateurs are members of Perverted Justice, a group of volunteers (often law enforcement) who troll the Internet chat rooms, posing as underage boys and girls, and try to collect incriminating sex talk. I know some may say that sounds like entrapment, but you would be wrong. They do not initiate the encounter, the pedophiles are out there LOOKING for underage boys and girls, so they are the BAD guys, not Perverted Justice or Dateline.

In just FOUR Days in November, 24 men were arrested at a two story home in one of Murphy's newer neighborhoods after allegedly arranging to meet boys and girls.

The Collin County District Attorney, John Roach dropped all charges against these freaks, and he is the villain in this piece, as is the Mayor and much of the town. For whatever reason this community in Texas, is on the side of the pedophiles and thinks that the sting was improper and it does not sit well with them, as opposed to having their children abused by sexual pedophiles. Wow, think about that, they are more upset with how these creeps were caught, then why they were caught.

The police have a tough place in this community as they are the only sane ones left in this town, they wanted to and did catch the pedophiles, and by doing so they protected the children and I salute them!! As for the rest of the officials in Murphy, you should be ashamed of yourselves, for siding with your pedophile buddies, against the children of your town!!

I used to think that Texas was a law and order state and I hope the rest of it is, but be careful if you go to Murphy, Texas, near Dallas, as your children will be in a land where pedophiles are not just free to graze on the young, but encouraged by the officials to have any child they would like. How sad for the children of Murphy!

On the plus side, Dateline reports that out of all of their reports, Murphy is the ONLY one to treat them as the bad guys, and the pedophiles as the victims.. Dateline does a valuable service and I hope they keep it up, because for every one of these pedophiles that they can catch is one less monster that the children of our country has to worry about!!

Benoit Burn In HELL

The suicide by Pro wrestler Chris "Canadian Crippler" Benoit, after he murdered his wife and son, has sparked a new controversy over the world of Professional Wrestling and whether steroids played a role in the killings.

The killings occurred over the weekend as reported Tuesday, by Fayette County Sheriff's office. They report that Benoit had strangled his wife, Nancy Benoit, 43, and then a day later he strangled his son, Daniel, 7, and placed Bibles next to both of their bodies, before hanging himself with cord from a weight lifting machine.

They found some legal prescriptions as well as some steroids in the home, but they do not know if he was using steroids at the time of the murders, and will have to wait until the toxicology reports come back from the coroner's office.

There are other reports that there had been some family problems in the past, but no recent events have been reported by family or friends. The people around the wrestling business said during interviews that pain medicaton and other medicines are part of the culture where pain is an ever present part of the job.

I have been watching reports and commentators who are jumping on the steroid angle as if this is what caused the murders and suicide, but I did some checking and I do not think this is going to be the cause. The articles I have read all day show that so called "Roid Rage" is just that. If the steroids caused Mr. Benoit to blast into a rage he would have struck immediately and violently, not slowly and deliberately as was the case. The opponents of not just steroids, but of professional wrestling are going to use this case to reign in or destroy this violent form of entertainment.

Now do not get me wrong I do not like Professional Wrestling, as I think it is just one more form of entertainment that desensitizes everyone who views it. Kind of a Roman spectacle aspect to it, as we inch closer to the actual gladiators of the Roman coliseum, and the death that was part of it. Right now however, it is simple fun for people who like to see a show and a soap opera ,as most of these shows have a dramatic storyline along with the wrestling. Seems silly to me, but I am sure that some of my entertainment would make those who like wrestling think my entertainment was silly as well.

I hope that there was some other cause of these killings, so that there can be a rational discussion of this form of entertainment.

One big thing that should come out of this during the talks about steroids, and that is what the drug does to your body, and particularly to young boys who want to get big and strong, and explain all of the detrimental effects that it will have on them in the future.

I always think to myself in these murder/suicides, "Why didn't the bastard do the right thing, and kill himself First, and leave his family to live." May the Mother and Son Rest In Peace," and Mr. Benoit, "May You Burn In HELL for Eternity"!!!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Bush Says Bill Is Amnesty

On Tuesday President George Bush said what most of the rest of the country already knows, and that is the Immigration Amnesty Bill is indeed amnesty.

Ever since the beginning of the politicians trying to ram a Comprehensive Immigration Bill through Congress, those who opposed this particular piece of legislation said that it amounted to an Amnesty bill. The President was adamant that this was in no way and amnesty bill, and continued to say so until yesterday.

President Bush was talking to a group of immigration overhaul advocates when he said "you know, I've heard all the rhetoric, you've heard it, too, about how this is amnesty...And Amnesty means that you've got to pay a price fr having been here illegally, and this bill DOES that." With a slip of the tongue the truth comes out. Even Bush thinks in his sub-conscience that this is indeed Amnesty. Very telling!

Always the good soldier, White House press secretary Tony Snow issued an unusual statement to correct his boss. He said that he needed to make a correction to what President Bush had said in the morning, and that the President does not think that this is an amnesty bill. He clarified by saying that the comprehensive immigration reform legislation before the Senate in no way offers amnesty to immigrants who came here illegally, and that this is the position that the President has held for a long time.

The spin was quick, but wholly unconvincing to anyone who listens to any of the proponents of the current bill. They can scream at the top of their lungs that it is not an Amnesty Bill, but at the end of the day, it IS an Amnesty Bill.

I bet they keep Bush on a shorter leash from now until the arguments over the bill are finished and the bill has been passed or defeated, because he did not help the proponents' cause by his remarks.

Thanks for being honest for once Mr. President!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Veterans Protest The War

I just read a story about former Marine Sgt. Liam Madden, 22, of Chicago, Illinois, who is being recommended for "other than honorable discharge, due to his war protesting activities.

Sgt. Madden had participated in wat protests and war part of his uniform while protesting. It is the wearing of the uniform that has him in trouble, as it illegal for a military person to wear any part of their uniforms during a war protest, as is written in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Sgt. Madden received a letter stating the recommendation of other than honorable discharge as well as a secondary offense of being disloyal to the United States of America. This is the hardest part for Sgt. Madden to understand as he feels that he is being very loyal by trying to bring his fellow Americans home, as he is now opposed to the war, and wanted to use his position as a veteran to make an impact on people's opinions back here.

There have been at least two other military men who are in similar circumstances and they face loss of benefits if discharged in this manner.

The military has defended the decisions to punish these men, because the men violated acceptable forms of protest, which are stated very clearly in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Military guidelines state that troops may attend demonstrations only in the United States of America, only when they are off base and off duty, and most IMPORTANTLY, ONLY when they are out of uniform. So it is the uniform part of the code that puts these men in jeopardy.

Now I do believe that the war protestors are the equivalent of cheerleaders for al-Qaeda and the other terrorists/insurgents that want to kill americans, until there is so much death that public opinion will force them home, as is happening now, but I also believe that the men who actually have been there fighting are the Only ones who should be allowed to protest, if their are to be protestors as they earned the right. It is giving me great pause in continuing to support our being in Iraq when men who return think that we should leave. I hope that a solution can soon be found to get our men home safely, and which also keeps Iraq from exploding in a vicious cycle of unending death and destruction, once we leave.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Cheney In Charge

I was reading that Vice-President Dick Cheney has said that he is not a part of the Executive branch of the government. Now it has been awhile since going to school, but I pretty much keep learning, and I am sure that we still have an Executive, Legislative, and a Judicial Branch of government. "Tricky" Dicky is having a problem understanding his role in the government because of an assertion that, because he also presides over the Senate, that he is not a part of the Executive Branch. This would be funny, but it is a serious matter that he is trying to skirt with this verbal mumbo jumbo.

It seems that since 2003, Dick Cheney and his office have refused to cooperate with the Office of National Archives and Administration, who are charged with making sure that the executive branch protects classified information. Vice-President Cheney's staff have not filed reports on their possession of classified data, and at one point they actually blocked an inspection of their office. In addition to this inexcusable breach of security, Cheney's office tried to have the Office of National Archives and Administration eliminated.

Now Vice-President Cheney is very well known for this attempt to keep everything that he does secret, but this time he is in violation of an executive order signed by former President Bill Clinton in 1995, and subsequently updated and reissued under President George W. Bush in 2003. That's right, this is not a law enacted by Congress, but an order that was put in place by President Clinton and reaffirmed by President Bush, to make sure that classified information was protected, so Cheney has an issue with his boss that needs to be resolved. He has been the power behind the President all along, but his utter contempt for even pretending to let Bush run the White House is very evident in this move, and many others throughout the last few years, up to and including the war in Iraq, in which he was instrumental in pushing for and getting approved.

As his power has grown, as being the force that runs the White House, Vice-President Cheney has become almost uncontrollable by the President. As a matter of fact Cheney's office filed annual reports in 2001 and 2002, describing its classification activities, so it thought that they were under the auspices of the order for at least two years, but by 2003 Cheney was feeling his power and from that time on they have refused to comply.

President Bush will probably back off on this confrontation with the man "behind the curtain" of his Oz administration and the country shall again be the loser. It is a shame that so many of our young men and women are fighting and dying for an administration that wants democracy oversees, but finds everyway to subvert it at home.

Iran Arrests Activists

As many of you may have seen the Iranian's are cracking down on their dissenters ever harder with each passing day that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad remains in power.

It was just in December of 2006 that President Ahmadinejad claimed to be happy when reformist students disrupted his visit to their university, as they burned his image and shouted, "Death to the dictator" as reported by the BBC in a reminder after the crackdown this past month. Shortly after the visit Ahmadinejad wrote on his website that it showed the world that Iranians can protest with absolute and total freedom.

Since May, eight of the students from Amir Kabir University have been arrested . Activist's inside and outside of Iran are reporting that these eight are among hundreds who are being rounded up throughout the country. Those arrested are being charged with crimes against the Iranian system, and Iranian officials merely say that the judiciary is simply prosecuting crimes.

Many people forget that two years after the election of President Ahmadinejad, the so-called Tehran Spring is a fading memory. This referred to the thaw in relations attempted by former President Mohammad Khatani, who relaxed many of the rules during the spring of 2000, was probably at the height of becoming "moderate" as they tried to ease into better relations with the rest of the world. By January of 2001, the thaw was losing its' appeal with the important people in Iran, i.e., the clerics, mullahs and other hardliners who saw any easing of relations with the West or even on the rules applying to Iranians as going in the wrong direction, and ended it.

The annual spring enforcement of Islamic dress codes in Tehran was stricter this year, spawning hundreds of arrests. Amnesty International said the number of executions rose from 94 in 2005 to 177 last year, most for nonpolitical offenses.

At least 33 women have been arrested in recent months at rallies seeking change on issues such as legalized polygamy, child custody, and a marriage age of 13, said Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer for some of the women. About a third received suspended prison terms of several years.

Even the smoking of waterpipes in teashops, a beloved tradition, has been banned, officially for health reasons.

Campus poetry nights have been canceled, along with commemorations of past student uprisings. Bus drivers and other workers have been fired and arrested for union organizing, and nearly 300 teachers were arrested after demanding higher pay.

So the Iranians are going through a new dangerous time in their country and we should let them know that even as we may despise their government, that we support them as a people, and we hope that they can regain their "freedom" from these madmen who are currently in power.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Guantanamo Bay May Close

There have been rumblings from The White House concerning a possible closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility due to the bad image that it has given to the "war on terror". Rumors are that the terror suspects who are being held there will be moved to military prisons around the world, perhaps in Afghanistan or even Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where they could face trials.

I was listening to a radio news report, that said that on Friday, June 22, there was a meeting with Vice-President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, National intelligence Director Mike McConnell, and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace attending.

The news reports have long been highly critical of Guantanamo Bay and human rights groups have decried the terror suspects being held there as being ill-treated and abused. There have been some over stepping "bordering on abuse" by the military and the Bush administration in their handling of these terror suspects, but I think that was more true right after 9/11 then it is now. The suspects who remain in Guatanamo Bay are still considered dangerous, and many of them would be unable to return to their home countries even if they were released as they do not want them to return "home".

One issue I have with the detention facility is that it has been a long time, and there should be a endgame to their incarceration, either they are terrorists or they are not, so get on with the military tribunals. It didn't take this long to hold trials after World War II in Nuremburg for the Nazi's who were tried and that was in a post war Europe, while they were still trying to rebuild their countries. So finding Justice is about the will to do so, and the Bush administration has not been willing to do so!

Guantanamo Bay should probably be closed as it is just one more bad image used by our enemies against an America that is loathed and hated by many people around the world. We are a great nation and the continuing incarceration of suspects who do not seem to have a chance of getting Justice belies who we say we are as a Nation built on "being innocent, until proven guilty".

Let's live up to our ideals Mr. President and order your people to get this resolved right now.

Democratic Candidates To Visit Iowa City Tuesday

It should be a good week for people who like politicians, as we will have at least 5 of the Democratic Presidential candidates visting our city this week.

On Tuesday, June 26th, the candidates, Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, former Senator John Edwards, and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, will be attending the convention of the Iowa Professional Firefighter's. Beau Biden, the son of Senator Joe Biden will also be there representing his father.

Now I do not support any of these candidates, but I think it would be fun to see them up close and personal. I have to work, so I hope their comments are reported in the Iowa Press-Citizen. Perhaps some of you readers will be able to attend. If you do please write me and let me know what you thought of them.

It is also being reported that former President Bill Clinton will be here with Hillary for the upcoming Jazz festival which begins July 2nd. now actually I would find President Clinton's visit to be better than the rest of these "pretenders" to the throne, as he was a good President. We had relative peace and prosperity. If his Presidency had not been marred by the "Monica" incident we would be remembered as one of our Better Presidents. Unfortunately, the loons on the Right tried every trick they could come up with to destroy President Clinton, up to and including wasting millions on his impeachment. I think that there is some payback heading the way of the Republicans as their President may face the Democrats, who have hinted rather loudly about possible impeachment charges against President Bush.

Anyway back to the Professional Firefighter's convention. If you can attend, the speaking schedele will be Senator Chris Dodd at 8 a.m., Senator Hillary Clinton at 9:30 a.m.,Governor Bill Richardson at 11:30 a.m., Senator Barack Obama at 2:30 p.m., Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden at 8 p.m., and then Wednesday it will be IAFF President Harold Schaitburger at 8:15 a.m., and then Senator John Edwards at 9:15 a.m.

The event will be at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Iowa City.

Have Fun!!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

U of I Football Coaches Mother Dies

I just read my Hawkeye Update email when I got home from work today and I saw that University of Iowa's Football Coach, Kirk Ferentz's mother Elsie Mae Ferentz, died Tuesday at the age of 85. She was a resident of Asbury Heights, Pennsylvania, and there are reports that she had suffered from a long illness.

It said that services will be at 11 a.m. at the Christ Methodist Church, 44 Highland Road, bethel Park, Pennsylvania and memorial contributions can be made to the Asbury Benevolent Fund, 700 Bower Hill Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15243, and Christ United Methodist Church, 44 Highland Road, Bethel Park, Friday. She will be Buried at Mt. Lebanon, PA. Cemetary.

It really doesn't matter that this woman lived 85 years, because no matter how long your parents live it is always difficult to lose them. My parents are dead, with my Father dying at age 57 and My Mother at age 60, and even though it has been about six years since my Mother died and seventeen since my father died, it still hurts when I think about it. Thank God that we can keep busy and never have to dwell on their deaths, as a matter of fact there are those few times when I am really busy that I get a notion to give them a call and it is then that I realize that they are no longer here.

To Mr. Kirk Ferentz and his family I send my condolences and my prayers. May you have good memories of your Mother and Your Father, who I read is also deceased and may they rest in peace.

How Did We Survive Without Laptops?

My Acer laptop totally biffed today, so I am forced to wait until I get home from work to post from my home computer.

It amazed me how long an 11 hour day is when there is nothing to do, but wait for people to come by. When I have the computer working I am able to write few paragraphs, talk to customers, sell them a print or two and then read stories on Yahoo or MSN, which gives me more things to write about. Today was the longest day I have experienced in a long time. I even had to stoop so low as to actually read a newspaper to get my news and information.

I have just ordered a recovery disk and it should arrive by next thursday, until then I shall try and post after work every evening.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Iowans For Tax Relief Are Not For All Iowans

I would like to thank Katy Brown and Patrick Riepe for today's post as Katy sent out an email suggesting that someone write about it, and Patrick added to it in his reply.
The Iowans for Tax Relief story link is at the bottom and if you get a chance visit their website as they are very clever in "showing" that they are for all Iowans. That is until you look at their "accomplishments", which include getting the top corporate tax rate down from 13% TO 8.98%, blocked debt financing and protected deductions in 2003, Phase-out of Social Security taxes in 2006, and they boast of eight consecutive years of tax cuts.
Those would all be laudable accomplishments if it wasn't for the fact that the taxes that were cut were for those most able to afford taxes, and the increases that needed to be made to offset the cuts fell on the rest of us.
Money talks and the politicians feed at the trough of corporate money to finance their expensive campaigns. Iowans for Tax Relief supported former Congressman Nussle in the last election against Chet Culver, who eventually won the Governorship of Iowa.
Their are many political action groups and they all pretend to be for the average person, but you need to see who they affiliate with to see their true purpose. The Iowans for Tax Relief have the Christian Alliance as their allies, so you can be sure that any agenda that they pursue will be veyr conservative, i.e. against programs that assist the less fortunate among us, and will promote good "Christian" values, "you know..values that are anything BUT Christ-like"!
I have listed the Officers and Board of Directors for Iowans for Tax Relief below:
Officers
Dean Kleckner
Honorary Chairman
David M. Stanley
Chairman
Robert H. Solt
Vice Chairman
Cloyd E. Robinson
Vice Chairman
Jeffrey R. Boeyink
President
Edward D. Failor, Jr.
Executive Vice President
Edward D. Failor, Sr.
Senior Counsel
Peter E. Voorhees
Finance Chairman
Christopher W. Nichols
Information Services Director
Daniel G. Steele
Creative Services Director
Jamie D. Hopkins
Development Director
Kathleen M. Koberg
Public Relations Director
Board of Directors
Jeffrey A. Bean
Anthony T. Berardi
Jeffrey R. Boeyink
David G. Dickey
Edward D. Failor, Jr.
Edward D. Failor, Sr.
John G. Giblin
Hugh S. Greig
Dean Kleckner
James M. Kurtenbach
Scott D. Newhard
Dr. Donald P. Racheter
Cloyd E. Robinson
Robert H. Solt
David M. Stanley
Jean Leu Stanley
Jane Svoboda
Ray A. Taylor
Peter E. Voorhees
R. Scott Weiser
Herbert A. Wilson
Now I looked up a couple of the top officers to see whose vision they are following and found out that their Honorary Chairman, Dean Kleckner is an Iowa farmer and former President of the Iowa Farm Bureau, Chairman David M. Stanley, is the founder of Iowans for Tax Relief, and was a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives, and tried to run for The Senate in 1968 and 1974, and lives in Muscatine, Iowa, Edward D. Failor Sr. and Jr., is just says they are Iowa Conservatives for Fairness and Tax Relief, and Peter Voorhees is Counsel for the group is a member of the Des Moines law firm of McKee, Voorhees & Sease, which gave the University of Iowa, College of Law a $100,000 gift in December of 2004.
I am sure the rest of this group consists of more like-minded, Conservative, fellows, who would definitely like to have lower rates on their considerable wealth.
Wouldn't it be nice to be in their league, then we would think it was fair to let the taxes fall on the lesser among us, so we can keep are largesse to ourselves and other "like'minded", "Good-Christians".
"Beware of wolves in sheeps clothing", as that is what this Iowans for Tax Relief is!

Taxes

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Abbas Versus Hamas

In an extremely late but necessary move, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has shown that he may have found his "cajounes", as he harshly criticized Hamas for taking over Gaza last week and even going so far as to call the group, murderous terrorists. He also accused Hamas of trying to assassinate him last month, with an under the road bomb which was to go off as his auto passed over it.

Hamas denied that they tried to kill him, but it sure looked as though they would have assisted him off the top of a building if he had not left for the West Bank, before they could get ahold of him.

President Abbas has appealed for international help in convening a peace conference and has asked Israel to resume the peace talks directly. Wow, quite a turnabout in just one week, maybe the fear of Hamas is enough to keep him moving forward with a peace process that in the end would benefit his people as well as the Israeli's, who are already feeling the rocket attacks by Hamas again.

Israel is making some border raids into Gaza with tanks and have killed 4 Palestinian's so far, and have also fired missiles at Hamas strongholds. The majority of Israeli tanks are at the border, waiting, at the Ready, in case of further Hamas attacks. They also have helicopter's which they use with precision and deadliness, but as of this writing they have not yet been deployed.

Even though I have been very critical of President Abbas in the past, I hope that finding his "cajounes" will finally give him the courage to fight Hamas for control of all Palestinian territories down the road. I hope that for this current situation it will keep him strong enough to follow through on commitments it makes to acquire independence for his fellow Palestinian brother's and sister's.

There was time in the past for a brief couple of minutes when Yassar Arafat had the opportunity to give his people an independent homeland, but he was such a worm that he threw it away, by pretending to be for peace and then sanctioning the terrorist's who killed innocent Israeli's at random. Hopefully, Arafat is burning in Hell for the misuse of his authority and keeping his people in chains.

I wish for President Abbas the best and now use your anger and contempt for Hamas to move the peace process to a successful conclusion, and start by getting your people an independent West Bank, which could set the example for Gaza to follow suit!!
May God assist these men to do the right thing this time! Peace now and always, as this whole area needs a long deserved Rest!

Bush KILLS Stem Cell Bill

I just heard on a web radio cast that President George "I AM A COMPASSIONATE CONSERVATIVE" Bush has just vetoed a bill that would have eased restraints on federally funded embryonic stem cell research.

Even though he finds it completely acceptable to kill actual human beings, i.e. "enemy combatants", but finds it abhorrant to use already aborted fetus stem cells to assist his fellow human beings to live better lives through the research and treatments that comes from the use of the stem cells. Whether it be for Parkinson's desease, or Alzheimer's disease or any of a number of disease's that could gain better treatments or even a cure, through the use of research on stem cells, The President stands against it on "Moral" grounds. How Moral is it to let people suffer from disease when the use of stem cells may make their lives better and longer!

Now I also wish there were not abortions, but when there are embryonic stem cells available, that means the decision has already been made. Now do you let potential cures be dumped down the toilet or do you use them to possibly save other's or even the fetus life, the next time it is born, (that is if you believe in reincarnation). I know many do not, but I believe as do physicists that Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but merely changes shape and form. Therefore I find that gives as reasonable a possibility of reincarnation being real, as does the whole "you only get one life" of other religions.

To completely "woosie" out on his veto, President Bush issued an executive order directing the Health and Human Services Department to PROMOTE research into cells that, like human embryonic stem cells, also hold the potential of regenerating into different types of cells that might be used to battle disease.

Public opinion polls show strong support for the stem cell research and probably everyone know someone who could benefit directly from the treatments that could come from the research.

It is just another example of saying one thing and meaning another. Whether the embryonic cells are used or not the fact that they are destroyed will not be effected and they will just be thrown away. How sad for those afflicted that the President continues to pander to the Christian "Right" instead of choosing for the betterment of all Americans.

We need a new President to put the people of the country ahead of his personal beliefs, as Bush obviously cannot see past his own blinders on this and many other issues. Many people will succumb before Bush's term ends and a new President is sworn in and changes things. The deaths of these people will be on Bush's already full plate of deaths, and people thought Kevorkian was Dr. Death, so Bush is President Death!!

Craven City Council Caves

Tuesday night saw the Iowa City Council doing its' best impression of "bravely running away", as they voted unanimously to put the proposed 21 ordinance on the November 6th ballot. There had been a petition from the Committee for Healthy Choices group which received enough signatures to compell the Iowa City Council to either vote on the measure or vote to send it to the November 6th ballot.

Obviously, the Iowa City Council is full of a bunch of "politicians", because they chose to make no decision, by sending it to the ballot. What were they elected for if they cannot make the tough choices, without giving the wimps excuse of "we need to let the people decide" or some other such nonsense.It is always the cry of the politician who is afraid of losing support from any area that can only decide, by not deciding, what they think. Sounds like we have future National Congressmen and Senators to "vote against, before I voted for" the bill, in training. We should be so "proud"!

In the second vote they decided to ban all amateur fighting in any establishment that serves alcohol. This was obviously a no brainer, as most of the fighters and their friends probably don't vote, or that is what the City Council "may have chosen to believe". We shall try and change that between now and the City Council's next elections. Anyway, The Iowa City Council voted unanimously in favor of the ban, which requires two more votes before it can be adopted. So if you wish to stop this ridiculous ban let these people know and know now. This is another cowardly move, because they choose to infringe on the rights of a "few" people, whose votes they find negligable, as opposed to vocal and intense groups like the "Committee to Ban Anything Remotely Fun", and while I did not see that they were directly involved, I am sure some of them were behind the scenes, as they have nothing better to do in their lives then ruin other people's lives, and wipe that smile off anyone's face who might be enjoying life.

I recommend to the Union bar to take a cue from what was done last evening and begin offering prizes, thus making it a Professional fight and placing it under current Iowa state law and put the onus on the city. Let them feel some pain, if they want to stop the harmless fun that these few people voluntarily consent to. I mentioned before that this fight night is really not my thing, but I shall come down and support the fights, as a concerned citizen who thinks that Iowa City has too much of a "Nanny" complex already, and I hope others will join us, and show the City Council that they should be nervous how WE will VOTE when they are up for their next elections! The non-vocal Majority may wish to make some sweeping changes!!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Nine Heroes Die In Charleston

I was just reading the story of the tragic death's of nine firefighters in the city of Charleston, South Carolina last night.

A spokesman for the Charleston Fire Department said that a fire had broken out at about 7 p.m. Monday in the Sofa Super Store and warehouse, and firefighter's had responded and rescued to employees of the Super Store.

The firefighter's were fighting to get the fire under control when the roof collapsed and killed the nine firefighter's inside the building.

President Bush spoke briefly about the tragedy today and expressed his sadness in the wake of the deaths of these brave, committed firefighter's. He commended them for their skills and courage and honored them as hereos for saving the two people inside the building.

Charleston Fire Department Officials identified the victims Tuesday as Capt. William "Billy" Hutchinson, 48; Capt. Mike Benke, 49; Capt. Louis Mulkey, 34; Engineer Mark Kelsey, 40; Engineer Bradford "Brad" Baity, 37; Assistant Engineer Michael French, 27; Firefighter James "Earl" Drayton, 56; Firefighter Brandon Thompson, 27, and Firefighter Melven Champaign, 46.

These brave men were members of 237 firefighter's, in 19 companies, for Charleston which has a population of 106,000 people.

This is second worst disaster for firefighter's since the September 11th, 2001, terror attacks against the World Trade Towers in New York City.

I know some people who would not find these men heroes, because as they say, "Those men chose to be firefighter's and put their lives on the line." I know logically that may sound correct, but how can anyone not see the bravery in the very facts of their lives. There are a lot of people who work in dangerous professions, partially to make it better for others and maybe for some there is a "satisfaction in doing risky work and surviving..enjoying the living on the edge, aspect of the job."

Whatever the reasons that they do this work, it is for us to give them the respect that they earn everytime they respond to an emergency, which can end their lives.

For me I think these men are heroes and hope that this will bring some comfort to the families. These firefighter's did save two innocents trapped inside a burning building, and who among us, if we were in the same situation would not want heroic firefighter's coming to our assistance.

May God Bless them and bring their souls into his presence, where they can dwell in peace, forever.

Heroes

Hope For Man's Survival?

Hope for Man's survival rests with European Space Agency!

I subscribe to a lot of different updates such as political, general news, and one of my favorites space news updates.

I just received one concerning the European Space Agency (ESA) and their accouncement Tuesday that they are taking applications for volunteers to simulate a trip to Mars and then a return to Earth.

If it was an actual trip being planned by the ESA, it would take some 520 days, it would take 250 days to reach Mars, allow for 30 days on surface and then a return voyage of 240 days.

The program that was announced today would only be for 105 days in 2008, with another 105 days later in 2008, to test the premise, and then the full 520 days in 2009 or thereabouts.

Four of the crew will be Russian and a total of 12 Europeans will be needed to test the physical and psychological implications of being confined for long periods of time. Emergencies will be included in the program to see how people handle stressors.
I was wondering if we were doing any type of experiments in the United States as it sounds fascinating. I am currently going to several websites with NASA information to check it out, and will update this story if I find anything of interest.

If we are not doing this we should, as the trip to Mars, while very expensive and dangerous is a necessary step that we need to take if we ever plan to get anywhere else in this solar system and galaxy. The rate that we are trashing this planet is a good indicator that we need to find alternative housing elsewhere before this planet is totally bereft of life.

I realize it would be easier and less expensive to take care of the lifeboat that we call Earth, but the sad truth is that we will not stop the human activities that are poisoning this planet, and that will ultimately lead to the end of human life here. So a contingency plan is called for and the sooner we begin thinking of our departure the better.

I know the Bush adminstration has said we should go to the Moon again and then on to Mars at a later date, but nothing is decided or funded yet. It is lame to return to the Moon and makes for too long a wait to head to Mars. Time is critical and it is time that we again take Bold, Giant steps as we did when President John F. Kennedy made the committment to have a Man on the Moon, by the end of the decade. There were dangers and deaths, but America saw the culimination of the Vision when a Man did Walk on the Moon, July 20th,1969.

It is again that time of Bold Vision to take man to the next step away from home.

My Best Wishes to the volunteers in the ESA experiments, and my discouragement that it is not the United States of America, leading the way this time.
The full story can be read by following the link below.

Mars

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire

Before we get back to the many grim news stories occuring this week, I was reading the morning brief from the Iowa Press-Citizen and found a cool and happy story and wanted to share it with you.

I was just reading the story about Kecia Lynn, 42, of Iowa City, who will be a contestant on NBC's, "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" today.
It says that she has also just graduated from the University of Iowa's prestigious Writer's Workshop.

I have attached a link so you can all read the story and hopefully if you are not working all day like am, you will have a chance to watch and cheer for a fellow Iowa Citian.

How many of you have wanted to be on a game show like this? I know I have always wanted to be on Jeopardy or other such trivia/knowledge type show, and even took the online test to pre-qualify, which I got through, but never got a call back.

I think a lot of times we do not get the same opportunities due to distance from Chicago, Minneapolis, and other try out cities, so I read the story of Kecia Lynn, with joy and renewed hope that maybe I will get my wish to be a contestant someday. If not, that is alright too, for an Iowa Citian is going forth tonight and hopefully will bring victory back with her.

Best of Luck and Knowledge to Kecia Lynn today!!

Millionaire

Monday, June 18, 2007

Iran Whines About Israel

I was just listening to a webcast from the BBC I think, which is reporting that Iran's United Nations ambassador has complained in a letter that the United Nations Security Council has done nothing to stop Israel's unlawful and dangerous threats to his country.

It said that Javad Zarif protested a recent statement from Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz that Israel has not ruled out military action against Iran to disable its nuclear program. He also referred to a similar statement that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made in April.

Isn't it kind of humorous that a country such as Iran whose President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, regularly threatens total annihilation of Isreal, and their ambassador has the gaul to write and complain that Israel threatens their country. If Iran's President wasn't a psycho hell bent on acquiring nuclear weapons to use against Israel and his neighbors they would not have to worry about unlawful and dangerous threats to Iran.

The Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran in December for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, and modestly increased them in March after Tehran stepped up the program, which can produce nuclear weapons. Iran responded by giving the U.N. nuclear watchdog less access to its nuclear facilities.

In an interview on Israeli Radio on June 9, Mofaz said, I never said there is no military option, and the military option is included in all the options that are on the table, but at this time it's right to use the path of sanctions, and to intensify them. Israel's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Daniel Carmon dismissed the letter as face-saving.

Zarif sent another letter to Ban on June 13, protesting the arrest of five Iranians by U.S. forces in northern Iraq in January.

The U.S. military has said the Iranians, whom they alleged are connected to a faction that funds and arms insurgents in Iraq, were working in a government liaison office in Irbil in Kurdish-controlled Iraq. Iran has maintained the five were diplomats and were arrested at a consulate.

In addition to the above accusations against Iran, The United States also accuses Iran of helping to provide roadside bombs that have killed American troops in Iraq, and a bitter standoff already exists between the two countries over Iran's nuclear program. Iran has rejected the allegations.

If Iran wants to not be threatened with violence from other countries, they should immediately refrain from causing violence to their neighbors, by providing training to Iragi insurgents, safe haven for other terrorists, and for providing weapons and bombs that are killing Americans, Iraqi's, Israeli's, and Lebanese. If they choose to continue being the evil behind the scenes, they will soon get a taste of there own violence, on their own soil, and deservedly so!!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Bush's "day late and a dollar short" Approach To Palestinian's

Sorry for the long title for this post......but..it tells the tale best!
As is typical with the Bush adminsitration they are going to make moves that if taken months ago could have made the last week in Gaza less likely too have happened.
I have just been listening to a webcast report about the rumor that the Bush administration being poised to lift economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Palestinian government in the West Bank, now that a United States backed moderate government has evicted Islamic radicals from governance.
The U.S. move essentially would reset U.S. policy to the days before the Islamic militant group Hamas swept legislative elections in early 2006 and upended U.S. and international peacemaking. The United States, Israel and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Hamas’ violent takeover of the Gaza Strip last week, however, essentially split the Palestinian government. Hamas, which does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, now runs Gaza, home to an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians. Abbas and his secular Fatah Party now run the West Bank. The West Bank, although much larger, also is home to estimated 1.5 million Palestinians.
That move cleared the way for the United States to resume direct aid payments to the Palestinian government, something it has refused to do so long as Hamas was a part of the government and could benefit from U.S. aid.
It has been five years since President Bush called for a separate, independent Palestine alongside Israel. He was the first U.S. president to back that notion so fully and publicly. But his administration has taken heavy criticism for letting the peace process drift while conditions worsened for the impoverished Palestinians.
Gaza was long the seat of power for Hamas while the West Bank is a stronghold for Fatah, the party of former Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat.
Some in the United States and in Europe have advocated a policy dubbed the “West Bank first” in which the West Bank would stand as an example of what a future Palestinian state could be. Critics on the other side say that leaves Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip without international aid. Europeans oppose this idea, and others worry it would leave the Gaza Strip open to funding and influence from Iran and Syria.
After losing Gaza in a swift, five-day Hamas assault on his forces, Abbas moved quickly to cement his rule in the West Bank. He replaced the prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, with Finance Minister Salam Fayyad, a U.S.-educated, internationally respected economist.
Fayyad then moved forward with plans to form an emergency government , a move that Hamas has deemed illegal. The new government was sworn in by Sunday.
If these moves had been made months ago when Hamas won seats in the government there is the possibility that the "civil" war that we saw last week may not have occurred, but as is usual the Bush administration is a "day late and a dollar short".
How sad for all those who have and who will die as this rip in the Palestinian people widens.
I pray for the day that these people find peace, figuratively and literally!!

Daniel's New Plan For Iraq

I have been watching the news from Iraq and have figured out a new plan which shall end this war on an early and successful note. Below I release the details of the new plan to end the war in iraq , I hope that you will read and pass it on to your friends and acquaintances and ultimately push our elected officials to pass this legislation and get on with winning this war on my terms!



You know that I SUPPORT the troops and thought that even though Iraq was started for all the wrong reasons, that we were obligated to try and fix it before we leave. I have a new plan that I know will take care of the war in Iraq.



Under my plan we will immediately reinstate the DRAFT, but with SUBSTANTIAL changes. There will be no deferments allowed for anyone, for any reason. All men age 45 and over will be drafted, all city, state, and federal elected officials (men and women) will be drafted, all income earners, who make over $75,000 will be drafted, and they will all be drafted for COMBAT roles, AGAIN NO EXCEPTIONS, they will not be allowed to be in SUPPORT roles, but in front line combat teams, up to and including the President and his entire cabinet. Anyone who refuses will receive an immediate death sentence with no right of appeal.Basically a firing squad and daybreak approach to encourage immediate signing up for the military.

This would be instituted immediately so they can get their combat training in and be in Iraq no later than September 30, 2007, when the last of the current troops would rotate home and leave everyone else i.e. new draftees in place to finish up this dirty little war.



I think my plan offers a huge incentive to FINISH the current war in IRAQ by that turnover date with a SUCCESSFUL conclusion for everyone!!



Take care my friendS!!

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Karma Bites Nifong

In the first bit of justice in the Duke "rape" case in a long time, former District Attorney, Mike Nifong was disbarred on Saturday. This resulted from the disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape.

In deciding to disbar Nifong the committee stated that he had engaged in dishonest and deceitful conduct. They said Nifong's early comments about the case , which included a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl" , were purposefully designed to boost his campaign for district attorney.

F. Lane Williamson, the committee's chairman, said that at the time Nifong was facing a primary, and he used this case to further his political ambitions by getting the black voters behind him.

Nifong's lawyer said that he would not be appealling the ruling.
On the web radio cast that I was listening too they reported that the North Carolina State Bar charged Nifong with breaking several rules of professional conduct, including lying to both the court and bar investigators and withholding critical DNA test results from the players' defense attorneys.

The committee, after deliberating for a little more than an hour on Saturday, unanimously agreed with the bar on almost every charge, including the most serious allegations , that Nifong's actions involved dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation.

The attorney's for the formerly accused players, Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann, and Collin Finnerty said that they will seek criminal contempt charges against Nifong in Durham next week. It would be perfect justice if he is found guilty, and spends time in the same prison he was trying to put these innocent young men.

It is a shame that they have not filed charges against the young woman stripper who lied about what happened that night, because she is to blame for starting all of the problems in the first place.

These young men should also go after Nifong and the young woman civilly and take their money from them, because sometimes taking their money away from them, is the only thing that can be understood, by those powerful enough to ruin other people's lives.

Hurray for a small bit of justice in a largely unjust world. Good luck to these young men, and may the rest of their lives be a piece of cake compared to the past year of their lives.

Karmic Law served justice to Nifong today!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Sanctimony Rules In Iowa City

There are two stories in the Iowa Press-Citizen reporting that the City council will vote on the two ordinances which will effect activities in the bars in this city. The first will be the ordinance to prevent anyone under 21 from being in the bars after 10 p.m. in response to a petition by the 3576 "concerned" citizens of the "We Want to Rule Every part of Your Life" Nanny Group. I am sorry for disparaging people who only want to give us a better life..Yeah Right!, and I have beach front property in Florida. This is just an example as I mentioned before of a bunch of old "fuddy duddy busybodies" that cannot believe they have lost their youth. However, instead of enjoying the lives that they now have, they CHOOSE to stick their nose in everyone's else's fun and want to shut it down, so they can sit back on their sanctimonious a""e" and feel "oh so much more superior" to the rest of us.

Which brings us to the second story which is the City council will also either decide to ban all amateur fighting in the city bars or leave it for a vote in the fall. The proposed ban stems from safety concerns over the Union Bar's Fight Night. Every Wednesday since March, the downtown bar at 121 E. College St. has featured a popular mix of amateur boxing, ultimate fighting and grappling matches.
This is again just another attempt to take every bit of fun out of living in this Nanny city. The people who enjoy this type of fun should be left alone. There have been very appropriate comments that they should be regulated and have medical personnel and anything else that makes it safer, but these people are not doing anything worse than you would see on a regular episode of JackAss. I do not participate in or enjoy this kind of "fun", but I am not "Superior" enough to say that they cannot enjoy themselves with this kind of activity.

Why is it that "Progressives" are always trying to squeeze the fun out of everything in life. I swear you let them keep this up and the next targets will be the fast food restaurants, because eating high calorie foods can result in injury to your body just as great as a few punches or a few drinks. You wait and see, their ultimate goal is to decide every part of our lives for us. Big Brother lefties are just as bad as Big Brother righties, and just as scary and dangerous for people who believe in living life and personal liberty.

Take care and save us from people who just want to "help" us live better lives.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

CFE Conference Off To Rocky Start

I was just reading a story on Yahoo about the first day of the emergency conference on the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty, with delegates indicating that Russia and NATO are far apart in their views concerning implementation of the treaty.

The Russians have so far refused to close former bases in Georgia and Moldova, and they are angry with the West's rush to place an anti-missile shield in Poland. In addition, there is the threat of a veto on any move to allow Kosovo to have independence as we have heard with recent heated rhetoric on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin and President George Bush at the recent G-8 summit. There was a little milder statement toward the end of the conference, but it shows that we need to tread softly or risk starting another weapons race.

I have mentioned earlier that I do not think that President Putin is entirely wrong in his worry of having an anti-missile shield in his "backyard", as I think we would object if they put such a shield in Cuba or some other unfriendly country so near to the United States. I found his offer to allow use of the old radar site in Azerbaijan for the site of the anti-missile radar unit as genuine. Now if President Bush does not have ulterior motives he would have taken him up on the offer and shown President Putin that we are really trying to offer protection from rogue states, like Iran and North Korea firing missiles into Europe, and not trying to threaten Russia. President Bush's lack of interest he shows President Putin that he does have to worry about what the West is doing, just as we worry what he is doing as he turns away from democratic reforms in Russia.

Can anyone say Cold War II! Seems closer and closer to a reality everyday and the distance apart at the start of this conference is just one more indication of that possibility.
CFE

Cruel Hospital Death

I was just reading the story of Edith Isabel Rodrguez, 43, who died of a perforated bowel on May 9th at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital due to intentional neglect by the hospital staff in the emergency room.
It says that as she lay bleeding to death, dispatchers refused to contact paramedics or an ambulance to take her to another hospital, even as her boyfriend and others made repeated calls to 911 dispatchers who not only did not help, but argued with the callers.
Experts say that she would have lived if she had been treated promptly, instead of being left to lay on the cart for 45 minutes in what her relatives describe as excruciating pain. When police finally did arrive to transport her to another facility, they arrested her for a parole violation, instead of getting her help. She died as they were wheeling her out of the hospital under arrest.
My God can you believe the callous disregard for this poor woman's life. How can trained professionals who are supposed to be about caring for life, be so evil to another human being. Each and everyone of the people involved should be charged with manslaughter and face real time jail.
It sounds like this hospital has had problems for a long time, but my God, the simplest bit of attention to this woman and her family could have saved her life.
At the very least these dispatchers, emergency room staff, etc., should be fired and not be allowed to provide their shoddy treatment on anyone else.
There is a video of this story as well which can be viewed at the site of the story.
May this woman who died in such a painful and cruel way, Rest In Peace!
911

Civil War In Gaza?

The news from the middle east continues to be grim as Hamas attacks Fatah positions in the Gaza Strip and efforts to end the violence fail.
The situation seems to be heading for an all out civil war as Hamas has given Fatah security forces an ultimatum to hand over their weapons by 7p.m. (noon EDT) Friday.
There are reports that President Mahmoud Abbas has called on exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to end the violence. Mashaal is currently in Damascus, Syria, and has not responded to President Abbas's request as of this morning.
The story reports that over 50 people have died since the fighting began on Monday, with Hamas blaming the fighting on the Fatah security forces who they say are corrupt and riddled with criminals, while Abbas just says that the fighting is madness and will tear their government apart.
The United Nations is limiting its' activities in Gaza after two Palestinians that worked for them were killed. The United States has issued a warning for reporters to leave the country. The warning was issued by a State Department spokesman on Tuesday.
It is such a shame that these people cannot get a moments rest from the violence that pervades their nation, whether it be fighting with the Israeli's or as is now happening with their countrymen.
The United Nations needs to step in and try and control the situation before all out war breaks out and it spills over to the West Bank, where Fatah holds the upper hand, and the whole region blows up with violence and reprisal killings.
The culprit here is Hamas's sponsor Syria, which continues to cause trouble there and in Lebanon. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi should call her new friends in Damascus and get them to reign in Hamas before it is fully out of control.
Another sad week in the Middle East.
hamas

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Bali Conference Promotes Tolerance

I was just reading a very good story online at MSN news and have a link to it below.

There was a conference being held tuesday in Bali, Indonesia, as the world's most populous Muslim nation brought together religious leaders and victims of attacks by Islamic extremists.

A Jewish Holocaust survivor, one Sol Tiechman, 79, was one of those invited to speak at the conference and he made a plea for tolerance. Mr. Tiechman was a teenager living in Czechslovakia, whn his city was first occupied by the Hungarian army and then the Germans. He said that we should try and improve life instead of destroying it. He lost 70 family members to the Nazis including his sister, brothers, and grandparents, who were taken to Auschwitz,Warsaw, Dachau, Kaufering and Landsberg concentration camps before allied forces liberated them in 1945.

One of the goals of this meeting was to counter the conference last December which had been hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, that tried to cast doubt on the killing of an estimated 6 millions Jews during World War II.

The daylong gathering on Bali island was attended by high-profile moderate Indonesian Muslim leaders, including former President Abdurraham Wahid, and Hindu spiritual head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, as well as Buddhist teachers, a Jesuit priest and rabbis.

Victims of a terrorist attack in Israel and of suicide bombings by Muslim militants on Bali in 2005 were among participants. More than 220 people have died from two attacks in Bali.

Bali is a mostly HIndu city in Indonesia, which also has a Muslim population of some 190 million people, making it the largest Muslim nation in the world. The government is secular and people are mostly moderate, though there is a vocal militant minority that has grown in recent years.

I had several emplolyees who are from Indonesia and they are some of the nicest, calmest people considering all of the natural disaster's that have hit their nation. If there is going to be a New World Order, I would support allowing Indonesia to run it. Their peaceful ways would inspire us all to be better people.

Please take a look at the story and know that in a world where radical Muslims get most of the press, that there is a group of genuine moderates out there and we can only hope that their strain of Islam will be the winning one.

bali

Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett Arrested For DUI

I was just reading the story by Lee Hermiston in the Iowa Press-Citizen's morning brief that Johnson County Auditor, Tom Slockett was arrested for drunk driving on Sunday evening.
I have attached a link so that you can read the story in full.
The story says that this was his second DUI arrest in the last six years. I found it interesting that in his previous drunk driving arrest he was allowed to plead it down to speeding and pay a fine. Is that an option for everyone or just people who are connected, because I see a heck of a bunch of DUI's in the paper and they seem to all be found guilty of that charge, instead of a reduce charge such as speeding. I am sure if people know this is an option, more will plead to that charge, as it does much less damage to your insurance rates then does a drunk driving charge.
I have known young people who have taken the chance driving drunk after having tried to walk home and being arrested for public intoxication. I have always thought that this is ridiculous. Instead of punishing people for trying to do the safe thing we should encourage them to walk home.
How many times have we made the wrong choice, because we did not want to walk 30 minutes and increase the chances of being seen weaving down the sidewalk and instead jumped in the car and drove the 10 minutes home.
It shall be interesting to see how this plays out in court and whether Mr. Slockett shall be lucky enough to get another reduced charge or if making people aware of it will encourage the courts to forego that option. It seems like he did not take his first lucky chance and make a better decision than to drive drunk again. He is lucky he did not hurt anyone with his selfish behavior.


DUI

Should We Apologize To Everyone?

I was just reading the story of German-Americans who were interred in camps like the Japanese-Americans, during World War II, and the effort to pass a bill to look into the treatment that they received during the War.
While the Germans were detained in far fewer numbers than were the Japanese, there were still thousands of them and many had their lives ruined.
The future of this legislation is in doubt as it was passed as an amendment to the Immigration Amnesty Bill, which was defeated last week.
Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is the bills sponsor as he represents a large German population in his state.
I am of German descent, and our family had problems during both World Wars due to their German ancestry, but having said that I am not in favor of this bill.
As a nation we have spent the last thirty years apologizing to one group of people or another and what has it gotten us, nothing that's what. This is just one more "death by a thousand cuts" mentality that tends to fracture rather than repair relations between different races, religions, etc.,.
We have some incredibly bloody stains on ourselves during our growth as a nation, from stealing the land from the Native Americans, to committing genocide against them, and leaving those we did not kill, to live on reservations as we tried to force our culture upon them. Then there was the interment of the Japanese, German, Italian, people during World War II, and turning away the Jews who tried to seek refuge here and were refused, and were sent back and killed by the Nazi's.
This is our history, and is part of our curse as a nation. What we cannot do is hope that by passing legislation saying we are sorry for the past atrocities that it is going to do anything other than keep people in the victim mode. We need to make America pay for its' past sins by being the shining light of a nation that comes to the aid of those in need.
One other point of disagreement with the goal of the bill, and that is in the fact, that it seems to try and equate the treatment that the interred in this country suffered with that done to others by the Axis powers. This type of moral equivalency is dangerous at best and evil at worst.
While the United States had internment camps, they were not concentration camps like those used by the Germans and Japanese, for the sole purpose of killing the occupants. I think the Jews would find it an abomination to try and make what America did to its' internees to be the same as the Holocaust, that was perpetrated against them.
It is the agenda of the far left to make everyone's suffering equal, when we know that it is not even close to being the same. This obscures the actual truth of history and that is never a good thing.
Beware of those, who by treating all victims alike will do the work of the Holocaust myth advocates, who try and dispute that it ever occurred. They usually say that while there may have been some who died, it was from illness, not the plan of a madman, which was being carried out methodically with precision and deadliness by his followers.
Be very cautious, as deceivers come in the guise of goodness and light.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Paris Meet Karma, Karma Teach Paris!

I was going to write about the travesty of justice when Paris Hilton was released from jail to complete her sentence in her home, but has now turned into a column about righteous justice for someone who thought she was above any law, because of her wealth.

What begin as a graceful attempt by the 26-year-old socialite to accept her punishment for violating probation in a reckless driving case ended Friday when a disheveled and tearful Hilton was ordered back to jail to serve out the remainder of her 45-day sentence.

After serving only three days in jail, Sheriff Lee "Celebrity Buttkisser" Baca, in full violation of the Judge's order that Paris not be allowed alternative sentences such as home arrest, let her go to complete her sentence in just such a setting; due to a "medical condition". I am sure prisoners everywhere will be happy to have medical conditions as well so they can go home. Oh that's right it doesn't work that way for regular inmates, only "celeberities" are allowed to use that excuse.

After Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer was apparently unmoved by the pleas of Hilton's three lawyers to keep their client under house arrest, the hotel heiress was led from the courtroom crying out for her mother and shouting, "It's not right!"
Friday's hearing was requested by the city attorney's office, which had prosecuted Hilton and wanted Sheriff Lee Baca held in contempt for deciding to reassign Hilton to home detention despite Sauer's express order that she must serve her time in jail.

Sauer gave no explanation of his ruling to return Hilton back to jail, but his comments throughout the hearing indicated he was affronted by Baca's decision to set aside his instructions and release the "celebrity" to her Hollywood Hills home.

Judge Sauer should immediately be put on the Supreme Court so we can see more judicious decisions on a bigger scale. Sheriff Buttkisser should be held in contempt and find himself sitting in his own jail on the other side of the bars. It seems that he has a history of treating celebrities different than regular inmates. There is rich justice and poor justice in his jail and it should be stopped immediately.

Paris Hilton is a rich heiress, whose only claim to fame is her lifestyle of clubbing, drinking, whoring, and breaking the law. It is a sad commentary on our society that so many young women hold her up as a role model.

Hopefully, watching her being taken from the court kicking and screaming back to jail will wake up her young fans and show them what will happen if you lead a life of decadence and destruction.

I am sure Sheriff Buttkisser will have an open invite to the Hilton's home for having tried to circumvent the law for their little whore brat.

Judge Sauer may have saved Miss Hilton's life by putting her back in jail, because she now knows that even with her vast wealth and connections, it cannot keep her above the law if she faces a righteous judge. This could give her a chance to come out of jail a better person, but she probably needed more time in jail for that to happen completely.

She should thank the judge if she does change, because in her race to destruction living her lifestyle she could have died, or worse she could have killed others in her path.

Paris meet Karma, and Karma is the ultimate teacher, as it allows no alternative sentences, only consequences for your deeds and actions! Learn your lesson!

Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend

There is a story in Time which states that a cease-fire agreement between Iraq's leading Sunni insurgent group and al-Qaeda has been reached which if it true would be bad news for the U.S. military, which has been trying hard to drive a wedge between them. A statement by the Islamic Army that appeared on a jihadist website Wednesday says "an agreement has been reached [with] al-Qaeda in Iraq, leading to an immediate cessation of all military operations between the two sides." The statement added that the two groups would form a "judicial committee" to address their differences.
During the past week, al-Qaeda fighters have exchanged heavy fire with Sunni insurgents, including some from the Islamic Army , in several Baghdad neighborhoods. American and Iraqi officials had hoped that this represented an irreparable rift between homegrown insurgents and foreign jihadis.

Time

Isreal Will Stop Iran

I was just listening to a news report which talked to Israeli ambassador Sallai M Meridor who says the Iranians are within two years of making nuclear weapons.
This is particularly troubling for Isreal, because Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has on numerous occasions called for the annihilation of Isreal.
The Isreali envoy gave the news conference at the Council on Foreign Relations, a private think tank, who had invited Meridor to speak Wednesday.
He said that the Iranians were having some trouble installing the centrifuges an could not decide if they were going for quantity or quality in refining the uranium.
The head of the United Nations nuclear agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said he agrees with our Central Intelligence Agencies report that puts the acquisition of nuclear weapons in the three to eight year range. However, we should not listen to ElBaradei , as he has done everything possible to not take sanctions against Iran. He continues to urge the United States and other Security Council members to abandon rhetoric and have a dialogue instead.
All a dialogue will do is buy them more time, as they are hell bent on getting nuclear weapons so they can be the bully on the block in the Middle East.
Iran continue to pretend that the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, even though it has been offered diplomatic and economic benefits if it ends the programs.
Ambassador Meridor repeated that the Isreali position is that they will not all Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. If diplomatic and economic sanctions do not stop Iran from continuing toward their goal of having nuclear weapons then Isreal will take the necessary steps to stop them.
Isreal is absolutely right, for their very existence requires that this madman, Ahmadinejad not be allowed to control nuclear weapons that he would surely use against Isreal. He would also threaten his Arab neighbors and control of the regions oil supplies. Perhaps one of "moderate" Iranians can get control of this nation and stop the nuclear program, before Isreal has to do it.
The Isreali's had to put an end to Saddam Hussein's nuclear program, and everyone should understand that they will end Iran's if the world does not stop them first!

Friday, June 08, 2007

Pardon Libby

In a stroke of injustice I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying and obstructing the Central Intelligence Investigation into who leaked the name of Valerie Plame an intelligence agent to the press.
There are many Libby supporters who have written President Bush and asked him to pardon him before he must enter prison. President Bush ducked questions about whether or not he would pardon Mr. Libby.
Mr. Libby was Vice-President Dick Cheney's, chief of staff and is the highest ranking White House official to be sentenced to prison since the Iran-Contra affair in the Reagan administration in the 1980's.
The President said their is a process that needs to run its' course before he could make any decisions about a pardon.
Libby's attorney's are going to ask that he be allowed to remain free while his appeals are exhausted. The Special Prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, is going to oppose the request.
First President Bush should pardon Mr. Libby, because it was then Deputy-Secretary of State, Richard Armitage who released Mrs. Plames name to the press. Second the Special "Persecutor" law should be repealed as it nothing more than a stick to beat an administration over the head with when the "loyal" opposition has a policy dispute with the governing party. They wasted the government's time and money when they used it against former President Bill Clinton and it is being used against the Bush adminsitration, as Mr. Libby is being used as a poster child for all that has gone wrong in Iraq.
Mr. Fitzgerald says this proves that truth matters, but the truth did not matter to him. All he wanted was a conviction to justify the millions he wasted going after the wrong person. Truth my butt!!
United States District Judge Reggie B. Walton indicated Tuesday he saw no reason to grant the request. If Walton denies it, he will order Libby to report to prison in the next month or so, but attorneys have said they will rush to an appeals court and try to block his imprisonment there.
Libby was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to investigators about his conversations with reporters about Plame. Fitzgerald questioned Bush and Cheney in a probe that became a symbol of the administration's deepening problems
Even if pardoned Mr. Libby has incurred immense legal bills and all this time has been wasted going after the wrong person, in Washington there is no justice to be found.
Mr. President you have done a lot of things wrong during your time in office, do a right thing by pardoning Mr. Libby and coming clean on why you allowed Richard Armitage to reveal the name of a CIA operative to the press, to retaliate against her husband, Joseph Wilson who accused your administration of twisting intelligence to justify the 2003 Iraqi invasion.
It is time for this President to admit that he authorized this release of the name, that we were wrong to go to war in Iraq, even though we now need to finish it, and pardon this man before he spends one day in jail for lying to these "persecutors".

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Turkey Chases Rebels In Iraq

There were reports yesterday that hundreds of Turkish troops had crossed into norther Iraq at the border across from the Turkish city of Cukurca on Wednesday morning.
The Turkish foreign minister denies that any incursion took place though one of the Turkish security officials said it was a "hot pursuit" raid after Kurdish rebels of the PKK Kurdistan Worker's Party, had opened fire from Iraqi soil on Turkish patrols.
The Turkish goverment has threatened a massive incursion if the rebels continue to attack Turkish troops and civilians and then flee back into Iraq for safe haven. The Turkish officials say they are fighting a war on terrorism just as the United States is and they must protect their citizens.
Reaction from our Miltary was that they did not see any indications that this incursion occurred, but they would not be more specific, because of the sensitivity of the information.
United States officials in the region have confirmed that if there was an incursion it would be as a continuation of Turkey's years-long campaign against the Kurdish PKK guerrillas of Kurdistan Workers' Party.
The Turkish invasion scenario is one of those worst case ones that the United States is trying to avoid. The Turkish government opposes any formation of a separate Kurdistan, as the Kurds that reside in southern Turkey would want to join and it is why the rebels fight to try and get their own homeland back.
This is a difficult question, but Turkey has long been a good ally and we need to stand with them for now. However, at some point , there should be a diplomatic settlement to the Kurdish question, but only after they lay down their arms and stop killing civilians.
Please read the story of the Turkish incursion and I also have a link to an excellent article about Turkey, the Kurds and their long struggle to have an independent Kurdistan.
Thanks!
Turkey

Kurds

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Sad News Of Kelsey Smith

I am just watching a very sad and grim news report about the discovery of a body by the Overland Park, Kansas, police on Wednesday. They believe it is that of a teenager who disappeared four days ago after she was apparently abducted from a department store parking lot.
Overland Park, Police Chief John Douglass said the body was found across the state line at a Grandview, Missouri., lake. Positive identification was pending, but authorities believed it was 18-year-old Kelsey Smith.
Officers had been searching woods at the lake since Tuesday after investigators isolated two signals from Smith’s cell phone to an area about 15 miles east of the Target store in suburban Kansas City.
Police have not identified a suspect or a motive in the slaying, Douglass said.
Authorities were still seeking information about a young man videotaped entering and leaving the Target store within moments of Smith. He said police still considered the unidentified man a “person of interest” and not a suspect.
Smith, who graduated from high school less than two weeks ago, left the store around 7:10 p.m. and put packages into her car when someone ran toward her, police said.
Investigators said they don’t know whether Smith was picked at random or abducted by someone she knew.
About two hours after Smith disappeared, her grandparents found her car in a parking lot at a mall in suburban Kansas City with her purse and packages still inside.
The Smith family increased the reward for information about Kelsey’s disappearance to $30,000. Greg Smith, who has been in law enforcement for 16 years, described his daughter as an outgoing young woman who planned to be a veterinarian.
I am so tired of watching these types of reports of murders of young people, children, innocents, by monsters. I hope that they catch this guy and that he tries to fight it out with the police and they blow him away. I do not want to see this man going to court where some slicky boy defense attorney can get him off or get him a reduced sentence, because he was "mentally" ill, or had a bad childhood or some other mumbo jumbo.
I am not usually for the death penalty, but I think that a message needs to go out to all child killers that you will die, no mercy in any child murder case, and at 18, she was still just a child, having just finished school two weeks ago.
The best that can be hoped for is this young lady, Kelsey Smith was killed quickly and not raped and brutalized before he killed her. My fear is that the news we will hear may say that she did not die quickly and the monster did do things too her. I will pray for the family and for her that his was not the case.
We need to put her killer down like a rabid animal, as we should to all child killers and she was still just a child who did not have time to enjoy her life.
May, this young lady, Kelsey Smith, Rest In Peace!
And May they find her murderer, may they kill him and, may he be allowed to Rest In Hell!!

Giuliani To Skip Iowa Straw Poll

I just finished reading a story that former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, the front-runner in national polls for the Republican presidential nomination, will skip a critical early test of political strength in Iowa this summer, bypassing a GOP straw poll, his campaign said Wednesday.
His aides said it would cost about three million dollars to compete in the straw poll and that will instead use that money to compete in the later Iowa state caucuse.
I think that he would not do so well in the straw poll anyway as he is pretty liberal for a Republican and he trails Governor Mitt Romney and Senator John Mccain, so he is probably hoping to rise more in the polls before the caucuses begin and use his money sparingly to stay in the race until then.
The straw polls are used to gauge how well a candidates organization is working in the state. He will still be on the straw poll ballot, but will not be able to tell how well his organization is doing, because the campaigns usually buy big blocks of tickets and give them to their supporters so they can participate in the straw poll.
With Rudy Giuliani's decision to skip the straw poll, it may allow Senator John Mccain to skip it as well as save his dwindling money for other contests.
Mitt Romney is fully committed to the straw poll and leads in the state polls already.
On his way to the White House, President George W. Bush competed in and won the Iowa straw poll in August, 1999.
Perhaps the candidates who want to win the Presidency should re-think whether missing the straw poll might mess up their chances of getting to the White House, as has happened to many candidates, including John Mccain, who skipped the Iowa straw poll in his failed 2000 Presidential run.

straw poll

Missing Hostages May Be Dead

It was another bloody weekend in Iraq as 14 more United States troops were killed while performing cordon and search operations near of Baghdad.
This is an area near where our troops were attacked and three not killed on scene were taken by the terrorists. One soldier was later found dead during the search, but the other two are still missing.
On Monday, a faction of al-Qaeda called the Islamic State of Iraq, released a video in which they say that its' militants killed all three United States soldiers after capturing them last month.
The video shows footage of the nighttime attack on our troops and the aftermath, but does not show the three soldiers taken hostage, so there is still a possibility that the two who have not been found are still alive.
In addition, a website associated with the terrorists claims that it will release videos of the murdered soldiers in the near future.
The body of one of the soldiers was found on May 23 in the Euphrates River and later identified by the United States military as Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, California. The two other United States soldiers, Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusettes and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Michigan, remain missing.
The deaths this weekend raised to at least 3,493 members of the United States military who have died since the war started in March of 2003.
I think there is probably little hope of finding these young men alive and if they are imagine how much torture they are being put through. After all it was just over a week ago that our troops rescued Iraqi's who were being held and tortured by their al-Qaeda captors.
Their techniques are brutal and meant to inflict pain upon the recipient, so I fear for our two troops and what they are going through if they are still alive.
May the troops be found soon, dead or alive, so at least their families will know what happened to them, and be happy if they are alive and mourn if they are not.
The number of insurgents/terrorists continue to grow as everyone runs to Iraq to "kill" Americans, I hope that we have enough troops to keep up the fight and perhaps wear their numbers down before we leave, so fewer will want to come here and finish the job of "killing" Americans.
To our troops in harm's way, throughout the world, please be safe and godspeed!
hostages

Monday, June 04, 2007

Putin Warns U.S. And Europe

In an interview this weekend with a reporter from Italy's Corriere della Sera, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that United States plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe would force Russia to target its' weapons on Europe.
This is one of President Putin’s most strident statements to date against the U.S. plans and came just days before he is to join President Bush and other leaders at a Group of Eight summit in Germany.
In the interview, Putin was asked whether the proposed missile defense shield would compel Moscow to direct its own missiles at locations and U.S. military sites in Europe, as during the Cold War and his answer was yes.
In January the United States made a formal request to place a radar base in a military area southwest of Prague, Czech Republic, and 10 interceptor missiles in neighboring Poland as part of plans for a missile defense shield that Washington says would protect against a potential threat from Iran.
The U.S. plans have brought a strong reaction from Russia, which accuses the United States of threatening Russian territory and of trying to start a new arms race.
I think that President Putin is trying to regain much of the power that Russia had in the Cold War days, but he is right on this one issue. We do not need to spend billions on a defense shield that offers minimal defense from the threats that we face. Hell if they want to detonate a nuclear weapon in the United States they'll just drive it across the border from Canada and park it near the White House.
Since Reagan's "Star War" days our goverment has found every costly way possible to keep their defense contractor friends in business and the threats should have changed from the former Soviet Union, to terrorists that will employ any method except missiles to kill us.
Please just give this waste of our treasure a rest and move on to the real threats that this nation faces.



star wars

Foiled Plot To Destroy JFK

In a story I have been reading rivals if not surpasses the World Trade Centers destruction. It said Federal authorities had broken up a suspected Muslim terrorist cell planning a “chilling” attack to destroy John F. Kennedy International Airport, kill thousands of people and trigger an economic catastrophe by blowing up a jet fuel artery that runs through populous residential neighborhoods.
Three men, one of them a former member of Guyana’s parliament, were arrested and one was being sought in Trinidad as part of a plot that authorities said they had been tracked for more than a year and was foiled in the planning stage.
In an indictment charging the four men, one of them is quoted as saying the foiled plot would “cause greater destruction than in the Sept. 11 attacks,” destroying the airport, killing several thousand people and destroying parts of New York’s borough of Queens, where the line runs underground.
One of the suspects, Russell Defreitas, a U.S. citizen native to Guyana and former JFK air cargo employee, said the airport named for the slain president was targeted because it is a symbol that would put “the whole country in mourning.”
Authorities said the men were motivated by hatred toward the U.S., Israel and the West. Defreitas was recorded saying he “wanted to do something to get those bastards” and he boasted that he had been taught to make bombs in Guyana.
Despite their efforts, the men never obtained any explosives, authorities said.
Federal officials told NBC News that Defreitas, the alleged mastermind of the plot, looked for others to work with him and that one of the first people he turned to, unbeknownst to him, was an FBI informant.
According to officials, the FBI tracked Defreitas when he went to Guyana to recruit help for his plot, meeting with radical Muslims there, including Abdul Kadir, a member of the Guyana parliament who is a former town mayor.
Investigators allege Defreitas was dispatched from Guyana to conduct video and photo surveillance of JFK four times in January. Investigators told NBC News they tracked Defreitas as he identified targets and escape routes and assessed airport security.
Richard Kuprewicz, a pipeline expert and president of Accufacts Inc., an energy consulting firm that focuses on pipelines and tank farms, said the force of explosion would depend on the amount of fuel under pressure, but it would not travel up and down the line.
He was arraigned Saturday in federal court in Brooklyn, where he was held pending a bail hearing Wednesday. His court-appointed lawyer told the judge that officials were not revealing the full story, according to reports.
Please follow the link below to get the full story.
Do we really need to worry about terrorists crossing our borders when we have so many homegrown crazies ready to harm us. Of course the answer is yes, we do need to worry about the borders, but my god, we really are lucky no further terrorist attacks have occurred with so many willing participants in our own country.
It angers me that these people live in the most privileged nation on earth and the only thing they can think about is destruction and death for their fellow citizens. Don't these people have cable t.v.? Isn't there something better they could be doing with their lives. People if you hate America that much, please just leave and let us be.
One last thing, how do you hatch a plot and the first person you talk to is an FBI informant. I read this in all of these stories and wonder is everyone but me an FBI informant?Obviously it was fortunate for the folks at JFK as it really would have been a disaster of monumental proportions.
Stay vigilant and keep "informing". Thanks!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Nudes In Amsterdam

Here is a fun little story in between all the serious issues of the day. In a story I was reading online, reported that on Sunday, dozens of women posed naked on their bicycles on a bridge over one of Amsterdam’s historic canals. This in a city famed for its relaxed attitude toward nudity and sex.
They were among 2,000 men and women who participated in a series of four nude group photos in the city in the early hours of the morning as part of the latest project of U.S. photographer Spencer Tunick.
This is a bit of good fun that should occur daily around the world instead of all the violence and death. Maybe Mr. Tunick will grace our fair city with a visit sometime in the future.
I promise the next post will get back to serious issues. Smile and have a Great Day!!

nudes

An Answer To Mccain's Comprehensive Amnesty Bill

I was just watching a newscast that said Manchurian Candidate Senator John Mccain had a town hall meeting in Le Mars, Iowa on Saturday. It sounds like it got pretty heated on the subject of immigration and the Comprehensive Amnesty Bill that Senator Mccain helped craft.
It mentions that he went back and forth with one gentlemen and it got heated with Mccain finally saying that if someone is a critic of his bill then they should step up with a proposal of their own. He states quite categorically that the status quo in not acceptable. Well fine Senator Mccain, but the Amnesty Bill you are trying to push down the American people's throat's is not workable either.
He says that the 1986 Immigration Amnesty Bill which was passed with support of Ronnie "Raygun" Reagan was the bill that legalized illegals without consequences and caused the influx of 12million more illegals, and that his bill will correct the problem.
Now I don't like Mccain, bill or no bill, I find him overbearing and he too often leans on the fact that he was a hero, I mean prisoner in Vietnam. I am still trying to figure out how you can be captured and say bad things about your country,(so Senator, does that mean torture does work), and just because you come back alive it somehow makes you a hero.
Personally, I think they brainwashed him and that is why he is the Manchurian Candidate in this election cycle with his evil overlords hoping he will gain office so they can control the United States government.
Senator Mccain has one new convert as Bill O'Reilly said the other night he thinks this bill is the best bill that can be passed at this time in our country. I completely disagree, because until something drastic is done to stop illegals from coming to this country we will be passing another comprehensive bill to "fix" the problem in 20 more years.
I have always believed it is not the fault of the illegals for coming here to work, it is the businesses who hire them and pretend that they do not know the documents they use are fraudulent who are to blame for all of this mess.
Just the other day we saw how easy it was for the TB traveler to get into this country, so we know Homeland Security is doing a "fine" job of keeping terrorists out. Right!
So they need to pass three separate bills otherwise the politicians will find that someone did not dot an i or cross a t and there will be millions more illegals crossing our unprotected borders after the Amnesty Bill passes.
The first bill would have mandatory punishments for any employer who employs an illegal. Now the current bill has "knowingly" in the wording as a precursor to any sort of employer sanction, mine would not. If you employ an illegal immigrant you will receive a $15,000 fine and spend 10 days in jail, a second offense would cost you $50,000 and 1 year in prison, with no discretion to plead to a lesser charge would be part of the bill as well. As a bonus any illegal who testifies against his or her employer would receive a green card as a gesture of our appreciation in adjudicating these crimes.
After all there will be no problems telling an illegal from a legal worker as part of the current Mccain Amnesty Bill there will be "tamper proof i.d.'s", so we will borrow that idea for our bill. This bill if enforced will stop a bunch of illegals from crossing the border as there will be fewer jobs waiting for them.
The second bill would provide for a border fence and would be manned with guards every 50 yards and would have to be fully funded and completed before the third bill kicks in.
The third bill would allow for a path to citizenship as there would be fewer illegals here with the employer's not hiring them, so a lot would have already gone home. Those that have committed felonies, would be picked up and deported, the other's particularly with children and families would be allowed to start toward a path to citizenship, but with a non-resident visa status first, until all of the people who applied to come here legally are moved through the system. Also they would be able to stay through a guest worker program for now.
I think this could be a set of bills that would set this country toward a workable plan. Maybe someone has something better, but our politicians in Washington do not have our best interests at heart, they are only in it for the bonus voters they hope to bring into their parties.
My earlier rant had me careening toward Buchanansim, and James Eaves-Johnson called me on it,and it set me to thinking. I managed people for over a year that are in the "illegal" category and they became good friends. They were the hardest working and nicest people I had working for me. Now they were already working there when I arrived, so someone in the company had verified their documents, but from getting to know them I came to the obvious conclusion that they were not supposed to be here. Now I believe there should be a path for them to stay, as they are the kind of people who do make a our country a better place. There should not be instant citizenship, but there should be a clear path, from working here as a guest worker to becoming citizens in the future if they choose to do so. I guess mine is an amnesty bill too, but if all items are done in the right order we will not be fixing immigration again in 20 years.
Anyway I have flipped and flopped big time on this emotional issue, because I would like my friends and others like them to able to stay and become Good Americans, just like our immigrant ancestors did.