USA: We are NOT a Christian Nation

Speaking of the rabid anti-Obama bunch, the latest blurb that I came across is the “anger” at Obama’s statement in Cairo that we are not a Christian nations or at least something to that effect.

I had to straighten out those who actually think we ARE a Christian nation; the U.S. was “founded” as a Christian Nation – wrong!

Here again, the ignorance of history is astounding but maybe it’s our school system that just doesn’t teach history correctly; on purpose?

Anyway, there was an international affair involving the Barbary Pirates of Tripoli in the 1700s who robbed American ships passing through their waters (Morocco). The 5th U.S. Congress eventually made a treaty with the pirates on June 7, 1797 where Article XI stated in part that the “government of the United States of America is NOT, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion…”

The purpose of even having that statement in the treaty was to eliminate any reference to a war between a Christian nation and a Muslim nation which could have been used as a justification for war as it is today and that is why Obama said that; for the very same reason as was the case in 1797.

The important thing to remember is that many still living at the time of the treaty, were part of the “founding” generation and had first hand knowledge on what basis the new nation was founded and why as opposed to the know-it-alls today.

It is true that many of the early immigrants came to the Colonies to escape religious prosecution in their original countries. It is also true that many considered themselves Christians but they were escaping the persecution by other Christians. To put it simply, these early settlers established exclusive religious communities; Puritans in Massachusetts, Catholics in Maryland (get it Mary land), Quakers in Pennsylvania, Methodists in New York State, etc. Please notice that they are all considered Christians but ask a Baptist what he thinks of the Catholic Pope and he will reply anti-Christ while today Mormons are not even considered true Christians. So you see that these “sects”, even though nominally Christian, were and are, separate religions unto themselves.

It was for this very reason that the Founding Fathers had to establish a secular government one that would be protected from any influence or association with any established religion – forever. I hope the logic makes sense to one and all; it did to the Founding Fathers but somehow escapes people today and why today, people are still trying to push their religion onto our government is beyond me but I know it must be resisted with all our strength if we don’t want a Taliban USA.

OK let me try another approach. Our Founding fathers were not really “Christians” and by that I mean they did not belong to an “organized religion” and actually mistrusted organized religion, as they should have. They were variously called Deists, Atheists, Secularists, Humanists, etc. Most believed in a higher being but that’s it – no religion. They went out of their way to separate Church from State so the two would never come into conflict as explained above.

So Obama was not making something up when he said we are NOT a Christian nation because WE ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION. We may have a lot of Christians living here so we can say we are a nation of many Christians but that is different from being a Christian nation – kapish?

I know this explanation will not make a difference to the hardened, right-wing twits out there because to them facts don’t matter.

POLITICS: GOP Hypocrisy - Rampant!

I can’t help but harp on the utter hypocrisy of those family values loving ass-holes in the Republican Party. Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina is just another example in a long line of recent examples showing what real Republicans are made of.

Sanford especially irks me because he is forever on TV playing Mr. Know-it-all, holier-than-thou, setting himself up for a run at the presidency.

His wife apparently knew about the “affair” but he told her he would end it and she took him at his word. He then disappears not even telling his staff where to find him. Some thought he was taking a solitary, long hike to clear his mind and talk to God but as it turns out, he took a solitary trip to Argentina (using tax-payer money) to get some sack time with his mistress; imagine that.

He is now comparing himself to the Biblical King David who was smitten by his general’s wife, had the general killed, married the lady, was punished by God but rose to greatness anyway.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the esteemed members of the GOP; God's Own Party.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a conservative on most issues but I don’t pretend to be a saint and tell others how to behave and unless the GOP gets some “real” leaders that actually think with their upper “heads”, the party will lack all credibility for a long time.

On the other hand, reading some of the right-wing, anti-Obama crap sent to my email box on a daily basis, the GOP probably does have a large following of Americans that feel their behavior is just fine; imagine that.

DETROIT: Black Political Culture at it again!

I have ranted about the black political culture in Detroit many times before, where corruption IS the way to do business and has been for many, many years.

Just recently, the Detroit Public Schools had to have all their employees come pick up their payroll checks in person with appropriate documentation because, believe it or not, some people in the payroll department have been paying many, many non-employees weekly wages and then collecting kick-backs.

Monica Conyers, an outspoken member of the Detroit City Council has been very vocal about Detroit and Detroiters (black only) getting what they deserve from the city and county and not those damn, white suburbanites who steal from Detroit and Detroiters.

Monica Conyers is also a total loony bird and should probably be under some form of mental care.

Recently she has been implicated in a pay-to-play scandal and what does she do; she goes to the Baptist ministers of the city to help her beat this accusation through prayer?

Funny, the previous mayor did the same but the ministers did not get him out of jail they just made totally, racist assholes out of themselves – not all ministers – but the big boys.

You can tell that this just grinds me to no end and I don’t even live there but I was raised there and consider Detroit my home.

I guess what irks me is that these blacks are stealing from other blacks, even poor black students but publicly stating how much they care for black Detroiters – what fucking hypocrites!

Black Detroiters need to wake up and vote these bastards out of office and install some honest, capable people that will actually do Detroit and Detroiters some good but I feel that is a hopeless dream and only a state take-over will clean this place up.

Dave Bing is our new mayor (Piston great); I probably should give him a chance at doing something about the mess but I am not confident; other good blacks have tried and failed.

PEOPLE'S SUMMIT: Don't blame the protesters!

Another writer for the Detroit News, Nolan Finley, from the conservative side, wrote a column about the Detroit Economic Summit, the People’s Summit and his view of what is going on in this country economically. "In Ren Cen, CEOs tilt at windmills" 6-18,2009.

He kind of echoed my sentiments about the protestors; I called them old communists and he called them “habitual protesters”.

I said these protestors chant the same old slogans without any plans at achieving their goals. He agreed with me but he actually went there in person and asked the protestors what they wanted. They answered national health, more welfare money, end to free trade, punish the corporations, re-educate CEOs and slash their pay, nationalize industry and take from the rich and give to the poor; these people just want, want and want for someone else to just give, give and give.

Nolan Finley though, believes that the wishes of the protesters are actually being listened to and realized by our government. I guess he feels that we are witnessing a shift to socialism / communism; just what the protesters are screaming for.

Well I don’t think there were enough protesters to even make a statement the media would take seriously but if he wants to deny business did not have a hand in fucking up our economy, he is dead wrong.

I wanted capitalism to work like it is suppose to work with bad businesses going broke and good businesses doing well. That was too much for our government to allow and thus the intrusion of our government (BUSH & OBAMA) into areas they should normally stay out of.

If I was to blame anybody for our economic dilemma, it would be the idiots in Washington that allowed regulations to slip, setting free, speculators and plain greedy crooks to ruin our economy. Now that our government is trying to right the wrongs of the past, Finley is complaining the government is interfering too much – you can’t have it both ways.

Finley complains that business and business people do not matter anymore going forward; it’s all government. I believe Obama when he says he will get out as soon as possible but in the meantime, businesses and business people need to get their asses kicked but good and rules have to be in place to regulate businesses because obviously, they cannot be trusted, ever again, to do the right thing - I don’t see a problem here.

The “habitual” protesters will always be with us wanting everything for the people for nothing, from the people that have something BUT on the other hand, those business types that wanted everything from people that had something, all for themselves and no one else, are just as ridiculous to me but way more dangerous then those slogan chanting but hurting no one, old communists.

UNION LABOR: Change or die!

I have been talking about the lack of jobs in Michigan and what can be done about that. I have also been talking about the “new” middle class that needs to emerge not based on factory floor employment but on a “knowledge” or “talent” basis, so it was interesting to read an article in the Detroit News titled “Unions take a different approach to film industry” by Nathan Hurst.

As you know, Michigan is very tax friendly to companies shooting films in the state. Since we have offered these generous tax incentives, hundreds of films have been and are being, shot in our state creating opportunities for many residents to either work on the movie or provide whatever the crew needs (food, hotel space, etc.).

In fact, the promise of future moviemaking in Michigan has spawned a bunch on new business projects from studio building to filmmaking education and training.

BUT what struck me in the article was a description of a meeting being held in Allen Park, MI (future home of UNITY STUDIOS) at the LIFTON INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA SKILLS where the director was describing the potential jobs that would be made available by this new Michigan industry. As soon as he said that these jobs would not be 9-5, 30 and out career jobs, many attending the meeting walked right out.

As I mentioned before, the UAW union has spoiled Michiganians into expecting the usual auto worker benefits and rules but I also said that THOSE JOBS ARE GONE FOREVER AND WILL NEVER RETURN SO FORGET ABOUT IT.

When the speaker also mentioned that yes, workers are unionized but work hours would not be guaranteed and seniority did not count for anything, quality of work did – more people walked out.

Michigan has a BAD union reputation and that is why auto manufacturers coming into the country are looking everywhere BUT Michigan. In fact, even many non-auto manufacturers are also looking elsewhere especially at states that have “Right- to- Work” laws because of the past history of Michigan unions. Many are calling for Michigan to become a right-to-work state.

The people walking out of the meeting describing what workers should expect to see in the “new” work environment shows us that we have a long way to go just to change the ingrained attitude that union workers can “demand” more and more benefits without having to show that the quality of their work is adequate or even improved, hence deserving a raise?

The attitude that the longer you are at a workplace gives you some kind of security irregardless of the quality of your work, has to go and that will be hard for these workers raised on the principal of seniority to accept – but that is the new reality.

I see no problem with younger workers, educated workers, etc. getting used to the new work ethic but I don’t see the older workers, the former auto workers, accepting it quietly and easily but on the other hand, I don’t see that they have another choice.

If Michigan is to survive and prosper, it MUST change the way it operates and the way its workers think; listen and learn.

AUTO INDUSTRY: We need New Middle Class!

During our current auto manufacturing crisis here in Michigan, I have often heard the UAW workers that build our autos say that they created the modern MIDDLE CLASS and once they go, so does the middle class.

In today’s Wall Street Journal there is an interesting article by William McGurn titled “Michigan and the Knowledge Economy” 6-16-2009.

Yes, the auto workers did create a middle class in Michigan from ~ 1946 till now. This middle class was mostly populated by uneducated laborers who, in many cases, earned more than degreed individuals like teachers, etc.

This was a great life but as we now know, unsustainable in the long run mainly because labor costs made Michigan / U.S. auto manufacturers uncompetitive in the new world marketplace.

As the auto industry crashes around us and desperately tries to re-invent and reorganize itself to be more competitive, the middle class created by auto workers in Michigan has sunk to its lowest level in recent history coming in 33rd in the nation in per capita income which is 11% below the national average.

McGurn reports that John McCain was correct when he said as he campaigned in Michigan, that some jobs are just not coming back and boy did he get a whipping for saying that. Many in this state actually still believe that those jobs are coming back, maybe when the union gets back in power (card check legislation) but that is just plain silly and ignorant; those days are gone for good and unfortunately for those who were counting on a good middle class life based on factory floor manufacturing, will be very disappointed.

People in the know say that a NEW MIDDLE CLASS must be created and will be created but this time based on a “knowledge” economy where people with a specific knowledge base (engineering, etc.) will be making the big bucks and those without any specialized knowledge will be making what their type of labor is actually worth.

I am not talking strictly about the auto industry because the auto industry will no longer support a whole state. Michigan must diversify as quickly as possible and create new non-auto jobs based on this knowledge economy.

Many are saying that we still need MANUFACTURING and I agree. We need to create products that the rest of the world is willing to buy. My small company manufactures clinical laboratory tests and has since 1981 (28 years). We sell those products to labs, hospitals and clinics all over the world and I mean every country out there. We are successful because we make good products that are highly valued out in the world market because that market values AMERICAN MEDICAL PRODUCTS above those of other countries, even Germany.

My people make realistic wages, get medical coverage, 401(k) matching contributions and perform relatively light manufacturing tasks. We also have jobs in sales, marketing, finance, management, etc. There are many companies in Michigan like mine and on a national level; small companies are what drive our economy not the big behemoths.

Michigan needs to make itself attractive to small, knowledge based, innovative companies. These companies and their workers, will create a “need” for workers offering specialized products; healthcare, insurance, finance, education, etc.
It is sad to watch an era come to an end but this end was seen coming a long time ago and no one should be surprised.

Americans are resilient and our society has and will adjust because it has to and once again we will show the world what we are capable of, especially creating the “good life” that so many people around the world desire so much.

ECONOMY: Detroit Economic Summit Protest?

I wrote about the ECONOMIC SUMMIT in Detroit with big shot CEOs talking about what to do to get us out of our economic doldrums. I also talked about my wife participating in a PEOPLE’S SUMMIT / TENT CITY to get economically deprived people to protest the meeting of the very people who basically pushed us into this mess.

An article in the Detroit News by Laura Berman laments the end of the era of protests since very few people showed up to protest and you would think that as many people bitch about their economic circumstances, there would be many trying to make their voices heard.

The few people that did make it to the tent city to protest were mainly old people; old socialists, communists, revolutionaries, anti-imperialists and now Green Party members. The common lament was that young people are just not joining and don’t even care.

Young people care through Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and emails. They care in the seclusion of their rooms with an electronic voice; their only protest tool.

Yes, masses of people marching in protest have been and still are very effective at bringing change to something they perceive to need change but here at the economic summit they remain silent and absent.

People seem to be mad as hell about what is going on in this country, about what is happening to our economy and at the people that caused this mess in the first place BUT is it fear about their own welfare and a basic ignorance as to what is really happening to them that keeps them sitting quietly at home – maybe.

I noticed that the protest organizers did not have any strong agendas they were promoting. Most of what I saw was old, tired socialist / communist slogans; they were not relevant to today’s problems. Others were just echoing things they would like to see with no ides how to make them actually happen: stop foreclosures, save jobs, no plant closings, no gas and electric shut-offs and on and on…

Other economic summits around the world have attracted violent mobs of young people screaming for anarchy and down with capitalism, etc…………..but here in Detroit, the summit is poorly attended because people can’t afford to come and its only a “discussion” forum so no binding decisions will be made - so why protest?

HEALTHCARE: Start the Debate!

This week in Congress, the great HEALTHCARE debate is to start and Obama is to announce his ideas about how to pay for healthcare reform which appears to be to pay hospitals less for their services and to tax the coverage workers get now from their employers?

I have written about this issue many, many times and because we have Democrats (read Socialists) in power, we have to be extra careful on what we allow to happen.

I truly believe that a compromise between Democrats and Republicans is possible because, basically, we all agree that something needs to be done and we are even agreeing on some of the steps that need to be taken.

The fundamental sticking point is what the role of our government is to be in the new health system. MEDICARE & MEDICAID are proof that our government should NOT run any health plan. For those that don’t know how mismanaged, inefficient and downright corrupt those plans are, you will just have to take my word for it.

We all agree that all Americans need to posses health coverage – whether they like it or not! The forty (40) million uninsured figure that is usually bandied about includes twenty (20) million young people that just plainly don’t want to part with their beer money to pay for something they feel they do not need – right now.

So what we are left with is 20 million that either cannot afford coverage or would just use the free ER care which they are legally entitled to.

So we all agree that we, as a nation, need UNIVERSAL COVERAGE but we all MUST also agree that enlarging MEDICARE to allow all these uninsured millions is NOT the way to go because as I said before, our government cannot run or administer that program and we have solid proof of that.

There are Democrats (Ted Kennedy for one) that have always dreamed of a single-payer, government run system known as SOCIALIZED MEDICINE (U.K / Canada) and they will try to resurrect that idea. That effort needs to be slapped down fast and hard like it was when Hillary tried it some years back.

So let’s start by all agreeing that MANDATORY UNIVERSAL COVERAGE must be instituted and those that really cannot afford coverage must be SUBSIDIZED in some form or fashion.

ECONOMY: Summit in Detroit

My wife is the wife of a capitalist, me - but has a socialist streak that manifests itself often. She understands why we need capitalism but she thinks that capitalism neglects the common man who is so dependent on the U.S. capitalist system for his economic survival.

This weekend there is an ECONOMIC SUMMIT in Detroit where hundreds of CEOs from some of the biggest firms, together with other business big wigs are coming together to discuss and lecture on the U.S. economy and what must be done to improve it.

My wife is involved in the protest that is planned to bring attention during the Economic Summit, to the working man that is being ignored and trampled on. The protest will include a “tent city” where the unemployed, the laid off, the foreclosed on and many others directly affected by our current economic conditions, will gather to make their voices heard.

My wife will run the kitchen to feed all these protestors so I won’t see her for about three (3) days. I was amazed at the food she amassed from donations by various merchants and impressed in how she has planned to run a “field” kitchen so to speak that will feed “masses” of people.

I have been reading some of the socialist / communist drivel that is coming from the protest organizers and I am happy to see that my wife is not buying into that nonsense BUT she has raised some valid points about how our government is handling our current economic crisis.

The standard socialist program screams for the workers to take charge and run everything for the good of society (workers) and not for profit (dirty word). Obviously this has been tried and has failed miserably mainly because the workers can’t run shit and without a profit motive, there is no incentive to succeed at anything so goes the phrase from the Communist era – “you pretend to pay us and we will pretend to work”.

I keep reading and hearing from the protestors that job creation is paramount and right now all they are seeing is job destruction. OK, you can say that but how about some ideas as to how to create jobs? Oh, I see, it’s up to the capitalists to come up with new jobs as if it’s their duty while the workers scream at them for causing all this turmoil in their lives – interesting?

Here in Michigan, the writing on the wall has been visible for many years but everything was going so well, no one had the balls to do what was necessary; not management, not the unions, so now we all pay the price.

I am asked if I blame the workers but I have to say that it was a team effort that killed the goose that laid the golden egg and yes, I know many workers are suffering right now so I will be following this Economic Summit to see what ideas emerge from it.

IRAN: Time for Change Now!

A quick note on the Iranian elections this weekend; Obama’s Cairo speech was timed perfectly to be heard BEFORE the Iranian elections. The speech hammered away at the need for basic freedoms in Muslim nations. This was not specifically directed at Iran but it definitely did apply there.

Iran has a large population and that population, unlike other Muslim populations, is smart, young and modern and they have experienced the “good life” once before and long for its return.

This election was supposed to get rid of the total idiot MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD that has failed on a number of fronts including getting Iranians out of their economic doldrums. He has, on the other hand, made himself into an international joke and an international threat BUT he obeyed his religious leaders who were/ are in total control of him and the government.

The challenger MIR HOSSEIN MOUSAUI was a re-former supported by young Iranians who want change.

There was a huge turnout for the election with polls having to remain open for an additional six (6) hours in some places. This was a good sign for the reform movement as many of those voting were young Iranians who for the first time saw an opportunity for change.

The next day, the religious leader of the country and, for all intents and purposes, its king and supreme ruler (AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI), declared a “landslide” victory for AHMADINEJAD; an obviously rigged election.

You see, the new guy would not have been easy to control by the theocrats and therefore a danger to their theocracy so a victory for MOUSAUI could not be allowed.

Since the election was so obviously rigged, supporters of MOUSAUI are rightly pissed and are showing their displeasure by burning some tires in the streets and other doing other “minor” rioting actions.

The Iranian “Revolutionary Guards” will not put up with any rioting or protesting or any threatening gestures to the theocratic rule of the clerics and will use all the force they need.

BUT maybe, just maybe, the people have had enough of life under the thumbs of the clerics and maybe, just maybe they are willing to do something about it other than through political action because obviously the political route will never work since the Ayatollah declared Ahmadinejad’s victory a “divine assessment” which basically means, God wants him to win and we know what God wants and therefore we will do what God directs us to do and since you did not vote as God wished, we spit on your votes.

Believe it or not, I have a brother who was born during WWII in Teheran, Iran and died there as an infant of pneumonia and is buried there so I have a connection with Iran and wish the people the best and hope they will rid themselves of the idiots controlling their destinies.

AUTO INDUSTRY: Understanding the Word INEVITABLE

I have written quite a bit about our economy and the failing auto industry. This Sunday I have been reading articles about how our government (Obama) “forced” bankruptcy on GM and Chrysler.

I have to point out that I called for bankruptcy quite some time ago as the only rational “capitalist” thing to do. I am not the only one who saw bankruptcy coming, many saw it as inevitable so why the big uproar now?

Obama appointed an “auto task force” that was to study the situation and make recommendations. These were not stupid people (Steve Rattner) so of course they would see the inevitable right away even though GM and Chrysler were saying we can stay out of bankruptcy.

Obama was in a predicament here. On the one hand, the American people did not want a bailout of the auto companies because all the people could see was a greedy union, greedy, spoiled workers and a greedy, incompetent management that would not change things when things needed to be changed.

On the other hand, Democrats wanted to preserve jobs (votes) and unions (money & votes) so what is a president to do.

He gave the auto companies some money but told them to build a sustainable business model quickly or go into bankruptcy with his financial help, and build a sustainable, business model after getting out of bankruptcy. In this way, he placated both sides.

The difference with Chrysler is that Obama forced a sale / merger to / with FIAT and that maybe problematic in the long run basically because no one knows how stable Fiat is BUT I don’t think Chrysler could have done the bankruptcy thing on its own, they may have needed to be liquidated which would be a real shame.

Some are complaining that the unions have made concessions and that bankruptcy was avoidable. I say, no way. Everyone involved with the auto companies knew what needed to be done yet they refused to do it. Now that they are forced they are griping that they would have done it – bullshit – no more playing around; its crunch time!

Note: I have warned in the past that I am a little leery of our government getting a little too involved in the business world. Sure Obama keeps promising he will be out as soon as possible so I hope he keeps his promise and let the business system return to normal.

MUSLIM WORLD: Education is Key!

As predicted, Obama’s speech to the Muslim world has brought some comments of interest.

Some, usually very serious commentators have said that the speech was great but words cannot and will not change the ingrained idiocy of people taught from childhood to hate, hate and hate. The writer pointed out a recent suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed some 40+ people praying in a mosque of all places.

This was a Muslim on Muslim crime without regard or care for anything that humans hold dear like life, family, future, friends, etc. How can people capable of doing such things ever be persuaded with mere words.

Well, the writer is correct. There are people, thousands of them that are brainwashed beyond any hope of ever being rehabilitated enough to share the world with real human beings.

But what is the option; just to annihilate them all? I don’t think so.

Obama’s plan (as I see it) is to reach the young, the students that are still reachable. He talked about allowing more and more students from Muslim countries to come and study in the United States. Here they can see what really happens and how people really behave and think instead of just listening to the non-stop condemnation of the U.S. by fanatical religious twits. Each student graduated from a U.S. school will become an ambassador/ teacher to hopefully, thousands of their fellow countrymen.

Education is the key and not the education offered by Islamic schools like the MADRASAHS of Pakistan where the kids learn nothing else but their religion and about the infidels that are planning to steal their religion away from them; the Satans of the West. I am talking about decent public schools.

Key also is allowing females to be educated in public (not religious) schools. An educated female translates to an educated family (children) and that can keep on going for a good, long time, if not indefinitely; all that is needed to start is to start educating girls.

Simple – not in a world where in some areas women are looked on as less valuable than the family donkey – but a plan nonetheless.

AMERICAN INDIANS:Peru's Indians Fight Back!

In reading the Sunday New York Times, I came across a story of fighting in the jungle of Peru. What attracted me to the story was that the fighting was between the government forces of Peru and Peru’s indigenous Indians living in the jungles of Peru.

Recently I blogged about the South Dakota Indians called Lakota and their sad history of maltreatment at the hands of the American government and public. The unfolding story of the Indians in Peru today is interesting in light of my statement that most indigenous people that existed in the pre-Columbian New World were similarly treated by the invading Europeans and eventually were assimilated into the new, prevailing culture and I wondered why our Native American Indians were not.

In Peru, the government there has contracted with oil companies to go into the jungle and drill for oil since oil is the new gold. Well, the Indians living in these regions have objected and are fighting back just like our Indians did against the Western migration of European, white settlers who were running the Indians off their “own” lands.

Here is the kicker; some of the Indian tribes in the jungles of Peru are “un-contacted” which means they have lived in isolation from the modern people of Peru – wow!

What is happening is exactly what happened here with our own Indians in the early history of our country and obviously, continues to this day.

I am very interested to see how this develops and if the Peru government will actually do some thinking about their next steps instead of just sending in the army to protect the oil workers as we did to protect gold miners, trappers and settlers.

Historically, the Indians were not Christians and were therefore viewed as heathen savages which made them somehow sub-human and therefore did not have to be treated as civilized humans. It was easier to justify killing savages who were more animal than human, than killing civilized Christians.

I would hope we have moved on from that type of thinking although I am not quite sure all of us have moved on and that is why I would hope a wide exposure of the situation in Peru may bring some pressure on the government there to do the right thing BUT since only the New York Times seems to report such stories, I doubt the Indian’s plight will be widely known.

The interesting question here is can these Indians be eventually assimilated, should they be or should they be left alone, undiscovered and isolated from the “civilized” world?

Note: My company makes and sells clinical laboratory testing products. For a number of years now, we have sponsored an American female doctor who runs a clinic in the Peruvian jungle. We have donated our products so she can treat, as best she can, the indiginous Indian population of the jungle. her stories are facinating to read.

SOUTH DAKOTA: Vacation pictures