Monday, November 28, 2011

OCCUPY WALL STREET: Specific demands that make sense!

Wall Street Sign. Author: Ramy Majouji
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I have been discussing the OCCUPY WALL STREET movement with a number of people and even visited Zuccotti Park encampment and I still cannot figure out what in the hell they really want.

Robert McGraw of Royal Oak, MI wrote a letter to the Detroit Free Press titled: OCCUPY PROTESTERS NEED TO FIND AND KEEP THEIR FOCUS.

He also visited the park in New York City and found what I found; beggars and fruit cakes.

He did say that in a different part of the city he noticed young people and “ordinary” people carrying signs that had “specific” actions written that needed to done to fix Wall Street.

I have maintained for a long time that Wall Street (banks, investment houses, etc.) have been allowed by Congress, to basically gamble with investors and saver’s money without regulation or oversight.

This is somewhat hard to understand if you don’t know the games allowed on Wall Street. Basically the distinction between banking /investment and gambling has blurred so much that now there is no distinction.

Here are some of what was on the protesters signs:

BAN SHORT SELLING: This is where an investor “borrows” shares/stocks from a broker (for a fee); the investor is obligated to return the borrowed shares to the broker.

The investor sells those shares in the stock market, betting that the share price goes down. When the share price goes down, the investor/gambler buys those shares at the lower price, returns them to the broker and pockets the difference between what he sold them at and what he bought them at.

Sold at $100, bought at $80 = $20 profit. Imagine this using millions of dollars. This is gambling and not investing and many countries have banned short-selling because these short sellers can hurt companies and economies.

BAN DAY TRADING:  Due to advanced electronics, day traders can buy and sell shares at lightening speed, making money on the change in a share’s price during a single day.  This is not investing; it is gambling and benefits no one except the trader. Some day traders trade with borrowed money (margin trading) and is similar to short trading but the gambler bets that the price of a share will go up.

NO FALSE PROFITS…MARK TO MARKET:  Simply put, it is about “fair value accounting” which mandates that assets be valued at current market prices. An example is “mortgage backed securities” (MBS) also known as “toxic assets”. Originally, these securities had a high price but when the housing market collapsed, home values plummeted and so these MBS had to be valued accordingly. Banks holding these MBS did not want to do that since their asset value would also plummet, making them look unprofitable and in need of raising more capital to match the federally mandated amount held in reserve.

BAN LEVERAGED TRADING:  Basically investing with borrowed funds.

ENACT PUBLICITY FUNDED CAMPAIGNS: This is stating that campaigns for elected office should be publicly funded so candidates do not have to bow to private donors or special interest groups and do their bidding. It frees candidates to be beholding to no one except the voters.

These are all great, positive suggestions on how to reform Wall Street but protestors need to be protesting in Washington, D.C. on the steps of Congress; they are the only ones that can mandate change.

The problem is that Wall Street has the money and therefore the clout in Congress and regular Americans that “bailed out” Wall Street, have no clout except for their votes.

When the nation entered into our great recession, reform was in the air and Congress rushed to enact regulations that would prohibit the great Wall Street meltdown from happening again but slowly, step by step, Wall Street money is diluting any and all pending regulatory efforts to where no regulations will be enacted.

This is primarily fueled by the Republicans who love and profit from Wall Street. We need to tell our senators and representatives that we need meaningful reform of Wall Street and we need it NOW.











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Sunday, November 27, 2011

POPE BENEDICT: Spin job on Vatican's sexual abuse cover-up...

Pope Benedict XVI
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I read a small piece in the Free Press titled: POPE DEMANDS EXACTING RESPONSE where Pope Benedict said that ALL institutions and not JUST the Catholic Church must be held to exacting standards when it comes to responding to sexual abuse of children. He was talking to visiting American bishops and cardinals.

I thought that the pope was playing on the Penn State scandal and trying to deflect criticism of the Vatican’s own handling of the priestly sex scandal that has been going on for decades if not longer and others thought so too.

David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said that Pope Benedict talks a great deal about child safety but does very little to make them safer. Plus, he continued, it is not about sex abuse it is all about covering up the sex abuse and in no institution are sex crimes against children ignored or concealed as consistently as in the Catholic Church.

Kristine Ward, chair of the National Survivor Advocates Coalition said that “It takes hubris for Pope Benedict to tell his bishops that the Catholic Church has led in the fight against sexual abuse of children”. As we all know that is total and absolute bullshit.

She continued to say that at Penn State, immediate action was taken while the Vatican has not fired any bishops as if to say that there was no cover-up or that any clergyman did anything wrong and that is more bullshit.

The pope continued to lie through his teeth by saying that the Church has made honest efforts to ensure both the safety of our children and to deal appropriately and transparently with allegations as soon as they arise.

I guess what he is trying to say as mentioned earlier, is that the poor Church has been singled out as a villain in the abuse scandal while the same is going on in other institutions; is he claiming the Church is a victim?

This is obviously a Vatican snow job/spin job where the pope is trying to put a nice face on an obvious and proven case of sex abuse cover up.

Catholics everywhere have to stop and think about a lying pope and an institution that protects itself with every means possible even if those means are unethical and criminal. As I have said many times before, the Church is not held accountable for its crimes and sins against humanity.

Benedict has the balls to say that many people of good will look to the Church for wisdom, insight and sound guidance, this in the face of a precipitous drop in mass attendance and the total disregard of Vatican positions against contraception and divorce which the pope addressed in his speech to the Americans.

The pope and the Church are not being held accountable for their crimes and that is why I cannot understand Catholics listening to his drivel and going on as if nothing happened.





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OBAMA: No thanks to God?

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I ran into an interesting headline today: OBAMA LEAVES GOD OUT OF THANKSGIVING SPEECH, RILES CRITICS.

The critics, right-wing, conservative Republican nitwits forgot to mention that Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum did not mention God in their Thanksgiving Day messages either.

Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday. It is a holiday at the end of the growing season where families gather to celebrate and give thanks for a bountiful harvest hence the cornucopia symbol?

Since many of us are not farmers, we gather to celebrate and give thanks for the blessings of the past year, individually and as families and give thanks in any way we want; religious or not.

Our Constitution specifically bars the use of religion as a test for public office and even thought I know that in Obama’s message, omitting God was purely accidental since he has mentioned God in his other messages, making a big deal out of it paints those Republicans as the hypocrites that they are; they want to abide by the Constitution but also disregard it if they so choose.

This country was founded with freedom of religion and from religion as a basic tenet so for those critics that lambasted Obama for skipping a thank you to God, I say the president can thank who he wants to, there is no rule that obligates him to thank God.

And since the president also represents an ever growing non-religious segment of our population; it probably is more prudent to keep religion out of his pronouncements.

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Friday, November 25, 2011

A CHANGE IN THE CATHOLIC MASS

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I have not been a practicing Catholic for many years but remain an avid student of Catholicism, some may also add critic, so I was drawn to an article in the paper titled: CATHOLIC MASS TO UNDERGO ITS BIGGEST CHANGES IN 40 YEARS.

I remember the last big change which came after Vatican II where use of the local language instead of Latin was introduced and the priest’s position at the altar was changed (facing the people) among many other changes.

There was rebellion which included my mother who just didn’t like change even if she did not understand any Latin at all; she is happy with everything now.

So what are the changes and what are the reasons behind them?

The language is still English but it appears that words will be changed to become a more direct translation of the original Latin and Hebrew words.

“Lord of power and might” becomes “Lord of hosts”, Jesus as “one in being with the father” to “one consubstantial with the father”, “I have sinned through my own fault” to “I have greatly sinned through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault”…remember the Latin: Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

A priest in the news article said that the changes elevate the language used at the mass to a more “sacred” language as opposed to a common “street” language. I can see this rationale because people in the old days, loved Latin, even though they did not understand it, because it sounded more mysterious and “sacred” and more “holy” to them.

Vatican II wanted the people to “understand” what they are saying and what is being said to them, hoping to get people more involved in the mass. This is a noble effort but I still think people recite words mechanically, without thought as to what they actually mean just as they did when the mass was in Latin.

One goal, we are being told, is to encourage more chanting and singing of the mass. My sister says the chanting and singing just annoys her, she would rather be with her own thoughts as the mass is performed; can’t please everybody.

People objecting to the changes perceive a reversal of Vatican II reforms and they would be correct. I mentioned many times already that Pope Benedict wants to go “backwards” and reverse those reforms. In his mind, Catholics are leaving the Church because the Church has become too liberal; the Church needs to go back to its roots and maybe those Catholics will come back.

Others are pissed that the Vatican did not ask for any American input into the changes; priests and bishops were not consulted and neither were American Catholics but after all, the Church is a dictatorship and does not really care what American Catholics want or need.

This dictatorship mode of operations is what many feel led to the priestly sex scandals and to the financial scandals of recent times. That is why organizations like the American Catholic Council wants to reverse the way the Vatican operates.
In the end, American Catholics will have to decide for themselves. Change is hard for everyone but it can be handled. I don’t feel changing the words will amount to anything because once learned, they will be mechanically recited as always.

As to the Vatican’s dictatorial style of leadership, treating members of the Church like sheep demanding their obedience; well that has been the case for centuries and will continue unless and until AMERICAN Catholics demand change.



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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

DR. ANITA CASPARY: Nun who broke with Rome...

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One more Catholic moment in history…

ANITA CASPARY, 95, NUN WHO BROKE WITH ROME.

Well you know this item would catch my attention. It appears that Dr. Anita Caspary (Sister Humiliata) was a mother superior (Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) who led the largest (300 nuns) exodus of nuns (1970) from the Catholic Church in American history.

This must have been one strong female…

The schism, we are told was because of dress codes and bedtimes. On the one hand we had a strong female nun that bought into the Vatican II enlightenment which gave nuns more control over their own lives.

On the other hand we had, by all accounts, a most rigid cardinal named Archbishop James Francis McIntyre of Los Angeles who basically said of the Vatican II changes: NOT IN MY DIOCESE.

He adamantly refused to let the nuns teach without wearing their habits and demanded that they adhere to traditional regimens governing when they prayed, when they went to bed and what books they were allowed to read.

He obviously did not give a shit about Vatican II pronouncements even though most other dioceses in the nation adopted Vatican II reforms.

I feel bad for Dr. Caspary because she could not turn to anyone for help dealing with the intransigent cardinal, not even to the Vatican where the Vatican II reforms were being implemented.

The treatment of women as second class citizens (serve, don’t speak) by the Church is very well documented and continues to this very day. To be fair, the Church is not alone in their paternalistic behavior; it still is the rule in most of the world.

Dr. Caspary was undoubtedly caught up in the spirit of Vatican II and the general liberation spirit of the 1960s so she would not kowtow to something she knew was wrong, unfair and demeaning…

That is why I support efforts by Catholics like those in the AMERICAN CATHOLIC COUNCIL who realize that after the priestly sex scandal among many other scandals, the leadership of the Church must change in some fashion and the case of Sister Dr. Caspary is a perfect example.

The Vatican cannot operate as a virtual dictatorship because as the sex scandal showed us, the current Church leaders are incapable of policing themselves and need an umbrella organization of Catholic lay people with real power to help prevent such crimes against humanity as we have witnessed in the past.

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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

IRAQ: Civil war beginnings...

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I have been blogging about the idiocy of the Iraq War for years now and repeating how a civil war there is inevitable and now, on the eve of our departure, the first signs.

We are leaving an airbase in the northern city of Kirkuk and when the Iraqi army came to assume control of the base, the Kurdish police force stood in their way. Only after cooler heads prevailed was the situation diffused…but not for long.



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POPE BENEDICT: Africa trip was better than last one...

Pope Benedictus XVI
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I cannot believe I am writing something positive about Pope Benedict again.

This time, I am reading about his trip to Africa (Quidah, Benin) and the difference from his earlier trip where he made the stupid, stupid mistake of preaching against the use of condoms (in the heart of AIDS territory). This time he talked about abstinence and fidelity within marriage; something very foreign to their culture but at least not as dumb and dangerous as preaching against the use of condoms even though they obviously don’t use them anyway.

What impressed me this time was the pope’s message of cooperation and respect with the area’s other religions, Islam and Voodoo.

The pope said that Catholicism has changed from the days of rigid religious missionaries. He now encourages the study of indigenous beliefs to see where they may be compatible with Catholic doctrine.

This is not a new idea. In fact, when the then pope was sending missionaries to the new land of Great Britain to convert the Anglo-Saxons, he instructed them to always respect their pagan traditions and incorporate them into the new Christian faith.

This is why many of our Catholic / Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, started out as pagan festivals that coincided with natural phenomenon like the Winter Equinox (days get longer) and the arrival of spring.

Too bad the Catholic Church regressed from that point into strict adherence to Catholic teachings and practices with absolutely no respect for the indigenous culture. That is why Spanish missionaries to Central and South America, burned thousands of years of learning by the Mayans (among other cultures), depriving our civilization of such valuable history and knowledge and possible discovery of something that could be beneficial to us today like a new treatment for disease.

I am glad Benedict reads Catholic Church history and learns from the mistakes that were made, even the mistakes he has made like in his last trip to Africa.

The Catholic Church does not have all the answers to all the problems of the world; the Church cannot even manage its own problems which are quite severe but if it can marry the Voodoo culture with Catholicism and introduce the people to new social and spiritual ideas that will help them lead better lives while negating some of the bad habits, then we have something positive and beneficial created.

At 84, the old dog seems to be able to learn new tricks…











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Pope Benedict: A new approach?

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With all the news to discuss lately, I have not had time to tackle my favorite issue of religion and especially the Catholic religion.

Some time ago I ran into an article talking about an event commemorating the 1986 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE, called by John Paul II which included leaders of ALL religions, meeting in the town of Assisi, Italy, to pray for peace on earth.

At the time, the meeting was quite the visual spectacle with robed leaders of all faiths sitting side by side in a common cause.

The 2011 commemoration of the event was called by Pope Benedict XVI who in 1986 did not look at interfaith dialogue in a positive way since he considered the Catholic faith as the one “true faith” or the only “real faith” and as such, should not be involved with “false faiths” and many Catholics joined him in that belief.

BUT in 2011, Pope Benedict not only invited 300 religious leaders to Assisi but he also invited those who were non-believers or agnostics. Now to me this is a huge step on his part because originally he did not believe even in a “common concept of God” but only in a Catholic concept of God but now he is embracing a meeting “united not by faith but by the desire for peace and justice” in the world; that is revolutionary!

The article was written by Mr. Rocca, Vatican correspondent for Religion News Service and Mr. Rocca goes on to say that it is important to note that Benedict opened up the dialogue on peace to non-religious “seekers of the truth”…this is getting deep.

Mr. Rocca says that this action is part of Benedict’s pontifical theme to help “Western culture restore its dialogue between faith and reason”. This is a subject I have studied in the past and have followed Benedict’s pronouncements on the subject and it is quite interesting to discuss given Benedict’s belief history.

I am not saying people cannot change or see things in a different light as they age, grow mature or gain in experience. That is why “wisdom” is usually associated with people that have experienced life for some time.

Benedict, as well as other popes before him, have tried to narrow the gap between faith and reason if not eliminate it altogether. Remember Copernicus and Galileo, John Paul actually apologized for what transpired in history with these two scientists (world revolves around sun and not visa versa).

In fact, the Catholic Church is in agreement with the “fact” of evolution and does not see any conflict between Church teachings and evolution unlike other Christian religions (fundamentalists) that have a problem with “reason” and oppose the teaching of evolution and any other “fact” that may conflict with what they believe the Bible is saying.

So where the original interfaith meeting in 1986 displayed religious SYNCRETISM (fusion of many beliefs), this meeting emphasized that “some religions are truer than others”…wow, what a departure from the original intent of the gathering in Assisi!

Benedict’s emphasis on “objective truth” is essential to his agenda, according to the article. Benedict has said that social justice is based on norms accessible to all, derived NOT from divine revelation (read Islam, etc.) but from “reason and nature”. Truth comes from “universally applicable principles that are as real as the physical elements of the natural environment.”

Now I know this is a lot to digest but let’s try…

Benedict has been concerned about the West (Europe especially) falling away from faith because modern people cannot reconcile common sense, scientific knowledge and modern social norms with the superstition that is religion; Benedict wants to reverse that trend and he is trying a different approach which I find commendable.

So Benedict has not really changed and still believes that Catholicism is the one true religion and by stressing the Church’s embrace of “reason”, he tries to differentiate Catholicism from all the other religions; the religions that are based on infallible dogma / Bible / Koran that in many cases, conflicts with reason and/or societal concepts of ethics and metaphysics (fundamental nature of reality and being).

I will admit that I find this move by Benedict quite interesting and for being 84, quite an intellectual exercise…







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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

DETROIT: The Mayor's Last Stand?

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DETROIT - OCTOBER 29:  Detroit Mayor Dave Bing...
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I just listened to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing take his last stand before an emergency manager takes over Detroit.

He basically pleaded with the city to allow him to implement his plan to save the city from outside control.

His plan has some good ideas and some not so good. Raising corporate taxes for businesses in Detroit is not a good plan. He should be on his knees thanking businesses for staying in Detroit and some for moving to Detroit from the suburbs. People working in the city are paying a city tax while living in the suburbs so they get nothing for their money.

He also wants the state of Michigan to give the city the revenues that the state, according to the mayor, owes the city. Why should anybody give the city money so the city can waste it through corruption and incompetence?

Many people have tried to help Detroit for many years and the city has nothing to show for it.

Yes the city has lost revenue because the working class has moved out to the suburbs where they can at least get some services and lower taxes. The people that are left in Detroit want and need more services but have no money to pay for them.

Bing appeared to move in the direction of privatizing many city departments and that is a good and sound decision but he also tried to appease Detroit residents by glossing over some of the hard decisions that will definitely have to be made…I guess that is politics for you.

The unions and the lazy ass city workforce will not want to give up their cushy positions so I cannot be optimistic about Bing’s chances of turning the city around.

The city will run out of money early next year and then the writing on the wall will be very clear and the state will have to step in. Bing was correct in saying that the city of Detroit represents the state of Michigan and the state needs a vibrant Motor City…I agree…but I am afraid that the city first will have to be cleaned thoroughly from top to bottom so no corruption and incompetence in city government exists.

Then and only then can the city start re-building itself on a new framework of competence and a desire to succeed and the framework will consist of young, educated and dedicated people that truly love the city and want to live and raise their children in the city as my parents did and so many immigrants before them did.

Other cities have bounced back so there is always hope for Detroit but a new culture is needed in the city and that may take a long time…



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PERRY AND CAIN NEED TO GO HOME...

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Newt Gingrich
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I confess I have not watched the Republican presidential candidate debates but I have always watched and read summaries of the debates and how each candidate did.

I have never liked Rick Perry but the debates really exposed his inability to think and talk at the same time which I think are mandatory skills for a president of the United States.

His latest tumble at not remembering his own pronouncements (what three agencies would he close) was a doozy. Listen, I have forgotten things (many times) and experienced brain freeze also but when you are practicing for a presidential debate you make sure your main points and ideas are spelled out in your notes OR written on your hands. The fact that he did not have notes just in case of a brain freeze episode means he was poorly prepared or not prepared at all…who are his advisors?

Rick Perry has done himself in and has no one to blame except himself…his early supporters have left him so bye, bye Ricky.

Herman Cain has to be another big embarrassment for the Republican Party. As Perry slipped in standings, Cain shot up to the top. When you are on top people look at you closer and listen to what you have to say with a lot more attention so sound bites are not enough, you actually have to explain your positions and this is where Cain stumbles.

In a very embarrassing interview with newspaper editors, Cain was asked normal questions about current affairs which every candidate for president HAS to be intimately familiar with and when asked about Libya, he totally clammed up obviously not knowing anything about what just happened there and was is happening over there.

The next day, Cain defended himself by saying he was just taking a pause to gather his thoughts…bullshit…not only is he too dumb to be president but he obviously is incapable of learning anything. I consider myself up on most current events as well as historic events but if I was running for president I would be totally versed in everything happening in the world…who are his advisors?

Cain’s sexual harassment accusers may have a few problems of their own but the fact that they were paid off to drop all charges means that there was some validity to their claims and the fact that there are 4 or 5 women that filed charges means that it was not one disgruntled and crazy woman wanting the limelight.

The fact that Cain called Nancy Pelosi, Princess Pelosi gives us a peek at his views on women. He needs to go now and stop embarrassing himself; his family and the Republicans…go back to making pizzas.

With Perry and Cain basically taking themselves out of the race, Newt Gingrich is stepping up to the plate. I have written about him in previous blogs especially his womanizing but that does not disqualify you from running for the presidency…as we all know.

Gingrich is smart and he can talk up a storm about any subject and especially healthcare.

He made himself into a Catholic to marry his current wife but I don’t think he is a religious nut like Perry is so he may be attractive to American moderates / independents who will be deciding the general election and not the yahoos voting in the primaries.
I am still holding out for Jon Huntsman to come roaring from the back into the front of the race but my optimism is fading fast. I still believe that Romney will be the candidate of choice for the Republicans but I could be wrong…




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Monday, November 14, 2011

PENN STATE AND THE VATICAN: Same crime, different outcomes...

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Joe Patern...Image via Wikipediaemblem of the Papacy: Triple tiara and keysImage via Wikipedia
Boy, there sure has been a lot of press about Joe Paterno and Penn State. By now I think all of us heard all the details and read all the different opinions of what should and shouldn’t have been done but the saga is probably not over…

I did read a few comparisons of Penn State’s scandal with the Vatican’s sex scandal and it sure does look similar in many respects.

Both institutions viewed the “institution” as the sacred entity that needed to be protected at all costs even if that meant sacrificing the welfare and well being of countless young children who ended up damaged for life.

At Penn State a trusted and admired football coach lured young boys, using his position in the Penn State sport’s program for illicit sex while in the Catholic Church, trusted, admired and worshiped clergy lured young boys, using their positions of power, for illicit sex. Both were role models to young boys but the priest was supposedly the representative of God on earth, as believed by good Catholic children and that added dimension made their deeds, to me, more heinous, sinful and wrong.

Both Penn State and the Vatican covered up the crimes committed and even more unconscionable, allowed the criminals to go on abusing innocent children.

Penn State took immediate action and fired all people involved in the cover-up and even the people like Joe Paterno, who failed to act responsibly knowing what he knew but did not act illegally. Penn State’s Board of Directors took immediate action but there was no board of directors at the Vatican to take responsible action and punish the guilty which would include the pope who was aware of the crimes and the cover-up.

The Vatican, it appears, places itself above human justice and that is a problem that must be addressed if we are to protect innocent children under Catholic auspices. I feel the College of Cardinals must be made into a board of directors with real power, even the power to remove the pope from office.

I think we all noticed the lack of concern for the victims. The students at Penn State rioted at the news of Joe Paterno’s firing, mindless of the victim’s suffering that Paterno’s inaction caused.

Penn State realized the crass image they were presenting to the rest of the world and to their credit, made some immediate changes including a silent tribute to the victims at their next football game.

I hope others will see the similarity between Penn State and the Vatican but note the difference in outcomes and therefore the need of the Vatican to reform itself in a way that would never allow such crimes to be perpetrated ever again, as the least it can do to pay for the horrendous crimes it allowed against innocent children.





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Friday, November 11, 2011

MICHIGAN'S POT LAW: Religious kook attorney general will not allow it...

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I love our Republican governor, Rick Snyder. He is a business man that runs the state as a business and so far he is doing a great job.

BUT he is different from other Michigan Republicans who, as evidenced by the recent anti-bullying fiasco, are plain and simple, RELIGIOUS KOOKS and as such, represent a danger to all Michiganians.

I have talked about our Republican Attorney General, Bill Schuette on a number of occasions. He was openly a religious nut case before his election but no one seemed to notice as voters voted against any and all things Democratic, blaming the Democrats for all that is wrong with their lives and I can agree with some of them BUT…

When we vole for a Republican’s belief in fiscal conservatism and responsibility (which I admire) we also have to be aware that the Republican’s conservatism with money matters can also bring with it a religious conservatism and fundamentalism that borders on a return to the dark ages. Not all Republicans fit this bill but voting Republican will always bring with it a danger of social regression.

I do not like attorney generals because they are always running for higher office and that is their primary concern and not the legality at hand. Schuette has already embroiled the state in religious matters when it was not the state’s business to do so and now he is concentrating on attacking the use of marijuana even though Michigan voters said that the use of marijuana for medical reasons is legal.

I gave up cigarettes many years ago after being a heavy smoker in my younger days. I finally have my lungs nice and clean and I will not go back to smoking and to me, smoking marijuana is still smoke in your lungs so it is not something I would do under any circumstance BUT I voted to allow medicinal marijuana and I would vote to legalize marijuana across the board since I consider smoking marijuana on par with drinking liquor; if you allow one you should allow the other.

Bill Schuette has decided that marijuana is evil and he will prevent its use no matter what the voters say. It appears that to Schuette, marijuana use is somehow against his religious and moral beliefs but for the life of me, I cannot figure out why.

But the greater issue here is why one man and his belief system is allowed to stymie the wishes of a majority of Michigan voters and residents. He is trying to impose on us HIS belief system and that just cannot be allowed.

I don’t know what we can do legally at this point to tell him to concentrate on legal matters that actually are serious and need attention and quit playing with bullshit issues that should not concern him.

We can make sure when the next elections come up that we make sure we are not electing someone that is a closet religious kook just waiting his chance to tell us how to live according to HIS belief system.



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MICHIGAN ANTI-BULLING LAW: OK to bully gay students?

Bullying on IRFE in March 5, 2007, the first c...Image via Wikipedia
I have to comment on the recent anti-bullying bills passed by the Michigan Senate and now by the Michigan House.

Michigan is only one of three (3) states that do not have an anti-bullying law so it is high time we had one. I guess with the advent of the internet, bullying has taken on a new face in the form of cyber bullying which has resulted in a number of teenage suicides directly linked to the bullying.

In my days, bullying occurred face to face and usually by someone that was bigger and stronger than the person being bullied. I was lucky to be relatively tall as a child and did not suffer bullying often but I do remember a few incidences in grade school where I had to fight.

In my days, parents would tell their children to fight back or as in my case, when someone bullied by sister, I kicked their ass.

Well things are much different now and if bullying leads to suicides than something definitely needs to be done to allow teachers, etc. to stop bullying before it goes too far.

BUT here is the absurd and ironic part of the Michigan Senate anti-bulling law; it allows bullying if based on religion.

Let me explain…the Michigan law is titled Matt’s Safe School Law and is named after a gay student that committed suicide after being bullied for being gay which seems to be the most common type of bullying.

The senate Republicans inserted a clause into the law that would not prohibit “a statement of a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction of a school employee, school volunteer, pupil or a pupil’s parent or guardian.” In other words, gay bashing is a protected right of people that belong to a religion where gays are sinners and the religion mandates persecution of such sinners; protecting gays violates their religious liberty…get it?

I will quickly add that the Michigan House passed a similar bill but without the offending clause.

My problem is the mentality of the people that inserted the clause into the bill knowing full well that protecting students that are gay from intimidation was a priority of the legislation; the clause basically negated the protection.

And here I will have to again raise the question of adult religious idiocy on the part (in this case) of Michigan Republicans permitting religion to be used as a weapon; Michigan Taliban?

You wonder why I get so upset when I encounter this religious backwardness that insists on hurting members of our society and this is happening in my own state and not in some flea bitten area of Afghanistan.

We need to remain vigilant against this religious terrorism because it is more prevalent than we ever imagined…

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

IRAQ WAR: Obama did not lose the war, it was un-winnable from the start you morons...

Collage of images taken by U.S. military in Ir...Image via Wikipedia
I have started seeing comments from the right about how Obama lost the Iraq war.

An article by Charles Krauthammer titled OBAMA’S ACTIONS IN IRAQ DON’T FULFILL THE MISSION (Nov 9, 2011) blames Obama for losing the Iraq war, something he says, will go down in our history books.

Well unless the Republicans re-write and redact actually history (and that can happen), history will show that the Iraq War was doomed from the beginning because it was based on a lie and a goal that was preposterous.

Krauthammer cannot get over the fact that we lost over 4,000 American troops fighting in Iraq and now we are just going to go away and let chaos take over (civil war). He cannot stand the thought THAT AMERICAN LIVES WERE LOST FOR NO GOOD REASON.

Krauthammer blames Obama for not leaving an American force in Iraq to protect what has been achieved; the façade of peace and only a façade since all parties are just waiting for us to leave before they start their inevitable civil war.

He says we have troops in Korea, Japan and Germany so why not in Iraq…please do not compare WWII to OUR invasion of Iraq.

We left troops in Korea to help South Korea protect itself from a potential attack from the North which is still a real possibility to this day but today S. Korea can protect itself and with N. Korea having atomic capability, our troop presence there is no longer a deterrent but a huge, worthless expense.

Japan will not start another world war so having troops there is only to have a presence in the area mostly as a deterrent to potential Chinese aggression.

Troops in Germany were to balance NATO against the Warsaw Pact which no longer exists; Russia is not about to invade Europe so we really don’t need 54,000 troops there but it seems we need a base there from which to deploy in a timely fashion but even that rationale does not hold water since we have other fast deployment forces on U.S. soil that can get anywhere in the world fast. The Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany treats the wounded coming out of Afghanistan but we don’t need 54,000 troops to man the hospital.

What Krauthammer wants is for our troops to maintain peace among the three warring parties in Iraq ad infinitum and also to keep Iran out of Iraq ad infinitum…bullshit!

It would have been easier and would have spared thousands of American lives if we kept Saddam Hussein in power because he hated Iran and kept the peace between the warring Iraqi parties.

What U.S. mission in Iraq; it was a huge waste of time, money and lives and we need to cut our losses and get the hell out of there and let someone else take care of the region like Saudi Arabia and the Arab League. Let them spend some money and lose some lives; why in the hell is it always us.

We have sacrificed a lot during Bush’s Iraq folly and history will record that the sacrifice was for naught. Let Bush and all his Krauthammers tell the mothers, wives, sisters, brothers, fathers and children of all that lost their lives in Iraq that they lost their lives for nothing and THAT is what history will record and it is exactly THAT fact which they will have to take to their graves.

I am sorry your conscience bothers you about what happened in Iraq but don’t blame it on anybody else but your own sorry ass for starting the worthless war.


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Wednesday, November 09, 2011

INEQUALITY IN OUR SOCIETY: Let the discussion begin...

David BrooksImage via Wikipedia
I have mentioned the subject of “INEQUALITY” in our society as articulated by the protesters like the OCCUPY WALL STREET protesters that I just visited last week.

David Brooks, who writes for the New York Times had an interesting column about inequality that he divides into Red and Blue inequality.

Blue inequality, he says, is what I found in New York City with protesters chanting 1% vs. 99%. A lot has been said about the top 1% of the richest people in the nation and most of it has been that the 1% does not pay its fair share of taxes, etc.; this is the “Wall Street” crowd that is being demonized.

But that 1%, according to the article, is composed of [31%] business starters and owners (non-financial), 16% doctors, 14% finance, 8% lawyers, 5% engineers and 2% in sports, entertainment or the media…this is just a rough estimate and does not add up to 100%.

Red inequality is not about the top and the rest but between those with a college degree and those without. I will quickly add that Steven Jobs and Bill Gates are not college graduates but I think we can call them special. I can also add that in my family there are members that have skills (brick layer, electrician, heating & cooling, etc.) that require schooling and on the job training and usually mean a good paying job.

So I think what Mr. Brooks is talking about is the general statistics between a person with a college degree and one without and the fact that our job market in this country is shifting dramatically into jobs that require at least some college or advanced skills. I guess what he is saying that the days of leaving high school and being hired by an auto company or similar company (for life) with great wages and benefits and retirement security ARE NOW OVER.

Ben Bernanke says that in 1979 a college grad made 38% more than a high school grad. Today that number is 75%.

Also, it appears that college grads beget college grads while it is more difficult for a child of high school graduates to enter and finish college.

Brooks says that in the 1970s, high school grads and college grads had similar family structures but now statistics show that college grads are more likely to get married, less likely to get divorced, less likely to have a child out of wedlock, less likely to smoke, less obese, more likely to be active in communities and speak a lot more words to their children.

Brooks feels that we need to EXPAND OPPORTUNITY to narrow the inequality gap and not just bitch at the rich. Obviously not everybody can go to college or should they; there are many jobs that don't require a college education. What we are talking about is that everyone should have an opportunity to be the best that they can be.

Our problem is not that the rich are oppressing us and the solution is to take away the riches of the upper class and distribute it to the masses; remember Communism is dead…it did not work and only the leaders’ got rich…the common man continued to struggle.

I think the one good thing that came out of the Occupy Wall Street Protest is to start a dialog going about the inequality in our society and what we can do about it and what can be done about it…now that discussion may actually lead to some real progress and so we will continue the dialog...





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CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS: Stay or Go...

Another subject that I feel needs some clarification because it is so divisive among us is the issue of Confederate Monuments, why they ...