AMERICAN INDIANS: South Dakota Vacation

I did say that I would have a few words about my vacation trip to South Dakota and especially about the American Indian history there and their continuing story.

Besides the Mt. Rushmore memorial to four U.S. presidents, there is an ongoing project called the CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL which is an attempt to tell the Indian side of history. Both memorials are mountain sculptures.

There is no question that the Indians in these states, the Dakota, Lakota and others, got a raw deal. The Lakota lived off the buffalo (bison) and traveled wherever the buffalo roamed which was far and wide since there were millions of buffalo. Enter the Americans / Europeans and bam! No more buffalo.

The U.S. Government gave them a good part of South Dakota as their nation - land (get it – we gave them their land) but then gold was discovered in their sacred Black Hills so a gold rush ensued and to hell with their land rights; the cavalry under Custer had to protect the white prospectors so they shot the Indians (remember the Wounded Knee Massacre?).

My point here is to say that I don’t see how things could have turned out any different than they did (for the Indians) no matter what we (the Americans / Europeans) did.

In all fairness, the land was theirs even though they shared the land and fought over the land with their fellow Indian tribes. They did not recognize land ownership as such and felt the land belonged to all who used it BUT they were there first and “lived” there so according to my logic it was theirs.

But you can say that about all the lands making up the American continent; there were native populations in existence for centuries before the Europeans landed and took over – they had the guns.

The Lakota Indian life of living in tee-pees and following the buffalo (which provided 100% of their sustenance) was undoubtedly an idyllic life for the Indians for many ages BUT became unsustainable with the arrival of immigrant settlers.

What usually happens is that the native population after trying to keep the invaders out for as long as they could eventually “adapts” to the new way of life and is assimilated into this new culture. All Americans are immigrants except for the Native Americans, who brought with them their own cultural roots (Poles, Germans, Italians, Irish…) and many kept those ethnic ties alive while being assimilated into the great melting pot that is America – but not the Indians.

We visited an Indian museum financed by Kevin Costner (Dancing with Wolves movie) who is a staunch advocate for the Indians here. An Indian guide explained to us the old days of the Lakota and how their lands were taken from them; the man had an obvious “chip” on his shoulder even though quite young.

Traveling through the beauty that is South Dakota, we discussed why the Indians did not assimilate and even though they have millions of acres of (worthless) land and are considered a “nation” with their own laws, etc., they still remain poor, sick, drunk and without a viable future – why?

I don’t know why even though there are isolated instances of Indians that broke out and became successful, even famous. Some say their nomadic culture could not adapt to a stationary life. Some compare them to Mongolians who to this day follow the yak herd from pasture to pasture, something they have been doing for thousands of years.

OK, maybe in Mongolia but actually, when I looked at the vast prairies of South Dakota, I wondered why the Indians did not continue their ancient way of life. Yes, buffalo herds would have to be regulated as not to deplete the grasses but hey, it could have been done – so why hasn’t it even been tried or has it?

Today, the U.S. Government manages a very large herd of buffalo in South Dakota as a means of preserving the natural history of the land – why couldn’t the Lakota been doing this and selling buffalo meat like ranchers sell beef?

Well, one trip to South Dakota is not going to answer any questions but it sure got us thinking…

MUSLIM WORLD: Obama delivers a magnificent message!

While exercising in the early morning, I usually watch CNN and therefore was able to watch Obama’s speech in Cairo to the Muslim world. The speech was simply MAGNIFICENT.

You knew it was going to be good when Osama bin Laden released a message on the day before the speech trying to downplay the speech before it was even given. He knew that if anybody was able to bring understanding, respect and hopefully peace between Muslims, Christians and Jews, it would be Obama and that scares the shit out of bin’ Laden because then, he would be out of a job.

One statement by a Muslim that stuck in my mind was that, for the first time, a president of the United States looks like half of the Muslim world look and that is a big factor in getting the Muslims to at least listen to the message. Also, Barak’s personal life, with a somewhat Muslim father, a Christian education in a Muslim land (Indonesia), all make him more recognizable to the Muslim world as opposed to that white, somewhat protestant, drinking’ ole’ boy who could not pronounce country names or international leader names, named Bush.

Obama’s message was translated into about every language and dialect imaginable and broadcast through every channel imaginable so even Muslims living in tents in the desert would get to listen, read or see his speech and what a speech it was…

Obama did not skip any issue; he numbered them and then addressed each one. He did not sugar-coat the message; he told it like it is and I think the audience appreciated that because TRUTH is sometimes hard to say and hear.

I won’t go into detail but I will agree with a lot of the people that heard the speech when they said, great speech, now let’s see some action.

I think the Jews might be the problem in getting talks going because under NETANYAHU, they just don’t want to give up their settlements and they really HAVE TO if any progress towards peace is to be made.

OK I have to tell you what I really liked about his speech. He quoted the Koran, Bible and the Talmud to show people that WE REALLY ARE ALL ALIKE AND OUR RELIGIONS ARE TOO.

He said that we all believe in to the precept that WE SHOULD TREAT PEOPLE AS WE WANT TO BE TREATED and I have been speaking about U.S. Christians who have big mouths about what should ne done but they are the ones that DON’T LISTEN TO THEIR GOD JESUS AND HIS TEACHING TO LOVE YOUR FUCKIN’ NEIGHBOR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF.

Obama’s trip includes a German concentration camp that his grandfather helped liberate ( a message to that Holocaust denier from Iran) and a trip to Normandy, France to celebrate that huge WWII action that led to the end of WWII because of AMERICAN BLOOD AND SACRIFICE (message to the Muslims that Americans have saved the world more than once and are not all Satans as portrayed in their media by their leaders who thrive on the ignorance of their people).

Obama has brains and people with brains that work for him and our country and he has a plan that makes sense – finally – thank the lord or somebody – quick!

SUPREME COURT: The Ethnicity Factor?

OK, my last comment about the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court justice has to do with her Puerto Rican ethnicity and how it influences her and how she uses it.

Conservatives have latched on to a quote where she says something about making better judicial decisions as a Latina woman with Latina experiences than a white man with no minority experiences – or something like that. Obviously, people take words out of context and use them for their attacks knowing full well that the same words heard in context take on a totally different meaning – should be a crime!

Anyway, she was talking about white jurists like Oliver Wendell Holmes who was considered a great justice and yet he voted to uphold race and sex discrimination laws even writing papers where he told women to mind their place in society.

Sam Alito during his confirmation hearings stated that coming from an immigrant Italian family gave his a lot more sensitivity to the plight of immigrants and minorities. Is that the same as the sensitivities of a Latina woman?

It appears to me that the conservatives are up against an uppity, big mouth; big smile, pushy broad and they don’t like that.

My only concern here is that she obviously benefited from “affirmative action” but she actually took that help and ran with it unlike some who are promoted only because of affirmative action and really have not earned the promotion.

I have been against affirmative action based solely on race from the beginning and have fought against the University of Michigan cases as basically racist as in reverse-discrimination.

The case of the firefighter’s promotion exam in New England in which she ruled for the state gives me concern. In the case, white and Hispanic firefighters passed the promotion test BUT because not one black firefighter passed it, the state nullified the entire test meaning all promotions were put on hold until, if logic follows here, a black fighter passes the test and gets promoted?

The white and Hispanic firefighters have appealed the case and it is now before the Supreme Court and if Sotomayor is made a Supreme Court justice, she would have a chance to vote on the case AGAIN!

I have a problem with people that feel they can trample all over the rights of whites in an effort to help certain minorities; it is just not fair and I have argued this point many times in the past.

Sotomayor will have to represent all Americans as a judge on the Supreme Court and she will also have to uphold the Constitution and other laws of the land. If she cannot carry out her duties as an objective officer of the court (remember the blind-folded statue of justice), than she will be flawed as a justice and that is not what is required of the position (ideally). I am not saying that the other justices on the court are all objective jurists (far from it) but I guess she will bring somewhat of a balance to the court and that is what Obama is looking for.

SUPREME COURT: Bunch of Catholics?

Let me talk a little about Sonia Sotomayor being Catholic. She was raised a Catholic but so was I so I don’t hold that against people; my concerns are what kind of Catholic are you now – regular mass attendee or in name only. To me you were either brainwashed at an early age and remain facing backward or you used the great education given by the Catholic Parochial School System to open your eyes and fly forward.

Of course I am not stereotyping all Catholics that way!

Interestingly enough, five (5) of the nine (9) Supreme Court judges are Catholic; Sonia would make six (6) or 66% of the court.

John Roberts, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito are regular mass attendees. Anthony Kennedy is not. The mass attendees make up the conservative wing of the court, Kennedy is a swing vote.

Sonia Sotomayor appears to be a Catholic in name only with no regular mass attending, no parish to call her own, no priest confessor and no wearing of religion on her sleeve. There is also a divorce in her past with no indication of an annulment, either sought or granted – I breathe a sigh of relief.

I have been reading a variety of surveys that have found “religious” people and I mean staunchly religious people are the ones who are most ready to approve of war, of torture, of the death penalty, of anti-gay legislation and in general most anti-Christian or better said, anti-Jesus issues you can think of and by that I mean issues that Jesus would not support because of his philosophy and therefore his teachings – interesting heh?

Don’t take my word for it, just see on which side Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts stand.

SUPREME COURT: Nominee Credentials?

The battle against the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court justice has begun.

The Right is all about interpreting the U.S. Constitution as it was written (like reading the Bible literally) and against “activist” judges who “create” policy out of “their” reading of the law (U.S. Constitution).

This is actually a tough subject to discuss because the Constitution was written some time ago (1787) and did not address issues that did not exist when it was written.

The Supremes are the final “interpreters” of the Constitution which means they render their decisions based on what they “think” the Constitution means or says about various issues. In many cases, the Constitution does not “directly’ say anything about specific issues and the judges are forced to rely on “judicial precedent” (what was ruled previously) or on “cultural norms” (what is normal to our culture). Please keep in mind that many of us disagree as to what is normal and accepted in our culture.

The pro-abortion decision was based on a very nebulous “right to privacy” clause in the Constitution while the “right to bear arms” issue (which was addressed directly by the Constitution) was, in my view, misinterpreted by the judges as a right for all to bear arms while the Constitution stipulated only people in “militias” can. The bottom line is that the Constitution is like the Bible, people can read whatever they want INTO it.

So when Rightists demand for strict “constructionists” and the liberals call for “empathetic interpretation”, judges will see what they want in the Constitution and that is that.

Obama keeps repeating that Sonia has been a judge longer than most and therefore has experience. Experience is a plus but if you are “flawed” as a jurist, you remain flawed throughout your years on the bench. The fact that Sonia Sotomayor has been often overturned by higher courts has me concerned. To me this says that she is not reading and understanding the law as her judicial peers are. I will have to see if she is overturned more times than what the norm is for judges.

She finished at the top of her classes throughout her education so she does have smarts or at least the ability to comprehend which is an important base to work from. George Bush was a C- student and look what great deeds he has accomplished in his public career.

My concern is not how many years you have of judicial experience; my concern is with your character and your thought process and your belief system and all those things that may play a role in your decision making on specific issues. As I mentioned before, some judges with very conservative histories have turned out very liberal on the Supreme Court.

Let me look deeper into who she is…………………..

SUPREME COURT: Sotomayor?

The much anticipated nominee for the Supreme Court was announced by Barak recently. Sonia Sotomayor (54) is a woman as expected and I think that is a positive factor since I think we really need another woman on the court to replace Sandra Day O’Conner, after all, women represent over 50% of our population so two (2) seats among nine (9) is definitely warranted.

The fact that she is Puerto Rican (Latino) is of lesser importance to me but it is a positive political move for Obama with an ever growing Latino population in this country.

She is a Democrat and a supposed liberal that will definitely help balance things against the conservative right wing of the court. It is interesting to point out that David Souter, the judge leaving the Supreme Court, was originally appointed as a conservative based on his judicial history but turned out to be a liberal as a Supreme Court justice.

There are other cases of Supreme Court judges changing their ideological stripes while on the court. I have always thought that once they are “in” for life and realize that they will be part of history, they become somehow different; looking at issues with a national and world view developed over their entire life of experiences and study. I guess what I am saying is that “some” judges are profoundly affected by their new role and allow themselves to listen, think and decide issues like “real” Supreme Court justices and not as narrow minded ideologues that are programmed to think only one way, cannot except new arguments and are basically robots which describes a number of judges on today’s Supreme Court.

I have taken a number of courses on the Supreme Court one on its history and the history of its members and one on the cases heard by the court throughout the ages and how the court itself changed in its legal outlook. I must admit that taking these courses has a very sobering affect on one’s perception of the court and what it does – I recommend learning something about the court before going crazy about this or that appointee.

Let me state at the outset that some of the things Judge Sotomayor has said in public over her years as a judge give me pause. I don’t like to take sound-bites out of context but she has given the right wingers some usable ammunition. Saying that her decisions as a Latina are somehow better than those of “white” men was totally stupid. Saying that courts should not make policy but do is stupid to say but may be factual.

I would like to touch on a number of factors in this case in later blogs but for now, I am reserving my opinion whether she will make a good addition to the Supreme Court.

VACATION: Back from South Dakota

Well, we are finally back from our vacation trip to SOUTH DAKOTA. Yes I said South Dakota. We have never been there and have a habit of visiting states we have not visited before in the springtime before all the tourists invade the area after Memorial Day.

We were not disappointed. We stayed in a log cabin near the town of Keystone and radiated from there all over the state. We landed in Rapid City which is on the west side of the state (small airport) and Keystone was just an hour away in the Black Hills.

We knew we wanted to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial Mountain and maybe a trip to the town of Deadwood (an HBO special by the same name) all the rest was a pleasant discovery.

A few local observations; the state has more bikers on the roads than cars. I know there is a annual gathering of the Harley-Davidson crowd in Sturgis in the Fall but this was the month of May. It appears the helmet law is not enforced and the rides must be fantastic from a biker perspective but I don’t see what the fascination is of getting your body beat up by the constant wind and all that god-damn noise – how about enjoying the sounds of nature?

The history here is basically the fight between the Indians (Lakota & Dakota) and the U.S. Army trying to protect the gold miners that were trespassing on Indian land. I will have more to say on that issue later.

Also I will talk some about the Indians and their dependence on the buffalo which was basically exterminated by the marauding European Americans shooting millions for the fun of it.

Kevin Costner did his “Dancing with Wolves” movie here and is very involved with the plight of the Indians here. He even sponsored an Indian museum here documenting their history – very educational.

Buffalo are everywhere here. They roam freely and don’t bother the cars and the people staring at them. Actually, the whole state abounds with free roaming animals of all kinds and my wife had to snap a picture of every one of them.

The difference between the Black Hills in Custer State Park and the Badlands area of prairies is stunning and something to behold. I will post some pictures to share the vistas even though pictures cannot do justice to being there and either driving straight up mountains or across never-ending prairies.

Lots of issues are up for discussion since I last posted – hoping to have time to comment.

CHRYSLER: Here we go...

Well, here we go; Chrysler declared bankruptcy as they should and now we will see capitalism in action.

I have maintained from the beginning, as many others have too, that GM and Chrysler have no other option at survival except going bankrupt and re-emerging as “new” companies that can function in the new economic reality.

I have been reading a lot of heated words about auto workers and the great things they have done for our society and why they should be somehow “saved” or their jobs preserved. Well, even my socialist / Communist wife realizes that companies do not exist and were not started primarily to create jobs; they exist to make and sell products and in so doing, to make money for their owners (investors).

This simple reality has somehow been lost in all the hubbub surrounding the demise of our auto companies. People want the factories to keep going EVEN though no one is buying the products those factories are making – excuse me?

Yes, we in Michigan have had a great run of prosperity from the auto industry. Many in my family have done VERY well working for the auto industry BUT it is now OVER and let’s just say thank you for the past 50 great years and prepare and adjust for what the next 50 years have in store for us.

Some people are looking to blame someone for our current situation BUT really it is many people and organizations that are to blame; everyone saw it coming but no one wanted to do something or anything about it except maybe FORD somewhat.

The world will be watching the Chrysler bankruptcy knowing that GM is right behind. Obama’s people will hopefully grease the skids and have Chrysler re-emerge within 60 days as a new entity.

The one thing I do not hear much about is the possibility that if the economy continues to suck and people remain too afraid to spend money on new cars, how can ANY auto company survive, even as leaner and more efficient business models?

SOCIETY: The Bimbo Affair

Well, here is something I never write about: the Miss America contest.

The runner up, Miss California Carrie Prejean is hitting the right wind media circuit to complain that the only reason she lost to Miss N. Carolina was that when asked a question by flaming gay Perez Hilton about states that are legalizing same sex marriage, she replied that she strongly believed that marriage was and should be between a man and a woman – only!

This was not what Perez wanted to hear and therefore he voted against her and for Miss N. Carolina who, by the way, was not asked the same question and therefore did not make her views on the subject known.

Because this issue created some heated debate in my family, I though it was something we might want to kick around a bit.

Was this a fair competition? NO, all contestants should answer the same question.

Should contestants be judged on their brainpower in a beauty contest? NO but some time ago we, in this country, decided that talent and smarts should count for something as it added to the person’s beauty? – Oh well…

Perez called Miss Prejean a “dumb bitch” on his blog for her non-inclusive answer. My wife strongly defended her right to her opinion and that her opinion should not dismiss her or detract from her “beauty” score.

I listened to Perez defend himself on TV and I liked what I heard. He said that she could have answered a little differently and still held true to her views. He was saying she could have said that marriage is between a man and a woman but that she supported equal, legal provisions of marriage for gay civil unions. In that way she would have been seen as “inclusive” and therefore a true representative of American values of fairness.

Even though I don’t watch the Miss America contest and think it is plain silly, I do feel she has a right to her opinion and I think the judge has a right to make his selection based on what he perceives as a “well rounded” American beauty that will be representing this country (for whatever reason) and that may serve as some kind of role model (I don’t think so) since hopefully young girls see this whole affair as the “bimbo” affair.

NEW YORK CITY VISIT: Melting Pot Still

Just got back from New York City (NYC) where we visited our son and his wife who live and work there. They just got into their new apartment and wanted us to see it.

I will admit that life in NYC is very different from life in Canton, Michigan or any city in Michigan for that matter. I was happy to see that my son and his wife have acclimated very well to city life and astonishingly, seem just like everyone else in NYC and this after growing up in Michigan suburbs.

We went to Coney Island on the subway. It was 92 degrees and many New Yorkers were heading for the beach. Imagine heading for the beach on the subway; families with coolers, blankets and beach chairs – on the subway?

Once we got there the place was hoping. I have never been to Coney Island in NYC and was surprised to see a massive boardwalk made entirely of wooden boards. The beach was huge and you could not get a hot dog at Nathan’s Famous Coney Dog places because the lines were too long.

The one thing that stood out for me as I wandered around was the huge ethnic diversity of the crowd. I hardly heard any American being spoken; I did not hear any Polish either. I did hear a lot of Russian and other languages I could not identify. The families seemed happy while enjoying a day at the beach.

The scene probably mirrored the early 1900s or late 1800 when Europeans descended on New York by the thousands creating Little Italy, Little Poland, etc. Now the immigrants come from Asia, the Middle East, Russia and the Caribbean – so nothing has really changed.

I like to point out to those Americans that resent “foreigners” that we are, after all, all foreigners and the children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of immigrants who braved the dangers and uncertainties of travel and re-settlement to a different country, a country that held the promise of a better life for generations to come.

It makes you stop and think that America still holds that allure for so many after all these years. It also shows us that the people of the world still need an America; a land of opportunity for all, because many other countries of the world are still repressive and regressive with no hope for a better life in the near future.

I admire the courageous human spirit of past and present immigrants and believe that, that spirit is what makes us great and has made us great. I decry the attitude of “America for Americans” because it is an attitude of ignorance and arrogance; just look how many non-citizen immigrants are serving in the armed forces.

NYC is still expensive as hell to visit but I did get airline tickets to JFK for $109 round-trip and that is not bad.

CUBA: Common sense at last!

I have to admit that Obama is bringing a fresh breeze or sunshine or let us say, some semblance of sanity and common sense to our government. I may not agree with everything he is doing but certain of his actions are so refreshing it gives me goose bumps.

One of them concerns CUBA. I am a capitalist. I hate Communism and history has shown that Communism does not work – period. I will talk later about how our economic depression and for that matter, all economic depressions, bring the old Communists out of the woodwork to revive a theory that has never worked but somehow seems attractive to people suffering the effects of a bad economy – take from the rich, they don’t deserve it!

Anyway, when Cuba’s corrupt dictatorship was taken over by a Communist, corrupt dictatorship under Fidel Castro, the U.S. went bonkers. We all know the history (Cuban Missile Crisis under Kennedy) etc. and the fact that an embargo has existed for a very long time making Cuba and it’s people poorer than dirt.

China was and is a Communist country but we opened our borders to them (trade) and accepted their form of government and now China is the economic leader of the world, their people have climbed out of their abject poverty to a new level of prosperity not seen in many, many years – the future is bright as hell! I have always maintained that if you introduce capitalism into a country that did not have it, you will show the people what kind of life is possible and from that point onwards, they will never go back to the old, poor ways and that is what happened with China so to me, capitalism is the best weapon against Communism.

Why did we not respond to Cuba like we did to China? If we did, Cuba and Cubans could be basking in new found luxury just like the Chinese are today. So what is the difference?

I don’t pretend to know exactly what the differences are but a large Cuban-American population in Florida, hell-bent on revenge and punishment were a big factor. In fact, haters of Fidel wanting him to be proven wrong were actually punishing the people of Cuba instead. In fact, recently Raul Castro has admitted that they (Fidel & Communism) may have been wrong for Cuba – did you hear that?

Politics is also to blame for us not reaching out to Cuba. We so wanted Cuban Communism to fail that we forgot about our humanity and left common sense out of our feelings.

Fidel is no longer president. His brother Raul is and he already has made changes, relaxing some of the authoritarian Communist rules in place for so many years. With Obama reaching out a hand of peace, Raul has said that topics like human rights, freedom of the press, release of political prisoners, free travel – everything can be discussed. Obama had requested some reciprocal gestures by the Castro government to show they are really open to making some changes in exchange for normalizing relations between the two countries. Obviously the removal of the economic embargo is the big goal for Cuba. Like I said it could bring prosperity and freedom to Cuba in no time at all.

Like I said, a fresh breeze is blowing across the country – the Obama breeze.

RELIGION: The Vatican Fights Back?

I would like to follow-up on a blog I did ridiculing Pope Benedict for saying that condoms cannot prevent AIDS. It appears that many have taken umbrage at the Pope’s remarks as well as some medical associations and a few governments.

Belgians were so angered at the Pope’s “dangerous” remarks that they passed a legislative action denouncing the Pope’s remarks and ordering their ambassador to the Vatican to deliver a message of protest.

Well, the Vatican is not sitting still for these attacks; they are counter-attacking. Obviously they cannot defend the Pope’s idiotic statement that condoms cannot prevent AIDS. The scientific fact is that if everyone in Africa wore a condom during sex, AIDS would be totally controlled if not eradicated.

So what can the Vatican say in the Pope’s defense? Well they can say that the “Pope will not be intimidated by those wishing to silence him” That his words were taken out of context? How about that what the Pope was really saying is that sexual responsibility through abstinence and monogamy is the only way to fight AIDS.

This reminds me of Sarah Palin advocating sexual abstinence for teenagers while her daughter was screwing her boyfriend right in the governor’s mansion. The boyfriend said Palin knew about it and the daughter said that abstinence does not work and never will; so much for that right-wing bullshit and hypocrisy.

Same goes for the Vatican. If you are so smart and speak for your god, why is he and obviously you, so goddamn dumb that you don’t understand human nature and a specific country’s cultural nature and continue to spout idealistic ideas and concepts that really have nothing to do with earthly reality.

If you really gave a shit about the welfare of people you should do something that may have a chance at actually helping them. Africans have had a certain respect for the “white father” from Rome but after hearing what the Pope said, they just laughed – bye- bye any credibility the Pope may have had.

The Vatican’s anti-condom position for any reason is a very bizarre position. Originally, I think the position was basically against birth-control of any kind and the reason for that was that the Church needs more new Catholics to keep the money flowing so don’t you dare limit your offspring. In the old days you could always tell which family was Catholic; the one with the ten (10) kids. Obviously, Catholics in America got wise and just took the pronouncements from the Vatican with a grain of salt.

My mother, the ultimate Catholic, said abortion is none of the Pope’s goddamn business.

What makes the Vatican’s anti-condom position so bizarre is that if they know how AIDS is spread (we have to assume they do) and the fact that AIDS kills not only adults but children and entire families and knowing that sexual abstinence and monogamy are totally unrealistic and unworkable concepts, why would they not take the path that would undeniably save lives?

This is where the Vatican and for that matter, the formal Catholic religion as lead by the Vatican, is so far removed from humanity and the way the world functions that they are, for all intents and purposes, irrelevant as leaders and teachers of the peoples of this earth.

IRAQ: I told you so...

I have been busy with an FDA inspection of my facilities and so had no time to do my thing, but hopefully things can come back to normal relatively quickly.

I wanted to touch on IRAQ because I have not mentioned it for some time but feel the need to do the I TOLD YOU SO thing again. I am not the only one saying this and all of us who argued for a partition plan for Iraq can be vindicated – unfortunately many people will die because the plan was not adopted.

Bush had only one plan in mind and that was to originate a democracy in the Middle East and hopefully set a pattern for the rest of the region. Well, the plan was arrogant and totally ignorant from the start and now many more people will pay the ultimate price including all those American soldiers already dead and their relatives now knowing they had died for NOTHING! Don’t take out your frustrations on me – talk to your buddy BUSH and his band of idiots!

Yes, you are hearing that AMERICAN deaths are way down – and they are. We are leaving the mess to the Iraqis. If you pay any attention to the news from the region, you will notice that there are steady, daily suicide attacks killing anywhere from 10 to 30 or 40 people. You don’t usually here much about these because they don’t concern Americans, but they are facts.

We trained the Iraqi army to keep the peace. The Iraqi army is all Shiites. We also trained the tribal, paramilitary squads to fight and keep the peace; these are all Sunni.

Recently, these two (2) American trained groups started killing each other – as planned from the start. Remember I told you that a civil war is the only logical next step. They are not even waiting for the U.S. forces to leave because they know Obama has other things on his mind and will not re-visit the Iraq problem and allow more Americans to die.

The Kurds in the North are building up their military strength for the inevitable attack by the Shiite army. It is only a matter of time.

May I say that this just pisses me off and I know others feel the same. This problem could have been handled and bloodshed avoided if the partition plan proposed by sane, knowledgeable people was at least considered – it was not and now someone needs to be slapped and kicked in the ass for their arrogant stupidity.

Bush is too stupid to recognize what he has done and his cohorts will always just blame it on others – FRUSTRATION!!!

ECONOMY: Auto Industry Ultimatum - about time!

Well, I hate to say I told you so about GM and Chrysler but I think everyone knew it was bankruptcy or nothing.

Today, Obama basically said just that. Chrysler has 30 days to merge with Fiat (which may not save it) or go bankrupt. GM has a little more time, but the message is the same.

I did learn a new term today when reading about Obama’s instructions to the auto companies, it is a “bankruptcy rinse”. I have stated before that bankruptcy does not have to mean the end of the auto companies in question. It could be a structured bankruptcy that would allow the companies to “clean or rinse” themselves off debilitating legacy costs and contracts, and allow a new, lean manufacturer to emerge.

Obama actually said that the U.S. government would “guarantee” all existing auto warranties thus eliminating the biggest negative to going into bankruptcy (people would not buy cars from a company in bankruptcy) even though in actuality, that may be somewhat of a factor.

Obama, to my pleasant surprise, called the auto dilemma just like a sensible, fiscally responsible and business savvy person would have; no socialist crap included. His plan will be good for the industry, good for the nation and good for the taxpayers.

I know many will cry and protest but the message must be strong and consistent, as far as the auto industry is concerned THE OLD DAYS ARE DEAD AND GONE BECAUSE THEY ARE NO LONGER SUSTAINABLE IN TODAY’S ECONOMY.

The auto workers that had a great ride (my family) should be thankful and enjoy what they got and enjoy the lifestyle that their labors bought for them and remember that they are the last of the highly paid, non schooled, basic laborers.

A new age is dawning!

RELIGION & SOCIETY: Don't let the assholes in Texas get away with it!

The forces of darkness are always at work trying to keep people in darkness and in Texas, they seem to have the upper hand.

TEXAS OPENS CLASSROOM DOOR FOR EVOLUTION DOUBT

The Texas Board of Education has always had an inordinate amount of influence as far as school textbooks are concerned. Texas picks textbooks for the entire state school system as opposed to other states at are divided into school districts that pick their own textbooks.

Since Texas ordered such a vast amount of books, publishers made those books the norm for the rest of the country so whatever Texas wanted the books to say, the publishers made sure the books said it – truth and facts be damned.

Because book printing is now digital and not type-set, publishers can easily print the same book with the changes demanded by various school districts. Even so, the Texas board has a huge influence over the education of every child in Texas; a big state.

The board majority is obviously composed of religious kooks that want evolution challenged, the age of the earth challenged, the Bog Bang theory challenged and the age of the universe to be brought more in line with the Bible; 10,000 years instead of 14 billion years.

All this in a state with supposedly, intelligent adult people who one hopes, grasp at least some reality around them. And yet, the morons on that board of education will influence the education of millions of kids. How can we allow such a travesty?

As a nation, can we stand by and watch the purposeful dumbing of America by religious nuts?

People, we have to make a difference somehow. Come on’ Baby Boomers, we fought against darkness in the 60s (remember rock & roll was devil music). Can we leave this nation worst off than we found it – I hope not!