...but anyone with a brain already knew that.
The impetus for today's argument comes from a series of tweets and posts that Mr. Michael Moore put out over the weekend. Ostensibly, he was only talking about his uncle who was murdered during WWII by a Japanese sniper when he said that "we were taught that snipers were cowards." He went on to say that only a coward would kill another person through the skills of a sniper.
Without getting too far in to the insanity of Moore's attempts to defend himself, I have to ask, what is the line that makes someone a coward when they are engaged in war? He seems to indict all snipers, including Chris Kyle, the subject of Clint Eastwood's latest project American Sniper as cowards, despite his words to the contrary. He also took the time to state that Jesse James (who killed many men, and in many ways could be seen as a home grown 'terrorist', in the strictest sense of the word) was not a scoundrel, but rather it was the man (Robert Ford) that backshot James who was the 'bad guy'. Of course, Ford didn't 'snipe' James, but shot him in the back, as an alleged confident. How Moore makes a connection between what Ford did, what James Earl Ray (the man who shot Martin Luther King, Jr., the act that Moore was allegedly referencing, and only that one. If you believe the pompous ass.), and what Chris Kyle did as a soldier fighting an enemy of the United States is beyond me, but I can say that it is completely without tact and is below a dignified man to have made such statements. Fortunately enough for Moore, he is not a dignified man, but is rather a despicable human being who will doing anything to further his own agenda.
As disgusted as I am with Moore's antics, one can't help admire the way he managed to remind the public that he still exists, and to get himself intertwined with a much more accomplished movie maker (Eastwood) while tying his name to the biggest film of the season. As morally reprehensible as his actions are, they further his brand, and make him more of a god-like figure in the deluded minds of his followers. Of course, none of them are intelligent enough to realize that he puts in to practice methods of persons (capitalists, of which he is a leader) that they all believe he hates. It would be comical, if he wasn't such a schmuck.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Friday, January 16, 2015
9/11 Thoughts From 2012: This Happened
This Happened
September 11, 2012 at 9:32pm
On
December 8th, 1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a
speech in which he stated that "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date
which will live in infamy" (listen to the audio here: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5166/)
with regard to the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was a powerful
speech, one that closed with FDR stating "But always will our whole
nation remember the character of the onslaught against us."Within one
hour's time, Congress had passed a declaration of war that plunged the
U.S. headlong in to WWII, and the rest became our history.I think about
that quote a lot every year as we approach and pause to honor the
victims and heroes of September 11, 2001. I think about it, because I
know far fewer people who take even a moment out of their day in
remembrance of the thousands of Americans who lost their lives on
December 7, 1941.
Seventy years hence, and the actions of that day are nearly forgotten, and with each member of the Greatest Generation that passes, we lose more of our physical contact to the horrors of that day.
September 11th is nowhere near that point. In fact, I think that thanks to social media, the realization of what actually occurred may be stronger than at any point since the first couple of years after it happened. To all of us now, it would seem inconceivable that the horrors of that day could ever be forgotten, but I'm confident that those who were alive when the Pearl Harbor attacks occurred.
To the men and women who read the news of the murders that occurred at Auschwitz and other German concentration camps, it would have seemed impossible that 70 years in to the future, there would be those who would deny that such camps ever existed.
History is often malleable, memories are fleeting, services such as YouTube and news organizations are subject to censorship at the whim of whomever controls government. I don't expect anyone who lived through the terror of that day to ever forget the images that they saw, or the loss of life and family they may have gone through.
I do think it is important to say that this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKZqqSI9-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3iKLz4oatY&feature=fvwrel
It's important that it is done without political or religious connotations, because that is not what is important on this date. This day should always exclusively be about the loss that we suffered as a nation, and as individuals throughout the nation. We should never forget those who perished, nor should we forget those who risked everything to save strangers. It is a day that should be kept hallow. Politicians should not be allowed to use anything that occurred on that day for political gain, and those that attempt to do so should be tossed from office.
It is a day that belongs to Americans, and while the feeling of loss should never go away, there is also reason for celebration. We still stand, through it all.
It is a day for Americans, wherever we may be, wherever we may have come from, to come together. It is a day we must never forget.
Seventy years hence, and the actions of that day are nearly forgotten, and with each member of the Greatest Generation that passes, we lose more of our physical contact to the horrors of that day.
September 11th is nowhere near that point. In fact, I think that thanks to social media, the realization of what actually occurred may be stronger than at any point since the first couple of years after it happened. To all of us now, it would seem inconceivable that the horrors of that day could ever be forgotten, but I'm confident that those who were alive when the Pearl Harbor attacks occurred.
To the men and women who read the news of the murders that occurred at Auschwitz and other German concentration camps, it would have seemed impossible that 70 years in to the future, there would be those who would deny that such camps ever existed.
History is often malleable, memories are fleeting, services such as YouTube and news organizations are subject to censorship at the whim of whomever controls government. I don't expect anyone who lived through the terror of that day to ever forget the images that they saw, or the loss of life and family they may have gone through.
I do think it is important to say that this happened:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lKZqqSI9-s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3iKLz4oatY&feature=fvwrel
It's important that it is done without political or religious connotations, because that is not what is important on this date. This day should always exclusively be about the loss that we suffered as a nation, and as individuals throughout the nation. We should never forget those who perished, nor should we forget those who risked everything to save strangers. It is a day that should be kept hallow. Politicians should not be allowed to use anything that occurred on that day for political gain, and those that attempt to do so should be tossed from office.
It is a day that belongs to Americans, and while the feeling of loss should never go away, there is also reason for celebration. We still stand, through it all.
It is a day for Americans, wherever we may be, wherever we may have come from, to come together. It is a day we must never forget.
9/11 Thoughts from 2011: Dear Terrorists
Dear Terrorists
September 11, 2011 at 11:07pm
It was only one year ago that I was lamenting over what I perceived to
be the lack of caring and the apparent short term memory problems that I
believed our nation to be suffering with regard to the events of
09/11/2001. Not too long ago, I feared the same thing, that perhaps 10
years might have become the statute of limitations for tragedy in our
high-speed world, and in that thought, I made the same mistake that I
believe that the original terrorists made when they attacked us, and
those who continue to look to do harm to us make, too.
Dear Terrorists, I am quite certain that you believed that you struck a great victory against the United States on 09/11/2001. Surely watching one of our greatest cities suffer the loss of 3000 or so lives stolen from us, and the aftermath for all the families who personally had to deal with the thought and reality that their mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers were never going to come home again. They had to deal with the reality that their lives had been extinguished by an Evil that we as Americans tend to try and be intentionally naive to. We will make excuses, we will flat out deny, and we will even outright defend those that we know may be causing harm, as long as we put it in the context that it is happening somewhere else, not here, not to us. You shook that belief, and in so doing, thought that we would collapse and perhaps you would not have to deal with us anymore, except as you saw fit with regard to more terrorist action.
I don't think that with the benefit of hindsight, 10 years hence, you would have anticipated us to still be standing, divided as we may be, with your "leader" and many other high-ranking members of your organization dead. We will continue to come for you, not because we chose this battle, but because your brought this battle to our shores and forced us to recognize that in a global community, there really isn't any such thing as "over there" anymore. Not when jet planes can be hijacked and flown anywhere in the world and utilized as a rocket to decimate structures. We do not choose to put our young men and women in harm's way, but we do so because your actions have made it necessary, and we do so hoping that God may protect and return them all home safely to us. We look forward to the day when they all can come home and we do not have to continue to fight this long, protracted war, that in this moment, seems to have no end in sight. We fight you "over there" with the hope that we will never have to fight you "here", and we remain vigilant against future attacks. If you so chose, you could count that as a 'victory' for your side, that we have had to let go of some of our willful naiveté, so that we may not ever deal with such catastrophic loss again, but I would think that even you, dear terrorists, would have to agree that is a Pyrrhic victory at best.
Dear Terrorists, what you took for weakness was more of picture of our Laissez-faire lifestyle. When you look at us, you see a nation divided, one that will see us pitted against each other for the slightest advantage, and I can only assume that your thoughts were that we would be easily exploited. Of course, in doing so, you failed to follow the most simple adage that those who refuse to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. True enough, if you follow our news in any way, you see a nation that often times is at each other's throats, quite literally. What you failed to realize, however, is how quickly we would circle our wagons once attacked. You failed to recognize the power of the American spirit, and what that truly means. It is understandable, I have lived here my entire life, and as noted at the beginning, I even doubt it sometimes, but if you watch carefully, it always reappears. We love nothing more than to celebrate rebirth and hope for a reason to pull together, even as it appears we are driving ourselves further apart.
Dear Terrorists, perhaps the most grievous mistake you made, following your attacks, was to assume that this would be the end of American civilization. You failed to recognize that by ordering these attacks, you would give us cause to come together, for comfort and for strength. Left to our own devices, we would not likely have sought you out. We had no interest in killing any of you or your followers, even if we publicly (or privately) disagreed with your actions in other parts of the world. By attacking us here, by forcing our nation to become part of those that can lay claim to having been a victim of international terrorists, you brought us together. It is tragic, it is sad, but it is true. There is not an American today who did not pause for at least one moment to consider what happened on our shores 10 years ago, and to think about the sacrifice that those in our armed forces and their families continue to make on a daily basis, in order to ensure that we never have to survive another day such as that. That was a magnificent failure on your part.
Today, on the 10th anniversary of the most tragic days we have seen, our nation again pulled together. We did so on many levels, whether it be a parade/memorial service/dedication in one of our small towns, up to and through all levels of government. At our sports arenas the nation over, there were ceremonies to honor those that died, and for those who survived and must continue on. The stories of those who sacrificed and risked their own lives in order to attempt to save others at the World Trade Center site, to those who knowingly gave their lives on Flight 93, in order to avoid even more destruction on the ground below. These people are our heroes, and while we may not know all their names specifically, we know of their actions, and we honor their sacrifice, and we celebrate in the best ways we know how.
Dear Terrorists, in closing, I urge you to consider all the death that has come on both sides due to your decisions that led to 09/11/2001. As Americans, we are a forgiving society. Again, if you turn to history, you will see that with time, we generally will forgive any enemy, no matter the harm that may have been caused by them. You could start with the English, whom we fought two wars with in a span of 40 years, and move along through our own Civil War and in to WWI and WWII. When it was called upon, our nation fought, but just as soon as we could, we laid down arms and began the process of rebuilding. It might be a special situation with you, dear terrorists, given all the harm and pain that you have caused, but I am confident in us as Americans, that we would eventually forgive even the Evil that you rained down on us. We continue to fight, because it is necessary, because your actions demand it, but if given the opportunity, we would just as soon peace. It suits us better.
Dear Terrorists, the onus is on you. This is a fight that exists because of your actions, because of the path that you chose. In so doing, you tied our fates together. You may think that you have the will to outlast us, that eventually we will cave and we give in. I promise that is not the case, for so many different reasons. We will fight as long as we must, and we will not quit until we are sure of our security. We will never forget your actions of those day, nor will we ever forgive them, because they are unforgivable. That which has transpired since can be forgiven, though. We will remember those that we lost, the lives that were cut short, and we will aid those that were left behind. We are America, and that is how we roll. For as long as the sun is set in the sky, we shall continue to be the beacon of shining light for this world. It is a responsibility we may not always seem to take seriously, but we really do. I promise you.
Dear Terrorists, lay down you arms, so that we may do the same.
Dear Terrorists, I am quite certain that you believed that you struck a great victory against the United States on 09/11/2001. Surely watching one of our greatest cities suffer the loss of 3000 or so lives stolen from us, and the aftermath for all the families who personally had to deal with the thought and reality that their mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers were never going to come home again. They had to deal with the reality that their lives had been extinguished by an Evil that we as Americans tend to try and be intentionally naive to. We will make excuses, we will flat out deny, and we will even outright defend those that we know may be causing harm, as long as we put it in the context that it is happening somewhere else, not here, not to us. You shook that belief, and in so doing, thought that we would collapse and perhaps you would not have to deal with us anymore, except as you saw fit with regard to more terrorist action.
I don't think that with the benefit of hindsight, 10 years hence, you would have anticipated us to still be standing, divided as we may be, with your "leader" and many other high-ranking members of your organization dead. We will continue to come for you, not because we chose this battle, but because your brought this battle to our shores and forced us to recognize that in a global community, there really isn't any such thing as "over there" anymore. Not when jet planes can be hijacked and flown anywhere in the world and utilized as a rocket to decimate structures. We do not choose to put our young men and women in harm's way, but we do so because your actions have made it necessary, and we do so hoping that God may protect and return them all home safely to us. We look forward to the day when they all can come home and we do not have to continue to fight this long, protracted war, that in this moment, seems to have no end in sight. We fight you "over there" with the hope that we will never have to fight you "here", and we remain vigilant against future attacks. If you so chose, you could count that as a 'victory' for your side, that we have had to let go of some of our willful naiveté, so that we may not ever deal with such catastrophic loss again, but I would think that even you, dear terrorists, would have to agree that is a Pyrrhic victory at best.
Dear Terrorists, what you took for weakness was more of picture of our Laissez-faire lifestyle. When you look at us, you see a nation divided, one that will see us pitted against each other for the slightest advantage, and I can only assume that your thoughts were that we would be easily exploited. Of course, in doing so, you failed to follow the most simple adage that those who refuse to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. True enough, if you follow our news in any way, you see a nation that often times is at each other's throats, quite literally. What you failed to realize, however, is how quickly we would circle our wagons once attacked. You failed to recognize the power of the American spirit, and what that truly means. It is understandable, I have lived here my entire life, and as noted at the beginning, I even doubt it sometimes, but if you watch carefully, it always reappears. We love nothing more than to celebrate rebirth and hope for a reason to pull together, even as it appears we are driving ourselves further apart.
Dear Terrorists, perhaps the most grievous mistake you made, following your attacks, was to assume that this would be the end of American civilization. You failed to recognize that by ordering these attacks, you would give us cause to come together, for comfort and for strength. Left to our own devices, we would not likely have sought you out. We had no interest in killing any of you or your followers, even if we publicly (or privately) disagreed with your actions in other parts of the world. By attacking us here, by forcing our nation to become part of those that can lay claim to having been a victim of international terrorists, you brought us together. It is tragic, it is sad, but it is true. There is not an American today who did not pause for at least one moment to consider what happened on our shores 10 years ago, and to think about the sacrifice that those in our armed forces and their families continue to make on a daily basis, in order to ensure that we never have to survive another day such as that. That was a magnificent failure on your part.
Today, on the 10th anniversary of the most tragic days we have seen, our nation again pulled together. We did so on many levels, whether it be a parade/memorial service/dedication in one of our small towns, up to and through all levels of government. At our sports arenas the nation over, there were ceremonies to honor those that died, and for those who survived and must continue on. The stories of those who sacrificed and risked their own lives in order to attempt to save others at the World Trade Center site, to those who knowingly gave their lives on Flight 93, in order to avoid even more destruction on the ground below. These people are our heroes, and while we may not know all their names specifically, we know of their actions, and we honor their sacrifice, and we celebrate in the best ways we know how.
Dear Terrorists, in closing, I urge you to consider all the death that has come on both sides due to your decisions that led to 09/11/2001. As Americans, we are a forgiving society. Again, if you turn to history, you will see that with time, we generally will forgive any enemy, no matter the harm that may have been caused by them. You could start with the English, whom we fought two wars with in a span of 40 years, and move along through our own Civil War and in to WWI and WWII. When it was called upon, our nation fought, but just as soon as we could, we laid down arms and began the process of rebuilding. It might be a special situation with you, dear terrorists, given all the harm and pain that you have caused, but I am confident in us as Americans, that we would eventually forgive even the Evil that you rained down on us. We continue to fight, because it is necessary, because your actions demand it, but if given the opportunity, we would just as soon peace. It suits us better.
Dear Terrorists, the onus is on you. This is a fight that exists because of your actions, because of the path that you chose. In so doing, you tied our fates together. You may think that you have the will to outlast us, that eventually we will cave and we give in. I promise that is not the case, for so many different reasons. We will fight as long as we must, and we will not quit until we are sure of our security. We will never forget your actions of those day, nor will we ever forgive them, because they are unforgivable. That which has transpired since can be forgiven, though. We will remember those that we lost, the lives that were cut short, and we will aid those that were left behind. We are America, and that is how we roll. For as long as the sun is set in the sky, we shall continue to be the beacon of shining light for this world. It is a responsibility we may not always seem to take seriously, but we really do. I promise you.
Dear Terrorists, lay down you arms, so that we may do the same.
9/11 Thoughts from 2010: Still Standing
Still Standing
September 11, 2010 at 11:59pm
The one and only positive that could be drawn from the destruction that
was rained down on our nation on 09.11.2001 was the way that for one
brief moment, we as Americans stood as a unified nation, looking to lend
a helping hand or offer a shoulder to cry on for those who were most
affected by the tragedy. It would have been a far more beautiful
moment, if not for the tragedy and horror that stood as the backdrop for
our nation. While it was a terrible blow to our nation, and most
specifically to those who lost family members or friends, it
accomplished something that those who perpetrated that unspeakable act
could not have foreseen, it brought us together, regardless of race,
religion, or political orientation, we stood united. True, some of it
may have simply been an act (think political 'leaders'), but I refuse to
believe that average Americans were false in their sentiment. I had grown concerned moreso than ever that we were fulfilling Eddie Vedder's words of becoming a "nation of amnesiacs", and that 09.11.2001 was fading from our collective memories. Between a fanatical preacher threatening to burn copies of the Koran, and the group looking to build a mosque in the literal shadow of where the twin towers once stood, it seemed that we had lost our course, and we were well on our way to allowing ourselves to be divided over what in the grand scheme of things are fairly trivial matters, while not focusing on what should matter most: those who were murdered in that atrocious act, and our brave soldiers who spend every day protecting our freedom and preserving our safety here at home.
Then today came, and it seemed everywhere I turned, there was recollections of memories of that day, and well wishes for those who were lost, and those they left behind, and I will admit freely, I was heartened. Seeing signs in rememberance of that day, and the South Hadley fire department proudly, triumphantly hanging our flag, it said to me that we were still here, we are still one, even if we don't always agree, even if at times we may want to literally battle each other, we're still here. We took the best shot that those who sought to destroy us had to offer, and still, we are here; they attempted to alter our daily lives by instilling fear, and we are still here. We Still Stand.
Perhaps we are not of the same Oneness that we were in the weeks and months after that attack, but for the most part, the citizens of this country still want the same thing: the best life they can provide for their family and a safe place to live. The fact that we are able to have discourse and disagree and call each other names without fear of being imprisoned or simply disappearing from the known face of the planet is a cause for celebration. We are a great nation, a great civilization, perhaps the best and brightest this planet has ever known, and great nations are generally not taken out by an outside foe, but rather through failed internal policies. Let us hope and pray that we always choose the correct course to keep our nation great, and more importantly, let the day never come that we should ever forget those that were lost, and how all of our lives were inevitably changed.
Friday, January 2, 2015
A Modest Proposal For a New Constitutional Amendment
The impetus for today's argument comes from my considering the upcoming 114th Congress, and the harm (or if we're lucky, 'good') they might get up to over the next two years.
The problem many politicians have (politicians of all parties) is that they tend to run on one platform, but they get to Washington, D.C. and forget all about the promises they made to get themselves elected. Nearly as often, they end up going back not only on their campaign promises, but they violate our U.S. Constitution along the way, suffering no consequences except possibly not being re-elected.
Voters have few options when things like this occur, except to vote out the offending official, and hope that their luck is better with the next candidate.
My modest proposal to fix that problem is this:
Now, assuming that my amendment could drum up the necessary support to become law, there would be only two possible outcomes: Politicians would straighten up and actually do the jobs that they are Constitutionally required to do. The alternate is that we would need to come up with a new system for replacing politicians who insist on violating the U.S. Constitution, because the impracticality of holding several national elections a year might grow a bit tiresome.
I don't expect that my proposal will gather much steam on Capitol Hill, but perhaps if it is brought to the people, we can add amendment number 28 to our Constitution before the 115th session of Congress takes a seat.
The problem many politicians have (politicians of all parties) is that they tend to run on one platform, but they get to Washington, D.C. and forget all about the promises they made to get themselves elected. Nearly as often, they end up going back not only on their campaign promises, but they violate our U.S. Constitution along the way, suffering no consequences except possibly not being re-elected.
Voters have few options when things like this occur, except to vote out the offending official, and hope that their luck is better with the next candidate.
My modest proposal to fix that problem is this:
Any member of the U.S. Congress, or any person serving as President or Vice-President of the United States who either votes for a bill, or signs a bill in to law that violates any portion of the U.S. Constitution shall be removed from office forthwith.So for instance, when former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made this statement regarding the passage of Obamacare:
We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is inside of it...It's probably a good indication that anyone voting for such a bill (and anyone signing it in to law) is going to violate one principle of the U.S. Constitution or another. When that happens, each and every person who is responsible for said bill's passage should be removed from office. My proposed amendment would do exactly that.
Now, assuming that my amendment could drum up the necessary support to become law, there would be only two possible outcomes: Politicians would straighten up and actually do the jobs that they are Constitutionally required to do. The alternate is that we would need to come up with a new system for replacing politicians who insist on violating the U.S. Constitution, because the impracticality of holding several national elections a year might grow a bit tiresome.
I don't expect that my proposal will gather much steam on Capitol Hill, but perhaps if it is brought to the people, we can add amendment number 28 to our Constitution before the 115th session of Congress takes a seat.
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