A Ten Commandments to Post in Public Places

And God spoke: "I am Capitalism, the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the Economic oppression of Governmental Regulation, and released thee from the competitive pressures of Free Enterprise.  These are my Commandments!

I - am Capitalism!  Thou shalt have no other god or gods, including any religion of any kind, that is permitted to come before Me and the Economy.  

II -  Thou must work with all thy might for the Economy; no matter how little thy pay may be, or even if there is  NO pay, and no matter what the conditions are, thou must work with all thy heart, and all thy soul and for all thy life!  Hard labor shall be thy propitiating curse for the sin thou committed with an Apple in the garden!

III -  Thou shalt not speak ill of thy employer, for thy employer shall not hold him employed, he that speaketh ill of him.  Even if thy employer should refuse to honor his promises, thou may only praise him and not use his name in vain.

IV -  Six days shalt thou labour for the Economy and do thy employer’s work.  But the seventh day is MY Holy, Sacred Sabbath Day.  Then thou shall spendeth thy entire day and all thy money, and supporteth a football team, or a basketball team, or a baseball team, or a hockey team, or a soccer team either by attending all day in person, or by subscribing to special channels and watching for the entirety of My Sabbath Day!

V - Thy shalt honor thy employer and thy boss, that thy term of employment in the Economy may be extended as long as they find thy work acceptable. Then thou shall be cast into the streets to squirm out thy days.

VI - Thou shalt not kill;  that is a privilege reserved only to thy employer.

VII - Adultery is only permissible if thy employer does it to you, then thou must be grateful for his great gift!

VIII -  Thou shalt not steal, no matter how low thy pay may fall nor how high prices may rise. 

IX -  Thou shalt not bear any kind of witness, false or otherwise, or make any judicial or legal statement against, or even about thy employer.  

X - Thou shalt not covet thy employer’s position, nor his pay, nor his working conditions, nor his prerogatives, nor his asses, nor his asses' assistants, nor any thing else that is thy employer’s.

A Frank Appraisal

We look at our country with its economy drifting, its health care disappearing, its education plummeting,  its government shutting down and saying "No!", its prisoners skyrocketing, its wars dragging on and on and its richest people growing richer by the hour – and we wonder what went wrong?  

The answer is us.  And the response is us.  And the cure is up to us, you and me.  Let's quit screaming and shouting at each other, begin talking with each other, and begin solving our own problems together – that's the magic of democracy.  

If our elected officials don't want to go along with us, we can fix that too.  

NOTE:  This was submitted to the Hickory Daily Record and published  as a Letter to the Editor on 2013.1214Sa, or December 14, 2013 pg 4A.  

Local Government Response to Violent Weather.

We had a serious weather incident a couple of months ago when unusually heavy rains flooded basements and some neighborhoods and washed out roads and bridges.  That now appears minor compared to the weather incidents now affecting the central part of Colorado.  One thing is becoming increasingly clearer and that is that our weather  patterns are changing.  Another is that the effects of these new patterns are overwhelming parts of our infrastructure that was not designed for this.

It appears obvious that we can expect to see violent weather striking close to home more and more often in the future.  How can we prepare for the next incident?

I think government has an important role that it can play here.  Not just the national  and regional services but we really need help from people close to the action.  Local governmental officials who can come out, put boots on the ground, be where it is happening and provide needed services.  Some of those services are listed here: 

Monitor area weather

Provide warnings that include local area layout

establish a command post for coordinating data 

from weather services

from other governmental agencies

from affected people

from affected businesses

from businesses who might have response functions

Develop a basic response plan

coordinate rescue operations and evacuations 

begin to develop a rebuilding plan tailored to actual situation

Of course, this is only a sketch.  Other people who have more experience with this type of action would have other ideas.   But I think that this area is an important one for our community.  And I believe it is a proper role for government to play. We are now hearing reports that as many as 1,000 people may now be missing in this rain now hitting Colorado.  Our recent flooding may be only a warning of what is coming.  

Hickory Mayoral Candidates at League of Women Voters. 2013.0913

The League of Women Voters of Catawba Valley hosted a meeting of the mayoral candidates at the Highland Recreation Center at 7 p.m. on Friday the Thirteenth, in October, 2013.  

The candidates are, from left to right, Jeff Brittain, Ernie Masche, Candice Harold, Terry Revels and Rudy Wright.  Jody Inglefield is also a candidate, and was present before the meeting but did not take part.

Topics were 1) why are you running?  2) What can you (and Hickory) do?  3)  Why should people vote for you?  4) Not really clear.  5) What about imposing a fast food tax?  and 6) How can you help all four quads of Hickory develop?  

My personal rating of the candidates was as follows:  Harold 25, Masche 22, Brittany 21, Revels 9, and Wright – well, I rated him a 16 BUT disqualified him for a flagrant disregard of the ground rules by disparaging a competitor. Wright backed down, but his charge had already been made and of course the other individual was prohibited from responding.  

Harold clearly had an impassioned presentation and showed clear concern for the city.  Brittain made probably the most convincing case for development.  Masche was very professional in his presentation, but kept calling for less government, fewer codes and rules.  Revels was his own worst enemy, talked about himself and did not present a positive case.  Wright did not look real. His hair seemed

fake”?  He had a piece of cardboard about three feet by two feet that was marked up in some way that could not be seen by most of the audience, yet Wright presented it and talked about it as if it secured his position.  Much of the audience looked puzzled.  And Wright looked bored throughout much of the evening.

Candice Harold

Jeff Brittain

Ernie Masche

Rudy Wright

Terry Revels

Made in China?

On 9/11/2001, 15 men from Saudi Arabia with four others from Lebanon, Egypt and UAE attacked the  United States.

The world rushed to America's side with support and offers of help which were cast aside by our president.

We then began a 10+ year war with Iraq and Afghanistan.

That war may cost $6 trillion.  Taxes were not raised.  The war was paid for by debt.  Made in China?

Response to Gas Attack in Syria.

I agree that there must be a response to the use of poison gas in Syria.

But –  that response MUST be made by the world, or at least by a significant number of people and nations who are representative of all human beings.  Certainly not by just one nation and not by just one person. 

The UN is paralyzed because we Americans have neglected and ignored it for too many years.  We need then to have support from major developed nations in Europe and Asia.  Certainly, we must have unified support from the United States if we are to be the ones to initiate action.

The speed of response is not as important as is the statement made by that response. We need a presentation of the facts of the attack and discussions about the nature of it.  England has responded and France has responded.  America can’t yet because its congress is still on vacation.  

But.  We need to get the information of the gas attack presented to the world.  We need to discuss the facts involved. And we need to vote on whether or not to respond militarily.  AND we need to have nations and people vote, have their names recorded and listen to their reasons why they think we should respond or why not to respond.

This gas attack – if really it was – is the first in almost 100 years.  If it goes unchallenged, there will be more.  If we don’t respond to this one we need to get ready for the next one.  

There is no such thing as a “Limited Incursion”.  Any act of war is a creative act which creates more war.  There are many forces in this world – many of them American – that NEED war and need MORE war.   We need to talk, ask questions, and question those answers.  

Strike America First

Don’t ever strike another nation unless we are willing to “Strike America First” with a 50% tax increase on ALL Americans  and also impose a mandatory draft on ALL Americans between the ages of 18 and 30.  No deferment from that draft except for physical disabilities.  

Our "limited Incursions" USUALLY turn into major wars.

Syria - Thoughts

Well, Syria is not the only mess around here.  

The use of poison gas is indeed a crossing of a VERY Red Line, and it MUST be punished.  No question about that.  But.    

First of all there must be PROOF that there was indeed the use of this weapon, not just “almost certainty”.   Second, there must also be proof how it was done:  1) Was it done by Assad?  2) Was it one of Assad’s generals acting without authority? 3) Was it done by the rebels?   Third, it must be punished by whom?  The response MUST be made with the authority of the people of the world.  

Granted that 1) the authority of the UN will probably be missing because of Russia and China, therefore 2)  it must carry the weight of most of the developed nations of Europe and Asia, and 3) the unanimous support of the leaders of America’s administration AND congress AND both major political parties in America. None of that now exists.  Even the president’s party is divided.

Such an attack coming from outside the region of the Middle-east may well “destabilize” an already disintegrating collection of failing nation states that see their competitive religions being threatened by “infidels”, i.e. each other.  

If there indeed was a poison gas attack, and it is not responded to decisively, there will be more to come.  If there is retaliation – and it is done by one nation only – and there is not internal support within the government of that nation – then the result could be a world catastrophe resulting in one of the greatest wars of human history with profound release of poison gas and almost certainly nuclear weapons once Iran and Israel feel they are threatened by invasion. 

The planetary survivors of such a war would be genetically altered, and their children would be even more so. The pollution from a war of that nature would be incomprehensible and its affect on all growing things would create a new form of evolution.  

The answer?  Government.  The sitting down with your enemy and talking frankly about your common problems – yes, each other –  and then beginning to make plans together. 

Nothing easy about it.  It’s stupid and dumb.  It’s time-consuming and wasteful.  But.

The planet Earth will still be here.  It will continue its orbit and there will be sunrises and moonsets, and rain and snow will fall, and it will create and evolve with its new creatures.  It doesn’t need people.  It doesn’t need governments.  It doesn’t need religions.  It doesn’t need heavens or hells or gods or devils.  It will still be here after the people kill each other.  It can handle the nuclear radiation, it won’t mind the poison gas.  Plants that need poison gas will begin to grow and start consuming that gas.  

What about it? Government IS a pain in the ass.  Agreed.  But there are a million billion planets in the universe.  Here is a chance to make a difference and be somebody.

Government.  

Think about it.

Andy Wells – an Open Letter on Weather and Education

This is my response to your e-mail of August 19, 2013, "Good news/Bad News"

Mother Nature  These problems may have occurred only once in a thousand years but that was then, now we live in a world racked by weather patterns created by man’s continued pollution of the planet’s water, air and land.  Our weather has gotten bad and it is going to get a lot worse.  It is not “Mother Nature run amok”, it is mankind running without regulation.  It’s like a football game with no referees, the benches have already emptied, now the stands are emptying.  It is going to be a BIG deal.  And it is not going to be over in our lifetime.  We need to be ready for serious changes in the weather and we need to make serious changes in our government.

Government’s Role.  The State Department of Environment and Natural  Resources should have Boots on the Ground capabilities for these types of environmental issues to evaluate the problems while they are happening, to determine procedures and recommend immediate actions.  And they need the ability to enforce those decisions.  This would be a good piece of legislation for you and other representatives to prepare and implement.

Common  Sense:   You mentioned that phrase 3 times in your email and referenced it another time with your “emergency” comment.  We don’t need “common sense” to deal with these problems.  That’s what CAUSED them.  We need Expert Knowledge.  We need planning for the future while the event is still in progress, not just patchwork done here and there according to one’s abilities and finances. 

NCAE.  You called it a “union” three times in your email.  It’s not a union.  You really ought to know that.  Surely you DO know that.  Your use of the word “union” implies – to me and perhaps others – a attempt to denigrate NCAE.  The North Carolina Association of Educators represents the teachers and administrators who are now preparing our children and grand-children for a world that is already far different from the one you and I encountered when we were children. 

Budget:  Budgets are usually developed from the ground up by the agencies who know what they will need, not by elected bureaucrats, and they utilize as a starting point a Continuation Budget from last year.   The budget the Republican Legislature gave its citizens has already forced North Carolina Education into a major retrenchment.  You did NOT raise the education budget by $400 million – you cut the heart out of it – and if you don’t understand THAT then you have no business preparing or even talking about budgets.  Certainly, your comments about that reveal a total lack of understanding of how budgets are prepared.  

Anthony's Wiener Does the Right Thing

Anthony's wiener was sterilized today with a shot of sodium nitrite, and he changed his name to Carlos Dangler.

"Its all over."  He said, "You can vote for me now and I won't send you any more photographs.

NOTE:  For more informations about Anthony's wiener,  see the blog post of June 6, 2011:

http://theprettypenny.blogspot.com/2011/06/anthony-weiner.html

Bradley Manning was Abandoned

Bradley Manning was evidently all alone on his army post.  He evidently needed no supervision even though he was only a PFC, the lowest rank in the Army.  It was reported that he leaked 700,000 secret documents to WikiLeaks.  He obviously had no supervision, because he shouldn’t have even have had access to 700,000 documents of ANYthing, much less highly classified information.  Where were his supervisors?

Where were Bradley Manning’s supervisors while he was leaking ANY information?  Where were his supervisors when he leaked the FIRST item?  Why didn’t they do anything then?  Where were his supervisors when he leaked the first 10 documents?  Where were his supervisors’ supervisors?  Where were they when he leaked all over them and the entire US Army?  Where were they when he was on trial? Why weren’t they sitting there with him?   And where are they now as he begins serving 35 years in prison?  

Bradley Manning done wrong.  Yes he did.  He deserves to be punished.  But so do his supervisors.  What Manning did was really a minor thing, what his supervisors and their supervisors and THEIR supervisors did is  a major thing, and his punishment – all alone – is an indictment of the entire American Armed Forces system.   

Turning Point

A Session for the Ages  www.charlotteobserver.com

Good article.  But that’s only the headlines.  The real story is the on-going takeover of our country and its people by a few who possess great wealth.  One of the things those people need is to get rid of our government or better yet to render it useless, even make it seem foolish and inept.  The rest of us need to realize we ARE the government.  Our Founding Fathers knew that and they wrote, speaking of those “self-evident and unalienable rights” supposedly given to us by our Creator, that the Creator can GIVE, but even that Creator has not been able to “secure those rights” in the long story of history.  The Founding Fathers were aware of this and specifically wrote:   “To secure these rights, governments are instituted among (people) deriving their just powers FROM THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED".  

Now, what to do?  First of all, “The Wealth”  has divided us against ourselves.  I’m not saying we need to band together, Republicans and Democrats and TeaParty people and Christian Righters, but we DO need to quit screaming at each other and shouting and calling ourselves foolish names.  We need to begin a discussion among us, among the people of our state, our nation and even – where we can – with people from other nations.  We need to find the main issues and to discuss them in a civil, constructive and meaningful manner.  It is not just us in North Carolina, not just us in the United States who are being assaulted right now.  

We all are reaching a Turning Point in the affairs of humanity and we need to be players in turning us in a direction that WE want to travel.  We will NOT ever reach agreement on everything, but we can find and examine the real issues and select a majority approach to many of the problems we face if we collectively approach our differences openly and honestly.

How?  Well the hour is already late, but we need a searchlight shining on these people of great wealth.  Most of them are still hiding behind the curtain.  They don’t run for office, they could never be elected to any office, but they don’t need to get elected, they know they can get good looking straw men to run for office, get them elected and they will follow orders, even if they don’t completely understand them – as McCrory made SO evident is his rambling, lost press conference yesterday.

If the writers, poets, artists and photographers of our area, our state and our nation would each tell a few of the stories they see happening we could turn that searchlight on, and bring it to focus on some of the things that are now being done to turn us against each other and to highlight the destructive things now happening to our less fortunate people, those who need healthcare, those who need education, those teachers who need classrooms, those who need unemployment benefits, those who will will want to vote, those who are concerned about the increasing pollution we all now live under, gun proliferation,  tax reform, and many other issues.  Think about the stories that are lying out there in front of us now.  Bring some of them into your artistic folders, think about them, find the real story that lies behind some of these issues and bring them out in ways you feel fitting.   We can submit, publish, Blog, use Facebook, Twitter, Text, but get the real stories out.  And let your viewers know who the  enemy really is.  They can't hide from us.  

Zimmerman and Travon and all the rest of us.

2013.0713Sa0030.  The jury is out tonight.  What will they say?  The real verdict though, is already in. Travon Martin was sentenced to death and has already been executed.  What about Zimmerman, the collective policeman, judge and one-man jury?  Will he have to suffer needlessly?  Well, who really cares?  The point here is who is REALLY guilty of this crime?  Can we forget that Zimmerman called in to 911 that he was tracking a “suspect”?  Can we really forget that the 911 dispatcher told Zimmerman that he didn’t need to follow that guy?  Because if he had followed the instructions from the 911 guy rather than Travon, then almost certainly nothing would have happened that night and this problem would have been postponed to a later date.  

But what was the crime that was really committed?  What should REALLY be on trial?  Perhaps the real problem, the CAUSE of the real problem goes back to the “Stand Your Ground Laws” passed by the Florida legislature, which seemingly gives ANYbody the right to shoot someone if they FEEL threatened by them.  And the real point here is that it now seems that the Republican Party is marching in lock-step, as a fully functioning fascist political organization, following the orders of its great leader.  And who is this great leader?  No, it’s not Boehner, its not Paul or Romney or Rand.  It’s somebody under the covers.  It’s somebody with money.  Somebody with a LOT of money.  Somebody who can buy political seats in the legislatures of the states.  I’m talking about people like the Koch brothers.  And they are not alone.  There are others.  But the power of America has flooded from the people who vote to those who have the money to buy votes. I am talking about the hundreds of large and profitable corporations who NEED more people to buy more guns, and NEED more people to buy more ammunition.  These powerful corporations use their profits to buy lobbyists, many of whom are former congressmen and former senators who with their staffs can write bills ready to submit and can and do present those documents to currently serving senators and representatives, along with money or perhaps a trip or a nice watch or something – AND with the understood commitment not to support anyone else in the next election.

So this is what Travon was really up against.  This is also what Zimmerman was up against.  Really, they both are victims, just like the rest of us are.  Victims of power and money.  Guns are only a few of the minor obstacles that tug our attention away from our main problem.  

John Womack

America – Reflection

America was a great experiment.  All other nations, whether by religion or monarchy had been controlled by a few powerful leaders at the top of their society.  Here was a new nation which claimed it derived its just powers from the consent of those it governed.   Now, some 237 or so years later, one might imagine a visitor from outer space coming here to see how well all this has worked out.  If he were an auditor, say from Krypton or beyond, what might he find to write about on a quick review?  Well – he might note some of the following:

Economy - Half of the entire national value of America belongs to 1% of Americans.  Bottom 50% of Americans own only 1/2 of 1% of America’s total wealth

Health Care - The worst in any developed nation and getting worse and more expensive.  The health of the American work force is apparently less important than the need for great corporations to continue increasing their profits. 

Education - increasingly designed only for children of well-off parents. Even then it’s just training for corporation use, “education” so those students can “get a good job” but not a real education.  No music, art, physical education, philosophy - only facts and answers.

Military - Pathetic.  It once beat the two most powerful nations in the world in 5 years, now it drags out “incursions” with small countries for decades, making great money for hundreds of great corporations, while destroying the lives of soldiers from poor families.

Justice system - Criminal - increasingly becoming privatized so great corporations can make more profits.  All they need is more prisoners.  And to keep them longer. And America has more people in prison than any other nation in the world.   Ka-ching!

Infrastructure - the nation is obsessed with automobiles and gasoline.  No real rail, subway, light rail, bus. Bridges and roads are crumbling and actually unsafe. People who can repair roads and bridges not employed because there is “no money”.

Suicide.  Increasing in America.  Only way out?  Better than hanging on?  

Global Warming caused by pollution of our planet’s water and air by great corporations who increase their profits by poisoning the planet.

Retirement?  Social Security seems on the chopping block.  Only way to get retirement  now is to give part of your current earnings to corporations for their stock.  You can still do your own retirement plan?  First question is “how long do you want to live?”, second question is “how much money do you want each month?”  Third question is “when is the next recession coming for your retirement money?”  

American Government - like a cancer, destroying itself, eating the nation internally. Refusing to invest in the future of the nation by building its infrastructure, health-care system, education for its people. Reaching deeply into the private and personal affairs of its citizens, especially those of its women.

Well, if this mythical auditor were to actually write up a report and evaluate his findings  comparing them with the country’s constitution, I wonder what he would actually write.   How about you, How do you find the progress of our country today?  Really.   John Womack.

ALEC in Charlotte Observer

For more information on ALEC see page 1, A Section of todays (Tuesday, May 7, 2013) of the Charlotte Observer.  The piece written by John Frank (Raliegh Commentator) is continued elaborately on the Viewpoint Page.  The article shows how ALEC produces legislative  drafts, called “templates” carefully written by former lobyists, and members of congress and other state legislatures, already prepared for introduction to become law.  There is also a sidebar titled “ALEC Fingerprints” showing the main points of ALEC namely, Charter Schools, Anti-Union legislation, State Sovereignty, Asbestos lawsuits (protecting corporations from lawsuits connected with abestos), same for Obesity.   

Here is a link to the article  http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/06/4026442/private-group-carries-sway-in.html

Here’s another showing how ALEC wants to curtail work on Green Energy:

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/01/03/charlotte-observer-overlooks-the-alec-link-to-g/191995

Social Security – Lookout!

Here we go.  On the Social Security Bypass.  Taxi on to this new runway, bring up the power of your engines and proceed on take-off roll.  But. . . .

Well, it begins with the Air traffic controllers.  They’re laid off.  Some of them.  Their still-working compatriots begin dragging through the regulations.  Everything is being be done TOTALLY  by the book. Everything slows down, especially the take-offs.  Delays happen.  They build up. They backlog each other.  The public is unhappy.  They sit around with nothing to do.  They sit in waiting rooms and get bored.  They use their cell phones to call their  representatives and senators – and they’re mad as hell!  

The Republicans blame Obama. They say when he responded to problems of the sequester, that he “intentionally” picked on the controllers to lay-off so that would make the public unhappy.  Boehner and Cantor and  McConnell are going to march to the White House, seize Obama by the political throat and “make” him put the controllers back on duty, and lay-off some body else instead.  

Well, by now we all know where this is heading.  Somebody else may well be laid-off, before that builds up pressure, then another group, but pretty soon Obama won’t be able to cut ANY program under the sequester restrictions because that shows he is trying to hurt the Republicans.  So eventually he will have to take all the cuts out of Social Security and Medicare.   At any rate, that’s the new Republican plan.

Well, we’ll see.  Meanwhile, it wouldn’t hurt to contact the White House (1202-456-1111 or http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact)  Also call your senators – mainly Burr (1202-224-3154), and also call Hagen and congratulate her for her fine work. (1202-224-6342).  Your representatives also might need some guidance.

Fly Swatter Award this Week goes to . . .

Lindsey Graham!

What?

No Miranda Rights reading?

Suspend the Constitution?

Come on, man . . . you’re leading us down a rough, rocky trail that leads to the only way that this guy can ever be set free!

You’re saying that our constitution can’t handle things like Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)?  You’re saying we need two constitutions (or more) to handle “really serious” problems?  

If we try this guy and convict him, and with all the evidence that is available he HAS to be convicted, but even THEN, if the trial is not according to American law, he could someday be ordered released because his trial was not done legally.  And in that case it would not take him two days to be plucked from this country to another where be would be hailed as a hero.

Did he use a Weapon of Mass Destruction?  Well, that same week there were two horrendous events: the explosion of a fertilizer plant inside of a small-town in Texas, and the two bombs set off at the Boston Marathon.  Bad as they both were though, they STILL killed fewer people than the killer in Newtown with HIS Weapons of Mass Destruction.  

And  now since the U.S. Senate has just decided that THOSE Weapons of Mass Destruction, those military-style assault weapons capable of delivering “Covering Fire” don’t even require background checks, and they clearly then are not Weapons of Mass Destruction, maybe the senate will decide to require background checks of people who buy pressure cookers, or of owners of fertilizer plants.  Of course we could check first and find out how many people are killed each year by pressure cookers or fertilizer plants, or guns.  Yeah, then the senate would be better able to make a rational decision.  Some people don't do well when they're under pressure.

Open Letter to Senator Burr

2013.0419Fr1150.  I called Senator Burr's office (202-224-3154) about his vote Wednesday against gun control.  With 90% of the American people, even 85% of NRA members wanting background checks , why did he vote NO?  The woman staffer who answered the phone said the Manchin wording was not clear, and it was confusing in several points,  she said Manchin had an improper way of classifying people as mentally incompetent and there were other problems with Manchin's wording too.  When I tried to respond  she kept interrupting me.  I wanted to tell Senator Burr that I felt his vote was to please the money behind the NRA , that it was in response to threats from Wayne LaPierre,  and it was a request for Money and a vote cast by Burr for Burr.  I wanted her to tell Senator Burr that I thought his vote It was a vote against the people of America and NC and an invitation for future massacres.    But I couldn't begin to get through so I asked several times to speak to her supervisor and she finally agreed - I asked her for her name and she didn’t answer.  After about a minute a man answered and listened as I explained my thoughts.  No interruption.  I asked if he would relay that to Senator Burr, and he said “yup”.   I asked him what he meant by that comment and he said he was saying that he would tell Senator Burr.  I told him I thought that the use of “yup” was demeaning. Then he interrupted me.  Finally, I asked him his name and he did not respond. I identified myself and told him that I felt that the first person was trying to keep me from speaking to my senator, and now this person was treating my attempt to communicate with my senator as stupid and childlike.  

So this open letter is another way of trying to communicate with my senator.  

Fly Swatter Award with Bat Honors - to . . .

FLYSWATTER AWARD

With Aluminum Bat Honors!

is presented to , , ,

RICHARD BURR

Senator from North Carolina . . .

who, when informed that 30,000 Americans are killed by guns each YEAR – in America – by American Terrorists – which means more Americans are being killed every two years by guns than were killed in the Vietnam War! – And that since the Vietnam War started, Americans  have lost 25 TIMES that amount, 1,5000,000 Americans – and that we would like to try to do something about controlling guns in America,

Senator Burr said he didn’t want to talk about it.

He has more important things to do?

He’s following his leaders, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio?

Abortion and Gun Control

“Anybody breaks into my house to take what I got, is gonna get some of my prize bullets!”  This is a very American statement coming from a good man who would also be glad to invite someone he liked or even loved, to visit his house and come into his home and share with him some of the finest things that he owns.   This is a man’s point of view and it is shared by many men.  

A woman has a different viewpoint about some other things.  Her body, for example is not completely unlike the man’s “house” spoken of just now.  And a woman’s body is also capable of being “broken into”.  Some of these people may be welcomed with open arms, and loved and treasured and showered with the finest “gifts” that she has to offer.  Others may be intruders, not invited in, not welcomed.  And this choice or hers, just like that of the man spoken of above,  is not up to ANY government OR religion to make – it is her private choice.  Maybe this break-in will take not just her material possessions, but also her job, perhaps it will seriously impact the lives of her other children. Perhaps she was broken into in a moment of seduction or perhaps it was an act of force, and the person who did that may well pay a price for his actions but it will be far less the price paid by his victim.  

And you might say, “Perhaps it will all work out and the new child will grow up and be a fine person”.  Perhaps.  It may well be different though, not only for the new child but for its siblings.  The point is that each of us has an obligation to try to plan our lives and provide for our children.  And to say “Treat it as if the unwanted child was a gift from God”, would make no more sense than for the man who spoke in the first paragraph above, to take an intruder who broke into his home as a “gift from God” and to feed the intruder and show him where his great treasures are hidden, to protect him, to provide him medical care and education for the next 20 or so years – and   why?  Because God intended for the thief to break in to his house? 

Fly Swatter Award for Week 14

FLY SWATTER AWARD OF THE WEEK 

is proudly presented to :

 NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE!

For their incredible performance of the past week in which they introduced bills to:
1)  Establish an Official North Carolina Religion (HB 494)
2)  Determine which United States laws North Carolinians had to obey (HB 494)
3)  Exempt all firearms and ammo made in NC from ALL United Sates laws. (HB 518)
4)  Require parents to forfeit claiming their child as a tax exemption if the children vote where they attend college. (SB 667)
5)  Require married couples seeking divorce to remain married for two years even if they are involved in an abusive relationship. (SB 518) This by Catawba Co Senator Allran
6) Remove Charter Schools from state jurisdiction, let their corporation decide if the teachers need to be licensed and eliminate criminal background checks for teachers and school workers. (SB 337)

That's wonderful!  Big round of applause!  Call them up and tell them what you think of them!

Here are some numbers:  They all begin with 919-733-  , then choose:   Allran Sen 5876, Wells Rep 5988, McCrory (Governor) 5811, Tillis (Speaker of House)  3451, Berger (President Pro Tempore of Senate) 5708

NC Legislators Need Help. Call Them Up. Give Them Guidance.

North Carolina legislators submitted a house bill 494 which would allow the state to establish its own state religion, and to and refuse to acknowledge the force of any judicial ruling on prayer, or indeed on any constitutional issue.  The bill reads in part:  "Each state in the union is sovereign and may independently determine how that state may make laws respecting an establishment of religion."  Well, HB 494  is "Dead on Arrival" according to Phil Berger, President Pro Temp of the NC Senate, although it did pick up 12 House sponsors.   But wait – it gets worse.

Here are the latest bill proposals to begin their road toward becoming law:

HB 518, if guns & ammo bear the inscription  “Made in NC” then they are exempt from all federal law.

SB 667 “Equalize Voter Rights”  Intended to restrtict college student voting.  And if those students are NC residents and are attending a college away from their parent's home, then their parents lose their state income tax exemption if their college children want to vote.

SB 337 Charter Schools - Will take the charter schools from the state jurisdiction and leave it up to their parent corporation to determine if the teachers need to be licensed and if so, how many need to be licensed, and also eliminate criminal background checks for teachers or workers at schools.

SB 518  “Healthy Marriage Act”  proposed by Senator Allran OF CATAWBA COUNTY.  If you and your spouse decide to get a divorce, you will have to remain married for 2 more years.  

Wow.  Talk about BIG GOVERNMENT. So what to do?  My take is that I have started calling them on the telephone and telling the clerk who answers their phone what I think about these proposals.  I get the number of the bill (HB xxx or SB xxx) and maybe the name of the sponsor, plus a "name" of the bill (Healthy Marriage Act), and tell the clerk what I think and what my recommendations are.  Mostly it comes down to 1) the imposition of big Government, 2) discrimination against a group of voters, 3) being unable to enforce (such as a state religion, or local guns being OK to carry anywhere) 4) appealing to ignorant emotions, and 5) trying to divide the people of the state against each other 5) just being "dumb and stupid" and making NC look like a bunch of stupid, backward hicks who revel in the fact that the rest of the world is laughing at them. 

BUT – I think it is important to let them know.  They can only try such tactics if they think we really don't care.   Call them up, talk to them, let them know you DO care, and give them guidance.  

Here are some numbers to begin:  They all begin with 919-733-  , then choose:   Allran Sen 5876, Wells Rep 5988, McCrory (Governor) 5811, Tillis (Speaker of House)  3451, Berger (President Pro Tempore of Senate) 5708

Instructions to the U.S. Congress.

Stop the sequester. 

Quit playing dumb on purpose. 

Quit acting like you have something more important to do. 

We have a nation to build, and it is not going to be a tiny historical relic from the 18th century powered by

slaves and horses. 

Face it! 

Today our economy is crumbling, 

our government doesn't want to work, 

our health care "system" is the worst in the world, 

we are fighting endless wars that we intentionally can't win, 

our education system is failing just like our students will 

when they get out of those schools. 

Get busy. 

Get to work. 

You are an embarrassment to the whole world. 

A rare tribute to Governor McCrory, newly arrived in Raliegh to steer the ship of the state of North Carolina through the rough seas of Democracy as it navigates the Straits of Capitalism.  He WINS the presentation of the rare award of FlySwatter and Bat trophy which is only received upon the achievement of an Incredibly Stupid  Statement.

Congratulations Governor McCrory.  This "honor" is presented to you for your statement on TV two days ago that you were drafting legislation to shift higher education funding toward career-oriented fields and away from academic pursuits that have, in your words "no chance of getting people jobs".  One of the first objectives of Capitalism, when it begins to take charge of any government, is to make that economy them most important aspect of life in that community.  As far as education is concerned, what Capitalism wants for Education is for its students to be trained to know facts and answers.  Governor McCrory, you have been trained very well.   Congratulations!  And, oh yes, Swat! Bam!

Why?

So bin Laden was blown away by a couple of bullets to his face and chest.  Maybe a bit better than the west-Texas necktie-party that Saddam found to dangle from, but certainly not the way most of us would want to go to glory.  At least the score is settled now.  Or is it?  Actually, what was it all about to begin with?  It has been a long time since the 911 attacks and we have asked and answered in great detail all the questions about that except for one.  That’s the question “Why”.  Why did THEY do that?  Why did they hate us that much?  Why have WE spent almost three trillion dollars killing people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya and other places to get even?  

Was that all for oil?  Did we do it for Israel?  Is it an issue involving Islam and Christianity?  Or Judiasm? Does it go back to the crusades?  Was it just an accident?  Why, indeed?  Why are we still fighting and killing?  Most of the people we Americans kill in this war are innocent – we call that “collateral damage”, and smile a wry smile and sadly shake our heads at the thought.  But most of the people we have killed and most of the people whose lives we have shattered and destroyed were innocent of any crime under any law, or of any sin under any religion.  They were just “in the way”.  They got in our way.  And we were mad.  We still are.  That’s right.  We are mad. We still are. We are mad indeed.

Someone might say that bin Laden deserved to die. They might be right.  Perhaps what our Navy Seals did was an “Honor Killing”.  That being that they implemented a punishment that was

More important than any law

more important than any economic event

more important than any religion

it goes straight to the gut . . . and it comes out of the gut one way or the other.

It is a harmonic between the anus and the open mouth screaming, between the shriek of terror and the cry of “Kill, Kill!”.

It was created back before we were even human. . . 

Still fitting . . . even today.  Especially today.

You Won't Believe This

In the middle of the night on July 28, 2012,  three people cut through an outer security fence at the Oak Ridge Nuclear Weapons Complex surrounding the building that stores America’s uranium stockpile for its nuclear weapons.  They walked through the hole they made in the fence into an area that was brightly lighted and they poured some blood they had brought with them onto a wall.  Then they cut through a second security fence and entered into the ultra high security area known as the “Intrusion Detection Zone”.  There they cut a third fence and entered through it under the view of security cameras and walked into the area past motion detectors.  There they cut a fourth security fence, entered through that hole and walked up to the most highly protected building in the entire world, the American Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility.  That building holds the United States nuclear weapons-grade enriched uranium.  There they cordoned off a corner of the facility with crime scene tape, read a statement, read from a Bible they had brought with them, poured blood on the building and spray-painted comments on the facility.  With hammers they had carried in, they symbolically chipped away at a corner of the facility.  And they waited.  About two hours later, a security guard appeared and arrested the three intruders without even drawing his gun.

The Oak Ridge Nuclear Weapons Complex suspended all weapons- production operations for more than two weeks while they “retrained” their personnel.  The media reporting, including ABC News, and the New York Times (FN1) , as well as the hearings held in the U.S. Congress was concentrated on the security breach.  The trial for the three intruders, who are activists members of an organization known as “Transform Now Ploughshares”,  is currently scheduled for May 7, 2013.  Meanwhile in addition to personnel retraining, the fences, of course were repaired, reports were filed and America’s nuclear weapons-grade enriched uranium was safe – again?  Meanwhile, other members of the Transform Now Ploughshares group went to the “repaired” part of the outer fence and found that the security forces had repaired the wrong hole.  The hole the entrance group had cut remained there, still open, and readily visible from a security road only 20 yards away, which is patrolled several times daily, the hole in the fence still open and unrepaired AND conspicuous because of plastic ties the activists had tied to the fence cuts.

How can the U. S. military be so screwed up?  Well, it’s not guarded by any U. S. military forces.  They’re in Afghanistan and elsewhere.  And it’s not the local police either, or the state police.  It’s a corporation.  Actually it is several corporations because they keep having problems doing what should be a pretty simple and easy job, at least compared with combat.  DynaCorp was there at one time, Wackenhut provides some security,  Badcock was probably the corporation that had “responsibility” during the activists incursion. 

At any rate, these corporations currently “guard” much of America.  Private security guards have outnumbered government police officers since the 1980s.  Coordination between private and official agencies often ovelap and the private agencies now perform work previously assigned to official agencies.  Wackenhut for example has contracts to guard the Internal Revenue Service, the General Accounting Office, the Federal Reserve, Oak Ridge National Security Complex, Savannah River nuclear plant, Jet Propulsion Laboratory,  even Fort Bragg, and this is not a complete list.  They also have various resouces devoted to airports, ports, and specialized Global Response Teams and Executive Protection Services, etc. Wackenhut, DynCorp, Blackwater, Triple Canopy  are four of about forty-five “Private MIlitary Firms” that can be found on a partial list.  (FN2)

(FN1) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/science/behind-nuclear-breach-a-nuns-bold-fervor.html?pagewanted=all

I knew these people.  About 15 years ago my wife and I marched with them every August 9, at Oak Ridge, TN, that date being the anniversary of the bombing of Heroshima.  The  actual account of their penetration into the nuclear site was rather amazing.  An earlier blog had described one of our marches back in 2000:   http://theprettypenny.blogspot.com/2002/08/oak-ridge.html

(FN2) "Capitalism:  Servant or Master” by John Womack, p.21     
 http://www.johnhwomack.com/John_Womack/Capitalism.html