Supreme injustice

The Supreme Court got it wrong in denying the suit against Rumsfeld and the other guy for illegal arrest, restraint and torture. We are not people who torture. That's not who we are. Those responsible for illegal torture should be prosecuted. That includes Rumsfeld and the whole Bush administration. It needs to start with those at the top.

It's Always Something - Gilda Radner

Netanyaho says the Palestinians must accept Israel. He's right. If there is ever to be peace; if there is ever to be a Palestine state then they must accept Israel. I heard on NPR that a California professor (who happens to be Jewish) was taken to task for including in his class the thought (someone else's thought) that Israel is to Gaza as Nazi Germany was to the Polish ghetto. He further suggested that claims of antisemitism leveled at those who question Israel's motives and movements, those who have the audacity to question anything Israel does, is a poor attempt to stifle legitimate debate. I don't know. The question is there.

Neither side has ever sought a real peace. There is always a rocket or a bull-dozed house or an invasion. There is always violence from both sides. Leaders on both sides use peace as a political football.

Gilda was right: "It's always something."

Let's Face It

At Notre Dame, Obama got it right. He acknowledges that the two sides of the abortion issue will never be compatable.. but he encourages us to deal with it. Let's face it, he says, rather than simply ignore it. He's right.

No one is in favor of abortion. Those pro-choice folks out there are not in favor of abortion, they are in favor of the right to an abortion. Obama says lets reduce the number of undesirable pregnancies. One way to accomplish that is to encourage more education about contraception. The Roman Catholic church opposes contraception. They are wrong to do so and we should face that too. The Roman Catholic church does not run this country. Abstinace education doesn't work. Bush proved that. We need to give our young folks the information they need and the contraceptives they need to stop unwanted pregnancies.

Stem cell research is a good thing. Stem cell research using embryos is a good thing too. There are many frozen embryos that will be distroyed. It is right and proper and good for science to use them for stem cell research.

Case closed

Guns DO kill people

I heard that McCain in a speech said that the US need to curtail gun sales in the US to help stem the flow of guns into Mexico. McCain referred to the second amendment "right" to own guns. There is no such right. The right is extended to the states for their militia, national guard troops. There is no individual right and the supreme court has never ruled that there is.

Truth is, all hand guns and all assault weapons should be banned and confiscated. There is no need for them. All gun permits should be immediately revoked. The NRA is a terroist organization and should be disbanded. There.. that takes care of that.

When a broken promise becomes a lie

President Obama made many promises in the course of his presidential election campaign. All candidates do. Now, elected, he is going about the process of breaking those promises. I know, all elected officials do. That does not cushion my disappointment. Obama promised a transparent administration. Promise broken many times. He promised to release pictures. Promise broken (influenced by the Pentagon, where have we heard that before?). He promised to end the illegal military tribunals. Promise broken.

My main concern here is for the integrity of this administration which is slowly but surely heading down the drain. It's unfortunate. It's also a disrespect for the rule of law (another broken promise), when Obama thumbs his nose at a court ruling and agreement concerning release of the pictures. I don't really care to see the pictures, but I care very much about disregarding the law and the ruling of the court to which the administration had agreed.

One broken promise seems to make the next one easier, and easier, and many of these broken promises now appear to be essentially lies. Sad

Yesterday I received an email from President Obama in which he outlined his health care initiatives. My wife and I are caught in that no-man's land between employee sponsored health care and medicare. It cost a small fortune for very little coverage. Hopefully , if we needed the catestrophic coverage, it would be there, but experience tells me it won't be. I know we are fortunate that we can afford this coverage; too many folks can't.

Health care is critical. My grandfather use to tell me that if you don't have your health you don't have anything. I know he's right. As a country, affordable health care that actually covers something needs to be a priority. We need to take care of ourselves. We need to do this.

I know the conservative scare, the bush league tactics. Socialism, they call it. I call it Americanism. It's something we can do; something we must do.

Thank you, Mr. President