Native Americans 1 - Big Oil 0 or The Permit Denied

In a shocking decision, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would deny a permit requested by Energy Transfer Partners to build a segment of pipeline under the Missouri River in North Dakota.  Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, other Native Americans, and hundreds of other "protesters" are elated, at least temporarily.

I call this decision shocking because normally Big Oil, Big Nuclear Energy, or Big whatever wins these kind of things hands down.  For example, no matter how loud the protest, no matter how damning the scientific evidence, Big (Nuclear) Business prevailed in Andrews County, West Texas, when the late billionaire Howard Simmons ramrodded a nuclear waste storage facility down the collective throat of most of Texas.  State scientists found that the location of this facility was questionable and that it was quite likely that radioactive wastes would leak into the local aquifer.  But the project went ahead as scheduled.

In contrast, the Army Corps of Engineers has defied Big Oil, at least for the moment, and ruled in favor of the Standing Rock Sioux. This ruling is shocking in another aspect as well.  The United States has a well-documented history of ignoring the treaties made with the various Native American tribes, starting all the way back in the years following the American Revolution.  If one takes the time to do even rudimentary research on this subject, one finds that easily over two hundred-fifty treaties have been signed and later ignored by the US government, by "settlers," or by Big Business of one kind or another.  So it is a great surprise to me that the US Army of Engineers has come to the aid of the Sioux in this case.

What about the company called Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), the builders of the pipeline?  This (unfortunately) Texas-based partnership wanted to save a few (million) bucks by running a segment of the Dakota Access Pipeline UNDER the Missouri River.  Not only that, but ETP is in the process of destroying Native American territory in order to access Lake Oahe, the point on the Missouri where ETP wants to bury the pipeline under the river.  The Sioux are actually looking out for all Americans in their opposition of this pipeline.  Can you imagine the catastrophe that WILL happen (not MIGHT) when the Dakota Access Pipeline either begins to leak or suffers a major break?  Let me state the obvious.  What will happen is that the drinking water for everyone downstream from Lake Oahe will be contaminated when the break happens.  And never mind the other catastrophe the Sioux were facing, the further and continued violation of their sovereign land in the interest of Big Oil.

The Standing Rock Sioux have won a small victory today, but there is still a war to win.  I have been so proud of the American people (at least many of them) who have supported the Sioux in this latest attempt to deprive them of the sovereignty to their land.  Many Americans traveled to North Dakota to stand with the Sioux.  Many others shared their financial and other resources, or just their thoughts and prayers.  This outpouring of support was almost as shocking as the Corps' decision.  I firmly hope that this decision will stand in the long term.  ETP can certainly afford to reroute the pipeline along a less environmentally risky route.  Actually ETP never considered an alternate route, so sure were they that Big Oil would prevail over the rights of a few "Indians" and the health and safety of millions of persons who depend on the Missouri River for water.

I hope that this wisdom continues to prevail, that the pipeline is rerouted...

And may God Bless America.

Today In Texas History - President John F Kennedy Assassinated in Dallas

I was thinking about a topic for the blog today and I realized that today marks fifty-three years since President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas.  I have heard surprisingly little in the media about this most tragic day in Texas History, at least as far as the rest of the nation is concerned.  I wonder if we are in danger of forgetting the great sacrifice John F. Kennedy made for this nation.

Just like those of us who witnessed the events of 9/11/01, Americans who were alive in 1963 can to this very day remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when the news of the President's death was flashed around the world.  I, of course, do not really remember where I was, because on that day I was just over two years old.  But as I grew older, my parents and other adults in my life remembered each year what they were doing and how they felt when they heard the news that day.  I could not experience the feelings and emotions they felt, but I could at least to some degree understand their sadness at the loss of the young President and the loss of the things John F. Kennedy hoped to accomplish.

As the years went by, I learned to read and to think for myself.  I was able to review the information available concerning the events of that day in November back in 1963.  I have to admit that for the first few years that I studied the accounts of the assassination, I accepted without any doubt the "main stream" version, the "Lone Gunman" theory.  As a young student I had no concept that our "Government" could or would lie about anything, particularly about something so serious as the murder of our President.  I particularly remember an editorial cartoon that someone showed me.  This cartoon showed President Lincoln's statue weeping as it sat in the Lincoln Memorial.  Later, I read summaries of the Warren Commission investigation on Kennedy's assassination, and like many at the time, I swallowed the story, as incredible and unlikely as it was.

Today, after years of searching all sorts of sources, including "alternative" sources, I have come to believe, as have many Americans, that the Warren Commission report was merely an attempt to "give closure" (I can't stand that phrase) to the American people and assure them that an "insane" ex-military "gun nut" defeated the all the security measures the United States government could muster.  In other words, the government set out to convince the nation, and the world, that there was no conspiracy to murder President Kennedy.

But more than this, I read and learned about President John F. Kennedy, the World War II hero who became President.  I learned that the longer President Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khruschchev of the Soviet Union "faced off" during the Cold War, both of them realized they had something in common.  A couple things, as a matter of fact.  First, both of them wanted their children and grandchildren to live in a peaceful world, at least as much as peace could be possible on this planet.  Second, both of these men realized that neither one of them wanted to "push the button" that would start nuclear war, and would inevitably destroy the world, for all practical purposes.

In the few months between the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis and President Kennedy's death, Kennedy and Khrushchev had reached an understanding with each other that there was a better way.  An interesting side item was the fact that Kennedy secretly agreed to move OUR missiles out of Turkey, directly on the Russian border, in return for the removal of missiles from Cuba, and the return to the USSR of both the missiles on the Soviet ships and the FULLY FUNCTIONAL missiles in Cuba that were ALREADY AIMED at the United States.  In reality, Khrushchev and/or Fidel Castro could have destroyed the United States at any time during 1962/63 but Khrushchev himself had refused to do so.  A sad truth that I discovered for myself was that had Kennedy been able to complete his term, he and Khrushchev would have actually begun the first steps of bi-lateral disarmament. A second sad truth I learned was that the Military/Industrial complex HAD NO INTENTION of allowing the Cold War to end anytime soon. 

Like many of you, I came to realize that in some ways, Kennedy's presidency paralleled that of Lincoln, one hundred years earlier.  You see, President Lincoln realized that the steps he took toward a peaceful reconciliation of the States would cost him his life. I believe Abraham Lincoln knew he would not leave the White House alive, but he pursued a peaceful, relatively non-punitive reconstruction of the nation anyway.  In the same way, I believe President Kennedy knew he would not leave the White House alive.  He knew that pursuing peace and the eventual reduction and destruction of nuclear arms along with Premier Khrushchev, a plan literally to save the world, would cost him his life.  Kennedy knew that the Military/Industrial Complex had, in only two decades, become such a strong force that the legitimate and elected government of the United States could not rein this monster in.  In the same manner Khrushchev knew that his cooperation with President Kennedy would cost him, at the very least, his role as Premier, and very likely his life as well.

Putting all these fears behind him, President Kennedy pressed on toward peace with the Soviet Union.  And here is where all my investigating led me to depart from the "main stream" theory of the "Lone Gunman."  President Kennedy's cabinet, advisors, military chiefs, and Wall Street banker friends, all knew that Kennedy had made a breakthrough with Khrushchev.  The details had yet to be worked out, but the basic framework was in place.  Kennedy and Khrushchev wanted more than "détente."  What both men wanted was a world free of the threat of global destruction.  With these two men in power, that goal was reachable - an agreement was only months away.  President Kennedy knew the Military/Industrial Complex was dead-set against any strategy that not only would reduce or eliminate nuclear weapons already deployed around the world, but would also destroy the demand for more and "better" nuclear weapons. Further, I believe President Kennedy knew that, though his dream might one day be a reality, he would not live to see that day come.

Documented history shows that Kennedy was warned by several people to post-pone his trip to Dallas that November.  Kennedy himself shared his own misgivings.  But he made the trip just the same.  He would not be deterred, not even by the very Face of Death.  President Kennedy went to Dallas, where he was received by one of the warmest crowds ever.  The President was loved by so many, and even in Texas, where he had not carried the state in the election, the people were happy to see him, happy to just be near this man who truly rolled into the White House on the biggest wave of popularity since, well probably, since the victorious colonists begged General Washington to declare himself "King" of the fledgling nation.

I believe that events had taken shape and that an image was faintly visible to President Kennedy.  I believe that President Kennedy felt he would more than likely not leave Dallas alive.  But John F. Kennedy, unlike some of our more recent presidents, and notwithstanding his family's checkered past, was a true hero.  He was the kind of hero who knew that "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (St. John 15:13)

Today in Texas History, President John F. Kennedy gave his life for his fellow men, and in fact for all people throughout the world.

I, for one, will never forget this man's sacrifice, made when I was so young.  I pray that this nation will never forget President Kennedy, never forget his desire for peace, and especially never forget that he was willing to lay down his life for yours and mine.  Were any presidents since then willing to do the same?

May God Bless America.

End of Watch: Detective Benjamin Marconi, San Antonio Police Department

Earlier this morning Detective Benjamin Marconi was shot and killed in the line of duty as he was conducting a traffic stop right outside the police department.  The detective is the first Texas peace officer to die in an ambush shooting since the five officers were shot by a sniper in Dallas on July 7th.  Several Texas officers have died since then, and I honor them here before I write about Detective Marconi.

July 12 - Officer Marco Zarate of the Bellaire Police Department crashed during a pursuit and died of his injuries.

August 4 - Officer Justin Scherlen, Amarillo Police Department, lost his life in a traffic accident that occurred while he was on duty.

September 4 - Officer Amir Abdul - Khalig, Austin Police Department, was killed when a vehicle struck his motorcycle.

September 7 - Deputy Hubert Maltby, Eastland County Sheriff's Office, died of injuries suffered in a traffic accident while he was on duty.

September 30 - Deputy Eugene Ransom suffered a fatal heart attack while providing first aid to a jail inmate who had also suffered a heart attack.

All of these officers deserve our gratitude for their willingness to serve the people.  My sympathy and prayers to their families and their fellow officers.

Detective Marconi's death was not an accident or a medical event, as with the officers above.  The detective was targeted and the shooter had only one intent, to kill a police officer.

Detective Marconi had made contact with a driver for a traffic violation, and then had returned to his vehicle to write a citation.  So much has changed in the decades since I have been a peace officer.  Among those changes are computers and ticket printers located in the officers' vehicles.  I do not know if the detective had such equipment in his car, but in any case, he had sat down in the driver's seat to complete the citation.

While the officer was occupied with this, and presumably keeping an eye on the driver and/or passengers in the vehicle he had pulled over, a car parked behind the police vehicle.  I cannot second guess what the officer was doing or why he did not see the person approach him, but I have been in this situation many times myself. 

The fact is the officer does not know why another vehicle has stopped, but there are several possibilities.  The vehicle could be following the car the officer stopped, and simply pulled over so as not to lose the other car.  Another possibility, believe it or not, is that a person seeking information or directions saw the officer and decided to stop behind the police car and wait until the officer has finished so that the person can ask questions.  Or the person the person has more sinister motives, as in this case.

San Antonio police at this point are saying they have no information to link the shooter to the person who was stopped by Detective Marconi.  The officer was White and the shooter was Black.  The shooting occurred directly in front of the San Antonio Police Department building, which to me hints at the idea that the shooter was watching from somewhere nearby waiting for a police officer to appear outside the building.  Since today is Sunday, there was likely much less police traffic than usual.  When the shooter was sure that Detective Marconi was occupied he made his move to ambush the officer.  The shooter simply decided to kill the first officer he saw.

No one knows why Detective Marconi did not notice that the person approaching him had a weapon at the ready.  Possibly the officer was distracted by his computer.  In my day, officers simply wrote out a citation while radioing to the dispatcher all information so that the dispatcher ran wanted checks and provided other information to the officer.  The officer had only two tasks, write the citation and keep a sharp eye on the person or persons occupying the vehicle.  And on his surroundings.

Now that we are in the computer age, officers are many times expected to check for criminal information on the person and vehicle themselves, by entering information into their computer console.  Some departments have added computerized printers, so that the officer must also split his attention even further.  Many departments now expect that officers will do very little communication "over the radio," instead, the officers must now do data entry while driving or while trying to watch violators.  I am personally of the opinion that police administrators have inadvertently traded high-tech convenience and efficiency for officer safety.

But whatever happened today, a police officer was murdered, possibly in a racially-motivated scenario.  My prayers go out to the officer's family and to his fellow officers at SAPD.  I also pray that this cowardly shooter is caught soon, and receives the appropriate reward for his deed.

Today Detective Benjamin Marconi was taken from his family and friends, and is now in that Thin Blue Line in Heaven.

May God Bless America

Hillary and Trump - No Real Choice - Election 2016

It was the night before THE Election, and 'cross this great land...

I would have finished this poem except that my feelings about this coming election are most definitely NOT poetic.

For instance, I am disappointed and disgusted that the American political system produced this "any way you look at it you lose" Presidential ballot.  I mean, if we try to ignore all the news about Hillary and all the rumors and naughty photographs of Trump, and just vote based on both of their past "records," then pretty much "any way you look at it, you lose."  Thank you Simon and Garfunkle for that classic line from "Mrs. Robinson."  To further quote the Duo, "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"

The Democratic candidate, based ONLY on her record as a career politician, is a proven liar.  The Republican candidate is a proven "get to the top BAM" kind of guy.  You know, BAM means "by any means."  Plus, there are decades of news stories and photographs to show that Trump has been an associate of the Clintons for many years.  Is he really so opposed to Hillary?  It is my belief that we will see, as usual, "business as usual" no matter whether Hillary or Donald goes to the White House.

When I think of politics and especially about "Presidential" politics, I can't help but be reminded of President Richard Nixon from way back in the '70s.  Good grief, I was just in junior high way back then.  If you, my dear reader, are too young to remember, or if you skipped out of history class in college to do your laundry, let me refresh your memory.

Richard Nixon won a hotly contested Presidential Election in 1968, overcoming Senator Hubert Humphrey in a close race, electorally speaking.  Flashing forward to 1972, President Nixon was a shoe-in for re-election, and pretty much everyone knew it.  In fact Nixon did win the popular election by one of the largest "landslide" victories in election history.  And he went on to serve his second term, happily ever after...well, almost. 

It turns out that the only person who was not sure of Nixon's inevitable victory was Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon himself.  So, Nixon had his "CREEPs" (the Committee to RE-Elect the President) break into Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C. so that he could learn all about the Democrats' election strategies.  The Democrats had rented a suite at a nice little hotel in D.C. called the Watergate Hotel.  Long story short, the CREEPs were caught by an alert security officer, and...well, the cat was out of the bag, so to speak.  Tricky Dick was busted!

Now pay attention, class, to this part of my post.  President Nixon was NEVER CHARGED with a crime.  The police and the FBI had all the evidence needed, and of course, the news was FULL of this evidence.  What was President Nixon's crime?  Burglary.  More precisely, CONSPIRACY to commit burglary.  That's it. No illegal use of emails (or teletypes back then), no deliberate inaction when Americans were about to get murdered in an American embassy overseas.  No trail of corpses linked to other scandals.  No leaked emails of sex with children or flying to the Bahamas with a registered sex-offender.  No foundation accepting illegal contributions from foreign governments.  Just a rather simple felony, conspiracy to commit burglary.

When Nixon's actions were exposed, the public, and Congress, were outraged, and rightly so.  Nixon tried to ride out the remainder of his second term, but after a blistering Congressional hearing into the Watergate affair, the Senate made up its mind to impeach Nixon.  And it was the right thing to do.  The President was more than likely a felon, and evidence of his actions, if sent to a court, would have resulted in his conviction.  President Nixon, the most popular American President since John F. Kennedy, was now disgraced and dishonored in the public's eye.  But this disgraced man did something that should be an example to all politicians.  With the last sliver of honor left him, President Nixon became the first (and ONLY, so far) President to resign from office, sparing the nation the expense and trauma of impeaching and removing the President from office, something Bill Clinton did not have the guts to do two decades later.

Now, nearly two decades after Bill Clinton left office, Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former senator and former Secretary of State, has run up a list of scandals that makes Tricky Dick eligible for the clergy.  The FBI Director, Mr. Comey, ADMITTED on television and in other media that his agency had enough evidence of wrongdoing to INDICT Hillary Clinton, and this for just the email scandal.  Granted, he said he would not allow his agency to CHARGE Hillary (A WHOLE OTHER SCANDAL ITSELF) but he candidly pointed out that "other persons" (you or me, for instance) most definitely WOULD HAVE BEEN CHARGED if the same evidence were used against such other persons.

So now it is the eve of the most disgusting Presidential Election of this and last century.  Will Hillary do the right thing with the last vestige of honor she could muster, and drop out of the election?  Of course not.  Two reasons for this: One, she does NOT HAVE a last vestige of honor to muster.  Hillary Clinton is the most dishonorable person, bar none, to have ever held a political office in the United States.  Two: If she is EVER charged with a crime, President Obama will no doubt pardon her prior to leaving office.  If she is indicted after taking office, there is no reason to believe she would step down until the trial was over.  But seriously folks, we know that neither the Director of the FBI, nor his boss, the Attorney General, will EVER indict Hillary.

Not only will Hillary Clinton never be forced from, or voluntarily leave, the Presidency, but also nearly fifty percent of registered voters will support her no matter what she does as President, or what she HAS DONE, on the road to the White House.  My gut feeling and my prediction is that she will win this election and, not only that, but she will serve two terms, just as Bill did.  Wouldn't it be great if I were wrong?  The only thing that could cut Hillary's two terms short would be if she keeps poking President Putin and starts World War III.  Don't laugh...we may have been distracted by all the news about Hillary and may have missed the threats she has directed toward Russia, but Mr. Putin has not missed them, I can assure you.

Before I go, I will indulge you quickly with my fantasy, and that is pretty much all it is at this point.  My fantasy is that the FBI Director has simply thrown a smoke screen to Hillary, and at some point between now and January, 2017 Hillary Clinton et al WILL BE INDICTED.  Ahh....we can all dream.

May God Bless and SAVE America

Election 2016 or, Donald VS Hillary - What A Choice!

The 2016 Presidential Election is fast approaching, and early voting is in progress now.  I cannot remember a worse Presidential Ballot than the one we have coming up this November 1st.  Maybe someone older than me can, but that may hark back all the way to the pre-World War I years.  That is just a guess, and it is really irrelevant.

The fact that our American political system cleared out the pack leaving just these two candidates escapes my belief.  Out of all of the candidates who declared in the primaries, it is outrageously appalling to me that the "best" of the field were supposedly Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.  First I would like to rant about Donald Trump.  Mr. Trump is a loud-mouthed, contentious man who is full of himself.  He represents great wealth with which he buys anything he wants, including influence.  He appears to have no "class," by that I mean he says and does anything he wants without thought as to whom he may be hurting, or how silly he looks when he is so boisterous.  As a business man he accomplished a lot by any means he had to use.  I do not know enough about him to know whether he "started with nothing" and built an empire, and I am not really interested enough to do that research.  Regardless, he made a fortune and now reaps the king's benefits from having made that fortune.  But until last year he had no interest in the US Presidency; in fact, he was often busy decrying government intervention in the world of business.  In his rise to billionaire, Mr. Trump learned to deal with people in a brash, rude, and arrogant way.  Will this be the way he deals with his contemporaries should he become President?

There is something about Donald Trump, besides all the above, that concerns me.  He has contributed funds over the years to Bill Clinton.  To Hillary?  I am not sure about that, but I know that Donald, Bill, and Hillary go back for at least the past couple of decades.  Don't believe me...do just two or three minutes "research" on the Internet.  I know this is just the very tip of the tip of the "ice berg" and there is so much more.  The point is, Donald Trump was very, very chummy with Bill C back in the 1990's.  It would not be a stretch to imagine that he was very chummy with Hillary C right up to...well, right up to the beginning of the primaries.  Are Donald and Hillary REALLY arch-rivals now?  Maybe, but I find that really hard to accept.

If it is really possible that Donald and Hillary's rivalry is a sham, then is it not also possible that all of Donald's rhetoric regarding Hillary is also a sham?  If elected, isn't it possible that Donald will suddenly "decide" that some of his ideas as Candidate Trump are just "not feasible" for President Trump to carry out as promised.  In fact, isn't it possible that someone who was "chummy" with the Clintons even as late as last year might also be "chummy" with Clinton ideas and goals?  Said another way, is our choice REALLY a choice at all?

The only candidate besides Donald Trump that has a realistic chance (VERY REALISTIC, I am afraid!) is Hillary Clinton.  About Hillary I have to ask, how is it even possible that she is a viable Presidential candidate?  She has made former President Nixon look like a jay-walker with her various criminal and political activities, including involvement in scandals in Arkansas even BEFORE the Clintons ever made it to the White House!  These activities are well-known, well-documented, and I do not have the time nor the patience to list them here.  Suffice to say that Hillary Clinton is a disgrace to America and, had she done the "email thing" back in 1974, she could have resigned along side of Nixon, who was castigated because eighteen minutes of voice recordings were erased.  I wonder how long it would take to read over thirty thousand emails into an old fashioned cassette recorder? 

Hillary's involvement with events that have left a trail of bodies across this nation and in various countries around the world is also easily traceable through the various recorded media.  Yet millions of Americans are literally fawning over her, literally can't wait for her to be the FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!  Her character, her actions, her words in woefully pitiful denial of those actions - all this notwithstanding - there are half, possibly more than half, of registered voters willing to put this unindicted criminal into the White House.  The gutless Director of the FBI himself said that, although he would not recommend Hillary's indictment, he had found illegal activity of the kind that would have resulted in someone else's arrest.

This election would be laughable if it were not such a serious matter.  One of these two unpalatable choices, barring something totally unexpected, will be our new President of the United States.  One of these two undesirable choices will lead this nation for at least four years.  I can only believe that, like the old Simon and Garfunkle song, "any way you look at it you lose" will hold true for this nation.  Do I think the US is "doomed?"  Do I think this is "the end?"  No, but I think this election more than any other is a wake up call for America.  Do we want to "stay the course" with either Trump or Clinton in 2020?  I hope for this nation's sake that we do not.  More than that, I hope for an awakening of Americans who desire to rein in the government and truly make it a government of the people, to make it a government that truly works FOR the people.  I think we still have time to get this nation on course, and ultimately, to make this nation truly one that is governed under the law of the land, the United States Constitution, to make America great again with neither Clinton nor Trump at the helm.

Cast your vote in the coming election and ...

May God Bless America

A Beautiful Sunday...

Today is a very beautiful day outside and inside, too.  We have just finished with a couple hours of house cleaning (maybe not two, it just seemed like it) and now we are both lounging in our loungers, except she (my lovely bride) is not technically "lounging" since she is engaged in working on her never-ending collegiate assignments.  She loves to learn, my lovely bride.  I, however, do not engage in learning so much anymore...actually I am now more engaged in forgetting what I have learned, as well as forgetting where I put the TV remote...dang it!

I have taken several days away from this blog, for a number of reasons, but today I felt the need to get back into my blogging rhythm.  I have to say that the biggest reason for my lack of blogging for the past couple of weeks is that there is so much going on that I do not like, that is negative for our nation, that is not so good for the world, that I did not want to write about.  I felt that I would get trapped in a negative cycle with my posts, and no one wants to read a succession of negative blogs...not even ME!

As you might guess, the biggest negative thing going on right now is the Hillary Trump Satire On American Politics.  Neither one of these persons deserves to be President of the United States.  Neither person is the "best choice."  How could the American election system have produced this NO CHOICE election ballot?  Not only that, but it appears that as few as forty percent of all legally registered voters will cast ballots.  I may be overly optimistic here...maybe as few as nine or ten percent of the people will cast ballots.  The reason for this low turnout is that many people believe that the Electoral College will select Hillary no matter what the "popular vote" might be.

Another big negative is our government's program of constant warfare somewhere on the globe (actually MANY SOMEWHERES!) so that our military is constantly engaged in some conflict.  On top of that we have "military advisers" located in many other points of conflagration around the world.  Along with this government "permanent war" mindset is the military industry that, to earn maximum dollar, promotes the permanent war mindset and actually exerts a large degree of control or influence on the Defense Department as well as on senators and congressmen.  The last thing this "military/industrial complex" wants is "peace on earth."

Then there is the unrest throughout the nation because of various political and social beliefs conflicting to the point of open violence and rioting.  In both houses of the federal legislature, with both sides refusing to agree on anything except congressional pay raises, no laws can be passed except in watered down, weakened versions that accomplish nothing.

So I think it is safe to say that our American political system is broken and does not appear to be capable of internal repair.  We (including me) the people are too divided to fix it ourselves.

So this blog post could be nothing but negative....

But it is a beautiful Sunday.  There are a lot things that are good and right with the world and right here in our lovely abode.  For instance we got to have Baby Baby with us for two whole days this weekend.  This little angel brightens up the day like a thousands suns could not do.  She loves to sing and play, and she loves to explore.  Honey and I (Pop-ee) spent many pleasant hours with her this weekend, and also got to spend a few hours with her mother, Child B.  Finally Child B and Baby Baby had to go.  My goodness was the house quieter after they left! 

Child A resides with us while going to college and working, and we get to spend a little time with him every now and then.  Child A provides us with many hours of interesting and humorous conversation, sprinkled with his very sharp witticisms.  His personality is as warm and bright is this sun-shiny day today.  Child A, Child B, Son B, and Baby Baby are such great bright spots in our lives, brightness that outshines all the negative in the world.

I just needed to take a while to get things back into perspective.  With all that is going on, with all that could happen after the election, that is going on in the world, overall our nation is a great place to live, and our world is still a world full of beautiful, wonderful, and mysterious things.  I cannot say that I will never write another negative blog, but I can say that I believe the positive in our world, in our nation, and in each of our families, outweighs every negative thing that can be thrown at us here in this "vale of tears."

So today I pray that God bless you all, even in the midst of your troubles and worries, and...

May God Bless America

Protest and Pro Football

In these United States today we have seen many athletes, whether amateur, collegiate, or professional, choose to openly, as representatives of their respective sports, teams, and organizations, show public disrespect for the National Anthem and the Star-Spangled Banner at the opening or closing of one event or another.  Many Americans, including myself, have been outraged by this increasingly common form of "protest."  I find this conduct angering, although I am the first to acknowledge that those who chose to protest in this manner have the constitutionally-guaranteed, bought-with-blood right to do so.

As an American citizen, though I do find the above mentioned conduct angering and disgraceful, I also am very thankful that our government must allow this protest to go on.  Why?  Because if I decided to protest something (I would never dishonor the Flag or the nation for which it stands) I am protected from government action, such as arrest or prosecution, just as are the men and women who are grabbing headlines these days.  I will say it again, plainly: though I find their protest disgusting, I whole-heartedly agree with their right to do it, and their right to remain free from government retaliation.

BUT....
The "right" to protest does not mean that one SHOULD engage in a form of protest that dishonors the blood sacrifices of so many who have died to keep our nation free.  And, while GOVERNMENT prosecution of such protesters cannot and SHOULD NOT be allowed, there is nothing that says these people should face NO CONSEQUENCES.

In 2003 Natalie Maines chose to criticize then President Bush II during a "Dixie Chicks" performance in France.  Maines had every right to her opinion, and every right to blast out her opinion over international airwaves...BUT...she (and unfortunately her two band partners as well) faced the consequences of an enraged nation.  The "Government" did not prosecute her in any way, but her hasty, poor-thought out comments outraged virtually her entire fan base.  Because of Natalie Maines the Dixie Chicks became OVERNIGHT OUTCASTS.  Over a decade later the Dixie Chicks have not regained their position as one of the most popular country acts of the past few decades.  This was because the fans pulled out their support for the Dixie Chicks like a rug suddenly pulled from under a juggler's feet.

Country music fans are some of the most independent people in America, who believe in freedom, and who believe in America.   Back in 2003 the country fans knew that America was not perfect, that maybe the war was not the best solution, but they also knew how to properly respect the ideals that this nation stands for and strives, not perfectly, to uphold.  Natalie Maines did not "speak" for America or even the majority of country fans, and they let Natalie know that in a big way!

Now, over a decade later, a highly popular and athletically gifted pro football player has opted to exercise his right, to publicly dishonor this nation, and to encourage others to follow his example.  We all know that pro football teams want only ONE thing, that is to win!  The particular player that has stirred up this controversy is indeed a highly desirable player.  His team wants to win.  The owners of his team want the team to win.  And the fans of this team want them to win.  Rah! Rah! Rah!

But this player has made his statement.  The only question now is this: Will football fans, players, coaches, owners, and the armies of profiteers of pro football have the same kind of integrity displayed by country music fans over a decade ago?  That's right...can coaches and a team that wants the national championship demonstrate their integrity by not allowing this person to play?  Could fans of this man and his team actually show the fortitude to boycott every single game until this player is pulled from the roster?  Will advertisers exert pressure by refusing to sponsor this team?  Will owners and stockholders demand that this type of conduct NOT BE CONDONED?  Because letting this man continue to play, and not penalizing other athletes who choose the same means of protest, is saying very loudly that athletes, if they are "good enough," can dishonor this nation and face no consequences.

I am not holding my breath, as the saying goes, as I wait for the rightful condemnation of this man for turning a sports event into a captive venue for his political agenda.  I do not expect that he will face near the degree of ostracism that Natalie Maines experienced, because he is a national football great.

By the way, speaking of being a WELL PAID football star, I believe this man's protest rings with a bit of hypocrisy.  If this man is SO OFFENDED by this nation (including the blessings he has received as both a CITIZEN of this nation and a well-paid football player) why does he not renounce his football contract, give away his millions of "tainted" dollars, and move to a nation (if he can find one) that does not have some social injustice blemish on its record?  

If the day ever comes that the majority of Americans feel no loyalty to the Republic, if some day the vast majority of the people refuse to honor the National Anthem and the Star-Spangled Banner, I myself will still stand tall and salute our flag until that day that my body is finally too weak, then I will ask those standing next to me if they can raise me up just one more time to stand and sing the National Anthem.


May God Bless America