The World Is an Overcrowded Elevator

The World Is an Overcrowded Elevator Going Down

It didn’t start with Bush, but he has certainly pushed the express button for the basement floor.

What we as individuals must do is ACTUALLY DO what we think is right, not just talk about it. Eating meat, for example, bothers me terribly because of the cruelty used in killing the animal. What I and like-minded others MUST do is learn to eat vegetarian meals only. Even that may not solve the problem for all of us.

There was a recent film on fishermen cutting the fins off of sharks because the fins are a popular delicacy, leaving the sharks to die. And now the world’s oceans are losing their shark populations.

Even worse, is the “sport” of hunting or fishing just for the fun and companionship of it, killing those animals in order to eat them for fun, or to put on a wall or a floor as a testament to the virility of the hunter with the high-powered gun or the hook intended to fool them into thinking they are finding their food as nature intended. God, doesn’t that make such men appealing and sexy!

But eating differently and living differently, despite good intentions, have unfortunate effects upon others as well. If humans stop eating meat, the ranchers who raise the animals will no longer be able to make a living by raising the animals. If people no longer eat fish, the result is the same. If people stop “going to the mall” to spend money for fun, the malls will go out of business. If we stop driving recreationally, or going to and from work by public transportation, the gas stations will not be able to survive in convenient profusion. And so on and on and on.

I was a birdwatcher when I lived in the Bay Area, and I had two friends who were 15 to 20 years older than I. Both of them remarked to me that when they were younger, the skies used to be BLACK with birds, and now, 10 years later, I can look further decline in the eye. How sad!

All of this means that we must think of an entirely new way to live our lives, and it will especially have to include our responsibilities to each other, as well as to other creatures. I do not know what the answers are. I only know that the way we live now is not it. And I also know that the farther the elevator falls, the faster it will be going, and the harder it will hit the basement floor when it gets there.

The

How the War Could Have Been Won

Since it was Bin Laden who orchestrated the attack on this country, it was Afghanistan that should have been the primary target of our response. But it was Bush who decided early on that the way to retaliate was to cook up a make-believe need for revenge by invading the country without blame, but with the most oil.

In order to accomplish this war, which was both immoral and costly in terms of troops and funds, Bush chose to seek extra troops from those fighting in Afghanistan, troops who should have been augmented rather than “borrowed.” And he chose to let our fighting forces continue to consist mostly of those who enlisted out of loyalty and those with little education and/or chance for making a living in civilian life. The result is that our armed forces are running out of recruits and have recently been reduced to those with unsavory, even criminal backgrounds.

Rather than subject the upper classes and the rich (who for some reason have not felt called upon to enlist) to a draft, our noble president still chooses to subject those who are currently serving to long and repeated periods of active combat. Thank God, though, that those who don’t have the moral courage, or are just too busy to enlist are still wearing flag pins and flying flags from their cars. In the meantime, neither war is going well. Various members of the government and the armed forces are calling upon the president to send them additional men and supplies, but recruiting is getting harder to be successful as a means of acquiring the first, and as for the second, it’s the money, the money.

There have been wars where even old men flocked to the recruiting office and women knitted and cooked and sewed. Those were the days when our president inspired us to give of ourselves and to think of others. But in this time of tremendous technological achievement, not now, not now.

Give the Candidates a Chance

Once again, I seem to be back on the subject of Lou Dobbs, and he is a man with only hatred and belittlement to offer. He and his minions were on his program today talking with equal emphasis about how little McCain and Obama have to offer and that they are both doing badly as far as the voting goes. When the program was over, you had nothing left to think about that had any depth to it, only disparagement.

I definitely feel drawn to Obabma’s style and philosophy and intend to vote for him—but for God’s sake, give them both a chance. We haven’t even had the final election yet, so we have no idea how whoever becomes president will deal with what is on the plate for him. Bush is nowhere near through with the mayhem he has wrought, and he is working feverishly to coopt as much of their inaugural plans as possible. Until one of them is elected, remember what Bush has “accomplished” in his eight years, and give some thought as to how difficult what he has done and is doing will make it for them.

(You might also consider the current Congress and the rules about how many votes it takes and how many vetoes it has the strength to override to pass any legislation. And listen especially to Bush’s most devoted followers and see how closely they repeat the values he has espoused.)

Lou Dobbs and Salmonella

More on the Salmonella Outbreak and Lou Dobbs

It was last week, I believe that Lou Dobbs strongly intimated that Mexican tomatoes were the undoubted cause of the spreading salmonella coutbreak in the United States. That certainly gave a great boost to the impoverished farmers of Mexico who raise tomatoes for a living.

Now, in the past day or so, the American inspectors have taken tomatoes off the list of suspected causes. At the present time, no one knows where the outbreak is coming from.

Once again, Dobbs has managed to destroy the livelihood and reputation of thousands of people on both sides of the border ahead of time in order to show the American people how stupid the people who are trying to solve this serious problem are and that he is courageously riding like Paul Revere over the ether, keeping us well informed on the subject. In the meantime, as usual, he has no information of his own to solve the problem and no platform on which to seek political office.

Presidential Leadership

I feel so much better about things after watching our president at his press conference yesterday. He started out by listing all of the things that are going well, such as the news that unemployment is staying about the same, in spite of the hundreds of employees that are being laid off by major industries almost daily. I’ll bet his reassurance really pumped them up.

He is so compassionate about the fact that (as he said) we are going through “tough times” right now. You can just tell that he knows what “tough times” feel like, and it was wonderful to hear his strong voice promise that he and his cabinet have the situation in control and on the way to recovery.

I was particularly impressed with his answer to the rising cost of gasoline. As he has been telling us ever since he took office, we have oceans of oil available right here at home. All we have to do is drill for it in Anwar and down the western border of our country, from Canada to Mexico. Unfortunately, there are quite a few Americans who put animals and pristine country before the needs of those Americans who have grown up all their lives understanding that their needs and comforts should all come first and that the world was created by God for just that purpose. One wonders how all those environmentalists got into this country. I hope they’re being investingated.

But the thing I love most about our president is that, whatever the subject of his press conferences, he always brings a feeling of humor into his question time. As he calls upon his audience for questions, he always interrupts to make a joke at the expense of each questioner, and the questioners, in joyful response, smile at whatever the president says. Not only does the president enjoy these times, but the audience both in the room and on TV, leave knowing just who is in control.

Lou Dobbs 4 President?

Little Bill is always calling me up to watch Lou Dobbs. She knows I can't stand TV or a'holes on TV. So I know she's just trying to annoy me. So this is pay back. I'm putting this info up here because it's high time Little Bill told us all about what she thinks of Lou Dobbs.

And so that readers also can weigh in, here are some links to Nativist-Central. If you want to see Loopy's Campaign page, you can click here. And, if you want Loopy to actually run for POTUS, you can sign a petition here! But don't any body call me! I'd rather talk to a(nother) yellow dog, before I'd talk about a guy named 'Lou'!

Carol Kreck!!!

You go, Girl!

The Man With the Goofy Grin

Every time Sen. McCain makes an appearance before the press, I find myself hunting for his face on the screen. He is a rather ordinary looking man who speaks softly and has to rely on saying mean things with a wistful smile about his opponent in the run for the Presidency.

The Man with the Goofy Grin, however, is everywhere at once. He must run from one camera to another in order to let his presence be known to the American public.

Why is he there? He will remain nameless on this page, but he must be there for a purpose which he believes is of major importance in this campaign. Do you think he might be REALLY hoping he will become the vice presidential nominee again? (OOPS, I don’t want to give anything away, but I’ll be looking for his face on the screen if he doesn’t make the grade again. Wouldn’t you know, I just goofed again!)

A Story of Cowards and Carenots

Today, CNN has repeatedly shown the death of an old woman in an inner-city hospital waiting room as recorded by a security camera. This is the other side of the record made by this administration of the enormous love and generosity which Americans offer to others in need.

The woman had apparently been left there alone and had been there for several hours. Finally, she fell to her left, landing on the floor on her face between two corner chairs at right angles to each other, with the woman entangled between them. She struggled several times to get up, but wasn’t able to.

While this was going on, a number of people came into the small waiting room, some sitting down to wait, and others leaving after glancing at her. On two occasions, what looked like security or office workers came to the room, probably summoned by someone at the desk, but both looked at the woman, and neither entered the room to help her.

This took me back to the murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens, New York City on March l3, 1964. Anyone who was adult and read of that murder, and had any human feelings, has never forgotten that case. She drove home late from work and got out of her car, to be accosted by a man with a knife who stabbed her repeatedly, coming back time after time to stab her again, because she still wasn’t dead.

While that was going on, many people in the buildings around her could hear her screams and see her struggles, but not one went to her aid or called the police until it was all over. Some were too afraid, and others just could not be bothered.

I couldn’t remember her name for a while, so I tried looking her up as a woman who had been murdered while others watched and couldn’t find her. To my amazement, there were many, many cases that were similar on the internet. It was only after I remembered her name that I found her. You can look it up under her name.

Just thought I’d add a touch of realism to the American story.

What May Be Coming

I must admit ahead of time that what I have to say may be one of the many things one just can’t say in public. Sort of like mentioning to a man that his pants are still unzipped, or to a woman that her skirt is caught in back in the band of her underpants.
I’m sure this will give you an idea of how unacceptable what I have to say may be. But I still think the time has come for me to say it.

There are three major forces in this country that do not work: Democracy, Free Enterprise, and “Freedom and Liberty,” George Bush’s favorite, but least dispensed value. All thinking human beings need to start talking about these concepts, what has happened to them, and what can be done about them. I’ve talked to myself about these matters, and I’m no expert, so I’m calling on those of you who care to join in with me, as well as with others in the hope that we can contribute to saving this nation.

First, we have to admit that there are all kinds of people, with all kinds of mental capacities, all kinds of education (or lack thereof), and all kinds of motivation. One of the most motivational forces in this country at this time is religion, especially Christianity. We would like to think of its values as all-encompassing, because many of its values are also shared by many other beliefs, including those of agnostics and atheists. Christianity in this country at this time, especially that of the evangelicals, however, has gone completely out of control. It is their belief that the faiths and beliefs of others are meaningless and unacceptable, and that they must be converted or dissed.

To digress for a moment, the human mind is influenced by a number of things. First is the IQ with which we are born. This is followed by the education or lack thereof. And this in turn includes values learned through experience or religious training. (I attended a very good religious school for three years, and was then nearly thrown out because I refused to join the church. I am now an atheist, though I share many of the values I learned at that school.)

There are human characteristics which, fortunately for animals, do not seem to apply to any other animal. Starting with the least harmful, they include inability to reason, sloth, and stupidity. At the very top is Unmitigated Evil. Evil in the form of street gangs is fairly far down on the list because their opportunities are also fairly far down on the list.
Evil is at its most unmitigated, however, when it is used for purposes of personal greed and accumulation of powers in order to control other humans. And that brings me back to why Democracy is not working, and to the unzipped zipper.

In this world full of information (understood or not) as used by media and all the way up to the Presidency to further their own interests, it is easy for the people who are barely able to qualify as voters to be led to the choices they make without being able to reason them out. There are many humans on this level, and they are VALUABLE, because they represent sheer numbers. We need to find a way to serve everyone without USING them.

Next on the list is Free Enterprise. Here, once again, we have an area in which EVIL thrives. We live on a planet which we are increasingly rapidly laying bare. The human population is growing out of hand, and the natural resources are being depleted by humans. Pristine resources, created by the God so many revere, once depleted, will never be pristine again. Yet many humans would rather use them up than control our numbers and accommodate our lifestyles to the animals and natural beauty which are being sacrificed on the altar of greed. In addition, as technology grows and diminishes the numbers of individuals required to serve it, more and more jobs in the bottom pay levels are being replaced, leaving those people nowhere to go for a living or a sense of being needed or pride in accomplishment.

And finally we come to Freedom and Liberty, Bush’s favorite boast about his administration. He has set out, as he has said, by the will of God, to bring Freedom, Liberty, and Democracy to the rest of the world. And his Crusade, symbolized by his “farewell” to his office as president, grows increasingly urgent and transparent with possible hints as to what else he has in mind as the “War President” before he leaves.

A Nice Mix of Sunday Entertainment

Thought I would share with you what I did today. I got to watch Nascar and La Boheme at the same time by going back and forth watching first one, then the other. The race start and the accidents are always exciting, as well as the finish. For those of you who missed the race, rain decided the winner. During the many television ads and the fairly lengthy clean-ups and restarts, I turned to La Boheme, which was as thrilling as it was the first time I ever watched it. During the breaks between Acts for scenery changes, I turned back to the race. Just wanted to keep you all up on the eclecticity (my word) of my many interests.

A Language Lesson for Congress

I was lousy at languages when I was in school, but Latin was required in public schools even in the hinterlands when I was young. And I had to take 5 years of Latin to get through Latin 3 so that I could get into college. In addition, I also took French and Spanish, but the one that taught even a lousy linguist the most about English was Latin. It is the basis of most of the English language and probably is why I grind my teeth any time I hear someone in government address an attorney general.

Most, if not all, politicians address an attorney general as “general.” This is on a par with “nucular,” Bush’s pronunciation, which he continues to use even now. I don’t know if any of the politicians know about “general,” and even the attorneys general probably don’t know.

At any rate, in some foreign languages the noun comes first and the modifying adjective comes after, as it does here. In this case, “attorney” is the noun and “general” is the adjective, referring to his status as the top legal representative of a nation or state. Properly, he should be addressed as Mr. Attorney General. “Attorneys general,” or “attorney generals” are both plural phrases.

Aren’t you glad you know this now?! My language teashers would all be so proud of me as a language teacher, but unfortunately they’e all dead.

These Men Hate Barack Obama

Left to right, they are Floyd Brown, Bruce Hawkins, and James Lacy.








Mr. Brown, 47, a 6-foot-6 bear of a man is perhaps best known for his involvement with the Willie Horton television advertisement that helped sink Michael S. Dukakis’s candidacy in 1988. According to the NYT, Brown is a bruiser who has a placard on his wall that says:

That is why for Christ’s sake I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.

You can read their complete biographies on EXPOSEOBAMA.

Know your enemy, They are doing their damnedest ....

What Hath Man Wrought

An article by Joel Achenbach in the Washington Post says that many experts feel the disastrous flood in the Midwest was caused, not by Nature, but by Man. Human beings replaced the soil and the native grasses with totally different soil and amendments, as well as non-native plants, thus destroying the natural barriers which either contained heavy runoff or withstood it.

The extent and depth of the tragedy, to both Man and Nature, is beyond comprehension. (You are aware that in just the past few days it has been revealed that there are warehouses in New Orleans still full of building materials, food, appliances, clothing, etc., which never reached the victims of Katrina? Most of what they got were poisonous trailers to live in.)

Bush has touched down in Iowa and will speak fo the victims of this Great Flood shortly. I do hope that he will have his shirt unbuttoned and his sleeves rolled up to emulate hard physical work when he moves to the microphones.

And the media are not without blame for the approach they are taking to this calamity. They have spent a lot of air time talking about how this is going to affect YOUR pocketbook and the inconvenience YOU will experience. Unless you are THERE and have felt THEIR despair, you should be ashamed of thinking of yourself, especially as this tragedy plays out. It would be like going to a funeral and jumping up after the final “amen,” and saying “What say we all go out for a bite?!”

Thank God I'm an Atheist

The displays at the gay weddings have been appalling. No, not the gays. I’m talking about the “Christians.” (They’re the ones that have to refer to the Bible to find out what they believe, because they usually can’t remember without looking it up.)

What each of us believes does not affect what the other believes or does unless what we do is directed at the other person. And that is exactly what the “Christians” were doing, displaying hateful, judgmental signs at the newly married couples. They are undoubtedly the same people who tear the wings off of butterflies just for fun. The last I knew, there was strong scientific evidence that homosexuals were born with a gene that makes them that way. Regardless, there is, no gene that accounts for cruelty. You have to think that up by yourself, encouraged by others of your ilk.

Another anomoly is that many gays have been willing to offer their lives in service of this country, some of them to be expelled because they were gay. On the other hand, many “Christians” are in vociferous support of the current insane war, from the sidelines, making sure that the rest of us know about their support by wearing flag pins or T-shirts, and sporting flags or patriotic stickers on their cars.

Most gays have suffered from abuse or ostracism from early childhood. Leave them alone, and you might even try accepting them as human beings just as some of the rest of us do. If you can’t reason that out in your own mind, you might even look in the Bible to see if you can find anything there about kindness to other people.

What is even more appalling is that the laws of this country, or parts of it, can be authorized by a vote of enough citizens thus covered to enact a law that negates any legislation which welcomes gays (few of whom are even recognizable as gay) and provides them with the freedom and and protection of this nation.

And to the gays who are reading this, married or not, may you find many happy years ahead!

Random Thoughts

Listening to the remaining moments of a Senate hearing on transportation taxes today reminds me of one of Sen. McCain’s favorite goodies offered to the American public. He suggests that any gas taxes be dropped for the summer so that American families can take their summer vacations.

Doesn’t he realize that those taxes will pay for road, bridge, and other upkeep, as well as encouraging the American public to gradually realize that we have a higher living standard than we should feel entitled to or the earth can maintain? The whole idea was also to use less of a rapidly disappearing natural resource. No concept on McCain’s part except to gather support from those who can’t think beyond themselves. The one exception I might make is that truckers, who are a vital resource at this particular time in our development, have a very hard row to hoe.

Republicans, in particular, use hatred of taxes or support of those on the bottom of our human heap as one of their major sources of support. It is popular to feel taxes are an imposition upon our “hard-earned” income and to resent paying them, as well as the people or needs that may benefit from them. But there is no Tooth Fairy, with exception of the awareness of the connection of all creatures, one to another, regardless of which is in need. Reminds me of moving through traffic and the awareness of those on a main street with heavy traffic who pause long enough to let someone in from a side street, as well as those who are grateful enough to wave in thanks. Makes you hope you will meet again.

What a Mess

So many things are so bad! The weather situation in the middle of this country is so unbelievably destructive that one wonders how you would ever be able to get over it. It would be like the end of my life to me. The human loss is inconceivable, but as an animal lover, the suffering of those innocents is more than I can bear to think of.

But here is a suggestion that might be a huge help to the people who are suffering from these floods and ought to make their helpers feel good too. If you were planning on a vacation in that area and had been saving up the money to finance it, especially if you had already made reservations, why don’t you just tell the people there to keep the money, or send them a check for what you had planned to spend?! I can’t think of a gift more appreciated or friendships more profoundly cemented. As for the donor, such a life-changing decision to contribute to the future of those so badly in need—especially if they are people you already know or may know in the future—is a sign of personal growth of character. And what a noble lesson to your children!

Back to the war situation, Bush is off on his triumphal farewell tour of Europe as president, full of his own importance as usual. He did make a limp reference to his many oratorical mistakes—such as “bring it on”—without apologizing for them or evincing any conception of the death, destruction, and lasting hatred they brought on, or the many years it will take for the situation to change. And profoudly sad for his troops, both dead and alive, he had no right whatsoever to send them to wage an unlawful war against a country that did not deserve or invite it. As in sports, there is no victor when the “winner” prevails against a foe who did not invite his attack and is ill-prepared to defend against it. How very sad for both countries!

And the presumptive heir to Bush’s throne exhibits many of the same traits that Bush does—victory is the goal, merited or not. As in so many American sports, the use of illegal drugs and tactics are weapons of choice. Sen. McCain has said that he would rather lose an election than a war. Some value for a man hoping to be our next president!

Why Education Should Come First

Whenever a governmental body, either national or state, seeks to save money, one of its first victims is education. And by this I mean education in school, education in the home, and education in a religious or spiritual atmosphere. What we should all be seeking for our nation and the world is educated adults, people who have universal values and who can think critically.

Here in the United States, an important and much sought-after group of citizens that has become vital to people seeking election consists of people who have little or no education and are therefore easily led by political tricks or propaganda, and who often vote on the basis of how someone looks, if he or she tripped walking down the stairs, or cute but misleading slogans. These are the very people who are most in need of the people who can and should be helping them, and education should be the very first tool they are given.

Right now, there are a number of people – Republicans, as far as I know – who
are planning to register Democratic so they can vote for either Clinton or Obama and thereby seek to control the voting outcome in the upcoming primaries and thus throw more support to Sen. McCain.

Not only is such behavior a crime against this country, its citizens, and Democracy as a universal virtue and hope for many people, it is also a denunciation of everything that many of these groups should have learned through religious training.

And here is another example of the need for education obliquely unrelated to the election:
Every year in honor of Mother’s Day, CNN (and I assume other stations as well) chooses to feature a family fully laden with children. This year, they chose a family with 17 children of their own and another on the way. This isn’t cute, it’s an appalling example of the kind of people who actually race each other to produce more babies than anyone else. I had friends who did that when I was young. CNN should be ashamed of itself because it should be educated enough to know better. I don’t even want to guess at the number of families like the one they chose who are either uneducated enough or selfish enough to contribute so much to the worst problems of worldwide overpopulation.

Famous Quotes

McCain has faulted Obama for suggesting that he will meet with Ahmajinedad if he is elected. This because Ahmajinedad has called Israel a “Stinking Corpse.”

So - - - - ???

Bush has referred to Iran, North Korea, and Iraq as the “Axis of Evil” to justify his invasion of the Middle East.

A Family Conservation

Late yesterday afternoon, my doorbell rang and I opened the door to find a rather large, long box on my front porch. The card on the top of the box was addressed to Super “Commie/Pinko/Socialist” aunt, so I knew that it could not have come from anyone except my niece Toni and her husband Bill.

Because it was getting rather late in Tucson, where they live, I called right away. Toni answered the phone. I didn’t mince words and got right to business and asked to talk to the head of household. In a plaintive voice, Toni said, ‘Well, exCUSE ME! and handed the phone to Bill. Bill answered with his usual loud voice, HaLLOW. I verified that he was indeed the head of household by asking if I was talking to the Bush Boob and from there we launched into our usual confrontation – political jibes at each other, sprinkled with thank you for the gorgeous flowers, love you’s, how are you doing’s, OKs, how about you’s, somewhat better’s, and more love you’s.

I thought I had inflicted the final coup by saying, in regard to the flowers that “Oh, I just love the waste,” But it was Toni, yelling from the background, who said “And you wouldn’t have gotten them in the first place if WE hadn’t been capitalists. And with that, we all retired to our respective beds laughing our heads off.

(Thanks, Bill and Toni, for my opportunity to write something funny for a change.)

While You Were Busy Watching the Primary Returns

from North Carolina and Indiana last night, if your TV was turned up loud enough,
You could have heard the Cah-ching, cah-ching sound in the background...

It's About Illegal Immigration Again

It’s About Illegal Immigration – What Else?

In the past day or so, I heard Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado being interviewed on CNN about the subject of (mainly Mexican) immigration reform.

He, and others, argue that Americans would be willing to take the jobs that illegal immigrants are taking if they could be paid higher salaries. And that, of course, leads to further consideration of the personal greed of those who employ them at slave wages just because they can.

It is my suggestion that the empasis on keeping illegals out should be preceded by laws requiring employers to pay a living wage to their employees regardless of who they are and where they came from. Then, the employers should be allowed to choose whom they please. If they choose Americans and Americans apply for the jobs, so be it. If immigrants do not make the grade, they will be forced to go elsewhere, including their nations of origin.

There is a much larger problem here, however, and that is that human population has already gone well beyond the carrying capacity of this earth. We have to start thinking of the Earth, not just this country, as one nation. How American it is, unfortunately, for Tancredo, like so many others, to show no compassion for the masses of people wandering over this world looking for a means to keep themselves and their families alive.

I might, no must, add that the religious hysteria currently sweeping over this and other countries, with its emphasis on keeping everyone, even those not yet born, and those who want above all to die, and lack of education are most responsible for what lies ahead.

I am including, once again, the first article I ever wrote, on over-population. If you have read it before, I hope you will read it again. If you have not read it, please do. And in both cases, please read it to the very end, where you will find my final solution, which is taking place as I write.

* * *

Overpopulation Solutions as I See Them

It is both encouraging and alarming that there are so many letters and articles these days about overpopulation—encouraging because of growing awareness of the problem, and alarming to realize that it may already be too late, that human beings are breeding themselves to extinction and taking the rest of the world’s creatures with us.

War, hunger, illiteracy, disease, violence, mental illness, and hatred between groups and nations are not discrete problems. Overpopulation is the BIG problem. It is worldwide, and it is a web in which we are all enmeshed.

Let’s start with some irrefutable facts:

1. The earth is of unchanging size.
2. The earth’s resources are finite, and rapidly being depleted, especially by the developed and developing nations, the United States leading the pack.
3. Human beings, like all creatures, do not live forever. We die at different ages from different causes—some old, some young, some ill, some healthy—but we will all die.

Envision two cows in a corral with barely enough food to keep one alive. Obviously, one will die. Almost certainly both will eat some of the food, so both will die.

Some humans live in big corrals with plenty of food for the body, the mind, and the soul. But millions are living in tiny corrals with little or nothing to sustain them. And as the numbers of each increase, they draw ever closer to each other. Folks, it just ain’t gonna work.

There is only one possible solution. Humans will have to start dying faster than they are being born. Following are my suggestions for partial solutions, written for this nation, but imperative in some form for all:

1. In the future the number ofchildren per family should be limited to one for all those on public support and two for all others, irrespective of religious belief or personal wealth, and it should be strictly enforced. Birth contnrol should range all the way from abstinence to abortion and sterilization. The method should be the prerogative of the woman, and it should be fully funded by the government for those who cannot afford it.

2. The Hippocratic Oath (first do no harm) should be rethought, both for the benefit of the people involved and for their caregivers. The evolution of scientific knowledge with regard to prolonging life can frequently result in more harm than good.

3. Babies born with no chance for any quality of life should be allowed to die mercifully at birth, at the request of their parents, and with their consent.

4. All adults should be made aware of and sign a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (or similar legal document) stating how they should be cared for in case of catastrophic injury or illness. In the case of children, or adults who have left no instructions and are beyond the ability to do so, their families or their surrogates should be allowed to make the decision for them, rather than having them drag on forever unable to make the decision for themselves.

5. Suicide should be relieved of its stigma, and the humane means of accomplishing it made available to those who want to choose that course for any reason, physical, mental, or emotional.

And then, of course, there is the final solution, of unending war, pestilence, starvation, and violence of every sort, marching over the face of the earth as I write—the option-of-choice of the compassionate religious right.

6/16/07
ARW

What the Hell Is Happening to Us?

I wrote a comment somewhere this morning, but can’t seem to find it now. (I just came home from the doctor, so I’m starting over.) At any rate, I want to retract my vote for the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. I wrote my recent post after hearing his interview with Bill Moyers and evidently missed his later speeches during which he went ballistic. Sorry about that. I apologize profusely for any harm I may have done. I’ll try to do better.

Obama has been on the air all day, trying to get his good name back. For God’s sake, he’s our only hope for a NEW direction. The thing that appeals most to me is his pledge to TALK to other leaders, both friends AND enemies.

The news media have certainly been no help, using this crisis for making news, ANY news, and it’s more fun and profitable to really stir the pot. Another president whose main interests are war and capitalism are beyond the pale. And another president who threatens more war will only continue up the path to annihilation.

And, as I have warned, don’t forget Lou Dobbs, who wears the face of hate (literally), and who is poised as I speak to run as an Independent.

I’ve been wrong before, and I can be wrong again, but Obama’s hope for something better rather than just being safe is the best hope we have. If ANYONE becomes president, he or she can still, and probably will, make mistakes, but that’s all we can hope for or expect.

The face he shows to the world wears the only expression of humanity we can see.

ARW
4/29/08

I've Changed My Mind

Rev. Jeremiah Wright for President!!

ARW
4/28/08

There's a Big Difference

If you don’t know the difference between dedication and intent on one hand, and awareness and response on the other, then you don’t understand the difference between the faithful follower and the thinking nonbeliever.

Remember I.F. Stone!

I just found the late I.F. Stone's Website, thanks to a program on C-SPAN's Book TV. Everyone should know about I.F. Stone.

My quote of the day comes from Izzy:

If something goes wrong in America. the press will find out about it and then it can be fixed.

But if something goes wrong with the press, then America will go straight to hell.

Economics According to Bush

Well, our dear president’s great and generous giveaway has begun! Needy American citizens will soon be receiving checks for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. I chhhheeertainly hope the government will discourage the receipients from starting – or even adding to – a savings account of any sort. And, like so many other grateful and loyal Americans, I hope none of the money will come from my hard-earned bank account.

As I understand it, this is a one-time deal, so I wonder how long it will take for all the money to be used up. How many more months do you think it will last, especially if you’re heavily in debt? And what will you do then?

Oh! Wait!! I almost forgot! This generosity is for the purpose of jump-starting the economy again. And the Emperor has expressly told us to spend the money, especially at the mall. The businesses there and elsewhere need the money even more than we do. So we’ll have to keep going back even after our stipends have evaporated.

Well, I’m sure we can trust our Great Leader to have all these decisions well thought out ahead of time for us as well as he has during the past seven years until his last glorious day in office. We’ll certainly miss him. And what do you want to bet, especially if a Democrat takes over, the next president won’t have a clue as to how to get us out of this mess?

Green Products, Good and Not So Good

This excellent article from the San Francisco Chronicle for 4/23/08 gives guidance on the many green products available. Some are very good and some are not quite as good as advertised. If you are not an authority on the subject but want to become one, this is well worth reading. Here is the link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/19/MNHGVQQIC.DTL

McCain re Summer Gas Tax Cuts

We’ve recently been given one of our more serious warnings about global warming and all the ways it is descending upon us, and, like Bush, what does McCain do but try to delay an outcome that only Nature can decide upon! Bush is trying to take credit for talking “environment” while putting off doing anything about it until some twenty years after he is out of office.

And McCain, with no sense of urgency, is suggesting that we suspend our gas taxes until next fall so that we can go where we want, when we want, and at any speed we want during our summer vacations.

Great! Doesn’t anyone around here know that Nature is giving us all sorts of alarms about what it can do to us? Doesn’t anyone learn any lessons about considering life-style changes? In a country with just about the highest standard of living in the world
(except when you are at the bottom of the heap) doesn’t anyone ever consider lowering your standard of living even an eensy weensy bit?

McCain chooses to use American me-firstism as en election come-on, but you don’t have to. You and your family can decide on lifestyle change, not only on the highway, but all across your daily family habits as well. This could also become a large part of your religious life and thought , and an excellent education for your children.

How to Vote

Rumor has it that many Democrats are threatening to vote for Sen. McCain if they don’t like whichever of the Democratic nominees is chosen to run for President. This seems to be a rather “nose to spite your face” choice. Unless you like war and killing, and if you haven’t tried it, it might be a good idea to give it a try first. A flag in your lapel just doesn’t cut it.

Unfortunately, we don’t get many pictures of mutilated American bodies in the news. An even more instructive example might be more pictures of Americans who have been permanently physically maimed for life, and especially those who are the mentally, psychologically, and emotionally walking dead.

I might even mention the tens of thousands of Iraqis who are dead or injured, but they don’t really count because they are either the enemy or the unfortunate collateral damage. (By the way, I wonder what kind of medical and financial aid they get compared to our armed forces and their families.)

You can choose to vote for or against whomever or whatever you are voting about. It seems more logical and productive to vote “for.” Let’s start with the party. If you are a Democrat, the differences between the parties seem rather stark. And if you plan to vote that way, you, at least, have a choice. Fortunately, or not, the choices have been decided by the American voting public, so it would be well to deal with that. (I voted for Kucinich because I believed in him and decided to vote for him even though I knew he didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell, and I hope it made him feel good because it made me feel good.) But now I accept the people’s choices that remain and am glad to deal with those, and am in the process just as you are.

A vote for McCain, if you don’t think Republican, is also a vote against the Democratic party. The guru of voting against is Lou “Angry Teeth” Dobbs. Now, he doesn’t seem to be for the Republicans either, and that is because he is against just about anything I can think of. He and his coterie of sycophants (those are elitist words which you can look up in the dictionary just the way I did if you don’t know them) are spreading the doctrine of Hate like peanut butter over the ether (another elitist word.) I can’t think of anything positive he has ever said, and I must give him credit for doing more to increase hatred for immigrants (would you recognize one as legal or illegal if you saw one?) than anyone else in this country. He’s a master at inviting a guest he doesn’t agree with, asking him a question, and then talking over him as he answers.

Just as an aside, early on in the voting process, I remember Angry Teeth coyly smiling when his fans suggested that he should run for President, and I notice that he mentions at least once on every program that he is an Independent. He is apparently converting many fans to that party as well. It might be a good idea to ask him if he has any policies to put forward just in case he decides to run. So far, I haven’t heard him say a word on that subject.

To conclude, try to remember (despite Bush’s most recent propaganda) that we are preparing to vote for a President, not a priest or a Pope. Let’s hope we can do a better job this time.

Religion Run Amok

First we have the spectacle of Texas authorities “rescuing” the children of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from their ranch in West Texas and keeping them in custody until their disposition can be determined by law.

From the description of the sect which we are beginning to learn from news reports, this sect is certainly about as strange as they come. However, speaking as a nonbeliever, in this country wallowing in religious freedom and liberty (both words mean the same thing, but it makes them more pithy if used together,) I have yet to hear those words in this particular case from any of the better known Christian groups in this country. Curious!

Next we have derision piled upon derision against Barack Obama for his insightful remarks concerning the people at the bottom of the American good luck heap. There must be many of them who are “bitter.” That word, as well as the values which give them some meaning in their lives, undoubtedly are felt as Obama described them. The reactions of Clinton and McCain are becoming less and less improptu and more and more manufactured tactics. Of the three of them, Obama has had the most direct experience with the needs and the sorrows of those who feel that life is passing them by in favor of the rich and socially elite, whose wealth grows on the backs of the underpaid poor.

And today the Pope is making his first visit to this country as Pope, to be welcomed to the White House. He plans to apologize for the sexual transgressions of the Catholic clergy, few of whom have been properly punished, while the innocent children of the Mormon sect, at this very same time, do not understand what is happening to them.
Quite a week!

I Haven't Finished Yet-The Olympics

While I was composing my previous blog, I was watching the progress of the Olympic Flame through San Francisco. It reminded me of the immigrant march on Washington on 4/11/06. I wrote an article about it, probably even before I started my blog, which I am reprinting below:

I watched or listened to C-Span almost all day yesterday, and I was very moved by the immigrant march in Washington, very much as I felt about the march led by Martin Luther King. It was thrilling to see underdogs in life asserting themselves as human beings.

On the other hand, out of the many calls that came in to C-Span from the public only a paltry few were positive. Most were absolutely vitriolic. Remember “I’m a uniter, not a divider”? He has united party against party, nation against nation, religion against religion, and now nationality against nationality. Through his administration’s use of propaganda since 9/11, we are suspicious of anyone who even looks Near Eastern. And we have now added suspecting anyone who looks Mexican to the list of the “terrorists.” If they are not terrorists, they at least have to be criminals and/or gang members.

It is not hard to see where this is going. (It is now Wednesday April l2.) Immigrants, both legal and illegal, are planning to stage a work walkout on May lst. There will undoubtedly be instances of individual and mob violence. It could have a serious effect on the economy, many people will lose their jobs, and worst of all, there will be a very long period of ill feeling between whites and Mexicans, no matter that many of them are loyal American citizens.

4/9/08

(By coincidence, I see that the immigrant march and the run of the Olympic Flame through San Francisco both fell on the same month and almost the same day two years apart.)

Since this country, especially under Bush, has not done well in the area of international, racial, and political, unity, it is not suprising that the result of the current uproar may be similar to that of Mexico. The last I heard was that Bush had decided to to show the world what a courageous leader he is by attending both the opening ceremonies and the Olympic Games (armed with nothing more than a huge number of armed personal guards, both uniformed and not.) On the other hand, he may be forced by his advisors or by second thoughts to abandon his original plans. Haven’t heard a definitive answer on TV yet. What a great Photo Op his appearance in China would be! I wonder if he thought of that.



In any event, there are many Chinese, at least in San Francisco, who are thrilled at the thought of the Games in China, as well as many US citizens of all races, including Chinese who do not approve of the human rights abuses of China. The result was a near-riot along the route of the Flame, which was only averted by very careful planning on the part of San Francisco police and authorities.

I wonder what will be the future relationship between Chinese citizens and those of other races here, especially on the West Coast. So many Americans have been whipped up, especially by men like Lou Dobbs, into hating the Others, it seems very possible that such racial poison can also easily spread from the West Coast across the nation through the efforts of those who are quick to react to the call of racism.

ARW
4/9/08

New and Old Odds and Ends, Part Three

Just before going to bed last night, I took time to catch up with my issues of the San Francisco Chronicle, and there IT was again, a picture of Bush practicing the carefully honed gambit of Bush as the guest guiding another world leader on hs own turf. (I had to take sleeping pills to get even a fitful night’s sleep.) In this case it was Putin, and the photo shows Bush with his arm across Putin’s back midway between the shoulders and the waist as they leave a press conference. This technique is known as the “World Leader Assist,” and if need be, it will be followed by a similar gesture known as the “And Don’t Forget It.”

A similar photo op found Bush in Australia, where he and Prime Minister Howard left a press conference, with guest Bush walking a step ahead of his host. In this case, I couldn’t see the Prime Minister’s back, but Bush’s left arm was graciously extended forward to indicate to the Prime Minister the path which they should take.

Have you ever had someone (other than a lover) put his or her arm around your back without feeling a shudder of revulsion and the desire to say, “get your goddam hands off of me?” Why didn’t each man, especially Putin, push Bush’s arm away and tell him they knew where they were going? If Putin had done that, I would have voted for him for president.

On to Iraq. There are increasing calls for Iraq to pay for its own reconstruction, and the American public, guided by Bush propaganda , apparently is showing support for the call to Iraq to rebuild its own damn country. Am I missing something here? Aren’t we the ones who invaded and bombed the hell out of Iraq so that Bush could make up for his father’s failure there? And didn’t we let loose the Dogs of Hell in the entire area? I’ll bet we’ve buried a whole lot more Iraqis than Saddam Hussein did – if they are even buried. It seems to me that we should be held responsible for the costs, but that we should get the hell out of there, send them the check, and let them run their own country.

New and Old Odds and Ends-Part Two

A favorite platitude of all politicians, whether American or any other nationality, is to say that the American (or Iraqi, or Israeli, or Afghani, or Pakistani, etc., etc. people) are intelligent people in aggregate who know what is going on and how things should be. They say these words especially when they are running for elective office. I doubt very much that this is true. Intelligence depends for humans as a whole on education, and beyond that, on what your education was and the time and place in which you received it.

Some of my family, for example, are well educated, while other close members were or are not. My father, who did not finish high school, was a thinker. My mother, who had a college education, was not. My two children were hippies who went off into lala land for a year or two when we lived in the Bay Area, then individually and on their own earned degrees – one as a successful landscape contractor, and the other as an accomplished printer. It took me until I was 42 to earn a master’s degree.

My family moved to Wyoming during the Depression of the 30’s, where my parents bought a cattle ranch. But it was his foreman, Elmer, who ran it. I don’t know what his formal education was, but his true education was in running a ranch.

What I’m getting at is that the time (Depression) and place (a sparsely populated community) as well as an era (before communication came of age), are of tremendous importance. There was a 5 or 6 page local newspaper, there was no world news except for the Newsreels in the theaters, and radio news did not appear until WWII. So you can see education depends on who you are, where you are, what’s available, and what you do with it.

And so, if you were an Iraqui or Afghani farmer either farming or tending your herd in a land of vast spaces, what must have been your reaction to our invasions of those countries? Did you know what led up to those invasions? What did you think when our forces destroyed your crops, your animals, and your families? And didn’t we see film on TV of many of those men being rounded up and sent to Guantanamo as terrorists, though, to date, very few have been charged? If any of them fought back, would you have done the same in their place?

Unfortunately, education continues and will continue to shape human beings. If you watch the quality, or lack thereof, of entertainment and information available to the average person today, and if you have contact with them which reveals how and what they think, you find a vast area of difference in the educational background of the individual and the use he or she has made of it.

ARW
3/30/08

New and Old Odds and Ends

Bloggers tend to be thinkers, and thinkers tend to think about the larger subjects going on involving mankind and the world. We do not all agree, which should be appreciated as a most important teaching aid to each of us individually and to human progress throughout our past and into our future on this earth.

If you’re a thinker, life as you conceive it, probably tends to go on pretty much the same, but the way you think old thoughts often changes as well, so that you feel even more strongly about a subject, or you find yourself looking at it through a newly opened door or without the hindrance of a fence or wall that used to be there. So that’s what I will be writing about, and I may find myself hopping around from one subject to another, and then back again.

The thing that continues to bother me above all others is Bush’s motivation for his war on Iraq. As far as I can tell, the events of 9/11 were the start of it all. I distinctly remember that after Bush finished reading the upside down book to the children’s class, he rushed to New York City, as he should have. However, that famous photo of him bounding to the top of a pile of debris and putting his arm around a fireman for a photo-op was a picture of a changed man. He wore his famous smirk, and the letters EGO appeared to hang in the air above him. From that day to this, he has reminded us that his main job is to protect the American people.

In order to protect someone, you have to have enemies, and up until then, he didn’t even know for sure who the enemies were. So he made some up—Iraq. And now we are their enemies too. And the way to make sure that we have enemies is to continue to make enemies of them. After all, you can’t be victorious and a hero if you don’t continue to vanquish them and then show how magnanimous you are by deciding what kind of government they will have in the future. (That might be difficult, but be sure you at least carry it out till the end of your time in office. In that way, you can ride off into the sunset as the victorious hero who has protected his people. Although, if it goes badly enough, you might decide to sacrifice your deserved retirement in the service of your people and declare that you will spend another four years in office, in much the same way in which you have negated the wishes of Congress through signing statements appended to their legislation.)

So now, we have lots of enemies, many of them Americans who were born here and still live here. And, because many of us who are native-born have grown to at least no longer feel proud of our country as we know it now, we have become known as unpatriotic enemies too. Add to those the people who came here illegally, even if they love the world of Bush and his crew, and we have a whole slew of people who hate, not only our enemies abroad, but also a slew of enemies here at home, already at each other’s throats.

The Transportation and Mortgage Messes

After reading an article in the Washington Post about public transportation and toll roads, I have decided to give the subject a stab.

Starting with toll roads, their main purpose apparently is to make money from owning and operating them. The very essence of free trade.

The aspect that I didn’t see addressed is that they encourage the good old American caste system. If you’re rich, or at least fairly well-off, who cares about spending a little more to make a faster trip on a less crowded toll road, especially if it is to get to work from a suburb to the city? On the other hand, if you can’t afford the extra change, it takes you longer to get the same distance on a slower and less comfortable means of travel. So the poorer people have to get up earlier and take longer to get to and from work for less.

It was Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko who uttered the famous American motto, Greed is good!, There was a time when it should have been considered as the national motto for the 21st century, but Bush hasn’t finished yet. His spirit-lifting encouragement following the tragedy of 9/11 and the start of WWIII was to urge us to go out and spend money. His leadership has made wealth appear within the grasp of all.

And so, people who cannot possibly afford expensive homes have patriotically rushed to his call and, with the help of a whole lot of crooked realtors and money lenders, have “bought” expensive homes from which they are now being evicted.
In fact, as I write, Bush is reassuring all of us that our economy is “vibrant and moving forward,” due to the fact that he and his advisers have been on top of the current downturn from the very first signs of trouble.

But there actually is a bright side to these tragedies, and it will not come from God. All we have to do, and I do mean ALL of us, is begin to use our heads and think about what our role on this Earth has been and should be. What has happened has been done to us by ourselves. We must come to the realization that greed is not good and the Earth and all its creatures, and all of its resources can only survive if we care for each other. (Isn’t it odd that when there start to be too many animals, the solution seems to be acceptable that we have to go out and thin them by hunting? We are doing the same thing with war, though few people seem to recognize that fact.)

It is incumbent upon EACH of us to start thinking of those things we have that we don’t need (or do) and stop acquiring any more, as well as sharing with others what could make their lives more bearable.

Interesting Replies to Spitzer Tragedy

When I compose a post to my blog, I also send it as an email to friends and family. I have received replies from each end of the spectrum, one pornographic, and one wondering why I don’t spend more time thinking about the lovely things in life. The porno answer is easy to dismiss, after mentioning it as an illustration of what my blog was about.

The email answer was more interesting because it goes to how I think and why I wrote about this still-ongoing story in the news. I don’t have to look for the story, it comes looking for me on all of the news media.

The email responder may not have understood where I was coming from when I said I longed to get back to my rage and fear. If I didn’t care so much for the beauty of the earth and the fragility of its innocent creatures – be they animal or human - I wouldn’t be so full of my muses, rage and fear.

Back in my birdwatching days, there were numerous days when we came upon dogs or cats that had been abandoned in the country. It was not in my character to say to myself that they were someone else’s problem and it wasn’t up to me to stop bridwatching in order to try to save them. To the contrary, that is how I got at least 2 of my cats and 7 of my dogs. On the other hand, I made the mistake of going to Monterey to go whale watching in a friend’s car. We passed a dog trotting down the freeway far out in the country, and my friend refused to stop. I have never gotten over that, and I have never let another person drive me anywhere since then. She, on the other hand, was thinking only of a lovely day on the ocean.

I hope this will explain why seeing the Spitzer family abandoned on the freeway of smut so that the rest of us could go on with our trips to the shore is just not in my character.

Things Have Changed

The world I see today is not the same as the world I saw three days ago. Before, I was just terribly depressed at life and death and terror for so many millions of people. And I was frightened more than I have ever been for the future of this Earth. Nine more months of this man and his cohorts seems like an ever expanding eternity which we cannot hope to interrupt.

But the past three days have obscured these feelings, feelings that I admired in myself, of outrage that I could vent through my blog and into the ether. Feelings that would bring me either friends or enemies.

The mood that overwhelms me now is one of being unable to participate, of having no level ground on which to meet either friend or foe. For the past three days I have been walking up to my neck in a pool of slime, my feet unsupported by the deep mud underneath. I want to wipe it off my arms and back into the pool.

This sex story is everywhere, on all TV news, on the front pages of most, if not all, newspapers, and on talk and comedy shows. It has engulfed me by its very presence everywhere, and I cannot find my way out of the swamp. There is nothing about it that threatens me, so I cannot defend myself. As I said on my previous blog, my heart aches for the families involved, but I have no weapons with which to protect them or salves to soothe their souls.

The obsession of those who feed their basest instincts through tales of the troubles of others is too overwhelming to overcome in this age of information, and by their numbers they rule.

Oh, God, I wish I could go back to my days of rage and fear! I want to put myself out there on my blog and say, “Here I am! Come and get me!”

True Tragedy

I wasn’t going to say anything about Governor Eliot Spitzer, and I’m still not going to say anything about him, except as he has affected others.

If you have watched TV for the past two days, you have watched his wife Silda change from a very attractive, vivacious middle aged woman to an old, old woman for whom the future can only be too long.

You have not seen his three TEEN-AGED girls since you saw them smiling with joy and pride at their father’s inauguration. Do you think you would recognize them now?

And, if you noticed his parents in the background at the inauguration, you saw that they were very old and extremely proud of what their son had accomplished (and might accomplish) during the rest of his life. His mother was tiny from age and illness, but made strong enough to be there for the occasion by its very meaning.

When the governor announced his resignation today, it was short, but left enough time to remind the public of the great things HE and the people he had worked with had accomplished over his time in office, and he said that the work would continue on after he left. Somehow, it seems to me that this particular occasion called for recognizing the great work THEY had done without including himself in a self-serving reference.

But he is not the only person who has transgressed. CNN announced today that the comedy shows would be in heaven tonight and into the future with all of the material which the governor has provided for them. (To those of you who will tune in and be amused, this tragedy has descended to your level at last.)

Old Timey Info Just for the Helluvit

The title I gave to one of my two posts regarding the turning point soliloquy of Hamlet was, oddly, “Close, But a Hand-rolled Cigarette.” I am late getting to bed and at that point in time when I feel compelled to share my vast wealth of knowledge with the rest of you.

Back in the olden days, as we say, when I was young, carnivals were a great source of entertainment. One of the most popular booths was the shooting gallery, especially for men wanting to show off for their girlfriends. (I haven’t been to a carnival in a long time, but it may still be true today.) There was a constant line of little animal figures running across the background, and their attempt was to shoot down as many as possible, with the prize being a cigar. If they missed, the barker would call out “Close, but no cigar!”

With that explanation, back to Hamlet and my title. You can probably deduce that I felt my incomplete rendition of my memory of that great work was not too bad after all these years.

I am perfectly happy to share these morsels of intellectual expertise with the rest of you, at no charge, you will be happy to note.

And so to bed.

Atheistic Apologies to Those in Need

On my most recent addition to my blog, I ended it with a question I have increasingly grown to find appropriate for the times, “Do they teach you this stuff in church?” My niece emailed me back that I should go lite on questions like that, lest I, an atheist, become as bigoted as those to whom that sentence is addressed. So I decided this was a good time to go back over the religion controversy and explain to one and all why I say things like that.

First of all, I have great respect for the various religions and people who practice them as they should, without impinging on the beliefs of others. One of my dearest friends is a devout Catholic, and she has told me that she prays for me. I consider that the loveliest gift she could give me because she doesn’t ask me to change and her prayer means so much to her. I reviewed an earlier article by me on that subject and mentioned John Kennedy, but failed to quote him. When he was asked if his Catholicism would affect his administration as president if he were elected, he replied (my words) “My religion is between me and my God alone.”

The people to whom my sentence is addressed are those whose self-assurance is so great that they feel, not only entitled, but called upon to force their beliefs on others. The current election process is rife with warnings to all of us, even other religions, that we face religious warfare the likes of which we have not seen. Preceded by the Bush administration, the Christian right is determined to take away the right of gay people to marry and the right of women to determine what shall happen to unborn children. Both rights should be basic rights and should concern no one else other than those close to them. It amazes me to hear them say that “every single human life (born or unborn) has a God-given right to life,” while at the same time this country, under this president, is slaughtering hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world, born and unborn, innocent as well as guilty.

My sentence is directed only to the people mentioned above, not to those who respect my agnosticism as I respect their religion. Feel free, friend and foe alike, to let me know how what I say is understood by you.

In the meantime, depending on your responses, I shall ask at least once again, “Do they tell you about this stuff in church?”

Humiliation, the Cost of Courage

By coincidence, at the same time I posted my quotation from Hamlet on my blog, a tabloid outed Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne. They are connected.

The quotation from Hamlet was about an army, “led by a delicate and tender prince” on their way to give their lives in a battle motivated by honor.

Prince Harry had insisted, over the objections of his family, on going to Afghanistan with his men. He had already been there for several weeks, facing the same dangers as his men, including going on patrol with them, when the tabloid printed the story, complete with photos which could have revealed clues as to his whereabouts.

That article was taken up by most, if not all, of the media worldwide. It is s-o-o-o tabloid and s-o-o-o American values that we maintain the right to know everything, even if it’s just for our entertainment.

Prince Harry has been called back home so that neither he nor his men will be targeted.

So that’s how a man with everything in life was stripped of the thing that mattered most to him, recognition as a noble human being, and reduced to returning to a life of luxury, protected by others, for all the world to see.

Do they teach you about this stuff in church?