CrustyOldCoot

Military Recruitment

2005-06-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

Wes Clark, the newest Fox News analyst and NATO's former wizard of high altitude bombing, was on Fox this evening discussing, among other things, the recruiting shortfalls of late. His position is that they fall squarely on the President's lack of selling the war effort to the public.

While I certainly believe the administration in general and Bush in particular could have done a better job, there was no mention of the constant drumbeat of treasonous comments from the Democratic Party as a whole and the main stream media in particular. All we hear in the press are stories of how American troops are targeted by "insurgents", how American troops are killing civilians and torturing detainees, and how the whole world is opposed to our efforts in the War on Terror. Durbin calls US troops Nazis and compares them to Stalin's jailers and Pol Pot's murderers and not one Democrat calls for his resignation.

Wes, time for a sanity check. Take some leadership in your party. Or didn't you learn leadership...

Torture!

2005-06-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Jack Kelly at Irish Pennants has excellent commentary on newly discovered evidence of torture. And it appears to be real, well documented and well beyond anything that's been alleged or proved so far. His link to the article in todays NYT is revealing. This should be "Topic A" tomorrow when congress convenes.

With the distraction last week from the Right Wing Media and their flacks over Senator Durbin's comments about Gitmo, this should bring the issue to the forefront and should give pause to us all.

Make sure and read both Mark Steyn's link and Jack's when you go to Irish Pennants.

News???

2005-06-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

There are some things I'm sure I have a genetic predisposion to never understand. You know, Michael Jackson, OJ, teenagers, chemistry, cats, stuff like that. But lately I'm even surprising myself. TV "News".

I'm old. I've already admitted that and I'm OK with it. But the problem is that I seem to remember (always good to qualify the act of remembering) when "news" was stuff like wars, starvation in places like Africa, scientific advancements that - hopefully - would better us, stuff like that. Events that would make a difference in our lives. Events that would one day change our children's lives for better or worse.

Which brings me to what I'll call "reality news". Please someone, anyone, explain to me how a missing teenager in Aruba is more than a mention? How is a missing pregnant woman in small town California a national news story? How does a perverted superstar rate TV coverage for weeks on end? Now, don't get me wrong I understand that to the parents of the missing girl in Aruba or California there is nothing more important. That's as it should be. But a national story that runs seemingly forever, they aren't.

It's also interesting that the only women who turn up missing in the USA are young, white and attractive. If you're old and chubby you're not "news". If you're young and non-white you're not "news". If you're charged with a crime and can't afford a $1,000 per hour lawyer you're not "news". Is there a pattern here? Or am I just overly sensitive? The answer to #1 is probably, the answer to #2 (at least according to Mrs. Coot) is "heh".

Could somebody please start a new cable channel for "reality news". Or maybe "designer news", you could vote on the kind of stories - or specific stories - to air. Michael Jackson could be voted off the island in favor of the Aruba teenager. It'll be a hit. I won't even sue you for stealing my intellectual property. Well, I might not. Depends on who you are and how much money you make with it. OK, I'll probably sue you. But if you contact me, I'll cut you a smokin' deal on licensing.

That would leave the "regular" news shows to do real news. Things like in-depth reports about how the CIA managed to miss the Chinese military build-up. Stuff like some of the good things that are happening in Iraq that you will only find if you read Cherenkoff. Maybe some real meat about the options that my sons should have when they think about saving for their retirement.

News. Information not opinion unless it's labeled opinion. More than one viewpoint without shouting. Absolutely no politicians or academics. Real people with real information and real ideas. Maybe we could be an informed electorate. And for sure the "real news" should run in the same time slots as "reality news"...

Religion & Politics...

2005-06-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

John Danforth, former Senator and an Episcopal minister, has an interesting OpEd in the NYT. The premise of his OpEd is that the rise of "conservative Christianity" has coincided with, and in his opinion is the cause of, the loss of collegiality in Congress.

Mr. Danforth ignores several factors in coming to his conclusion. First, that "conservative Christianity" is responsible for the loss of collegiality in Congress. There certainly has been a rise in conservative Christianity in the last couple of decades. There has also been a rise in what one might call "liberal humanism" on the other side of the political and spiritual divide. There is an eternal conflict between those two positions because their proponents see not only different methods to achieve the ends they perfer, but see different ends. Both sides of the argument provide a "slippery slope" for the other making moderation and compromise the tools of surrender.

I would submit that the most obvious reason for a loss of collegiality is the practice of creating "safe" seats in the House of Representatives. The number of competitive races in the "people's chamber" drops with every redistricting cycle. Technology has given us the ability to create congressional districts where even I could get elected. (Perish the thought!) The result is that "representatives" do not have to worry about upsetting the folks back home. They all want red meat, served raw. Human nature being what it is, if we don't have to compromise we won't. That's why we see the farce that passes for congress on CSPAN. Never miss an opportunity to serve up what the folks back home want. Just look at the last Representatives who were defeated and you'll get the idea just how far out of the mainstream you have to get.

The Senate is only slightly less safe than the House. One reason is that they serve for six years so they only have to think about the folks at home for about two years. Right Arlen? The other reason is still redistricting. Because House races aren't competitive and because the same people who set the House districts also set the state legislature districts there is really no "farm system" for politicians. That's why typically only governors are successful senate candidates. They have name recognition.

The final paragraph highlights the difference between Mr. Danforth's understanding of scripture and those he refers to as "conservative Christians". "For us [moderate Christians], religion should be inclusive, and it should seek to bridge the differences that separate people. We do not exclude from worship those whose opinions differ from ours. Following a Lord who sat at the table with tax collectors and sinners, we welcome to the Lord's table all who would come. Following a Lord who cited love of God and love of neighbor as encompassing all the commandments, we reject a political agenda that displaces that love. Christians who hold these convictions ought to add their clear voice of moderation to the debate on religion in politics. "

I've messed with politics, now I'll mess with religion. Mr. Danforth has a basic misunderstanding (or I do). Jesus came not to promote inclusiveness, but specifically to promote exclusivity. That exclusivity comes in the form of being a sinner forgiven by God, who's life changes because he understands that the only way to that forgiveness is by believing that Jesus is the Messiah. Christianity is inclusive only to the extent that we believe that God's forgiveness is open to all, without regard to how good or bad we've been up to the point of believing. And also without regard to what we may do after believing. Salvation comes by faith, not by works.

Because of our belief in, and experience with, God's grace we exclude no man or woman from worship. And we understand "worship" to mean that we live a life to please God, it's not something we do for a while on Sunday morning. We don't require the proper clothes or the right attitude or even a shower to worship God. Only a heart willing to be humble.

Yes, Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. But He didn't just eat and run as you might think reading Mr. Danforth's final paragraph. Love, as Jesus taught, isn't leaving people in their misery. It's offering people forgiveness and the opportunity to live a changed life. That's why Levi the tax collector became Matthew and who Saul of Tarsis became the apostile Paul. Jesus gave them the opportunity to experience forgiveness, we call that grace, and then He gave them the power to live a changed life to glorify God.

No political agenda, neither liberal or conservative, will bring grace or forgiveness. No political agenda will bring freedom to the soul. No political agenda will express real love for or to people. Political agendas, by their very nature, are tools of control and are designed to keep those who wrote them in power. Could they and will they help some people. Sure. But they won't bring forgiveness, freedom, peace or purpose to any man, woman or child.

So, moderate away Mr. Danforth. Your political aims will always fall short of your desire to help people, which I truely believe you want to do. Politics will never get you there.

The Last - Hopefully - of Durbin

2005-06-18T08:53:00.000-07:00

He said (emphasis mine): "If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulag, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings. Sadly . . . this was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."

On the radio the next morning he says:

Q. No regrets on the statements you made?
Durbin: No, I don't, and I'll tell you why. I went to the floor and read a memo from the FBI. This isn't something I made up.

Now he says: “I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood. I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings: our soldiers around the world and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support.”

Dick, just how stupid do you think we are? You go on a radio program in Chicago and defend your original comments. You defend your comments on the floor of the Senate. Harry Reid (any relation to Richard?) comes to your defense on the floor of the Senate. And now you have the unmitigated gall (it's a family site) to say it's all a misunderstanding. And, oh by the way, it's ME, it's US who misunderstood you!

Mr. Durbin, you are a disgusting human being. You make Michael Jackson and OJ look like pillars of the community. You will still have a following. Even Charles Manson still has a following. People still look up to Che and Castro. You will always be able to find people who are wilfully blind who will agree that you were just a misunderstood guy with a good heart. But we both know that deep down, where your heart should be, you know as I do that you are a dirt bag.

Please don't do anything else that merits comment. I have to take a shower now.

The Dangers of Gitmo...

2005-06-17T21:30:00.000-07:00

I've been reflecting on how dangerous incarceration at Gitmo is for the poor detainees. Then it suddenly occured to me that being a detainee is safer than being a passenger in Teddy Kennedy's car...

Dick Durbin, American?

2005-06-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Senator Durbin,

Your recent comments, and your follow-up on them, is the most offensive rhetoric I've heard in my fairly long life. You have made statements over past two days that are clearly both anti-military and anti-American.

To oppose Gitmo, the war, etc. is one thing. To compare a detention facility where the Red Cross, the press and any - repeat ANY - member of Congress has full access to the Soviet system of gulags where millions died is an outrage of the first order. But just so we didn't misunderstand, thank you for throwing in the Nazi concentration camps and Pol Pot. (Did John Kerry contribute him to your efforts?)

Lets see, upwards of 10 million tortured and starved to death in the Gulags. Another 7 million shot, gassed and otherwise murdered in Nazi camps. Pol Pot was good for another 2.5 million or so. Those people were, for the most part, civilians who required "reeducation" or were just "undesireable" like the Jews and gypsies and homosexuals in Germany. Gitmo is currently populated by less than 750 people who were picked up on battlefields, bearing arms, conducting military operations against US and other coalation forces, wearing no uniform which would accord them protection according to the Geneva conventions. They are currently being fed a diet that is better than the MRE's our military eats in Iraq. They receive regular medical care that would be the envy of every Canadian or British citizen when compared to their countries nationalized systems, they are provided the necessary accoutrements for the practice of their religion, Korans and prayer rugs. They are provided Imams. They are shown the direction toward Mecca so that when they pray they are facing in the correct direction. They are watched over by US military guards who have several pages of directions detailing the proprer handling of their religious articles and should one of our people break a rule - even inadvertantly - they (the military guard) are punished.

So far, I know of no deaths of detainees at Gitmo. I am aware of charges of torture, although I really believe that the definition of "torture" has been dumbed down to the point of silliness by the NYT, etal. Somehow I don't think loud rap music or having a woman "invade your personal space" or any of the other "outrages" I've heard about recently compares to the prisoners in the REAL gulags who would stuff their ears with stale bread at night to block out the screams of other prisoners being questioned.

I doubt you've gotten to here, so I won't waste my time calling for your resignation. You wouldn't anyway. Your ego won't allow it. I will mention that you are not fit to dust the sand off the boots of our Marines. You aren't fit to speak about "supporting the troops". You aren't fit to be called an American. You are shameful.

Michael Becker
proud father of a US Marine vet, the best man we know and 10,000 times the man you are...