Do You Feel Safer?

From My Own Little Corner I haven't written in a while as I have been busy reading. I just finished "Bushworld" by Maureen Dowd. What a good book. It is chocked full of information that is written in an easy to follow and humorous manner. I am now in the process of reading "The One Percent Doctrine" by Ron Suskind. Both books revealed behind the scenes information that is both troubling and scary. This man that was "elected" to run our country and his idea of the "war on terror", his ideas on how he needs to "protect us", and the means that he will use to further his own agenda, and that of his cohorts, are quite frankly, in my own opinion, egocentric and nuts. The scariest part is that he truly believes that he is going to be remembered by history as one of the greatest leaders our country has ever had. I have been listening to some of the speeches that he has been giving over the last few weeks and am both amazed and puzzled. Amazed that he has the nerve to continue to attempt to link Iraq and the 9/11 attacks, that he has had the temerity to say that we have "defeated the Taliban", to tell us that we are safer without Saddam Hussein in power, and then turn around and tell us that we are still at great risk of additional terrorist attacks. That is why I am puzzled. If the Taliban was truly responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, then why did we invade Iraq? The Taliban were headquartered in Afghanistan, a country that we invaded shortly after 9/11 to try to find Osama Bin Laden (rightly so), and that now we seem to have completely forgotten. The violence there and the resurgence of Taliban activity and their seemingly organized attacks, seems to prove that we have not "defeated the Taliban", but only pissed them off even more. Osama bin Laden is still out there planning and plotting, and GWB and his administration recently disbanded the Osama task force. This was the force responsible for tracking down the man behind the 9/11 attacks. And by moving into Iraq and attempting to set up our own brand of government and democracy, we have just given the terrorists more fuel for the fire. Al-Qaeda is more determined than ever to get us out of there and have join forces with other terrorist cells, including the Taliban, to form what appears to me to be a much stronger, better organized, and more extreme cell. For want of a better term-super terrorists. These terrorists are much scarier than the ones that existed just after 9/11. In their zeal to tie Saddam to the terror attacks of 9/11, this administration has given the terrorists what they always wanted and never had, a reason (in their own insane thought processes) to truly hate us. If they really needed a cause, other than hating us for our beliefs and lifestyle, we have given it to them. I certainly don't feel safer. Do you? And now we are hearing the same rhetoric from our leaders that we heard before the invasion of Iraq. "We won't talk to this country until they do as we say." "We are not making plans for war, just updating the plans that were already in place." "The people are repressed." The IAEA has stated the information that is being spoon fed to us about IRAN's nuclear ambitions and capabilities are being exaggerated. Does all this sound familiar? It's deja vu all over again. Hopefully, this time around, our REPUBLICAN congress will not be bamboozled into doing the same foolish things that they did before, the things that led us into this mess that we have in Iraq. In less than 2 months we will be having an election. It's time for regime change. Bush, his boys and girls, did it in Iraq and I hope that the citizens will do it in the United States. In the meantime, please pray for peace and enlightenment. I will, and may your personal God bless and keep you and yours.

A Great Man

From My Own Little Corner I awoke this morning to the tragic news of the death of a great man. His death was shocking. What was even more shocking was my reaction. I cried. I cried for his family and I cried for the loss of the things that he could have continued to teach the world. He wasn't great in the ways that we often associate with greatness. He was a man that used his God given talents to teach the world that all God's creatures are special and should be valued. His untimely death brought back many of my own memories. Sitting with my two young boys, anxiously awaiting the appointed time of his next lesson on wildlife. Watching with delight as my boys saw the value of the world's wildlife and waited with wide eyed excitement to see what his next adventure would bring. The hours that we spent as a family watching, then discussing what he had to teach us are part of my favorite memories. We watched as he first met and then married his wife. We watched as his daughter was born and again when the world was outraged when he held his son while feeding a crocodile. We watched him build a great zoo and wildlife refuge from the monies made showing the world the many exotic animals that he so loved. This man showed my children that even the ugliest and most viscious animals are an important part of our world and need to be protected. He gave my sons a love of all God's creatures that coincided with my own teachings. He was probably the strongest influence on my eldest son, who loves reptiles and has a red tailed boa named Madeline and an american alligator named Precious. We will miss his teachings and his enthusiasm. As I said he wasn't great in the ways that we often associate with greatness, but, as you can see, he was great in some of the ways that count the most. He loved his family, his crocs, and lived life with a zest that is not often seen. By crikey, we will miss you here at our house. God speed, Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter.

Am I A Fascist?

From My Own Little Corner FASCISM(as defined by Miriam-Webster)-
1 often capitalized : a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2 : a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control
Remember this word and definition. You will be hearing it often in the next 2-3 months. It has replaced the term terrorism in the speeches that President Bush and his stalwart followers, such as Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, will be using, i.e. Islamic-Fascists. You will no longer be hearing about the war on terror, you will be hearing about the war against Fascism. What better word to strike terror in the hearts of all God loving, democracy loving citizens. I have been called a fascist myself. What I did was so unthinkable that it caused the person who witnessed it to call me a fascist, communist, socialist, an idiot, and unpatriotic. What was this thing that caused me to disgrace myself? I have a Kerry-Edwards bumper sticker on my vehicle. That's right, your eyes do not deceive. I really do have one on my vehicle, and evidently it so incensed one gentleman, driving on the same highway, that he felt that it was imperative that he PLACE HANDMADE SIGNS IN HIS WINDOWS, AS HE WAS DRIVING, expressing his outrage at my fascism. No matter that he had to slow down to tape the signs to his windows, while he was driving, then speed up and drive next to the driver's window of my car to make sure that I saw them. He then proceeded to follow me, get on the passenger side of my car and tape them over his driver's side window, so that my blind husband would also know that he, too, is a fascist. I guess he didn't read the definition of that particular word before he made up his little signs and then endangered every person on the road by expressing his opinion. Is this a great country or what? Oh, well, at least he didn't shoot me. On a much more solemn note, the violence in Iraq continues to escalate. In a speech Tuesday, Donald Rumsfeld accused critics of the Bush administrations Iraq and anti-terrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror. He says that we are suffering from "moral and intellectual confusion" about what threatens U.S. security. He also compared what is happening now to what happened before WWII and the failed attempts to appease Hilter. I personally am a bit more worried about what is happening to our RIGHTS in this country of ours. I think that people are so afraid of being called unpatriotic and fascist (ooh, there's that word again), that they are neglecting to stand up against what they know in their hearts and minds is wrong. It's wrong to take civil liberties and personal rights away. It's wrong to start a war. It's wrong to idly stand by while our people starve, while they die from diseases, that, if they had insurance, could be treated. It's wrong to keep our mouths shut when we see our planet being destroyed by pollution. It's wrong to watch as our government helps countries around the world and then let it's own citizens suffer. It's wrong to keep fighting a war that we should never have started and have no chance of winning. And it's wrong for our sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers to continue to die in that war. Come on people, it's time to stand up and be heard. Open your eyes and mouths and stop worrying about what other people think. I did that day on that highway, when I realized that the true fascist was the man in the car, who felt that, if I had a different opinion than his, I must not love my country. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love my freedoms, my right to speak my mind (and his right to speak his), I love the fact that I can worship in any way that I please, but most of all I LOVE MY COUNTRY, warts and all. I guess if that makes me a fascist, then I am proud to be called one. Please remember to pray for peace and enlightenment and may your God bless and keep you and yours.

Not On His Watch

From My Own Little Corner Well, it's been a while since I made an entry. I just haven't had the energy nor the heart to do so. It seems that things haven't changed much in the last few weeks. Despite the cease fire in the Middle East, the area seems even more unstable. The war in Iraq continues to rage on, despite the reassurances of our esteemed leaders. Hurricane Katrina victims are still waiting for our government to do something, anything. In other words, the problems facing us are still there and don't appear to be getting any better. In Lebanon and Israel the fragile cease fire is holding, but for how long? The Israeli government has said that it will review the actions of the IDF and itself and the handling of the "war". I have been hearing disturbing things about corruption there at some very high levels. Hezbollah has said that they wouldn't have kidnapped the 2 Israeli soldiers if they would have known that the results would be so devastating. Really? What did they think would happen? That Israel would roll over and just give in to their demands? Come on. The Lebanese people paid a dear price for the actions of Hezbollah and now the rest of the world will have to be involved in policing the area in south Lebanon in an attempt to keep the peace and in the rebuilding of the infrastructure damaged by the Israelis. In the meantime, we continue to lose our young men and women in Iraq. It is increasingly clear that things there are "going south" at an alarming rate. The latest fatality count stands at 2,860 total coalition fatalities and 2,633 U.S. fatalities. And don't forget about the civilian casualties. As these numbers continue to grow, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is time to get out. President Bush has said not on his "watch". Well I, for one, am glad that his "watch" is almost over. I only hope that our country can survive another 2 1/2 years of his "leadership". Just my opinion. He is in New Orleans today to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I'm not sure that this is a date that should be commemorated. It was, and still is, an absolutely horrible example of our government at work. Only half of the people that survived the disaster have been able to return. The rest are still displaced. And the citizens of Mississippi are only a little further along. They are trying to get settlements from their insurance companies, and those same companies, who have been collecting premiums from these people, are refusing to pay. They say that the damage was from flooding and, as such, is not covered by their policies. Unfortunately, the courts recently agreed with them. I just have one question-isn't storm surge part of a hurricane? Doesn't storm surge cause flooding? I was under the impression that there are three major components of a hurricane. The WIND, the RAIN, and the STORM SURGE. If this is true, then why isn't the damage caused by flooding from storm surge and rain covered by their hurricane coverage? These people are still living among the debris and trash left by the storm. Are George Bush and all the other dignitaries that are there, going to visit these parts of that once great city? Or will they visit the parts that look good on t.v.? Of the 110 billion dollars designated to help rebuild the area, less than half has been spent. The infrastructure in New Orleans is still in need of serious repair and rebuilding. Only 50% of the hospitals are up and running again, and 25% of the schools. This is a sad testimony to the effectiveness of our federal government. When we are more worried about helping people half way around the world than our own people, then it is time for a change. Our republican government continues to tout the fact that they are for less government. And yet they continue to impose more restictions and take away more of our liberties every day. There are illegal wire taps, monitoring of our phone calls and internet usage, and the deterioration of the separation of church and state. There was a rally held in St. Louis yesterday to oppose stem cell research. It was attended by BOTH religious leaders and politicians. This in an attempt to affect the outcome of the November election initiative on stem cell research. I personally have a medical condition that could possibly benefit from this type of medical research. I lost a daughter to cerebral palsy and often wonder what could have been done to help her had she been born in this time of such great medical advances. These unknowledgeable people continue to assert that this research is tantamount to abortion and even murder. How absurd! And I just wonder how many of these politicians go along with these groups to further their own agendas, i.e getting reelected. Stem cell research is a great advancement in medicine and should be treated in the same vein as the Salk vaccine, antibiotics, organ transplant, and many other advancements that, at their inception, were considered outside the boundaries of ethics. When election day comes, we need to remember that there are many other problems that are much greater and will have a greater impact on this country than stem cell research and abortion. In this country we are supposed to have the right to our own opinion about things and not have another persons opinion of right and wrong forced upon us. Our decisions about who will lead our country need to be based on facts and not on the "religious rights" idea of what is best for all of us. I personally don't understand how you can reconcile sending our children into an unjust war to die and then stand there in righteous indignation and state that abortion and stem cell research are murder. If all life is precious and to be protected, doesn't that include the lives of all our children, not just the unborn? I know that the men and women in our armed forces volunteered, but did they volunteer for this? And while our standing in the world continues to fall, Hugo Chavez is traveling the world. He is telling anyone who that will listen that our government is the greatest threat to democracy that the world has ever known. And President Bush, albeit unknowingly, is his greatest ally. President Bush's foreign policy, or lack thereof, is appalling. His actions with other leader's is at times most inappropriate. Take for example the back massage of Germany's newly elected female leader. Her reaction was almost utter disgust. And don't tell me that he's from Texas and so is used to showing his affection in such ways. He is the President of this country and should conduct himself as such. And there are other threats that are waiting in the wings. Iran is test firing missiles and MAY have the capability to create a nuclear bomb. North Korea is also becoming more unstable. These governments are the reason that diplomacy is so vitally important. Our government cannot simply say to these countries, "You can't have weapons of mass destruction, because we say so.". We need to make them understand the reasons that these weapons are detrimental and give them incentives to stop making them. What we should not do is tell them that if they don't do as we say, they will be punished. That method doesn't work anymore. It is time to change our policies and our leaders. Please, pray for peace and enlightenment, and may your God bless and keep you and yours.

The Real N Word-It's Not What You Think

From My Own Little CornerI have been looking at some numbers that I want to share with you. 1775-1783, Revolutionary War-4,435; 1812-1815, War of 1812-2,260; 1846-1848, Mexican War-13,283; 1861-1865, Civil War-364,511(Union), 133,821(Conferderate, est.); 1898, Spanish-American-2,446; 1917-1918, WWI-116,516; 1941-1945, WWII-405,399; 1950-1953, Korean Conflict-36,574; 1964-1975, Vietnam-58,200; 1990-1991, Persian Gulf-382; October 7, 2001-present, Afghanistan- 321; March 19, 2003-present, Iraq-2,585. TOTAL-1,140,733 MILITARY KILLED IN ACTION since 1775 and this number doesn't begin to cover the number of lives that these wars have affected. War is senseless. War is stupid. War never solved anything. The only thing war is good for is killing. It's time to stop. We are CIVILIZED. We are SMART. We are EVOLVED. We are INDUSTRIALIZED. Yet, we are still settling our differences in the same way that we did when we lived in caves. The only thing that has changed is the method of our madness. Instead of clubs and rocks, we have weapons that kill more people, faster, and from farther away. We don't even see the faces of the people that we kill. Just line up a scope and pull the trigger, launch a rocket that can travel miles. We shoot a rocket into the air, where it lands we do not know or care, we don't have to see the carnage. But the effects are far-reaching and profound. The city of Hiroshima is commemorating the dropping of the A-bomb, that effectively ended WWII, and let the demon out of the dungeon. Weapons of mass destruction. How much longer before OUR invention comes home to roost? While our government continues to decry the use of these weapons by foreign interests, we also continue to make our own. If you think we're not doing the same things as these foreign countries, you are living in a dream world. Someday soon, we are going to reap what we have sown. There is no diplomacy, cooler heads do not prevail anymore, and we keep killing. And we are not the only country guilty of these atrocities. All countries around the world are engaged in similar activities. Israel, Hizbollah, Iraq, Aghanistan, Sudan, Indonesia, and many more. These countries are fighting and killing each other, either in outright wars or in terrorist activity. It is time to change our approach to bringing about change. As I have stated, we are SUPPOSED to be CIVILIZED, SMART, EVOLVED, INDUSTIALIZED. In other words, we are SUPPOSED to be adults. Let's act it. Stop the carnage. Stop the wars. Let there be peace. The time is short. If we don't change our ways soon, another world war isn't far off and it may be the last one, because none of these countries seems to have any self control and want to win at any cost. Well, in my opinion, the cost is too high. Just look at the numbers above. These are only the numbers from our own country. These numbers will pale in comparison if the current cycle of violence continues to escalate, and then there will be no-one left to record them. Our world will cease to exist. All it will take is one country to decide to use a non-conventional weapon. Yep, I am talking about the big one, the real N word. If you are reading this and feel that it is time to stop the insanity, then tell your government. Send them a message that our current policies are not working. We are only small fish in a big pond, but if we jump, we can create large ripples. In the meantime, I will continue to pray for peace and enlightenment and hope that you will do the same. May your God bless and keep you and yours.

Laundry List

From My Own Little Corner So Fidel Castro has ceded power to his brother temporarily. I have been watching the news coverage on this development and was dismayed to see the Cuban immigrants in Miami calling for the U.S to make Cuba AND half of Florida the 51st state. There were maps and the suggestion that Miami should be called "Havami". If these people want Cuba, why not go back there and take back control of their country? Then there were the comments made by GWB. Yes, we don't want the people of Cuba to live under tryanny, but we simply cannot afford to stick our noses into any other countries at this time. I don't know if it would be wise to interfere even if we weren't already "nation building" in other parts of the world. I know, I know, our president isn't into "nation building", but I can't think of a better term. We have gone into another country, under the guise of fighting terrorism, taken out the ruler of that country, and "given " them our version of what a government should be. True, these people were severly repressed and under the tyrannical rule of a despot, but when GWB was campaigning for his first run at president, he stated that he wasn't going to "nation build". We have a laundry list of problems in our own country without trying to solve the problems of other countries around the world. I read some interesting facts on the Kyoto treaty yesterday. Some of the things that I learned were shocking. Since 1990 emmisions are RISING around the world, not falling. Canada's emmisions are up 24% from 1990, Japan's are up 13%, and the 15 western EU countries have cut emissions less than 1%. In the U.S. emissions between 2000 and 2004 rose 1.3% and the emissions in the complete EU rose 1%. The U.S emissions since 1990 have risen by 19%. I have a feeling that these numbers will be even worse at the end of this decade, as most countries aren't doing anything to reduce these greenhouse gases. We are in the midst of another heatwave here in the midwest, California just experienced their own, with the last loss of life count standing at over 160. In Los Angeles they set a new high temperature record of 116 in the valley. There, the grapes are shriveling to raisins, walnuts are drying up, and peaches are not growing. Livestock is dying faster than the carcasses can be removed. At the same time Ohio got 10 inches of rain in 24 hours and endured severe flooding. Mount Rushmore just recorded a temperature of 100 for the first time ever. New York city is experiencing record temperatures and everywhere across this country the weather is off kilter. Flooding in El Paso-7 inches of rain in 7 hours-has washed away roads, cars, and anything else in it's path. I don't remember the weather being like this when I was growing up. I do remember playing outside all day, and yes it was hot, but not like this. Chicago is also experiencing hellish temperatures and 15,000 there are without power. A 15 year old student died yesterday in Atlanta form heat stroke after football camp. This is the hottest July on record across the country. Records that have stood since the dust bowl days of the 1930's are falling like dominoes. 24,000 firefighters are battling blazes out west. Chris is churning in the Atlantic Ocean and could make landfall as a catagory 2 hurricane. In Europe the temperature is running 12-16 degrees above average and most scientist are saying that it will only get hotter in the coming years. 60,000 people a year are dying from sun related diseases, 48,000 from melanoma, 12,000 from other cancers, etc. And this is with our increased knowledge of UVA and UVB ray dangers and use of sunscreens. No global warming? I beg to differ. Next, there is a bill moving through congress to raise the minimum wage. Hurrah, it's about time. One problem though. The bill is attached to a bill to eliminate the estate tax. This may cause the bill to stall or be voted down. Why can't our esteemed representatives and congressmen just pass a simple bill without all the baggage? Perhaps because they know that the only way to get some of these ridiculous bills passed into law is to attach them to something that is really needed. Then, when the original bill doesn't pass, they can blame the failure on their political opponents. STOP. Our congress is supposed to represent all the people of this country, not just their special interest groups. It used to be like that. What happened? There has not been a minimum wage increase since 1997, but in that same period there have been 3 pay increases for congress with a 4th one due next year. This will raise their base pay from $133,000 to $165,000 a year. In the meantime, a family of four, with the breadwinner making minimum wage, will have to work approximately 74 hours a week, just to make the poverty level of $20,000 a year. Things are just a little lopsided. And then there is the exporting of jobs from this country to places outside the U.S.. Take G.E. for instance. The company just announced that they will move the manufacturing of most of it's product outside the country. But don't worry, these products won't be sold here. Where will they be sold then and how will we get the products that they make, that we need? Democracy Summer. Ever heard of it? No. Well neither had I, until just recently. This is a move, by an immigrant rights activist, to register 1 million immigrant voters. The problem arises when there is no check to see if these voters being registered are legal or illegal immigrants. Another problem, right within our borders that we need to be working on. Of course, the voters that are citizens, having been born here in this country, registered for years, will now have to provide proof of citizenship and identity to vote. No matter that they have been voting for years, at the same polling place, with their government issued voter registration cards. The ID part will pose no problem for most people, but it may cause a hardship for the handicapped and elderly. However, how exactly do you prove citizenship at the polls? Most people don't carry their birth certificates with them as they go about their daily business. These documents are easily forged, so I don't think that these measures are going to make that much difference anyway. It will, however, increase the time it takes to cast your vote, more than likely create chaos, and utimately cause some voters to say "Oh, the heck with it. I don't have time for this nonsense." We need to find a way to make voting easier, to ensure that all LEGALLY registered voters are able to cast their vote, and have it counted. No more of these machines that don't have a paper trail. How in the world can you recount votes in a close race if there is nothing to recount? I don't know about you, but I have had information lost on my computer that wasn't really important and with the increase of identity theft, I don't have much confidence in the ability to retrieve votes if a recount is needed, or in the integrity of these machines. If hackers can tap into our home computers, why not the voting machines? What if the voting machine computer crashes? Real trouble. And on the subject of health care, there are 45,000,000 uninsured, and 16,000,000 under insured in this country. We are the wealthiest country in the world and we can't even make sure that all our CITIZENS have health care coverage. But if you sneak into the country, you can get medicare, medicaid, medi-cal, and any other programs that our government has to offer. This is ridiculous. And our borders are an open door. I am not adverse to immigrants, I am just tired of ILLEGAL immigrants. I live in a small town of about 6,800 people. I get my nails done in a salon where the owners are Vietnamese. I eat at a chinese restaraunt owned by orientals. They all speak English and are upstanding contributors to our community. There are, however, some immigrants here that do not speak English. They can't even ask simple questions or make simple requests. How are they going to continue to live here? When we lived in Germany for 3 years, we learned at least a small amount of German. After all, we were in their country. So, why can't the people who come here to live, learn English? Become integrated into the U.S. society. That doesn't mean that they have to give up their heritage, it just means that they want to live in this country, not change this country into the one that they left. These are just some of the things that roll around in my brain, cause my insomnia, and are the reasons that I am worried for the future of our children and beloved country. Well, don't lose hope. I haven't, and I am still praying for peace and enlightenment, and hope that all people of the world are doing the same. May your God bless and keep you and yours.

Too Late To Turn Back?

From My Own Little Corner Seems I spoke too soon. Israel agreed to a 48 hour cease fire according to Condaleeza Rice. It lasted less than 12 hours. Hmm. I watch the news and can't seem to wrap my mind around the things that I am seeing. The bodies of dead children being pulled from the rubble of bombed buildings, the massive destruction of Lebanon's infrastructure, the firing of rockets into civilian areas by Hezbollah, the unwillingness of either side to give an inch, and the sheer senselessness are mind boggling. Then there is the damage being done to the environment. The beaches of Lebanon are drenched in an oily mess. This is the result of the bombing of an oil depot in Beirut. Over 15,000 TONS of oil has been spilled, affecting 1/3 of Lebanon's coastline. Fish and birds are dying and the green turtles are threatened. It is almost time for them to hatch and they will be making their way to the water, only to be met with an oily sludge. Clean-up is delayed because of the fighting. The Kuwaiti government is sending equiptment to help, but can't start until the hostilities end. The consequences could be far ranging. And what about the pollution going up into the atmosphere from all the fires that are burning, not only oil fires, but also the burning buildings, furnture, etc? More green house gasses. Think about it. Now, I have some numbers for you to ponder. 2,576 U.S., 114 Britons, 2 Australians, 13 Bulgarians, 3 Danes, 2 Dutch, 2 Estonians, 1 Fijian, 1 Hungarian, 31 Italians, 1 Kazakh, 1 Latvian, 17 Poles, 2 Romanians, 3 Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, 2 Thai, and 18 Ukranians. Total-2,802. These are the numbers of coalition casualties in Iraq as of July 31, 2006 according to a CNN count. In addition there have been 18,988 U.S. servicemen and women wounded and 7 Department of Defense civilians killed. 321 U.S., 1 Australian, 13 Britons, 19 Canadians, 3 Danes, 7 French, 18 Germans, 5 Italians, 1 Norwegian, 1 Portuguese, 4 Romanians, 18 Spaniards, 2 Swedes. Total-413 casualties. 825 wounded. These are the numbers from Afghanistan as of the same date. And then you have to think about the anguish of the families of these brave men and women. Their lives are forever changed and nothing will ever take away the heartwrenching pain caused by the loss of their loved ones. It is a pain that they will carry for the rest of their lives. These wounds on the heart don't heal, they only scab over, and are the most painful. These numbers pale by comparison to the number of Iraqi civilians that have been killed. As I told you in an earlier post over 14,000 have been killed since Jan.1, 2006, but the total number is at least 50,000 since 2003. What about their families? They may not have the same religious beliefs and may not speak English, but they too love their families, and grief and suffering are the same in any language. Not only have the civilians been targets of killings, but also of kidnappings. There are reports of kidnappings, not just of individuals, but of large groups at one time. One such kidnapping happened just yesterday. No one is safe, not even the children. Iraqi civilians are being targeted by death squads, some dressed as Iraqi police, for various reasons-their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and even dress that doesn't meet the standards of the religious extremists. On May 28, a tennis coach and 2 players were shot dead, allegedly because they were wearing shorts. Threats have been made against men to attempt to make them conform to certain hair styles and facial hair rules. In some areas of Baghdad women are prevented from going to the market alone, have been warned not to drive cars, and face harrassment if they wear pants. A headscarf is no longer a religious choice, but sometimes is necessary for survival. Academics and health care professionals are leaving the country. Why? They don't feel safe. Is this the democracy that our men and women are fighting to protect? Are we capable of establishing a democracy amid all the violence? Maybe it is time to rethink our objectives. We are preparing to send more troops into this maelstrom and are postponing the rotation out of the troops that were supposed to come home in August. Instead they will be sent to Baghdad, to help restore peace. I wonder if that is possible anymore. We are continually faced with the reality that we are not winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, and I don't know that it would be possible to leave now, even if we were so inclined. The whole region is on the verge of war and collapse. If that happens there could be no turning back. There may not be any turning back anyway. I wish I knew the answer. But I don't. I only have more questions. Why? Why would people want to kill each other? Why can't they compromise? Why can't there be peace? I don't know. I don't understand. I want a world where we all live in peace and harmony. It is time for change. Think about the changes you can help make happen and then work to make them come to fruition. And most of all, PRAY! Pray for peace. Pray for enlightenment. Pray that all peoples come to the realization that war isn't the answer, it is the problem. May your God bless and keep you and yours.

From Dreams To Dust

From My Own Little Corner Well, it looks as if there will not be a cease fire in the Middle East any time soon. Condoleeza Rice is leaving the region after being told that Lebanon's Prime Minister will not meet with her until there is a cease fire and the U. S. has said it won't call for a cease fire, but wants a sustainable solution. Question: How can you work toward a sustainable solution when innocent people on both sides are being killed at an alarming rate? Okay, so the civilians in Lebanon have been told to leave the area. Where exactly are they supposed to go? How are they supposed to get there when the roads are being bombed? What are they supposed to use for fuel, food, water? It would seem to me that the RIGHT thing to do would be to call for a cease fire, if only for a short time, and then work toward this sustainable solution. I understand that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and that the Lebanese government can't seem to control them, even though they are represented in the Lebanese parliament. However, bombing civilian buildings and killing children, women, and the elderly is obviously not the answer. Israel says that Hezbollah is targeting civilians in Israel. That is because they are terrorists. If Israel kills the innocent doesn't that make them just as guilty of terrorist acts? After all, two wrongs don't make a right. We all have been told that particular adage. Today Israel hit a refugee shelter killing over 50 people. Hezbollah launched numerous rockets into Israel. Israel hit a U.N. observation post, killing 4 U.N. observers. Israel says that Hezbollah puts it's rocket launchers in civilian areas and that there will be collateral damage to civilians. What happened to these precision guided, "smart" bombs that they are supposed to be using? Maybe they aren't smart enough or maybe the people programming them aren't being careful with their coodinates. Israel is supposed to be a mighty military power and with such power comes great responsibility. These countries need to put down their arms and start talking. Secretary of State Rice's undersecretary R. Nicholas Burns has stated that Lebanon didn't tell Condoleeza Rice not to come to that country today, but that Consoleeza Rice feels that "out of respect for the Lebanese people" this might not be the right time to visit. What? If anything, diplomacy is needed now more than ever. I am tired of this administration using any means necessary to further their goals. Why must every flare up be a "war on terror"? These countries have been fighting over the HOLY LAND for years if not centuries. They continue to fight for the right to exist. Why not learn to co-exist? That would seem to be the answer. The question is how to go about that. It is painfully clear that our government at this time has no idea. They have no foreign policy, unless you call war mongering a policy. There is no plan for this region, except to let them continue to destroy each other while they sit back and rub their hands. They are like a bunch of buzzards sitting in a tree waiting to pick the bones of the fallen. It is time to stop this insanity. We have other problems that need to be addressed also. While we are all being inundated with the images from Lebanon and Israel, Iraq continues to heat up. Donald Rumsfeld has announced that the soldiers due to rotate out after a 1 year tour of duty will not go. Instead they will be staying and going to Baghdad. The situation continues to degrade in that area. More innocent civilians have been killed there in the last week than in Israel. More American troops have lost their lives than Israeli troops in the last week. I think that Iraq is on the verge of a civil war. Congress is calling for the Iraqi Prime Minister to denounce Hezbollah. He won't. Why? Could it be because he, like Hezbollah, is a shiite? Just a thought. I have serious doubts about the ability of the Iraqi government to perform it's job without causing major divisions among it's people. We continue to push for a democracy in that country when I am not sure that is what they want. We hear over and over that they think that the West is decadent. Why would they want a government like ours when they feel that way? I just don't get it and I don't think anyone else does either. President Bush continues to tell us that he is spreading democracy, freeing the people from tyranny, giving them the freedom to choose their own type of government (as long as it is the kind that we approve of), and still the killing goes on. The world looks at us and shakes it's head. We are no longer the global power that we once were. The countries of the world have no respect for us anymore. Even Great Britain, who has been our greatest ally for years, has lost what respect they had. Tony Blair is referred to as "Bush's lap dog". That sends a pretty clear message. We can't get anything done around the world because we have no respect. When I think about the future of my children and yours, I wonder what legacy we are leaving them. Certainly not the legacy I dreamed of in my younger days. I had a dream...you know the rest. Seems it has turned to dust. I am truly beginning to lose hope for the future that I once envisioned. Please, please continue to pray for peace and enlightenment and may your God bless and keep you and yours.

Children Learn What They Live

From My Own Little Corner We are going to have an election in November. I know, I know, the news is full of all kinds of news about what is going on overseas. The killings, the bombings, the conflict that is ongoing in the middle East, Iraq, famine, and oh so many other things. Here in this country, things are really not much better. Just yesterday, an U. S. citizen from Pakistan opened fire on a Jewish center in Seattle. He killed 1 woman and wounded 5 others, 3 critically. In my small town they just arrested a group of juveniles for doing more than $25,000 in damages in two subdivisions. They painted racial slurs and vulgar language on vehicles and houses and tampered with mailboxes. This was done in a 2 day period. One has to wonder where they learn this stuff. Could it be that they are inundated daily with stories of intolerance and hatred on television, radio, and maybe even in their own homes? I have heard so many people ridicule the religious and political beliefs of others, that at times it turns my stomach. What happened to the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, and the right to an opinion? I have a friend that is a Latter Day Saint, her son is one of my son's best friends. They are truly very kind and generous people with great senses of humor and would give the shirt off their backs if asked. Yet, they are told almost daily that they are going to hell because they are not Christians, by the people that claim to be Christians. Is this the message that we are sending our children, that if others don't believe as we do that they are not only wrong, but also damned? I hope that I have taught my children that all people are equal, that they all deserve the right to voice their own opinions and beliefs, and that they should respect the God given rights of all peoples. This is sometimes hard to do when they are confronted with bigotry and hatred on a daily basis. Still, I try, and I try to set a good example. The only intolerance that I have is with ignorance. Ignorance comes from opening your mouth before you know what you are talking about. My father-in-law used to say that your teeth are like a gate, if you don't open them nothing stupid gets out. We need to teach our children that even though all of us don't have the same beliefs and ideals, we are all still equal and deserve to be treated with a modicum of respect. I can only hope that they will learn this lesson and pass it on to their children. Maybe someday all the leaders of our world will learn this lesson and teach it to the people of their countries. Then they can pass it on to their children. I know that there millions who also believe in this doctrine and maybe soon they will all stand up and be heard. One can only hope. Then we can all live in a world without hate and war. Until next time, pray for peace and enlightenment and may your God bless and keep you and yours.

The Faces Of Our Children

From My Own Little CornerI just saw a commercial that ticked, ticked, ticked into my brain. It was unusually effective. The children in this particular ad were ticking off the time left if nothing is done about global warming. How much time do we truly have left to change the course of our planet? Probably not very much. The polar ice caps are melting. Heat waves that are more intense and last longer are becoming the norm. In the Netherlands they are recording the highest temperatures seen since they began keeping records. The droughts are longer. Our coral reefs are bleaching out and dying. If we don't stop doing what we are doing and begin to turn things around, we won't have a world for war to destroy. Global warming will do it for us. Already life is changing. Here we just experienced some very fierce storms. For the second time in a year, there were hundreds of thousands of people without electricity for almost a week. New York city is also in the midst of a major blackout and California is experiencing a massive heat wave and will need to institute rolling blackouts to keep up with the demand for electricity. Wild fires are burning at record rates and destroying vast amounts of forest and homes. I saw that in the beginning of June, Germany was experiencing a major SNOW storm. The temperature of the oceans continues to rise. Hurricanes are not only more numerous, but also stronger. We only need to look around us to see that global warming is affecting all of us. Maybe that is why it seems as if no one cares about the wars raging in the Middle East. After all why worry about a little war when we aren't doing anything about the huge war that is being waged on our environment. Sure, not everyone believes that global warming is a threat, but those people have their heads buried in the burning sands. The heat of those sands may have cooked their brains and the temperature continues to rise. Why don't they see what is happening right before their very eyes? Are they truly blind to the effects we are having on our planet? Or is it that the greed is affecting their sight? It sure seems that our government has blinders on when it come to this particular subject. They are so worried about the fight on terrorism that all the other things that our government is supposed to take care of are going by the wayside. There is an election coming up in November. I can only hope that this campaign season sees the candidates tackle some of the other problems facing our country. Problems like poverty, corruption in government, stem cell research, and global warming just to name a few. We are in the midst of the most difficult times of our world. I know that some think that the end is near and so this doesn't matter, but just in case they are wrong, we need to tackle these and many other problems. After all, only God truly knows when the end will come, and in the meantime he gave us this planet to TAKE CARE OF, not abuse. We are supposed to love each other, not kill each other and we need to start doing the right thing. As Stephen King says in the Gunslinger series, "We have forgotten the faces of our fathers." I think that maybe we have also forgotten the faces of our children. So please think about some of these things and pray for peace and enlightenment. May your God bless and keep you and yours.

Give War A Chance????

From My Own Little CornerWell, I haven't written in a few days because I didn't know what to say. I get up early every morning because I can't sleep. I am scared. For the first time in my life I am truly scared for the future of this world and for the future of my children and yours. The violence in Israel and Lebanon continues. I get up and turn on the news and pray that I don't hear that WWIII has started or that some idiot has decided to use something other than conventional weapons. According to NY Post, the U. S. is rushing a shipment of precision guided bombs to Israel. These bombs are part of a multi-million dollar arms sale package that was approved LAST YEAR and which Israel can TAP AT ANY TIME. They are burying the Lebanese civilians in mass graves. The images bring to mind other pictures of mass graves that I have seen. One family lost 22 members at the same time. And while our attention is diverted by the war between Israel and Lebanon, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan rage on. According to the numbers released by the U.N. this week 14,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the first 6 months of this year. 5,818 in May and June alone. This does not include the Iraqi Security Forces deaths. The number of bombings and and shootings daily for the week ending July 13th was 34 PER DAY. That number is up 40%. Then there are the kidnappings. We hear about the kidnappings of Iraqi Olympians and Iraqi officials, but what about the everyday citizens. One of many is the story of a 12 year old boy. He was kidnapped and held for $30,000 ransom, which his parents paid. He was found by the Iraqi Security Forces in a plastic bag. I won't give the details here as they are too gruesome. Then there the number of U.S. military members that have lost their lives in this needless conflict. The number grows daily and the last number I saw was 2,560. That is 2,560 too many. Then there are the 18,000 plus that have been injured and maimed. And let's not forget Afghanistan where the Taliban is enjoying a resurgence. Seems we didn't defeat them, they were just waiting in the shadows for the next opportunity to retake what they feel is theirs, namely Afghanistan. They retook several small villages in southern Afghanistan, running off the police and security forces that were stationed there. How much longer before that region erupts into the kind of violence that we are seeing in Iraq? And while we are being bombarded with the images from the Middle East, the oil companies have issued their projected net profits for this quarter. World demand is at an all time high, 82.4 million barrels per day, generating $500 billion for the petroleum producers. This is roughly the equivalent to the gross domestic product of South Africa. What are the profits, you ask? 33.6 billion dollars in quarterly profits, up 32% from the same time last year. That is divided among 5 major petroleum companies, namely BP PLC, Conoco Phillips, Exxon-Mobil Corp., and Royal-Dutch Shell PLC. There was one more thing that caught my attention as I was reading the paper yesterday. Did you know that there was a massive earthquake off the coast of Java on Monday? The death toll from that particular disaster stood at 659 with 350 still missing. Well, I can only say that I am becoming more disappointed with the human race every day. I was cleaning the house with the television on and heard some idiot say "Not to sound flip, but why not give war a chance?". We teach our children that violence never solves anything. If they fight in school they are suspended or expelled. Wouldn't it be great if we could suspend or expel these people that think that war is the answer? It is not. It only exacerbates the situation. It is truly a sad world that we live in when the war mongers have control. So please pray for peace and enlightenment and may your personal God heap blessings on you and yours.

What Would He Think?

From My Own Little CornerI just returned from town, having bought some liquid gold for my vehicle. The price-it went up over night by thirteen cents-was $3.05.9/10. Well, I just hope whoever (we all know who it is) are enjoying the huge profits they are reaping. I am almost ready to return to the good ol' days of horse and buggy. Of course, if we all did that the price of hay and alfalfa would just go up even more. What are our farmers going to do? The price of fuel for farm equiptment affects us all and we should be hollering loud and long. Soon, and I think it will be much sooner than later, the prices of food-all food-will be out of reach for our most needy. The people who work hard to provide for their families, the elderly, the disabled, and our youngest and most vulnerable-the children-will be in even more trouble than they already are. It is time to stop this insanity. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage. The middle class is in peril of being eliminated. Then there will be the lords and their serfs. We will be working to keep THEM rich and struggling to put food in the mouths of our families. What has happened to the country that I love? I watch our senior citizens, the keepers of the history of this great country, the ones who fought to keep this democracy alive, struggling just to live. They must choose between food, electricity, medications, and fuel for their vehicles . If they don't have fuel they can't get to the Dr. to get the medications they need for quality of life. If they buy the medicine, they can't afford food. If they buy food, they can't afford the electricity to keep cool. It is a vicious cycle with no end in sight. I watch these wonderful older people at the grocery store, trying to decide if they can afford to buy meat, bread, and other staples and it breaks my heart. They are proud of their independence, have fought and worked hard for it, and it breaks their spirit when they feel that they need handouts. They would rather sit in stiffling heat and do without food than ask for help. After all they have taken care of themselves all their lives and don't understand why they can't any longer. I was listening to a C.D. on my way home by a group called Lake and one of the songs always strikes a chord in me, but never so much as now. It is called "Jesus Came Down" and the refrain states: "Jesus came down and the word got around. He wasn't pleased with the famine and war. Thousands of years full of blood, pain, and tears; Yes He found that the world hadn't changed.". So true, so true. We ( the whole world) continue to fight, maim, and kill in His name, this man, the Son of God, who preached tolerance, peace, and love. All over the world people are starving. They are dying of diseases that should have been wiped out by now. We have the resources to stop this. We have the manpower, money, medicine. Why aren't we doing something, anything? We are the greatest country in the world and we are using our resources to fight wars in countries where we aren't wanted. We need to begin to divert the billions of dollars that being spent to fight and use it for food and medicine for our people and all peoples of the world. THE TIME HAS COME FOR CHANGE!! Let's all get of our collective duffs and let our voices be heard. Tell the world and our government that we don't want war, we want peace. Use diplomacy. Talk, shout, anything, make all the leaders of the countries of our planet listen. It's a longshot I know, but we never know until we try. Can't never did anything. Someday, ( probably not in my lifetime, but I can always hope) maybe we will see a world where all people work together, everyone has adequate food and potable water, and all these nasty diseases are wiped out. Then maybe when Jesus comes down, he will smile and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servants."! May your God bless and keep you. Pray for peace and enlightenment.

Where Are Our Priorities?

From My Own Little Corner I have been watching and reading the web for any news of the conflict in the middle east. Yep, sure enough, there it is. It's all over the place. Hezbollah, Isreal, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. But let's not forget that we also have our own sons and daughters deployed in some very dangerous places. In Iraq there have been more bombings and yesterday five more of our children, fathers, mothers were killed. In Afghanistan the Taliban is making a comeback. Are we ever going to be able to bring them home? I am beginning to wonder if the violence will ever end. We must remember that democracy is an American concept and you cannot force it on people who don't want it. It is a grass roots movement that must begin from the roots and grow up, not be forced on other people from the top down. I would hope that the people that our troops are dying for truly want a democratic society, but it appears to me that they all want their own particular form of government based on religion. When you have religion ruling government, you can never have a true democracy because the ruling party will always try to force their views on those that don't agree. In order for a society to be truly democratic, there must be equality for all peoples, regardless of their religious or political views. All must have an equal voice. That having been said, I will move on to other things that I have noticed in the last few days. I watched with astonishment the video of our esteemed leader, GWB, at the G-8 summit luncheon. I was taught as a young child, the daughter of an Air Force staff sargeant, that there are certain manners associated with eating. First and foremost never chew with your mouth open and second don't talk with your mouth full. Seems that President Bush missed that particular lesson in etiquette. Every time I watch this man represent my country in meetings with other countries, it seems that something he says or does embarasses me and makes me ashamed that he is our leader. The other thing that I took umbrage with was the fact that the whole world is in a state of total chaos-starving children, people being killed and maimed daily, tsunami, earthquakes, diseases such as aids-and there sit the leaders of the most powerful countries in the world eating enough food to feed a third world family, or even one in the U.S., who struggle daily with the problem of feeding their family, for a year. Where in the world are our priorities? We must begin to see that until we tackle the problems of poverty, starvation, and disease that plague the world nothing will ever get better. We must also begin to see that until we take responsibilty for our poorest citizens we will never be truly rich as a nation. Sure there will always be rich people, but we will never know the true meaning of the word until we begin to spread the wealth. So here is my challenge to all of you that read my blog (I know that it is not a large number, but every one counts), go today and donate 5 cans of food to your local food pantry, then try to do that every week when you grocery shop. Next, change 1 light bulb in your house to a long -life flourescent bulb. If every household in the U.S. changed just one bulb, the amount of co2 emmisions would be dramatically reduced. If I told you the numbers you would be amazed. Well, I have rambled on for long enough today. So until next time, remember to pray for peace and enlightenment and may your personal God bless and keep you.

Just A Short Hello

From My Own Little CornerWell, I have never done anything like this before, but here goes. I am going to start writing a little everyday and maybe get some things off my chest. I am doing this because my ancestors (at least a few of them) have started rolling in their graves. I have been watching what is going on in the world and decided that I can't remain silent any longer. We have unlimited poverty, war everywhere we look, terrorism is running amok, and I fear for the future of my children and every child in this small world that we are trying to survive in. Hopefully, if we can all yell with a loud, collective voice, someone in "power" will listen. I have been watching the developments in the middle east with growing horror. I am horrified by the death and destruction that I see every day, but what appalls me the most is the thought that all these groups think that they are doing the will of GOD. If God, Mohammed, Jesus, Buddha, or whatever deity they pray to were to return today, He/She would be disappointed at the least and furious at the most. It is time to stop saying that we are fighting to free people, in the name of God, for the sake of righteousness, or whatever other excuse we are giving and admit that it is plain old greed and stupidity. Now, more than ever , the time has come for all you good people to stand up and say "NO MORE!". We want peace now, we want diplomacy now, we want the starving to be fed, and we want the people making money off the misfortunes of others to step down. I'll sign off with one more thought: whoever you are, wherever you are, may your God bless and keep you. Pray for peace and enlightenment.