THE COST OF A GUN

Jeffrey Guiliano of New Fairfield, Connecticut is reportedly in a state of shock and experiencing more anguish than any parent should be asked to bear. His lawyer says he's inconsolable and physically ill. That's probably an understatement. You see this past weekend Jeffrey got a call from his sister who lives next door at 1 o'clock in the morning. She thought somebody was trying to break into her house. When Jeffrey went outside to investigate, he saw a person wearing a black ski mask who was holding a knife. When the masked individual started approaching him, Jeffrey shot the man dead with a gun. The masked individual turned out to be Jeffrey's son.

The New Fairfield police have rightly determined that Jeffrey's actions were legally justified, but the fact that this killing was a lawful killing does nothing to alleviate the anguish Jeffrey is currently suffering. Moreover, he'll carry that burden for the rest of his life. It's not a price any parent should be asked to pay.

Jeffrey's burden has not escaped my notice, even though it may soon be forgotten by our citizenry-at-large. That's because our society holds the right to bear arms as sacrosanct without acknowledging the tremendous costs that right entails, and I think that's wrong!

Unfettered gun ownership in America extracts an enormous price from our society. A book recently written by Philip Cook, entitled Gun Violence: The Real Costs, reveals that the cost that Americans pay each year to guarantee gun ownership exceeds $100 billion dollars, and that cost is growing annually at an alarming rate.

I wonder whether Americans will ever own up to the true costs of the right to bear arms. I know Jeffrey Guiliano has, and it's more than his wallet – or heart – can handle.

THE NIGHT BELONGS TO NETFLIX

Thanks to Netflix, I'll be enjoying this evening in front of the television while the rest of America has tuned in for the first Presidential debate. Don't get me wrong. I like politics and I care about the outcome of the upcoming Presidential election. I also like debates and I think the prospect of watching presidential candidates spar with each other is a healthy exercise of our democratic process. On the other hand, my mind is made up at this point. I'm voting for President Obama and nothing that's said or done at the debates will change my mind.

I think Mitt Romney, the G.O.P. standard-bearer, is so out of touch with ordinary Americans that I can't even stomach listening to the droll that's sure to be flowing from his mouth this evening. My time is simply too precious to waste on such nonsense. That's a shame! The reason it's a shame is because democracy is not supposed to function this way. Democracy is supposed to give everyone a voice. In its noblest sense, democracy should strive to afford everyone an equal say in government, but sadly that is not the case with America's version of democracy.

In America's version of democracy, money talks, the wealthy wield the most power and the notion that government is of the people, by the people and for the people is an empty platitude. In America's version of democracy a man like Romney can pledge to ignore the interest of 47% of the population, as if that segment is dirt, and still reap the adulation of millions of adoring followers. It's shameful, but true…and I can't bring myself to watch. Thank God for Netflix!

NOT CARING, NOT PRESIDENTIAL

Recently, people have been debating whether Mitt Romney is wrong about the motivations of 47% of Americans that he pledges not to care about if elected, but I think that debate ignores a larger and more important question. The debate ought to be over whether America should elect as president a man whose life of privilege has endowed him with such a cruel and dismissive attitude toward everyday citizens that he would boldly declare that almost half of all Americans don't deserve his attention. In my book, a man like that deserves nobody's vote!

When Marie Antointette famously replied, "Let them eat cake," it is frequently assumed that she was being cruel and dismissive toward the suffering of her people. The truth is that Marie Antoinette led such a privileged and sheltered life that she had no real sense of the plight or conditions under which her subjects lived. Marie Antoinette's ignorance is understandable. The same can't be said of Romney. Mitt Romney is not an ignorant man, but his life of privilege and wealth has bred a disdain in him for common folks and the struggles they face on a daily basis. That kind of callous disregard has no place in America, let alone the White House.

THE WEAK MIND OF VANDALISM

My home was recently vandalized. I know who did it and the vandals know I know, but it irked me that I couldn't prove who did it until a good friend reminded me that a vandal's work is simply the outward expression of a weak mind not something worthy of the effort it takes to be irritated. My friend had a good point. Vandalism is the malicious destruction of property belonging to another and Saint Thomas Moore once aptly noted that those who plot destruction very often become destroyed by their own attempt." I guess that's because they're weak minded!

FOX ISSUES A DEATH FATWA

It's not easy living with a death Fatwā that displays your photograph. That's the Islamic extremist version of an Old West "Wanted" poster that promises eternal salvation to the person who carries out the death sentence. British novelist Sir Salman Rushdie earned a death Fatwā in 1989, compliments of Iranian Ayatollah Khomeini. Rushdie published a book entitled "The Satanic Verses" which the Ayatollah deemed blasphemous. Afterward, Rushdie spent years in seclusion and required a round-the-clock security detail. Danish writer, Kåre Bluitgen acquired a death Fatwā in 2005 when cartoons from his book, "Illustration of Muslim Prophets" were published in a Denmark newspaper. The cartoons offended the entire Muslim world and extremist clerics wasted no time in ordering his death. Danish police were subsequently posted outside Bluitgen's home and place of business to protect against the thousands of death threats he received. Given the abundance of Islamic extremists willing to carry out death Fatwās for a shot at eternal notoriety and the company of 72 virgins in Heaven, it's understandable why those with death Fatwās hanging over their heads will spend the rest of their lives with one eye looking over their shoulders. A death Fatwā triggers a lifetime of worry!

I raise the subject of death Fatwās because another notable one was issued last week, and the main accomplice in the issuance was none other than America's own right-wing propaganda machine, FOX News.

A retired member of Navy SEAL Team 6, the special operations unit credited with raiding Osama bin Laden's compound last year in Pakistan, is set to publish a memoir of the operation in a book titled, "NO EASY DAY: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Bin Laden." While publication is scheduled for this coming September 11th by Penguin Group book publishers, the memoir is set to be released under the pseudonym "Mark Owens" to protect its author from reprisals by Islamic extremists seeking revenge over Bin Laden's death. That precaution is now worthless because FOX news and its writer, Justin Fishel – yeah, the same network and writer who constantly criticize the Obama Administration for allegedly endangering military personnel by leaking classified information, revealed author Mark Owens' true identity (military classified information) to the world on August 23rd, and sure enough, a death Fatwā in Owens' true name shortly followed. Thanks to FOX news, he and his family will spend the rest of their lifetime looking over their shoulders too!

At first blush, it would appear out of character for FOX news to go out of its way to endanger a member of the military family, but propaganda machines by nature are not the face they present to the public, and FOX news is no exception. FOX is the mouthpiece of America's right-wing, neo-conservative zealots and the Navy SEAL's book, which reportedly paints a favorable picture of the Obama Administration's role in ordering the raid on bin Laden's compound, does not support the right-wing's narrative that President Obama is a weak commander-in-chief who lacks commitment to fight global terrorism. So FOX news jumped into action and solicited an Islamic death Fatwā to silence a voice that does not conform to the desires of its right-wing masters. That's not 'fair and balanced', the mantra FOX news likes to claim for itself. That's despicable!

ROMNEY/RYAN AND THE WHOLE "VISION" THING

When Mitt Romney announced in Virginia that he selected Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his Vice-Presidential running mate, Romney said that he was looking for a man with a vision and found that man to be Paul Ryan. That's lofty rhetoric if you ask me, but having a vision doesn't mean squat if the vision itself is flawed. After all, Hitler had a vision and I dare say it wasn't one geared toward drawing forth the better angels in anyone.

My knee-jerk reaction when hearing Romney's words was "What? Romney doesn't have his own vision and needs to find somebody who does!" That's sure what it sounded like to me. And then, when reporters started questioning Romney about Paul Ryan's congressional blueprint to gut Medicare that seniors rely on for health care, Romney quickly pointed out that Ryan's vision was not his vision. My, how quickly the importance of a vision can evaporate!

Don't get me wrong. I think vision in politics is a good thing, especially if it's used to spur a citizenry to achieve a better life for everyone. But vision is nothing more than a fancy goal if it's not accompanied by a rational and realistic blueprint for achieving that goal, and any vision is worthless if the goal it seeks is not one that betters the lives of everyone. That's why I'm not falling for the Romney/Ryan vision thing. Neither are interested in lifting the lives of every American – only the select who think like they do. Hitler had a similar vision and we all saw how that played out.

HOLMES HAD HELP

The police in Aurora, Colorado say that James Eagen Holmes acted alone when he barged into the Century 16 Movie Theater in that town earlier this morning and opened fire on an audience watching the new Batman movie, but that claim is false. Holmes had help in shooting 71 theater-goers, 12 of whom died in the hail of bullets that erupted from the weaponry he was carrying. His helpers weren't exactly "at-the-scene" of the carnage, but their presence hasn't escaped my gaze, even if the police in Aurora won't admit as much.

The helpers of which I speak are the gun-toting zealots in America, lead by the National Rifle Association and everyone who refuse to acknowledge that unfettered access to firearms is the single greatest menace America faces today. The blood of Aurora victims are on their hands too!

THE TALIBAN LUST FOR DEATH LIVES ON

A crowd of Taliban men, one hundred and fifty strong, gathered in the middle of a street the other day near Kabul, Afghanistan. Turbans, cloths and beards protected their faces from the scorching sun. Dry gritty wind whipped about them and the stench of human sweat saturated the air. Cursing and shouts of anger pierced an otherwise tranquil morning and the noise from the crowd, more mob than gathering, swelled to a feverish pitch.

The hoard formed a rough circle, several row of bodies deep, and on the ground in the center knelt the small frame of a woman wrapped in shawl cloth. She quivered in fear, painfully aware of the fate that awaited her, and prayed tearfully to her God, Allah for protection that would sad to say never materialize. The military were camped in their barracks. The police were nowhere to be found. The locals would not interfere.

While the mob screamed epithets and accusations of adultery at the trembling woman, a turban-clad man brandishing an automatic rifle walked up to her and fired five shots in rapid succession into her head. The woman's sobs were instantly silenced. Her bullet-ridden body slumped over sideways into a heap of dirt and a cloud of dust puffed from under her. The mob chanted and cheered in jubilation! Men clapped and raised their fists. Cries of, "Long live the Afghan Mujahedeen!" erupted from the crowd.

Inside thousands of homes in Afghanistan women wept at the news.

The Taliban live. They kill and they cheer in celebration. They rejoice in their evil…and there are seemingly none to stop them.

WHY ABORTION IS NOT THE GOVERNMENT'S BUSINESS

Genesis 2:7 - "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Some biblical translations substitute "living being", "living creature" or "living person" for the phrase "living soul", but one thing common to every biblical translation of this passage in Genesis is that human life begins with a breath. That's the foundation for my opinion on the question of abortion. Human life starts with a breath.

I realize some people think differently. Some believe human life starts when a fetus becomes viable. Others contend it begins with a fetal heartbeat. Still more argue it starts at conception. Anybody's belief, including that stated in Genesis might be true, but therein lays the rub. Legislating against abortion presupposes that a particular religious belief is the correct answer to a proposition that cannot be proven.

Many people, including myself, believe that we humans possess souls, but the concept of "soul" is actually a matter of faith and not something provable by scientific investigation. Because our Constitution guarantees religious freedom, each of us is guaranteed the right to believe in the existence of a spiritual soul. However, because our Constitution also forbids government from passing laws to establish religion, government has no right to force religious belief on anyone. Banning abortion on the grounds that it violates a religious definition of human life or human soul means imposing a particular religious belief on our entire population. If it's unconstitutional for the government to force everyone to buy health insurance, forcing everyone to buy a particular religious belief can't be tolerated either.

Honestly folks, who wouldn't have aborted Adolf Hitler had they known of the atrocities he was going to commit during his lifetime? Most families and loved ones of 9/11 victims would have pulled the plug on Osama bin Laden in a heartbeat. "All life is precious" is a nice sounding bumper sticker, but black and white morality doesn't always work in our grey world. All life isn't considered precious when we drop bombs on innocent women and children in war. All life isn't precious when we execute prisoners, just as it isn't precious when people kill others in self defense. It's a grey world out there. Let's not pretend it isn't.

We Americans cherish our right of self-defense. However, it's patently unfair that a man can take another man's life if he feels his own life is being threatened, but a woman can't abort a fetus that threatens hers. Women deserve the same right of self-protection we men take for granted. The same goes for rape and incest victims. There's no justice in requiring those women to suffer daily torture just because the alternative offends somebodies religious belief.

A 2004 study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute in New York found that 73% of women who had an abortion reported that one reason they did so was because they could not afford to raise a child. Some of those women probably were financially able to take on such a task, but what about those women who weren't? Forty-two percent of women seeking abortions have incomes below the current federal poverty level ($10,830 for a single woman with no children). I pose that question because many who rail against abortion also demand an end to our nation's welfare system. There's a cruel irony in requiring that fetuses be brought to full term and then withholding the food, shelter and health care needed to bring them safely to adulthood.

Another anti-abortion argument asserts that pregnant women must take responsibility for their decision to engage in sex, as if pregnancy is a form of punishment, and that they should not be permitted to terminate their pregnancy, because to do so encourages promiscuity. To refute that argument I would point out that it's not true that women who seek abortions haven't been responsible. Over half of them were already using some form of birth control. Their method of choice simply didn't work. Next, it's never been established that abortion encourages promiscuity. In fact, well over half of all women seeking abortions are married and/or cohabiting, which suggests that for the women involved, maintaining current relationships is a greater motivation for seeking an abortion than the desire to have indiscriminate sex. All that's left then is the notion that women must be punished for having sex. In our society "taking responsibility" means accepting the punishment for a particular behavior or outcome, which translates in the abortion debate as forcing women to carry unwanted fetuses for having engaged in sex. That's a distinctly religious principle that government has no right forcing upon women.

I recently saw a bumper sticker that said "Abortion is not a choice". I agree. It's a right!

MARKING DEATH ON WHITE STONES

The white stone arch that welcomes visitors to the town of San Juan, Mexico is no longer an inviting landmark. Instead, it's a marker of Mexico's latest atrocity in the gruesome two-year old drug war that has claimed over 50,000 casualties south of America's border. This past Sunday, the people of San Juan awoke to news that 49 headless bodies were discovered heaped on the road next to the stone arch at the edge of their town. Those responsible for the killing, the Zeta drug cartel, left their calling card – a large black Z – painted on the white stone archway for all to see.

Stop and reflect for a moment. Over fifty thousand people have been slaughtered in Mexico over the past two years for one singular purpose: to allow Mexico to be used as a transportation conduit for illegal drugs intended for shipment to the United States. Seventeen times the number of people who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks had their lives brutally extinguished over a two-year period just so Americans could have access to marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

When I think of the stench of decaying human flesh that authorities must have confronted outside San Juan last Sunday morning, it makes me want to drag of busload of illegal drug users and dealers to the sight and make them inhale the smell of the atrocity they helped create. I say that because, to me, they are just as responsible for the deaths of those forty-nine victims as was the Zetas drug cartel. Without illegal drug users and dealers, the Zeta drug cartel would not exist.

FEELING NO PAIN

Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class. ~ Al Capone, American mobster of the 1920s and 1930.

Can somebody explain to me why economic austerity measures must always be shouldered by the working class and poor? Why is it that the captains of industry, the wealthy and the politicians are not asked to tighten their belts in tough economic times?

Since the current economic downturn began in 2008, the income of America's wealthiest one (1%) percent (who control 40% of America's wealth) has grown appreciably each year over the year before. Consumption and demand for goods among people living in that group has never dipped in terms of actual dollars spent or percentage of income. Only their tax burden has decreased. Yet, to hear right-wing politicians speak, that group is being unfairly targeted by Democrats who want to increase taxes on the wealthy in order to return our Nation's economy back to a healthy state.

What's wrong with asking the wealthy to share the pain that the rest of America has been feeling for several years now? After all, it wasn't the working class or poor who tanked the economy in the first place. Workers and the poor didn't ship American jobs overseas! Workers and the poor didn't rob pension funds, bankrupt companies, manipulate the banking system and drive the stock market to ruin. After the economy crashed, workers and the poor didn't collect million dollar bonuses. Millions of citizens who were evicted from homes and apartments didn't reap golden parachute severance packages or walk away with millions of dollars worth of stock options in their pocket. No! The people who shouldered the lion's share of work in America were the same individuals who felt the pain, and are still doing so. Only the wealthy avoid the pain. Al Capone was right. Talk about a racket!

A SOLDIER'S WIFE

Carolyn Bales, the wife of staff sergeant Robert Bales, the U.S. soldier accused of killing seventeen innocent women and children in Afghanistan, has lost her husband. She knows where he's located – a military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, but the man she fell in love with, the father of her children, is missing. In his place there's a broken man she doesn't know and a million unanswered questions.

On the other side of this world, scores of relatives of the seventeen massacre victims are missing their loved ones too. They know where the departed are buried, but they are left with broken hearts and the same million unanswered questions.

The war in Afghanistan rages on for soldiers and citizens alike. Death…pain…suffering…and a million unanswered questions.

CHARTER SCHOOL JETS

When Northrop-Grumman or Boeing submit bids to the Pentagon to build a fighter jet, part of each bid includes profit the company hopes to make if awarded the contract. Though that profit comes from taxpayer dollars, it's a justifiable reward for the risk the corporation undertakes in providing taxpayers with a fighter jet at a lesser costs than if the government built the jet itself. The competitive bidding process serves to prevent profit gouging and contract specifications and performance requirements insure that taxpayers are not spending money for a jet that does not fly.

The problem with Pennsylvania's charter school system does not lie with the concept of companies reaping profits for educating children. Rather, the problem lies with lack of accountability and risk. Currently, companies and/or individuals that run Pennsylvania charter schools are able to reap substantial profits from the public purse without undertaking risk of non-payment if the service they provide does not meet specific performance requirements. That means they profit even if their jet can't leave the ground. That doesn't fly with me!

REFUTING THE REVEREND WRIGHT EMAIL

Today, I received the following e-mail:

This Pastor has guts!!! Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister, Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good, but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of speech and expression. We have ridiculed the time honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story", and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our Nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one nation under God".

If possible, please pass this prayer on to your friends. "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything". Think about this: If you forward this prayer to everyone on your email list, in less than 30 days it would be heard by the world. How many people in your address book will not receive this prayer...do you have the guts to pass it on? I just did!

[End of e-mail]

After reading Pastor Wright's prayer, I composed one of my own:

"Heavenly Father, forgive the transgressions of we who are like Pastor Joe Wright and the Kansas state legislature.

We claim to seek your guidance and direction, but our hearts are hardened by our hubris and haughtiness. We claim to know You, but we do not recognize Your face.

We claim to know Your will, but we find no joy in doing it.

You view the poor with empathy and kindness. We view the poor with contempt and disdain.

You encourage abundant charity. We despise the government's helping hand.

You extol justice for the oppressed. We see only the wealthy as oppressed.

You treasure instruments of Peace. We treasure instruments of War.

You sacrificed Your only begotten son. We sacrifice only crumbs from our tables.

You urged man to avoid earthly wealth. We idolize men who accumulate it.

Your son ministered to outcasts and criminals. We minister to the rich and powerful.

Your son was put to death for the sins of others. We put other to death for our own sins.

You gave man Earth for Heavenly glory. We exploit Earth for the glory of money.

Heavenly Father, Give us this day our daily bread, but do not waste your loaves on the lazy or down-trodden. Forgive us our taxes, even as we refuse to use those taxes for Your will. Lead us not into temptation, for we are perfectly able to find it on our own. Deliver us from having to care for one another, for the United States of America is our kingdom and our power and our glory, forever. Amen!

The response to my prayer was immediate. The Kansas state legislature has denounced it and has turned down my request to open their next legislative session. In the first ten minutes after my prayer was sent to everyone who forwarded the Rev. Wright prayer e-mail, thirty (30) alleged Christians responded with e-mails suggesting that I was the devil and should take up residence in a much hotter climate. Nobody from India, Africa or Korea has solicited copies of my prayer, but that's because they can't even afford food, much less Internet access. Paul Harvey still doesn't know who I am, and the rest of the story of my existence wouldn't really interest his audience. I can live with that!

BLOODIED HANDS

Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out... and help to slaughter strangers of his own species who have done him no harm and with whom he has no quarrel.... And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for "the universal brotherhood of man" - with his mouth. ~~Mark Twain

The words of Mark Twain ring true on this day as word emerges from Afghanistan that a soldier in the United States Army who was stationed in Afghanistan, left his barracks, walked to the nearby village of Alkozai (in the Kandahar province) and slaughtered sixteen innocent women and children in cold blood with his army-issued rifle.

In the days, weeks and months ahead many will busy themselves trying to answer the question "why", but no amount of internal examination or reflection will change the fact that war placed that soldier in the country where this atrocity was committed. However we try to repudiate and distance ourselves from the senseless violence that soldier committed, the blood of those sixteen innocent victims will remain on our hands. We sent that soldier to Afghanistan to kill, and he did.

25,000 SCHOOL PRAYERS

This may come as somewhat of a shock to my conservative brethren, since blazing liberals like me are frequently labeled as godless heathens, but I’m for prayer in school.

Did you know the average child spends about six hours per day in school? That’s 21,600 seconds. If you add an hour for riding the bus in each direction, that figure jumps to approximately 25,000 seconds—which means the average student has 25,000 opportunities each day to whisper a silent prayer to God. I think every student should take one of those 25,000 opportunities to thank God for all the wonderful things they have in this world. That's my idea of prayer in school.

For some folks, that's not enough. They want prayers at graduation ceremonies and football games. Well, I’m for praying there too. I’ve seen a few graduates and a more than a few football teams who can use all the prayers they could get. Plus, I see prayer as a dialogue with God. I believe that the more we talk to God, the better each of us will feel, regardless of whether we're a conservative or a liberal. Go ahead and pray at graduation ceremonies and football games too.

Now, when most people advocate for prayer in schools and prayers at graduation ceremonies and football games, what they're really demanding is the ability to put their own so-called piety on display and force others to wait and/or participate while they do it. That's where I draw the line, because that's not prayer. That's haughtiness and forced religious worship and has no place in a pluralistic society like ours that guarantees freedom of religion and freedom from religion.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees me freedom of speech, but that guarantee does not give me the right to burst into a church and interrupt a religious service just to hear myself speak. That's because my constitutional right is accompanied by an obligation to respect and not interfere with others who are exercising their constitutional rights. When folks demand the holding of prayer time in public forums, what they are actually seeking is the elevation of their own rights above the rights of others. That concept is an anathema to the notions of liberty and equality that are embedded in the framework of our Nation's Constitution and cannot be tolerated.

NO NEW TAX PLEDGES

Candidates and publicly elected officials who sign pledges "NOT" to do something which a person elected to that position are legally required to do are unfit to hold public office. That's not just my position. It's the position of conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who stated that judges who refuse to impose the death penalty due to their religious beliefs are unfit to hold public office because of their unwillingness to carry out the distasteful duties of their position. The same applies to no tax increase pledges.

The Preamble of the United States Constitution charges government with the task of establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare of the people and securing the blessings of liberty for ourselves and for our descendants. Upon taking public office, those who serve pledge to defend our Constitution and pursue the goals stated therein.

Not raising taxes unnecessarily is a laudable goal for every government official with control over the public purse, but there are times and circumstances when fiscal responsibility and duties imposed by our Constitution require increased taxation. Those unwilling to place the Constitution first have no place in government.

THE "PRO LIFE" ALTERNATIVE

Whenever someone asks whether I'm "Pro-Life" or "Pro-Choice”, my normal reply is "I'm both"! Invariably, my answer triggers a response suggesting that I can't be both, but this is my explanation. I’m against killing people in war. I'm against the death penalty. I'm against allowing people to starve to death when there is food available to feed them. I'm against allowing sickly people to die when there is medical care available to cure them. I'm against killing people by polluting their air and water. More people die each year from the above-referenced causes than the number of fetuses do by abortion.

I’m also concerned about the number of abortions performed every year in this country, not because I see abortion as murder, but because tens of thousands of abortions are carried out following incidents of rape, incest and instances where a woman's health is in danger. If rape and sexual abuse were eliminated, the number of performed abortions would decline substantially. Insuring good health care for the entire population would also reduce abortions.

Simply making abortion illegal is the coward's response to the issue at hand. It's cowardly because making abortion a crime doesn't address any of the root issues or circumstances that drive most women who end up choosing abortions. It's just the easy way out.

Now, because I do not view a fetus as a person, I do not believe that a fetus has equal or superior rights over the woman in whose womb it exists. I support a woman's right to control her own body and do not think the government has any right to interfere with that right.

I also don't favor a Constitutional Amendment banning abortion. Prohibition didn’t work and neither would a constitutional amendment banning abortion. I’m not in favor of wasting taxpayer dollars trying to pass something that wouldn’t solve the problem.

GOOD THINGS STILL HAPPEN

After yesterday's diatribe on murder, mayhem and mass death, I thought I'd take a respite today and blog about some of the good stuff happening in the world.

KIVA.org is a micro-lending organization that connects individuals willing to lend money with individuals and groups in underdeveloped (and some developed ones) countries who would otherwise have no access to lenders willing to finance efforts to improve their lives. To participate as a lender, a person must be willing to lend $25 or more. Lenders chose from among hundreds of borrowers seeking loans and donate $3.75 per loan to KIVA to cover KIVA's operating costs. For more information on KIVA's micro-lending program, visit www.KIVA.org.
To join my lending group, visit www.KIVA.org/invitedby/steven1170

Heidelberg United Church of Christ is a church in downtown York, Pennsylvania. On the fourth Saturday of every month, volunteers from that church and a number of other churches in the area prepare and serve a free breakfast to anybody who walks in off the street. Many of the attendees are homeless people living on the streets or folks who spend their nights in mission shelters. Others are families in the area who've run out of supplies because it's the end of the month and food is scarce. The people who provide the breakfast, cook the breakfast and serve the breakfast are not divided by political ideology. Some are Republicans. Some are Democrats. All of them are committed to serving those in need. It's a perfect example of what folks can accomplish when they cooperate with one another instead trying to dominate the other.

A group of members of the Heritage Senior Center in Dover, Pennsylvania have taken it upon themselves to prepare Easter greeting cards for those elderly folks who receive meals from the Meal-on-Wheels program. It's heartening to see a group of seniors searching for ways to improve the lives of their brethren. Caring for others is contagious.

International aid organizations like the United Nations, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent have stepped up their efforts to get aid and services to individuals and families trapped in Homs and other Syrian cities that are caught in the cross-hairs of political tumult and civil war. Many aid workers have died in the efforts to bring aid to innocent victims, and the sacrifice of those workers should never be forgotten.

There's still plenty of good in this world. We just have to look for it!

BLOODY SUNDAY

Other than wondering whether we'll join Israel in a war with Iran, Americans are largely unconcerned and uninformed about the violence taking place in other parts of the world. That's too bad, because our collective indifference and ignorance are why Americans fail to grasp the reasons for turmoil in other lands. It also explains why our nation continues to repeat past mistakes in dealing with that turmoil.

Here's a brief recap of yesterday's headline grabbing violence in places other than America:

Yemen: 106 soldiers were killed in battles with al-Qaeda fighters.

Nigeria: 4 police officers were ambushed and killed by rebels fighting the Nigerian government.

Iraq: 27 security officers were gunned down by a separatist group.

Algeria: Dozens were seriously wounded in an attack on an Algerian military base by a-Qaeda fighters.

Turkey: A bomb planted by Kurdish separatists exploded near the Turkish Prime Minister's residence; nobody was killed but one man was seriously injured in the blast.

Mali: 3 soldiers were killed in an attack initiated by Tuareg separatist fighters.

In non-violent, but deadly incidents, the following was reported:

Guinea: Dozens died when a bus full of passengers drove off a cliff.

Congo: Over two hundred (200) people died and scores more were wounded when a munitions factory exploded.

Yesterday was a bloody Sunday. Many people lost their lives to senseless violence. Hundreds more died in avoidable accidents. Let's not forget the violence or the reasons behind it. If we want tomorrow to be less bloody, doing so is an imperative.

THE HONESTY OF RON PAUL

Brutal honesty in politics is a rare commodity these days, but Republican presidential candidate, Ron Paul's comments regarding federal aid to victims of last week's tornado strikes in the Midwest and the South shows that the concept isn't totally dead. Paul appeared on a CNN broadcast and said that sending federal aid to the victims of those calamities was akin to stealing from taxpayers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should play no role in attempting to alleviate the suffering of those devastated by the tornadoes. That's about as brutally honest as a politician can get! Don't get me wrong! I think Ron Paul's views on federal disaster relief are cruel and inhumane and demonstrate the ugly underside of libertarian principals. I don't buy the "each man for himself," mantra that libertarians champion. I don't see it as being practical in today's world and I think it promotes human cruelty, selfishness and unbridled greed. That said, I appreciate Ron Paul's brutal honesty. As offensive as I find his opinions, at least I know he's not blowing smoke. You can't say the same about his fellow Republican candidates.

THE ISRAELI REPUBLIC OF ARIZONA

“The hour has arrived to abandon theories and go directly to what is practical.” - Samael Aun Weor, 19th century writer, teacher and Gnostic lecturer.

There are millions of suggestions out there for curing whatever ails the Middle East these days, and almost all of them include some change in Israeli behavior and/or Israel's geographic borders. Some of the more heinous suggestions, like those espoused by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, involve the total annihilation of Israel. That's clearly immoral and totally unacceptable, but since some leaders (like Ahmadinejad ) in the Middle East seem hell-bent on waging wars of annihilation, I thought it might be worthwhile for countries like Israel to consider a "Plan B" or two; something practical, albeit a little on the nutty side.

The good people (yeah, there are still a handful) of Arizona are always moaning and groaning about the illegal immigrant and drug-related traffic that is occurring along its border with Mexico. I'm thinking that a good "Plan B" for Israel, and for the people of Arizona, would be to relocate the entire nation of Israel to the southern part of Arizona along the Mexican border. The U.S. government could annex the land to Israel and call it the Israeli Republic of Arizona, just to maintain the local culinary flavors…but without the pork.

Arizona currently contains 113, 998 square miles. Israel occupies under a tenth of that area – approximately 8,500 square miles. If the U.S. government sweetened the deal by tossing in several thousand additional square miles, Israel could expand settlements to its heart's content without violating international law as they currently do. The people of Arizona would benefit as well. Nobody maintains a secure border like Israelis do, which I'm guessing would virtually eliminate Arizona's illegal immigrant / drug trafficking problems.

I'll admit that my idea is a bit whacky, but it's a lot more practical than the theory of nuclear annihilation.

NO ROOM AT THE TABLE FOR LESBIANS

Imagine for a moment that famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. Now, imagine that you're one of those seated at the table with Jesus. There's a knock at the door, and when somebody gets up to answer it, they find a hungry lesbian standing in the doorway. Now, imagine Jesus looking back over his shoulder at the woman and yelling, "Get lost, woman. We don't serve Lesbos here!" I don't know about you, but I'm having a tough time imagining that scenario, because nothing Jesus ever said leads me to think he'd harbor such cruelty toward a suffering woman.

Now, if want to talk about the Roman Catholic Church, well, that's another matter.

Rev. Marcel Guarnizo of St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland recently pulled the "get lost" routine on Barbara Johnson, a lesbian, at her elderly mother's funeral. Not only did Father Guarnizo publicly humiliate Ms. Johnson by refusing to give her communion; he vacated the altar when Ms. Johnson delivered her mother's eulogy and refused to show up at the mother's graveside ceremony. If that is indicative of the Catholic faith in action, it's time to declare Catholicism morally bankrupt, close up shop and search for an alternate path to salvation.

I'm sure that religious critics of my view would argue that Father Guarnizo's actions were justified as a proper response to a person he believed had engaged in sinful behavior, but when's the last time anybody read a story about one of the thousands of pedophile priests in the Catholic Church being denied communion? Raping a kid isn't an impediment to receiving Holy Communion, but apparently being a homosexual is. That doesn't sound very Christ-like to me.

The whole sordid episode reminds me of the day when a priest at Mass declared that people who voted for Democrats were committing a sin and were unfit to receive Holy Communion. That's the day I left the Roman Catholic Church, and I've never once since then regretted my decision. The Catholic Church is more interested in saving fetuses and ruling people's sex lives than it is following Christ's social gospel of feeding and taking care of the poor and oppressed, which is why voting for a Democrat is supposedly a sin and voting for a Republican is akin to angelic behavior. To me, that's about as hypocritical as one can get.

THE CHIEF JUSTICE'S RACIST E-MAIL

Seriously, is it stealing if only a few of your friends know you did it? What if the victim never realizes the stuff is missing? Is it murder if the victim doesn't see it coming? These seem like really stupid questions, but apparently not to Chief Justice Richard Cebull of the United States District Court in Montana. Those were the essence of Justice Cebull's explanation for circulating racist anti-Obama e-mails. The Republican Justice defended his action by stating that he only sent the racist e-mails to a few of his old buddies, who he knew would appreciate the sentiment contained therein. Justice Cebull also claimed that he never intended for the e-mails to be made public – as if a person's desire to have their misdeeds remain concealed somehow negates culpability. Finally, Justice Cebull stated that he didn't send the e-mails as a racist, but because it was anti-Obama. That's like saying that it's okay for a Republican to shoot President Obama, as long as the person isn't anti-Democrat.

Every now and then, a story like this proves how insidious racism can be, and brings to light how quickly it spreads without appearing on many people's radar. The story also illustrates how pathetic people are at trying to explain away their racist attitudes. You'd think a federal court judge could do a better job of it. Apparently not!

A TEAPOT CALLING THE KETTLE RED

Staunch Tea Party financial benefactor and Texas Medical Association PAC donor, Dr Jacques Roy of Rockwall Texas has been getting the money he's been funneling to Republican causes from the most unlikely of sources – Medicare and Medicaid! And that's not the half of it. United States attorneys in Texas have secured indictments against Dr. Roy and the company he owns, Medistat Group Associates for defrauding Medicare and Medicaid out of $375 million dollars. Dr. Roy, his company and six other named defendants are charged with conducting a fraudulent billing scheme that began in early 2006 and continued until November of last year. According to the federal indictments, Roy and his accomplices submitted tens of thousands of bogus invoices to Medicare and Medicaid for services and tests that were never performed.

At the same time as Doctor Roy was bilking the federal government's two largest medical care programs, he was also a regular contributor to "Our Country Deserves Better PAC – TeaPartyExpress.org" the Republican Tea Party's National Political Action Committee. Dr. Roy was also a contributor to the Texas Medical Association PAC, which supports only candidates opposed to President Obama's health care initiative.

What we have here is a classic example of the teapot calling the kettle red (the Republican color of choice). With one hand, Dr. Roy gave financial support to political organizations trying to eliminate federal programs that provided health care to the poor and the elderly. With his other hand, Dr. Roy defrauded those same programs of $375 million dollars. Typical right-wing hypocrisy!

KILLING IN THE NAME OF RELIGION

Nothing gets the inner-violent nature of mankind stirred up more than religion. The 17th century French philosopher, Blaise Pascal put it more succinctly when he wrote, "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."

The Crusades that occurred during the Middle Ages and the Spanish Inquisitions that were conducted during the late 15th and early 16th centuries, both by the Catholic Church, provided solid proof for Pascal's observation, as did the post-reformation wars between Protestant England and Catholic Spain and France. In more recent times, religious violence has proliferated between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, Jews and Muslims in the Middle East, Hindis and Muslims in India, and between Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East and Asia.
What I find perplexing about our world's religiously inspired violence is that all the major religions involved have major tenets denouncing the use of violence and demand that their followers treat fellow human beings with respect and compassion. The world's major religions all have some version of the "Golden Rule", and yet, those rules are so universally ignored that you have to wonder whether most believers know they exist.

Take yesterday's religious killings in Pakistan, for example. In an area known as the Kohistan District, a group of armed Sunni Muslim fanatics unleashed a barrage of gunfire at a bus full of Shiite Muslims. Eighteen Shiites were killed and more were injured. The reason for the attack was religion. Sunni Muslims hate Shiite Muslims. Shiite Muslims hate Sunni Muslims. It's been that way for the past 1400 years, and whenever they can, both groups kill followers of the other with fervor and religious satisfaction. Both sides view their Muslim counterparts as something less than dogs. I guess that's how they get around their version of the "Golden Rule". Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Hindus have been using that logic for years. I guess if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for the Muslims too.

IMPATIENT WING-NUTS RUIN EVERYTHING

We've hear the adage before; a few bad apples spoil the bunch, but of late, it seems to be happening more frequently than usual. Take Russia, for example. Reports out of Moscow this morning indicate that a small group of individuals have been arrested by Russian Security forces for plotting to kill Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin. The suspects were reportedly acting on orders from Chechen rebel leaders. What makes this a case of rotten apples is the fact that hundreds of thousands of protestors have recently taken to the streets in Moscow and other Russian cities in largely peaceful demonstrations against Putin's government and policies. The demonstrations were making political headway and foreign observers have been suggesting there was a very real possibility that Putin's hold on Russia's Politburo, the country's legislature, would come to an end. Now, that's all in doubt. The assassination plot may leave ordinary Russians feeling skittish about taking a giant step toward political change. Nobody wants another wave of violence and killings, and Putin now has the perfect excuse to crush his political opposition; all because a few impatient wing-nuts couldn't wait on peaceful protests to achieve their ultimate goals.

America's 'Occupy Movement' provides another good example. The group's aim is to draw attention to systematic economic inequality in America and the cruelty it inflicts on a large segment of our Nation's citizenry. Protests that started in New York sprang up in hundreds of cities across America and political polling data indicated that the Occupy Movement's message was resonating with disaffected voters everywhere. That's when wing-nuts entered the picture and started ruining the Occupy Movement's progress. In New York and Oakland a hand-full of Occupy Movement protesters physically attacked a few opponents of their movement, and that violence erupted into clashes with the police. Overnight, the Occupy message became synonymous with violence, and much of the Occupy Movement's political gains were left in debris cluttering the streets.

It doesn't take more than a few wing-nuts to ruin a good cause. Unfortunately, they're out there!

WILL IGNORANCE PREVAIL?

On March 21, 2011, I posted a piece on this blog criticizing Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett's plan to cut $1.6 billion in state funding from public education and suggested that the governor's next logical step would be to do away with public schools and let folks educate their own kids. Who knew that such an idea would take hold in mainstream Republican circles so quickly? Maybe I have psychic powers that I never knew existed, but now that G.O.P. presidential candidate Rick Santorum has made the abolition of public education a part of his national platform, I guess there's no denying that my "Magic 8 Ball" really can see into the future.

Will ignorance prevail?

"The future is uncertain."

RELEASING THE ANGER

The Internet is ablaze with photos of mobs of Afghans rioting over the burning of copies of the Qur'an at a NATO military base in that country. Soldiers were shot. Rioters were killed. Innocent citizens were caught in the crossfire. The letter of apology sent by President Obama to Afghan President Hamid Karzai hasn't done much to quell the violence. Then again, you can't blame Obama for that failure. He didn't order the Qur'an burning. He didn't burn the Qur'an. He didn't sanction it, not that that matters to the rioters on the streets of Kabul.

Sometimes I think the Afghan mobs have nothing better to do; or maybe they're just looking for any excuse available to release their caged anger, the kind of anger that builds up when life holds little by way of hope for something better and more productive. You see that sort of thing in prison riots. The lack of hope breeds anger, the anger builds up pressure, and eventually a match comes along and lights the fuse, like some lunatic who decides to burn a holy book without care or thought of the consequences. With that spark, the rioters seize their opportunity and the streets explode…people die…and millions around the globe watch and shake their heads…and wonder why.

I get angry watching the injustices in this world. Sometimes, I growl. Sometimes, I moan to anybody who will listen. Oftentimes, I take out my anger on the keyboard with my computer, and you get to read the results. I'd like to think my ranting makes a difference, but at least I know that nobody will die in the process, and no innocents will be caught in the crossfire.

LOSING TO A WINLESS TEAM

In 2008, the Detroit Lions football team, which posted the N.F.L.'s worst single regular season record of 0-16, still managed an average attendance of 54,497 at each of its games played at Detroit's Ford Field. Yesterday, the front-runner Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, drew 1,200 supporters at a rally held at spacious Ford Field by Detroit's Economic Club.

In 2008, everybody knew that the Detroit Lions football team stunk, but with the 2009 first pick in the draft solidly in their corner, Lions fans knew there was reason to hope for the future, or at least 54,497 thought so on any given Sunday. That's why they showed up to cheer for their team.

The same can't be said for Romney or his supporters. There's no first round draft pick in their future. Perhaps that's why only 1,200 showed up.

CRITICAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS NOT A WELCOMED GUEST AT PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS' TABLE

Surprise! Surprise! The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a well-respected, nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C., just released the results of its latest study on the impact that budget plans of our current presidential candidates would have on the national debt. The budget plans of Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney lead to the highest federal deficits and do nothing to pay down the national debt. President Obama's plan would curtail federal deficit spending to a much greater degree, but payments on the national debt would only occur if higher taxes were levied on the wealthy, America's economy quickly returned to boom year levels and the country stayed out of another war. Only Ron Paul, whose draconian spending cuts and ideas regarding a virtually non-existent federal government are roundly rejected as lunacy, comes close to eliminating federal deficit spending, but even Paul's plan makes no provisions for paying off our 14 trillion dollar national debt.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget conducted a thorough review of the plans currently on our political table and should be congratulated for their efforts, but I doubt they'll get the credit they deserve. Presidential politics in America seldom engages in rational analysis. That kind of thinking isn't popular with the electorate.

VIOLENCE BEGETS VIOLENCE

There is a scene in the movie, Ben-Hur, where Esther, the slave Ben-Hur has freed, confronts him over the anger and desire for bloody retribution he harbors against his childhood friend, the Roman governor of Judea. "Violence begets violence," Esther warns, "just as dog begets dog!" Ben-Hur is unmoved. His anger blinds him to the warning, and he chooses to ignore it.

The other day, Esther's words came to mind when reports surfaced on the Internet regarding an interview conducted by the Fars News Agency, an Iranian media outlet closely connected with the Iranian government. The woman being interviewed was Bolouri Kashani, the wife of the late Mostafa Roshan, who was the Iranian nuclear scientist that was assassinated last month when a bomb was planted on his car. The nuclear scientist's wife was reported to have said that her husband wholeheartedly sought the destruction of Isreal and that the goal of her husband's work was the annihilation of Israel.

Esther was right. "Violence begets violence, just as dog begets dog!"

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The United States Postal Service has announced plans to close thousands of small postal facilities and lay off close to 35,000 employees. What does that mean? It means that 35,000 disgruntled former postal workers may be coming to community near you!

VIOLENCE IN OUR SCHOOLS

In 1974, I was a junior in a parochial high school. Academically, I was a good student and a member of the National Honor Society. I participated in extra-curricular activities, including forensics and chorus.

I was also the recipient of verbal and physical torment from several students we popularly refer to as bullies. In fact, I’d been receiving similar treatment from bullies in school for as long as I can remember. Over the years I’d made numerous complaints to authority figures. On occasions, the bullies were punished, but that frequently resulted in equally damaging repercussions to me. Most bullies have bully friends.

One day I made a complaint to the assistant principal about one bully’s constant shoving me in hallways. The bully was supposedly “disciplined”. The next day as I walked through the hallway at least ten guys “accidentally” knocked into me with such force that I experienced physical pain. While walking to my seat in the cafeteria an “unseen foot” tripped me. I crashed to the floor with my lunch tray and the eyes of several hundred laughing students came to rest on me. Needless to say I was humiliated. But I was also angry.

The next morning, determined to be push around no more, I took a loaded handgun to school. I wasn't looking for trouble. I didn't go searching for a bully to kill. I'd just reached the point where I couldn't take it anymore bullying, and the only thing that gave me any sense of empowerment was the loaded .22 caliber handgun in my pocket. Thankfully, I didn't have occasion to use it that day. Perhaps a higher power intervened.

Now, when I look back on that particular day and the circumstances that led me to the edge of a violent abyss, I can see why a particular chain of events brought me to that place. For years, I'd been assaulted and tormented. Authority figures did not correct the situation. My feelings were never validated. I did not feel safe. I had access to a weapon, and finally, I felt justified in defending myself. I'm not saying I was justified. I'm just saying – that's the way it was.

Whenever I think of violence in school, I can't shake the feeling that we must be clear with our children that “might does not always mean right”! I’m convinced one of the reasons Americans still have an uneasy feeling in their gut about the whole Vietnam experience is that it shattered the bubble on this belief. I’m equally convinced that we keep trying to deny it. Just because we’re strong and can exert a lot of muscle doesn’t make it right for us to do so. But I think we teach our kids it is!

When I think of this I’m reminded of a bumper sticker I've seen that says: “The West wasn’t won- it was stolen.” In the teaching of our country’s history we glorify the pioneer experience and the westward expansion. The reality was that settlers swept westward across lands that were inhabited by several million Native Americans and simply “moved in”. When the Natives retaliated against the settlers our government went to war with them, and eventually the “might” of the forces of our government won.

Today, if I drove my car out West, saw a nice plot of ground with a scenic view and decided that I wanted to “move in and set up shop”, there’s a very good chance I’d soon be staring down the barrel of some rancher’s Winchester. Or, I’d be sitting in a jail charged with trespassing. Few adults today would find my actions defensible, but how many would be so critical of the actions of the pioneers. We’d be touting the rancher’s right to defend his land, but do we teach that the Native Americans were justified in defending the invasion of their land with force? I don’t think so. There is an inconsistency in our teaching that children pick up on. It’s subtle to be sure, but children are masters at catching the subtle. It’s how they learn.

How does this relate to reducing school violence? The bully needs to know that “might does not make right”. Those children sitting around watching the bully need to know that “might does not make right” and the child who has been the recipient of the bully’s might needs to receive our validation of their feeling that “might does not make right”.

For starters, we must be more up front and critical of the fact that might doesn’t make right and admit to examples in our nation’s history where people in this country were wrong for believing so. We’ve had a long history of using our might. Our history of admitting mistakes has been far shorter.

EVEN LIBERALS BELIEVE IN THE DEVIL

A 2007 Gallup survey of Americans found that 7 of every 10 people questioned indicated that they believed in the Devil. The results of that Gallup poll have been bandied about lately as proof that Americans are buying into the snake-oil being sold by Republican presidential candidate, Rick Santorum. I beg to differ with that assessment, because I'm a blazing liberal and I count myself among the 7 in 10 Americans who believe that the Devil actually exists. In fact, I think he looks a helluva like Rick Santorum. Imagine that!

VIRGINIA'S G.O.P. ULTRASOUND RULE…and my Democratic amendment!

Virginia's Republican legislature is ready to forward a bill to the Commonwealth's Republican governor requiring women to have internal vaginal probes before seeking an abortion. It's the latest in a long line of G.O.P. efforts to deprive woman of control over their own bodies, not to mention access to abortions, but if Virginia Republicans really want to be fair about their efforts, they'll include my own Democratic amendment to their bill.

I propose that all males within the Commonwealth of Virginia be required to undergo an internal penis probe before engaging in any sex act that could result in the fertilization of a female egg. Failure to undergo such a procedure within 48 hours of engaging in sexual intercourse should constitute a felony. Requiring such a procedure would cut down on the overall number of sexual encounters performed in the Commonwealth, and thus, reduce the number of abortions. That is the aim, isn't it?

BOOK BURNING - A CONTINUATION OF IGNORANCE

Book burning has never been a good idea. In fact, it's downright maddening, and that's why I can sympathize with the anger that has erupted across Afghanistan at news that Americans have once again burned copies of Islam's most sacred book – the Qur'an. The burning of the Qur'an is not just a slap in the face of a particular religion. It's an insult upon a rich and vibrant culture and the civilization that sprang forth from it. It's like stabbing the soul of a follower of Islam. Plus, it's just plain mean and insensitive.

Consider how Americans would feel at the sight of mobs burning the American flag. Imagine the outcry in this nation if Bibles were burned. For Muslims, the burning of the Qur'an carries the same sentiment.

Book burning as a political or religious tool has a long and storied past. The Chinese Emperor Qin did it in the 3rd century BC. Egyptians monks did it in the 4th century AD. A Spanish king ordered it done 200 hundred years later and included the homes in which the books were found to underscore his point. When the Turks invaded India near the end of the 12th century, they made a bonfire out of the great library at the celebrated Nalanda University. During the later 15th and early 16th century, the Spanish Inquisition took its turn by destroying thousands of Qur'ans and other Arabic manuscripts. In the late 1800's, New York's Society for the Suppression of Vice undertook a massive purge of the written word by fire (along with lewd pictorial representations). In the 1930's Germany's Third Reich torched millions of volumes at the Opernplatz in Berlin and, of course, American idiots in these earliest years of the 21st century have taken to burning the Qur'an again. Some people never learn, and the ignorance continues.

THE HUBRIS OF FRANKLIN GRAHAM

When Reverend (and I use that term loosely) Franklin Graham, the son of renowned Evangelist, Billy Graham went on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show today and espoused his doubt that President Obama was a Christian and hinted that Obama was Muslim instead, I've little doubt that Graham was intending to inflame the right-wing religious (and I use that term loosely too) zealots in America who are determined to continue their campaign of denigrating our President by essentially calling him the anti-Christ.

It really doesn't matter what the zealots think, because God knows the true nature of Obama's soul and His is the only opinion that counts, but I find it rather irritating that so much time is wasted by America's right-wing religious zealots judging one man's personal faith instead of concentrating on their own souls. There were reasons why Jesus sternly warned his Disciples against judging the souls of others. First of all, it's a Divine task. Next, men are too blinded by their own faults to accurately sit in judgment of others. Finally, mankind lacks the necessary humility to pass the kind of judgment Franklin Graham and his ilk like to make. Only the perfectly humble can do that job. That's why it's a task solely reserved for God.

Graham might find comfort in calling himself and his right-wing zealots, 'Christians', and labeling others as evil non-believers, but there will come a day when the Christian label doesn't mean squat in the eyes of the Divine, and only that which resides in the souls of individual men matters. Jesus warned the religious zealots of His day about what awaited them. I hope Graham and his followers were listening!

MY ONE MILLIONTH MISTAKE

I can't be absolutely certain, but I think this morning I committed the one millionth mistake I've made during the course of my lifetime. I forgot to use cooking spray on the griddle before making pancakes. The first one I made burned. Obviously, that wasn't the first bone-headed move I ever made, and it probably won't be the last, but I thought I'd honor the occasion by ruminating over some of my past mistakes in the hope of not repeating them again. If reading about some of my most memorable lapses in judgment (*) helps you avoid making similar errors in the future, so much the better!

(*) The mistakes cited herein are not in chronological order or ranked according to my own personal level of stupidity.

Pepper is not medicine!

When my son was about 8 or 9 years old, he caught a bad cold and would not blow his nose. Listening to his persistent attempts to clear his nasal cavities without using a tissue was driving me batty, and for some reason I thought that a good sneeze was exactly what a doctor would recommend. If my son wasn't going to blow his own nose, I could speed the process with a homemade remedy you won't find in any medical literature – a pepper inhalant…not to be confused with "pepper spray", though my son might beg to differ! I sprinkled a dash of pepper on my finger, held it up to my son's nose and told him to inhale quickly. He did…and I'm sad to say that remedy didn't work. What followed was a string of 'deleted expletives' from the mouth of a young kid, followed by a jeer that I was a stupid dad…which I guess I was.

Always check the number first!

Back in my college days, I met a girl that I thought was very interesting and I wanted to ask her to go on a date. There was one small problem – I'd been dating another co-ed, and although we hadn't officially broken-up, we were drifting apart and I knew there was little future for that relationship. Still, it was a sticky situation. Undaunted, I tracked down the new young lady's telephone number and gave her a call. When the phone was answered, I asked if I could speak to the "new girl", only to have the voice on the phone reply, "I'm sorry, Steve. You called the wrong number." The voice promptly slammed the phone down. I'd mistakenly called the number of girl I'd been dating…well, right up to the point where she hung up on me.

Look before you grab!

When I was eleven or twelve years old, my family frequently visited my grandparents at a weekend cabin my grandparents owned in a heavily wooded area. We were often joined by aunts and uncles and hordes of cousins. A small stream ran through the property and my cousins and siblings and I frequently tied ropes to trees and amused ourselves by swinging over the stream. One Sunday, several kids were already in the process of performing Tarzan impersonations over the stream when I decided to join the fun. Nobody had an extra rope, so I set off searching for a chord heavy enough to support my weight. I finally found a large black garden hose lying beside the cabin, and I called to my grandmother for permission to borrow it. She nodded yes, so I grabbed the hose in one fluid motion and started moving toward my rowdy cousins. Unfortunately, the twelve foot black snake that I'd wrested from its afternoon siesta was not too keen about being tied to a tree, and when I discovered the snake was not a hose a second later, my heart nearly stopped. Look before you leap…that applies to grabs too!

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER LUNACY

I know I've been picking on Rick Santorum lately, but he's the latest G.O.P. candidate du jour and not a day goes by that he doesn't say something stupid, even by Republican standards. Rick's most recent rant, suggesting that public education should be eliminated, is the perfect example. If Santorum had his way, all children would be home-schooled; by whom I have no idea, because in a Republican economy a majority of two-parent households can't afford the luxury of one parent staying home to conduct educational classes. Kids living in single-parent households…well, they'd basically get screwed.

Santorum forgets that not everybody gets the congressional 'free health insurance for life' benefit or has access to corporate donors willing to drop $50,000 a pop for a 45-minute inspirational speech on the joys of fathering a brood of seven. I'm not questioning Santorum's virility, just his haughtiness.

Somebody from the business world ought to take Rick aside and clue him in on the necessity of having an educated workforce. I was tempted to add "citizenry" to that list, but the fact that Santorum is the front-runner among Republicans, the supposed brains in American, means that there's little hope of that happening.

CASTING STONES IN GLASS HOUSES

Years ago, two of my children and I were walking in a local mall when we ran into one of my former high school teachers. I introduced my children to her, and she spent several minutes chatting with each of them about their school classes and various extra-curricular activities. As our conversation wound down and we were about to head off in different directions, my teacher nodded her head toward me and said to my daughter, "He's a good guy."

As I reflect back upon that incident, I wonder how my daughter would have felt if, instead of uttering a word of praise, the woman had told my daughter that her daddy was a no-good, godless bastard who looked down on crippled folks, and was responsible for leading America to ruin.

I bring up that incident because we're currently mired in the ugliest of all political seasons – a presidential election year, and because the probable candidates have children that they're still rearing. President Obama and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two children; Malia, age 13 and Natasha, age 11. Their daughters have been raised in the Christian Faith, nurtured and educated in loving surroundings, and by all accounts, are two bright, well-adjusted and intelligent young ladies who any parent would be proud to call their own.

But you and I read the papers. We know that not a week goes by without two or three letters to the editor and several syndicated columnists suggesting that Obama is a no-good, godless bastard who looks down on crippled folks, and is responsible for leading America to ruin. The G.O.P.'s current favorite son, Rick Santorum spewed out that drivel just last week, and I have to say that such rhetoric sickens me.

I have no doubt that Rick Santorum deeply cares for his wife and children. I have no doubt he loves God. I have no doubt that he loves his country and has a sincere desire for Americans to prosper. I don't share many of his political beliefs. I think some of his views are unwise, unfounded and would result in needless pain and suffering. I believe some of the policies he advocates are downright cruel, some even dangerous, but none of those political differences would cause me to debase Rick Santorum in the eyes of his children in the same way Santorum's words debased President Obama in the eyes of his two girls.

Santorum is famous for denouncing his political opponents as being "anti-family", but a guy who would lie to daughters about their daddy really shouldn't be throwing stones in a glass house.

KILLING THOSE WHO MOURN KILLINGS

While Americans were mesmerized by the litany of well-known voices singing at today's funeral service for Whitney Houston, mourners in the Middle East were chanting to a different tune – the sound of gunfire and tear gas cannisters. In Damascus, Syria, government security forces fired upon a funeral procession, killing two and injuring scores of mourners who were honoring three young men that were killed two days ago in an anti-Bashar al-Assad regime protest. The al-Assad regime didn't take kindly to the funeral procession passing within eye-sight of the Presidential Palace, so the security forces attacked the crowd with bullets and tear gas. Scores of mourners were also arrested, leaving little doubt that the al-Assad government has no plans to let-up on the brutal crackdown it's been conducting on citizens in every part of Syria.

Bashar al-Assad's days are numbered, but the continuous reign of terror that his government has been orchestrating against the Syrian citizenry leaves little doubt that thousands more will die before that day arrives. Eventually, all tyranny falls. Let's hope a-Assad's happens sooner than later.

THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK

I'm not sure there's a better example of "the pot calling the kettle black" than today's report that Rick Santorum told an Ohio crowd of Christian Evangelicals and Tea Party members that President Obama follows a 'phony Christian theology'. If Obama's desire the feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give comfort to the sick and seek justice for the oppressed is 'phony Christian theology', then the Jesus mentioned in the New Testament must have been a fraud, and millions of Americans should be calling themselves something other than followers of Christ.

G.O.P. v. JESUS DEBATE (Part IV)

Moderator: “Mr. Santorum will answer the next question first. What role, if any, should the government play in providing for the poor in America?

Santorum: "None! Now, I'm sure this Jesus fellow standing next to me will be biting his lip over what I'm about to say, but it's about time somebody had the courage to say what millions of hard-working Americans are thinking every day! We're tired of supporting millions of deadbeats who don't mind sucking at the public's tit, until it's time to show up for a job interview or a urine test. Then, it's one crying excuse after the next. When I'm elected, the poor will learn how to swing a hammer or starve, because the day I take office is the day the welfare checks stop!

Jesus: "Blessed are those who feed the poor, for they shall see God."

Santorum: "Spoken like a true lazy liberal!"

Moderator: "Mr. Santorum. It's Mr. Romney's turn."

Romney: "That's okay, Mr. Moderator. I know Ron is passionate about starving folks; probably just as passionate as Jesus is about handing out food stamps on the taxpayers' dime. You see, when I was governor of Massachusetts, I imposed severe conservatism on those New England liberals, and they cowered faster than the Jews did to the Romans. That's true respect, and if you want the poor to respect you, the best thing you can do is take apart the companies that employ them, put the poor on the street and cut off the safety net. The poor just magically go away. I don't really care about the poor. If you stop thinking about them, they truly don't exist.

Gingrich: I used to be poor once! That was, oh, I'd say about a month after my first divorce settlement, but look at me now. I'm on national TV. I've got friends pumping millions of dollars in PAC money into advertising campaigns telling the world what a great guy I am. I've got a beautiful trophy wife. I've got a half-million dollar line of credit at Tiffany's. Not too shabby, eh? Why do I have all those things? Because I decided I didn't want to be poor. It's that simple. That's the beauty of America. If you don't want to be poor, you don't have to be. You just have to pick yourself up and go for the gusto!

Ron Paul: "Sounds like a beer commercial? I'd like a good frosty mug!"

Moderator: "Mr. Santorum, any rebuttal?"

Santorum: "A poor kid came up to me the other day whining about having no food in his refrigerator. I told the kid to go home and tell his mom to get up off her lazy butt and go earn some money for food. That's what I call governmental tough love."

Jesus: "That woman went out and prostituted herself for the boy's supper. She caught AIDS in the process. She will die in 2 years and her son will be homeless."

Santorum: "Good! One less mouth to feed."

Romney: Jesus may have inherited a lot from his Dad, but in my church, we look at things differently. The journey west made Mormons tough. It wasn't pleasant watching the poor die, but my ancestors did so I wouldn't have to care about the poor, and I'm grateful for their sacrifice.

Gingrich: "When you've written as many books as I have, you realize that most poor people want to be poor. They like being poor! They like playing the victim! Did you ever look at a line outside a food bank? Everybody looks so downbeat. When they come out with a bag of groceries, they're happy. Why is that? I'll tell you why. It's because now they have something to use to buy dope."

Ron Paul: I'll make a pact with America's poor people. You stay out of my life and I'll stay out of yours."

G.O.P. v. JESUS DEBATE (Part III)

Moderator: “The next question is for Mr. Paul. Mr. Paul, are Americans safer now that Osama bin Laden has been killed and does the Obama Administration deserve any credit for bringing bin Laden to justice?”

Ron Paul: Osama bin Laden was just one man. Am I glad he's dead? Of course I am! He killed a lot of Americans and he paid the price. That was good, but what I'm concerned about is this notion that America should fight wars on the other side of the world and not take care of the war going on here at home. We should put our own house in order first.

Santorum: “You could kill Osama bin Laden a hundred times over, and as long as you have people right here in America, killing innocent babies in their mother's wombs, nobody is safe. I'm with Ron; I'm glad bin Laden is dead, but if you think for a second that America is any less safe, well…you've never seen the butchery that goes on at an abortion clinic. If you're looking for a place to bomb, there are plenty right here at home.

Moderator: “Jesus?”

Jesus: “Have you ever heard of an evil child being born? Of course not! That’s because all children are innocent and precious. However, there is evil in the world and over time some children grow and lose their innocence to the Prince of Darkness. It has been this way since the day the world was created and it will remain so till the end of time. Until the Kingdom of God is fulfilled nobody is ever safe from evil.”

Moderator: “Mr. Romney?”

Romney: “There’s no denying we’re safer from the threats posed by Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. That doesn't mean that we can sit back and rest on our laurels like Obama has. When I'm elected President, I'll bomb Iran back to the Stone Age, if that's what it takes to get them to give up their nuclear ambitions.”

Gingrich: "While Mitt was making money hands over fists in the Grand Cayman Islands, and Santorum was trying to figure out which abortion clinic to firebomb next, I was busy writing several books warning Americans of the dangers of appeasement in the Middle East. The books are still available at Amazon.com, or if you care to donate a million to my campaign, I'll send you an autographed copy. My point is that in several of my books I warned America about the towel-heads, and nobody listened. I'm glad our Navy Seals got that bastard bin Laden, but don't start giving Obama the credit. He just made a phone call. Any sixth grade flunky can do that!"

Moderator: "Mr. Paul, any rebuttal?

Ron Paul: I don't know much about flunkies. I just know we should bring our boys home."

Santorum: I'm telling you. America is on the road to ruin. Do you know how many babies die from IEDs every year? Unless we take back America today, millions more will die tomorrow.

Jesus: “Weeds spread and take root faster than flowers. Pull one weed and two more will spring up in its place. Unless a gardener sows the seed of harmony and nurtures it daily, weeds will multiply faster than they can be pulled and no garden is safe.”

Romney: "It's impossible to think we're safer today with millions of Mexicans pouring over our border on a daily basis."

Gingrich: These guys just don't have a clue. I balanced the budget in the 1990's when the godless liberals were pouring into Washington. If you want somebody who is going to protect the American way of life, I'm that man!"

G.O.P. v. JESUS DEBATE (Part II)

Moderator: “This next question is directed to Mr. Gingrich first. Do you believe it is or is not necessary to strip mine coal from atop mountains in West Virginia and why?

Gingrich: "In West Virginia, in Pennsylvania and in Canada too! If I'm elected President every household in America will have a coal-burning stove and we'll move Heaven and Earth to mine that black gold, wherever it's found."

Ron Paul: "At my age, bringing the top of a mountain down to me is a big plus!"

Santorum: Back when I represented the great coal-producing state of Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate, and that was before the liberals temporarily seized control of the place, you couldn't walk ten feet in that state without seeing something that was created or made better by the coal industry. Even protesters outside abortion clinics would throw coal when they demonstrated. If I had my way, they'd be firing coal bullets.

Jesus: “If men had faith, they could move whole mountains without destroying one tree. For that matter, with faith, a man could turn salt water into enough fuel to power humankind for all eternity. You see, with faith, anything is possible...even finding ways to provide energy without destroying this earth created by my Father.”

Romney: "Personally, I like oil futures. You can bundle them into credit default swap securities and transfer capital gains on income from those securities to companies based in the Grand Cayman Islands and avoid paying federal tax on any of your profits. That's how you can make a killing and not get your hands dirty with something like coal. On the other hand, there's something strangely satisfying about buying up a coal company and raiding that company's pension fund because everybody knows that black lung disease kills miners long before they ever get to retirement. It's a win-win for the boys up stairs!

Moderator: “Mr. Gingrich, any rebuttal?”

Gingrich: “If the American people give me Divine power, I’ll put oil and gas in places where it can easily be obtained without destroying the environment. Look, this wasn't my call. It was liberals like Jesus' dad who put the gas and oil in the most difficult places to extract and now radical environmentalists want to blame we conservatives for trying to keep the lights and heat on in American homes. Of course we’re trying to protect the environment, but I’m not going to stand up here and apologize for making it possible for ordinary folks to cook and see their food at night.

Ron Paul: "Let's forget about the towel-heads in the Middle East. Dig baby. Dig!"

Santorum: [facing Ron Paul] "You've been talking to Sarah again, haven't you? Yeah, I admire her too."

[audience claps and chants, "Palin", "Palin" "Palin" until the moderator raises his hand to silence the crowd]

Santorum: [cracking a wide smile] Yeah, I'm considering her as my running mate. Look, I want to address what Jesus said. That sounds nice in church, but we’re talking ‘real world’ here…where ordinary Americans get a light and heat bill every month. And if Jesus is talking about another heat and light welfare program…well, that’s not going to fly with American taxpayers.”

Jesus: "I am the light of the world. Whoever shall follow me will never walk in darkness.”

Romney: "Glad to hear that Jesus, but from where I'm standing your ledger books just don't add up. If America follows where you're going, pretty soon we'll all be drowning in red ink…deficits as far as the eye can see. That's not what Americans want in a leader. They're looking for somebody who can go toe-to-toe with Obama, and I'm that guy!"

G.O.P. v. JESUS DEBATE (Part I)

Moderator: “Good evening gentlemen. The agreed upon format for tonight’s debate will be as follows. Since Jesus already knew which questions were going to be asked, all candidates have been provided with a full list of possible questions and there will be no deviation from that list. I will ask a question and each candidate shall have 90 seconds to provide an answer. After all candidates have given their answer, each candidate will be given an additional 30 seconds to provide a rebuttal comment. At the close of the debate each candidate will have three minutes to give a closing statement. Are there any questions about the format?”

Santorum: “No.”

Jesus: “Not at this time.”

Romney: "Not now, maybe later."

Gingrich: [turning to Romney] "Flip-flopper!" [turning back to moderator] "No. I've always believed in rules!"

Ron Paul: "Suits me."

Moderator: “Fine. Jesus won the coin toss, but elected to allow Mr. Romney to answer the initial question first. Therefore, Mr. Romney, here is the first question for you. Do you favor a Constitutional Amendment to ban flag burning?

Romney: “Absolutely! Burning the American flag is an affront to the millions of service men and women who have fought bravely over the years for this Country. Back where I come from, people stand up for their flags, and if they can make a buck printing them on tee-shirts; so much the better!

Gingrich: "Frankly, Mr. Moderator, I'm appalled that you'd ask such a question. That claim by my ex-wife that I burned her red, white and blue lingerie is utterly false. In all the marriages I've had over the years, there has never been one shred of proof that I have demeaned the stars and stripes in any manner whatsoever. I fully support a Constitutional Amendment to ban flag burning, and again, I'd like to voice my outrage over what has become a constant theme of the liberal, elite press – trying to soil my good name."

Ron Paul: "Well, you know, setting Old Glory afire is a form of freedom of speech; not that I would do such a thing. I find it repugnant and just plain stupid. I'm just worried that the flag is getting us into too many wars. 'Keep the flag at home,' I always say."

Santorum: I cry every time I see a flag being burned by one of those godless Democrats. It's as if a tiny baby is being ripped from a mother's womb. Plus, all those liberals are desecrating the memory of our fallen soldiers who served this country and held the flag near and dear to their hearts. If I’m elected, I won't wait for a Constitutional Amendment. I’ll ban flag burning by executive order immediately after ordering the death penalty for contraceptive use.”

[Major applause from the audience]

Jesus: “I don’t believe I could support such an amendment. In fact, burning one’s flag is probably a good idea if the flag has become a false idol or is getting in the way of a man’s pursuit of eternal salvation. Besides, what good is it if a man owns one hundred flags and flies each in front of his home as proof of his patriotism, but does not honor the principles upon which his country was built? Is it not better that a man burn his flag, but quietly adhere to righteous principles, than noisily sound his allegiance to a flag, but not follow the principles it was meant to represent? Flags are symbols of worldly kingdoms but have no place in the Kingdom of God. Anything that stands in the way of the Kingdom of God should be burned.”

Moderator: “Any rebuttal that the candidates wish to share?”

Romney: “Every church in America is flying a flag, for heavens sake! Are you saying all those God-fearing Americans are wrong? I don’t think so! Maybe some liberals think it’s okay to tell people what they can and can’t do in church, but here in America we have freedom of worship and if flying the American flag is part of that worship, so be it!”

Gingrich: "Yeah, but it's probably not something you in the left-wing press want to hear. Look, Jesus might have experience ruling Heaven, but here in America, we do things differently. We like our flag. We respect our flag. We die for our flag. We fly it proudly 364 days a year; giving it a vacation only on Martin Luther King Day. If liberals want to burn flags, let them adopt their own flag and go burn it in Hell.

[More applause from the audience]

Ron Paul: "I think my first answer was sufficient."

Santorum: "If we allow flag burning where would it stop? This country is on the road to ruin, and if we don't reel in the flag burners and baby killers, nothing will be left in America to burn."

Jesus: “It is written in the law handed down from Moses. Thou shalt not have false idols.”

[The audience boos]

A G.O.P. DEBATE WITH JESUS

For the next ten days Yorktowne Fee Liberal readers will be treated to an exclusive debate between Republican Presidential Candidates and Jesus, leader of past and modern day Christians. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the debate. Monday's blog entry will feature question 1. Stay tuned!

TAKING AMERICA BACK - THE QUESTION IS TO WHEN?

A standard phrase heard these days on Republican presidential campaign trails is the pledge to "take America back", but as often as I've heard that phrase repeated in one form or another, I've never heard anybody answer the simple question that arises in my mind – back to when? If, as the Republican candidates are suggesting, Americans are yearning to return to better days gone by, you'd think that somebody would supply a date so the rest of us could set the calendar on the time machine that's supposedly going to take us there. Is that too much to ask?

Let's take a few moments and examine our options. Do we want to give up our modern electrical conveniences, empty our cities and return to 1773, when rioters in Boston were busy dumping tea into the water, or 1775, when most colonists owned a gun and there was no income tax or food stamps, but an eight-year war on American soil was about to begin and half the infants born died before reaching their first birthday?

How about 1861? Those were certainly happy times. A Republican (Abe Lincoln) was ensconced in the White House. Republicans controlled Congress. Over seventy percent of all white Americans owned a gun, blacks knew their place (slaving away on a plantation) and there was no income tax. Of course, that was also the year when Southern Democratic soldiers (a/k/a Confederate Forces) attacked the United States military base at Fort Sumter in South Carolina - commencing the Civil War, meaning that three quarter of a million Americans were about to meet a very violent death. Another five hundred thousand would sustain serious injury before the war was over, but at least folks didn't have "Obama-care" or Medicare shoved down their throats.

How about 1906? That was a vintage year. A Republican (Theodore Roosevelt) was enjoying his stay at the White House. Most American women (except for a few loud-mouths in the suffrage movement) knew their place, over half of all Americans owned a gun and government regulations didn't interfere with industry demands that kids put in a 16-hour work day and labor in unsafe conditions. Kids lucky enough to attend school started the day with a prayer and got their butts lashed with a belt (at school & at home) if they stepped out of line. Sure, lots of Americans were dying from tainted foods and work-related injuries, but people didn't have to pay income tax to fund government inspectors or put up with the A.C.L.U. suing to keep a crèche display off government property.

What about 1930? What a year! Another Republican (Herbert Hoover) was living comfortably in the White House. American industry had its first pro-business President and a half-million Mexican immigrants were forcibly returned to the land of their birth so they wouldn't compete with American citizens for the scarce number of jobs available after the 1929 stock market crash. Sure, by then America had a federal income tax and Hoover raised the top tax rate from 24% to 63% of net income. Everybody errs now and then, even Republican presidents. A mere 5000 U.S. banks had failed within ten months and tens of millions of Americans were homeless and penniless, but gun control was not on anybody's agenda, government waste was not an issue and welfare queens simply didn't exist. How can folks resist taking America back to those good old days?

How about 1957? There's another exciting year! I was born in February, a celebrated Republican ("Ike" Eisenhower) was running things in the White House and Elvis Presley was lighting up the stage on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Ku Klux Klan were keeping blacks in their place down South, Jim Crow laws did the same up North and the F.B.I. was hot on the trail of union leader, Jimmy Hoffa. Plus, men could slap their wives if dinners were cold without worrying about being socked with a protection from abuse order. Yeah, the top federal tax rate for earned income was 91% (kind of high for a Republican President), most American T.V.s were still black and white sets and the Asian flu claimed 70,000 American lives that year, but at least the government wasn't wasting money on medical research and people could still buy a pack of cigarettes without a government-mandated warning label. Back then, cars could spew as much pollutants into the atmosphere as their super-charged engines would muster and anybody who wanted to buy a gun could do so – no questions asked (unless, of course, you were black). Just thinking of those days brings a tear to my eye.

What about 1982? That's the year when Republican icon, "the Gipper" (a/k/a Ronald Reagan) was in control of the White House and the hearts of modern-day conservatives. Deregulation and trickle-down economics were all the rage. The federal air traffic controllers' union lay in ruins. American armed forces went on a spending spree to bankrupt the Soviet Union while federal spending on social programs designed to help the poor and disabled was slashed by sixty (60%) percent. Yeah, the U.S. unemployment rate hit 10.8 percent (not like Obama's current 8.3%) and liberals were successful in passing a federal ban on assault weapons following the assassination attempt on Reagan's life by that wing-nut, John Hinkley, but the top federal income tax rate for wage earners fell from 60% to 50%, ketchup gained official recognition as a vegetable for federally funded school lunch programs and the National Rifle Association acquired its most potent political weapon since the invention of gunpowder. What could be a better time to be alive?

If Republican presidential candidates are serious about taking America back – choose a year, and then, let's talk!