A Black Day for the US (as Far as I'm Concerned)

Today, I am absolutely ashamed of our President; his speech was down right appalling.

While I have never been a fan of his, up until today I at least had some respect for him. But not any more - he does not deserve any. His so-called "health reform" law was bad enough; unconstitutionally (yes, unconstitutionally - read the Constitution for yourself; I have; several times, in fact) forcing (yes, FORCING) American Citizens to buy (yes, BUY) some type of health care insurance or be penalized or possibly even jailed (don't believe me? What do you think would happen if someone refused to pay the penalty?) was bad enough. And he lost a LOT of respect from me then. But in fairness, he has done some thing correctly, and I give him credit for them (the initial air raids over Libya, for example). But this...this is unforgivable.

He has always shown a disdain for Israel (don't believe me? Go back and watch his interaction with the Israeli Prime minister during his visit to the US early in his Presidency), but I never thought I'd hear this.

To openly (and I believe "knowingly") insult the state of Israel in this fashion...I still find it hard to believe that a sitting President would do such a thing. Suggesting Israel "go back" to the borders of 1967 (that's nearly half a century ago, people) AND taking the side of those who have openly declared (and continue to declare) that their goal is to totally destroy the state of Israel and wipe them out of existence??? No too mention a group known for terrorist acts all over the world (not all of them are terrorist, I know - not trying to say they are, but many in their hierarchy openly support terrorist)...

Un-dirty-word believable.

That would be like someone suggesting that the US go back to it's borders of 1803, before the Louisiana Purchase, and give all the land back to the Indians (yes, I said "Indians" and not "native Americans"; frankly, they are not "natives", they came over from Asia. Besides, all this "political correctness" BS is just that - BS). I'm not going to get into a debate as to what the US did back then was "right" or "wrong" (did we do some "wrong" things? Yep. So did the Indians. Who hasn't?); what's done is done, has been established for a long time (over 200 years in our case), and is recognized by most (if not "all") of the civilized world.

So are the current borders of Israel.

Abandoning a long-standing ally in this fashion (for no good reason, mind you - no good reason at all) makes me ill. Have we all forgotten the 1972 Olympics? Or Entebbe? These people do not deserve our respect or support because they have not earned it - Israel has. And yet, this President just casually gives it to them without any regard for what the American people may think about it.

This is a black day in American history - and I am ashamed of our President, and I am ashamed of those in our government (primarily the House and Senate) who do not condemn (or at least chide) him for this egregious action.

Mr. President, I condemn you, sir - your action this day was shameful; you, in essence, spit in the face of one of our most loyal allies. How dare you, sir; how dare you.

Pet Peeves - Do They Need Food and Water?

We all have them; perhaps some more than others: those little things that people (and machines, sometimes) do that annoy us. I mean really, really annoy us...

One of my biggest is when people stop in the middle of aisles or entryways/exitways (especially entryways) instead of moving off to one side or the other, or proceeding an extra 10-feet to get out of the flow of traffic. Stores, amusement parks - any public space with narrow entry/exit points (doors, turnstiles, etc.), really; just do me (and everyone else that you are blocking or holding up) a favor and move out of the flow of traffic before you stop dead in your tracks to figure out whatever it is your trying to figure out (for entryways, it's usually "where do I want to go?"). I don't know how many times I've had to stop and politely (and annoyingly) wait until whomever it is in front of me decides to move out of the way so I (and often others behind me) and also "come in" (or "get by"). Amusement park entrances are bad because you will have several groups of people, all waiting "just inside" the entrance(s) for the rest of their party, oblivious to the fact that there are other people trying to get in (and several of them doing the same, exact thing). That is why on a (relatively) recent trip to Disneyland, I told my niece (as well as the rest of my family) to go to the wall located another 20-feet (give or take) beyond the gates before stopping (worked great, by the way; nobody go lost and everybody was out of traffic flow).

Stores can be worse 'cuz in addition to doorways, you have people pushing carts through aisles. I don't mind people going slowly, looking at the shelves, trying to figure out (or find) what they want - I do that too. Just don't go creeping down the middle of the aisle: pick a side - either side, it really doesn't matter which (though here in America, we're, more or less, conditioned to travel on the right-hand side, 'cuz that's how we drive), just as long as someone behind you (whom you didn't see 'cuz you're not looking - but that's OK) can get past you.

Courtesy, people. Just plain, simple, everyday, common courtesy (which I guess is something that seems to be less and less taught to children these days; pity). Stop "daydreaming" and be just a little aware of what's going on around you and GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!!

Did I mention it's one of my biggest pet peeves?

Another one is "improper" change from a vending machine or automatic cashier. The proper way to give 30¢ (that's "thirty cents", in case you can't read it) in change is by giving one quarter and one nickle, and NOT three dimes (unless you're out of quarters). It's a simple algorithm - I've programmed it myself way back in the day when I was first learning BASIC. So why does it seem like every time I have a slight variation on that amount coming back to me the stupid machine gives me three dimes? You know it's just not possible for the machine to be out of quarters every single time I use one, but invariably that's what it does. Whoever programmed them needs to go back to elementary school and learn how to count change.

Morons.

I have others, of course, but I ran into both of these today at the store. Which is what got me thinking (always dangerous) and what ultimately "drove" me to posting.

And in case any one you (whomever you may be) were wondering if I would give an answer to my post's title, wonder no more 'cuz here it is: No, they don't. It seems they live, thrive, grow and even reproduce themselves without need of food or water.

So be on guard, lest they take over.

Death of a Terrorist

A well known terrorist no longer walks among the living. I'll not use his name here; I see no reason to propagate his "memory". But I will confess to being somewhat...conflicted.

As an American, I do not grieve; I shed no tear. He came from a wealthy family and could have done good things with his fortune. Instead, he chose to use it to help slaughter dozens of people who did him no harm. And for what? Because he saw America as "evil"? I mean, OK, as a nation we haven't always done "the right thing", but tell me - which nation ever has? We've done more "good" than most; we continue to give - GIVE, mind you - billions of dollars to other countries, all over the world. We give food; we give clothing; we give shelter; we give medical treatment...we give and give and give. What did he give? Nothing but heartache, pain, and suffering. Some legacy. Good riddance.

As a human being, I understand how precious and fleeting life is; we are here but for a "blink of an eye" (metaphorically, of course). To spend ones life and/or resources in the intentional infliction of pain and suffering of others is not only a waste, but ultimately self-defecating. For we, the whole of humanity, are all connected. But elimination of such evil does elevate us. So I am ambivalent to his departure.

As a born again, spirit-filled Christian, we are taught to "love our enemies"; it is easy to love those who love you, it is difficult to love those who hate you. But we are to try. It is a difficult thing. And death brings and end to hope - hope that one can and will change; hope that one will actually see that only through the blood of Jesus Christ can one be saved from eternal damnation. A soul is now lost forever - there is no salvation. I grieve that loss.


I know of a few people who have gone "out of their way" to give the following quotes (typically, entirely lumped together and, albeit incorrectly, attributed only to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.):

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." (Jessica Dovey)

and

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

I don't know if those who have quoted this throughout the bloggosphere (twitter, facebook, etc.) have done so because they actually believe it, or if it was done to show their "moral superiority". I should hope the former, but I think in at least some cases the latter. Is it "Christian" to rejoice in the death of one so evil? Perhaps not. Yet I cannot help but recall that in several places in the Bible, we are told 'not to mourn' over certain deaths. One that comes immediately to mind is when God (through Moses) command Aaron not to mourn over the loss of his sons, who were destroyed for defiling the tabernacle. In Jeremiah (22:10 - NIV), it says "Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss...". And as God is the same today, yesterday, and forever, I can only conclude that, while perhaps rejoicing over this death may not be "Christian", I am not required to "mourn" over it either.

Thus, I will remain "conflicted".