Our Children Can

Pray at School

There’s nothing preventing children from praying at school.  In fact, the constitution and several Supreme Court decisions guarantee the right of all citizens to pray anywhere they are in the United States.

I don’t how anyone anywhere could stop you, if you want to pray silently.  I think they would have to kill you to stop you, if you really wanted to pray out loud.

In the United States, the right to choose not to pray in conducted prayers is a protected right.  You always have the right to not believe and not participate, basically freedom from religion, and that has been upheld many times by the Supreme Court.

What can’t take place in Public Schools is the conscription of all those present lead by a designated person coercing all those gathered to recite in unison a particular religions prayer or mantra, be it Christian, Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish or any other.

The Supreme Court has also apparently upheld that like minded students can willfully gather on their own at public facilities normally available for meeting purposes and conduct their own religious discussions and prayers, un-mandated, un-coerced or un-conscripted, just like any other groups or association that for any reason might request and schedule its use.

I think the basic reason is, these are public schools supported entirely by public monies, and the Constitution prohibits any laws “respecting an establishment of religion”.  Spending public money, or using the facilities and opportunity provided by public money to conscript those gathered to chant a Buddhist mantra well the prayer wheel spins, or roll out a carpet, kneel and bow toward Mecca reciting one of five daily prayers, or any other religious ceremony approved, accepted or rejected and under the possible threat of social distain, criticism, shame, banishment, or physical punishment, I believe should be and is prohibited. 

The religious indoctrination of children assembled for public education, I think must be prohibited.

We’ve already set aside in many tax-free havens with many places specifically for religion teachings, churches, synagogues, mosques, and many others plus many religious teaching schools and seminaries, mostly tax exempt. 

Those who wish to participate in or subject their children to the practices of some religious belief are guaranteed the right in this country to do so, to go there and participate without interference from the law, public authorities, other citizens, any persons or organizations.  Also, all citizens have the right to worship on property they own, rent or lease, just not on public property owned by all citizens regardless of their many different beliefs.  
Citizens also have the right to choose not to believe in, participate in, be coerced by, or conscripted into any religious beliefs whether they be in a God, or gods, the creator, or the Great Spirit, a Caterpillar, or the Great Pumpkin, or the absence of any of them.
Conduct worship ceremonies whenever you wish, just do it off of our public property.

US Constitution, Amendment I, (in part)

 “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…”

   

I’m an American

I’m not anything hyphenated

Oh, I know it’s been popular for sometime for Black-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Asian-American, Mexican-American, Arab-American, Muslim-American, Asian Pacific Islanders and Native-Americans to identify themselves and each other, and for many overly self-conscious social elitists to label people in a sensitive, caring, self-righteous way. 

I could be, I suppose, a Norwegian-American by choice like many who choose the part of their heritage they prefer.  In reality I’m three quarters German and one quarter Norwegian.  I must confess I had thought of it some years back when completing those optional race surveys attached to so many governmental forms.

It irritated me that of all organizations, the government was perpetuating the use of racial descriptors while proclaiming racial names inappropriate and loosely connected to hate speech.  

And being a fifth generation American I began identifying myself a Native American 15 years ago while in government service on forms with the race identifier option, and no signed declaration of truthfulness, without any qualms.  It occurs to me now that German-American or German-Norwegian-American would have been accurate and more in the spirit of these hyphenated times.

Recently in a telephone survey about California politics I was given the option to race identify at the end of the survey.  I had the surveyor repeat a long list of socially insensitive race identifiers a couple times.  To my continuing consternation about sixty percent of California’s population was lumped into one category; “White”.  It just didn’t seem politically or hyphenatedly correct enough to me.  So I told the interviewer an unhyphenated Native American without hesitation or a twinge of untruthfulness.

As if these absurdities aren’t enough, I’ve notice lately a kind of disclaimer race identifier like, non-Hispanic Black-American, non-Black Hispanic American, and non-Asian Pacific Islander, or maybe a non-Black African?

I was hoping that if anything good came from the passage of “Hate Speech” laws they would eliminate the use of race and ancestral nationality identifiers, but alas, it’s only gotten worse. 

We recently visited the African continent; Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa for three weeks and in cities and in the bush, meeting and talking with many Africans, I never once heard any of them referred to as Black Africans or White Africans, and there are quite a number of other variations like Arab Africans and Asian Africans.  There are noticeable numbers of fourth and fifth generation White-Africans, but not once in three weeks did I anyone refer to themselves or others with any hyphenated race names.

It should be abundantly clear by now that I find it utterly ridiculous and completely unnecessary to race identify people.  And I’m not sure that nationality identifiers are needed, but if they are, I’m pretty sure that only one nationality name is necessary.  You either are a US citizen, or you are from some other nation, like Mexico, Cuba, Panama, Bolivia, Australia, Egypt, Japan, China, Peru, United Kingdom, France, India or Canada or of some other nation, whatever your country of birth is, or wherever you are recognized as a citizen.  Or if you wish, you are from a continent, like North American, South American, Asian, European, African, Australian, or perhaps a region like Middle Eastern or Central American, or however you would like to be geographically attached. 

You can only be born in one place, therefore;

I do not believe you should be anything hyphenated!

Thomas Jefferson

Born, 13 April 1743, Shadwell, Virginia
Died, 4 July 1826 (age 83) Charlottesville, Virginia


A friend sent me this summary of one this nations founding fathers and a life time favorite of mine.  I have not verified all that's listed here, but much of it is published in commonly believed written history, and easily believed by me to be largely factual.


He was a man of enormous contributions to our nations founding, and a man of great intellect, wisdom, compassion, and thoughtfulness.  I doubt he ever undertook anything without considerable forethought.  He was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.


At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America  and retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello .
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams

He studied the previously failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man more so than most understand today.  A voice from the past to lead us into the future.


John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement, "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."


"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe ." -- Thomas Jefferson


"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."-- Thomas Jefferson

"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world."-- Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson


"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." -- Thomas Jefferson


"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson


"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."-- Thomas Jefferson

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson


"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."-- Thomas Jefferson


Thomas Jefferson said in 1802, "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.  If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."


I doubt he intended to be considered a great prophet, but his prophecies ring eerily true today.  

National Defense

Starts within Our Borders

Post all future ground forces within our borders.  Immediately begin worldwide drawdown of ground forces posted on the soil of foreign countries, including embassy guards, with a target of zero foreign ground forces in ten years.  Allow training assignments and mutual aid agreements to continue, terminating in twenty years.

Substantially reduce air and sea forces actively engaged other than training outside US and territorial waters and airspace.

Recall all guard and military police units and begin border and boundary enforcement training for immediate national and territorial boundary enforcement deployment.

Begin decommissioning and disposal by sale all suitable facilities and equipment with the goal of zero deployment in foreign countries in ten years. 

Maintain deployable Rapid Deployment Strike force capability by sea, air and ground with minimum strategic equipment and weapons deposits at fewer than 24 locations worldwide.

In other words, change a portion of the military mission to actual National Defense, sealing our borders to intrusion for any purpose from incursions, unlawful trafficking, to illegal immigration by land, sea or air.

Stop all excursions into the affairs of other nations or countermanding lawlessness not a direct threat to overwhelming national security and commercial interests.  Secure the safety of our citizens during travel for tourism and commerce, and secure the transit of US goods or services and their necessary assets against potential interruption or unlawful seizure. 

Otherwise, focus on staying at home protecting our homeland and our people.

The savings could be as many as three hundred thousand active duty military and more than fifty thousand civilians, and hundreds of billions of dollars more in equipment and support costs annually.      

Use the savings only to begin paying down our ridiculously excessive National debt.

Our nation’s future security, prosperity and freedom depend upon it.

Don’t wait, start tomorrow!  

New York City and Washington DC

I Don't Care What They Do

Do these people understand anything about the other 200 million people (counting unlawful immigrants) that don’t live in the metropolitan Northeast or a large coastal city? 

I doubt it.  Nothing that happens there is important to rest of us.  It’s not our financial center.  It’s not the cultural or social center of anything that matters, even occasionally, to most of us.

Nor, should we let Northeast Media personalities (TV, Newspaper, magazine and Internet) tell us what to believe, feel, think or do, and for whom we should vote or why.  

I don’t think so and here’s why.  They are not the reason for anything important to our inland citizens.  Those people have almost nothing in common with the rest of American’s residents.  Most of us don’t share their dreams or hold their same values, or live their kinds of lives, or care what celebrities think or do, don’t find anything remotely interesting or amusing about New York City, or think everything worth seeing is within walking distance of our flat, whatever that is.

For instance, personal vehicular travel in the inland west; some county seats are more than 150 miles from our homes.  Some families live 50 miles from the closest paved road.  Many technicians must drive hundreds of miles each day to get to work sites.  Most have never been to New York City and have no reason to ever go, and never will; and have no interest in Washington DC aside from visiting monuments and museums.  And don’t care what New Yorkers think, do or want.  Many wouldn’t go to a Broadway Play if they were there and it was free.  About half have never been on mass transit.  Most will live their entire life having never taken a train to and from work, and wouldn’t give up their truck, car, motorcycle, boat, plane, bicycle, or horse even if there was a subway station within hundreds of miles.  

In my case we live in the middle of a desert, so everything must be brought or collected from great distances; food, clothing, medicine, all consumer products by truck, car, train, or plane.  The closest mass transit station is 105 miles away, the closest airport 90 miles away, and our county seat is 94 miles away.  My county is roughly the size of the whole State of Delaware.  It is 150 miles to Las Vegas or Los Angeles.  Every commodity requires fueled delivery, even our gasoline and diesel fuel are mostly delivered by trucks.  There is no subway station, no mass transit, no park and ride; personal transportation, our own trucks and cars are essential.  Annual driving of more than 24,000 miles is required for the most conservative life styles.  Shopping for goods, tools or appliances, or medical care can easily involve a 300 mile round trip.  A special lunch date or a movie, can easily reach 200 miles, or 500 miles on a weekend for entertainment, amusement or sporting events.   

In my little town, homeless people and transients don’t urinate and defecate in our doorways.  Whores don’t work our street corners.  Big time drug dealers and violent street crime are rare.  Bribery, corruption and extortion rarely occur.  Crimes occur, but police brutality hasn’t been alleged in decades.  Two homicides in the same year, it must certainly have been transients.  We straddle what must be the nation’s busiest Interstate highway with more than 55 million vehicles per year and most of our crime comes to us on their way elsewhere.

Abundant, low priced fuel is essential.  Start drilling and pumping our nations abundant fuels, and stop taxing the life blood out of our inland towns and rural citizens.

And someday, when there is an efficient, practical alternative to the current fossil fuels, we’ll buy it, without subsidy, tax or tariff.

In the mean time, stop acting like everyone in the country lives and thinks like New York social celebrities and a few thousand of their closest friends, or would ever want to.   

Border Fence

In the middle of the Rio Grande

I favor much more secure borders surrounding our country. 

I like the idea of constructing more physical barriers that do their intended jobs when the authorities are not present. 

Building great walls (fences) physical and technological, I think is a worthy idea and a great public works project and a massive employment program.

Placing more trained and equipped enforcement personnel in strategic locations of likely encroachment with the tools, training and authority to stop illegal entry and facilitate the start of the legal immigration process.

As much as I would like to see great monumental barriers erected for border security, and it certainly can be accomplished easily by our great nation, there are a few vexing dilemma. 

Let’s look at the land border between the great state of Texas and the great nation of Mexico.  It is defined mostly by the Rio Grande River channel and the center of its lakes, about 683 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico east of Matamoros, Mexico.  Let’s ignore the water route via the Gulf, it is quite complex and expensive to build and maintain a physical fence at sea, but it is possible.  The sky is another matter for later.

Even the most exclusionary fences and walls can be breeched; over, under or through, so don’t be naïve, structure alone does not exclude intruders, they do deter many; people, weapons and technology are always necessary to prevent access by ground.

Another simple but vexing problem is where to physically construct the fence.  The actual boundary is in the middle of the river water, or river channel with occasional water, or through the approximate center of lakes.  Like the sea, rivers and lakes pose construction and maintenance difficulties.  The choice quickly becomes their side of the river or our side?

Their side would require an elaborate treaty agreement for placement and maintenance that would have to be done by the US.  Mexico is not likely to agree.

Placement on our side would require giving up access to some popular places for recreation, commerce and natural resource extraction.

Both choices could eliminate natural wildlife migration, although few larger species that migrate across the river.   

I think the only sensible choice is to give up the whole river channel to Mexico in many places and fence to the middle of the river and lakes in other places with various physical devices that prevent passage on, in or below water; and use abundant human enforcement personnel and sophisticated surveillance and interdiction technology where river, lake or land barriers are too complicated.     

Turning briefly to the Gulf Coast and inland waterways; surveillance, enforcement and interdiction technology and trained and equipped personnel patrolling from land, sea and air, and human intelligence on the ground in the US and Mexico will always be necessary.

The sky’s are another matter; much more technology and human surveillance and patrol are necessary, many low level and low speed manned and unmanned flight devices are succeeding day or night at many places along the Rio Grande boundary, over water in the Gulf, and over remote lands in West Texas.

I’m sure the Northern land and water boundaries have similar problems, but I’m not as familiar with them.  It was mentioned on TV news today that unmanned drones have been used in conjunction with ground forces effectively up north.  I believe too few physical barriers are in place there as well.

Our nation’s long coastline and immense inter-coastal waterways are a gigantic problem.  Barriers that exclude intruders also restrict citizen access to waterways, fishing, beaches, boating, and nature recreation.  Increases in human enforcement and technology, with some added physical barriers in selected, remote, low or no use locations, and much more patrolling are urgently need. 

Millions of short term jobs could be created constructing barriers and installing technology.  Hundreds of thousands of jobs training and patrolling the land, water and air at and over our borders could be supported in the long term.

First job, keep them out.  Next job, find the ones already here.  Next, get them out or get them started on citizenship. 

Just like effective barriers, deportation of 20 million illegal immigrants can be done. 

How long we’ve tolerated our mistakes doesn’t matter.  If they cannot become citizens, start shipping them to their homeland tomorrow.

If they have children born here, allow the child to stay with other citizens, or accompany their parents out of the country until they are adults.

All of these things can and should be done.  All that is needed is the will to begin.    

Occupiers

Want All Debt Forgiven

How greedy and selfish can you get?  Their personal interest, thinly shrouded in “forgive everyone’s debt” is the height of hypocrisy.  Everyone?  Really?  The guy who owns the park where they are denying its use to others; the bankrupt city that borrowed union pension funds and widows retirements; the banks, insurance companies, and vehicle manufacturers forced to borrow money from the taxpayers; the foundations, governments, hospitals, and nonprofits that need loaned money paid back to help people during times of disaster. 

Is that all the debt they want forgiven? 

Or, is it just the debt they agreed to and lack the honor, energy and commitment to pay back?

Is it the debts that governments owe us in benefits, the debts schools owe their teachers, the debts that children owe their parents, maybe it’s the debts citizens owe their veterans, police, hospitals, schools, parks, communities and country’s.

Is that the debts they want us to forget?  Or, do they just want to forget their debts?

They are so phony; if you forgave their credit card debt, their college loan, their car, apartment, furniture, utility bills, income taxes, medical and food bills, they would shut up and be gone by nightfall, not caring for one second about your debts or those of the ignorant, poor and starving peoples of the world; or for that matter, the sick, the elderly, or the injured desperately waiting for entitlement programs or philanthropic organizations.

Their personal interests are all that matters to them.  Just like the selfish greed they claim are the worst motives of businesses and the wealthy.

They are ignorant, selfish and inconsiderate, and yes, greedy.  I often wonder why they are not picketing lawyers, entertainers, athletes, or politicians, or others who take out much more than they have put in.  Instead they would rob widows who invested their savings so they could care for themselves in old age.

Grow up, learn a few things, get a job, go to work, honor your commitments, pay your bills, save some money, pay your taxes, contribute to worthy causes; then when have some extra money, loan it out.  When it’s too late for you, or you’re too tired or too sick to earn it back again.

Maybe you will feel like forgiving all that debt?

I doubt it.