Free Stuff and Not So Free Stuff

Either I appear to others as a down trodden, depressed, dejected, in the depths of despair manifestation of a human being or I appear to be an easy mark, one who will eagerly and impetuously cave into the demands and opinions of others.

The other day I arrived at the restaurant, my place of employment, a little early and decided to use the time to catch up on some reading. As I sat in my car minding my own business, I noticed another car pull onto the lot carrying three older ladies and a young man. The car screeched to a stop and one of the ladies ran over with a pamphlet in hand, you know, the kind that is pushed on you on a Saturday morning after two young men in suits ring your door bell. "No thank you", was my reply before she could even utter a word.

The work day started as usual with two elderly ladies having coffee and the cheap breakfast. When it was time to pay, one lady offered me a CD along with payment. She informed me that the CD contained information on the rationale for voting against a Constitutional Amendment permitting stem cell research. "No thank you. Against company policy", I replied. I read in her eyes, "Thank you. No tip" . I then rang up a goose egg.

Throughout the day, I received a multitude of insignificant rubbish. Two members of a religious assembly left a "Yes, Jesus Loves you" card along with their payment and a very modest tip. A real estate tycoon (read: real estate agent) involved in a self-important conversation with his friend, alleging a significant 7 figure deal, fashioned a 10% gratuity along with his business card. An arrogant, pompous S.O.B, who considered me to be at 4-5 rungs below him on the socioeconomic ladder, left me the keys to his Lexus and a cell phone. All of the items were well received and immediately placed in my stockpile of other items of immense value (read: food scrap receptacle).

On the travel home, a homeless person at the bottom of the highway exit ramp holding out his cue card hoping that I would be so gullible as to hand him some spare change. I hear that they pay thousands of dollars to set up their stake to really choice locations. Perhaps the local governments should find a way to have these enterprising entrepreneurs procure permits to enhance the community coffers .

Political activists selling candy at busy intersections. The candy is never really what you crave for at the time.

Junk mail pulling you into a scheme to profit thousands of dollars for a small investment of time and money. Telephone calls hawking cheap home mortgages, storm windows, aluminum siding, guttering and feminine hygiene products.

I think I will check out the availability of a certain highway off ramp which I think can be a very lucrative site.

A Gameless Education

See Dick run. See Jane run. No more, Dick and Jane. Sit. Sit. Sit. The fun games of childhood may be a thing of the past. Tag, touch football and other unsupervised games have been banned at an elementary school near Boston, Massachusetts. The principal has cited legal liability as the issue behind the ban. Our litigious society has claimed the last bastion of physical fitness. of our youth . The once time honored game of dodge ball incurred modifications to assure user friendly participation. Across the nation, tag and other chase games are out. Will recess in the schoolyard now mirror the yard at the state prison with students milling around , walking the "yard", leaning against the walls and planning the 3:00 break over the walls?

These games are what being a kid is all about. At home they sit with their TVs, IPODS and computers. Not a negative in all cases, but there certainly is no exercise if that is the only menu they have to choose from. A recent poll on MSNBC.com, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15317229/ , reveals that 97% of those polled feel that a ban is not favored.

What will be next? Jump rope? The rope can be fashioned into a weapon. Should we explore the possibilities of alternatives to recess? Maybe Mr. Foley's Interactive Magical Mail and Messaging Program?

Kids have enough problems, especially with the other types of school violence frustrating their lives. Politicians call for the arming of teachers, but officials ban a childhood game? Our children face incompetent school districts, administrators and teachers.

Give me a break. There are times we wish we could all enjoy a simple game.

Another Look Back

On June 23, 2005 I posted a blog "A Look Back". I compared some aspects of the war in Iraq to our war in Vietnam and police action in Bosnia. I commented that our troops were ill prepared to prosecute an urban war in Iraq. My comments were based upon my anti Iraqi war beliefs from the time that President Bush first made it clear that the U.S. was on the road to war to avenge the atrocity of 9/11. But I, like most Americans, were blind sided by the political rhetoric. Talk of WMDs and harboring terrorists overwhelmed logical reasoning. Iraq, it was pounded into our heads, was the true enemy.

However, the President in his 2002 State of the Union Address, made it crystal clear that we faced three fronts in the war on terrorism. The "axis of evil": Iran, North Korea, Iraq, had designs on destruction of America and its way of life. Why then was Iraq and Saddam Hussein singled out for a regime change and North Korea and Iran allowed a pass? Was the administration reluctant to enter into an altercation with North Korea and Iran, when Iraq was in it’s grasp?

In recent months Iran has been sternly warned not to proceed with its uranium enrichment program or face the possibility of sanctions. North Korea has recently tested a nuclear device and plans to test another. Do they appear to be concerned that sanctions have been be imposed? Not really, for they have been allowed to conduct business as usual with impunity. The sanctions are minimal and do not include military action. Madmen don't worry about what others say about them.

North Korea most likely held an untested nuke or two as the administration planned the attack on Iraq. Although there is no evidence that Iran actually holds a nuclear device, it has had ample time to create one since we have just recently denounced their plans to go nuclear. Iraq , on the other hand, had nothing. No WMD; no links to terrorists. It’s common knowledge now. Yet, the administration insists that we “stay the course”. Why then Iraq? A more practical plan would have been to attack those carrying the bigger stick. Instead we hung a stick to the ceiling and beat it with a piñata.

In the midst of all the saber rattling, the military has lowered the enlistment standards for new recruits. History repeats itself. During the Vietnam War, a program called “Project 100,000” was instituted with the same objectives. Are there more military options being formulated?

We have dug a hole not in which to hide, but to bury ourselves.

The Politics of Distraction

It has been announced that the verdict in the Saddam Hussein trial will be handed down on November 5. The sentence could come the same day, if Saddam is found guilty. How ironic that the decision will come two days prior to the November 7 midterm elections. The timing is all too coincidental. Another ploy by the current GOP administration in collaboration with the Iraqi administration to alter public opinion immediately prior to the vote? A conviction and death sentence would indeed lend credence to Bush's casus belli and distract the American public from the real issues.

The tactic of planting these political seeds in the minds of the American people is nothing new. The vote to authorize the President's power to wage war came just weeks prior to the last midterm election. Retaliation sentiment peaked and a vote against the resolution would have been tantamount to political suicide in a candidate's bid for office. Terrorist plots have been revealed at the time most opportune for the Administration.

In related developments House Speaker Dennis Hastert will announce that he has irrefutable proof that the Democrats were behind the plot to assail the good name and character of ex-Representative, Mark Foley. The GOP leadership contends that Foley's use of the Internet to entice young boys was an elaborate entrapment scheme created by the Democrats, namely Al Gore, the inventor of the Internet. This announcement will come on November 6, if not leaked before hand.

Baseball in October

Through winter into spring, spring to summer , summer into fall the seasons blur as the National Pastime finally arrives into October. The tournament to name the Word Champions of baseball.

God created woman of the rib of man. All was good with the union until the Egyptians created a calendar and Doubleday invented a fat stick and a small sphere. While woman always understood the testosterone raging in the male, she became hard pressed to understand the surrogate sexual stimulus of the Fall Classic. Unable to comprehend the intricacies of the male of the species, the female takes to shopping sprees and runs up huge amounts on another invention, charge cards, which will surely strike the male sometime in December.

October, the time for male bonding. The contented male bouncing his five month old on his lap, along with the five year old squirming on the couch wanting to play with whatever it is five year olds play with anymore, and the 15 year old that wishes he could be with his girl friend since his testosterone is working fine. The male attempt to introduce and indoctrinate other males into the right of passage.

The mythical male. He knows not his zip code, area code or anniversary date, but can recite verbatim the batting averages of over 100 players without hesitation. Oblivious to shoe size, shirt size or name of his first born, he can cite the current E.R.A. of all the pitchers. His baseball fantasy team outweighs his sexual fantasies.

During this time of year, he consumes vast quantities of an amber elixir. Pizza is the cuisine de jour. If the favored meatloaf is served, it is partaken of on a tray strategically placed at the front of the T.V.

Some women have attempted to provoke the male to turn away from the game. W: "I'm having an affair with the pool boy". M: "Do we have a pool"? W: "I'm having an affair with my tennis instructor". M: "Has it helped your serve"? W: "I'm having an affair with a batboy". M: "Can you get me any tickets"?

Then, in a rather anti-climatic moment, the month ends. The much beloved team has won or possibly lost. The outcome lasts for a day or maybe two at the most. Things become normal. Thanksgiving and Christmas pass. Plans are readied for the Superbowl Party.

October: A man's month.

Last Chance

The choice is yours. If you want to change the system, vote. If you want to sit on the sidelines and just complain, don't vote. Again, it's your choice.

The last day to register in Missouri for the upcoming November election is October 11. Register at your local Election Commissioner's Office, public library or Driver's License Bureau or agency office.

Your vote; your choice

Limbo: A State of Mind

In my younger days I was very Catholic. Very vanilla Catholic. Teach me, preach me I believed it. Save for one issue which I found difficult to fathom. Limbo was the word and had zilch, nada, nyet to do with the bending dance under a stick.

Limbo, we were taught at an early naive age, was the little room off to the side of heaven where babies go when they die nonbaptized. Since we were born with original sin, heaven was out of bounds unless one was baptized. So the little babies went to a "state of perfect natural happiness" when they died.

Catholic theologians are now in the process of rethinking the matter proposing to draft a document to finally conclude the matter. Why is a document necessary? It seems that the church never held a formal doctrinal stance on the issue. My question: If no formal doctrine existed, why has the church promoted this line of thinking for centuries?

The newly appointed Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada, has cited an increase in the number of nonbaptized babies in societies marked by "cultural relativism and religious pluralism" as the focal point of the resolve of the issue. Perhaps there is an even deeper necessity in settling the issue? The abortion issue? Then again maybe keeping the Pope'sinfallibilityy streak perfect.

According to the church, life begins at conception. An aborted fetus is unbaptized and therefore can not see heaven, but is placed in Limbo. Shall we deny a place in heaven for the unborn based on the sins of the mother? A compassionate church which abhors abortion can not in true conscious deny a place in heaven to those victimized by such atrocities. And so another spin is born.

Will the posting of this document, if in the favor of the babies, have a retroactive effect? Will babies having died prior to the formal announcement finally be whisked off through the Pearly Gates or will they still languish in the state of Limbo? Or will our own beliefs in what is right and true reserve a place for the innocent without looking to a document for inspiration?

Readin, Ritin and Rat-tat-tat

In light of the recent tragic school shootings in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, a Wisconsin legislator has proposed that arming teachers might not be a bad idea and plans to introduce legislation that would permit teachers and school administrators to pack heat along with their rulers. I have probably heard a more ludicrous idea in my lifetime, but I can’t remember when.

While I suppose there are days that a school teacher whishes he or she had a Glock in their purse or briefcase, I find it difficult to believe that any teacher would opt in even if the proposed legislation could override the federal ban on guns on school grounds. More likely than not, a gun at school would somehow fall into the wrong hands despite even the most rigorous training afforded to the teacher.

Proponents of the legislation would cite the deterrence argument as a reason to permit a concealed carry law to be enacted. No nut case would dare enter a school knowing that the teachers were armed. But that is the point here. The individuals responsible for the recent horrific tragedies were not in their right minds and suicidal to boot. Suspecting that teachers might be armed would without a doubt tend to cause more casualties as the gunman would merely begin blasting away upon entering the building.

A bad idea to even consider, Mr. Legislator. I hope your constituents remember this when it comes time for your reelection bid.

A Betrayal

The recently uncovered indiscretions of ex-Congressman Mark Foley has caused a furor among Catholic priests across the United States. Many U.S. priestly pedophiles have vowed to seek recourse in the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary, claiming that Foley violated the Constitutional premise of separation of Church and State. Pedophilia, once the express dominion of Catholic clergy, has now entered the political arena via the Congressional efforts of Mr. Foley. Now the clergy no longer can claim the right of sole media attention grabber as the despicable acts have now reached the hallowed halls of Congress.

Like the tip of an iceberg protruding above the waters, the real issues rest much deeper , submerged in the bottom murky waters of depravity. A broadening trend takes hold . Pedophiles are average looking people exhibiting various shapes, sizes, genders, religious affiliations and political ideologies. None should be held in contempt for any reason other than the perversity itself. Whether it be the clergy/altar boy/student, the public servant/subordinate, the family member/child all share a common denominator: betrayal of trust.

The passage of laws to protect children from the abuser are not in themselves the panacea. While many a case becomes public knowledge, many more go undetected and many more are covered up. The perpetrator is given a free ride by his colleagues in the hope that he or she will see the light and end their reprehensible behavior. Counseling is sought. The offender speaks of childhood woes. Profess to be gay, thereby giving the actions a certain degree of legitimacy. But from what we have witnessed, the recidivism rates are high.

We would be naïve to accept as true that all abuse of children will someday be nonexistent. But in order to protect the children, measures must be undertaken to assure that one will think twice before helping an old friend or associate. For these so called friends also betray the trust of those needing help.