Mr. President, Would You Answer a Few Questions Please?

I heard on the radio this afternoon that tonight President Bush is going to have a press conference. Wow! This is major news.

Allow me to editoralize for a moment. In my 35 years of following the news and following the activities of the most important person in America, I have not seen any president that does not hold press conferences and does not communicate to the people of America as much as President George W. Bush. Why is that? My strong opinion is that he doesn't trust the press and he doesn't feel that he has to communicate to the American people. He has created his own channels of communications that he can control. Yet, he was re-elected. It is mind boggling to me.

For this special occasion tonight, I have created my list of important questions that will never be asked and will never be answered. Yes, these questions are loaded, but I challenge anyone to convince me that they aren't fair. Afterall, I would be respectful while asking!

Mr. President, with all due respect.......

1. Without using the buzz term "War on Terror", Would you please give us an update on the criminal investigation and capture of Osama Bin Laden and other top Al Qadea terrorists? A follow-on question: With "never" and "once a decade" not being acceptable, at what intervals can we expect future updates?

2. When you said "those who harbour them" did you mean that you would go into any country to capture Al Qadea? A follow-on question: Why do we not have 200,000 troops in Pakistan instead of Iraq?

3. If I can go on the internet and download software from NASA that allows me to see a zoom picture of my bar-b-que grill from a satellite, why can we not zoom in on Osama's ugly nose?

4. Between yourself and O. J. Simpson, who do you think will find the "real killers" first?

5. When you were in the Texas Air National Guard you kept the skies over the Lone Star State safe. The Coast Guard keeps the coasts safe. Why is the Kentucky National Guard keeping Iraq safe?

6. Given the fact that there are financial, drug, labor, cultural and homeland security issues, why are you not doing your job and enforcing the already exisiting laws to protect our borders?

7. Why in over 5 years have you never openly held any of your staff accountable for failures in performance? Follow-on question: In your administration, is the dog wagging the tail or is the tail wagging the dog? Additional follow-on question: Does the dog-tail question confuse you?

8. My definition of a real war are things like World War I & World War II or maybe the Civil War. We called Korea and Vietnam "police actions". To me the "War on Terror" and the "Cultural War" are not really wars. What do you think, Mr. President? Aren't they more like abstract goals or initiatives to fix some really bad things that need fixin'? How is the "War on Terror" any different than the "War on Poverty" or the "War on Drugs"? Is it because if you called it "The initiative to patch the holes in our countrie's defenses" you wouldn't be able to spend as much of the taxpayers money on whatever you wanted to do?

9. Who do you think has a better chance of capturing Osama; Arnold, Rambo and James Bond looking for him in his top secret hiding place or the Kentucky National Guard while protecting Iraqi convoys in Baghdad?

10. When you key in Osama's name in your PDA, do you spell it like the rest of the world or do you spell it 'Usama' like they do at FoxNews? A follow-on question: Do you know why FoxNews spells it differently?

"What???? You are having me arrested by the Secret Service? Mr. President....please don't have me sent to Guantanamo Bay. Mr. President, I won't even get a trial there....I'm sorry, Mr. President....I was just funnin' you with questions #9 & #10! I'll even call you W.....argggggggh"

That's enough for this press conference, Mr. President. Since this is your first "press conference" in over a year, I am certain that you have your agenda and that my questions aren't on it. I bet we will mostly hear about how you are going to save social security and how you need our help on the rising gas prices. Afterall, this really isn't a "press conference" anyway is it?

I hope I don't have to choose between you and "Survivor" tonight. I am sure CBS will make the right decision. Afterall, your people took care of that scoundrel, Dan Rather didn't they?

where have you gone Sam Donaldson, a nation turns it lonely eyes to you.
woo, woo, woo!
what's that you say Mrs. Donaldson, "doubting Sam" has left and gone away?
hey, hey, hey!

Does God Give Exemptions to 'Thou Shall Not Kill?"

‘Thou shall not kill’ seems pretty clear to me.

After all, it is only four words. I wonder if God meant for there to be exceptions for leaders of people or armies who cause death intentionally. When innocent people are killed while your intention is to kill what you consider the guilty, do you get an exemption? If you are at ‘War’ can you plead for an exception? What if the ‘War’ is not declared and therefore not approved by the representatives of the people, do the same rules apply? These are questions that are very current but have troubled me for over 30 years.

34 years ago I was a college student taking Air Force ROTC. I had aspirations to be trained as an Air Force pilot and possibly make a career out of it. In the summer of 1970 the Air Force disqualified me from my pilot’s training because of height. It turns out that I was too tall to fit in the pilot’s seat, but the seats for the bombardier were bigger. Yes, the United States Air Force wanted to train me to push the button that dropped the bombs over Vietnam. It was the first time that I ever thought about the human consequences of weapons of mass destruction. I rejected the Air Force’s invitation. A few years later, Uncle Sam said that they wanted me anyway and I was drafted. Even though I was trained to kill with weapons of individual destruction, the only thing that I ended up having to point at another human was my Underwood typewriter. I was lucky, I dodged the 'Thou shall not kill" commandment.

I have rejected most organized religion, but I have read the Bible and it’s teachings. I believe in God and I consider myself spiritual. I have seen the movie "The Ten Commandments" several times and I know that ‘Thou shall not kill’ was number 6 of 10 Commandments that was given from God to the people of Israel through Moses at Mt. Sinai. It has always seemed clear to me.

I flash forward to the present. My catalyst for writing this article was a picture that was in my newspaper this week as we recognized the 10th anniversary of the horrible Oklahoma City bombing. I am sure everyone remembers the photograph of the murdered little girl being carried with passion and care by the fireman. Her name is Baylee Almon. If you emotionally dare you can again view the Pulitzer Prize winning photograph by clicking on the link below:

http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/neverforget.html


As I looked at the picture, I felt great sadness. I thought how senseless. One day this innocent little girl is celebrating her first birthday and then the next day she is dead. All because someone created a massive explosion in the name of a cause. As I said this to myself, my mind instantly went to the thousands (millions?) of innocent children who have died due to explosions associated with wars. Seldom are there cameras there to capture the innocence of Baylee Almon or the genuine compassion of fireman Chris Field. The term "colatteral damage" is insulting to human life. I have heard the saying "God works in mysterious ways". I’m sorry but I need more than that.

It has been reported that there have been over 100,000 casualties of innocent civilians in Iraq that are associated with the invasion of Iraq. A large percentage of these casualties are children. The United States government does not report on or acknowledge civilian casualties. Even if the numbers are overstated, it is likely that there are thousands of innocent children who died much like Baylee Almon. They are alive one day and then dead the next. An unexpected explosion has ended their life because someone had a cause. There are no cameras, therefore is there no compassion?

Unfortunately, I have only unanswered questions. Comments or answers are welcome.

• Do you think God has processed an amendment to the ‘Thou Shall Not Kill’ commandment?
• Does this amendment provide exemptions to leaders of governments & armies?
• To qualify for the exemption, does your reason for the war have to be justified?
• If so, then by whom?
• Does the "religious right" who elected and support our current president have the answers for thousands of explosions and thousands of innocent deaths of humans?
• I don't think the "eye for an eye" thing applies, but are the people who cause explosions counting on the "forgiveness" thing?
• Will our president and all the other leaders be held accountable?
  
  I am at a loss. ‘Thou shall not kill’ seems pretty clear to me.
  
  
  Bless the beasts and the children
  For in this world they have no voice
  They have no choice!
  - The Carpenters, 1973

All I Am Saying Is Give Peace Some Thought

Currently,

The number of volunteers in the United States Peace Corps is 7,733.
The number of volunteers in the United States War Corps is 750,000+

Of course, there is no such thing as the "United States War Corp" and what I am calling the "War Corps" is actually the United States Military. Since, prior to 1947, the United States Department of Defense was named The United States Department of War it isn’t that much of a stretch.

My friend Richard recently wrote an excellent article on his blog site, peacecow.blogspot.com, that was called "Why no Why?" Why does no one seem to ask "Why did they attack on us on 9/11" or "Why do they hate America? These are questions that have bothered me for years. My own question is "Why do people accept answers that are obviously bullshit?" They hate our freedoms. They are all religious fanatics. They are all evil. Please, there has to be more than that.

For every 1 volunteer in the Peace Corps there are 100 volunteers in the War Corps. For every 1 American carrying books, medicine and trained to teach there are 100 Americans carrying weapons, ammunition that are trained to harm. How did we get this way? Why is our focus only on power and might? Why do we not invest the time and money in the building of relationships between humans?

I know that you may tell me that the United States gives billions of dollars to countries in foreign aid every year. Borrowing from Dr. Phil I say "Do you think that is working for you?" How much of that money actually gets from the receiving government to the people. I don’t know. How many of the people in foreign countries know that the funds are from the United States? Again, I don’t know but I do know that it is not working.

Richard, I know the answer to "Why no Why?" People are afraid of the truth. Over the past 20 years America’s policies and efforts in the world have strayed.

I challenge you to open you mind and really think about the power of peace. Think about the power of teaching and helping in comparison to the effect of overpowering and intimidation.

Perhaps soon the United States government will get politically correct and change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of Offense. We can then lobby to create a new branch of the government and name it the Department of Peace. Donald Rumsfeld’s peer but not equal could be Oprah Winfrey. I wonder who would better represent the true spirit of America.

"You may call me a dreamer but I'm not the only one.
I hope some day you'll join us and the world will be as one." - John Lennon

What Does 'Getting Traction' Have To Do With Reporting the News?

‘Getting Traction’ is a slang term that I have recently heard a lot on talk radio and cable news shows. It is usually an analysis of viewer/listener interest after a story or news report is presented. An example of how it would be used is "The Ward Churchill Story didn’t get any traction." Of course this means that some producer decided that a story on Ward Churchill was newsworthy (controversial?) but afterwards the public did not indicate that they were interested. I will talk more about "The Ward Churchill Story" below.

I am concerned that the reporting of the news has become far too skewed towards entertainment. Is the purpose of reporting of the news to simply inform or is it to capture people’s interest? And if capturing people’s interest is an objective, is it for advertising value and also to guide how and what people think? If these reasons are part of the formula, is it compromising the integrity of the media, because there is an agenda behind the shaping of people’s minds?
I question whether people like Bill O’Reilly, Larry King, Sean Hannity and Joe Scarborough are news analysts or primarily entertainers. Is the primary measurement of their job performance how accurately and eloquently they report the news, in other words "inform"? Or are they mainly held accountable for their ratings and therefore advertising revenue stream? Unfortunately, I am certain that it is the later. This is very, very dangerous to the future of America. Instead of having the populace merely informed and free to their own interpretation, you now have a large majority of people who have had their ideas shaped in a predetermined direction. Furthermore, this seems to a type of large scaled propaganda or controlled brainwashing.

Below are three examples of recent news stories and the strategic efforts to effect the "getting traction".

The Catholic Church elects a new Pope

As a logical thinking American this in itself is a news story. I have followed the death of Pope John Paul II, the funeral, the Conclave of the Cardinals and the factual information of Pope Benedict XVI with great interest. This was enough for me and my interest expectation was fulfilled. However, I have heard several times that these events are boring. In the name of entertainment value, interest needs to be increased. Let’s get some traction! Over the past 2-3 days I have heard multiple discussions about:

• Pope John Paul II will not be sainted because he failed the American children in his handling of the Priest Pedophilia Scandal.
• Pope Benedict XVI is not a good choice because he is German. Of course, everyone has been brainwashed to hate all Germans, French and Canadians because they didn’t support the United States unilateral attack on the Iraqi people. Oops, with that second sentence I am trying to start my own traction!
• Pope Benedict XVI used to be a Nazi and was part of Hitler’s Youth. I was curious so I went ahead a researched this one. In 1943 every 16-year-old boy in Germany was designated to be a member of Hitler’s Youth and was drafted in the Nazi Army. He was a student at seminary when he was drafted and he deserted in 1945. Traction over.
• The "Elite Liberal Media" is doing all of the negative reporting on the deceased Pope and the new Pope. It is a conspiracy because they are both conservatives.

Now they have taken some fairly boring stories and developed some traction. There is plenty of "entertainment" issues to fill up useless hours and hours of television and radio time. You've got traction! Let the mind shaping begin!

The Ward Churchill Story

So, you have never heard of Ward Churchill? That is not surprising. Ward Churchill is a college professor at the University of Colorado. He was (since resigned) also the Head of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado. I think he is also part Native American. A few months back he published in some form an essay that allegedly contains some unflattering and offensive things about the United States of America. More specifically, the things he allegedly published and later said in public were related to 9/11 and terrorism. Based on this essay, supposedly was later invited to speak to college students at their campuses. Does this stir up your curiosity? Me neither! What Ward Churchill says and thinks did not have any traction with me!

That did not stop Bill O’Reilly, FOXNEWS and Westwood One. A few months ago they decided to create news by grossly over-reporting on Ward Churchill. In other words they went after him! They took sound bites out of context and shocked people. They called the Governor of Colorado and the President of the University of Colorado incompetent because they did not take action to "hold him accountable" for what he was saying. All the time, they made sure to explain that free speech wasn’t at issue. But wait, there still was no traction. If only they could find a "bloody glove" or that he likes to sleep with little boys. In order to find some additional controversy and therefore create some traction, they decided to attack the other incompetent news outlets for their choosing to not cover "The Ward Churchill Story". Fellas, no one was interested in 1 guy saying bad things about the United States of America. There are thousands of people doing the same thing. Finally, the subject was dropped like a hot potato. No traction.

A few weeks ago, I did note that Ward Churchill was on the Bill Maher show. I watched it and determined that he is either extremely camera shy or he is a mumbling idiot. Bill Maher had to pull words out of him like he was a dentist yanking on a wisdom tooth. Out of curiosity, I just went and read an exert from Ward Churchill’s essay. It focused on the ugly but true part of our history and is sad to read. It reminded me of 99.9% accurate. It reminded me of "A People’s History of the United States" by Howard Zinn which I recently read. An excellent book, by the way.

The Minutemen

Of course, we all know that our government is doing little to nothing to control our border. All of us, including me, have an opinion about this. The Minutemen is an organized effort by a group of somebody to go to the border in Arizona and "police it" in some form. It sounds like a good idea to me. So, I am informed (as much as I choose to be) and the news is over. I do not plan to go to Arizona to join The Minutemen and I do not plan to send anyone any money (other than my federal tax dollars that aren’t be spent on border defense!). This story has some traction but with a little spinning it could have a lot more. Over the past few weeks I have heard:

• Them no good liberals are calling The Minutemen vigilantes. There is some good name calling for you! Let’s take sides and make this a conservative campaign!
• The failure to police the borders correctly is the fault of the Democrats people like Ted Kennedy. Editorial Comment: If I remember my civics correctly, executing the federal law is the responsibility of the executive branch – the president. I think he is Republican.
• Sean Hannity has gone to Arizona to show his support for these "great Americans" and to stir up interest in this story
• It is the American Civil Liberties Union’s fault that we have problems like this in protecting our borders.

Now, here is some major traction! Is it a coincidence that traction rhymes with distraction?

Mr. President, this is a no brainer. Do your job and secure our borders. If you need to, use the National Guard. After all, that is why they are called "national guard." And, no sir, you can’t get around this by changing the National Guard’s name to Iraq Guard. That name is already taken.

The blending of news, opinions and entertainment began with CNN on cable television and with Rush Limbaugh on radio. During the first Iraq invasion, CNN had 3 reporters stranded in the Hotel Baghdad and Rush Limbaugh created wonderful sound theater as he designated himself as the "American War Cheerleader." Wow! Curiosity, passion and fireworks on the television and radio. News that is entertaining. Others wanted a piece of this. FOXNEWS….MSNBC. The rest is history.

Frankly, I want the news reported the editorials identified as such and my entertainment to be chosen by me. I am capable of thinking and deciding for myself.

HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT AND HOW TO THINK ABOUT THINGS!

The small needle in the large haystack

For my own emotional therapy, I have decided to make my first real post to my blog a personal purge rather than ideological rant.

I feel like a small needle in a large haystack. Not only are they not searching in my haystack, they aren't even looking for the type of needle that I am.

First, some background - In early September of 2001 (yes! THAT September 2001), I was "laid-off" from a position of importance that I thought would be the last position I held until I retired. It seems that the company that I had chosen to do great things for was being run by a bunch of incompetent boobs who managed the company into bankruptcy. Their "fix" was to turn the company over to South Korea. "Not to worry" I told my wonderful bride " I will have a new challenging career position within weeks!"

It has now been 1324 days and I have sent out my resume 689 times. I have had several interviews. What is wrong? Is it me? Am I shooting too high? Should I give up? I can't, I won't! I review my resume, I think about my qualifications, I think about what I have accomplished...It's all there. I think about what I know, how it has brought success for my employers in the past....It's all clear. I think about my communications, both written and oral....they are insightful and concise. I think about my age, the experiences, the lessons, my wisdom....do they have no value? Has my shelf life expired? I am over 50 years old, am I obsolete?

Yesterday, I pursued the answer...again. The answer was not what I wanted to hear.

In October of 2004 I found an excellent job posting. The location, challenge and compensation were desirable. I reviewed the documented qualifications for the position. Yep! I am perfect. I research the employer. I buy some nice resume paper and presentation binders. I mailed my resume package to 2 vice-presidents, the CIO and the Director of Human Resources. For over 2 months I hear nothing.

In late December of 2004 my wife and I travel 900 miles to be with her family at Christmas. 5 days before Christmas, while out Christmas Shopping with my in-laws, my mobile phone rings. It's them. They want me to come to see them in 2 days for an interview. The position is in the same city that we are shopping in! Could this be an omen? Could this be a wonderful Christmas present for all of us? If they want me to come in for an interview 3 days before Christmas that must mean they are impressed and want me, right? I tell them I am on vacation and do not have my business suit and they say to not worry about it. I go and buy some new shoes. I borrow a tie from my father-in-law and a business bag from my brother-in-law. I buy some more nice resume paper and presentation folders. My father-in-law drives me to the interview and waits over an hour while I am inside. I have an excellent interview with the vice-president, but he did most of the talking. He tells me that I should hear something after the first of the year. Immediately after I get back, I send him a "thank you for the interview" letter. A few weeks later I send him a binder with a portfolio of my IT project work. I call him and leave a message. I send him an e-mail. For over 2 months, I hear nothing. When he said that I should hear something after the first of the year, I am now thinking that I should have ask him "which year?"

In March of 2005, I note that the position is still on their website. I decide that the VP is going to have to at least respect my persistence. I sent him yet another e-mail. This time I get a short reply "please send me you resume". Sheeeesh. Mr. VP, what happened to the 5 resume packages that I mailed you guys and the 1 binder that I personally handed you in December? I send him my resume again and 1 week later I get a telephone call from the "acting" person in the job that I am pursing. He tells me that he is a consultant from another city and that he wants to interview me. We do the telephone interview and again, I think it went well. He tells me that I should hear something soon. For 6 weeks I hear nothing.

Yesterday, I sent the "acting" director an e-mail asking for an update. He responds "Sorry to inform you that the Director position that we discussed has been filled." WOW! That is short and not sweet. In his short e-mail, I look for some hint of recognition of my hope and feelings. At least he typed GOOD LUCK in all caps. He probably thinks I need it!

Had I not contacted him, I am certain that I would have never heard anything else. Where do I get closure? Where do I get respect? This one hurt worse than the other 689 times. At least on the others there was not as much of a carrot that was put out there and then yanked away.

• Postage to mail resumes - $3.32
• A box of pretty resume paper - $4.99
• 6 months of Max's hope - worthless

Not only are you wrong in not selecting me, you are wrong in not respecting me and efforts to be considered. Years ago when corporations changed the name of their personnel departments to "human resources" there was a not so subtle change in the way people are regarded. Corporations now consider people as resouces that are purchased and discarded just like the raw materials that are used to produce their products. Afterall, a piece of plastic or raw metal does not expect to be communicated to so why should human resources.

I now pick myself up and move on to the next opportunity. I will remain in the game and I will prevail. Our future depends on it and for some reason my passion is still burning.

Otherwise.........

Rocky sez: "Welcome to Walmart! Would you like a smiley face with your shopping cart? No?......Well how about a strategic business plan that will cut costs by $1M, make the business more productive while maximizing profits?"

This was on my mind

The purpose of this blog is solely and selfishly for the intellectual therapy of the author, me. More specifically, it is not written to convince any reader to agree with my thoughts and opinions and it is not intended to entertain anyone.
If you choose to read on, you do so at your own will. If you enjoy it or learn anything from it, that is good. If you don’t like it, that is okay, but please do not bother to tell me. That would hurt my feelings and you all know how big and mean I am. As I thump you on the head, I would probably tell you to go write your own manifesto.
Webster’s Dictionary defines manifesto as "a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer."

Welcome aboard!