Treason

In the affairs of humankind and in its laws and customs, there are no clean breaks, no fine lines separating one law, custom, or commandment from another. So it is with the Constitution of the United States of America. There is freedom of speech, and of the press. There is also prohibition against Treason. This leads to a question, "in the exercise of a free press and free speech are there limits?" This leads to the second question, "if there are limits then is treason beyond the limits." I think reporters and the companies for which they work are subject to law, and I believe that breaking the law should have a consequence.

In theory, I support the death penalty. In practice, I fear the BIG mistake, the innocent dying. I put this right up front, because I am about to suggest we kill someone.

Leaking a small part of a classified document, and publishing it. More, taking a quote out of context, that could only slander what our country is doing. Breaking the story about our intelligence agencies listening in on conversations between known and suspected terrorist or terrorist sympathizers without warrant. And more, there is always more. Publishing secrets that put our nation at risk, publishing secrets that give aid and comfort to the enemy, and publishing partial truths and half-truths that hide the true nature of the threat against us.

I see, and believe, that they commit treason. More, when that treason rises to a level where Americans might die because of it, then I believe that a most extreme punishment is in order.
I believe that our government should arrest and publicly try the individual or individuals responsible for treason. If they are convicted, they should be put to death. Freedom of the press does not trump Treason.

To The Reader

Life is a joke, at best untold,
of tiny folk dressed as giants,
and giants too small to see.

What makes sense to me, might not make sense to you. I might have the facts wrong, the wrong assumptions, or my reasoning might be faulty. If you disagree with anything you find here, don't get mad, post a comment.. We might find time to debate, you might change my mind, we may honestly disagree, I might change yours. Either way, the next reader will have more to ponder.

We Need a Third Party

What this country needs is a good 3rd party. Not to seek the presidency, not yet, perhaps never, but one that could elect 5 or 6 Senators and 20 or 30 representatives. What they need is the balance of power. What could they do?

1. By deciding with which party to caucus, they could attain power greater than their numbers.
2. By exercising that power they could get on the better committees.
3. They could demand that certain issues come before the floor for a vote.
4. They could provide the balance that could block most legislation or insure its passage.

What is a good 3rd party? It would allow its members a wide range of opinions but would demand observance of certain core principles, a small number to be sure. Its motto, Truth, Independence, and Accountability. Its core platform might look something like this:

1. Temptation removal:
No revolving door–If you regulated it while employed by the Government, you can't go then and work for them, 10 years.

No gifts from lobbyists, not a cent, ever.

Public financing of general elections [the top 5 candidates–take a poll]

Zero-pork barrel spending

Crime by a public official, using the position for gain–an automatic 20 years sentence, no exceptions or suspensions, unless they provide information that results in the arrest and conviction of other public officials for a greator crime.

Mandatory attendance on the floor of congress or in committee meetings at least 85% of the time. They have to listen to the speeches, they have to do the work.

2. A real defense of family act:

Education reform–real penalties for students who don't do the work, removal of teachers who are ineffective, bonus pay for performing teachers, national standards, 4 year college scholarships for the top 70% of passing students, 2 year junior scholarships for the bottom 30% of passing students, non passing students have a mandatory 2 year extension of high school.

A cheap limited National Health program [something the nation can afford, because something is better than nothing.]

A tax on parents who divorce [an abuse exception, but it must be reported and prosecuted], 2% of gross income for 21 years for each child.

A tax on un-wed parents, 2% of gross income for 21 years for each child.

3. A truth in government act:

With a national security exception, closely regulated, the government must tell the truth when communicating with the public. An agency would be created that would examine complaints. Those who lie would be subject to censure, fine, and removal.

Recognized accounting principles for the government–we would know the truth about the deficit, social security, medicare, etc..

A rewards program for those who provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of public employees, elected and not, who commit crimes while in office.

4. A Sound Government Act:

Required balanced budget.

An energy policy that embraces new technology and finances it. An energy policy that embraces conservation, and demands it.

Environmental policy that is effective and efficient.

More immigration to fill the needed gaps in our economy, but legal immmigration.
The securing of our borders, if a Mexican woman can get across so can a terrorist.

Immigrants must be, or must learn to be, proficient in English, with a knowledge of American History, our form of government, and the economic principles that we have followed since our founding.

Two years national Service, no exceptions except for the handicapped.

Voter Identification

Is it evil to require that a voter be a voter before allowing him to vote? And how do we find out if John Doe is John Doe without identification. We could do it with fingerprints or eye scans, but isn't it easier to just use a picture ID? Most folk have a driver's licence or a state ID or should.

It seems to me that voting is the cornerstone of the republic, and that the ballot is our most precious freedom. Should we give it to someone who is not a citizen, or to some pedophile that has lost his right to vote?

I wonder if those who are so dead set against it, don't have an ulterior motive. Have they hundreds of dead folk ready to cast their ballots? Have they signed up a few thousand illegal immigrants? Have they purchased with free wine or crack the votes of thousands of the unregistered?

I urge every American to vote, but only if you have the right to.

Assimilation and Accommodation

In many parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, immigrants learn to accommodate themselves to their new country, but they don't assimilate. What does that mean? Well, in many cases they don't learn the language, the culture, the history, or the mores of the country in which they live. They exist much the same as they did in the country and culture they left. They do only what they must, by law, to remain in their adopted country.

This behavior puts up a wall around them, marking them as different. This can lead to all sorts of difficulties. They never, really, think of themselves as French, German, or English. They are forever Iranian or Algerian, or Syrian.

The United States, on the other hand, has a history of assimilating immigrants. Just generations after they first arrived, the Irish and Italians, the Greeks and Germans, assimilated into the culture of America. American English borrowed from their language, we borrowed from their culture, and they joined ours. Both sides changed, but most of the change came from the immigrants, and that was as it should be.

The United States is beginning to fail at what we once did so easily. Uncontrolled immigration and illegal immigration have broken the back of assimilation. When masses come in, and bypass the regular immigration process, the system breaks down. Mass immigration from Viet Nam created little "Saigons" all over the country, where many did not speak the language or understand the culture. Illegal immigration from Mexico and the Mexican/US border is doing the same.

Without assimilation there is a war of cultures, rather than a celebration of cultures. We need a national character. The one we had, the one we wish to keep, has created the greatest nation of the modern world. Its language is English, its laws were, for the most part, based on English common law, and its mores were European. Over the decades newer cultures have added to and modified this slowly. Change is necessary and good, but we must all subscribe to one standard, the American standard. If you wish to live here, then join us,... but join us.

If we don't maintain a national identity we will lose the fruits of that identity, and that includes our freedom. Immigrants must learn our history, understand our political system, and speak our language. In time they shall leave an imprint on us, and that is good. They shall become us, and that is good too.

Sonnet of Sorrows

We remember the falling down, the smoke.
We sang "God Bless America" and cried.
We remember all the great words they spoke,
They whispered of the common yoke. They lied.

There were dark thoughts, secrets they did not share.
To play the game, they talked in double speak.
They hid the facts. The truth they did not dare.
This time... they did not turn the other cheek.

What was the better way? I do not know.
We did not show our cards; we lost our way.
Still, had we trumped with truth, a caustic blow,
would not the timid world still make us pay?

For Bin Laden's crime, the knock at the door,
was only prelude to a wider war.

The War of Reason

In a lecture about the coupling of reason and faith, not about Islam, the Pope, in the course of his remarks, quoted something said centuries ago by a Middle Eastern Emperor. The quote was about violence, faith, reason, and religion. Some in the Muslim community thought the Pope was saying that Islam was violent. They thought he was wrong, so they reacted violently. Does this not strike you strange?

Islam, in the past, has been a faith of reason, science, learning, and accommodation, coexisting with many religions. Where has that Islam gone? I once thought that the radicals were a fringe minority, now I am not so sure. I listen, and do not hear the condemnations that should come from within Islam, when atrocities are committed in its name. I have begun to believe that Moderate Islam, the Islam of history, is now the fringe minority, and that radical Islam is the majority. I hope that I am wrong, because if I am not, then the world now wages World War III.