What’s to Fear?

What are you afraid of? Come on now, you know you have fears. Some are the daily run of the mill sort while others are the gut sucking variety. The latter would usually include having a sudden auto accident in which your life is snuffed out and you will never know how your family will cope with this. Another is an unexpected loss of your job, its income, and the financial problems that will surely follow. Loss of the house is one such consequence you worry about, but so too the inability to keep the utilities running, the food on the table, and the car – how will we live without a car if it gets repossessed?

Another set of fears are pretty routine: the kids, once at school get hurt and it takes too long to get them safely at home, or the doctor’s office, or God forbid, the hospital! But these concerns are easily managed. What about the larger ones?

Such as a mass shooting at the kids’ school, or a bomb detonated at the office building in which you work. A terrorist attack that disrupts our life and our way of life is suddenly much more on our personal radar. Before today it belonged to the people of New York City, or Washington, DC; but now San Bernardino is full in our vision.

In Paris it was a concert venue, sports arena and restaurant. In other cities it has been a train, a bus or two, and now a plane in the Sinai Desert. Israel knows what terrorism is like in its nation. Buses and cars, sidewalk cafes, large night clubs and busy shopping areas. London knows the IRA attacks of the Tube, buses and government buildings.

America is just now getting some experience, and even more worry about terrorism that could easily occur here.

The problem with fear, however, is the unknown expectation that others speak of and reinforce. The terrorists need only cause one or two events before we await more such events and larger ones, too. Then there are people – our own here at home who press the fear into our consciousness. Politicians do this when they want you to be afraid and look at them as the problem solver.  But will they be? The problem solver? I haven’t heard any solutions offered to any problem we have in America. I hear complaints from these same politicians, and I hear them say they will do the opposite of the guy in power now if you elect me to that same office.

I wonder. I wonder if they really think this tactic will work to get them elected. Does their rhetoric make you more fearful? Are you afraid of terrorist attacks, mass murders done by mentally ill people with an arsenal of guns and ammunition? One is foreign terrorism; the other is domestic terrorism. Which is worse? Which is more controllable? Are the solutions the same?

Not very likely. But one is more solvable than the other. Domestic terrorism is solvable through attending to cultural issues, stronger education, perhaps more effective gun control, and better diagnosis of mental illness in the first place. Long term we have to tackle the causes of mental illness; perhaps we can avoid domestic terrorism entirely if we can tap the causes and head off disaster before it occurs. That’s a big question mark in our minds, but still one worth pursuing.

Foreign terrorism, however, is another matter. It is national defense, global involvement, diplomacy and a host of policy formation that will need to be wielded to stem terrorism and build our safety. But who is responsible for doing all of this?

Our hired staff at many levels of government come to mind instantly. The boards and organizations elected to hire and direct these governmental units and their staff also come to mind. Congress is one of those, but now we know they are incapable of doing much of value while they spend all their time on political maneuvers and nonsense. State legislatures also come to mind but many states have state houses in worse disarray than Congress.

Thank God we have very good state police organizations, police departments, sheriff departments, and of course national jewels in the FBI, ATF, and a host of other law enforcement bodies dedicated to keeping the public safe. Homeland Security is another agency that works 24/7 to ensure public safety. These are all professional organizations containing talented professionals. More of the same will continue to ensure we are safe.

International cooperation and collaboration with quick response teams designed to stop terrorists in their tracks, or avoid attacks in the first place, will be needed. All nations are needed to play a role here. This is a very practical and down to earth diplomatic mission. Such missions are now engaged by some nations, America included. So we are not starting from scratch.

But what else needs to be done?  Here are some more ideas to think about:

1. Resolve to focus on the issue, not the ideology
2. Understand religion is not the culprit; the misunderstanding of religion is
3. Seek involvement with people in different religions like yourself to talk about what unites us; what separates us; and why the two are malfunctioning
4. Grow your understanding to others so the larger understanding spreads to millions and billions of others

Then and only then will the planet have a chance to turn away from self-absorbed violence and heal.

We know now that the Crusades were a travesty of justice and theology. I am certain we will know the same about Jihad and our own mistaken retaliation.

December 9, 2015 

To Govern or Not to Govern?

As Hamlet would say, yes, that is the question.

I have a theory that I’d like you readers to look at. Consider it. Then let me know if I’m off the track or on it with this thinking. Either way we will need to determine what to do about it. It can not be ignored.

Currently I live in Illinois. Have since 1961 when I arrived as a freshman at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. After graduation I remained in the state, married, built a family with two children, furthered my education, provided educations to the kids, and eventually settled down owning my own business until I was too ill to continue.

During that entire saga I encountered ideologues in the state who felt then and do today that governance is best left to the people without much structure or legal restrictions. I would describe this as the non-government government. Today the Illinois legislature is locked in a political standstill unable to write or approve a budget. The conservative governor refuses to act until a budget is approved, a balanced one at that. Yet he does nothing to make that happen. No compromise. No governance.

The result is that only public safety services, court functions and basic education supports are working partially; most everything else is not working. Our roads get plowed of snow and salted, but not much more. A disaster of unknown proportions is growing in Illinois and will be unveiled one day when the kids in the political parties agree to disagree and then compromise on a budget and get back to work.

If this doesn’t work I suppose we will need to appoint a trustee to govern in their stead until new elections are held; meanwhile all elected officials would be removed from office and their paychecks cancelled.

This chaos resides in Illinois. But our state is not alone. Many others face gridlock or something very much like it; some now and others in the near future.

Congress of course is stuck in gridlock. They refuse to do anything. No agreement, no funding, late budget approved only after unseating the then Speaker of the House. But now the same clowns are arguing over the debt ceiling and a government shutdown is in the offing.

To govern or not to govern is the ideological issue at hand. We thought it was conservative versus liberal, but that isn’t so. Left of center are the doers and supporters of government. Right of the center are the distrusters of all things government and want it shut down and perhaps permanently disbanded. We don’t know the latter very well because they don’t speak of consequences or solutions to anything they say. All they really say is that they are against someone or something. And the answer is not more government.

Then, pray tell, what is the answer? If you don’t speak up with proposals, programs and solutions to the very problems you catalog, then we can only infer that you are against all government and won’t rest until that is a reality.

Doing nothing about everything will lead you to that consequence. Do you really want that? Is this an accurate reading of your rhetoric?

Not one republican presidential candidate has proposed one program or solution to any problem they have castigated. They seem to blame everyone but themselves, especially the current president. But hey, the problems they saddled him with were of their own making and the lack of solutions is not his but congress’. They control the purse strings. They hold oversight on all government operations. They make the laws. So they are busy blocking anything appearing to be a solution so they can go on blaming anyone but themselves.

We have watched this for several years now. Nearly 7 years with Obama; 8 years with Clinton. They didn’t act this way with GWBush, but then, they shared his party label. Truth be told he was embarrassed and chagrined with their intransigence. Just ask McCain about this.

So, I guess governance is back in our lap, the people’s lap. America’s governance structure is of, for and by the people. The structure currently in place has ground to a halt so I guess it is time to take the bull by the horns and remove the people in power and establish a temporary system that will get the daily work accomplished.

Now, to do this we will need some constitutional lawyers and academicians to find the legal way through this forest. We need to get started soon if we are to protect our nation from the nuts residing elsewhere in the global community. But then, we understand about them because we have our own brand of nuts living among us here.

Who says we need border defenses? We have crazies on both sides of the border and last I checked there is no control for that!

December 8, 2015

Doing Nothing is Not an Option

Mass murder and chaos are not acceptable in any society, least of all in America. So let’s do something about it.

First steps should include:

1. Politicians should not make public statements about ideology on the matter, but rather pledge to cooperate with forming a task force whose job will be to coordinate research, data gathering, and behavioral sciences that will form reasonable action plans for the nation to follow in the future.
2. Depoliticize mass violence issue; this is not a political party or ideology related issue; nor should it ever have been.
3. Task Force on Mass Violence should be entrusted to academic experts in the related fields of study; management should be assigned to non-profit organization managers of experience.
4. Task Force will include constitutionally protected rights, including gun ownership, but not ignore possible solutions connected with these rights.
5. Funding to come from a federal grant under White House supervision but not controlled by the White House or Congress.
6. Time limit for Task Force: 18 months to produce preliminary report outlining possible solutions, timelines and costs for each of those solutions, and a recommendation as to the preferred solution to implement. Five years to implement the chosen solution. If successful the solution will be used as a template to guide public policy going forward for all affected levels of government units.

 Two key elements from the above:

• Non political nature of the issue; this is public safety, not ideology
• Powerful Task Force unabridged by political power centers so it has freedom to research, propose and act in the interests of public safety now and in the future

I have no qualms with the freedom to act by this Task Force. We have much to lose by doing nothing, and much to gain from taking reasonable action. Without public safety none of us has the ability for ‘pursuit of happiness’.

If elected politicians do not understand this then they do not deserve our support and should be removed from office.

President Obama has asked for the American people to gather behind a collaborative process to address and hopefully solve the problem of mass violence in America. He cannot do this alone, nor does he have the authority to do this alone. This is a national need and must have a national response to be workable.

Congress has proven its inability to respond to national concerns of any kind. Therefore solutions to our largest problem will necessarily avoid their involvement.

Now, when do we start on this project?

December 7, 2015

To Be or Not To Be?

That appears to be the drop dead argument between for and against government.

That may seem overly simple, but think about this: conservatives hate and fear government, especially big government, but then they have never defined what big is. Liberals are purported to believe in endless large government. I doubt that has ever been defined, either, and in fact, there is no one speaking up for this position in the first place. Who is making the claim of what liberals are supposed to believe? Certainly not the liberals themselves. I think this is a conservative tactic. Speak of the evils of liberalism as though that alone defines the argument.

It doesn’t.

Furthermore, middle of the road folks both believe in the legitimate role of government and limits to that role at the same time. Middle of the Road supporters actually borrow workable ideas from both the left and right. It keeps balance front and center but it empowers government at the same time to get things done. That’s what government is for: getting necessary things done.

So, it seems we need to define what the conservatives are fighting for and what they are not.

The pure position of conservatism, I think, is no government other than that which organizes and operates the military in order to defend the nation. That would be the limit of government. If that is so, I think the position is ridiculous, but let’s let the conservatives speak for themselves.  What is it they want? What is their definition of limited government?

And which government? Do we at least agree that local governmental entities are legitimate and necessary? If not, how do they propose to provide public education, streets, traffic control, storm water controls, water, sewer and all the other base line utilities a modern society relies on? Is all of this to be owned and operated by private organizations?  If so, who controls their standards, policies and what not? Is this by management fiat of the owners of the utilities or is this a government role? If so, which government?

At this very moment conservatives are plotting to shut down the federal government yet again on December 11^th when the funding agreements in Congress expire. The budget is approved, but the funding of that budget is not. Debt ceilings need to be expanded. Taxing authority adjustments need to be made. Money and banking policies also need to be tweaked to make all of this work.

Also at this moment, conservatives are attempting to defund all of Planned Parenthood. If they were given full sway here, abortion wouldn’t be outlawed, but from a practical point of view access to abortion would be severely limited. An increase in unwanted births would result, social programs would once again be overloaded with an expanding case load, and all the issues conservatives abhor would be front and center again.

Again, conservatives have high ideals to talk about but they are oddly silent when it comes to effective policy generation. Wishing a problem away doesn’t make it so. It is not like fibbing about facts; policy actually gets work done. Wishing doesn’t. Neither does fibbing.

Conservatives, if you think governance includes more than just national defense, please spell it out. Meanwhile, raise the debt ceiling and put the government back to work. When that is done, begin a serious discussion about your ‘demands’ from the rest of the nation. Your ideology is not well spelled out. And your programs are oddly missing unless that’s part of your ideology – no government, therefore no programs.

You see the problem? Is America to be or not to be? And whichever you choose, how do you make that happen? What higher power do you believe will magically make all of this work without a hitch?

We are listening. But please, let’s have a serious discussion with no tantrums and pouty faces!

December 4, 2015

Words Matter

Well, if words matter, so do actions. But, hey, let’s take one thing at a time.

The shooting at the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado last week made for some interesting reactions. Public reaction was horror at yet another public shooting with earmarks of mass shooting threatened. In the end three lay dead – two civilians and one policeman – and nine gun shot victims were hospitalized. So it was a mass shooting in a private space with a public welcome.

That counts as a terrorist target. And the shooter was just that – a terrorist. Interestingly, he was American born, bred and raised. He is a 57 year old malcontent loner who lived in a homemade shack in the woods of Pennsylvania without plumbing or electricity. His neighbors feared him and kept their children indoors when he was home. Although he was rarely home – a self-willed roamer – the neighbors felt his negative vibe and steered clear of him. He was known to lurk behind trees and bushes ogling women folk even those married to neighbors he knew. Such is a rare breed of guy. Sick. Mentally ill and certainly not at ease in the company of others.

Even though there is still much to learn about this fellow, he is known to have shouted at the police who surrounded him, “no more body parts.” This refers to the protest script against Planned Parenthood. So, his terrorist, anti-establishment predilection came out.

What made him take action? What brought him from strong opinion against Planned Parenthood to taking action to protest, and finally to take violent action that stole lives from innocent people?

Please note that the slain police officer was an evangelical pastor on his off-time, and a campus police officer at the nearby campus. He was also a husband and father of two. A kind and gentle sole with a penchant for serving the public, he was doing his job to protect the public when he was killed in the line of duty. He was killed protecting his community from a terrorist of American birth. How ironic.

I simply do not care if you are for or against abortion. Each of us has our opinion and the right to that opinion. We even have the right to protest, to exercise religious conviction, to gather and to publish our opinions. Right or wrong, we have those rights.

What makes anything wrong is when one person or a group of similar minded people act against another person or group of persons who don’t agree with them and threaten harm, loss of property, or loss of life in response to those beliefs.  We have the right to think and act (responsibly), but we do not have the right to implement a belief against another person.

That means physically threatening or actually harming someone else in the name of your belief. This also means that no law ought to be made and enforced against an opinion or belief that is couched in and from religious origins. Such is a misuse of the democratic process and the American brand of self governance.

You don’t like abortion or contraception, live your own life accordingly. Let others do the same. Pretty simple.

You think abortion is taking a viable life? That is born within your sense of religious philosophy and theology. Fine. Live accordingly. But don’t expect those who do not agree with you to do the same. That’s what religious freedom means. It is also freedom of thought and speech. In America we are guaranteed those freedoms. Redefining your freedom to mean you can take freedom from another based on your beliefs alone is not only wrong, it is intellectually unstable.

So what were the reactions to the Colorado Springs terrorist attack?  Republican presidential candidates were silent at first, then read the party’s script on the matter and said this had nothing to do with conservative principles that outlaw abortion, or the hateful rhetoric that supports such a view. 

No. Really? You really think the speech isn’t hateful and motivational of hateful action?

I think reasonable people think otherwise. Oh hell! They know otherwise.

Responsible speech and responsible actions require civility. The penalty is uncontrolled reactions from crazies and immature people. All manner of bad things come from this environment of hate and disrespect. Terrorism on the domestic front or in the global arena is a direct result of such disrespect and hatefulness. How could it not be? Words do matter.

From that natal seed come political reactions that seek power from chaos. So chaos via terrorism becomes the strategic plan for such extremists with bones to pick.

Let’s be clear here: abortion is the natural right of every woman of child bearing age and ability. She alone has the right to choose however horrible the option is. The solemnity and weight of this decision is her’s alone. Leave her alone unless she asks for help.

That’s where Planned Parenthood enters the scene. They provide the help. They do not make the decision; the mother does. Meanwhile, there are many other health related services Planned Parenthood performs for the patient. This is good for our community.  Would we want people in need to go untended? Do we really? I truly doubt it.

Planned Parenthood is funded privately, charitably, and from government subsidies for selected services. Nothing is wrong about any of that. It is people helping people. We understand that, especially at this time of year.

I understand the philosophical requirement that abortions not be funded from tax funds. That’s OK. But the rest should be eligible for public funding and it is.

For those who believe in minimal government, how can you think that government should enter our lives and dictate against abortion. No one is forcing abortion on anyone. It is merely allowing that choice to be accessible for those who choose it.

Too little or too much government is really not the issue here. No. The real issue is that some people want to force others to live as they believe.  World War I and II both taught us that is not desirable.

So then what’s your gripe?

December 3, 2015

Cool Putin?

One of the reasons I took a short breather just before Thanksgiving, was the fast pace of news items – Paris terrorist attack, Mali attack, attacks in Nigeria, ISIS threats world wide, the Russian fighter plane shot down by Turkey as it violated their airspace, Russia’s reaction to that, French President Hollande visiting Obama, and then Putin, and now a Planned Parenthood office attacked (again) in Colorado Springs.  Lots of violence. Lots of unsettled issues.

Meanwhile, the 2016 American Presidential Campaign goes on and on with about 20 candidates all blithering about issues of varying consequence. Not very many ideas expressed on how to solve problems, just talk about them, expand upon them, blame someone or other for them, and so on.

In other words, just more of the same old shit being kicked around by the same old shit kickers.

I don’t know about you, but I’m running low on spirit these days to tackle some of these issues with a fresh face or fresh thought, for that matter.

Take Putin. I think he has truly worn out his welcome in all capitals of the global community. Perhaps Syria welcomes him yet because Assad sees Putin as his protector at least for a while. Iran welcomes Putin because he is buying their weapons and shipping them to Syria. For the time being Iran and Syria are about it for friendly nations to Russia.

My reading of the tea leaves is that Putin is on borrowed time. He claims economic sanctions against Turkey for shooting down his plane, but the sanctions are empty. He needs Turkey’s imports more than Turkey needs the cash from trade. Furthermore, shipping missiles to Syria to threaten Turkey is an empty threat. Russia’s plane was indeed in Turkish air space and he knows it. He bluffs his way out of the argument unsuccessfully. Plus his missiles take more of his troops, more of his equipment, and much more of his ever dwindling hoard of cash. Financially, Putin is running on empty.

His military moves strike me as last stabs in the dark to make the world fear him. But there is nothing to fear but shadow. Putin knows that Russia and her people will lose much more than anyone else if a real war breaks out in the Middle East region with Russia as the prime antagonist. Additionally, his allies are paper tigers; don’t forget that Russia provided the military weaponry to its allies in the past. They are as broke as he, and there are no new weapons coming down the road, either.

NATO will not allow Putin any more room to maneuver without real consequence. Neither will the UN. Or Europe. No, Putin is near the end of his own tether. All he has is posturing left to work with.

Now there is a simpler way for him to get out of this fix. He can’t go forward without being slammed and beaten by a host of nations protecting the Middle East and Turkey. And Europe. He knows this. And such a campaign would cost him money he does not have.

No, the real solution is to join efforts with anti-ISIS nations and solve the ISIS problem once and for all in both Syria and Iraq. Then, when peace is restored, he captains the negotiations to remove Assad and make a home for him somewhere out of the region.

This solution builds peace, proves to the world that it can coordinate and collaborate against a common enemy (ISIS) and focuses attention on productive matters that will shore up weak economies and build toward a much sounder financial and diplomatic future.

Part of the underlying problem throughout the world is energy supplies. There will always be a market for oil, just not as a primary energy source. In the future we will replace the oil standard for energy. All nations can participate in this goal. All will benefit from the peace that will develop. The Middle Eastern oil markets will no longer provide the source of tension for war in the region.

Religious strife will always fuel disagreements and culture upsets. But this need not be as serious as it appears today as the source of terrorism.  No, religion is not the source of terrorism; money and power are. Money and power come directly from the oil fields and the drug industry (cocaine and heroin). The profits are fantastic and create the life or death allure. With that comes national pride and regional wars of hegemony.

Even Russia would benefit from redefining the critical issues in this manner. And Putin knows it. He has much to barter with to gain a stronger economic hand. All it takes is cooperation.

Putin, are you listening? Are you giving this some thought?

December 2, 2015

Rabbit, Rabbit, Ho, Ho, Ho!

First day of a new month. That’s why we say rabbit, rabbit. But with the holiday season upon us the ho ho ho is a flare added for seasonal sake! Forgive me this small decoration.

With violence running amok throughout our nation and world, we wonder what there is to celebrate. We have doubts about our police who lose self control and kill citizens seemingly without provocation or with too little cause for the stark deadly results. Chicago understands this with the Laquan McDonald shooting that has sparked public protests.

Laquan’s death occurred in October 2014. Thirteen months later, nearly fourteen, a police officer was indicted on first degree murder charges. It is right that formal charges have been levied and processed against the officer. It is also proper that he is held with no bail, is no longer on the city’s payroll and has been stripped of his police powers. He is now a citizen facing a grave murder charge and, if found guilty, will face prison for the rest of his life. [Note: the officer has since been released on bail of $1.5 million requiring a cash bond of $150,000; the police union helped him collect the funds necessary to put up the bond. He was released 11/30/15 from jail.]

That’s all OK so far, but here are the problems that so many of us are raising:

1. Why did it take over a year for the officer to be arrested and jailed for his actions?
2. I can understand police procedures and those kicked in immediately; the office was stripped of his officer authority, gun and duties; he was placed on desk duty but remained on payroll.
3. Did the police union (Fraternal Order of Police – FOP) have procedural jurisdiction over this case, and if so, how does this square with the existing authority of the criminal justice system? Why would FOP procedures, if they did, slow the criminal case’s progress?
4. Why did the State’s Attorney office take so long to process the case to the court, get a judge’s ruling, and proceed? What held them up? Was the delay all on them? Or was the delay caused by the combination of police, FOP and State’s Attorney procedures?  The delay seems egregious.

Here’s what I think is OK:

1. Chicago Police leadership has done a very good job of refreshing the police force, establishing renewed professional standards of operations, and renewed training of its entire police force. Are there bad eggs on the force? Most likely there are, like in most large groups of people, professional or not. We have bad doctors and nurses among the millions who are practically saints! Same for clergy, police officers and fire personnel. Not all people will do what they are required to do. It is a fact of life. When this happens, find them, change them or fire them.
2. City leadership has performed admirably in refreshing the entire face of city operations. Much was needed to be done. Much has been done. More is on the agenda to be done.  All of that is good. We don’t single out specific failures to punish. That is not objective action.
3. The public supports fairness and is fundamentally not prejudiced against minorities. Oh sure, there are vestiges of prejudice remaining in our society, but it is not the sick society of the 1960’s regarding African-American citizens. Back then it was a huge fact of life; so much progress has been made since then and should be celebrated. Are there still pockets of ethnic prejudice? Of course. It will take more generations to erase the injustice of the past. But it will happen.
4. Immigrant prejudice remains on our to-do list for elimination. It is a black eye for America, the land built of, by and for immigrants. Evidently each generation and wave of immigrants is expected to pay their dues as unfair and unjust as this is. Our immigrants are our national strength, not weakness or threat. 

Regardless of our strengths and weaknesses, much remains to be done if our nation is to prosper and become the shining beacon of justice we hope it to be. None of that work will be accomplished if we turn a blind eye towards them in the first place.

Education is a primary need for every one to the extent of their interest and ability. Society’s job is to provide that education accordingly if we are to become the pinnacle of our talents.

Housing and Food access is a right, not a frill. How expansive the housing and food is defines the frill part. But basic housing and nutrition is a must to be guaranteed.

So is access to effective, expert medical care. Without this access health and long life belong only to the wealthy among us. That’s plain wrong. And most of us understand this.

If America cannot solve the problems related to these three concerns, then we have no business claiming a leadership role in education, religion, or world history. America is not about specific people or America alone. America is about all of its people living life fully and with justice.

America then can press forward to help the world with its problems and help lead the way forward. But we have no moral authority in this regard if we have not yet met the needs of our own people.

Life is not solely about guns and defense systems. It’s time we got this basic message.

Rabbit, rabbit, indeed!

December 1, 2015