Day: April 19, 2011

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Finally Shows Some Courage!

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Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who has been wrong on almost everything, since she succeeded Janet Napolitano, has finally shown some common sense and courage, and is to be commended on that!

Brewer vetoed a bill to allow weapons on college campuses, and also vetoed a bill dubbed the “Birther” bill, which would have required Presidential candidates in 2012, to produce a copy of their birth certificate, or face being prevented from being on the Presidential ballot, a direct attack on President Barack Obama!

The Arizona legislature is so right wing that they have made their state a pariah!

But Brewer went against the vast majority of the legislature, and by using her veto pen, stopped such ridiculous laws as the two above from becoming law! So, for a rare occasion, let us salute Jan Brewer, but keep a watchful eye on her future actions and statements!

The Rise Of Mediocrity And Dishonesty In America’s Work Force

Ronald 1 Comment

America faces a myriad of problems, but one that is not often discussed is the growing epidemic of mediocrity and dishonesty in the work force.

Whether it is the alarming deterioration of the air traffic controllers performance in doing their job, or the alarming number of errors made by various medical personnel  in hospitals, or the poor performance of many teachers who just do the minimum in teaching their students, or the lack of knowledge and common sense by many politicians who show an amazing ability to be stupid and ignorant in alarming numbers, this country is in a major crisis!

Too many Americans in all occupational fields are satisfied to cut corners, cheat, steal, do just the minimum, avoid responsibility for their behavior, and put their own personal needs ahead of wishing to excel in job performance!

This is also evident more and more among students at all levels from elementary school through college, who wish to just go along with the minimum, have no desire to explore and inquire about knowledge beyond the amount needed to pass tests, and seem to have no common sense or general knowledge base, and are seemingly happy being clueless and ignorant, as if ignorance is bliss!

Ignorance, mediocrity and dishonesty are not a state of bliss!

Instead, it is a warning of a rapid decline in America over the next two generations, if this attitude of malaise and lack of concern about performance and excellence is not reversed, and pronto!

April 19: Inspirational Date In History, But Also A Time To Remember Tragedy!

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April 19 is a date in history that has mixed messages of inspiration, but also tragedy!

In 1775, the American Revolution began with the Battle of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, inspiring people in this nation and worldwide!

In 1943, the Jews of Warsaw, Poland, forced into a ghetto by the Nazi occupiers, began their revolt against the Nazis, a heroic event, but ultimately a great tragedy as they became part of the Final Solution that the Nazis had planned for the Jews of Europe!

In 1995, we had the greatest terrorist attack by domestic enemies when Timothy McVeigh blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building, killing 168 Americans and injuring nearly a thousand people, and this by a white Christian fanatic who was allied with domestic militia groups, not with foreigners or Muslims, as people wanted to believe!

And tomorrow, April 20, ushers in reminders of the birthday of Adolf Hitler, who caused more loss of life in twelve years in power than anyone in world history, and also the anniversary in 1999 of the horrific Columbine Massacre in Colorado, where two high school students caused mass murder by their sick plot against high school classmates and teachers!

It is tragic that so much tragedy centers around these two days in a row, but yet the inspiration of the American Revolution and the struggle of the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto also inspire us to plan for a future world with the hope of more good than evil triumphing over time!

The Libya Crisis For NATO And The United States: One Month And Counting!

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NATO and the United States decided one month ago today to intervene in the Libyan Civil War against dictator Moammar Gaddafi with the expectation that they would be able to prevent mass murder and overthrow the tyrant in a short period of time. President Obama said it would take just days, not weeks, to overcome the Gaddafi government by using air strikes against government forces, in support of the rebel group.

No one imagined that Gaddafi would employ troops in rebel cities in mosques and schools, and make it impossible to use air strikes to overcome him and his henchmen, and meanwhile, indications of mass murder have been evident, a very frustrating situation, amidst a mounting financial cost for the United States and the NATO nations!

But the United Nations directive, decided a month ago, was that the goal of the intervention was to protect civilians, and not to begin a ground invasion by Europeans and Americans of an Arab nation!

So now the question is what next? There is no desire of the American government or the NATO powers to get involved in a long, drawn out war in Libya, and there is little public support for a ground invasion, which has no guarantee of success in the short or long run!

But can the Obama Administration and NATO allow Gaddafi to remain in power, without it being seen as a human rights disaster and a blow to the whole concept of NATO’s effectiveness?

How can Obama look good if Gaddafi remains in power? How can that help his re-election campaign? What effect will this have on the Middle East revolutions that have erupted since January?

In other words, Barack Obama and the NATO nations are in the midst of a major morass, with no easy exit or solution, something no one could have imagined just a month ago!