Quote of the day--on good vs evil

“When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Boston, the police...and unions

We need to be far better than this, America

Already there are stories of Americans apparently, reputedly, I admit, attacking Muslims or people thought to be Muslims, because it's thought the 2 men who planted and set off the bombs in Boston this past week were Muslim:

Boston Marathon Bombing Fallout: Bangladeshi Man Beaten In Bronx For Being An 'Arab' - International Business Times

Link: http://www.ibtimes.com/boston-marathon-bombing-fallout-bangladeshi-man-beaten-bronx-being-arab-1201819

Man Beaten Outside Bronx Applebee's in Anti-Muslim Attack after Boston Bombing

Link: http://www.allmediany.com/news/8039-man-beaten-outside-bronx-applebees-in-anti-muslim-attack-after-boston-bombing

Hate Crimes Against Muslims Rising After Boston Bombings

There are so many ways we should be above this.

First, everyone is to be innocent before proven guilty. That alone should make anyone and everyone safe.

Second, violence should never be resorted to, naturally.

Third, how is it anyone could attack another on just the idea and assumption that they're some religion or ethnicity, as some kind of idea that this made any sense at all? Especially since the attacker knows the person they're attacking, in these cases, is totally and utterly innocent. They're only attacking them because they think them to be part of some religion. How do you do that? How do you justify that kind of act?

Fourth and finally, doesn't or wouldn't that make us, as Americans, or anyone who attacked others, just as bad as the original attackers? Sure, no one is killed but innocent people are attacked. It's wildly wrong.

Boston: In tribute

Quote of the day--on good vs evil

On America, bombs, guns and tragedies

Face it. Let's face it, America has had it.

We've had it with tragedies.

We've had it with innocents being killed. And hurt. And maimed.

We've had it with Tuscon, Arizonas and Aurora, Colorados and Oklahoma City, Oklahomas and Newtown, Connecticuts and now, with Boston, Massachussetts.

We're reaching the ends of our ropes of patience, I think. We've had it with senseless, cowardly and/or insane attacks on innocents of whatever source and by whatever tool.

Doesn't that seem true?

This isn't emotionalism, either, far from it.

It's why, even though today was bombs in Boston, this will effect American's attitudes toward what we want for our nation. That's one more reason the time may have come, begun with Newtown, finally, to do something about, yes, mental health background checks but also background checks for criminal history and then closing the gun show loopholes and waiting periods for weapons purchases and finally, a true, strong but simple ban on assault weapons.

Weapons of war don't belong in societies.

"It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence."   --Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

Cowardice of the worst and most vile

By now, you've likely heard that 2 bombs went off in Boston, Massachussetts today at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

The people who did this, for whatever bizarre excuse (they'd say reason), there is not only no excuse for this but it must be said that whoever did it are cowards of the first order.

How anyone, anywhere, could do this to civilians, innocent civilians, whether in Boston or Afghanistan or Iraq or any spot on the planet, it's unconscionable and has no place not only in a civilized society but on the planet, period.

This makes us all citizens of the world. This should unite us all. Acts like these make enemies of the perpetrators to all the rest of the world.

I don't believe in hell, personally, but if I did, I would be of the opinion that the darkest, hottest place there would be reserved for the instigators.

Truly, whoever did this is of the lowest life form.

I also don't believe in capital punishment but this is one of those times and events that comes close to changing my mind.

Link:  Two explosions at Boston Marathon: reports

The news

On last evening's news, on KCTV5, all they could do, all evening, it seemed, was show live footage of a helicopter flying over an overturned bus that had apparently been hit by a 4-door red sedan.

Incessantly.

It's as if they hadn't produced a news program earlier that day.

For local news, in their ideal world, they like to get shootings, fires, live helicopter footage or someone crying, for any reason.

Today, on CNN, all they can do is flip between the two stories of the big snowstorm that's supposed to hit New York City, Boston and the Northeast over the weekend and the Los Angeles policeman who killed--what? 3 people?--and who is on the loose.

Ad inifinitum.

Flipped over to NBC news and they told of--guess what?--the LA cop on the loose.

This is one slow news week.

On the demise of the American newspaper

"We draw ever closer to the once-unthinkable day when some major American city has no newspaper whatsoever."

That quote is from a column by Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald newspaper this past Saturday. (Link, as usual, below).

When this happens--heaven forbid, though it seems as though it's going to happen--that a city or cities across America won't have newspapers, it will not just be a sad day for that city or those cities and even America, it will be a tragic day, a dangerous day for all of us.

When there aren't reporters to ferret out stories about our government representatives or our government overall, we will lose yet more power in our societies.

When those newspapers aren't there to pay those reporters to search out stories about our corporations and what business is doing in private, with or without those same government representatives and/or institutions, we will be a weak people, indeed.

There are other problems and losses, too, like the fact that newspapers could and frequently did give us both sides of an issue and the fact that we all had a common basis--that newspaper--from which to draw our common background, whether we accepted or believed it all or not.

So go ahead, make fun of your local newspaper or reporters or what have you. Tbey may not be great, they may not be perfect, they may not be what they once were but they gave us what information we would not otherwise have gotten.

It may have been some backroom deal. Some "sweetheart deal." Some illegal or even just unfair or unethical one.

But without that newspaper and without their payroll and without, again, those reporters, we know nothing.

Or we run that risk, surely and simply.

Link to original article: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/23/2863825/these-are-not-ordinary-times-for.html#morer

This administration looks like the last here

Freedom of the press being a hallmark of our nation, this kind of treatment should be inexcusable and not allowed:

White House shuts out Herald scribe - BostonHerald.com

By Hillary Chabot
Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The White House Press Office has refused to give the Boston Herald full access to President Obama’s Boston fund-raiser today, in e-mails objecting to the newspaper’s front page placement of a Mitt Romney op-ed, saying pool reporters are chosen based on whether they cover the news “fairly.”

This shouldn't be tolerated any longer by the American public, certainly, absolutely and finally.  We saw this kind of treatment from the last administration and we all thought poorly of it.  

We voted this president in, wanting and expecting better in virtually all ways.  This is one of the most important ways in which we expect this president and administration to take a far higher road.

Since President Obama is in the midst of his re-election bid, he shouldn't do this anyway, but granting favor or disfavor to the press by what they write should never be allowed or tolerated again.

It's censorship of some of the worst kind.

"Enjoying" nature and animals--that's why I tortured it to death

"I enjoy nature and animals a great deal and I understand why there is a reason for hunting," Mara-Christian told the Boston Herald. "I hunt because I want these creatures to be here forever." Right. You keep telling yourself that, honey. Link to original story: http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/20668/petite+woman+who+bagged+monster+alligator+defends+trophy+hunt/

Whole sections of the world seem a lot brighter than the good old US

A few notes from the news in the last 24 hours:

First, Ann "the man" Coulter was told she couldn't be coming up to Canada to give a speech at Ottawa University and spew hate speech because they have laws against it.

Wow. How refreshing is that?

Imagine--rules against hate speech. One step further--enforceable rules on hate speech.

Then, as an additional bonus, it turns out 2,000 Canadians came 'round to rather vehemently demonstrate against her.

Who said Canadians are sissies?

So check this out---Ms. (Mr.?) Coulter cancelled her trip and speech.

Score one for the right thing happening.

Love those Canadians.

Second, according to the After Downing Street blog, "A journalist tried to arrest Tony Blair for 'crimes against peace' as the former prime minister arrived to give a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels."

Again, how cool is that? Someone standing up for justice in the world, even if it was just a symbolic gesture.

It seems the reporter attempted to make a citizen's arrest, right there on the street.

It wasn't successful, of course (unfortunately) but the article went on, "As Mr Cronin was pushed away on Monday, he shouted 'Mr Blair, you are guilty of war crimes' referring to the Iraq invasion."

Wouldn't it be great if this happened here in the States, to the person who's really responsible for the debacle and crime known as the current Iraq War, Former President George W. Bush?

For that matter, with Former Vice President Dick Cheney and/or Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld?

One last good thing that's happening in this regard is the ongoing investigation in the British government as to what happened, when and by whom, prior to the start of the Iraq War.

It seems the British have enough guts , intelligence and determination to see what happened in their government at the time and to see if it was all legal and proper. (Oh, and the Dutch also have enough fortitude to calmly and fairly see what happened in their government before the start of this stupid, misbegotten war, too).

Some terrific, strong examples of how Europe and Canada, at least, seem to have far more, again, intelligence, courage and determination in running their respective countries.

Don't accuse me of saying this isn't a good place, the US.

I'm just saying we could make some pretty significant improvements.