Whoa! With all the gangs and the increasing violence in our schools,
what in
the world is happening with our kids today? Let's see...I think it
started
when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained that she didn't want any prayer
in
our schools, and we said OK.
---->What you want is government sponsored religion. That is unconstitutional.
Are you trying to bring us back to the stone age?
Then someone said you had better not read the
Bible in school-the Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt
not
steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.
------>It also says "Suffer not the faggot to live." - Proof that god is evil.
And we said, OK. Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children
when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped
and we might damage their self-esteem.
And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about so we won't
spank
them anymore. Then someone said that teachers and principals better
not
discipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators
said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they
misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't
want
to be sued. And we accepted their reasoning.
--->If you have ever seen abused children, you too will support the law.
Then someone said, let's let
our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have
to tell
their parents. And we said, that's a grand idea.
----->The world is over populated. It is a compelling interest of government to avoid unnecessary births.
Then some wise school board member said, since boys will be boys and
they're
going to "do it" anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want,
so
they can have all the "fun" they desire, and we won't have to tell
their
parents they got them at school. And we said, that's another great
idea.
----->With the threat of AIDS it is a wise policy.
And then some of our top elected officials said that it doesn't matter
what we
do in private as long as we do our jobs. And agreeing with them, we
said it
doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in
private
as long as I have a job and the economy is good. And the entertainment
industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity,
violence, and illicit sex. And let's record music that encourages
homosexuality, rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. And
we said
it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, and nobody takes
it
seriously anyway, so go right ahead.
---->That is what the free market does when folks have the right to buy what they want.
Therefore, now we're asking ourselves
why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from
wrong,
and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates,
and
themselves.
---->They are exactly like their parents and the government - robbing the rest of the world and killing ten million in the process since 1940.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can
figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with... "we reap what
we
sow".
Clarence Schultz
+minister and retired Navy Chaplain+
P.S.
Our children are searching for role models. Can you see yourself
as the
role model they need?
----->Retort by Charles Pique
Some months ago I read "War Against the Poor, Low-Intensity Conflict
and Christian Faith" by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. It is published by Orbis
Books.
Although written by religious folk the religious part is the last chapter
which can be skipped without loosing the value of the book.
It begins by describing the Reagan-Bush foreign policy of low-intensity
conflict with certain the third world nations as economic imperialism.
Through the news media the military operations are justified as anti-communist
measures.
The second chapter describes repressive action against the poor in
third world countries supported by the US government. The real enemy is
defined as poor folks who are engaged in political activity to improve
their living standard.
The third and fourth chapters describe terrorist tactics used by third
world agents of the US right wing and the news distortion used to cover
their actions. The hypocrisy of the Reagan and Bush administrations is
exposed.
Most of the terrorist action takes place in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Activities in Guatemala, Honduras and Chile are also described. This
is an effective primer on the abuses of US foreign policy in modern times
and I highly recommend it.
"America: What Went Wrong?" by Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele
is an account of US internal economic upheaval in the 1980s. It is published
by Andrews and McMeel. This book describes the Savings and loan crisis
and the junk bonds and economic havoc caused by the corporate raiders.
Long and detailed accounts are given of the hardships of displaced and
robbed workers.
These accounts argue strongly for legal reform. Unfortunately they
are often long winded. I believe the book could be shortened by two thirds
if the hardship stories were not so longwinded. The book does little to
clarify the process by which the often rotten deals are accomplished. Still
it is a very good motivator and I recommend scanning it in a couple of
hours.
"Who will tell the People" Is the best book so far to describe the mechanisms
of Washington corruption. It analyzes in detail the branches of government,
the regulatory process and the influence pedaling foundations.
In chapter one he explains why American democracy is fake. The
politicians and the media only listen to authorities and the authorities
are created by institutions funded by big business. The public and the
public interest are effectively locked out. The history of the Savings
and Loan crisis is given in chapter two. It is shown how both the Republicans
and the Democrats were responsible. There was one Senator from Texas who
saw the crisis coming and warned the press. He was the same senator who
initiated impeachment proceedings against Bush for the Panama invasion
and the Gulf war. His name is Henry Gonzalez.
In chapter three "Bait and Switch", the process is explained by which
the Congress allows a problem to fester until it produces strong public
support for action. Then a bill is hatched that in name fixes the problem
but in reality is at best a partial fix. Simultaneously the bill creates
other sometimes worse problems and often hatches a whole slew of nasty
corruptions.
Chapter four describes the process by which Washington has become a
market place for industrialists buying favors and politicians selling them.
Chapter five gives examples of regulations that were deliberately sabotaged
by the congress and sit today often as obstructions to justice. In chapter
six the regulatory agencies of the Reagan-Bush years are shown to be corrupt.
The agencies were directed by the president to rewrite the law to accommodate
the abusive practices of numerous industries.
Chapter seven describes how the public is fighting back. Several examples
of "Rude and Crude" public action are given. In chapter eight "Political
Orphans" several groups of workers are shown to be unrepresented and consequently
grossly underpaid. In chapter nine modern reform movements are compared
to the civil rights movement. It is explained that the modern movements
lack the formal structure the rights organizations had and hence leave
the rank file unrepresented and untrusting.
Chapter ten gives the history of Californian propositions and other
laws. The proposition limiting insurance rates passed but was blocked by
the state supreme court. The next two chapters describe the power structures
and philosophy of the two major political parties. The Democrats are seen
to be broken by disorganization and corruption. The Republicans are described
in so many words as little more than lying showmen with the singular purpose
of diverting the government to serve the rich.
Chapter thirteen traces the evolution of the press from a small town
honest little guy model to the modern corporate elite news managing machine.
The press is seen to be no longer supportive of democracy. Then "The Lost
Generation" tells how younger folks,brought up in the TV age have a different
outlook on politics. They see themselves dwarfed by powerful institutions.
"Citizen GE" describes the schemes of several big businesses and how they
have the legal standing of super citizens but immunity from significant
punishment even for serious crimes.
Chapter sixteen "Crackpot Realism" identifies the dishonesty of several
nationally accepted truths. The inflated cold war and the red baiting in
central America are both exposed. Chapter seventeen describes the awful
power of the international corporations to play off nations against each
other for wage and environmental concessions that ultimately have the potential
to enslave all humanity. The concluding section gives the author's own
optimistic position that with a little effort the problems can be fixed.
I did not find any encouragement in this last section. This book is my
answer to those who say all politicians are corrupt and that there is no
way to tell who the bad guys are and who the good guys are. History is
very clear. It is only hidden in a book.
The most important family value is respect for life. Lets see how George
stands. George supported the Contras. In Nicaragua the Contras killed 20,000
civilians including thousands of babies and children who were individually
and deliberately killed. Many children were tortured and horribly dismembered.
George approved and Ronald was proud of it. George supported the right
wing death squads in El Salvador with hundreds of millions of taxpayer's
dollars. He falsely certified the right wing dictatorship in El Salvador
as democratic so he could get more money for the death squads. He supported
Chile's dictator Pinochet who killed 50,000 people in a right wing coup
supplied covertly by the US Army and Air Force. He ordered a military operation
in Panama that killed 2000 civilians in its effort to get Manuel Norjega.
When the Chinese did their killing in Tieneman Square it was George who
vetoed the congressional boycott legislation. It was George Bush who had
the CIA arm Johnas Savimbe the butcher of Angola. It was George's arm shipments
to Somalia that brought the chaos and starvation. And in case you still
need more it was George who worked with Colonel North and ordered Justice
Department investigations halted on drug imports into the US for the purpose
of raising money for the Contras. This is just the top of the list. Aren't
you glad George bush was defeated? Now how about defeating his son!