Incompetent Leadership
Stay the course??
By Keith Olbermann
Anchor, 'Countdown'
MSNBC
October 28, 2006
October 24, 2006
The Yellow Ribbon Syndrome - Part III
AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP 101
The name “citizen” is typically used to describe a person owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people, thus sharing in the political rights of those people.
It has been presumed, since this country was founded, that it had been done so with a “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
United States citizens pay taxes to their government so that it should be able to carry out the functions which oversee the needs of all people in its daily operations.
United States citizens should be able to see the benefits of the money they have paid in the programs, policies and laws created to ensure that each person is treated fairly according to their needs, not their personal contribution to the treasury.
Equal Rights under the Law.
The foundation of our country “of the people” is the Constitution- a set of laws developed after careful thought to encompass the rights of all people, in fairness, with principles deriving from the laws which guide the consciences of all men who live with careful respect for humanity.
Our founding fathers gave their own blood for the right to live by the laws they incorporated into our Constitution. Our founding fathers earned the right to declare themselves free, not to live with no regard for the rights of others, but to live according to the rule of law they gave their own blood to defend – giving all people the same opportunity for freedom as long as they adhered to the principles of a constitution based on the rights of all humanity.
With this freedom comes great responsibility – a responsibility owned by all Americans. We all have the right to live as we choose, but only if, in our actions, we consider the rights of others to live as they choose as well, even if their choices oppose ours. If we are not willing to respect the rights of others in our actions – we do not have the right to expect our rights to be respected in return.
We cannot demand right action from anyone – unless we are willing to demand adherence to right action in ourselves. THIS is the price of freedom –the sacrifice we all must make. We must remain vigilant in our adherence to the laws of our constitution, at the same time respecting the rights of others to live in their own way.
The sacrifice becomes a willing compromise – a mandatory compromise – if the intent of our constitution is to be upheld.
Military personnel VOLUNTEER to serve this country in a capacity that fulfills their duty to one aspect of our constitution – the DEFENSE of the laws and policies agreed and adhered to by our entire citizenship.
Military personnel do not give up their right to citizenship simply because they volunteer to defend the laws of our land. There are some aspects of the responsibility of citizenship that fall outside the duty of our military personnel once they have committed to their defined service.
In defense of our laws it becomes a conflict of interest for military personnel to also define the laws. It is up to the civilians of this country to fulfill their duty to this country in a form of service other than a call to arms.
The service required of the American citizens is to see that as our soldiers are called to defend the laws of our land, the laws they defend remain just, fair and responsible to the laws of humanity as our Constitution was written.
During peace times, the American soldier trains – preparing himself for the possibility of a need to defend our country’s laws and way of life. Often, during peace times, the soldier’s efforts are unnoticed by the average American citizen.
Even as soldiers continue to maintain their strength and the strength of our military, American citizens live their lives seemingly oblivious to the fact that as our soldiers train and prepare so to should they.
If the American citizens will not be as vigilant of their duties and responsibilities to serve this country during peace times – then it is only to be expected that our soldiers might one day face the very situation we now find them in – fighting in an immoral, unjustified war with no end in sight, as citizens who should have been prepared, finally begin to wake up to the fact that they are the ones who must act to bring about that end.
American citizens have waited too long, and the result of their inaction?? – soldiers and civilians die, more each day, while not only is the country of Iraq being destroyed, but our own country is losing a part of itself as well. Sadly, this is a repeat performance as American citizens’ complacency during peace times have led to unjust, immoral wars before.
The American citizens have equal responsibility in ensuring that our country remains safe. Our military personnel are being used – our military personnel are being taken advantage of. It is easy for the American citizenship to blame our administration and our congress for being corrupt, inattentive, selfish and misguided.
If there is evidence and support that illegal acts have been committed, then there must be appropriate consequences.
One has to ask, however, in this country “of the people, by the people and for the people” where it is the American citizens who are responsible for guiding the government in its actions, why are our leaders so misguided?
Every day we receive email alerts from organizations asking for support of actions of resistance against this war. Soldiers are encouraged to seek sanctuary in churches offering support for deserters.
Soldiers are encouraged to speak out against the actions of their leadership and to break existing military laws in an effort to stop this war. Soldiers should not be in this position. It is not their responsibility.
The American citizens did not do their work; they have failed in the fulfillment of their duty to this country. Freedom is not free – we all have a part to play in seeing that our country remain strong and just, in freedom.
Every day that another soldier crosses the line in an effort to address immoral and unjust acts which our American citizens will not stand to change – every day that American citizens expect a soldier to take actions in their name by violating the military code of order, we become a little less free.
Every day that an American citizen believes that by acting against one of the constitutional laws of our land in an effort to make a statement against the war, or the misconduct of those in our government’s leadership positions, we become a little less free.
We cannot create counter-recruiting campaigns to steer our youth away from a military career without presenting an alternative form of service. Avoiding the military does not mean that a citizen does not have to accept a responsibility to serve their country.
We cannot expect to defend the integrity of our system of laws, holding those accountable for their unlawful actions, unless we are willing to hold ourselves accountable to the laws we believe others have violated.
We cannot expect a just government if we are not willing to use our constitutional system of justice to bring consequences against those who have been found to commit illegal acts.
We cannot expect our military to take responsibility for our mistakes.
Until we have stopped and taken a good hard look at the mistakes we have made, and considered American citizens’ responsibility in our current debacle our military will continue to pay the price.
What price are you willing to pay for your freedom?
Monica Benderman is a Senior Staff Writer for Choice America Network. She has been widely published throughout the Internet and Newspapers around the world. Her husband is Sgt. Kevin Benderman. You may contact her at mdawnb@coastalnow.net
Copyright 2006 EvansMediaUSA
October 21, 2006
The Strategy has changed,...
Australian Treasurer
Seeks Orderly Withdrawal
From U.S. Dollar
By John Garnaut
Economics Correspondent
By John Garnaut
Economics Correspondent
TREASURER Peter Costello has called on East Asia's central bankers to "telegraph" their intentions to diversify out of American investments and ensure an orderly adjustment.
Central banks in China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong have channeled immense foreign reserves into American government bonds, helping to prop up the US dollar and hold down American interest rates.
Mr Costello said "the strategy had changed" and Chinese central bankers were now looking for alternative investments.
"Of course you can have an orderly adjustment," he told reporters. "And what I would recommend is that these matters be telegraphed well in advance. I think we should begin preparing ourselves for it."
Mr Costello said the "re-emergence" of China as the world's greatest economy "is not something to be feared".
Asked if a muscular China would be a force for good, however, Mr Costello said it would be good for growth and stability. "With the growing economic strength you will see growing influence in diplomacy in the regional architecture, as you would expect.
"I am sure it will be a force for economic development and I am sure that in partnership with other global powers, China wants to see a stable East Asian region."
Earlier, in a speech to open the Australian National University's East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, Mr Costello said Australia's involvement in the region was broader than economics.
"It is a key ingredient of who we are as a people," he said. "While Australia has its own unique culture, we are also a people who confidently enjoy the cultures of Asia, with seven of our top 10 overseas travel destinations being in the region."
Ahead of next month's G20 meeting in Melbourne, Mr Costello called on regional leaders to reform their anachronistic financial systems.
He said underdeveloped financial markets were to blame for the emerging economies of East Asia sending 94 per cent of outward portfolio investment to "aging" countries outside the region.
He said the region needed to improve poor macroeconomic frameworks, inadequate regulatory systems, uncompetitive markets and insufficient investment in health and education.
October 18, 2006
The Yellow Ribbon Syndrome - Part II
WHO KNEW?,...
WHO OF YOU
HONESTLY CARES?
The Fort Stewart Post Exchange sits nestled among tall Georgia Pines – a well-landscaped shopping mall designed to fulfill a soldier’s family needs without ever having to leave the installation.
On a grassy corner near its entrance there are 138 brightly colored pinwheels; glittering sentinels spinning gently, calling attention to the sign posted in the center of the arrangement:
“These 138 pinwheels represent the 138 substantiated cases of Spousal
Abuse on Ft. Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield during fiscal year 2006.”
Walking toward the entrance, rows of parked vehicles display Ft. Stewart military decals on the windshields and the owner’s “support for the troops” on the rear bumpers. Magnetic ribbons adorn gas doors, trunk lids, and rear windows – Yellow, Camouflage, Black, and Red/White and Blue; words reading “Support the Troops”, “I Love My Soldier” and “Freedom Isn’t Free”.
In the mini-mall atrium a kiosk is set up selling every magnetic ribbon imaginable – along with hats, t-shirts, lapel pins and coffee mugs. If you don’t find what you want there you can surely find a ribbon with the perfect slogan at the end of an aisle inside.
In 2005, the same grassy corner edging the parking lot held 191 glistening pinwheels once again spinning for attention:
“These 191 pinwheels represent the 191 confirmed cases of Child Abuse
on Ft. Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield during fiscal year 2005.”
Who knew?
Who knew that for the fiscal years cited, the 3rd Infantry Division, stationed at Hunter and Ft. Stewart, spent the first half of each deployed to Iraq?
Who knew that while the spouses and family members of the deployed soldiers waited anxiously for their soldiers to return, displaying their support with pride on their vehicle’s rear bumper, they were ill-prepared for the psychological changes war brought?
Who knew that soldiers are trained to survive without relying on others – they will not ask for help?
Who knew that help was needed?
Who cared?
At the courthouse in the center of the community supported by the soldiers of Ft. Stewart, ancient oak trees are circled with giant yellow ribbons tied with elaborate bows. Yellow ribbons line the park in the center of the town square and billboards posted at the boundaries of the town line are painted with giant yellow ribbons and words thanking the 3rd Infantry for their tireless service.
On display racks and checkout counters, local businesses offer magnetic yellow ribbons, lapel pins and wristbands as a last minute purchase to loyal “troop supporters” who leave the store never knowing for certain if the promised 10% of the profit from their sale ever makes it to assist a soldier’s real needs.
It is not just the soldiers who have sacrificed for an undisclosed cause. Their families have paid the price as well, and continue to pay in amounts that far exceed the 10% profits taken in on their behalf from trading companies selling “troop support” created in sweat shops tucked away in foreign countries where thanking American troops for their generous support yields a far greater profit.
It’s time for American citizens to look into the mirror and ask themselves, “What do we really know?” and “How much do we really care?”
Be honest.
Do you really care?
Do you care that the support you profess on your rear bumper is created in a factory in a foreign country that doesn’t care if our soldiers die, as long as Americans continue to support them?
Do you care that the support you profess on your rear bumper is a shallow cover for the truth of your actions, rather your inactions?
Do you care that your debt to those who have given for so long on your behalf is long overdue?
American citizens own our military installations. American citizens will ultimately pay the bills for everything that happens on every installation, for every result of every military operation, and for every injustice served on our soldiers as a result of the lack of accountability our citizens should demand from commanders who believe themselves outside of the laws of the Uniformed Code of Military Justice.
American soldiers have accepted their responsibility to defend the policies and laws of this country. They have sacrificed their personal lives so that someone is on the frontlines in defense of the principles on which this country was founded.
American citizens are responsible for ensuring that the laws and policies in place to be defended are worth defending – and American citizens are responsible for “watching the backs” of our soldiers who serve on their behalf.
American soldiers and their families are giving everything they have for what they have volunteered to do.
American citizens – give empty words emblazoned on a magnetic yellow ribbon.
The support of the American citizen – hardly worth dying for.
Monica Benderman is a Senior Staff Writer for Choice America Network. She has been widely published throughout the Internet and Newspapers around the world. Her husband is Sgt. Kevin Benderman. You may contact her at mdawnb@coastalnow.net
Copyright 2006 EvansMediaUSA
October 15, 2006
The Yellow Ribbon Syndrome - Part I
STOP AND LOOK
INTO THE MIRROR
Americans must take ownership of their mistakes
I walk through the parking lot of a nearby shopping mall and marvel that almost every car I pass is driven by a "troop supporter." Magnetic yellow ribbons are everywhere more than three years past the start of our current war, proclaiming loyalty to men and women the drivers of the cars don't even k now.
I connect to the internet and access the current favorite anti-war blog reading all the latest articles exhorting Americans to join forces and sign the Peace Proclamation declaring themselves to be "peace activists" and therefore "supporting the troops."
On any given day I can tune to C-Span to hear the latest dialogue between Republicans and Democrats; blaming each other for the failures of the war, neither side moving us any closer to resolution. The needs of our nation are cast aside as the selfish agendas of our millionaire congress take center stage.
There are protests all over this country. Every weekend, in a "declaration of peace," protesters march to demand an exit strategy, to demand their right to peace. Peace and protests - don't you get it - they don't mix.
In daily email newsletters I read countless essays filled with childish name-calling, and it occurs to me that most of those complaining do not have the first plan on taking action to support their words.
I wonder how many people feel that by waving a protest sign at passing cars, by signing a "declaration of peace," by participating in a web discussion of the need to "support the troops," by listening to their elected representatives in continuous debates with no resolution, by writing endless diatribes full of schoolyard bashing of their opposition, they are somehow absolved of any responsibility for the situation our soldiers have been forced to endure?
Early childhood religion tried to teach me that if I simply asked for forgiveness, I would be forgiven. That never seemed to satisfy me - an obligation persisted somewhere in my conscience. Simply ask for forgiveness and all the wrongs I had done for the week were somehow forgotten - such "religion" left me empty and reaching for more. I couldn't forget and it wasn't the "forgiveness" of some unseen illusion that gave me peace, it was acting to rectify the mistakes I had made that accomplished this.
Why is it that nothing gets accomplished in this country? Could it be that doing nothing means there's always someone else to blame? Doing nothing means there's never a chance to be faced with being wrong.
America - land of the free. American citizens are free to choose and American citizens have chosen.. They have neglected their responsibility to defend the principles this country was founded on, and now they neglect their responsibility to repair the damage their mistakes have made; choosing to worship false images instead.
It is the American citizens who must take ownership of the problems of this war.
It is the American citizens who must take ownership of the difficult situations our soldiers now serve under.
It is the American citizens who must take ownership of the deaths, the destruction of Iraq, and the waste to our own country's foundations of truth.
As the decisions to go to war were made, American citizens stood silently asking each other - "what would you do?" - hiding in chat rooms and forums to talk as if their talk were actions. When it came time to make difficult choices, the American citizens deferred to our administration. When it came time to make the difficult decisions, the American citizens allowed their representatives to speak for them without a word about what should have been said.
When my husband went to war in March 2003, the American citizens stood by and cheered as he and his fellow soldiers marched off to defend those citizens who were not willing to defend themselves but perfectly willing to allow my husband and others to risk their lives with idle promises of supporters "watching your backs."
The American citizens stood and waved as volunteer soldiers marched off to an unjust, immoral and unnecessary war. Rather than take responsibility for the sacrifice our soldiers were making, the American citizens continue to blame everyone but themselves for the reasons our soldiers' sacrifice continues on.
Now there are American citizens who stand again and tell us it is the soldiers' responsibility to stop the war. They stand and wave as individual soldiers march off to unjust, unnecessary prison confinements for leaving their military service; following the ignorant advice of those foolish "supporters" who believe that all they owe in return is a repetitive cheer emphasizing "the honor of serving time in jail is worth the sacrifice."
I will tell the idle supporters - "the sacrifice that has been asked of any of our soldiers as warriors in defense of this country's constitution is not worth it." The sacrifice of our soldiers changes nothing as long as the American citizens are not willing to do their part.
Our soldiers are on the frontlines for what? If the American citizens truly want to support our soldiers, they will step up and make the sacrifice their own.
What we all now face are the consequences of our collective actions, or inactions - a price we all must pay for the choices we freely made.
To stop this war - the American citizens must take ownership of their mistakes. American citizens must stop passing the buck and assigning blame to anyone but themselves.
To find the solution to ending the downhill slide our country is in, the American citizens must stop and look into the mirror. They must realize that they are not forgiven simply by buying a magnetic yellow ribbon and sending a care package to the nearest military reception point.
To find a way out of the chaos that is now destroying so many lives, the American citizens must wake up to the fact that standing on the sidelines and cheering for soldiers, whether they are deploying to war or saying "no more" does not absolve civilians of the mistakes they have made.
To bring about change, American citizens will have to stop protesting with peace signs, stop stamping their feet, stop waiting for someone else to act, and take the time to realize they, too, have made mistakes allowing our country to come to where we are.
The American citizens made their choices, and the choices they made bought them clear ownership in the destruction the actions of this war continue to sow.
Every action of the administration, every action of the American military, every inaction of our Congressional representatives is owned by us all until we have chosen a new direction, recognized the mistakes of our past and moved to change them.
America owns this war.
When will America take steps toward real ownership of Peace?
Monica Benderman is a Senior Staff Writer for Choice America Network. She has been widely published throughout the Internet and Newspapers around the world. Her husband is Sgt. Kevin Benderman. You may contact her at mdawnb@coastalnow.net
Copyright 2006 EvansMediaUSA
October 02, 2006
The Perversions and Hypocrisy of Mark Foley and our Republican Congress
Foley
Built Career as Protector of Children
He Gained Attention by Fighting Sex Crimes
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
He Gained Attention by Fighting Sex Crimes
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Republican congressman who resigned Friday following the discovery of sexually explicit Internet messages he sent to teenage boys was a gregarious and charismatic lawmaker who built his political career in large measure on legislative proposals meant to halt the sexual predation of children and others.
Beginning with his 1993 sponsorship of a measure in the Florida state legislature to seize the cars of men who solicited prostitutes, former restaurant owner and real estate agent Mark Foley repeatedly attracted a flattering political spotlight by inveighing against those involved in sexual crimes and presenting himself as a protector of exploited children.
A well-liked member of the class of conservatives elected to Congress in 1994, Foley was until two days ago a deputy whip for the House Republicans and a co-chairman of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. A Web site for the bipartisan group states that it was formed to "create a voice within Congress" on that issue and to operate a hotline for tips about "online child sexual exploitation" that could be passed to law enforcement agencies.
At a White House Rose Garden ceremony on July 27, President Bush hailed Foley and some other House and Senate lawmakers as members of a "SWAT team for kids." Bush spoke while signing into law a broad child protection measure that included a Foley-sponsored provision requiring sex offenders to register in every state where they live, work or attend school.
Foley's abrupt exit from Capitol Hill on Friday, shortly after ABC News journalists confronted him with excerpts of his Internet messages to male youths, stunned his congressional staff. They had dismissed an ABC report earlier last week about e-mails Foley, 52, sent to an underage, male House page as an exaggerated report stemming from an innocent attempt to be friendly.
Foley was not the target of any official investigation before his resignation, and he said in a three-sentence letter on Friday that "I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida."
"No one saw the extent of this," said a former aide who said he has been in contact with Foley's congressional staff members since the resignation and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. "You do that kind of stuff in the shadows."
Born in Boston into a devout Catholic family, Foley moved to south-central Florida and dropped out of a community college at age 20 to open with his mother a restaurant called Lettuce Patch, according to the Almanac of American Politics and CQ's Politics in America. He entered politics three years later as a commissioner for Lake Worth, a coastal town south of wealthy Palm Beach, starting as Democrat but switching parties in the 1980s.
The political cause of exploited children has long been a Republican favorite, and several of his staff members had strong feelings about its importance, according to several sources familiar with Foley's work. They said he saw the topic as a platform for attracting national attention and winning frequent appearances on cable talk shows, where he described sex offenders as "animals" who will persist "unless stopped."
"He loved the attention," a former aide said.
Foley recalled earlier this month that "I was in my mid-twenties" when Adam Walsh, 10, was kidnapped from his home in a nearby Florida community, assaulted, and killed in 1981, a crime that attracted national attention. "I remember that the case startled me. . . . It described the end of innocence for South Florida."
In 1998, he sponsored legislation allowing the Boy Scouts and other volunteer groups to get access to an FBI criminal database so they could weed out child predators. In 2003, he pressed Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to investigate a nudist camp for teenagers, noting that "I have been fighting for years to eliminate both child pornography and so-called exploitive child modeling Web sites."
During the congressional debate in 1998 over President Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern, Foley called Clinton's actions vile and told the St. Petersburg Times that "it's more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction."
While campaigning for a Senate nomination in 2003, Foley, who is single, was asked whether he was gay, and deflected the question as a matter of personal privacy before dropping out of the race.
Legislating, he told National Public Radio on June 29, "is not necessarily just trying to brand people or create a scarlet letter or subject them to unnecessary ridicule, but it's really to set a bar and a standard by which they then decide, 'I better get help professionally,' 'I better go and see how I can deal with this problem,' or, 'I should absolutely avoid contact with young people in order to ensure I don't fall into this very serious problem.' "
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