LOUD CATCALLS TO RUDY GIULIANI!
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| No apology from Giuliani (photo by Rob Kim Getty Images) |
More catcalls to Governor Walker for not disassociating himself from Giuliani’s comments, when asked how he felt about them, in an interview Thursday morning on CNBC. Instead he “punted” again, saying, “I’m in New York. I’m used to people saying things that are aggressive out there.” Answer the question, Mr. Walker. Do you agree or disagree with Mr. Giuliani?
Catcalls to all the racist Obama haters who are constantly saying these kinds of things about the President of the United States. They have every right to disagree with him on any issue, but it is egregiously unfair and completely inexcusable to question the President’s patriotism. If their comments were not so reprehensible they could be ignored as utterly ludicrous. Barack Obama embodies the American Dream, and for that he has expressed his immense gratitude over and over again.
If he acknowledges America’s sins, more power to him. He would be dishonest if he didn’t. But his words, his life, his record all refute any charge of disloyalty to the nation he serves. Ask the people who work with him and know him best. Ask Joe Biden, if you’re willing to risk being put sharply in your place.
Do the President’s detractors think they love America more than he does? I much prefer Mr. Obama’s form of patriotism to that of his bigoted, bellicose, right-wing, hate-mongering critics.
The real patriots are not the flag-waving zealots who shout “We’re Number One!” while denying others their rights. The real patriots are those who recognize America’s faults and who, out of love for their country, are doing their best to correct them, so that all Americans can share in the American dream.
I love America, but I am quick to confess that I don’t like all Americans, especially those who verbally attack our President, impugn his motives, question his intentions, misconstrue his meanings, and misrepresent his words. How do they reconcile their behavior with their own self-professed patriotism?
And when I hear his opponents criticize something the President has said, I can’t believe they were listening to the same speech or press conference that I was. Of all the Presidents who have served our nation in my life-time, never has one of them ever had to endure the kind of disrespect and personal abuse that our current President has had to endure. I admire him greatly for never responding in kind.
Barack Obama’s unflappable and even-tempered demeanor in the face of these verbal attacks are one of his commendable attributes. Kudos to our president for not stooping to the level of his critics!
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MORE KUDOS AND CATCALLS
Kudos to the Senate and the House of Representatives for passing, finally, the bipartisan Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. It was signed into law by President Obama on Thursday. . . .
Catcalls to the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee for backing off from supporting Loretta Lynch for Attorney General of the United States and forcing a delayed vote on her confirmation. . . .
Kudos to the Senate for their overwhelming confirmation of Ashton B. Carter to replace Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. . . .
Catcalls to Republican Senator John Cornyn (Texas) for introducing a bill that would allow gun owners with concealed weapons permits to carry their hidden firearms into any of the other 46 states that grant such permits. As we would expect, the NRA has enthusiastically endorsed the bill. Why do so many people think the solution to gun violence is more guns and less restrictions on those who own them? . . .
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| You're almost there, Sissy! |
Kudos to Sissy, the miniature Schnauzer who ran away from home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and was able to find her owner, Mrs. Dale (Nancy) Franck, who was recovering from surgery in the Mercy Medical Center, twenty blocks away. Sissy had never before been to the hospital! . . .
Catcalls to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who during an appearance in London, refused to answer whether or not he believes in or accepts evolution! “For me, I’m going to punt on that one as well,” he told the questioner. “That’s a question a politician shouldn’t be involved in one way or another.” That tells us a lot about Scott Walker. . . .
Have you any kudos or catcalls to add?
KUDOS AND CATCALLS
There are some folks in the news deserving our plaudits and others deserving our criticism. Depending upon our political leanings and other factors, we will have our differences of opinion as to who deserves which. Below are some of my personal choices for kudos or catcalls. I invite viewers to add some of their own to the list.
Kudos to Tom Brady for wanting to giving the 2015 Chevy Colorado pickup truck he received for being the MVP of the Super Bowl to his teammate Malcolm Butler for his game-winning interception in the final seconds of the game. . . .
Catcalls to the creators of most of the TV commercials on Super Bowl Sunday. How can so many advertisers get it so wrong? . . .
Kudos to Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll for the way he has dealt with the harsh criticism he has received from the Monday morning quarterbacks and second guessers who know what he should have done after the fact. Coach Carroll had a game plan. If it had worked, and the chances were good that it would, he would have been hailed as a genius. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that Marshawn Lynch, as good as he is, would have scored. The Patriots might have risen to the occasion. They were not looking for a pass. The quick pass, could well have worked, had not Malcolm Butler made an incredible interception.
Kudos to Malcolm Butler for his instinctive reaction that resulted in a remarkable athletic feat! . . .
Catcalls to the nine Democrats in the Senate, who voted with the Republicans to approve the Keystone Pipeline, in the wake of five serious pipeline bursts in January of this year, accidents that have poisoned rivers and caused serious health issues for the affected communities. The bill now goes to the Republican controlled House, where it is sure to pass. Kudos to President Obama for promising to veto it! . . .
Kudos to the Senate for passing unanimously the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, the passage of which had been blocked by one lone Senator (Tom Coburn, R-Okla.). The much-needed bill now goes to the President’s desk for his signature. . .
Kudos to all those who use social media and the Internet to help many persons in need and all kinds of worthy causes. . . .
Catcalls to Senator Rand Paul, who as a physician ought to know better, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for their unhelpful comments about vaccination, and to all those who are opposed to vaccinating children against measles. They are putting their own children at risk as well as others. They refuse to listen to the findings of medical science and the voices of those who know better. . . .
Kudos to those who advised Mitt Romney to withdraw his name from the 2016 race for the Republican nomination. . . .
Catcalls to the Republicans who are still talking about repealing the Affordable Care Act. They are ignoring its benefits, disregarding the millions of people who are benefiting from it, and misrepresenting its impact on the economy. . . .
Kudos to President Obama on his executive orders to date, including especially those regarding immigration and the move toward normalization of our relations with Cuba. . . .
Kudos and Catcalls to the Republicans who are now expressing concern about income inequality and voicing their desire to help the middle class. Kudos for talking about it; Catcalls for doing nothing about it. They have opposed every program proposed by the Administration to deal with those problems. Talk is cheap. Why don’t they pass the President’s Infrastructure Bill, the Transportation Bill, and other legislation that will create jobs, help the economy, and renew our crumbling infrastructure and transportation system? . . .
Add your kudos and catcalls in the comments below.
| Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady |
KUDOS AND CATCALLS
Kudos to Tom Brady for wanting to giving the 2015 Chevy Colorado pickup truck he received for being the MVP of the Super Bowl to his teammate Malcolm Butler for his game-winning interception in the final seconds of the game. . . .
Catcalls to the creators of most of the TV commercials on Super Bowl Sunday. How can so many advertisers get it so wrong? . . .
Kudos to Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll for the way he has dealt with the harsh criticism he has received from the Monday morning quarterbacks and second guessers who know what he should have done after the fact. Coach Carroll had a game plan. If it had worked, and the chances were good that it would, he would have been hailed as a genius. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that Marshawn Lynch, as good as he is, would have scored. The Patriots might have risen to the occasion. They were not looking for a pass. The quick pass, could well have worked, had not Malcolm Butler made an incredible interception.
Kudos to Malcolm Butler for his instinctive reaction that resulted in a remarkable athletic feat! . . .
Catcalls to the nine Democrats in the Senate, who voted with the Republicans to approve the Keystone Pipeline, in the wake of five serious pipeline bursts in January of this year, accidents that have poisoned rivers and caused serious health issues for the affected communities. The bill now goes to the Republican controlled House, where it is sure to pass. Kudos to President Obama for promising to veto it! . . .
Kudos to the Senate for passing unanimously the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, the passage of which had been blocked by one lone Senator (Tom Coburn, R-Okla.). The much-needed bill now goes to the President’s desk for his signature. . .
Kudos to all those who use social media and the Internet to help many persons in need and all kinds of worthy causes. . . .
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| Senator Rand Paul defends his remarks. |
Catcalls to Senator Rand Paul, who as a physician ought to know better, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for their unhelpful comments about vaccination, and to all those who are opposed to vaccinating children against measles. They are putting their own children at risk as well as others. They refuse to listen to the findings of medical science and the voices of those who know better. . . .
Kudos to those who advised Mitt Romney to withdraw his name from the 2016 race for the Republican nomination. . . .
Catcalls to the Republicans who are still talking about repealing the Affordable Care Act. They are ignoring its benefits, disregarding the millions of people who are benefiting from it, and misrepresenting its impact on the economy. . . .
Kudos to President Obama on his executive orders to date, including especially those regarding immigration and the move toward normalization of our relations with Cuba. . . .
Kudos and Catcalls to the Republicans who are now expressing concern about income inequality and voicing their desire to help the middle class. Kudos for talking about it; Catcalls for doing nothing about it. They have opposed every program proposed by the Administration to deal with those problems. Talk is cheap. Why don’t they pass the President’s Infrastructure Bill, the Transportation Bill, and other legislation that will create jobs, help the economy, and renew our crumbling infrastructure and transportation system? . . .
Add your kudos and catcalls in the comments below.
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INDEPENDENCE DAY
In preparing this Fourth of July article I did some on-line research on the history of our use of the words “In God we trust” on our money and stamps. The original motto of the United States was secular: "E Pluribus Unum,” which literally translated is “out of many one," pointing to the fact that we are one country formed from many states.
In 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote what eventually became our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. The final stanza reads:
"And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.' And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
In 1864 by an act of Congress the words "In God We Trust" were applied to a newly designed two-cent coin. The motto has been in continuous use on the one-cent coin since 1909, and on the ten-cent coin since 1916. It also has appeared on all gold coins and silver dollar coins, half-dollar coins, and quarter-dollar coins struck since 1908.
President Theodore Roosevelt disapproved of using the motto on coins or stamps. He thought that cheapened the motto. In 1956 at the height of the cold war, and in declaring its opposition to
“atheistic Communism,” Congress passed a joint resolution to replace the original motto with "In God we trust." The new motto was first used on paper money in 1957.
The phrase "under God" had been added to the otherwise secular Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. In that same decade "So help me God" was added as a suffix to the oaths of office for federal justices and judges. The courts basically decided that the motto "In God we Trust" does not endorse religion. They’ve ruled that its use is purely patriotic or ceremonial.
Do you remember when Madalyn Murray O'Hair successfully challenged compulsory prayer in U.S. public schools? In 1963, this suit (amalgamated with the similar Abington School District v. Schempp) reached the United States Supreme Court which voted 8-1 in her favor, effectively banning "coercive" public prayer and Bible-reading at public schools in the United States. The irony is that her son William, on whose behalf she filed her complaint, became a born-again Christian! Madalyn herself was eventually murdered.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. conducted a national survey which showed that "In God We Trust" was regarded as religious by an overwhelming percentage of U.S. citizens. So they initiated a lawsuit on June 8, 1994, in a Denver, Colorado, District Court to have it removed from U.S. paper currency and coins. They also wanted it to be discontinued as the national motto. Their lawsuit was dismissed by the Court without trial, on the grounds that "In God We Trust" is not a religious phrase! The Tenth-Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed the dismissal. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review all of these rulings. That should be embarrassing to the justices inasmuch as the motto hangs on the wall at the Supreme Court.
In 1962 a bill to reaffirm "In God We Trust" as the national motto, and the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance was passed unanimously by the Senate and by near unanimous vote in the House. Since then lower courts have decided that pre-game invocations by coaches, officials or students at high school football games were unconstitutional. However, in 1995 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th circuit in Texas ruled that informal student-initiated, student led prayers at sporting events were constitutional. Students may voluntarily pray together, provided such prayer is not done with school participation or supervision.
Earlier the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld a ruling allowing religious songs to be performed at school concerts as long as secular songs are also included. So it’s okay to sing "Silent Night," if it’s followed by by something like “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas," or “Frosty the Snowman," or "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
So my question for this Independence Day is not about our being one nation, but about our being one nation UNDER GOD, as we profess to be in our Pledge of Allegiance. On June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed a bill adding those two words to the Pledge of Allegiance. But on June 26, 2002, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled in favor of an atheistic father, Dr. Newdow, who objected to his daughter’s being taught the pledge in school. The court found that the words “under God” were an unconstitutional endorsement of monotheism.
The opposition to the court’s ruling was immediate and vehement. The public was outraged. The polls showed that 90% of Americans disagreed with the ruling. The very next day after the ruling the US Senate voted unanimously in favor of the pledge as it stood. The vote in the House was 413 to 3, with 11 abstentions.
Attorneys General from all 50 states filed papers asking the Supreme Court to review the decision. They finally agreed to do so, and on June 14, 2004, the Court unanimously rejected Newdow’s claim —because he didn’t have custody of his daughter! Thus the Court sidestepped the question of the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance!
In August of 2005 the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals held that teacher-led recitations of the Pledge did not violate the First Amendment. The plaintiff, Edward Myers, did not appeal. And that’s where the matter presently stands.
NO TALKING TO PASSENGERS?
A few days ago the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released the results of a recent study indicating that using voice-activated hands-free wireless technologies like Blue Tooth and Siri while driving may be even more dangerous than using a hand-held iPhone. It’s easy to understand why texting with a cell phone while driving can be terribly dangerous, but to hear that using hands-free technology is equally if not more dangerous is quite surprising.
I haven’t read the report, but the news item made me wonder if that means we shouldn’t talk with passengers while driving. Why is talking on Bluetooth any more dangerous than talking to someone sitting next to you in the front seat?
In either case, it is certainly true that while driving you must keep focused on what you’re doing. Distractions can be hazardous, but ordinary conversation doesn’t have to be a distraction.
I haven’t read the report, but the news item made me wonder if that means we shouldn’t talk with passengers while driving. Why is talking on Bluetooth any more dangerous than talking to someone sitting next to you in the front seat?In either case, it is certainly true that while driving you must keep focused on what you’re doing. Distractions can be hazardous, but ordinary conversation doesn’t have to be a distraction.
People have been talking while driving since they first started using automobiles.
By Bob Golon
Special Contributor
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| . Rutgers University President Robert Barchi looks on as newly appointed Athletic Director Julie Hermann takes questions. (A. Evans/AP) |
As a Rutgers’ alum, a former employee, and an aficionado of all things Scarlet, I have high hopes that yesterday will be remembered as a good day for Rutgers and its beleaguered Athletic Department. Julie Hermann was announced as the new Athletic Director. Her appointment is being called “historic,” as she becomes the first woman Athletic Director in the University history, as well as one of only three women currently serving in that capacity at BCS level schools.
After the Mike Rice fiasco and the fallout that followed it, I was beginning to wonder if the otherwise positive historic nature of the Rutgers athletic program could ever again be appreciated. After all, good old RU is the “birthplace of college football” in November, 1869. It has a men’s basketball final four appearance in its distant past, as well as national championships and numerous tournament appearances in its storied women’s basketball program.
It should be understood, however. that Ms. Hermann is not the first woman “pioneer” in Rutgers athletics history. The trail was blazed for her and others by a remarkable woman named Rita Kay Thomas.
Ten years ago I had the privilege of being one of the archivists at Rutgers who arranged Rita Kay’s donated papers, and they reveal the historic nature of her accomplishments.
Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination in education, was passed in 1972. Seeking to comply with the new regulations, then athletic directed Fred Gruninger hired Rita Kay Thomas in 1975 as the first Director of Women’s Athletics and Assistant Athletic Director. Perhaps understated and definitely under-appreciated, Rita Kay set out on the difficult task of building and maintaining a successful women’s athletic program. She succeeded despite many times having to deal with the inherent discrimination against women’s athletics, while fighting to create separate but equal facilities and programs for all of the women’s sports teams. Under Rita Kay, the women’s basketball program, coached by Theresa Grentz, became a national power, winning the AIAW national championship in 1982.
Like Julie Hermann, Rita Kay was a natural athlete herself, and despite the enormity of her job at RU, she was able to also serve as head coach of the women’s tennis team. Later, in 1993, Rita Kay became head of the University’s NCAA compliance program. She retired in 2001, after 29 years of service to Rutgers.
In recent years, Rita Kay Thomas waged a battle with cancer, which she unfortunately lost this past October. Ironically, Julie Hermann’s responsibilities at her former position as Associate Athletic Director at the University of Louisville sound much like the responsibilities that Rita Kay had at Rutgers. It is too bad that Rita Kay Thomas could not have been alive see yesterday’s announcement, because she certainly deserved to be in that room.
Rita Kay Thomas must be smiling down at Julie Hermann and Rutgers University today.
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THE REAL STORY
| David Henneberry |
He did not follow a trail of blood to the boat in his backyard. To read Henneberry's own amazing account click here.
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AN AMERICAN JIHADIST?
As more information is being released about the background and motivations of the Boston Marathon bombers, following the capture of the younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, widespread discussion of and speculation about the wider implications of their dastardly crime continues.
The young men, we are told, were religiously motivated. We are warned of the possible increase in this type of terrorism. It is frightening to think that any religious faith could blind its adherents to the obvious contradictions implicit in any act of terrorism against a country whose Constitution guarantees the freedom of thinking and of speech, and of religion, that we Americans enjoy. The very concept of an American jihadist is an oxymoron.
But, then, who can expect the mind of a terrorist to be logical? Here's an interesting article you may have missed. Click here.
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CONFLICTED THOUGHTS OF A YOUNG KILLER?
I wonder what thoughts crowded young Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's mind, as he lay bleeding in the bottom of the tarp-covered motor boat in David Henneberry's back yard.
Was he frightened? I would think so. His older, dominating brother had been killed. The nineteen-year old fugitive was now alone and seriously wounded. He knew the whole world was looking for him. He had nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, even if he had the strength to climb out of what he must have feared would soon become his coffin.
Was he remorseful? I would hope so. His high school classmates and teachers remember him as a friendly, likable student-athlete, before he began to change. His tweets reflected that change. Were his opposite natures in conflict, as the reality of his desperate situation dawned upon him in the darkness of his hiding place? Was the conscience of the decent young naturalized American he once was now questioning the cold-blooded killer he had become?
Did the murder and maiming of so many innocent people now feel to him like heroic acts or heinous crimes? Was he rejoicing over or ruing his brother’s violent death? Did he run over his brother’s bullet-ridden body accidentally, or deliberately, perhaps hoping to detonate the IED strapped to the dead man’s chest?
And what about the victims of his crime? Was he haunted by pictures of their faces and those of their grieving loved onrs he had seen on television?
Perhaps we shall know the answers to these and many other questions in the days to come, if
the young man survives. While in no way excusing his horrible crimes, I nevertheless can find room in my heart to pity him, especially if he is remorseful and penitent. And if he is not, then I pity him for being duped and brainwashed by his brother, or whomever, into becoming what he became.
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THEY GOT HIM!
They got him ---alive!
Although the police report that he is in serious condition in the hospital, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger of the two brothers suspected of planting the bombs at the Boston Marathon on Monday, is in custody. His older brother Tamerlan was killed in a shoot-out earlier this morning.
Once again it was a call from an alert citizen of Watertown that led to the capture of the fugitive, shortly after the police had lifted the call for people to remain locked in their homes for their own protection. A Franklin Street resident spotted a trail of blood leading to a covered boat in his back yard. Upon stealthily peeking beneath the cover, he saw a man covered with blood. Making a quick retreat, he immediately called 911, and the police closed in at once.
They tried to talk the young man into giving himself up, but he was unresponsive. There was a brief exchange of gun fire, and then they managed to apprehend him. It was Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Having lost a serious amount of blood, he was taken immediately to the hospital.
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| Boston Globe |
The announcement of his capture brought an enthusiastic amount of cheering and applause from the large crowd that had gathered. The various news agencies were quickly on the scene and busily reporting the story. A press conference was held, at which Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston FBI Chief Richard DesLauriers, and the various law enforcement officials we have been hearing from in recent days, spoke eloquently of their joint accomplishment. It was indeed an amazing achievement.
President Obama also spoke from the White House, and I was pleased that he took the occasion also to reassure the people of the town of West, Texas, that they were not forgotten and would have the full resources of the Federal Government in dealing with the terrible explosion that had taken so many lives and destroyed so many homes.
It is understandable that because of the need to find and capture the perpetrators of the Boston bombings, that act of terrorism and subsequent events have occupied the attention of the American public, whose sympathy and support must also be directed to the West, Texas, victims and their families.
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WHY DID THEY DO IT?
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two Chechen born brothers suspected to be the Boston Marathon bombers, who was killed by police in a shoot-out early this morning, was found to have an improvised explosive device (I.E.D.) strapped to his chest.
The fact that he had may have had ties to and perhaps was inspired and trained by Jihadist terrorists, raises once again an annoying question for me: Why can’t moderate Islamic leaders in Islamic countries convince the followers of their radical counterparts that Allah does not sanction the killing of innocent people and that the idea that they will go direct to paradise by blowing themselves up in the process could not be farther from the truth?
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| Still at large. |
Why did they do this? Were they radicalized by some Jihadist extremist terrorist organization? What changed them from the apparently normal persons described by those who knew them as fellow students into terrorist killers? What did they hope to accomplish? Why did they do what they did?
There are many other unanswered questions, of course, such as, Were there any other accomplices? But what is truly amazing is the speed with which the two suspects were identified and found. In addition to the many law enforcement agencies that have cooperated so commendably in this massive endeavor, our thanks go out to the thousands of individuals whose countless videos, photographs, and personal tips have played a huge and indispensable part in this remarkable achievement.
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THE LATEST BOSTON MASSACRE
| Photo by David Ryan, Boston Globe/Getty |
Our hearts go out to the victims of yesterday’s bombings in Boston and to their families and
friends, and to the entire city of Boston. It is most impressive and reassuring to see the cooperation of the various local, state, and national law enforcement agencies, the fire departments and emergency rescue personnel, the hospitals, and the community at large in dealing with this latest act of violence on American soil.
Along with our sympathy this latest disaster evokes many other emotions, including my growing concern about the escalation of violence in America. While I agree with Senator Marco Rubio that their needs to be a national discussion about the causes of violence and what to do about it, I disagree completely with his view that such a discussion should supersede the current debate on gun control.
On the contrary, gun violence is a huge part of the problem of violence in general. It is a manifestation of our society’s inclination toward violence as well as the most glaring and prevalent example of our society’s violent behavior. It is utterly deplorable that the House Republicans and some Democrats are still resisting any effort to enact sensible gun legislation.
Shame on them! Shame on Congress for failing to act, even to pass a watered-down version of the legislation that the vast majority of Americans favor!
On the basis of his previous public pronouncements I wouldn’t put it past NRA executive director Wayne Lapierre to advocate that from now on all marathon runners and spectators should carry guns, in fact all athletes and spectators at all sporting events, and people attending conventions or any large gatherings, including church services, and ultimately everybody in the USA, should be armed at all times!
Am I being too cynical? Probably, but with respect to violence in America Pierre and his ilk are in my view part of the problem not the solution.
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