It's about what's right.

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up."

These words were spoken by Martin NieMoller, a pastor and German citizen, in 1946. For the previous eight years (freed in 1945) he was a prisoner of several concentration camps. His crime was that he did not support the government's attempts to nationalize religion. As a member of an influential organization he and that organization stood by quietly when when one group after another was demonized and attacked by citizens and government. Finally, there was no one left to protect him and they arrested him.

More than any other cause or belief, our country was founded on the ideal of religious freedom and tolerance. In the 17th century pilgrims from England crossed a terrifying ocean and braved deprivation and death to worship as they wanted. In the centuries following, millions more have come for this reason.

Our very first amendment to our contistution, reads "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." It is no coincidence that this was the first.

Since that time, over one million Americans have died and millions more injured, fighting to preserve our principles and way of life. So, why after centuries of struggles and the blood of millions of Americans, spilled to protect our freedoms are we now, actually debating whether or not a Muslim group has the right to build a Muslim community center in NYC? Did I miss something? Does the first amendment make an exception for Islam or for religions which are currently not in fashion? Give me a sec while I review it......well I'll be damned, there are no exceptions! So, why then, are so many Americans who fly a flag outside of their homes, wear stars and stripes on their ball caps and attend Tea Parties with copies of the constitution and with tears in their eyes, proclaim they'll die defending that constitution, so willing to piss on it now?

We all know what happened on September 11, 2001. An act of terror and horror was committed against the people of NYC. All the terrorists involved in this most despicable act were self proclaimed Muslims. They were almost all Saudis. So should we not blame Saudi Arabia too? Should we not allow Saudis to own property in our country as well? Hell, they were all men. By this reasoning, we should discriminate against all men. Or maybe just men of a darker skin color or men with accents?

It takes no stretch of the imagination to realize what's going on here. Despite the ideals of this country, bigotry and intolerance are always present and politicians and news people are always willing to exploit this dark bit of evil. The politicians in this case are almost overwhelmingly Republican. Luckily for them they have a propaganda machine that Goebbels would envy. Fox News, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of right wing media have been trumpeting this call to arms to it's bigoted and/or ignorant followers day and night, until now we are actually debating whether or not a religious organization has the right to build a community center in a US city.

I get that it's blocks away from ground zero and I get the trauma and pain (not that I have an idea of the actual pain felt) the survivors and families must feel. I also get that what the terrorists on 9/11 wanted was for us to change. They wanted us to resort to that basic instinct of revenge and hate and to become just like them. Because if we do, they can then say to the rest of Muslim world, "See, the America you believe in is dead. All they want is to discriminate, hate and kill Muslims". This of course leads to more hate and more violence. This is what they want. This is not what America is all about.

We can't paint every Muslim as someone to fear just because there are Muslims in the world who want to do us harm. Just as we can't paint every African American as a criminal just because there are more African American men in prison than any other ethnicity. Do you realize the stupidity of such logic?

Just because we are still a white, Christian majority it does not mean we have greater rights than anyone else. Just because your immediate world is being filled with more and more people that don't look like you, does not give you the right to lash out at those same people.

This is America. The first country born on the premise of religious freedom. A country which men and women have shed blood to protect that freedom. And a country which if it is determined to carry on those ideals must look very hard at itself and decide if hatred and intolerance are to be the rule or if our rights are untouchable and resolute. Because if we choose the former, one day by the time they come for you, there will be one left to speak up.

Hypocritical Rat Bastard Series, 1. President Obama

I just said that Obama is on my watch list and he has the distinct honor of being the first to be exposed in this series. During the campaign for president, candidate Obama was adamant that was happening at Guantanamo Bay was wrong and that the prison holding alleged terrorists would be closed. He said torture was wrong. He said holding people without the rule of law was wrong and that once president, he would immediately change the way the US dealt with the prisoners held there and then the symbol of US injustice and abuse would be closed. Well it's been two years since then and it's still open. It's still open and American injustice is beamed into television sets and sent via the internet to cities and small villages all over the world.

Before any of my right wing war mongering friends get up in arms, let me say this. To any terrorist who harms innocent people, or to anyone who assisted in terrorism, I wish them death or life long incarceration. But you have to do it right. You have to expose these people in a legal system which is admired the world over, except by Republicans in our own country. So, to those Republicans, I ask, "why do you hate America?". OK, that was a little joke to play on their hypocrisy. But it kinda rings true doesn't it? Back to the point. Unfortunately there are many problems with convicting these people in US courts and they all start with the policies of "The Little Goat Reader", GW Bush. First, there is little evidence to suggest that there was any discretion used when many of the Guantanamo inhabitants were picked up, blindfolded and flown to Camp X Ray (side note; I was among 20 security specialists sent to GB in 1994 who oversaw the construction of the prison and ran it for the first 6 months. Another story, another time.) Taxi cab drivers, farmers, goat herders were swept up in a huge fishnet in a race to catch real terrorists. Many of these people were held for months or years before being released. If they didn't have a hatred for America before they kidnapped and tortured, they do now. Another problem is evidence. We may suspect they are terrorists but may not have all the facts needed to convict them. But the main problem, is torture. Tortured subjects who confess during torture can not be convicted with that evidence.

Yes, the non-closure of GB is hypocritical but what this post is really about is a 15 year old Canadian boy, Omar Khadr. Don't know the name? A little history; Omar Khadr was 15 years old when he was caught up in the war in Afghanistan. He was indoctrinated to believe that America was the enemy and that enemy was going to kill him and to be a good Muslim he would have to fight if the Americans came. The Americans came and amidst a battle, Omar threw a grenade which killed an American service member. As tragic as one of my fellow Americans deaths was, it was not by terrorism. It was done during an act of war by a 15 year old boy defending himself and those he loved. What happens next is detailed in a piece by Glenn Greenwald on Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/news/guantanamo/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2010/08/11/khadr

"It boggles the mind that the military judge could find that Khadr was not coerced and gave these statements to interrogators voluntarily. Khadr, then 15 years old, was taken to Bagram near death, after being shot twice in the back, blinded by shrapnel, and buried in rubble from a bomb blast. He was interrogated within hours, while sedated and handcuffed to a stretcher. He was threatened with gang rape and death if he didn't cooperate with interrogators. He was hooded and chained with his arms suspended in a cage-like cell, and his primary interrogator was later court-martialed for detainee abuse leading to the death of a detainee. During his subsequent eight-year (so far) detention at Guantánamo, Khadr was subjected to the "frequent flyer" sleep deprivation program and he says he was used as a human mop after he was forced to urinate on himself."
Omar Khadr is being tried as a terrorist by a military tribunal which is supposed to be fair and protect the accused basic rights, like not allowing admissions of guilt to be allowed if gained by torture. A miliatry judge has ruled that his guilty statements, made while being repeatedly tortured, are admissible.

President Obama promised us to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison and restore our rule of law. He has not and by trying a boy who was 15 years old when he defended himself, was then tortured, is barbaric.

Our country used to be a shining beacon of decency and hope for the world to admire. President Obama was the guy who was going to help restore that admiration. Unfortunately, as we have seen with GB and Omar Khadr, President Obama is a Hypocritcal Rat Bastard.

Two New Series to Watch for!!!!!

OK, I haven't finished the "End Justifies the Means" series and I haven't released the blog on my crazy Grandma yet (I'm still pulling together stories), but I've been inspired to write two new series! The first one is titled "Hypocritical Rat Bastards!". In this series I will from time to time chime in and highlight blatant hypocrisy in politics. Mostly it'll be from the GOP but the Obama administration is startin' to piss me off is on my watch list, so they could be a target as well. The second series is titled "Republican translations, free of charge". This is a free service in which I will break down, Republican speeches, statements and talking points and translate them to you, the dear reader. This is an important service because the Republican language is full of double speak and code which completely distorts the meaning. Only those who've been indoctrinated or have been given the decoder ring know the true meaning.

So there you have it. Two new series to look forward to. And you thought this was going to be a boring summer?