Jeremiah's Blog

Conscience

2008-07-02T14:29:00.000-04:00

Most of our actions take place with little concern about whether they are proper or not. We simply assume that our normal habits of conduct are right and that our sense of right and wrong would sound an alarm if we started to do something improper. Responding to this alarm is one of the primary functions of our conscience and if our experience and past training remind us that such action would be wrong we are compelled to refrain from the action. This is an example of our conscience in action.

The conscience is part of our human makeup which serves as a guide to our conduct. It is a quality of mind and heart which grows as we age and make decisions in our daily lives. In time it becomes so thoroughly embedded in us that we come to regard our conscience as an essential and natural part of our existence. It becomes accepted as our reliable guide in matters of right and wrong conduct.

There is no enforcement officer who prohibits us from doing something that the conscience advises against doing. The conscience has done its job. The go/no go decision is left up to us. We may agree with the judgment of our conscience, pass up the action and go about our affairs. However, we are free to disregard the advice of our conscience and choose to do the act anyway.

Consideration to go or not to go brings into play within our mind a series of back and forth questions and rationalizations. “Who says it is wrong?” “What right have they to say what I can do?” “Other folks do this all the time.” “Maybe no one will find out about it.” “If I am caught I can beat the rap, I can explain it away.” On and on we try to justify the action that we knew was wrong all along.

Aside from the penalties meted out by the authorities, there is a more serious damage to the conscience which may be overlooked or felt to be of little consequence. Repeated rejection of conscience’s advice hacks away a bit of the conscience’s power so that successive rejections may convince the conscience that it is being ignored or its opinions felt to be of no value. Soon it will stop functioning. Or worse it may commence giving assent to whatever actions its master wishes to do.

Without guidance from the conscience a person’s mind can justify any action the person wishes to do. Theft, rape, murder and treason can be justified in the minds of persons whose conscience has been dulled or neutralized by warped reason and rationalization.

With these consequences in mind we can recognize the importance of morality training by parents, teachers, ministers, police and judges. On their knowledge, skill and performance rests the future of our society and civilization itself.

Jerry Clements 6/30/08

Evaluation

2008-06-30T16:40:00.001-04:00

Evaluation is one of our most valuable tools. It is among the very first things a child learns to do as it asserts its rights as a human being. Without instruction, almost instinctively, a child chooses certain foods it likes and others it will spit into its mothers face. As time passes we can’t help but notice how the child comes to love certain toys or dolls while ignoring others that an adult might consider more attractive.

This application of some special criteria in determining what, or who to like or dislike appears more noticeable as the child grows older and becomes more assertive. It shows itself in choices of clothing, hair styles, school classes, friends and lovers.

Seldom is this evaluation sense noticed as a particular characteristic. Rather, we see the results of its application. Although it is seldom noticed its strength and influence is very strong, often causing serious conflicts between parent and child or between classmates. Most notable instances arise when a parent objects to the child’s choice of a particular friend.

Too often overlooked is the value of the process of evaluation in the life of each of us. As a person matures the application of value assessment takes place so many times in such a variety of circumstances that it becomes an essential part of our self and does not exhibit itself as a distinct characteristic. In spite of its elusive nature it is still one of our strongest and most valuable assets.

While we have stressed the ever-presence and great strength of this sense of evaluation, the statement would not be complete without a comment regarding it value as a guide in one’s conduct of daily life.

First, it should not be considered as a reliable ‘moral compass’. While it may be a very helpful guide in choosing friends, lovers and mates, making business decisions or in choosing sides in political matters, it cannot be reliable with respect to the ‘rightness’ of those choices. Responsibility in these and in other ethical and morality matters resides in ones individual character as developed in family life, church and individual experiences. However, it must be stated that one’s character does have a significant influence in the evaluation process which should not be overlooked.

Every individual should take time periodically to recognize the various factors in his character and experience that come into play in his process of evaluation of the problems and opportunities arising in his everyday life. This study will enable him to gain a deliberate and studied view of the person he really is and will add new vitality to his feeling of pride and self-worth.

Jerry Clements 6/27/2008

On These Two Hang All Law

2008-03-01T19:05:00.002-05:00

The Pharisee lawyer was smart and was determined that Jesus would not escape his snares by tricky phrases and generalities. So he asked directly ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” The earlier session with the Sadducees alerted Jesus to the motives of the group of religious doubters and he answered them directly.

“You shall love the Lord with all your heart, and with your soul, and with your mind”. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”He left no room for argument when he added “On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets.”

Jesus earlier had spoken many parables and rules of conduct which were important for all people for all generations, but with this reply we hear Jesus state the very essence of all human relationships, all laws and all rules of conduct.

In this twenty second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we have a yardstick for measuring, a rule for determining the rightness of any action. Whether it deals with world, national or local affairs; whether it is in a business or a church or between individuals, the rightness of an action or attitude can be judged by the reply Jesus made to that Pharisee lawyer.

That yardstick can be used to identify many errors and mistakes that have been made by nations, business organizations, churches, civic organizations and individuals. Many of those errors have been acknowledged and attempts have been made to make amends for them. Some have been successful but many failed.

The concern of this paper is the present. It seeks to appeal to organizations of all types and to individuals of the whole world to enter into a new covenant with every other organization and every individual to adopt those two commandments as rules to govern their conduct in the future.

It has to be assumed that every Christian Church has already made such a commitment and at this time will reaffirm their intention to comply fully with those commandments. Consideration of reaffirmation might well result in action by some churches to drop references to Christ from their name. Others might simply ignore this chapter in the conduct of their church’s affairs. Those and other possible actions are the responsibility of the governing authority of each Church.

Logically, it is time to consider my own Church, the United Methodist Church.
I feel certain that the General Conference of the United Methodist Church would reaffirm its position as a Christian Church. Sincerely believing in the rightness of the actions of previous Conferences it would reaffirm its principles, rules and regulations as set forth in The Book of Discipline. However, a review of history might bring to light instances of error in judgment that have violated the spirit of those commandments and questions of conduct which have been deferred for later consideration but conveniently forgotten.

Further, the Reaffirming Conference might well hear questions relating to the conduct of self-affiliating organizations which represent themselves as a part of the Church at the same time they pursue causes which fail to meet the standards of the Great Commandment. Also the Reaffirming Conference might find attitudes and actions of some of the Boards and Agencies need changes to bring them into compliance with the spirit of the Great Commandment.

It would appear that discussing whether or not we are in compliance with the spirit of the Great Commandment amounts to what is referred to as ‘opening a can of worms’. Could not we continue as we are, and keep quiet about those controversial matters. We recognize the fact that every organization has a few radical, disgruntled members who delight in stirring up controversy and promoting trivial ideas. Only a few persons are involved and they seldom cause any disruption of the general purposes of the church.

If the General Conference can convince itself that this type of rationalization complies with The Great Commandment the problem would be solved---until it and its leaders come face to face with their conscience and their rational minds to realize that they can’t ignore the instances of non-compliance and be silent about the controversial issues and yet truly believe that they love their neighbors as themselves.

So, it is back to the drawing board. Words and Speeches won’t do it. Silence and withdrawal won’t solve it. It is the heart and the soul that must be alerted to the problems and called forth to take a stand.. If we want to be a Church of Christian people we must believe and act as Christ declared we must. We must learn to love our neighbors as ourselves. The Great Commandment gives us no wiggle room. “On it hangs the law and the prophets”

Jerry Clements
2/14/08.

Fear on The Trail

2008-02-28T17:17:00.004-05:00

On Wednesday, January 23, 2008, my dog, Mei Ling and I went out to the Autry Mill Preserve for a short hike and a look at the family of monkeys on the Forest trail.

We sat at a picnic table and ate our Taco Bell lunch before starting on the trail.

The only other people around were a lady and young son who appeared to be waiting for someone at the restroom, some 50 yards away from us. Soon another young [7 to 9 years] boy came out and joined the mother as they went to the beginning of the trail where they stopped to read the items on the bulletin board. Their actions indicated that they were new to the park.

I continued eating as they walked toward the parking area, apparently planning to forego the trail. I spoke and asked if they had seen the monkeys on the trail. Surprised at the mention of monkeys the lady asked if there were monkeys, like at a zoo?

They were close enough that I could talk easily, and I briefly explained the story of the circus train wreck, escape of the monkeys, etc and the creation of concrete replacements on the trail by an unnamed man. They started walking toward their car. I asked if they were going to leave without seeing the monkeys?

At this point I realized the lady might be fearful of going down the trail with no one around but me. Never in my life have I felt that someone feared being near me.

I hesitated to urge them to go on the trail. That would just make matters worse. Neither did I say anything to try to convince her I was harmless.

She explained that she needed to go somewhere and would see the monkeys later.

They went to their car and left the park.

Mei Ling and I walked down the trail to visit the monkeys, who seemed happy to see us, but kept silent, we didn’t talk about it, but I could not help but think of the apparent feeling of fear at the park and how it deprived those young boys of the pleasure of seeing the family of concrete monkeys. I certainly hope they went back later.

I am assuming that the mother was fearful of going on the trail because of the recent tragic death of the young hiker in the Vogel State Park. Certainly she is to be commended for taking care to protect herself and her children. She could be justified in seeing me as another Hilton fellow, just waiting to accompany her on a friendly walk and then killing the three of them.

The sad part of it is the fact of justifiable fear that restrains people from enjoying the trails of our parks. Certainly all hikers should be alert and very careful when they go on a trail. In addition to the usual, natural hazards of the woods and streams there are the people of warped minds who must be avoided.

The ‘how’ of avoiding the dangers of the bad persons on hiking trails has suddenly become an important issue of life and death. It is not sufficient to tell hikers to stay off the trails.

In Montgomery, Alabama a former Boy Scout, Robert Mullen, is working on a Hiker’s Manual inspired by news reports of persons being lost or murdered on trails during the recent past. I hope the manual will deal adequately with hiking safety issues as well as the problems associated with hikers trail fears.

Jerry Clements 1/24/08

Erlene McGraw - Jerry Reminisces About a Dear Friend and Sacred Harp Singing

2008-02-28T17:13:00.006-05:00

It was the summer of 1938 that I became a friend of Miss Erlene McGraw.

I had been living in Atlanta several months, had met very few people other than those at work and at the boarding house. I was not searching for acquaintances, but was happy to meet friendly persons anywhere I met them. Mama loved Sacred Harp singing and I had often transported her to sites where singings were taking place and thus had developed a modest interest in this unusual style of musical expression.

In the newspaper there was a story telling of a Sacred Harp singing that was scheduled at a Nazarene church on the outskirts of Atlanta on the next Sunday. I had not yet selected a church to attend and this one did not appeal to me, aside from the singing event. I rode the street car to the church locations and walked in as if I were and experienced singer. I found a seat a couple of rows away from the ‘square’ and enjoyed observing the singers as they arrived, greeted friends and assembled in their proper place in the square.

The ‘square’ was the place where the leaders stood as they conducted the singing. It was surrounded by singers with those of like voice, like Alto, Base, etc , seated on respective sides of the room. As a person’s time to lead approached he [or she] would enter the square, lead her song or two and then return to her seat. Apparently, the leaders were chosen and an order of leadership established prior to the start. The leaders were of all ages from pre-teens to old ones who appeared to be in their 90s.

The leaders and singers evidently were experienced singers. The meeting proceeded smoothly with everyone doing their parts well and happily. It was very similar to several such affairs I had attended with Mama in Alabama. I could not help thinking of how happy she would be and how much she would enjoy the meeting if she were there.

In the proceedings I noticed that the name McGraw showed up in the announcements and among the leaders. Mr. McGraw seemed to be a leader in the singers association and among those who planned the meeting. He was also among the first leaders, with the response giving evidence of trust in his leadership in and outside the ‘square’. Of even greater interest was a young female singer who later appeared as a leader. That was Erlene McGraw, daughter of the esteemed Mr. McGraw.

I could not help recognizing Erlene's superior talents as a singer and as a leader. At the morning break, in spite of my timid nature, I made the opportunity of introducing myself to Erlene. I complemented her and explained that I had not learned to sing Sacred Harp, but had learned a good bit about it from my mother’s interest in Alabama. She was very gracious and explained that the McGraw family had been much interested in the Association and participating in the leadership for several generations. Before the singing was over I learned that Erlene’s family were members of the Hapeville Methodist Church and was invited to participate in a smaller group of Sacred Harp singers there.

It was a small church and I enjoyed a few visits there. However, one of my roommates and I had been attending the Druid Hills Methodist Church which was near our boarding house and he persuaded me to stay closer to home. My further contacts with Erlene were to fulfill invitations to attend occasional special singings with her. Also, at this church I met Elsie Marie Andrews who became sufficiently interested to become my wife on November 20, 1940.

Erlene faded out of the picture, but not from my memory.

A friend, Dr. A. L. Jenkins, who attended the Fountain City Methodist Church and also worked as a fellow leader in Boy Scout work asked me if Elsie and I would like to accompany him and his wife, Ethel, on a trip to Alaska. Neither of us had even considered such an adventure and quickly agreed to go to Alaska with the Jenkins.

I knew that such a trip would require a lot of planning and asked what part he had in mind for us in the planning. At a meeting he told us of the general idea of flying part of the way, renting a car for the rest of the trip. Then his brief outline turned out to be a complete itinerary with details including motels, cruise lines, mileage, etc along with financial plans for equal sharing of the costs.

We flew to Salt Lake City, rented a car and took off on a really great 42 day adventure. We took turns driving, saw all the major sites along the way north into Canada and west to Seattle. From there we traveled by plane, ships and trains to see the sights in Eastern Alaska and back. From Seattle we flew back home with a two-hour layover in Atlanta.

It was there that Astor wanted to introduce us to a very close friend of his. The name of the friend never registered with me, but the friend’s wife was named Erlene. Sure enough, it was Erlene McGraw whom I had not see for over 40 years. I enjoyed talking with her and learning that her marriage had been altogether happy. She was happy to meet my wife, Elsie, and our brief visit ended with our boarding the plane for home in Knoxville. The Jenkins and Clements folks had much to talk about on the plane trip ending the 42 days of the Alaska adventure.

Erlene came back to mind during my attendance at the annual Georgia Sacred Harp Singers convention in the Decatur courthouse in June, 2005. Erlene’s uncle was on the program and I found an opportunity to speak to him about Erlene. He explained that Erlene had a stroke a few years earlier, had spent some time in a nursing home before she died. I did not ask him for exact dates, but was assured that she had a long and happy life and had made a great contribution to the Sacred Harp Singing program.

Erlene’s happy spirit will be with me whenever I hear Sacred Harp singing.

Jerry Clements 2-1-08

Jerry's Poem: 'Cousin'

2008-02-28T17:10:00.004-05:00

Who’s that man come in from the range?
Listen to his words—they’re pure babble,
Even his accent sounds rather strange.
Easily suspect he’s of the cross-track rabble.

Perhaps he’s of a sheep-herder clan,
That would explain the rough tan skin.
Yet the set of the shoulder, his lengthy stride
Mark him as a row-crop farmer’s kin.

Maybe a look in the family tree is needed,
Careful check of the records might be wise.
Surely all sources should be heeded,
In search of some family ties.

He’s no close relative I would guess,
Can’t find him in my family data file.
Yet incomplete is my record on Aunt Bess
Who’s been missing for quite a while.

Off to Texas with that bum she went,
Thinking he had a big rich spread,
Finding when her saving were spent
Only a big talking fool she had wed.

Family rumors flying around town
Say there was a son born to Bess,.
Who, though it's not written down
Could be my cousin, I confess.

Long lost facts now verified,
Our suspicious ideas run aground,
Reveal our doubts, our efforts tried.
Brings us a cousin. Cheers all around!

Shame upon us all on this day
For our mean, ingrown, silly pride.
Refusing recognition, come what may
Of a dear cousin now close at our side.

Jerry Clements 5/21/07

Jerry's Latest Poem: 'Viewpoint of a Leaf'

2008-02-28T17:05:00.004-05:00

Jerry sent me this, his latest poem entitled 'Viewpoint of a Leaf,' with the following message of explanation. Enjoy this beautiful poem about autumn leaves from the viewpoint of the leaf itself.

Here is what Jerry said:

Hi, Judy. Yesterday I went out and paid a visit to the monkeys on the Autrey Mill trail. They are well and seemed happy. There were no complaints as they stood silently in a straight row along the side of the trail. They are still wearing their colorful scarves and seem real proud of the colors as well as the artistic manner of their drapes.

Another product of the hike was the great variety and color of the leaves along the trail. I tried to tell about them in a poem, but it didn't begin to express how good they looked. The dry weather evidently worked its magic. I am trying to attach a copy for you. All else is going well. Love, Jerry

Viewpoint of a Leaf
Sing no mournful, sad songs for me,
Its time for celebration—can’t you see?
I’ve lived my life, very long and well,
Come join with me and help me tell
Sojourners to open their eyes to the world around
And to the napping beauty on the ground.

Look carefully at my well crafted frame,
Run of time and sun enables it to proclaim
A change from leaf to beautiful piece of art.
With more varied colors than on any chart.
My dried veins with water once flowing
Now closed, as is the season of growing.

I am just one of the millions lying around
Waiting my turn to make solid the ground.
Meantime my colors add beauty and grace
To nature’s quilt as it covers the place.
Some may see and make note as finders
While others may well have worn blinders.

It will matter little to me, I’ve done my best.
I served my master with loyalty and zest,
I helped bring him much nourishing vim
From the roots to the tip of each limb.
It was good work and my master was kind.
I’ll forever keep him lovingly in mind.

Its on to the harvest, the feast and the gore,
The innards of the littlest creatures I’ll explore.
They’ll chew me up, search for food they enjoy
And extrude the rest for the forest to employ.
Some, wanting to use nice words, call it reincarnation.
For me, I’m just lost in the confusing translation.

"November Leaves" is Jerry's Latest Poem

2007-11-13T09:06:00.000-05:00

Jerry is now our official resident poet! He has written another beautiful poem called "November Leaves." It captures the spirit of unending change on earth, the turning of the seasons, the recycling of its resources, and the need for us to nurture and protect our earth. You will enjoy this poem - and I am adding the photo of the autumn leaves that Judie sent to me from New England.

November Leaves

Nature remembers that nothing remains the same;
Though in November, leaves look up from the ground
To ponder the inexorable sequence of the game.
The nude limbs above regret their not being around.

All changes bring losses to some and gains to others
Seeing, the heart must decide and set the balance right.
Remaining leaves surely miss fallen sisters and brothers
While hikers can’t fail to appreciate the beautiful sight.

The red, brown and yellow tints of the leaves invite
All to see the beautiful, unique and boundless quilt
Generously given to us by nature’s inspired rite.
Now the fallen leaves imparts no saddening guilt.

Nature wastes nothing and strives ever for good.
The leaves so beautiful today, tomorrow we’ll see
Has, by nature’s miracle, been converted into food
To nurture flowers, grass and a replacement tree.

Then let us all enjoy the beauty that nature gives
As we recognize our debt to the delicate system
Which sustains the whole earth and all that lives.
And let us strive to protect every creature and stem.

Jerry Clements November 10, 2007

Benjamin Franklin Clements, Junior

2007-11-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

Benjamin Franklin Clements [my great grandfather] and his wife, Mary Ward, lived on a farm in Bibb County near the Tuscaloosa County line. Among their eight children were Benjamin, Junior and a younger brother James Rufus. These brothers married Shuttlesworth sisters, of Bibb County. Benjamin choosing Amanda and James pleased to get Permerlia. The land in this area was fairly level and had several springs and creeks, making it acceptable for row farming.

Young Benjamin did leather tanning to supplement his farm income. Also, from his youth he had been a very diligent student of the Bible and felt ‘called’ to be a minister. Chatting with individuals resulted in the informal organization of a group of persons who shared an interest in Christian living. He did not have a church building, although he did serve as a substitute for other ministers in the area on occasions. Ordinarily his ministry consisted of meetings with families or small groups in a home or in the shade of trees when the weather permitted.

The young preacher took seriously the teachings of Christ. When a member of his flock had need of hay, seed corn or help in repairing a roof, Benjamin gladly supplied the need. After a time his wife, feeling that the neighbors were taking advantage of his good nature, appealed to him to cease giving away items the family needed for itself. She begged him to remember that the Bible also taught that “Charity begins at home.”

As the family grew to nine children, the income from the farm and tanning operations became a critical issue, leading Amanda to discuss the matter with her sister Permelia and brother-in-law James Rufus Clements.

When the dispute reached the boiling point, Amanda and James Rufus appealed to the Probate Judge, resulting in an order to transport Benjamin to Tuscaloosa to be committed to Bryce’s Hospital for the Insane.

It was almost a century later that I became interested in family history and learned that my grandfather died in the insane asylum. I had heard the tale that anyone who traces their family history for more than a few generations would find a horse thief, a wife- beater or a crazy man. I had already learned that Benjamin’s father [also named Benjamin]. He had died in prison, but that was the result of his being injured and captured in the Civil war and dying in a Yankee prisoner-of-war camp in Ohio.

A visit to Bryce’s hospital brought the good news that a great grand daughter of Benjamin worked in the public relations office at Bryce’s. Cousin Shirley Sparks was very helpful in searching the records and furnishing me with photocopies of the papers in the file of Benjamin Franklin Clements, patient #4501 and # 5653. These two numbers reveal that Benjamin was a patient at two different times.

The hospital records show that Mr. Clements was 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighed 134 pounds. His occupation is shown as farmer & preacher. He did not resist the execution of order of Probate Judge W. C. Christian which made him a patient in charge of James T. Searcy, superintendent of Bryce’s Hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL.

His file does not contain a report of an official diagnosis of Mr. Clements mental condition. However the file does contain the following data:

“Throughout his stay here he was more or less talkative, fussy, and cranky. We did not make an official diagnosis but, judging from what little information there is in the record about him we think the diagnosis was most likely dementia praecox, catatonia type.”

His file contains no record of visits or mail to Benjamin except for visits by his son, Jeremiah (who is also my father). [The visitation slips are undated], and a cousin, J. R. Thompson who visited him on July 25, 1906.

On January 23, 1907 Benjamin’s wife, Amanda Shuttlesworth Clements, wrote to Bryce’s:

“The report is out that my husband (B. F. Clements) is dead. Please inform me if the report is correct. She signed it (Mrs.) Amanda Clements, Data, Bibb County, Ala.”

The prompt reply stated:

“Dear Madam, I am sorry we were not able to communicate with you at the time of your husband’s death which occurred Jan. 7, 1907. The instruction in his Hospital record was to communicate with Mr. J. R. Clements, Phipps, Ala. We had written him previous to his death notifying him that your husband was in serious condition but did not receive any reply and as we could not wire him at the time of his death we wrote him full particulars notifying him of same but have never received any reply from any of our letters. They were not returned so we suppose he or some one else received them. He was neatly buried here in the Hospital cemetery and his grave is marked that it can be pointed out to you at any time you might wish. I am sorry that there was a mistake in the address of the Hospital record as to whom we should communicate with. If there is any other question that you desire to know in regard to your husband’s last hours, we will be only glad to answer same.

Sympathizing with you deeply in your distress and assuring you that your husband had every attention, we are,

Yours truly,
J. Searcy, M.D. Supt.”

Mrs. Sparks advised that the wooden marker has decayed and it is impossible to identify the spot where Mr. Clements is buried.

Jerry’s Comments:

Lessons to be learned from the experiences of Benjamin Franklin Clements depend on a variety of viewpoints:

It appears that Ben was a truly good man who dared do what he believed was right and Christlike, regardless of the consequences.

Wife, Amanda, was convinced that his first duty was to his family and that failure in that duty was sufficient cause to ‘put him away’.

The Probate Judge apparently agreed with Amanda and exercised the law loosely so as to send Benjamin to Bryce’s.

Benjamin was truly hurt by his loss of his family, his business and the fellowship of friends associated with his Church activities.

Everyone should strive to maintain the proper balance between the various attitudes and beliefs of their lives and relationships.

It appears that Benjamin did not have sufficient education in Christian principles and church management to cope with the family problems arising out of his devotion to his Christian beliefs. It would have helped to have had an understanding Bishop to consult with.

If the various parties were available, I doubt if any of them would feel happy about the outcome of the situation, except possibly the Superintendent of Bryce’s.

Finally, descendents of Benjamin, while regretting his problems and death, may feel very proud of his Christian attitude toward his neighbors and his willingness to endure the consequences of his actions.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid War

2007-09-13T08:38:00.000-04:00

The war in Iraq is stupid. From the very first thought of it the war has been stupid. After four years, thousands of lives and billions of dollars it continues to be stupid from any angle it is viewed. No amount of money, no number of soldiers sent to the front lines and no number of speeches by the president will change the basic fact that every act from its planning through its latest surges the war has been a big, stupid blunder that should have never happened.

The West Point cadet with the lowest graduating score would know better how to plan and execute a war, and would know better than to choose this as the war to fight. He would be better able to view the intelligence and sort out the significant data from the false and manufactured rubbish used to justify invading Iraq. He would be too smart, and too honest, to tell the American people lies to explain why our nation should start a war against a small nation that represented no military threat to us or to our friends.

If we had a president who was only as smart as the poorest scoring West Point graduate and he proposed a war like the Iraq war it would be expected that he would have people in his Cabinet who would advise him to be cautious about such an adventure. They would surely ask him to consult with people in the Pentagon who have studied the history of warfare and who know how to evaluate military challenges to our nation and how to conduct a necessary war to a successful conclusion.

The least qualified member of the cabinet, whose only justification for being selected to for the position was his voting record and party loyalty, would be expected to caution the President to become acquainted with the leaders and the general population of a nation prior to setting out to conquer it. He would also warn the president that if he is hoping to reorganize that nation’s government and economy he should have a plan for doing so. In addition, there should be a plan for getting our soldiers out of the country as soon as the reorganization is completed..

If the president were not smart enough to think of it himself at least one cabinet member could be expected to ask if we have a sufficient number of trained and equipped military personnel and enough supplies ready to fight and win the war as well as the machinery to deliver those men and equipment to the places they need to be at times they need to be there.

Long before beginning the war the President would be expected to inform the people of all of the significant facts regarding the necessity of the war in language they would understand. He would tell them of the attempts he had made to correct the problems with the offending nation and why those attempts failed

At this juncture we must face our assertion that everything associated with the war in Iraq is stupid. Supporting this assertion is the great volume of data regarding the war which has been reported in the newspapers, books and magazines and the radio and television reports which continually flood our homes. Agreeing that much of the news
has been prejudiced one way or the other, we must assert that the most favorable reports still reveal a war so poorly planned and executed that most of the countries that had been our friends and allies disagree with us as to the necessity and wisdom of waging this war in Iraq..

Viewing the current status of this war reminds us of our duty to exercise our rights on election-day to choose leaders with character, intelligence and education sufficient to keep us out of unnecessary wars. We and our descendants will be paying the monetary cost of the stupid war in Iraq for several generations. Damages to the bodies, minds and spirits of our service personnel cannot be accurately measured or compensated. We will always owe them for the inconveniences, loss of opportunities and other sacrifices suffered by these people and their families. The lives lost and the consequent suffering by their families have values beyond measure which can never be justified or compensated.

Our nation, including the returning service personnel, will never be able to able to describe this was as a “good” or “just” war. Even though our service personnel did their duty, oftentimes without adequate equipment and support, they will never be able to experience the great feeling of pride that results from succeeding in a noble cause. They will have been cheated by their leaders.

We, as individuals and as a nation simply must stay alert and diligent to see that such a war never happens again

Jerry Clements August 22, 2007

A Tendril's Plea - a Poem by Jerry Clements

2007-08-15T16:49:00.002-04:00

Today Jerry sent me this poem he has written, called A Tendril's Plea, and I think it is one of the loveliest poems I have ever read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Feel free to forward it to your friends and family members who would appreciate it. Also add your own comments using the "Comment" feature at the bottom of the entry. Jerry always appreciates your feedback, opinions and comments!

A Tendril’s Plea*

Ever alert, the tendril makes its plea
For a willing, supportive hand,
It simply begs on bended knee,
No food is sought, nor silver band.
Just a simple twig, alive or dead
To support its master’s upward tread.

Vine support is the tendril’s task
A big job for such a slender thread.
Yet, no less would the master ask.
The vine has already fought and bled
Through sprouting and growing years.
No hesitation now, better years lie ahead.

Dedication and patience are now required,
Feel the gentle breeze and enjoy its song,
See the sway of the branches newly sired,
Be ever alert to whatever comes along

Slim and tiny may be the twig in sight
But quickly grasp and hold it tight.

Once the lively touch is made
Curling quickly the tendril binds its friend
Sure to hold in sun or shade.
The union bonded sure-- to the end.
Showing to man the gain for all
From the help of a willing friend.

* Tendril—A threadlike growth extending from a vine near its growing end.

Jerry Clements 8/2/07

Freaks To Hate

2007-08-15T16:49:00.000-04:00

Freaks to Hate

At one of my first visits to a carnival I saw many strange things. But the most fascinating one was the man with no arms. The rest of his body appeared perfectly normal but his arms were short stubs with small short, undeveloped fingers. He was just one of the several freaks the carnival charged us fees to look at. The exciting thing about him was his ability to paint pictures and this led people to stand for a long time as beautiful landscape pictures developed on his canvas.

This painter held his brushes in his mouth as he dipped them into the paint and then applied it to the canvas. It looked messy at first leading me to think that I could do as well. But as he continued we saw a beautiful oil painting appear before us. We all applauded his fine, beautiful work.

As we rode home after the show I chose to ride on the seat next to Mama as she drove the horse and buggy up the pitch dark road. I asked mama why that man didn’t have arms and hands like the rest of us. She was always attentive and willing to answer any question asked of her. She said, ”Since the stubs had undeveloped fingers on them, we know that he didn’t have arms and then have them cut off. Evidently he was born with those little stubs instead of regular arms”.

Then after hesitating a minute or so she continued,” The creation of a baby involves a long and complicated process before it is born, and sometimes one [or more] of the body parts doesn’t get finished or may have a little mistake in it. Sometimes babies come with club feet, crossed eyes or an allergy to peanuts caused by some error in their pre-birth assembly. Mamas are sorry when these things happen but it can’t be helped and we don’t understand why it happens.”

It was many years later when I noticed the crossed eyes of that girl in the math class and remembered the very wise and compassionate explanation Mama had told to me on the way home from the carnival.

Mama is not here now. If she were I would like to ask her why homosexual persons are like they are and how they got that way. I am confident she would give me an answer much like the one she gave about the painter who had no arms.

When we see persons with club feet, crossed eyes or other deformities we tend to feel sorry for them and silently rejoice that we have such normal features. Yet, persons with a different sexual orientation get very different treatment. This puzzles me. It seems to me that the complicated process of assigning female or male features to a developing fetus might result in a mistake now and then. My questions to persons who hate homosexual persons are either ignored or bring me the simple explanation that homosexuality is an acquired condition, that persons choose that lifestyle like a person chooses to play football instead of playing chess. Everyone knows that.

Accepting the idea that homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle is very difficult. It automatically classifies the homosexual subjects as stupid fools. I can’t imagine a sane person choosing to enter a group of persons who are harassed at every turn, are refused membership in churches and many clubs, who go into court at a distinct disadvantage and who receive harsh criticism for wanting to exercise rights that belong to them and every other citizen.

Letters to church leaders seeking answers to questions regarding homosexuality and the church’s rules on the subject don’t get replies.

Personal questions are usually answered with meaningless statements like, “Everyone knows that homosexuality is a sin.” Sometimes the answer will be in the form of Biblical quotation of a verse that doesn’t address the issue. I have heard no one answer with a quotation of Jesus Christ in which he condemns homosexuals or states that they should stay hidden away in closets. Instead of accepting homosexuals as brothers in faith, we are seeing churches refusing them an opportunity to hold office and in some cases refusing to admit them to membership.

Some brave churches who accept homosexuals in good faith find themselves looked upon as deviant, despised organizations. They are urged to adopt programs that will ‘save’ the lost persons and persuade them to accept the normal style of sex life. They insist that the church leaders of the past have established rules that prove that such persons cannot live the “Christian” life and that they should not be accepted as members.

Churches are organizations made up of people of certain beliefs. Those people have the right to organize and establish rules for the operation of their groups. They have the right to establish rules and standards for membership, fund raising and spending. In order to avoid the evils associated with a ‘state church’ the American people are granted the freedom to organize any group to do almost anything under any types of circumstances and call it a “Church”. The churches are populated by a very wide assortment of persons. They may hate the Jews, the communists and the infidels of the Islamic faiths or any other group they choose to hate.

The leaders and members of the Christian churches generally live by the Teachings and example of Jesus Christ. That is, until some individual or group gets together and decides that in certain respects the established churches have ‘gone astray’ and in some specified respects are not practicing true Christianity. The splinter group organizes, raises funds and sets about its task of bringing the church back to the style of church it was meant to be, as Jesus Christ would have it be. The group’s agenda usually selects a convenient cause which they feel they can use to enroll members and raise funds needed to carry on their program, whatever their cause might be. Topping the agenda of many of these groups is hatred of the homosexuals.

As a way of drawing us back to the basic subject, I presume to challenge any of the churches or splinter groups to explain why they hate homosexuals and to explain how homosexuals are produced, with reliable scientific support for that explanation. Such an explanation is the only way to remove the stigma the church organizations have placed on themselves by their treatment of the homosexual community.

Jerry Clements 3/5/07

The Legacy of George W. Bush

2007-08-15T16:47:00.000-04:00

The Legacy of George W. Bush

1. National Debt
2. Education deficit
3. National Reputation
4. Trade Deficit
5. National Assets
6. National Church
7. Armed Forces
8. Social Security
9. Medicare
10. Poverty
11. Health Insurance
12. Labor Relations
13. Economy [All subject to revision and supplementation]
14. National Infrastructure
15. Human Relations
16. Liberty and Freedom

George W. Bush serving as the 43rd president of the United States has four more years to complete the construction of the Legacy he will leave upon retirement.

Therefore, this assessment of that legacy may need to be altered. However, his public statement made the day after his recent re-election advised the nation that his second term would be a continuation of the program he has followed during the last four years. If he does this, his true legacy will as listed here but simply extrapolated to fit the longer term.

We will not attempt to place the features of his legacy in any order of importance or in extent of influence they will exert on future generations. Neither will we attempt to evaluate and place in order of magnitude of their influence they will exert on the spirit and morale of the individuals or groups making up our population. Therefore we have placed the items in alphabetical order.

An item in the news of the day concerned the fact that it will be necessary to increase the debt limit by November 18th or the nation will not be able to borrow any money or pay any of its bills. To avoid this a special session of the congress will proceed to increase the present limit of $7,384 trillion by $690 billion to a new limit of $8,074 trillion. The news report includes an advisory that the limit will probably have to be increased further within a year or two.

This limit is not the amount of our national debt. It is simply a limit on the debt that may be incurred. The real National Debt of the United States is now $ 7,453,000,000. As this figure is difficult to comprehend we have converted it to a per capita figure of $2,546,687.28 for each person living in the United States. It is not expected that many individuals will write a check to the Treasury Department to pay up their portion of the debt. We will simply recognize it as a debt we owe and pay the interest on it each year.

The amount of interest we pay will be determined by the rate of interest payable on the Bonds and Notes sold by the Treasury Department to raise the funds represented by the national Debt figure. For those persons interested in knowing how much interest the nation will pay each year we can advise that the average rate paid to purchasers of our notes and bonds is 3.0763%. Applying this to the current per capita debt we find that the annual amount we will pay this year will be approximately $185,089,774.53. The U S Treasury will pay this interest to the holders of the notes and bonds out of the funds it has collected as taxes, fees, import duties and from various other sources.

Bush Celebrates Labor Day

2007-08-15T16:44:00.000-04:00

BUSH CELEBRATES LABOR DAY

My first real job was with the National Biscuit Company at their branch on Tallapoosa Street in Montgomery, Alabama. The title of my position was “Assistant Shipping Clerk and Assistant City Deliveryman”, the elaborate title making up for the low salary of $14.00 per week. I was proud to be working for such a fine company and enjoyed being associated with fellow workers in the warehouse and in the office. My boss was G.T. Smith who had the title of Cashier. The ‘head man’ was J. H. Girardeau who had a title of Manager and whose principal job was to direct the salesmen in a manner that would enable each of them to meet their sales quota and hopefully gain an additional percentage on the above quota sales. He also supervised the Cashier and the general operation of the branch.

This was in the days of the N R A and we proudly pasted the blue eagle emblem on our windows to certify our joy at being a part of the New Deal program in overcoming the depression and bringing in a new era of prosperity. Actually I was a beneficiary of the program in that I was hired so that Nabisco would have enough hands to get the work done without requiring employees to work more than the 40 hours per week specified in the program. It seemed that with more people working the unemployment rate would improve, and with the shorter work week we would have time to enjoy a few more of the good things of life.

Mr. Girardeau happened to be one of those few Republicans in Montgomery, and was not pleased with his governments interfering in his operation of the company’s office. However, he was a law abiding citizen and proceeded to set up a time card system to record the time worked each day by the employees. He and the Cashier were exempted from the weekly hour limit and would not be paid for any overtime they worked. It seemed to irritate Mr. Girardeau when we would leave at the 4:30 quitting time. Often he would stop us and ask us to do some chore before leaving, such as washing the windows, sweeping the floors or cleaning out the shipping room. This displeased all of us, and a couple of the employees got into verbal scrapes with Mr. Girardeau about it. They were fired within a few weeks.

Regardless of the actual hours worked we were directed to enter our time on the cards to total no more than 40 hours.

After a time Mr. Girardeau got a letter from the local office of the Wage and Hour Administration. As I lived only a block from the post office I was assigned the job of picking up the mail each morning. Of course I noticed the oversized brown envelope and could not help seeing the source. I did wonder about its message but didn’t mention it to anyone. Later another letter came from the same office. This time Mr. Girardeau called the employees into his office and informed us that the dismissed employees were trying to get him into trouble, and that the Administrator would call us and have us go to his office to discuss our working hours with him.

Mr. Tom Fitzpatrick, the Administrator was friendly and explained that he wanted us to give him the facts about our working hours. He pointed out that we were dealing with the federal government and that giving false information or withholding information would subject us to prosecution. In due course each of us got checks from Nabisco. Mine was for $623 and some cents designated as overtime compensation. No further details were given. Mr. Girardeau offered no explanation other than instructing us to be sure to enter on our time cards the exact time we worked.

Those were good days for working people. The new laws guaranteed workers the right to organize unions, specified that the working work week was forty hours and that time in excess of forty hours would be paid with a bonus of 50% of the usual rate.

Enforcement of the wage and hour laws has not been consistent through the years since I left Nabisco in 1937 to pursue a career in Property and Casualty Insurance. But the provision for bonus pay for the hours exceeding 40 per week has remained in force. President Bush is in the process of having the Labor Department revise the rules to permit employers to avoid paying the overtime bonus. The Labor Department, created to be the protector of the rights of workers, is in the process of revising the rules and regulations on overtime pay that will deny an estimated 6 million workers the right to overtime pay.

This action by the president brings to mind the pre-New Deal days when, as a teenager, I heard stories of coal miners in West Blocton who had been crippled for lack of enforcement of safety laws. I learned of their payment in “script” that could be spent only at the Company Store where everything was overpriced and of Company housing where tenants had to make their own repairs in spite of paying higher than average rent. The miners complained about the standing company rule against any effort to organize a union. I was easily swayed to believe in the Democratic party which stood for the workers as opposed to the Republican party which favored the rich, the mine owners and selfish people who wanted more riches and didn’t care if the laborers remained poor.

President Bush has not pretended to be pro-labor. This action on the overtime pay issue firmly establishes him as an anti-labor president. It is truly ironic that the news of this action of the Labor Department would be published within days of the celebration of Labor Day, established to honor the working people of the United States.

Jerry Clements 8-18-04

Bush and War in Iraq

2007-08-15T16:42:00.000-04:00

Bush and War in Iraq

George W. Bush wanted to be President of the United States.. Being Governor of the state of Texas was a tough job, but he had proved he could handle it, and he enjoyed it. It seemed a natural stepping stone leading to the Rose Garden and the finest job in the country. The campaign was rough and he didn’t get as many votes as Democrat Gore. Also, there were questions about the voting techniques in Florida, but a favorable vote in the Supreme Court declared him President of the United States.

The Inauguration led to the recognition that the presidency is a tough job, requiring a lot of hard work, making difficult decisions and dealing with a lot of stubborn people. Yet, George W. knew he could handle it. It would be a cake- walk if he could persuade the friends he had made in the Republican Party and in the oil fields of Texas to come to Washington to assist him. On top of that, he had a vision- a calling to be a great leader.

Simmering on the back burner was a pot of hatred that had been bothering him ever since his father, as President, had let Saddam Hussein stay in power after the Desert Storm war a few years earlier. We, and our loyal allies, had whipped his army and pushed him back into the established Iraqi borders. Yet, we had not punished Saddam sufficiently—he should have been killed or in some other way, removed from power in Iraq.

History, as it sometimes does, came forth with an event that shook the foundation of our largest city and delivered a historical shock to the entire population of the United States. Al Qaeda terrorists seized fuel laden jet-liners and flew them with their passengers and crews into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. This unprecedented attack on the United States effectively removed the idea that the oceans serve as secure barriers to attack by our enemies. No one imagined any good thing coming out of the incident, but it started an extended string of unplanned events with unimagined, horrible consequences.

The American people were anxious to pursue the Al Qaeda terrorist who had taken refuge in Afghanistan and capture their leader, Ben Laden. A variety of appropriate military forces were sent promptly to accomplish this capture. However, the mountainous terrain and unfriendly war lords and natives enabled Ben Laden to evade capture and to continue his worldwide terrorist activities.

From President Bush’s perspective the events might be converted into an opportunity to fight the terrorist on a worldwide basis and at the same time dispose of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. It would require strong leadership and a tightly knit group of loyal supporters. The plan would have to convince everyone that the leaders of Al Qaeda and of Iraq were of the same mind and engaged in a joint effort to destroy the United States. We had the organization and the connections needed to make the plan work. President set the plan in motion.

1. Mohammed Atta, lead hijacker in the 9/11 attack was reported to have conferred with the intelligence chief of Iraq in Prague in April 2001, barely five months prior to the attack on the World Trade Center. Bush officials saw this story as proof of a link between Iraq and the 9/11 attack. However, this link has been definitely disproved.

2. The National Intelligence Estimate is a secret report prepared for the President, advising him of the very latest and most reliable knowledge available on the situation in the world. These Estimates are prepared at times on requests from the President or at times the Intelligence community feels that one is advisable. The December, 2001 National Intelligence Estimate reported, without dissent, that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons; was not trying to get them; and did not appear to have reconstituted its nuclear weapons program since the United Nations and IAEA inspectors departed in December 1998. In October 2002 NIE issued a new, unanimous report stating that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons or a nuclear weapons program.

3. Having the benefit of the information in these classified NIE reports, the following officials made hundreds of false assertions in speeches on television, at the United Nations, to foreign leaders and to Congress: President Bush, Vice President Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Their statements were consistent in their assertions and were consistently false.

4. President Bush did not say directly that there was a link between Iraq and the attack of 9/11, but he did convey that message by mentioning 9/11 and Iraq in speech after speech in his campaign to sell the Iraq war to the public and to the world.

5. Contradicting the National Intelligence Estimate, Mr. Bush stated in 2002 State of the Union address that Iraq presented a “grave and growing danger”.

6. The President stated many times that members of Congress had the same intelligence that he had when they voted to allow him to make war on Iraq, while in fact much of what they got were summaries that had qualifiers and unsubstantiated additions in them.

7. The Bush administration purposely presented a complex deceit about Iraq to both Congress and the public in its effort to obtain authorization to attack a nation that had neither the intent of the capability to attack the United States.

President Bush attempted to justify his actions by contending that they were necessary to protect American lives against the danger of an imminent attack. At the same time the President knew that Iraq presented no such danger.

One day in the future some authoritative group will obtain the power to assemble information regarding the buildup to and execution of the war in Iraq, and the items enumerated above will be affirmed or disproved. The answers will determine whether President Bush should be praised as a good wartime president or scorned and impeached as an ambitious, conspiring leader who betrayed the trust of the American people.

Jerry Clements 27 December 2005

Bush and Labor

2007-08-15T16:39:00.000-04:00

Bush and Labor

It was seventy years ago that I got a check from National Biscuit Company in the amount of $643+ in payment of overtime pay. The manager of the Montgomery, Alabama branch disliked President Roosevelt and was determined that he should not dictate wages and hours to him. An employee was fired after an argument with the manager. He reported the manager’s violations to the Wage and Hours Administration which led to hearings with the manager and the employees. The manager confirmed his instructions to employees to enter 40 hours on time cards regardless of actual hours worked. He also confirmed his objection to the government’s interfere in the operation of free enterprise in this manner. The Home Office promptly issued checks to each of the employees and directed the manager to comply fully with the rules in the future.

Many employers have used a great variety of methods to express their disapproval of the New Deal’s Wage and Hours regulations. However, for a long time these laws have been effective in dealing fairly with a payment for hours worked beyond forty hours per week. Generally, business owners have agreed that employees should be paid for the time spent on the job, and that a premium amount should apply to hours worked beyond forty hours per week

It is not surprising that President Bush is having the Labor Department revise the Wage and Hours rules. It is another example of the strong influence of Big Business on the Administration. Also, it is a reminder of the long-standing Anti-Labor stance of the Republican Party. It is surprising, at least to this writer, that these changes would take place at this particular time, just a few days before Labor Day.

This holiday is set aside as a time to honor the working people of the nation; to acknowledge the contributions they have made to the increased efficiency and productivity of the American economy. But, Mr. Bush’s action will stir up anger in the hearts and minds of many of the workers as they celebrate the holiday.

Greater and more widespread anger will be felt by those workers who have become accustomed to working long hours and receiving the premium rate of pay for the time in excess of forty hours. It will represent a significant reduction in their take-home pay. Yet, in many cases there will not be a proportional reduction in hours spent on the job. Media reports tell us that rule changes will permit employers to simply give an employee a title such as “manager” or “shift boss” and yet require him to do the same work for sixty or more hours without any overtime pay.

Our work-force has lived through good administrations and bad administrations. Even during the “good” times Labor has seen changes in rules and a relaxed attitude toward enforcement of the laws. Actions by employers that clearly violated the laws have been punished by a ‘slap on the wrist’ or a ‘warning’. In the confusing and extended process the employer often achieves his purpose of thwarting employees' efforts to establish a union.

It may be that organized labor has been convinced that unions are no longer needed, or that all unions are led by crooks that don’t care a whit about the rights of working people. Whatever the situation, it is probable that this Labor Day will provoke more than usual discussions about the deterioration of working conditions after the implementation of the revised rules of the Labor Department.

Jerry Clements 8/22/04

Bush Impeachment

2007-08-15T16:38:00.000-04:00

BUSH IMPEACHMENT

As the president’s statements and actions become public and a growing number of people and organizations make inquiries about them it is becoming easier to believe that one day soon the President will be called to answer questions about them. Has he done things that justify a serious investigation into the question of bringing impeachment charges against him?

This writer is barely qualified to write about the subject and must rely on those who are much better informed, both on the President’s actions and on the law relating to impeachment. Increasing numbers of people are stating that Mr. Bush lied to us about the move into a war with Iraq, that he willfully misinterpreted intelligence for the purpose of deceiving members of congress and the general population to gain their support for his plans to go to war.

If true, these actions would be disgraceful, however viewed; but should be shifted into the ‘criminal’ category if they led the country into to war with a nation that was not threatening us or our neighbors. The magnitude of deaths, injuries and monetary losses we are suffering magnify the seriousness of the issue. If there have been crimes, then those crimes should be investigated and the president or anyone else guilty of committing them should be brought to justice.

The president has often attempted to justify actions by contending that they were necessary to protect American lives; that the nation was in imminent danger of being attacked. It would ease the concerns of many people to hear a court of jurisdiction confirm or deny those contentions. It would be a confusing and contentious process to hear the accusations and explanations of the many issues involved. Yet, it would serve as a mighty catharsis for a large number of well meaning, confused people. This is especially true of those whose loved ones have been injured or killed in the war.

As the people become more aware of the magnitude of the losses of property, money, injury and death, the demands for an accounting from the president will grow and become more persistent. Deferring the matter would be unfair to all parties involved. Now is the time to clear up the issues, while witnesses are available and the evidence can be gathered and laid on the table before the court. The people are entitled to know the whole truth, and now is the time for a decision.

Jerry Clements 12/22/05

Bully Bush

2007-08-15T16:36:00.000-04:00

Bully Tactics and Consequences

Usually it is on the playgrounds of elementary schools that children learn to identify bully characters. Sometimes the bully is confronted, gets his nose bloodied and put to shame. Other times a teacher may admonish or punish him. But, one way or the other, the bully usually is taught a lesson and comes to understand that bullying practices don’t work.

There are bullies who are brazen enough, strong enough or have rich, protective parents who are able to reach adulthood without being cured of the ‘bully’ curse. These persons usually develop attitudes of superiority along with a feeling of inspired guidance. They come to feel they were destined to lead, to command. They believe that the ‘others’ are supportive of their attitudes or actions whether they are right, fair or ethical or not. This often leads to a feeling that they are above the rules and free to do as they please.

It would be interesting to learn how George W. Bush acted on the playgrounds during his early school days. The published reports of his days at Yale reveal a carefree reckless character who was reluctant to listen to criticism and had a feeling of superiority. However, we shall have to wait for a detailed critique of his character development to learn where and when he acquired the attitude that he is immune to making mistakes and has been endowed with superior knowledge and management skills.

It is far beyond my educational and political skills to explain how Mr. Bush was elected Governor of Texas or President of the United States. The fact that he is serving a second term as President is sufficient.

The purpose of this paper is to enumerate some of the attitudes and actions which indicate that George W. passed through childhood into full adulthood without learning why it is shameful to be a bully and why it is disgraceful to use bullying tactics in dealing with employees, politicians or world leaders. It is anticipated that he will deny having used such tactics at any time.

He decided to invade Iraq long before the occurrence of events he later used to justify going to war. Having made up his mind, he required his underlings to find [manufacture, if necessary] evidence to justify the attack. Later he blamed poor intelligence in spite of the fact that his office knew the intelligence was false prior to the attack.

He belittled the United Nations organization with false accusations and criticized and alienated former loyal allies for their refusal to join him is a war they knew was unjustified. The world was led to believe that a large coalition was organized to crush the evil dictator in Iraq while the coalition, in fact, was only United States, England and a small group of lesser nations, most of whom sent only token forces or no forces at all.

Reluctantly he admitted Iraq had played no part in the 9/11 attacks, and that there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. With these facts refuted there was no justification for a war that has devastated an independent nation and killed uncounted thousands of people. Yet, he still mentions the 9/11 attacks when speaking of the war in Iraq.

The purpose of this paper is not to enumerate the causes of the war in Iraq. Rather, we wish to deal with the Bullying style of tactics used by the president in getting the war started and to recruit allies in the venture. Mr. Bush’s pressure did not convince some nations, but rather than accepting their decisions as responsible responses of free nations, the president belittled or ridiculed them.

In view of the continuation of the war, the absence of a plan of ending it and with the terrorist forces growing stronger it is time to face the fact that we are being led by a bully president who has failed to learn that bully tactics won’t work. It is time to acknowledge that George W. failed to learn the basic lessons of negotiation, of give and take, needed to get along with other people.

Further shame accrues to the American people for electing him to a second term. It is as if we stood by watching silently as the bully cowed the nation into participating in a disgraceful program designed to enhance his ego as the leader of an inspired ‘calling’ to bring freedom to all people. As we share this shame the news reports and polls are reminding us, over and over, that our bully leader does not know how to lead a nation and that his ignorance is staining every aspect of American life and our relations with other nations around the world.

Jerry Clements 7/6/05

Bullies Tend To Be Fools

2007-08-15T16:35:00.000-04:00

Bully’s Sense of Right

One of the chief characteristics of a bully is his sincere conviction that his Maker endowed him with an innate sense of rightness. He doesn’t have to be taught to select the right solution, he was born with the knowledge of what is right. When hiking or biking through the forest he doesn’t have to check the map or a compass to choose the correct fork to take. Often such a gift is accompanied by a determination to pursue the chosen course regardless of the consequences.

Being assured of the correctness of his course, there is no reason to consider alternatives or be concerned with advice from other people, even though those people might be true experts, experienced in the particular field. The bully pushes forward on his chosen path, ignoring the possibility that he might be wrong. His air of self confidence may convince many fellow travelers that he is surely right. Those who persist in showing him the adverse trail signs are scoffed at or may be kicked out of the group.

The Bully in this tale is our president, George W. Bush. True to form, he has led us into a war that is tearing our nation apart. He has told us of a Call he received to help bring the Maker’s gift of freedom to all of the peoples of the world. The Call came upon him several years ago, accompanied by a divine guidebook implanted securely in his person. Even though advice, events and history yell in his ears that he has been on the wrong trail from the git-go, he is determined to stay the course. He says: “It is the right thing to do.”

The Commander-in-chief proudly calls himself a “War President” as if he were playing the role of a General on a black stallion, sword drawn, charging ahead into the valley of death. He closes his eyes to the fallen as they lie dying and refuses to hear the moans of the loved ones. He knows he is right. Nothing else matters.

The nation which usually supports their leader in war is witnessing growing dissent, with national polls indicating that a large, and growing, segment of the population believes that we went into Iraq on false pretenses. A few members of the President’s own political party are raising questions about the justification of the war and are questioning the wisdom of getting bogged down in a quagmire like we did in Viet Nam.

Yet Mr. Bush remains confident that he is on the right path and is determined to ‘stay the course’. This ‘staying’ may come to be the blackest mark on the sad legacy of President George W. Bush.

Finally, we would be wise to recognize that being endowed with an assured sense of rightness may well be the greatest curse a human can receive.

Jerry Clements 8/31/05

Be Prepared

2007-08-15T15:21:00.000-04:00

BE PREPARED

Mama read the skies accurately. A bad storm was coming. There was no time to waste. She gave the older boys the job of protecting the garden, a valuable family resource. It was located on a ridge which lay a few feet lower than the road and the boy’s job was to enlarge the ruts in the sandy road so as to lead the rain to follow the road, rather than overflow into the garden. The kids did their job well.

The storm was approaching fast as the clouds turned the day into night as the winds picked up with a deafening roar. The family gathered in the kitchen and huddled under the heavy table until the storm passed by. The next morning the family went up the road a short distance and looked across the valley to view the storm’s damage, a swath of broken or uprooted trees about a hundred yards wide, extending the length of vision from left to right. We were all deeply impressed with the destructive power of this tornado, and happy to have escaped injury or damage.

The Tuscaloosa County tornado is not comparable to Hurricane Katrina. However, remembering it brings to mind a few facts that appear significant. The Clements family didn’t have television, radio or telephone to give an advance warning of the approaching tornado. There was no weather channel showing the storm’s location and the path it was expected to follow.

The modern facilities of the weather forecasting agencies enabled people all over the nation to receive hour to hour facts about Katrina’s power, speed and accurately predicted path. These data were available from the date the storm was created weeks before it struck New Orleans. Television networks programs enabled viewers to follow the storms activities 24 hours per day.

With the great volume of timely information available to the various agencies of the government it seems reasonable to assume that the various levels of authority would be able to assemble the equipment, material and personnel to handle the emergency immediately upon its appearance. There were adequate supplies of equipment, supplies and personnel to handle the various problems as they developed. The big task was to assemble these resources at the places they were needed at the times they were needed.

A Patrol Leader from my Scout Troop would know how to assemble busses, trucks, trains and planes and have them ready to move people out of the way of the hurricane. He would know that the people being moved would need food and drink. He would know they would need comfortable places to sleep and toilet facilities. This fellow would even realize that sick people don’t make good campers and would arrange for hospital care for them at the destination. The skills he had learned in the Troop would guide him in arranging a communication network big enough to alert the people to the location of the pick-up points and to arrange necessary facilities at the destination point.

The Patrol Leader would involve his Scoutmaster in arranging a registration system of personal data sufficient to keep the evacuees in touch with relatives or friends. At the destination the Registry would enable living facilities, government and emergency agencies to know who was involved in the program and how to contact them without delay. Telephones and computer networks would allow any person to contact other persons, no matter where they were located.

All of this, and more, would be the result of organization and training in the Scout Troop and the application of the motto----Be Prepared.

It is not too much to expect the United States Government to perform better than a Boy Scout Troop. The Scouts are volunteers with limited resources obtained through donations and fund raising projects, while the Government has the authority to commandeer any equipment or resources it needs to accomplish its purposes. The government could assemble all the manpower, transportation facilities it needs on the word of the President. Warehouses are packed with crates of prepackaged food and bottled water ready for transport to the assembly area. The Army has housing and equipment on hand for setting up Aid and Hospital services on a vacant lot or wherever needed with doctors and nurses to furnish whatever services may be needed. Everything is available to enable people to live comfortably until they can get their lives back together. All that is needed is the leadership and skill to execute a plan that the governmental agencies must surely have in their files at this time.

The question is “Why didn’t the governmental agencies do their jobs in this emergency?”

Did they doubt the accuracy of the data from the weather being broadcast on radio, television and newspapers?

Did the persons in charge doubt their authority to take action?

Did the President not read the papers or watch the television. Did he assume the Agencies were handling the matter and not verify the action?

Did the President and the heads of the various Agencies assume that all the people that matter would have automobiles or other facilities for leaving the area and that what happened to the others didn’t matter?

Whatever happened [or didn’t happen] has given the American people a sorry demonstration of what might happen if we were to have an attack of the kinds we have been hearing might happen at any time. It leads us to wonder what response we could expect from a “Dirty Bomb” attack. How would the Agencies handle an attack with Biologic or other dreaded weapon?

The way the Katrina was managed, cannot help but raise questions about the competence of the government in Washington from the top to the bottom.

Jerry Clements 9/04/05

America's Tomorrow

2007-08-15T15:19:00.000-04:00

America’s Tomorrow

Today is a special day in the United States. Every ‘first Tuesday after the first Monday’ is special day designated as the day for electing people to govern our country for the next two or four years. But this day for 2004 has more than usual importance with respect to the election of a President and Vice President because of the persons running for those offices and the record of administration of those offices during the past for years.

Some very bad things have happened during the last four years and one would expect the leaders to deplore their occurrence and assure us that they would not be permitted to happen again. However, instead of receiving such assurances we hear the leaders speaking proudly and assuring us that if reelected they will not change any of the policies they are pursuing. Except for a few office appointments the President vows that he has made no mistakes during his administration.

We realize that the nation is deeply divided with regard to the actions of the administration and may well re-elect the president and vice president on November 2. This division has multiple causes that may be assigned different degrees of importance, depending on the attitude and political leaning of the parties involved. The writer assumes that persons holding different viewpoints do so sincerely and with feelings as strong as those of the writer. In many cases the facts have been reported without refutation while in others it will be necessary to wait for the deciding evidence to be determined and published.

The items are listed without reference to importance or urgency, but none are considered frivolous or of no importance.

1. The president came into office when the nation had a budget surplus of more than 200 billion dollars. During his term we have not had a balanced budget and in 2004 the deficit will be over 400 billion dollars. Government offices declare that these deficits will continue for many years into the future, imposing a huge burden on future generations. His administration has granted huge tax cuts in which the bulk went to the very rich. They granted “ no bid” contracts to the Halliburton Company and its affiliated companies amounting to billions of dollars which company has been caught overcharging the government for their services. The company is currently being investigated for many other contract violations.

2. The president and/or his cabinet officials have altered reports of responsible science groups to justify easing, or eliminating government rulings relating to environmental hazards detrimental to the health and safety of public citizens.

3. The president has eased rules or instituted new rules which seriously harm our National Forests; damage and pollute our streams and wetlands; and eliminate or damage habitat for wildlife in our wilderness areas and in our National parks.

4. The president, relying on his personal observation and feelings has eased rules relating to pollution of the environment by public utility companies, thus adding to Mercury pollution of streams and drinking water sources and contributing to warming of the atmosphere.

5. This administration is the first one since Herbert Hoover to end with a net loss in jobs. The president has stated that it is good for our economy to have businesses export jobs overseas. The government even allows tax advantages to those that do so.

6.The administration is anti-labor. It has revised regulations regarding payment of over-time pay for extra hours above 40 hours per week. It is opposed to increasing the minimum wage, even though a person working 40 hours a week at the present minimum rate can’t earn enough to support his family.

7. Our nation is fighting a war our president started against a nation that posed no immediate threat against us based on charges that were not true. The president claims that his intelligence was faulty but fails to take responsibility for checking its accuracy prior to going to war. The statement that Iraq was attempting to purchase material for making nuclear weapons was proven false prior to the president’s citing it in his State of the Union speech.
8. The administration has permitted cruel treatment of prisoners in violation of the Geneva Conventions. They have hidden prisoners to prevent the Red Cross’s being able to interview them. The result of these actions can’t be fully understood until members of our services become prisoners in a foreign country.

9. This administration, acting like a bully, has wasted much of the goodwill built up in the world during several past administrations. They have made it infinitely more difficult to negotiate trade and other important agreements with other nations. Their belittling statements about the United Nations organization have greatly diminished our influence in that body.

10. The net result of this administration’s actions, attitudes and inactions can’t be known for a long time. Getting our troops and contractors out of Iraq may be a greater problem than we have faced there up to this time. Results of the mistreatment and mismanagement of the environment may not be fully evident for hundreds of years. Finally, the financial burdens the administration is placing on future generations will force them to live at a reduced level of prosperity for generations.

2007-08-15T15:17:00.000-04:00

A Test of Life vs Death

I have known of persons who had all manner of things wrong with their bodies who were still alive; that is, they were able to think and communicate with other people. When I was very young I was amazed to see a man at a carnival who had no arms but who was able to do extraordinary things. He demonstrated his skills by using his feet to do such things as eating and drinking. Then he really impressed the crowd by sitting in front of a canvas and painting a picture.

In adult life I have seen deaf people drive an automobile in Knoxville, TN. In Roswell, GA, Linn Hendershot, confined to a wheel chair carried on a business which helped me get my book “The Nudge of Fate” written. There are blind people living at Chambrel who do most of the things that the rest of us do on a routine basis.

The purpose of this document is to guide people in determining whether I am dead or not. On the telephone or the internet there are times when persons need confirmation of my claimed identity.
They seem to have certain questions they use. “What is your birthday?” “Your Social Security number?” “Your mother’s maiden name?” “Your password?”

If those people determine my identity by the answer to those questions, then my answers to them should prove that I am yet alive. So, here they are: June 4, 1913;
419-07-5640; Dorothy Arrie Stewart; and 34822548 (my Army serial number).

If I can give just one of those answers. I am not dead. I may not be worth the expense of efforts to keep me alive; I may not be able to do any constructive work, but I am not dead. It would be a good idea to repeat those questions periodically to verify that I am yet alive. When I can’t answer at least one of them, I am dead.

“So long. It’s been good to know you!”

July 1, 2005

A Midsummer Song

2007-08-15T15:16:00.000-04:00

A MIDSUMMER SONG

O, father’s gone to market-town, he was up before the day
And Jamie’s after robins, and the man is making hay,
And whistling down the hollow goes the boy that minds the mill,
While mother from the kitchen-door is calling with a will:
“Polly!-- Polly!—The cows are in the corn!
O, where’s Polly?”

From all the misty morning air there comes a summer sound—
A murmur as of waters from skies and trees and ground.
The birds they sing upon the wing, the pigeons bill and coo,
And over hill and hollow rings again the loud halloo:
“Polly!—Polly!—The cows are in the corn!
O, where’s Polly?”

Above the trees the honey-bees swarm by with buzz and boom,
And in field and garden a thousand blossoms bloom.
Within the farmer’s meadow a brown-eyed daisy blows,
And down at the edge of the hollow a red and thorny rose.
But Polly!—Polly!—The cows are in the corn!
O, where’s Polly?

How strange at such a time of day the mill should stop its clatter!
The farmer’s wife is listening now and wonders what’s the matter.
O, wild the birds are singing in the wood and on the hill,
While whistling up the hollow goes the boy that minds the mill.
But Polly!—Polly!—The cows are in the corn!
O, where’s Polly?

Richard Watson Gilder

2007-08-15T15:15:00.000-04:00

A Jeni To Feed

A young boy in Scout uniform offers to help the old lady across the street, a simple example of a 'good deed' he has been taught to do each day. The lady declines the offer, saying "Thanks, but, I am able to walk across by myself.”

The lady has asserted her independence and her physical ability to navigate the intersection without help. She understands this to be the full meaning of the exchange.
However, she is overlooking her withholding from the boy the pleasure of doing his good turn for the day and his feeling of pride in being of assistance to a stranger.

The incident may be of little consequence to either of the parties involved, but it brings to mind the importance of considering the results of our actions, however small they may appear to be.

Within all of us is a tiny creature [let’s call it “Jeni”] whose livelihood depends on spoken words, physical actions or bodily expressions of people with whom we associate. It is easy to ignore the Jeni of others, even to feel that we have no responsibility for his welfare. As for ourselves, we may even deny having such a creature in our being.

Though often neglected, or even denied, it is a fact that we, the person we are, is made up of the collection of expressions, thoughts, deeds and attitudes experienced in our life. Many of these items were created and given to us by other persons or by circumstances outside of our control. Nevertheless, we have these items and they are what make us who we are. Fortunately, we have the ability to search out, identify and evaluate these items and understand their influence and significance in our lives.

Getting back to the little old lady at the street corner, we want to implore her to consider the Jeni of the young boy and graciously accept his offer to escort her across the street, not for her safety, but as a kindly gift to him.

For the rest of us, I would like to have us develop the skill of gracious acceptance of gifts from whatever source they come. I would like for us to be conscious of the gift we are giving to the donor by this acceptance. Even though the other person may fail to realize it as a gift, we will be better for the addition of this action to our life’s experience collection.

Jerry Clements
10/4/05

About The Artist - Jerry Clements

2007-08-15T15:13:00.000-04:00

About the Artist

Jerry Clements, our featured artist, came to Chambrel from Dandridge, Tennessee in June 1992 following his retirement from Flenniken Financial Services, a property, casualty and life insurance agency in Knoxville. His wife, Elsie, died in February 1998 after 57 years of devoted leadership of the family. Elsie gave Jerry a daughter, Judy Dyer, who lives in Norcross and twin sons; Stephen who lives in Daytona Beach, Florida and Stewart who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Living near the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Jerry and Elsie developed a love for wildflowers and became devoted hikers in that park as well as several others in East Tennessee. The move to Roswell introduced them to the many trails of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area system, the Autry Mill Preserve, Big Tree Preserve and the Roswell Park and Recreation Department trails.

For the past five years Jerry’s hiking partner has been Chambrel resident, Mildred Holsten and her Llasa-Maltese dog, Mei Ling. She shares his interest in wildflowers and assists him in selecting and preparation of photographs to place on display.

On the Vickery Creek trail they were surprised to find that some of the many Kudzu vines along the creek bloom each year. This discovery led to an annual study of the vine’s blooming habit and development of photographic excursions to the trail during the spring and summer seasons.

The Hearts a’ Bustin' shrub was first noticed on the Gold Branch trail of the Chattahoochee Recreation Area system and resulted in searches for it on the other trails in the vicinity. The plant is shy and little noticed most of the year but is quite attractive after the bursting takes place in September. It has been identified on all but one of the trails in the area.

101 Ways to Say It

2007-08-15T15:11:00.000-04:00

101 WAYS TO SAY IT

“Thanks, Mom. I could not have made it without your help and support.”

“Thanks, Dad. You will never know how many things you did and said that helped me grow from the baby stage to manhood. Nor can I ever get you to understand how grateful I am and how much I love you.”

“I am old enough now to understand how much you sacrificed of yourself to enable me to grow up and be a man worthy of your trust. Daily thoughts of your actions and advice remind me to tell you again that I love you.”

“I know now that you had to know of the things I did that displeased you. It took me a long time to grasp the intensity of your tolerance, love and patience that enabled you to care and help me grow into responsible manhood. For this and a lot more I thank you and will always be grateful.”

“The greatest miracle of life has to be the patience, skill and love that enable parents to raise kids from the age of stupid awkwardness into adulthood and responsible living. Every day I pray for help in understanding this and expressing my gratitude for your making this miracle happen.”

“ Thanks, Thanks, Thanks-----I know that saying it cannot express fully my gratitude for your forgiveness, patience and guidance expressed in so many ways during the days from birth to this time in helping me learn to face the joys and sad events of life. I am grateful and I want you to know that I love you.”

“The world is so busy, time seems so scarce and procrastination is so persistent, BUT, this day I want to bring you the most important message of my life: I am grateful for you as my mother and for the numberless acts of love and patience you blessed me with. I love you.”

The world and its busy-ness makes it far too easy for one to feel that parents
already know that we love them and are grateful for their lifetime of devotion. We should not let anything deter us from telling them in some way, everyday that we do truly love them and care for their comfort and good health.

These quotes are not copied from cards on a rack; they are not quoted to shame anyone for having omitted their thoughts from their vocabulary. They are presented as a reminder that our parents have many minutes of idle time that could be made delightfully real and joyful by expression of such words and phrases by their loved ones.

Young people may feel that time is flowing from an endless supply but the reality is that older folk know that most of the sand has already dropped to the bottom. Those remaining grains can be made much dearer by knowledge that they are loved.

Reagan's Legacy [Reagan's Presidency, Record of an Actor Gone Wrong]

2007-08-15T15:08:00.000-04:00

Reagan’s Presidency, Record of an Actor Gone Wrong

My first vote was for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and every vote since then has been for a Democratic candidate. This stated, no one will be surprised at the content of this paper.

It was reported that Ronald Reagan was a registered Democrat during the early days of his political life. I have no information regarding his changing parties. .Following his election to the presidency his political life fitted well into what I conceived a Republican to be. He continued in this image and I never heard that anyone ever suspected that he was a ‘closet democrat’. It is easy to understand why a Republican would look with pride on the accomplishments of his administration. He played his roles well.

However, his career as a Republican President was a disaster for the people of the United States. The most enduring gift to us was a debt of unprecedented proportion, which will continue to be a burden for generations to come. His administration set trade deficit records year after year and his policies converted the United States from the world’s largest creditor into its largest debtor. Many years later the good financial management policies of the Clinton administration got us to a position of beginning to pay off that debt, but President George W. Bush chose to follow a different path and the National Debt is growing in Reagan proportions again.

Amid the tensions of the Cold War when the people feared that a nuclear missile attack might come at anytime, Mr. Reagan claimed that his proposed “Star Wars” program would supply us an umbrella that would protect us against any missile attack launched against us. While a host of qualified scientists advised that the system would not work he continued pushing the program.. After spending billions and going through a series of unsuccessful tests, the military leaders convinced him that the program should be dropped. In addition to the expense, the program raised the nuclear war tension so much that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved its Doomsday Clock in 1984 to three minutes to midnight.

He pushed through the program of deregulation of the Savings & Loan industry which resulted in a near meltdown and a subsequent bailout that cost the taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

Through a program of non-enforcement, under-funding and rewriting of health and safety regulations Mr. Reagan undermined the agencies that had been established to protect the health and safety of American workers and consumers. This included the Environmental Protection Agency, whose budget was cut in half, virtually eliminating its effectiveness.

By firing 1,800 striking air traffic controllers early in his term Mr. Reagan sent a message to employers that they could act against striking or organizing workers with his blessing. This established him as an anti-labor president which continued throughout his administration.

By directing wars in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua Mr. Reagan created a climate of terror and fear in Central America that took tens of thousands of lives and entrenched narrow elite groups who repressed poor majorities for generations. Officials in his administration organized a secret group to sell arms to Iran to raise funds to finance these wars, resulting in the Iran-Contra Scandal.

Mr. Reagan’s record on civil rights is disgraceful. He opposed the Voting Rights Act and the civil rights laws, but congress prevented his canceling them. In his view Martin Luther King, Jr. was a communist. He wanted to give tax breaks to colleges that practiced racial discrimination, he praised apartheid in South Africa and thought Nelson Mandela should stay in jail. Over his veto Congress imposed sanctions on South Africa.

He turned the war on poverty into a war on the poor, slashing housing subsidies by 80%. Supporting his position he said “One problem we’ve had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping on grates, the homeless who are homeless, you might say, by choice.”

It was sad to see Mr. Reagan afflicted by Alzheimer’s, and our sympathy went out to his wife and children as they cared for him in his later years. Yet, he was proud of his record as President which was of his own making. That record is what we should remember as his legacy.

Jerry Clements 7/2/04

Poisoning The Well

2007-08-15T15:06:00.000-04:00

Poisoning The Well

Most people are grateful for the blessings they have received and for the promise of continuing blessings in the future. We recognize that our lives are easier, richer and more enjoyable because of the good things people before us have done. We are grateful for wheels that make our moving about easier; for washing machines that make it easier to keep clean; even for ice cream cones that make it easier to enjoy cold treats.

Thoughts of gratitude bring to mind a scene is in the middle of a dry, hot desert. The dry sand extends to the horizon, without trees or grass. The one thing making the scene exciting is a well, a water well, with a pile of rope attached to a rusty pail for drawing water. A couple of yards from the well is a small wooden shipping crate with the words “FUND FOR MAINT.” lettered on it. Who can doubt that all travelers are thrilled as they approach the well and partake of its cool, clear water. And surely they gladly drop generous sums into the maintenance fund box before proceeding, refreshed on their way.

Sadly, we have to acknowledge that the facts don’t always match the expectations. There are travelers who gladly drink from the well but fail to make contributions to the maintenance fund. Even worse, they leave garbage around the well which falls into the well or seeps into the ground and down to the source of the water, introducing bacteria and odor into the well water. The garbage seepage would be difficult to clean up even if equipment and manpower were available. With the given circumstances, future travelers will be disappointed, the well will become useless and abandoned.

Reading to this point might serve as a reminder to travelers to pack extra bottles of water when traveling across a desert, but if that were the only result the writing would have been a waste of ink and paper. In order to give it a more serious tone let us move our attention from a well in the desert furnishing water to a few travelers to the big picture of the source of all the water of the earth. Better still, let us think of the well as representing our entire supply of air, water, food, forests and wildlife---and not for a trip across a desert, but for all future time.

It is not easy to draw this circle of inclusion around the idea of all the resources that makes life possible on the earth, but that is what we must do. It is even more difficult to focus on what one individual might do to assure the continuation of these life sustaining resources. Yet, each person has a responsibility to do the little things that are possible for an individual to do, and at the same time join in with other individuals of a community, state or nation to make the combined effort necessary to preserve our environment and maintain the conditions that may enable future generations to live.

The idea of protecting the well [or the environment] is not a new idea, but we are getting signals that unfavorable changes are taking place that add a new sense of urgency for increasing this protection.. The science and technology we have has not given us a date or a time limit, but are pointing to earth and climate changes that indicate that serious attention is needed at this time.

Various governmental agencies have established regulations with respect to garbage and waste disposal, sewerage treatment and landfill operations. They have set limits on emissions from automobiles and power generating plants. However, most of these regulations have been enacted to apply to limited geographical territories, permitting smokestack emissions that originate in one state to travel hundreds of miles and be deposited in water, forests and lungs in states that had nothing to do with their generation. Further, many of these regulations have been written with loopholes or other devices to favor the interests of powerful organizations who profit from the operations that produce the contaminants.

Many nations recognize the danger to the world’s environment and are working to negotiate agreements to reduce the harmful emissions on a worldwide basis. The United States has resisted as unreasonable, the levels and rates of reductions approved by most of the nations, insisting that such reductions would adversely affect the operation of our economy. Recently the United States refused to participate in a conference in Canada whose purpose was to finalize a worldwide protection agreement.

As we hesitate, the perils continue to increase and the solution to the problem becomes more difficult. Even worse, our national leaders choose to ignore reports of world scientific experts who are warning us of worldwide catastrophe if the efforts to protect the environment are not implemented.

After the deterioration of our environment reaches the tipping point there will be no safe havens. No amount of money, no degree of economic or political influence will make any difference. The people living beyond the ‘point of no return’ will only be able to stare at the dying earth, and at one another and ask, ”Why?”

Jerry Clements 12/20/05

On Being Gay

2007-08-15T15:05:00.000-04:00

ON BEING GAY

Rev. Edward Johnson, pastor of South Hill United Methodist Church has just added a new facet to the question of the consequences of being gay or lesbian.

Rev. Johnson’s decision to refuse membership in the Church to an openly gay man has been affirmed by the Judicial Council, the body recognized as the Supreme Court of the United Methodist Church.

The news reports of these actions have not given references to the justification of the action s by the pastor or the council. Until I receive these references from the Secretary of the Judicial Council I must just wait in wonderment at these actions taken by the United Methodist Church.

For some time I have known that some members of some of the churches disapprove of anyone’s being gay or lesbian. At the same time I have felt that my church, as a church, would welcome into its membership any person who confesses Jesus as Lord, promises to live the Christian life and uphold the United Methodist Church by his prayers, presence, gifts and service.

It now appears that a prospective member must also affirm that he is heterosexual and promise that he will never permit himself to be converted to the gay or lesbian style of sex life.

Well, this situation raises the question of how one becomes homosexual. News reports of physical abuse heaped on gays and lesbians convinced me years ago that no sane person would willingly assume the homosexual style of life. This led to the belief that such persons are born that way, some gene [or genes] got out of place in the parent’s DNA and the body could not decide what sex to give the embryo, or got mixed up and gave it the wrong sex. I don’t have sufficient education to unravel this mystery and have not met any person who could give me the answer.

Under the circumstances I have decided that people who are homosexual were born into that condition without having any say in the matter. If this is true, and no one known to me has shown it to otherwise, then we should accept such persons and accord them all the privileges that we give people who are left-handed, have brown eyes or club feet or pigeon-toes. Also, I have always believed that such persons would not be denied membership in the United Methodist Church.

Therefore, I am convinced that Edward Johnson and the Judicial Council are wrong in their recent actions. I am hoping that some authoritative body will publish the answer telling how a person becomes gay. Also, I am hoping that somebody else will explain why one’s sexual orientation should make one eligible, or ineligible, for membership in the Church.

Jerry Clements, November 1, 2005

New Page

2007-08-15T15:04:00.000-04:00

NEW PAGE

The swearing in of a president in January is an appropriate time for a new start for The United States. The people are confused about who we are and what we want to stand for in world affairs. The idea of an American Empire appears to have been crowded out by the difficulties incurred in the Iraqi war where we appear to make reactive moves against the Insurgent forces while casualty lists continue to grow. At the same time our allies are considering whether to stay there with us or return home. Our attitudes and actions in Iraq have isolated us from our former friends and has not generated any new ones.

It is time to acknowledge that the path we have been following has failed. We have killed a lot of people, destroyed a lot of property and maybe gained for some of us a sense of revenge. However, this revenge has come at a terribly high price.

We need to hear the new president declare the beginning of a new era of American history, a time when we discard the policy of hate and revenge and move toward universal friendship, cooperation and peace. We need to hear assurance that we will seek positive results in out policies and relationships.

There are sufficient good, positive goals for us to pursue. In our own country we could spend our energies and resources in improving our education system, designing and implementing a better health system and mending our transportation system to make it safer and more efficient. Caring for the environment could give us cleaner air to breathe, safer water to drink and enable us to eat the fish we catch without fear of mercury poisoning. The list of positive goals is much longer but these are sufficient to get us started.

In addition to the improvements here at home we would do well to take responsibility for helping improve the human condition in the other countries, friend and foe alike. Aids, polio, whooping cough and Tuberculosis are still plaguing the people of the world. We could do much more research and work toward eliminating them. We could assist others in bilateral and United Nations programs seeking peaceful ways of living together and sharing resources. More equitable distribution of world produce would be a worthwhile program which would help reduce the scourge of poverty in the world.

It could take some time for us to regain the respect and goodwill we have lost since our invasion of Iraq. So let us hope that our leaders will seize the opportunity that will come with the beginning of a new presidential term and begin the process of reclaiming our position of leadership in the world community. We are a good nation and our people will be happy to follow a leader who accepts this task.

Statement of these goals by the new president would go far toward eliminating the threat of terrorism in the world, and the entire population of the world would benefit. We in the United States would benefit most for it would also enable us to redeem the collective soul of our nation.

Jerry Clements 10/10/04

Love and Goodbye Time

2007-08-15T15:03:00.000-04:00

Love and Goodbye Time

My favorite musical artist, Chet Atkins, can’t sing, a fact which he readily acknowledges. Other than a duet with comic Ray Stevens I know of only one recorded performance by Chet. He sang his own composition “I never learned to say Goodbye.” The lyrics dealt with his father’s death and the fact that it had occurred before Chet had been able to tell his father that he loved him or had told him goodbye. Chet had never contemplated his father’s death and was unprepared for it.

Some of us are given advance notice of the death event and have opportunities to tell our loved ones that we love them and are grateful for the many gifts of love and care they have given to us through the years. Yet, this notice is not always easy to recognize. The family doctor may be the one who has the training and experience to determine that the end is near but even then a patient’s strong (or weak) physical condition may make his prediction inaccurate.

We need to remember that dying is a process that may come suddenly in an accident or may extend over a long period of time. Our bodies are made up of many parts and usually they don’t all stop functioning at the same time. The malfunction of one organ may cause others to weaken or stop functioning, giving a domino effect to the dying process and extending it over a long period of time.

The brain is subject to damage from a variety of illnesses that may suddenly cause it to cease a few or a variety of its functions. It may, as when it suffers a stroke, lose its ability to control certain muscle systems of the body. Probably the most devastating injury to the brain is the onslaught of Alzheimer’s disease, breaking of the connection to the library of memories it has accumulated over its years of life. In this situation the remainder of the body may continue to function normally but the person may not be able to remember many of the facts, incidents or persons that make up the history of his life.

In many cases a person may lose the connection to one section of his library but retain memory of other sections. He may not be able to recall where he worked before retirement or where he went to school or where he served in the military and yet may know the names of all the members of his High School graduating class or the names of the kids he played marbles with as a child.

Most of us have experienced the frustration of not being able to remember the name of the preacher who performed our wedding ceremony or spending long seconds trying to recall the name of the Scoutmaster of Troop 6. We can only imagine the frustration of a person who can’t remember such things no matter how long he tries to recall them. For such a person it must be as if a whole list of events and people never existed, the memories of the richness of life contributed by them has been wiped out.

Among the many things lost by such patients are names of family members and family history. After going through the birth process, the diaper period, first day at school, puberty problems and marriage arrangements it is hard to lose a child by having her and all facts surrounding her simply disappear from one’s memory. For the male patient it is sad to be deprived of the memories of a devoted wife, the celebrations of student’s successes at school and on the soccer field and one’s vocation with its problems and achievements. Oh, so many things are lost—forever.

These thoughts bring us back to the idea that it is important to do some important things while we are able to do them and while the ones we love are able to comprehend our actions. It is important that we take care to tell our loved ones sincerely and often, at every opportunity, that we love them and are proud and happy to have them and the beautiful memories associated with them. It is extremely difficult for one to fully comprehend the importance of these actions—until the time has come when it is too late to do them.

Jerry Clements 2/20/05

Occupation Ends

2007-08-15T15:02:00.000-04:00

OCCUPATION ENDS

Ending the occupation of Iraq was probably the best bit of good news coming in from that area during the last two years. I haven’t seen any reports telling of the joy of the local citizens, but I am sure they were glad to learn that the infidels from America were leaving their country. Here at home it should be good news also. It would surely mean that we would be bringing home those war weary service men who have given such a big chunk of their lives to the cause of fighting the terrorist forces of the world. And we won’t have to send back those soldiers who have been at home enjoying their families for the past few months. Thanks are due to President Bush for keeping his word that on June 30, 2004 we would return sovereignty to the Iraqi people.

Unfortunately there were a few “fast reading clauses” in the agreement. And those clauses will surely cast a gloomy shadow over the celebrations in Iraq and here in the U S A. It will be easier to understand if we list those clauses:

1. The government of Iraq will be designated as “The Interim Government” which has limited power.

2. The United States has established an Embassy from which the Ambassador will exercise authority growing out of certain rules and edicts.

3. The U S appointed electoral commission is empowered to eliminate political parties or candidates it disapproves of.

4. Political parties with militias are not permitted.

5. An edict bans “hate speech” and advocacy of terrorism, worded to give the authorities power to censor or disqualify candidates.

6. Immunity was granted to US and other foreign civilian contractors from Iraq law, even after the end of the occupation.

7. Before leaving we bestowed on our Iraq cronies five-year appointments to important government positions such as head of intelligence and the head of national security.

8. Economic regulations were extended to limit taxation of foreign corporations and permitting foreign ownership of Iraqi companies.

These edicts and official actions give the Iraqi people a pretty clear picture of the kind of government we expect them to create and will generate little good will among the people whom we were surely hoping would become our friends after the occupation is ended.

Further, US military forces will remain in Iraq to maintain security until elections are held and a new permanent government is installed.

These data give a pretty clear picture of the limitations on the operation of the Interim government of Iraq, and a casual review of the 8 items above will give one a pretty accurate vision of the expected results. Certainly, a review of these items reveals the hypocrisy of our claim that we are returning sovereignty to the Iraqi people. It also shows how little the Bush administration has learned from the bungling results of the occupation resulting from our failure to make adequate plans before launching the war in the first place.

Jerry Clements 7/25/04

Declare the War Lost and Go Home

2007-08-15T15:00:00.000-04:00

DECLARE THE WAR LOST AND GO HOME

We need a big dose of REALITY in America. The Bush administration has been leading us by the nose into believing that the President did the right thing when he told us the lies and semi-lies that seemed to justify our unilateral invasion of the sovereign state of Iraq. The well trained and well equipped armed forces team quickly accomplished his stated aim of making a ‘regime change’. However, it took longer than expected to round up Mr. Hussein and the other leaders of the government, but it was done.

It appears Mr. Bush and his war planners had not formed a plan for leaving Iraq after the regime change. Also, it appears that no plans were made for handling the unruly citizens who started shooting at our people after the “Mission Accomplished” banner was unfurled on the occasion of the President’s special visit to the aircraft carrier to greet the soldiers and congratulate them for a job well done. Well, he didn’t mean the war was over, only that the major fighting was over.

Any way one looks at it and whatever one calls it, the war continues. But its style has changed, the new enemy fighters are not in Iraqi uniforms and they don’t fight the way soldiers fight. The fighters are grocery store clerks, bankers, farmers and persons from all stations in life. These are the folks who were supposed to be happy at the departure of their oppressive dictator. They were expected to throw us bouquets, kiss our soldiers and dance in the streets. Apparently the war planning team miss-interpreted the mood of the populace.

These folks are ambushing our convoys, lobbing bombs into hotels where we live
and rigging all sorts of devices to explode when cars or tanks roll over them. Every day we can expect to find they have worked our some new plan to kill us or our employees. They appear to be especially eager to kill people who are cooperating with us in rebuilding their utility plants or schools. It has become clear that they don’t like us.

We picked a cadre of qualified individuals to get the police and fire departments back in operation only to find the selected persons became favorite targets of the insurgents [that’s what we call the now]. Also, now that we have returned the operation of their government to them, the government officials are not safe from attack. This is making it very difficult to persuade citizens to run for office in the government.

As if killing all those people were not enough, the insurgents have started blowing up the oil pipelines and related facilities. Nothing is sacred to them.

This has become an intolerable situation. There is no one who can tell us why they are mad at us, no one to threaten, and no one to make sweet promises to. All things considered, it appears they simply don’t want us there. It is clear we are getting nowhere near solving the many problems we are encountering. So, after due consideration, I propose that we issue a declaration that the war is over, and we lost. All reconstruction, maintenance and service contracts we have entered into would be terminated effective on the date of this declaration. This would bring on a new list of problems. My proposal would recognize this but would simply refer them to the new Iraqi government and wish them well as we and all our military personnel and contractors depart the country.

Our leaving the country will give the people of Iraq the opportunity to organize a new government for their country that will assure their people the opportunity to choose the leaders they like, establish the institutions needed to operate the country and to create a national Constitution that guarantees to the people the rights and duties they truly wish to accept for themselves. Our good offices will be offered for their help and guidance, to the extent they desire it.

Finally, as a sincere gesture of good will we will agree to reimburse the new government for the cost of rebuilding and reconstruction of properties destroyed by our armed forces during the war just ended. Further, we will agree to accept in good faith any lawsuits brought by individuals captured by us who allege treatment failing to meet compliance with the rules of conduct enumerated in the applicable Geneva Conventions.

Jerry Clements 7/23/04

How To Lose a War

2007-08-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

HOW TO LOSE A WAR

The United States doesn’t know how to lose a war. West Point’s
curriculum doesn’t include a course that teaches our generals, or presidents how to say we failed in our mission. Even if there were a protocol for handing our saber to the enemy in a big ceremony it wouldn’t work in the situation we have in Iraq for there is no person in authority to accept our admission of failure. Perhaps we could establish a new protocol similar to one I remember from an old western movie in which the two sides fought a particularly fierce battle until sundown when both withdrew for a night’s rest. When they went back to the battlefield the next morning they noticed that the enemy had just folded their tents and departed.

However it may be staged, the American people need, and are entitled to, a proper closure to this war. We need to hear someone state clearly that we were led into the invasion of Iraq because someone misinterpreted the intelligence reports, failed to question the accuracy of evidence and let personal feelings over-rule reason and sound judgment. Over and over our leaders have told us the invasion was justified, yet is seems clear that they failed to design the strategies needed to follow-up the military victory with arrangements for establishing a peaceful civil regime that would provide police, and public utility services. Finally, they failed to provide safe workplaces and suitable incentives to lead the people into significant employment.

Our history includes a great variety of wars in which our people devised techniques to fit the situations they faced whether the battlefield was on the water, in the forest or in cornfields; whether the battles involved individuals or organized groups. Also, we learned a lot from the battles in the jungles of Korea and Viet Nam. But all of these experiences failed to adequately prepare us for Iraq. The enemy there doesn’t appear to be organized, wears no uniform and follows no regular system of attack. The main motivation and unifying force seems to be their hatred of the occupying forces.

It appears that in Iraq we have a bunch of unorganized clever, religiously inspired, nationalistically dedicated civilians who are able to outmaneuver us in a style of warfare that we simply can’t understand. Our service personnel are doing their job well insofar as they are able to understand what their job is. The frontline leaders don’t seem to know how to defeat these people. They can’t tell the men to go out and kill every person they see. It would be stupid to tell them to kill every man with a beard or that looks like Hussein.. Yet the men can’t simply wait to act until some fellow sets off the package of dynamite he is hiding under his jacket or drives his bomb laden car into the traffic control barrier.

We civilians at home are also unable to suggest a solution. We hear the reports of kidnapping, suicide bombing, and beheading of captives and are shocked. We grieve with the relatives and friends of the victims and are angry and disturbed that our leaders don’t seem to be as concerned about it as we are. They give us assurances that their programs are working and progress is being made, acting as if they don’t read the papers or watch the television news reports.

Being so deeply concerned about the daily news helps push us in our search for a plausible reason for being unable to end the war and bring our troops home like we have done in past wars. Thinking about the horrors of it keeps us from accepting it as routine like the weather reports or the Saturday football games results. It is important that we refuse to let ourselves become callous about this war that is killing and disabling so many of our young people and consuming so much of our precious resources.

The great volume of the news and the horrible nature of it tends to occupy so much of our thought that we get wrapped up in the NOW of the news. We see so much news about the current activities that we have come to believe that we are losing the war because of something that is happening now, in the present. This concentration on the NOW is blinding us to the important happenings of the past.

If we shift our thoughts of the happenings on the front lines NOW to the questions of the who and the what of the PAST we may be able to learn what got this horrible war started and for what reason. Somewhere along the line something must have gone wrong. A nation doesn’t wake up one morning to find itself in a war, certainly not one it is losing, in a small country on the other side of the world. Knowing the cause and events leading up to the war may not tell us how to stop it but it certainly should help us understand it better.

The terrorist attack of 9/11/01 is a logical starting point. This event enraged the president as well as the general population of the country. Evidence reveals that the whole attack were planned and staged by Osma ben Laden in association with el-Qaeda from their bases in Afghanistan. Mr. Bush vowed to hunt them down and bring them to justice for which vow he received praise from the entire world. The search for the terrorist leaders began in Afghanistan but failed to locate them.

For reason not know to us the President seemed to suspect Saddam Hussein of Iraq of being involved in the attack and instructed his intelligence people search for evidence of his involvement with el-Qaeda and/or ben Laden. Soon the campaign in Afghanistan shifted to Iraq with emphasis on the search for evidence of collaboration between Hussein and the terrorist organizations. President Bush appeared to have a strong dislike for Mr. Hussein as well as a desire to have him deposed from his leadership role in Iraq.

The president was certain that Hussein had a stockpile of chemical and biological weapons and was actively engaged in a program to produce Nuclear weapons. The U.N. inspectors were not diligent enough for Mr. Bush and he arranged to have their work stopped. He replaced them with U. S. inspectors, certain they would find the evidence needed to prove Iraq’s possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The president declared that it was necessary to have a ‘regime change’ in Iraq. He would seek help from the U.N. in this enterprise, but if necessary the United States would undertake the task alone. He was able to get Great Briton and several smaller nations to join in a coalition to get rid of Hussein. Then he asked Congress to authorize him to use whatever force necessary to remove Hussein from power.

Several former government and military figures advised against attacking Iraq without more and stronger allies or U. N. support. Nevertheless, Mr. Bush pressed Congress, citing intelligence data regarding W. M. D. and his own conviction that Hussein had been associated with the terrorist organizations in the 9/11 attacks.

Congress, the constitutionally body authorized to declare war, acceded to the president’s request to use force necessary to depose Hussein. Apparently, anger generated by the 9/11 attacks exerted sufficient pressure on members of congress to lead them to bypass their customary parliamentary procedures [committee investigation, etc.] in a rush to give the president the authority he requested. This must be considered a failure on the part of Congressional leadership.

The leadership in the Pentagon included several persons who had worked closely with the president in formulating his proposed program for disposing of Hussein. Some chose to retire or resign to avoid participation in the war plans. Others who stayed on the job apparently were intimidated by the urgent nature of the president’s demands and/or by the threat of losing their job if they disagreed with their superiors or the president.

Finally, the president, the top link in the chain of command, failed. His position should have caused him to question the intelligence he was receiving because so much was depending on its accuracy. It would have been a great deal better to learn of its errors rather than stating later that his actions were based on faulty intelligence.

Weeks of listening to the news out of Washington and waiting for the attack we knew was coming we were confident that precise plans were being drafted that would defeat the Iraqi army within a few days. Previous experience assured us that our losses would be in the single digit numbers. Washington leadership assured us that the Iraqi people would welcome our forces with singing and dancing in the streets, like the people of Paris welcomed us in 1944. Saddam would be captured or killed, and we would proceed with the plans of helping the citizens set up a democratic society that would be a pattern-setting example for the Muslim world. Elections would be held promptly and we would establish an embassy to carry on the normal business relationships between two independent countries.

Then came the news that plans for the transformation had not been drawn up. It appeared to be a ’plan as you go’ program. We suffered the blunders that a kindergarten pupil could have predicted. The leaders we chose were incompetent or crooked or both and the local population was divided and unhappy. There was no dancing in the streets, but hatred of the occupying forces. Instead of choosing local contractors and workmen to rebuild and restore the economy, we awarded contracts to American firms without the customary competitive bidding process. These contractors were free enterprise entrepreneurs interested in making profits for their stockholders with no [or little] interest in establishing a democratic society in Iraq.

It took very little agitation to stir up the unemployed, the Saddam loyalists and the Infidel- hating religious radicals. Within a short while there were individuals and groups searching for ways and means of making life miserable for the American Infidel invaders. Terrorist groups found sources of bomb making materials and hosts of individuals who were willing to sacrifice themselves as suicide bombs in the process of killing foreign soldiers, workers and natives employed by the foreigners. Almost immediately the attacks were extended to contractors working for the Americans. The types of weapons was expanded to include any device they could use to kill persons or to demolish property. As word got out to surrounding countries there was a huge influx of all manner of individuals anxious to help their friends drive out the infidel invaders.

Assuming that things would improve if we moved to let them run their own affairs, we announced that on 30 June 2004 we would turn the sovereignty of the country over to the local population. However, the “turnover” contract had a long list of conditions and agreements that revealed that it was not a turnover of sovereignty at all. We were getting rid of the messy details of administration, but keeping the big paying contracts and oil operations for ourselves or our political friends.

The future is not bright. An election scheduled for January 2005 will elect a permanent government. However, the insurgents claim it won’t happen. If the new government takes over the operation of the country they will still be bound by the provisions of the side agreements of the June 30 sovereignty transfer as well as the understanding that U S troops will remain in Iraq as long as they are needed to maintain public safety.

In November 2004 we will have an election of our own and the president will be inaugurated into a government still facing the unsettled situation in Iraq. Whoever is elected, the President will have the difficult task of explaining how we are going to close out this war that was lost before it began, or continue its shameful destruction for another generation.

Jerry Clements 12 September 2004

Poem: LIFE'S MIRROR

2007-08-15T14:55:00.000-04:00

LIFE’S MIRROR

There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave,
There are souls that are pure and true;
Then give to the world the best you have,
And the best will come back to you.

Give love, and love to you will flow,
A strength in your utmost need;
Have faith, and a score of hearts will show
Their faith in your word and deed.

Give truth, and your gift will be paid in kind,
And honor will honor meet;
And a smile that is sweet will surely find
A smile that is just as sweet.

Give sorrow and pity to those who mourn;
You will gather in flowers again
The scattered seeds of your thought outborne,
Though the sowing seemed but vain..

For life is the mirror of king and slave---
‘Tis just what we are and do;
Then give to the world the best you have,
And the best will come back to you.

Madeline Bridges

Lie Addiction

2007-08-15T14:54:00.000-04:00

LIE ADDICTION

President Bush didn’t have to say that no one expected Katrina to do so much damage to New Orleans. There are a thousand truthful statements he could have made instead of telling us another lie. Surely he knew that when the President speaks some reporter is going to make a note of his remarks for his editor.

Leading a Christian Nation

2007-08-15T14:53:00.000-04:00

Leading a Christian Nation

When President George W. Bush describes himself as a ‘born again’ Christian he obliges himself to meet a very high standard of conduct in all of his activities. This is especially true of Mr. Bush because of his position as President of the nation. The people being led by him look to him to set a Christian example worthy of his position and which they can follow in good faith. When a person achieves the status of ‘born again’ Christian it is assumed that he has been blessed with special knowledge and has been granted a special, close relationship with Jesus Christ. We dare not question this relationship.

We hesitate to discuss whether Mr. Bush recognizes the obligation he has assumed by asserting his ‘born again’ status. Yet, his assertion and repeated reference to his religious beliefs indicates a willingness to permit full discussion of the subject. This has led us to question some of his attitudes and actions during his last four years as President of the United States. These questions are raised with the full knowledge of our personal weakness in this area and that we have fallen short in our living out of the Christian faith.

It is impossible for me to believe that the Prince of Peace would approve of a pre emptive attack on another nation which had not made any threats of attack against our nation. This becomes even more unlikely when we find that the reasons for the attack have been found groundless and, in at least one case, false. The obscene and cruel treatment of soldiers and civilians captured or detained in the course of the war should have been a severe shock to all Christians, and unbearable to any ‘born again’ Christian. Yet, the President’s response to the action was a delayed denial of responsibility.

The attitude and actions of Jesus regarding the rich and the poor were always in favor of the poor and downtrodden. President Bush, to the contrary, has favored the very rich through such devices as huge tax cuts; revision of rules to permit mining and drilling companies to extract products from public lands which belongs to all the people. He has favored the rich with government contracts worth billions of dollars without competitive bidding and has favored employers in labor matters and refusal to support legislation to increase the minimum wage. He has attempted to revise the Labor Department guidelines requiring overtime pay for time worked beyond 40 hours per week so as to deny this benefit to millions of workers.

In the long run we must believe that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” and that we are responsible for the care and maintenance of the land, the sea and the atmosphere. As caretakers of the earth and its creatures we are obligated to protect nature and leave it to future generations in as good shape as we received it. President Bush came into office after pledging to preserve the environment, but he has revised rules and regulations to permit contamination of land, streams and the atmosphere and has allowed the destruction of the habitat necessary for the survival of many species of animals.

The people of the nation must call upon President Bush to reframe his plans for the next four years to truly reflect the Christian standards of conduct he professes. Only then can we deserve the blessings of the Lord we so earnestly seek.

Jerry Clements 11/8/2004

Leading a Christian Nation (Alternate)

2007-08-15T14:51:00.000-04:00

Leading a Christian Nation (Alternate)

When President George W. Bush describes himself as a ‘born again’ Christian he obliges himself to meet a very high standard of conduct in all of the activities. This is especially true of Mr. Bush because of his position of leadership. The people being led by him look to him to set a Christian example worthy of his position and which they can follow in good faith. When a person achieves the status of ‘born again’ Christian it is assumed that he has been blessed with special knowledge and has been granted a special, close relationship with Jesus Christ. We dare not question this relationship.

We hesitate to discuss whether Mr. Bush recognizes the obligation he has assumed by asserting his ‘born again’ status. Yet, his assertion and repeated reference to his religious beliefs indicates a willingness to permit full discussion of the subject. This has led us to question some of his attitudes and actions during his last four years as President of the United States. These questions are raised with the full knowledge of the moat in our own eyes and the instances in which we have fallen short in our living out of the Christian faith.

It is impossible for me to believe that the Prince of Peace would approve of a pre emptive attack on another nation which had not made any threats of attack against our nation. This becomes even more unlikely when we find that the reasons for the attack have been found groundless and in at least one case false. The obscene and cruel treatment of soldiers and civilians captured or detained in the course of the war should have been a severe shock to all Christians, and unbearable to any ‘born again’ Christian. Yet, the President’s response to the action was a delayed denial of responsibility.

The attitude and actions of Jesus regarding the rich and the poor was always in favor of the poor and downtrodden. President Bush, to the contrary, has favored the very rich through such devices as huge tax cuts, revisions of rules to permit mining and drilling on land belonging to all the people. He has favored the rich with contracts worth billions of dollars and has favored employers in labor matters and refusal to support legislation to increase the minimum wage. He has attempted to revise the Labor Department guidelines requiring overtime pay for time worked beyond 40 hours per week so as to deny this benefit to millions of workers.

In the long run we must believe that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” and that we are responsible for the care and maintenance of the land, the sea and the atmosphere. As caretakers of the earth and its creatures we are obligated to protect nature and leave it to future generations in as good shape as we received it. President Bush came into office with a pledge to preserve the environment, but he has revised rules and regulations to permit contamination of land, streams and the atmosphere and has allowed the destruction of the habitat necessary for the survival of many creatures.

The President stands with those proclaiming the United States to be a Christian nation. Yet, his attitudes and actions indicate an attitude disregarding the Christian principles that helped establish the United States.

Keeping the War Going

2007-08-15T14:50:00.000-04:00

KEEPING THE WAR GOING

Much of the Bush presidential program depends on the continuation of the war on Terrorism [Sometimes identified as the Iraqi war.] The President’s power as Commander-in-Chief during a war enables him to do things he could not do in peacetime. Therefore, the continuation of the war will benefit his desire to have unfettered power to do what he wants to do without hearing questions from Congress or the general public. With this in mind, it is easy to understand why he would wish to keep the war going throughout his tenure as president.

Probably the best device for making it a continuous war was giving it a name like War on Terrorism. There is no group, state or nation that can be identified as the enemy or that can surrender to end the hostilities. In order to win, would it be necessary to bring every terrorist on earth to justice?. While making it easy to claim the war to be ongoing the name also makes it extremely difficult to declare that it has been won.

President Bush has associated the war very closely with his ‘calling’ to make freedom and liberty available to everyone in the world. This association adds to the confusion of the situation and permits the President to contend that neither is over until all aspects of the conflict have been satisfactorily concluded. The President’s announcement of success would need to state that all the terrorists have been brought to justice, the war in Iraq has been won and freedom and justice has been made available to all people.

The President’s public statements have demonstrated how tenaciously he intends to cling to his contentions that he has authority [As Commander-in-Chief in war time] to ignore the Constitution and laws passed by Congress regarding torture of prisoners and ordering wire-tap spying on U S Citizens without court warrants.

It may be too early to consider questions associated with the war on terrorism and the expiration of President’s term in office. However, Mr. Bush’s reluctance to end the war in Iraq indicates a determination to continue the ‘state of war’, whether the enemy is Iraq or Terrorism, as long as he is in office. This cannot help but lead to questions regarding its continuation by the succeeding president.

Would the people demand that the rules be changed to permit Mr. Bush to continue in office “to complete the job” in Iraq? Would a successor President be expected to continue the Iraq war? With the war on terrorism, presumably not won, would the people demand that Mr. Bush stay in office until it is won?

This writer’s purpose does not extend to furnishing answers to any of the questions relating to President Bush’s actions or intentions regarding these matters. We mention these matters as a means of suggesting that the people [all of us] need to think about the long-range consequences of pursuing a war that has no chance of success.

Jerry Clements 1/06/06

George W. Bush and the War in Iraq

2007-08-15T14:47:00.000-04:00

George W. Bush and the War in Iraq

George W. Bush wanted to be President of the United States. Being Governor of the state of Texas was a tough job, but he could handle it and he liked it. It seemed natural to move up to the finest job in the country, President, and he did. He didn’t get the votes to move to the White House, but a way was found to get him the job he wanted.

Being President is a tough job, requiring a lot of hard work, making a lot of difficult decisions, but he could do it. He knew he could, especially if he got good people to assist him. He had developed several good friends in the oil business and in the field of Republican politics. On top of that, he had a vision, a calling to be a great leader in the world.

He had developed a strong dislike for Saddam Hussein and would like to finish his overthrow that his father failed to do. We, and our devoted allies, had whipped his army and pushed him back into the established Iraqi borders. What we failed to do was find a way to share in the oil rich resources of that country.

Then, as if on a silver platter, President Bush was given the opportunity of a lifetime when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Now he had the excuse to make a Regime Change in Iraq. However, the people of the United States understood that Ben Laden had pulled off that job and they wanted to pursue and capture him and give him the punishment he deserved. They had little desire to attack Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Their dislike of him could wait.

At this point the conspiracy began. There was nothing but revenge to be gained by pursuing those terrorists who had holed up in Afghanistan. There was no oil up there.
If all of the terrorists could be lumped together and their center of influence be located in Iraq, then we could get our vengeance for ‘9-11’ and achieve the goal we wanted in Iraq at the same time. New plans were formulated and the search for needed evidence began.

1.Media reports stated that Mohammed Atta , lead hijacker in the 9-11 attack, had conferred with the intelligence chief of Iraq in Prague in April 2001. Bush officials used this story as proof of a link between Iraq and 9-11, but it has been definitely disproved.

2.The National Intelligence Estimate, after receiving input from the entire intelligence community, reported without dissent that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons; was not trying to get them; and did not appear to have reconstituted its nuclear weapons program since the UN and IAEA inspectors departed in December 1998. In October 2002 a new NIE unanimous report stated that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons or a nuclear weapons program.

3. Having the benefit of the information in these classified NIE reports, the following officials made hundreds of false assertions in speeches on television, at the United Nations, to foreign leaders and to Congress: President Bush, Vice President Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Their statements were consistent and false.

4. President Bush did not say directly that there was a link between Iraq and the 9-11 attack, but did convey that message by mentioning 9/11 and Iraq in speech after speech in his campaign to sell the Iraq war to the public and to the world.

5. Contradicting the National Intelligence Estimate, Mr. Bush stated in his 2002 State of the Union address that Iraq presented a “grave and growing danger”.

6. The President stated that members of Congress had the same intelligence that he had when they voted to allow him to make war on Iraq while in fact much of what they got were summaries that had qualifiers and unsubstantiated additions in them.

7. The Bush administration purposely presented a complex deceit about Iraq to both the Congress and the public in its effort to obtain authorization to attack a nation that had neither the intent, or the capability, to attack the United States.

President has attempted to justify his actions by contending that they were necessary to protect American lives against the danger of an imminent attack. At the same time the President knew that Iraq presented no such danger.

One day in the future some group will obtain the power to obtain information regarding the buildup to and execution of the war in Iraq and the items enumerated above will be affirmed of disproved. The answers will determine whether President should be praised as a good wartime president or scorned and impeached as an ambitious conspiring leader who betrayed the trust of the American people.

War Bulletin 51504

2007-08-15T14:42:00.000-04:00

War Bulletin 51504

It is important that we determine what it is costing us to operate the war in Iraq. We need to know what we are paying out and what benefits we are getting in return. The account ledger needs to show the items included in the expenditures—money spent, future obligations assumed, material consumed or misplaced, lives lost and injuries suffered by our service personnel. A separate item should show amounts paid or obligations assumed for operations of Independent Contractors employed in the repair or replacement of property we have destroyed The credit side of the ledger should include the fact that Saddam Hussein has been deposed and will stand trial for his misdeeds and criminal acts during his tenure as dictator of the nation.

With a moderate amount of research the money spent for the materials and repair costs can, and will, be ascertained. Cost for the treatment and care for the bodies of our servicemen can be estimated but can’t be accurately determined for a long time. But, in time, these kinds of costs will be revealed, and the people hearing the figures will be shocked.

The unfortunate part of this story is that this proposed ledger cannot show the intangible costs which may well be greater that the physical and monetary costs. I don’t know how one can enter into a ledger the loss of a body part or function that forces a victim to change his lifestyle and occupational ambitions. Such losses also inflict an immeasurable cost on the victim’s wife and children which someway should be entered in the war cost ledger.

How shall will we measure the cost of the death of tens of thousands of innocent civilians and injuries of other thousands in Iraq? Who can tell us what it is going to cost us to lose the faith and confidence of the friendly nations of the world. What will be the cost of Mr. Bush’s telling the world that we have a pre-emptive right to make war on any nation that we feel is an enemy that may cause harm to us or our allies? How are we to determine the cost of belittling the United Nations and insulting our former friends and allies who disagreed with the Bush push to war with Iraq?

Difficult as it may be to quantify, there will surely be a cost assessed against us for the mistreatment of prisoners held by us in Cuba and Iraq through our disregard of the Geneva Conventions. The cost of these actions will be borne by our citizens who become prisoners in the future. Also an item of uncertain cost will be the boost to the ability of our enemies around the world in their recruitment of volunteers to fight us or blow themselves up in their killing of our citizens or friends.

Government agencies of several past administrations spent much money and energy in building goodwill through activities of the Marshall Plan, Peace Corps and many other agencies. This treasure of goodwill has been squandered or severely depleted by an unjustified war on a nation that posed little threat to us. This loss of goodwill and respect may not appear in our ledger of war cost, but it will surely be reflected in our Trade Balance deficits and around conference tables for years to come.

While we have been enjoying the luxury of being the only Super Power in the world we have, by this war, forfeited our position of responsibility and leadership and assumed the role of World Bully. The cost of this role change will not be ascertainable for many years, but it is an undeniable cost that will be included in the many other costs to be suffered by us and several of our future generations.

Finally, there is a cost that has no measure, but must be included in the consideration of the war’s cost. I refer to the demeaning of the pride and spirit of the people of the United States. This stain of the Iraqi war will reveal itself in subtle and unexpected ways in our families, in schools, churches and businesses. We may not wish to dwell on the subject, but deep down in our soul we will feel it and be ashamed.

Jerry Clements 5/15/04

War Bulletin 41794

2007-08-15T14:40:00.000-04:00

War Bulletin 41704

The war in Iraq has splintered into so many facets that it is difficult to find a place to start commenting on the present situation. This current war is so confusing and changing so fast that the paper I intend to write will be out of date before I get it completed.

There are several facts that will not change but will survive this paper and probably will outlive the administration of George W Bush and Dick Cheney.

1. The fact that Bush and Cheney were conspiring to attack Iraq prior to the 9-11 attack has turned the spotlight on the lie asserting that Iraq’s leader was a party to that disaster. This also lends credence to the contention of some that from their inauguration date they were searching for an excuse to take over the oil rich region.

2. The repeated well planned attacks on our armed forces and on the contract reconstruction crews reveals how poorly the administration prepared for the post-war activities in Iraq. It is difficult to believe the president’s statement that the program “is on track” when we read press reports of enemy attacks, kidnappings and bodily mutilations and hear the death and injury statistics.

3. The military and civilian authorities can’t agree on the issue of the number of soldiers needed to control the growing rebellious outbreaks in many areas of the country. Some units due for rotation back to the states are being kept on line in an attempt to prevent further damage and deaths. One of the results of this is a dramatic increase in the number of suicides among the armed forces personnel.

4. Events in Washington bring confirmation that the president pushed the nation into this war without having a plan for handling the aftermath that even simple-minded persons knew would follow the downfall of Saddam Hussein. When events in the area revealed that no workable plan existed the president called in business cronies and gave them generous repair and reconstruction contracts without benefit of bidding procedures. Some of those firms have been caught overcharging for their services and allowing sub-contractors to incur unauthorized expenses in their “cost-plus” contracts. Mr. Bush evidently, and incorrectly, believed that the sight of workers repairing school and government buildings, oil refineries and waterworks would ease the hatred generated in the minds of the local population by the invasion of their country by the “Infidels” from America. Evidently Mr. Bush misjudged the culture and history of these people.

5. Important leaders in the fight against terrorism have left their government jobs and have talked and written about the failures of the leadership and the dishonest tactics used to withhold the truth from the American people. Those people have been abused for their revelations. In one case the name of a man’s wife serving as a secret agent was revealed to the press to punish the man for his telling the truth about the administration’s claim that Hussein was trying to buy Uranium in Africa.

I have no doubt that the passing of time will bring news of many more instances of miss-management in the prosecution of the war in Iraq.

In the meantime, the Bush Administration is squandering the publicly owned natural resources in the United States. I am talking of forests, parks, oil and minerals under these lands that belong to you, me and all the other citizens of the country. The agencies responsible for protecting of health of the people and their property are systematically relaxing the enforcement of laws designed to preserve our resources and protect our health. If they are not able to get the laws removed or relaxed by administrative decrees, they withhold the funds needed to enforce them. These actions are part of Bush’s domestic war in which he appears to consider the American people as enemies of the state. With the help of a Republican Congress he is able to be as successful in this war as he is failing in the Iraq war. He is acting as if he has fee simple title to the natural resources of the United States and is able to let his friends and large contributors use or consume them with no (or minimum) payments to the government. It will be many years before we are able to determine the cost resulting from the administration’s revision of the pollution and environmental laws and rules to suit their program rather than enforcing them for the benefit of the health and welfare of the citizens of the country.

Certainly Mr. Bush will be out of office before the citizens learn the full cost of the management actions which have, within three years, squandered a healthy surplus and replaced it with deficits larger than we have ever had. He will leave office with accumulated national debt that will be a financial burden on the people for several generations. Interest payments on that debt will limit growth and development of our country in ways unimagined at this time.

The persons on Social Security and Medicare at this time can expect to suffer financially as a result of this administration’s policies. The Baby Boomers who will be expecting to retire in a few years will be shocked to learn how their benefits will be reduced and their Medical costs increased.

It is impossible to forecast how the Iraq war will play out, but the present prospects are pretty ugly. Certainly, the United States will have suffered a shameful and unprecedented loss of prestige among the nations of the world, resulting in loss of ability to forge favorable economic, environmental and peace arrangements. Only a long period of honest and fair relationships by future administrations can remove the stigma of chutzpah displayed by the Bush administration.

Finally, a word must be said about the wall of separation between the State and the Church. Our founding fathers had experience and historical evidence to convince them that the government had a fulltime job in managing the affairs of state and should not attempt to run the affairs of the church as well. Likewise, they were convinced that the church was not equipped to act as an arm of the government. They felt that it would be unwise for either to attempt to control the other. President Bush has taken actions that serve to weaken this traditional wall of separation. These actions should be sufficient to alert the leaders in the church and in the government to the dangers to both that would result from attempts to consolidate their functions. Both the State and the Church will work more effectively if each stays on its side of the fence.

Jerry Clements 4/17/04

War Bulletin 32203

2007-08-15T14:36:00.000-04:00

War Bulletin 32203

For many months I felt confident that our country would not [repeat not] go to war with Iraq. I thought that one or more of the people of knowledge, common sense and power of persuasion would be able to get through to President Bush and convince him that the preemptive invasion of another country is wrong and that our country’s interest is not well served by this type of war. I was wrong. The president seems to have decided a long time ago that we were going to war with Iraq regardless of our past reluctance to attack a nation who has not attacked us, has not threatened to do so and who does not
have the capability of doing so.

It puzzles me that Mr. Bush would act contrary to the long established principle of finding ways and means to settle differences through diplomacy unless these efforts failed or our nation were attacked. This willingness to attack a nation just because we don’t like its leader or his policies or because he is producing weapons that may at some future time be used to attack us seems to me to be a characteristic of a leader who has lost confidence in our nation’s will and ability to defend itself if it is attacked. Worse still, this preemptive assault gives every other nation the right to attack any other nation when it feels that sometime, under some conditions that nation might be a threat. To make the situation worse our president chose to bypass the United nation, the institution that our leaders organized and gave the responsibility to decide such issues. Our actions declare to the world that the U. N. is considered to be irrelevant as a keeper of the peace.

Our president’s actions have turned many friends into enemies, has destroyed the trust many peoples around the world had in the United States and its leaders. We have forfeited the world leadership and goodwill we had built up through our long history of working for peace and fair play in foreign policy.

Our nation’s policies indicate that we intend to force all others to accept our policies or face the possibility of attack from our armed forces. They go beyond assuming the role of the world’s policeman. It appears that we intend to dictate how large the armed forces of other nations may be and what arms and equipment they may use. Further, we have declared that although others who commit war crimes may be subject to punishment by a world court the Americans are not subject to such rules and regulations.

These actions and attitudes are characteristic of a dictator nation and are an affront to the American people.

Aside from the above considerations it is alarming to think of the financial mess that will accompany this war in Iraq. Instead of paying down our national debt we will be doubling it before the war and subsequent occupation and government change is paid for. Our haste and bullheaded attitude in dealing with other nations and the U. N. will probably result in our bearing the cost of this war by ourselves.

The Iraq war will get rid of Saddam as a world leader and will give our military practice in using the great new technology we have developed. It will bring much satisfaction to military leaders for the efficient and speedy manner in which the war was conducted. It will bring considerable increase in wealth of munitions manufacturers and reconstruction contractors.

We can look forward to honoring a new crop of brave young men and women who demonstrated a higher than average degree of skill and bravery under dangerous and unfriendly conditions, many of whom will endure hurt and disability for many years to come. Another group gave their lives and will not be present to receive our expressions of pride and gratitude for their sacrifice.

The financial cost of the war will be merged with the many other extravagances of the Bush administration such as the tax cut of the wealthy, the abuse of the environment, the neglect of our educational system and the wasting of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. The American people will experience the war in many ways that may, when viewed individually, appear insignificant—such as increased prices of many products, reduced quality in children’s education, eroded quality of land and facilities in National parks and reduced quality of medical services. All this in addition to the unprecedented national debt that will plague the population for many generations to come.

Finally, this war will brand the United States as a bully aggressor nation unworthy of trust or respect. It is a disgrace that will be regretted for generations. It will tarnish the reputation of the United States to an extent not yet imagined.

Jeremiah Dotson Clements 3/22/2003

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

2007-08-15T14:19:00.000-04:00

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

Let us accept the premise that President Bush sincerely believed that the invasion of Iraq was a proper and wise move in his war on terrorism.

Surely too, his staff and advisors were agreed that the invasion of Iraq would be more productive than sending more forces into Afghanistan in pursuit of Al Qaeda and Osma ben Laden. Otherwise, they would surely have suggested further consideration and possible change of plans.

Published data establishes Al Qaeda as an organization whose membership is primarily of the Moslem faith. They appear to be more loyal to their faith than to their nation, and this loyalty extends to faithful Moslems wherever they live. Furthermore, their faith enables them willingly to give their lives to causes that promote their faith or destroy their enemies.

The leadership of Al Qaeda has demonstrated remarkable skill in recruiting and training their members. The success of their operations attests to this skill and also to their patience and willingness to pursue the research needed to learn the operational routines of the nations or industries considered to be enemies. The recruits learn how to avoid being caught by systems and devices employed at our borders, airports and other facilities. They seem to understand that some will be caught, and train sufficient numbers to insure success of the project in spite of the arrests.

The Al Qaeda successes and the U. S. failures have combined to make the Al Qaeda look like a super organization of exceptionally qualified recruits. Our information is limited to that published in the media. Still, it is clearly evident that we failed to convince the general population of Iraq that we were coming into their country as friends who wanted to liberate them from the oppressive government of Saddam Hussein. Either we failed to understand the attitude of the people or we didn’t have the communication skills needed to convince them of our good intentions.

Our failure to win the hearts of the population plus the manner in which we handled the occupation made it highly improbable that we could succeed in converting their government into a Democracy with a free market economy. Our efforts met with resistance immediately, while the people readily accepted the ideas of the insurgents that we were occupying their country for the purpose of stealing its resources and destroying its culture and religious practices.

Into this confusing and hostile atmosphere rushed recruiters for Al Qaeda and other groups holding hateful attitudes toward the Americans. As we hired and trained new police and other service employees they automatically became targets of the insurgents, along with convoys, hotels and government institutions. There developed a frenzy of ambushes, kidnappings and attacks with a variety of weapons by persons wishing to express their anger toward the Americans, their contractors and sympathizers. The United States gave the Al Qaeda the opportunity they had been waiting for.

The presence of troops from Coalition countries and contractors and employees served a dual purpose. By capturing and holding them as hostages the insurgents gained important leverage for their demands that allies take their troops home and for contractors to stop performing the evil deeds for the Americans. The pressure was heightened by beheading of captors or threats to do so.

Televised reports of inhumane treatment of prisoners and detainees by American troops and contract employees incensed the people of Iraq and those of other countries in the region. Reports of these abuses were received in Washington months before the awful pictures were televised to the world. Efforts were made by the administration to blame these abuses on a few misguided individuals, but the fact that no actions were taken until the pictures appeared nullified the effects of those efforts. Prior to the pictures the President and the Justice Department published contentions that the President could not be held responsible for such actions. The President is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, the top man in the chain of command, the person responsible for compliance with the Army Regulations. It is of no use for him to point fingers at people of lower rank. He is responsible and he does a disservice to his whole command when he attempts to evade the responsibility.

It appears that every new item of news makes the news of the abuses more horrible. One day we should be able to read the full ugly story and we will be ashamed. But this shame will not expunge from history the fact that it happened. Further, as long as it remains in history there will be a real danger faced by any American captured by an opposing force in any kind of conflict. American leaders in the past helped get the Geneva Conventions established, and any American leader who attempts to lessen their influence must be recognized as a traitor to the cause of humane treatment of persons of any nation serving as prisoners of war.

The history of the war in Iraq will stand as a cloud of shame over the United States for many years. People of the respected nations of the world are shamed and disappointed that we have betrayed their trust and respect. They wonder, as do many Americans, how could the leadership of our country allow this to happen? We won’t get the answer to that question from the administration that started the war. But, surely one day a brave historian will write about it and explain what Mr. Bush thought he could accomplish by entering this war and how the events and their management led to such strange and sad unintended consequences.

Jerry Clements 8/8/04

The Lost War

2007-08-15T13:59:00.000-04:00

The Lost War

The United States doesn’t know how to lose a war. West Point’s
Curriculum doesn’t include a course that teaches our generals or presidents how to say we failed in our mission. Even if there were a protocol for handing our saber to the enemy in a big ceremony it wouldn’t work in the situation we have in Iraq for there is no person in authority to accept our admission of failure. Perhaps we could establish a new protocol similar to one I remember from an old western movie in which the two sides fought a particularly fierce battle until sundown when both withdrew for a night’s rest. When they went back to the battlefield the next morning they noticed that the enemy had just folded their tents and departed.

However it may be staged, the American people need, and are entitled to, a proper closure to this war. We need to hear someone state clearly that we were led into the invasion of Iraq because someone misinterpreted the intelligence reports, failed to question the accuracy of evidence and let personal feelings over-rule reason and sound judgment. Over and over our leaders have told us the invasion was justified, yet is seems clear that they failed to design the strategies needed to follow-up the military victory with arrangements for establishing a peaceful civil regime that would provide police, and public utility services. Finally, they failed to provide safe workplaces and suitable incentives to lead the people into significant employment.

Our history includes a great variety of wars in which our people devised techniques to fit the situations they faced whether the battlefield was on the water, in the forest or in cornfields; whether the battles involved individuals or organized groups. Also, we learned a lot from the battles in the jungles of Korea and Viet Nam. But all of these experiences failed to adequately prepare us for Iraq. The enemy there doesn’t appear to be organized, wears no uniform and follows no regular system of attack.

It appears that in Iraq we have let a bunch of unorganized clever, inspired, nationalistically dedicated civilians outmaneuver us in a style of warfare that we simply can’t understand. Our service personnel are doing their job well insofar as they are able to understand what their job is. The frontline leaders don’t seem to know how to defeat these people. They can’t tell the men to go out and kill every person they see. It would be stupid to tell them to kill every man with a beard or that looks like Hussein. Yet the men can’t simply wait to act until some fellow sets off the package of dynamite he is hiding under his jacket or drives his bomb laden car into the traffic gate barrier.

We civilians at home are also unable to find a solution. We hear the reports of kidnapping, suicide bombing, and beheading of captives and are shocked. We grieve with the relatives and friends of the victims and are angry and disturbed that our leaders don’t seem to be as concerned about it as we are. They give us assurances that our programs are working and progress is being made, acting as if they don’t read the papers or watch the television news reports.

Being so deeply concerned about the daily news helps push us in our search for a plausible reason for being unable to end the war and bring our troops home like we have done in past wars. Thinking about the horrors of it keeps us from accepting it as routine like the weather reports or the Saturday football games results. It is important that we refuse to let ourselves become callous about this war that is killing and disabling so many of our young people and consuming so much of our precious resources.

The great volume of the news and the horrible nature of it tend to occupy so much of our thought so that we get wrapped up in the NOW of the news. We see so much news about the current activities that we have come to believe that we are losing the war because of something that is happening now, in the present. This concentration on the NOW is blinding us to the important happenings of the past.

If we shift our thoughts to the questions of the who and the what of the PAST we may be able to learn what got this horrible war started and for what reason. Somewhere along the line something must have gone wrong. A nation doesn’t wake up one morning to find itself in a war, certainly not one it is losing, in a small country on the other side of the world. Understanding the causes and events leading up to the war may not tell us how to stop it but it certainly should help us understand it better than we do now.

The terrorist attack of 9/11/01 is a logical starting point. This event enraged the president as well as the general population of the country. It was planned and staged by Osma ben Laden in association with el-Qaeda. Immediately the president vowed to hunt them down and bring them to justice for which vow he received praise from the entire world. The search for the terrorist leaders began in Afghanistan but failed to catch them.

For reasons not know to us the President seemed to suspect Saddam Hussein of Iraq of being involved in the 9/11 attack and instructed his intelligence people to search for evidence of his involvement with el-Qaeda. Soon the campaign in Afghanistan shifted to Iraq with emphasis on the search for evidence of collaboration between Hussein and the terrorist organizations. President Bush appeared to have a strong dislike for Mr. Hussein as well as a desire to have him deposed from his leadership role in Iraq.

The president was certain that Hussein had a stockpile of chemical and biological weapons and was actively engaged in a program to produce Nuclear weapons. Mr. Bush felt the U.N. inspectors were not diligent enough in their search for these weapons and worked to have their work stopped and replaced by U. S. inspectors. He was confident they would find the evidence needed to substantiate Iraq’s possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

As the search for weapons continued the president and his staff began formulating plans for invading Iraq to overthrow Dictator Saddam Hussein before he could launch an attack against us. We would depose him and free the Iraqi people from his repressive, cruel regime. The president was confident the victory would be swift and the citizens would happily welcome us and embrace our plans to help them establish a free, democratic society.

Many citizens questioned the wisdom of making war on another nation which had not attacked us. This seemed contrary to our long custom of not playing the role of aggressor. The president explained that Hussein had on hand a supply of weapons of mass destructions and was in the process of obtaining equipment and materials to build nuclear weapons and that we simply could not wait to see a mushroom cloud before taking action to defend our country. Mr. Bush explained that in addition to eliminating the threat to our country our attack would help spread liberty to other people of the world which he felt the United States was called to do.

Efforts to enlist support among our friends were rebuffed, with leaders in France and Germany being critical of the idea. State Secretary Powell presented our case to the United Nations, but failed to get an endorsement of support. President Bush was disappointed and was highly critical of those refusing help and vowed to go it alone if necessary. He did not feel it would be proper to be in a position of asking any nation, or the U. N. for permission to defend the United States and its citizens.

As the constitutional authority to declare war is vested in the congress, the president requested Congress to grant him authority to use the power necessary to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. Congress has its own rules of parliamentary procedure but they are very similar to those in the traditional Roberts Rules of Order. Ordinarily an issue important enough to involve the nation in war would be referred to committees for study and investigation of the information and verification of the facts cited to support the request.

Members of congress had heard the president personally state that Saddam Hussein had a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction and that he was seeking to buy material to produce nuclear bombs. They heard him say that we were in imminent danger of being attacked and that we could not afford to delay the removal of this evil man from power. Accepting his words as truth would demand that we consider the Mr. Hussein as a threat carrying consequences greater than those of the 9/11 attacks. Clearly it was a matter that could not be delayed, and Congress promptly gave Mr. Bush the authority he sought.

Congress incurred a goodly share of the blame for the resulting war by its failure to investigate the facts and verify the intelligence before voting to give the president the authority he requested.

The leaders in the Pentagon were closely allied with the president and stood ready to cooperate fully with the president. Any who expressed disagreement were aware of the threat to their career and most fulfilled their duty as good soldiers.

Finally, the president, the top link in the chain of command, failed. He was inexperienced in war making. Yet the overwhelming support he received for his firm and resolute in response to the 9/11 attacks could not help impressing him and confirming in his mind the importance of prompt, firm action in times of emergency. In speeches and later actions Mr. Bush has clearly affirmed his conviction that the most important characteristic of a war leader is the appearance of being tough and unbending. It appears that this conviction was the major influence that spurred him to proceed with his war plans without bothering to question the reliability of the intelligence that had been furnished to him.

The Armed Forces did their job well; the war was won in record time with surprisingly few casualties. Then news came that plans for the transformation had not been drawn up. It appeared to be a ’plan as you go’ program. We suffered the blunders that a high school pupil could have predicted. The leaders we chose were incompetent or crooked, or both, and the local population was divided and unhappy. Instead of choosing local contractors and workmen to rebuild and restore the economy, we awarded contracts, without bids, to American firms. These contractors were free enterprise entrepreneurs interested in making profits for their stockholders and could not be expected to have an interest in establishing a democratic society in Iraq.

It took very little agitation to stir up the unemployed, the Saddam loyalists and the Infidel hating religious radicals. Within a short while there were individuals and groups searching for ways and means of making life miserable for the American Infidel invaders. Terrorist groups found sources of bomb making materials and hosts of individuals who were willing to sacrifice themselves as suicide bombs in the process of killing foreign soldiers, workers and natives employed by the foreigners. Almost immediately the attacks were extended to contractors working for the Americans. The types of weapons were expanded to include any device they could use to kill persons or to demolish property. As word got out to surrounding countries there was a huge influx of all manner of individuals anxious to help their friends drive out the infidel invaders, making a small fortune in the process.

Assuming that things would improve if we moved to let them run their own affairs, we announced that on 30 June 2004 we would turn the sovereignty of the country over to the local population. This was a welcome move which should go far toward development of support from all segments of the Iraqi society. However, the “turnover” contract had a long list of conditions and agreements that revealed that it was not a turnover of sovereignty at all. We were getting rid of the messy details of administration and keeping the big paying contracts and oil operations for ourselves or our political friends.

The future is not bright. An election scheduled for January 2005 will elect a permanent government. However, the insurgents claim it won’t happen. Even if the election is held and a new government takes over the operation of the country they will still be bound by the trick clauses of the June 30 sovereignty transfer. The Halliburton and affiliate and other contracts will still be in force as well as the agreement that U S troops will remain in Iraq as long as they are needed to maintain public safety.

President Bush has assured the world that the January elections will be held in spite of the insurgent’s efforts to prevent them.

In November 2004 we will have an election of our own. The new president will be inaugurated into a government still facing the unsettled situation in Iraq. The president will need a true miracle if he is to redeem the many misjudgments and errors that have hung like a dark cloud over this war from its inception. For the sake of everyone involved we pray that he will be able to remove the “lost” label from it with honor and goodwill.

Jerry Clements 10/3/04

My Favorite Poem of All Time - THE PSALM OF LIFE by Longfellow

2007-08-15T13:56:00.000-04:00

The Psalm Of Life
by William Wadsworth Longfellow

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream !—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor, and to wait.

A Collection of Best-Loved Poems

2007-08-15T13:47:00.000-04:00

THE DAY IS DONE

by H. W. Longfellow

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist:
And a feeling of sadness comes over me,
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of time.

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life’s endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humble poet,
Whose songs gush’d from his heart,
As showers from clouds of summer,
Or tears from eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice;
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

THE MAN WITH THE HOE
by Edwin Markham

Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages on his face.
And on his back the burdens of the world..
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?
Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back his brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within his brain?

Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave
To have dominion over sea and land.
To trace the stars and search the heavens for power,
To feel the passion of Eternity?
Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And pillared the blue firmament with light?
Down all the stretch of hell to its last gulf
There is no shape more terrible than this—
More tongued with censure of the world’s blind greed—
More filled with signs and portents for the soul—
More fraught with menace to the universe.

What gulfs between him and the seraphim!
Slaves of the wheel of labor, what to him
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?
What the long reaches of peaks of song,
The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose?
Through this dread shape the suffering ages look;
Time’s tragedy is in that aching stoop;Through this dread shape humanity betrayed,
Plundereed, profaned, and disinherited,
Cried protest to the Judges of the World,
A protest that is also prophecy.

O masters, lords, and rulers in all lands,
Is this the handiwork you give to God,
This monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched?
How will you ever straighten up this shape,
Touch it again with immortality;
Give back the upward looking and light;
Rebuild in it the music and the dreams;
Make right the immemorial infamies,
Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes?

O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
How will the Future reckon with this Man?
How answer his brute question in that hour
When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world?
How will it be with kingdoms and with kings—
With those who shaped him to the thing he is—
When this dumb Terror shall reply to God,
After the silence of centuries?

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where in bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Another Favorite Poem - THE CREATION by James Weldon Johnson

2007-08-15T13:31:00.000-04:00

THE CREATION

And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:
I’m lonely---I’ll make me a world.

As far as the eye could see
Darkness covered everything,
Blacker than a hundred midnights
Down in a cypress swamp.

The God smiled, And the light broke,
And the darkness rolled up on one side,
And light stood shining on the other,
And God said: That’s good!

Then God reached out and took the light in his hands,
And God rolled the light around in his hands
Until he made the sun:
And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.
And the light that was left from making the sun
God gathered it up in a shining ball
And flung it against the darkness,
Spangling the night with the moon and stars.

Then down between the darkness and the light
He hurled the world;
God said: That’s good!

Then God himself stepped down—
And the sun was on his right hand,
And the moon was on his left;
The stars were clustered about his head,
And the earth was around his feet.
And God walked, and where he trod
His footsteps hollowed the valleys out
And bulged the mountains up.

Then he stopped and looked and saw
That the earth was hot and barren.
So God stepped over the edge of the world
And he spat out the seven seas---
He batted his eyes, and the lightning flashed—
He clapped his hands, and the thunders rolled—
And the waters above the earth came down,
The cooling waters came down.

Then the green grass sprouted,
And the little red flowers blossomed,
The pine tree pointed his fingers up to the sky,
And the oak spread out his arms,
The lakes cuddled down in the hollows of the ground,
And the rivers ran down to the sea;
And God smiled again,

And the rainbow appeared,
And curled itself around His shoulder.
Then God raised his arm and waved his hand
Over the sea and over the land,
And said: Bring forth! Bring forth!
And quicker than God could drop his hand,
Fishes and fowls and beasts and birds
Swam the rivers and seas,
Roamed the forests and the woods,
And split the air with their wings.
And God said: That’s good.

Then God walked around on all that he had made.
He looked at his sun, and he looked at his moon,
And then he looked at his little stars;
He looked on his world with all its living things,
And God said: I’m lonely still.

Then God sat down—
On the side of a hill where he could think;
By a deep, wide river he sat down;
With his head in his hands,
God thought and thought,
Till he thought: I’ll make me a man!

Up from the bed of the river God scooped the clay;
And by the bank of the river he kneeled him down;
And there the great God Almighty
Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,
Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,
Who rounded the earth in the middle of his hand;

This Great God
Like a mammy bending over her baby,
Kneeled down in the dust
Toiling over a lump of clay
Til he shaped it in his own image;
Then into it he blew the breath of life.
And man became a living soul.
Amen. Amen.

James Weldon Johnson
God’s Trombones

SIMON LEGREE --- A Negro Sermon

2007-08-15T12:27:00.000-04:00

Another one of my favorite poems:

SIMON LEGREE---A Negro Sermon

Legree’s big house was white and green.
His cotton fields were the best to be seen.
He had strong horses and opulent cattle,
And bloodhounds bold, with chains that would rattle.
His garret was full of curious things:
Books of magic, bags of gold,
And rabbits’ feet on long twine strings.
But he went down to the Devil

Legree, he sported a brass-buttoned coat,
A snakeskin necktie, a blood-red shirt.
Legree he had a beard like a goat,
And a thick hairy neck, and eyes like dirt.
His puffed-out cheeks were fish-belly white,
He had great long teeth, and an appetite.
Her ate raw meat, ‘most every meal,
And he rolled his eyes till the cat would squeal.
His fist was an enormous size
To mash poor niggers that told him lies:
He was surely a witchman in disguise.
But he went down to the Devil.

He wore hip boots, and would wade all day
To capture his slaves that fled away.
But he went down to the Devil.

He beat poor Uncle Tom to death
Who prayed for Legree with his last breath.
Then Uncle Tom to Eva flew,
To high sanctoriums bright and new;
And Simon Legree stared up beneath,
And cracked his heels, and ground his teeth:
And went down to the Devil.

He crossed the yard in the storm and gloom;
He went into his grand front room.
He said, “I like him, and I don’t care.”
He kicked a hound, he gave a swear;
He tightened his belt, he took a lamp,
Went down cellar to the webs and damp.
There in the middle of the moldy floor
He heaved up a slab, he found a door—
And went down to the Devil.

His lamp blew out, but his eyes burned bright.
Simon Legree stepped down all night—
Down, down to the Devil.

Simon Legree he reached the place,
He saw one half of the human race,
He saw the Devil on a wide green throne,
Gnawing the meat from from a big ham bone,
And he said to Mister Devil:
“I see you have much to eat—
A red ham bone is surely sweet.
I see you have lion’s feet;
I see your frame is fat and fine,
I see you drink your poison wine—
Blood and burning turpentine.”

And the Devil said to Simon Legree:
“I like your style, so wicked and free.
Come sit and share my throne with me,
And let us bark and revel.”
And there they sit and gnash their teeth,
And each one wears a hop-vine wreath.
They are matching pennies and shooting craps,
They are playing poker and taking naps.
And old Legree is fat and fine:
He heats the fire, he drinks the wine.—
Blood and burning turpentine—
Down, down with the Devil;
Down, down with the Devil;
Down, down with the Devil.

Vachel Lindsay [ 1879-1931]

Fooling Us Again

2007-08-15T12:25:00.000-04:00

FOOLING US AGAIN

It is not easy to contradict a President. If he says he has authority to do something one is expected to believe he has that authority. When this is repeated several times one comes to raise questions and suspect that he is fooling us. In fact, the opposition party has an obligation to question actions that appear to exceed the authority inherent the office or that appear to be in violation of the law.

During the last three years President has fooled us many times, beginning with his claim that he went to war with Iraq because he relied on faulty Intelligence. While some of the intelligence was faulty, President Bush had other intelligence that was accurate which showed that the war was not justified.

When members of Congress questioned his decision to go to war with Iraq President Bush replied that they had the same intelligence he had and yet voted approval of his war plans. The facts were they did not. They were supplied selected information from the intelligence the president had and were permitted limited time to review other papers and were not allowed to make copies for detailed study.

False information was fed to us in the President’s State of the Union speech, in press reports that “We have found the weapons of mass destruction” and “We do not torture”. These were not slips of the tongue by an honest president wishing to inform the American people. They were lies meant to fool the public about the situation on Iraq.

President Bush launched a secret wire-tapping operation in violation of federal law that requires getting court orders prior to doing such operations. This is made much more serious by the fact of his bypassing a law which was passed with the specific purpose of allowing such searches, but requiring authorities to get the permission of a secret court set up to make this possible. This is part of a scheme to fool us into believing that he has authority he does not have.

We are led to believe that we are striving to insure that the people in Iraq will have equal rights, freedom of the press and free enterprise like we have in the U.S. At the same time he is paying people to write false or misleading articles to be published in Iraq media. He also staged an International news conference in which he used U.S. soldiers who had been coached in what to say to the American public about how the war was progressing.

President Bush contends that “We do not torture.” And has abides by a policy that does not consider sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, use of dogs to terrorize prisoners, forced nudity, extended exposure to extreme temperatures, waterboarding, mock executions and mock burials as torture. With such a definition one can understand how Mr. Bush can hold to the belief that the nation does not torture. He is trying to fool us into believing false definitions and also that no Americans will be captured in the future.

Bush's War

2007-08-15T12:22:00.000-04:00

BUSH’S WAR
Jerry Clements 7/16/04

George W. Bush never admits making a mistake, but admits that he may have at one time or another, but he can not recall making one. Further, he denies ever using evasive language to conceal lies or wrongdoings. The television viewers of the world saw and heard the President making these claims at his news conference.

On another occasion he said no one at the White House or at the Pentagon “had a clue that the mistreatment of prisoners was taking place at Abu Ghraib. The few reported incidents were the work of a half-dozen low-level grunts who should have known better, he said. See, over there we are prosecuting those ‘grunts’ to the hilt. Our system of treating prisoners is working, and that’s the end of the story. So, let’s move on”.

The freedom of the press enables us to know that the President was lying. In the Pentagon Secretary Rumsfeld knew all about it and told Mr. Bush about it January. He had full, detailed reports from the Army itself and from the Red Cross. Yet, they kept it a secret until the awful truth of the torture became public knowledge around the world. His simple lie is revealed in secret memos from Bush’s Justice Department and from his top White House lawyer claiming that the U. S. did not have to comply with the Geneva Conventions and other international bans on prisoner abuse.

The President’s denial of knowledge was simply a bare faced lie. Apparently his hope was that the blame could be placed on underlings who would have to face courts that would happily choose to believe the President’s word over that of one he called a “grunt”. The President won’t have to defend himself in court, he hopes.

President Bush denies telling lies to the American people to justify attacking Iraq. The intelligence data furnished him was inaccurate. Here again he is attempting to place the blame for the fiasco on to the C. I. A.. as if that agency has the responsibility for deciding to declare the war. He wants the ‘grunts’ in that organization to bear the blame for failing to determine the accuracy of the data they assembled for consideration by the President. It is true that they failed to do their job, and should be reprimanded or fired. However, it is quite possible that the defective data was what Mr. Bush wanted to support his declaration to Congress and the American people that Iraq possessed ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and that we were in danger of being attacked at any moment. The factual data would have denied Mr. Bush the sense of urgency he sought and would have left Mr. Hussein appearing as a cruel dictator, mean to his own people, but of no immediate threat to us.

The war in Iraq has turned the spotlight on the shallowness of Mr. Bush’s understanding of the duties of a President as well as his lack of integrity in fulfilling them. As President, Chief Executive Officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces it is his duty to determine that data given him by employees are accurate before he acts on them. He is the top link in the chain of command. He is the executive who chose the Cabinet Secretaries and it is his responsibility to do whatever is necessary to make sure the information he acts upon is accurate. His failure to verify the accuracy of the data used as a basis for a war declaration is inexcusable. The President can’t justify his failure by blaming “some grunt” lower down the chain of command.

At some important date in the future the facts and figures will be assembled to assess the results of the war on Iraq. At that time the people will learn what the President knew and when he knew it. We will be able to see the cost of the war in terms of lives lost, people disabled for life, the resources in materials lost or destroyed and the monetary loss and debt incurred in the process. We will be able to read the verified facts explaining the true reasons for the war and the process employed in bringing the various forces into agreement on the necessity of declaring war on Iraq. The story of the ‘process’ will explain to us why the plans failed to include a process of managing Iraq after we had removed its leader, pending the establishment of a stable, Democratic government in that country.

In a supplement to the War Report we will learn what failures and leadership breakdowns caused the local population to hate their liberators and why they welcomed world terrorists to come and help them get rid of the occupation forces and their contractors and employees. There will be a section mentioning the treatment of prisoners and explaining the extent to which it encouraged ordinary citizens to join in the harassment and killing of the occupiers.

In a second supplement the report will explore the extent to which the United States has lost the respect and admiration of nations that had been our friends for generations. It will measure the extent to which our ability to negotiate international agreements has been diminished by the war. Speculation will be included regarding possible abuse of our service personnel captured in future conflicts.

The Heart of the Matter

2007-05-30T10:37:00.000-04:00

When I went into the army in 1943 I knew that I was doing the right thing, I knew that President Roosevelt was a good president who would lead the country in an honest courageous manner. The enemy was Hitler who had demonstrated his hateful, aggressive nature and was determined to conquer all of Europe. It was not in my nature to hurt or kill people but in my heart I knew that the war was a just war and that I could do no less than perform to be best of my ability every task assigned to me.

From the day I reported to the induction station, through Africa, France and Germany there was never a time when I doubted the rightness of our cause or the integrity of our generals in the drive to win the war. I felt that the men in my unit believed in the cause as strongly as I did. That is the way it is supposed to be; that is the key to winning a war.

Things appear to be different in the war we are fighting in Iraq. Many soldiers are expressing doubts about several aspect of this war that did not appear in the war I knew. It is not surprising to learn that individual citizens also are questioning the manner of our starting the war and of its execution.

The ability of the leaders in the Pentagon is being questioned as shortages of equipment is reported and ineffective training of local fighting units become evident. News of no-bid reconstruction contracts and huge losses due to poor workmanship and fraud contribute to doubts in the minds of soldiers as well as honest citizens.

Adding to the increasing volume of demoralizing news from the fighting front we read newspaper reports that President Bush ignored advice from the National Intelligence Council regarding the probability of an insurgency eruption and clashes between religious sects. Fighting men will surely lose respect for the president’s leadership as they see the local fighting growing more intense in Iraq. No amount of propaganda will offset such distressful news.

When a soldier loses faith in the President, his Commander-in-chief, he begins to question the whole idea of the war. It doesn’t take much bad news like that to make him wonder why he is enduring the terrible discomforts and dangers of war in a foreign country instead of being at home with his loved ones. He wonders who he is fighting and why. He may even wonder if the insurgents might be right in wanting to drive the foreigners out of Iraq. After a while the soldier loses his incentive to fight and the war becomes a big burden instead of a worthy cause.

The war is over when the soldiers lose the will to fight, when the cause is not in their hearts. You can’t push a rope. You can’t make an army win a battle. It may well be that we are now ready to declare our war is over. We appear ready to acknowledge the end of a war that should never have started. It was a war entered into on false premises without justification or reason. Maybe this is the time to de-classify the documents, to persuade the President and his staff to come clean about the faulty intelligence and their poor judgment.

No matter how close to the truth we come we cannot cover up the shameful facts of the war. Nothing can restore the lost limbs, demented minds and painful hours suffered by the well purposed men and women who answered the call to serve their country. There is no way to un-do the funerals of those who died in this big mistake.

Jerry Clements 5/28/07

Damage from Ignored Intelligence

2007-05-30T10:34:00.000-04:00

It is difficult to keep a secret from the people. There are simply too many people using too many computers and cell-phones and too many people looking for opportunities to swap a little information for a few dollars. Of course we know there are things which executives should keep secret for the good of the company or of the government. For this purpose we have the Classified Document system.

When the government classifies a document the reason should be to protect the interest of the nation, not to protect any individual or political party. Care must be exercised to preserve the idea that the government is established by the people and for the people to promote and protect the interests of all the people.

When President Bush was considering the invasion of Iraq it was his duty to gather all of the facts regarding the entire operation and discuss with his cabinet all of the ramifications, consequences and possible rewards associated with the venture.

The people were led into a state of confusion when the President gave incomplete [sometimes dishonest] reasons for embarking on his plan to attack Iraq. Instead of asking his associates for factual information about the situation in Iraq he asked them to find evidence to justify the attack to overthrow the government. Information in records now being declassified makes it clear that Mr. Bush and his associates chose to feed congress and the people information that supported his plan to attack, while withholding information indicating it would be bad policy to attack.

Trouble arose when people began to ask why we were having so much trouble managing the occupation of Iraq. People began asking why we didn’t anticipate the difficulty with the Insurgents and why the conflicts between the religious sects are making the operation of the new government so difficult. They also asked why the officials sent so few soldiers compared to the hundreds of thousands recommended by knowledgeable officials. Also questions were raised as to why personal and vehicle protective armor was not provided in advance to the frontline units.

Bits of data started creeping into the news some months ago. Emergence of previously classified information supplied in reports of the National Intelligence Council confirms the fact that prior to the invasion President Bush was informed that we could expect serious trouble from insurgents and competing religious sects in the occupation procedure. Yet, ignoring the reports, the President [Commander-in-Chief] sent the troops in without notice of these anticipated troubles and without a plan for handling them.

We have suffered thousands of casualties because of our failure to heed the advice of the Intelligence Council. Our troops have learned by bitter experience what they would have learned prior to the invasion if the president had not ignored the Intelligence Council’s reports. We are still in the process of learning how this neglect is hindering the organization and operation of the new government in Iraq. Further, the predicted activity and growth of the Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups has become evident along with the predicted growth of unrest among the populations of the other nations in the region.

President Bush says “we were warned about a lot of things, some of which happened, some of which didn’t happen.” Much earlier he said the pre-invasion intelligence he was furnished was flawed. Neither of these statements will relieve the hurt of the losses we have suffered. Neither will they mend the damage to our standing in the world community resulting from this lost war that should never have started.

Jerry Clements 5/26/07

Give Iraqi People A Purpose

2007-03-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

Saving Iraq depends on finding an issue [a cause] that will unite the different factions of that country, plus a leader who is able to dramatize that issue sufficiently to inspire the population to forget their previous beliefs and prejudices and to pledge their fortunes, sacred honor and lives to the cause of uniting in a fight to drive all foreign forces from their country and establishing a new and unified nation.

The present nation of Iraq was set up by people who were more interested in eliminating a custodial problem than in organizing a nation that could rule and sustain its status as a free nation. It did not represent the wishes of its people and gave them little reason for pride or self respect. From the beginning its leaders have been more interested in their [or their families] wealth and position than in unifying the various tribes, religions and political factions into a true nation.

There was no feeling of equality among its people. There was no reason for concern about the welfare of the people of other tribes or those of different faiths. To hold the nation together the leaders had to depend on force. To be a leader one had to be somewhat charismatic and able to organize and sustain military and police forces sufficient to maintain order. He had to be sufficiently trusted by tribal and religious leaders to keep them convinced that their interests were being served.

Such a system could not give school children a feeling of pride and patriotism sufficient to overcome their loyalty to their clan or their religious leaders. Their past history could give them little reason to make sacrifices for their nation if that sacrifice were not sponsored by their family, clan and religion.

There has been no cause for people to rise up and fight another nation. Their troubles have been between tribes and religions or against the abuses of their government. Into this confusing picture came George W. Bush, the unifier, with a gift of a national purpose. The groups who hate one another so vehemently are now willing to forget their differences and prejudices sufficiently to agree that the overriding purpose must be to drive the infidels out of the country.

Driving out the occupying forces would be a great achievement for the people of Iraq. Still, the task of creating a viable, self sustaining nation in Iraq will not be attained until ways are found to overcome the animosities existing between the religious groups.

The problem is the one that has existed since the birth of Iraq. The important thing now is that the people of the country be convinced that they should face their problems around a conference table and work out an arrangement for a new Iraqi nation. Surely there is a person somewhere who would be willing to die if necessary to make the people realize the necessity of placing the creation of a viable nation above all other loyalties.

This is the time for a person like Tom Paine to grab the stage and proclaim that “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph” or more significantly “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness that gives everything its value.” Words like these gave those brave Colonial rebels the drive and inspiration to throw off England’s yoke, lay aside their petty prejudices and fight to establish a new and enduring nation.

So, let us bring together a large group of Iraq citizens of courage and influence and tell them to go forth and establish a new, durable nation for themselves.

GIVE IRAQI PEOPLE A PURPOSE Jerry Clements 2/19/07

Double-Dare Diplomacy

2007-01-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

This is a time when we, the U S A, need all the friends we can find. It certainly is not a time when we should make new enemies. If possible, we should be searching for ways to convert old enemies into friends. President Bush seems to disagree with this view. Instead of trying to gain friends he seems to be looking for a fight.

Iran is another of the nations that Mr. Bush loves to hate. There is more support for disliking Iran than there was for hating Iraq prior to the invasion of that nation in 2003. It would not be convenient to accuse Iran of having s supply of W M D’s or that they helped carry out the attack on the Trade Center towers. There isn’t sufficient evidence to justify a Regime Change to remove a tyrant from power in Iran. Finally, the people of the United States are not in a mood to start a war with a nation that has not attacked us. In fact some folks feel that we should ask Iran to help us find a solution to the mess have gotten ourselves into in Iraq.

In the absence of a good reason for a ‘preemptive strike’ against Iran President Bush seems stymied in his search for a reason to attack Iran. Yet, a war with Iran would relieve him of the severe criticism of the Iraq debacle. If only Iran would attack us Mr. Bush would be forced to recognize that a state of war existed. Surely our nation would not object to making a decisive strike against any nation that attacked us.

Into this stinking pot of brew comes the idea that we dare Iran to attack us. There are countless ways of challenging them to respond to raids or kidnapping in a manner that can be interpreted to be an attack. We could put a fleet of ships in the water off their coast and in a sense dare them to sneak up to one of them and attach a bomb to its hull. Or there might be a missile that lands on the deck of a Carrier whose source of origin could only be surmised to be Iran. There surely are many men on staff who are capable of issuing Double-Dare challenges that could not be ignored by Iran.

Surely I jest!! Yes, but my jesting is not in a class with the Intelligence cooking, false evidence and fact manipulation that preceded the invasion of Iraq.

Yet, surely no president of the United States would allow such things to happen! Still, we still remember the lies and deceit that led us into Iraq and realize the character of the president we have. Then we come face to face with the question of what can be done to prevent these things from happening. Some would say “Pray”. Some would say “Impeach”. Others would say “Write your Congressman”.

However serious we consider this to be, it is imperative that we consider some facts that may have great influence on the President’s thinking and actions during the remainder of his term: 1. President Bush realizes that he is destined to be considered a failure as president unless a way is found to avoid failure in Iraq. 2. President Bush has demonstrated that he doesn’t know how to manage a war. 3. President Bush is a novice at managing International relations, feeling that superior force can solve any problem. 4. President Bush enjoys being a “War President”. 5. President Bush is thinking seriously about his Legacy.

These factors make it imperative that every citizen pay close attention to all the news every day and consider the implications associated with each item and express their concerns to their representatives in Washington and to the local news media.

Jerry Clements 1/13/07

Divide and Conquer

2006-12-11T10:09:00.000-05:00

The United States, under the leadership of George W. Bush, is showing the world a new way of destroying itself. Given the background of the past three years, it should be no surprise that our leaders don’t know how to operate our government. Mr. Bush’s idea that a big, well trained and equipped army could destroy the government of another nation and install in its place a democratic government like ours went well until a group of unorganized, ill equipped guerrillas demonstrated the fallacy of that idea.

It was ironic that the President embarked on a serious job of nation building after he had taken a firm stand against the idea of nation building in his campaign for election. The President demonstrated his ignorance of history when he attempted to design and install a government for Iraq. Paying attention in history class would have taught him that governments are designed and established by people who want a new government and are willing to sacrifice everything to achieve their wish.

Just a small amount of studying the history, religions and traditions and of the people of Iraq would have alerted the President to the hazards associated with the radical changes he attempted to bring about in their government. Common sense would have alerted him to the difficulties of attempting to use the tools of war to bring about changes in cultural and religious attitudes.

The irony of the situation is made more dramatic by Mr. Bush’s unusual efforts to convince the nation and the world that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was necessary to avoid his use of weapons of mass destruction to attack the United States. He used his Cabinet and congressional leaders to help convince us that immediate action was necessary to prevent the appearance of a mushroom cloud overhead. His assurances of a short and successful war served to ease our concerns associated with war.

The impasse in which we find ourselves at the end of 2006 forces us to face the consequences of starting a war without a plan for its execution and managing its aftermath. Our leader doesn’t know how to get out of the confused mess created by the mistakes, misstatements and alibis of the last three years. From all sides we hear different opinions. Send in more troops; tell the leaders of Iraq that we will pull out unless they disarm the local militias; talk to Iran and Syria to see if they will help reach a peaceful settlement; hold a regional conference. Only small groups of people hold beliefs that these ideas will solve the problem.

At this juncture Mr. Bush is faced with the sobering fact that his actions--from the start of the war to this date, have brought the nation to the embarrassing notion that the mess he has created may have no satisfactory solution. Adopting any of the suggestions might only make the situation worse.

At a time when we need a President to step forward with a plan that is acceptable to all persons involved—a plan that will solve the problem, we hear Mr. Bush stating that he will listen to any suggestions. Yet, he hasn’t given any indication that he is serious about adopting any plan to solve the problem.

The leaders, elected and appointed, have now begun attacking one another about what course to take. Thus, we see a new weakness growing out of this senseless war:: a nation divided against itself.

Jerry Clements 12/8/06

I Hate War

2006-11-17T11:03:00.000-05:00

“War is Hell” was a general’s summation of the terrible activities of war. However bad it may sound, the statement gets interpreted as a simple statement that war is a bad practice that should be avoided. The declaration is usually seen as being so general that hearers fail to consider war as really comparable to a specific place or condition where people burn forever in an environment of fire and brimstone, where they never burn up or die, but where the unbearable suffering continues forever.

War is the undeniable proof that members of the ”family of man” have not yet learned how to live peaceably together or to care for the natural environment in which they live.. Even though the people have learned that progress in education, culture and trade is enhanced through the making of rules and regulations they seem to ignore this knowledge when they consider questions of war. Somehow they feel that war is in a different category and subject to a different set of rules.

In ordinary life they would not willfully destroy a forest of trees, a fleet of ships or skyscrapers of a city, yet in time of war people destroy these valuable properties as if they were compelled by God’s will to do so. Since they are at war they seem to forget that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” They forget that in the beginning God admonished them to care for the environment as one would care for his grape vineyard.

We know that all life is a sacred gift from God and that one of the great commandments tells us that we should not kill. We know that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. Yet, our self-declared Christian leader declares that we must go to war as a response to a “call” to bring the blessings of liberty to all the peoples of the world. The war then becomes a crusade to bring a regime change to a nation of oppressed people.

By calling this a war of liberation we can ignore the “Do Not Kill” command, especially since the leader of the country has killed thousands himself. To accomplish our mission we searched for the most efficient ways of killing the enemy. Our leaders gave us guns, bombs and land mines designed to kill large numbers of people and destroy their communication and transportation facilities. Ours is a good fighting force and the leader was overthrown in record time.

Although the war for regime change was won, the killing didn’t stop. The liberated people didn’t like us as an occupying force and began killing our soldiers, contractor employees and their own people who cooperated with us. Instead of identifying us as liberators, they branded us as invading infidels. All manner of new fighting techniques were employed to make us unwelcome. The war continues in its third year with no end in sight and with the death toll and frustration growing daily.

Man, the most noble and divine creation should be permitted to live out the purpose for which he was created. Otherwise his creation was a waste. The Scripture tells us that God’s creation “was good”. We, whoever we are, are obliged to recognize that goodness and do our best to protect and preserve every aspect of that creation.

Jerry Clements 11/15/06

Choice's Blessings - Therefore Choose Life

2006-07-07T09:40:00.000-04:00

“I have set before you life and death, therefore chose life, that both thou and thy kin may live.”

One of the greatest gifts of this life is the right to choose. Every person can choose to go down that road or this; to eat meat or vegetables; to study and pass or not study and flunk; to till the soil or practice law. To make a choice certifies that we are alive.

It is the exercise of choice that gives meaning to one’s life. Without making choices we can accomplish nothing, but find ourselves being pushed right or left, up or down, forward or backward like a leaf in the wind.

Yet, sometimes we give up this gift of choice. We may acquiesce rather than incur the wrath of a parent or guardian. We may find it easier to follow the lead of a friend than to assert our right to choose. Giving up the right once makes it easier to give it up again, and again until we forget that we have the right to choose.

The person, or institution, that kindly relieves us of making choices may well feel that they are making life easier for us. They may even feel that we should feel grateful for their kindness. What they fail to recognize is that their repeated actions take from us an important function that gives shape and meaning to our lives.

Institutional caretakers often find it easier and more efficient to do things for a resident rather than take the time for him to do them for himself. While commendable, such action may be harmful to the resident. The caretaker should take the time to encourage the patient to do for himself all those tasks within his physical and mental capabilities.

Usually, institutions have general rules that permit residents to make choices regarding most of their activities. Making these choices enables residents to maintain a life of responsibility and satisfaction. By their actions or words members of the staff should find occasions to commend residents for their responsible choices.

The scripture admonishes us to choose life. Let’s do so in every aspect of life and during every day of our lives. Let’s use our blessed right of choice to extract from every minute the opportunities available to us as individuals, family members and citizens. Scorn every effort to rob us of our right to choose, no matter what person or institution attempts to do so.

Jerry Clements 7/5/06

Easy Life Entitlement

2006-06-26T08:28:00.000-04:00

Spending one’s life working and managing the duties associated with one’s job plus dealing with those naturally occurring problems in one’s family may well bring on an aversion to work of any kind. It is not unusual to find retired persons who decline to serve on committees or participate in worthwhile community service projects. They often feel that they did their share of volunteering during their years on the job and now simply want to take life easy and enjoy their retirement years.

As human beings in the United States each person has the right to choose whether or not to engage in activities during his/her retirement years.

While enjoying the individual rights, each person should not ignore his obligations to himself, his family and his community. He should actively strive to stay healthy and to avoid accidents that injure his body or cause disability, for these things cause financial or emotional loss to himself, his family or to the community.

“Staying healthy” is the watchword of an army of individuals, authors and publishers who are making fortunes through telling us how to lose weight, quit smoking, sleep well or exercise our bodies or brains. Many of their devices or ideas are simple quackery that should be avoided, but some deserve our attention.

Almost every month there are health reports stressing the importance of “doing something”, of putting to use the admonition “use it or lose it”. This is good advice.

It is easier to sit in the rocker than walk around the block, easier to watch television than read a book. Walking and reading are not difficult chores, yet, the choice to do them represents an important step toward healthy living. Walking and reading are mentioned only as examples of physical and mental activities that are important to healthful living.

Some retirees reject the idea of doing things because it arouses memories of boring work at the office or the pressure of meeting deadlines. These feelings can be avoided by choosing different and more challenging activities. Some tasks undertaken may be too difficult, but we need to remember that the work [physical and mental] involved in the task is the important part. Successful completion is just the ‘icing on the cake’.

The rewards are doubled when one’s activities help other people. Assisting Boy or Girl Scouts with projects, coaching athletic teams, mentoring school children, leading groups on tree or flower identification hikes and serving as Merit Badge counselor are just a few of the activities that one may do to use our knowledge or skill to bring life and enjoyment into our lives --- and keep us healthy and alert.

If we don’t use our bodies and minds they will dry up and become useless, making us dependent on others. For ourselves and those around us, we should do what we can to maintain our independence as long as we can.

Jerry Clements 6/29/06

My Cousin Gurthy's Famous Peanut Brittle

2006-06-10T09:47:00.000-04:00

Here is the recipe for Gurthy Averett's peanut brittle that he brought to the family reunion at Jo Anne Hill's house (Greensoboro, Alabama) in early May. It is delicious!

Cousin Gurthy’s Famous Peanut Brittle

1 cup sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup water
½ stick butter

Combine in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until it spins a thread.

Add 1-2 cups raw peanuts and stir. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon soda.

Spread on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam. Spread it out.

Cool and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

From:
Gurthy Averett, age 94, Selma, Alabama (Jerry’s first cousin, our second cousin, I think)

Pretty Red Wing - A Love Story

2006-06-09T22:17:00.000-04:00

PRETTY RED WING
A Love Story

The ballad “Pretty Red Wing” tells the story of an Indian maiden and her love for a young brave of her tribe. What the ballad doesn’t tell is how fate and the spirits that control our lives conspired to make it difficult for Red Wing to realize her life’s dreams.

She was a daughter of Trapper Cook who was a half-breed Indian. He had the straight black hair and high cheekbones of his Choctaw mother and the dark blue eyes of his English fur trading father, Llyuellen Cook. He was a highly respected member of the Talladega tribe.

Crouching Cougar, the aged and ailing chief, relied on him to guide the tribe in the new world brought in by the ever increasing number of white settlers. In order to educate his people, Trapper Cook engaged Miss Gussie Harris to teach them to read, write and do arithmetic.

As our story begins we find Miss Gussie in the classroom.

ACT 1 The Classroom

Miss Harris calls the roll, with each child rising and answering ‘present’.

Miss Harris: Today we will have a test to see what you remember of our study of animals of the forest. Who can identify the animal I have drawn on the board?

Bubbly Brook, tell us what animal this is.

Bubbly B: It’s a--- It’s a--- I don’t know what it is.

Miss Harris: Hiawatha, I’m sure you know. What animal is this?

Hiawatha: I dunno

Miss Harris: Wake up class! What animal is this?

Class: We don’t know!

Miss Harris: [Takes a close look at the drawing] Oh dear! I forgot to put the white stripe down its back. [She draws in the stripe.]

Class: [Yell, in unison] It’s a skunk!

Miss Harris: Very good. You may have a recess now. Return to your seats when you hear my whistle.

Red Wing: [Approaches Miss Gussie shyly] Please Miss Gussie, may I talk to you about a problem I need help with?

Miss Harris: Of course, my dear. Are you having trouble with arithmetic?

Red Wing: Oh no. I can add pretty well now. It’s my father. He is being very cruel and I don’t know what to do.

Miss Harris: Tell me about it. Perhaps I can help.

Red Wing: You know Leaping Wolf—He’s the one who wins all the races—The tall handsome one.

Well, I love him and he loves me. He promises to build me a beautiful wigwam for us to live in and to cover me with beaver skins and find me the most beautiful feathers for my hair----if only I will be his squaw.

Miss Harris: That sounds perfect----but what is the problem?

Red Wing: My father is the problem. He doesn’t like Leaping Wolf. He thinks he is too young and will not be able to provide for me. And worst of all, that old Chief Flying Rattler, whose wife died last year, wants to marry me so I can take care of those awful papooses of his. {she begins crying quietly] Oh, what can I do? What can I do?

Miss Harris: I think that you should tell Leaping Wolf to try to find something he can do to show your father that he is not just a boy but is truly a man. Then your father will surely consent to your marriage.

Act 2 Solving the problem

Narrator: That evening Leaping Wolf and Red Wing met at their favorite place down by the river. Red Wing told him of her talk with Miss Gussie.

Red Wing: Unless you prove to my father that you are the best of the braves he will never let us marry and I will have to marry that old Chief Flying Rattler with all those nasty children and that tatty, old fashioned wigwam of his.

Leaping W: But what more can I do? I’ve already brought in more pelts than any of the others. I’ve won all the races and I have saved a lot of wampum. He must know that I am serious about you! But don’t worry, my pretty Red Wing. I’ll find a way,or my name is not Leaping Wolf!

Act 3 Marriage Proposal

Narrator: Chief Flying Rattler of a neighboring tribe and Trapper Cook smoked the Peace Pipe together. Chief Flying Rattler brought up a subject that was very much on his mind.

Flying Rattler: Since the death of my wife, my eyes have been taken by your daughter, Red Wing. I need a mother for my seven children; someone young, strong and not afraid of a little hard work. Your Red Wing suits me fine. I will give you ten of my best horses for her.

Trapper Cook: My daughter is indeed of marriageable age. Already several braves are courting her, especially that young hot-head Leaping Wolf. She has spoken to me about him. She is inclined to accept his proposal. You know, Flying Rattler, I don’t understand our children. In my day there was none of this wooing and courting, no looking sheep eyes at one another. Braves were braves and maidens were maidens and the fathers selected suitable mates for them. Left on their own they would skip through life like aimless crickets. You are a steady and prosperous man and you would be a good provider for Red Wing. So, good friend, I will speak to Red Wing of your proposal, but the decision is up to her.

Act 4 The Council Meeting

Narrator: The wealth of the tribe was in the animal pelts which they planned to sell to the fur traders who would be coming down the Chattahoochee in the spring. After cleaning and curing, the beautiful skins were bundled and stored in sheds adjoining the compound.
Early on the morning of the first quarter Threetoe Tobrich burst into Trapper Cook’s teepee with very bad news.

Threetoe: “Trapper Cook, some thieves broke into the sheds and stole our furs last night. They took every bundle!”

Narrator: Trapper Cook immediately called for a meeting with Chief Crouching Cougar and the Elders of the tribe.

Trapper C: Something terrible has happened, my brothers. Last night, as we slept, all of our hard earned pelts were stolen. I have already sent out a scouting party to track the thieves.

Chief CC: Not only have we been robbed of our furs, but our honor is at stake here. Are we to allow them to tweak our nose! We will find these thieves, get back what belongs to us and punish them!

[Hoof beats precede Tomcat Backas’s shouting entry.]

Tomcat B: We found them! We tracked the thieves all the way to Echo Ravine. There are many of them and they are camping there.

Chief C C: Who are they? Could you identify them?

Tomcat B: Yes, my Chief. It’s that bunch of renegade Chickasaws that have been raiding all around the territory.

Chief C C: They have dishonored us. Its time they were stopped. This could mean War!
Elders Yes, we must fight!! No more of their raids! We will fight! We must.

Trapper C: Not so fast, my brothers. We have been attacked and wronged, but there are other ways to settle this. We have lived peaceably with our neighbors for many moons…even with the white faces at the fort. I agree with Chief Crouching Cougar that we must avenge our honor!—but not by war.

If we start a war with the Chickasaws we will be letting those renegades lead us into fights that will involve innocent tribes and there would be many deaths on both sides. Go to your teepees and think carefully about what we should do. Tomorrow we will hold another pow wow and decide. If we can’t find a better plan, then we will have to resort to war.

Act 4 Action

Narrator: While the Elders were discussing the serious theft problem Leaping Wolf was sitting outside near enough to hear the loud and heated discussion. He was carving a comb out of a piece of birch to give to Red Wing. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. It was a good plan that would retrieve the stolen pelts and at the same time surely change Trapper Cook’s opinion of him. In no time he rounded up twelve of the most adventuresome and daring of his friends, and before anyone could miss them they were on their horses headed toward Echo ravine where the thieves were encamped.

Wild John: Now that we are here, Leaping Wolf, what is your plan?

Leaping W: Well, there are only twelve of us and several more than that of them. But, look where the stupid fools have camped! Echo ravine blocks them on one side and that high steep cliff blocks them on the other. If we can prevent their escape at the far end we can pick them off like sitting ducks as they try to get out at this end. Our best marksmen, Wild John, Hiawatha and Ratrace Mateo will stay here and hit them as they try to get out. The rest of us will cover the other end of their camp and raise a big racket to make them think there a lot of us as we pen them in.

Act 5 After the Skirmish

Narrator: Leaping Wolf and his friends were soon discovered to be missing from the compound.
Tomcat Backas, who had led the original tracking party, had ridden off after Leaping Wolf in hope of getting in on the action. But when he arrived at Echo ravine the skirmish was over.

Judging from the number of dead and wounded the renegades had not given up without a fight. Many of his friends were wounded. Those who were not hurt had found the stolen furs which were still on the sleds used by the renegades. Now they would be hitched to horses and taken back to the compound.

Tom Cat: Where is Leaping Wolf? Is he OK?

Wild John: We have looked everywhere and can’t find him. The last time I saw him he was fighting with two of them over there near the ravine. I would have helped him but I had my hands full. That’s how I got this—[He raises his bloody arm.]

Tom Cat: Alright, we will take the furs back home, but we will come back and find Leaping Wolf. He, or his body, must be found.

Act 6 Back at the compound

Narrator: It was early evening when the exhausted warriors straggled in, the unwounded among them leading the horses drawing the fur laden sleds into the compound. The wounded were taken gently into the teepee of Mumbling Moccasin, the tribes honored and faithful Medicine Man. Not wasting a moment, he went to work with the chants, instruments and potions of his trade to heal and make them whole again. Trapper Cook and Chief Crouching Cougar did not interfere, but went among them with expressions of gratitude and praise for their brave undertaking.

Wild John: It is Leaping Wolf who deserves the praise for recovering the furs. The whole thing was his idea. His leadership was the key to our success.

Red Wing: [Emerging shyly from behind her father] I don’t see Leaping Wolf.
I have looked, but I do not find him.

Wild John: [Puts his arms around Red Wing] Little sister, Leaping Wolf did not make it back. We fear he is dead.

Red Wing: [Screams and covers her face] Oh no! No! Oh no!

Wild John: Be comforted. Know that he died like a brave Choctaw, and has avenged the honor of our tribe.

Red Wing: [Sobbing] I would rather have Leaping Wolf alive than the honor of the tribe! Will the honor of the tribe build me a wigwam and live in it with me?

Trapper C: [Lifts her chin and looks lovingly into her eyes.] Be consoled, my daughter. I see now that Leaping Wolf was indeed a man---a brave man. He died serving his tribe, and we shall mourn his loss… and honor his memory.

Narrator: Suddenly everyone became silent, staring in disbelief at what they saw.
Using a tree branch as a crutch, his clothes in tatters and his face bloody, Leaping Wolf limps slowly into the compound. He approaches Trader Cook, looks him straight in the eye---and begins to speak, but then collapses to the ground. Red Wing screams and falls to her knees at his side.

Crouching Cougar’s squaw slaps him on the side of his head and hisses;

Squaw Wake up! You’re missing it!

Chief C.C.: (grunts and yells.) “How!”

Trapper C: (Screams, loudly) Mumbling Moccasin! Get over here quickly, bring all your stuff, fast!! You are going to have to fight the demons to save Leaping Wolf.

Mumbling M: Hurries to Leaping Wolf’s side and goes into a frantic dance, chanting “Hassee, hassee, hassee, gumbo Tallahassee.”

Leaping Wol:f (sits up, rubbing his eyes) Where am I?, What happened?

Narrator: Trapper Cook and Red Wing give him a hand and get him to his feet. He sways and puts his arms around her.

Leaping W: Oh yes, I remember now.

Narrator: He looks Trapper Cook in the eye and says the line he has rehearsed a hundred times since miraculously struggling out of Echo ravine where he had fallen during the fight. “I have earned a reward and I have come to claim it!”

Trapper C: You have proved yourself a brave man….You are a credit to our tribe!
Anything you want, you may have.

Leaping W: [With eyes lovingly fixed on Red Wing] I want only one thing. I want your permission to marry your lovely daughter, Red Wing.

[Red Wing comes to stand by Leaping Wolf. They join hands and look soulfully at each other]
Trapper C And so be it…..with my blessing.

All Cheer!

Act 8 Finale

Narrator: Red Wing married her love, Leaping Wolf. He did build her a beautiful wigwam and covered her with beaver skins, as he had promised.

The couple had four children and lived happily for many moons in the Talladega Tribe of the Choctaw Nation.

Trapper Cook went on to become Chief of the tribe. Chief Crouching Cougar lived out his remaining years in happy retirement, despite his nagging squaw.

Chief Flying Rattler was pretty miffed at losing Red Wing to Leaping Wolf, but being a practical man, he was heard to say “She is too skinny, anyway”, and soon found a brawny widow, more his own age and from his own tribe.

The End

Pat Robertson

2006-06-09T22:15:00.000-04:00

Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson, the television showman, knows God better than most people. He knows who God likes and dislikes and often talks with him so as to keep himself abreast of the affairs of the world. He doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind at sessions of his “700 Club” and let the viewers know what God wants them to do. Now, this is not fiction made up to generate more support for his television show or to encourage him to tell us more about his intimate conversations with God. Also, it is not written to cast doubt on the accuracy of Pat’s revelations of his previous appeals to God to destroy a person or a community.

The current appeal, to assassinate Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, was not made to God, but to agents of the United States government. He felt that it would be far more economical to get rid of Chavez in that way rather than spending $200,000,000 to start a war to bring about a “regime change” in his country. It would save a lot of lives too, and would be a lot faster.

Pat hasn’t said whether God told him to handle this project on his own or whether he felt confident enough to make the request without bothering God with the matter.

President Bush was told about it in his morning briefing session by advisors who had read the news in the Post. He agreed with Pat’s thinking from a viewpoint of economics. However, he felt that the timing of the action would not fit into his schedule. Finishing the task in Iraq, and settling the issues in Iran and North Korea should be cleared up first.
However, the president did agree to pray about the matter.

Two or three newspaper columnists felt that in addition to reporting the news of Pat’s suggestion they should raise a question as to whether an assassination which would violate a valid law of the United States could be considered a Christian activity. However, as Pat has rescinded his request, the question is moot. Any further consideration should be left for Pat’s future conversations with God.

Still, somewhere in this discussion there should be time and space for those holding more normal Christian views to express their support of the Robertson position or to condemn the preacher as a charlatan who is exploiting Christianity for his own profit, and who is acting to erode the faith of those who conscientiously seek to understand and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Also, those who feel that the affairs of the church and the state should be kept separate need to be heard and given the opportunity to scold Pat Robertson for his presumptive attempts to represent the church as a department of the government.

Jerry 8/30/05

Occupation Ends

2006-06-09T22:14:00.000-04:00

North Georgia Drama

2006-06-09T22:13:00.001-04:00

NORTH GEORGIA DRAMA A mimic farce

Narrator reads:

Once upon a time----just a few years ago----in the north Georgia town of Ellijay there lived a beautiful young lady by the name of Mollie O’Toole. Her parents, who worked in the apple orchards of the area, did their P T A and child-rearing jobs well. They bought Mollie an Apple computer and supported all of her efforts to be a star pupil. She was chosen Valedictorian of her class and described in the Yearbook as the one “Most Likely to Succeed”

Mollie was ambitious, and her beauty and skill helped her to become the computer expert at the Gilmer County Bank with the title of Computer Programmer. In this position she designed and set up a unified computer accounting system at the main office and each of the branches of the bank. Her skill and pleasant personality earned her the respect and admiration of the entire staff at the bank.

During her school years Mollie enjoyed her frequent visits to the O’Sullivan residence up on Skyline Drive, several blocks from the more modest home of the O’Tooles on Magnolia Street. Mr. O’Sullivan became an expert watchmaker and jewelry merchant following his apprenticeship in Savannah. The success of his shop on Fort Street enabled him to build a beautiful dwelling with a large recreation room in its daylight basement.

Mr. O’Sullivan encouraged his son, Sandy, to invite all of the children of the neighborhood to gather in his play room to enjoy games and refreshments at any time it could be arranged. Because of her beauty, charm and wit Mollie was always invited, a fact that led her to regard the O’Sullivan play room as a second home. Association with her three brothers was never as much fun as partying with the Sullivan crowd.

Turning Over A New Page

2006-06-09T22:13:00.000-04:00

NEW PAGE

The swearing in of a president in January is an appropriate time for a new start for The United States. The people are confused about who we are and what we want to stand for in world affairs. The idea of an American Empire appears to have been crowded out by the difficulties incurred in the Iraqi war where we appear to make reactive moves against the Insurgent forces while casualty lists continue to grow. At the same time our allies are considering whether to stay there with us or return home. Our attitudes and actions in Iraq have isolated us from our former friends and has not generated any new ones.

It is time to acknowledge that the path we have been following has failed. We have killed a lot of people, destroyed a lot of property and maybe gained for some of us a sense of revenge. However, this revenge has come at a terribly high price.

We need to hear the new president declare the beginning of a new era of American history, a time when we discard the policy of hate and revenge and move toward universal friendship, cooperation and peace. We need to hear assurance that we will seek positive results in out policies and relationships.

There are sufficient good, positive goals for us to pursue. In our own country we could spend our energies and resources in improving our education system, designing and implementing a better health system and mending our transportation system to make it safer and more efficient. Caring for the environment could give us cleaner air to breathe, safer water to drink and enable us to eat the fish we catch without fear of mercury poisoning. The list of positive goals is much longer but these are sufficient to get us started.

In addition to the improvements here at home we would do well to take responsibility for helping improve the human condition in the other countries, friend and foe alike. Aids, polio, whooping cough and Tuberculosis are still plaguing the people of the world. We could do much more research and work toward eliminating them. We could assist others in bilateral and United Nations programs seeking peaceful ways of living together and sharing resources. More equitable distribution of world produce would be a worthwhile program which would help reduce the scourge of poverty in the world.

It could take some time for us to regain the respect and goodwill we have lost since our invasion of Iraq. So let us hope that our leaders will seize the opportunity that will come with the beginning of a new presidential term and begin the process of reclaiming our position of leadership in the world community. We are a good nation and our people will be happy to follow a leader who accepts this task.

Statement of these goals by the new president would go far toward eliminating the threat of terrorism in the world, and the entire population of the world would benefit. We in the United States would benefit most for it would also enable us to redeem the collective soul of our nation.

Jerry 10/10/04

Managing the Seasons of Life

2006-06-09T22:11:00.000-04:00

Managing the Seasons of Life

The beginning of life is a celebrated season of awe, joy and wonder. We see the baby emerge from the mother as a hunk of soft, red tissue. It has the form of a child, appears to be alive with the appropriate appendages. The parents are thrilled when they hear its first confirmation of life in its response to the customary spank on its bottom.

A variety of impressions may have been made on the mind of the unborn child by soft music played in the mother’s presence or by tender talk by the mother. Likewise rough or angry talk may have left its impressions on the mind of the baby. Several experts have opinions about these sounds and the probability that they will influence the nature and personality of the baby.
For the purposes of this paper we take no position regarding these matters.

The essential fact is that we have a baby, a new statistic in the census records. Whatever else may be on its mind, we know that nature endowed it with instincts to squirm and search for nourishment. As its mouth searches for food and its eyes look for friendly faces the mind begins its adventure in this new, strange environment. The mind learns quickly that the body has limitations which may be frustrating. However, the frustrations don’t stop the instinctive drive of the mind to grow, and to learn that there are a variety of ways to achieve its goals.

Each trial and error sequence brings a step of progress in the mind’s development and in the strengthening of the body. It isn’t long before the mind comes to realize that it is enclosed in a body and that it can communicate with that body to achieve its objectives. A little later the baby learns that the staring eyes and faces are parts of bodies who care for it and who appear to want to help it acquire food and to improve its comfort in its new environment.

On and on it goes. Many things are happening in its body and all around it. All of these happenings help the baby’s brain and body develop. And, one day, we begin to call the baby “ child” and recognize that there is a new person in our midst. We promote the child from the “it” category to a “her” or “he”. The child learns that he can manipulate his parents by certain sounds or actions and doesn’t hesitate to exploit this knowledge. He realizes that he can remember things that happened earlier and can imagine things she would like to see happen in the future. Yes, he grasps the concept of future and can look forward to it.

When the child is born into a family with other children he must go through a period of learning how to win the cooperation of his siblings. He tries persuasion, threat, connivance or actual violence to gain acquiescence and become “King of the hill”. The good parent sees these rivalries develop and, at the appropriate time, steps in with the good news that the game “King of the Hill” is more accurately called King of a Hill. He explains that a football team may have a person who is best at the quarterback position, another who is the best at returning punts and yet another who is best at kicking field goals and extra points. A person who feels that he is the best player on the team may find that another player, in an unenvied position may be the one who makes the play that wins the game. One child may be smarter in math, another in English and another may excel in science. The important goal is for each child to be the best he can be, without envying the sibling who does better in his particular field of interest. Everyone can be King of ‘his’ hill.

It is at a time along here that a person is “born”. It seems like it has been a long time since he left the mother’s body, and tremendous changes have taken place in what actually has been a very short period of time. At last we have a person, a being with a brain coordinated with a body. Yes, we can say that we have a person who has successfully completed the birth process. We have a living unit that can turn the world upside down, can achieve things deemed impossible by its parents and can lead its generation into a new, much improved world. The child doesn’t yet think about these possibilities, it is busy learning how to use a spoon and how to tie shoe strings. The future will have to wait its turn.

The next stage of development will take the child through toilet training, kindergarten and school. This stage is accompanied by further dramatic and startling changes brought on by the body’s hormonal activity and its schedule of growth and development . These changes slip up on the child and the best of care may not explain satisfactorily what is happening to the child’s body and mind. At this point the parent needs to be an expert in child psychology and to have a deep loving concern for the child. It is here that the parent has the great and challenging opportunity to give the child the tools and communication skills he will need to deal successfully with siblings, classmates and the other incidental beings he will bump into along the way to maturity.

The child moves into adulthood in the midst of all manner of doubts, fears and anxieties. Fortunately, our subject has had a favorable environment at home, with wise parents and good teachers at school and has gained knowledge and skill that will enable him to deal with the problems that are sure to arise upon his entry into the workforce.

Whatever his employment, problems will arise that require attention by our subject and resolving some of them may lose friends or even create enemies. There will be situations that challenge his integrity and his resolve. There may be serious conflicts between what he was taught and what appear to be satisfactory solutions, accompanied by temptation to compromise his principles. It is in working through such problems that we find confirmation of his character and the resolution and firmness he needs to stand firm for the right in future conflicts. Each positive decision along the way serves to strengthen the respect of his associates, family and friends. He earns the right to a retirement of satisfaction and comfortable, pleasant living.

Retirement brings to our person a new stage of life with a new set of problems. He must develop a new set of routines to replace the work habits of the past. He needs to make a new set of friends and activity partners. It will be a matter of time until he notices more frequent appearance of friends and relatives in the obituary columns of the local newspaper. Then the man encounters the most trying loss of his life, the death of his life partner, leaving him in a state of aloneness like he had never imagined. He is sustained by family and friends and the knowledge that many of his friends and associates have already experienced this type of loss, and that death is a natural part of life that all of us must experience.

It is about here that our subject experiences the onset of reverse development. Denial is the usual response, but acquaintances notice the minor changes and hope they are temporary. The person loses contact with old friends, his memories associated with his school, job and his war service become less vivid. He has increasing difficulty telling of his experiences in a logical, coherent manner. Dates and times of appointments are more difficult to remember and excuses for failure to meet for lunch are needed more often.

Here we enter into the field of speculation about life and death. We may view death as a happening defined by the time the doctor is called in to sign the death certificate. Or we may consider death as the time when the person’s mind has become incapable of reasoned judgment, when the person is not able to recognize the persons around him and when his mind loses voluntary control of his body; leaving its functions to its involuntary operations.

At this point we encounter a variety of opinion too numerous to catalog. Emotions and reason struggle, and emotions are usually victorious. But, frequently, the reward for victory is heart break and grief. The trouble grows out of our failure to recognize the subject’s condition as a step in what we call his “ reverse development” schedule. When this concept is accepted, sensitive and caring persons are able to find ways to help the person with the problems as they arise, and to search out innovative ways to relieve his anxieties and keep him as happy as possible under the changing circumstances.

If we could agree to view death as a process that is the reverse of the early days of babyhood we could assist the dying person in the death process just as we assisted him in the early stages of development we call the birth stage. We could listen to his verbal wandering with genuine interest, and encourage him to talk more about his lifetime experiences. We could make ourselves available to assist with any [I mean ANY] query or need he might have, even when those needs are only imagined. We could give him the things he wants and we could keep him comfortable and assured of our love. We could insure his going through the process of dying with dignity.

When we accept dying as a natural process in one’s life cycle we can learn to handle all stages of the death process with as much tender love as we did in the subject’s birth process. We can accept the diminishment of mental ability as a simple reversal of his mental growth experienced in the very early days of his life. With effort we can remember the many activities and attitudes he exhibited during his prime period of life that distinguished him in his home and community. Such remembrances will enable us to envision the greatness of the man in the totality of his years. This, really, is what we are obliged to do and this will enable us to remember the man as we really wish to remember him.

Finally, all of us are implored to view and respect a person’s life as the sum of its seasons, all beautiful in their own way and in their own time.

Jerry
3/5/04

Wildflowers by Trail

2006-06-09T22:10:00.000-04:00

WILDFLOWERS By TRAIL in vicinity of Roswell

Hearts a’ Bustin Gold Autrey Big Jones Leita

Wood Sorrell Gold

Spring Beauty Gold

May Apple Gold

Wild Ginger Gold Jones

Trillium Jones

Sweet Shrub Big Island

Wild Iris Jones

Mtn Laurel Island

Blu eyed Grass Gold Jones

Who Wins In This Election Will Make A Big Difference in My Life

2006-06-09T22:08:00.000-04:00

Who wins in this election will make a big difference in my life.

U.S. refuses to sign the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 global warming accord. The President cited ‘incomplete state of scientific knowledge’. Yet the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international body of thousands of scientists assembled by the U. N. and the World Meteorological Organization held that global temperatures were dramatically on the rise and that this increase was, to an unspecified degree, the result of human-induced emissions.

The E. P. A announced it was going to withdraw a new standard for arsenic in drinking water that had been developed during the Clinton years. The reason given by the president was that “the new standard had been irresponsibly rushed through” Actually Congress had directed the EPA to establish a new standard and had authorized $2.5 million a year for studies from 1997 through 2000. After a period of public grumbling the administration agreed that the 10-parts-per-million was justified.

The White House claimed it was necessary to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to “secure America’s energy needs.” The U S Geological Survey noted that the amount of oil that might be found there would cover up slightly more than two years’ worth of oil consumption.

The United States took the initiative in organizing the United Nations and used its influence to establish its purpose as the preservation of peace among the nations of the world report regarding the hydraulic fracturing to produce oil and gas the E P A stated that the process could contaminate ground water supplies in excess of the federal drinking water standards. A week after making the report to Congressional staff members

Labor Department revises Overtime pay regulations.

Administration pushes for opening government lands to oil drilling.

U.S. criticizes the United Nations as well as friends and former allies in Europe with belittling words of disdain and scorn.

U. S. diverts funds and soldiers from war on terrorist Al Qaeda.

President Bush leads people to believe Iraq may attack us at any time and his regime must be deposed even though some of the evidence has already been proven false.

General Accounting Office said “The path we are on is imprudent and un sustainable. Deficits do matter, especially when they are large, structural and growing.” The deficit for 2004 is expected to be over $480 billion, contrasted with a surplus of $236 billion in 2000.

On February 7, 2002, President Bush wrote in a memo: “Our nation recognizes that this new paradigm—ushered in not by us, but by terrorists—requires new thinking in the law of war.” This generated a memos from the Justice Department that no U. S. law could limit a President’s right to order torture or otherwise abuse prisoners . A Pentagon lawyer stated : “Any efforts by Congress to regulate the interrogation of unlawful combatants would violate the Constitution’s sole vesting of the Commander-in-Chief authority in the President.”

The gap between the rich and the poor in the U.S. is growing more rapidly than in any other industrialized country.

A U. S. Conference of Mayors survey found that less than one quarter of surveyed cities have received any of the promised homeland security funds designed to assist state and local “first responders” such as police and firefighters.

The democrats created 20 million jobs in eight years, but 3 million have been lost since the republicans took office.

Between September 11, 2001 and December the E. P. A. assured us that the air quality in the vicinity of the World Trade Center was safe. In August 2003 the Inspector General’s office revealed that EPA data did not support their assurances and that the EPA press releases were being drafted or doctored by the White House, intent on reopening Wall Street.

Greenspan: “If we have promised more than the economy has the ability to deliver, as I fear we have, we must recalibrate our public programs so that pending retirees have time to adjust through other channels” He means that unless some changes are made in the programs.

Some of My Favorite Poems

2006-06-09T22:07:00.000-04:00

WHAT AM I, LIFE ?

What am I, life? A thing of watery salt
Held in cohesion by unresting cells,
Which work they know not why, which never halt,
Myself unwitting where their Master dwells.
I do not bid them, yet they toil, they spin
A world which uses me as I use them;
Nor do I know which end or which begin
Nor which to praise, which pamper, which condemn.

So, like4 a marvel in a marvel set,
I answer to the vast, as wave by wave
The sea of air goes over, dry or wet,
Or the full moon comes swimming from her cave,
Or the great sun comes forth: this myriad I
Tingles, not knowing how, yet wondering why.

John Mansfield

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade.
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

IN PRAISE ABOUT FEELING BAD ABOUT YOURSELF

The buzzard has nothing to fault himself with,
Scruples are alien to the Black Panther,
Piranhas do not doubt the rightness of their actions,
The Rattlesnake approves of himself wholeheartedly,
The self-critical Jackal does not exist,
The Locust, Alligator, Scorpion, Horsefly
Live as they live and are glad of it,
A Killer whale’s heart weighs 100 kilos
But in other respects is light.

There’s nothing more animal-like than
A clear conscience on the third planet from the sun.

THE RETURN

He came home, said nothing
Though it was clear something unpleasant had happened.
He lay down in his suit,
Put his head under the blanket, drew up his knees.
He’s about 40, but not at this moment.

He exists, but only as in his mother’s belly
Seven layers deep in protective darkness.
Tomorrow he will give a lecture
On Homeostasis in mega-galactic cosmonotics.
But not now; now he’s curled up, sleeping.

HIAWATHA

Gitche Manito, the mighty,
Spoke with loud clear voice:
“O my children! My poor children!
Listen to the words of wisdom,
Listen to the words of warning,
From the lips of the Great Spirit,
From the Master of Life, who made you!
“I have given you lands to hunt in,
I have given you the streams to fish in,
I have given you the bear and bison,
I have given you roe and reindeer,
I have given you brant and beaver,
Filled the marshes full of wild-fowl,
Filled the rivers full of fishes:
Why then are you not contented?
Why then will you hunt each other?
“I am weary of your quarrels,
Weary of your wars and bloodshed,
Weary of your prayers for vengeance,
Of your wrangling and dissensions;
All your strength is in your union,
All your danger is in discord;
Therefore be at peace henceforward,
And as brothers live together.
“Bathe now in the stream before you,
Wash the war-paint from your faces,
Wash the blood-stains from your fingers,
Bury your war-clubs and your weapons,
And as brothers live henceforward!”

H. W. Longfellow

George W. Bush and the War in Iraq

2006-06-09T22:05:00.000-04:00

George W. Bush and the War in Iraq

George W. Bush wanted to be President of the United States. Being Governor of the state of Texas was a tough job, but he could handle it and he liked it. It seemed natural to move up to the finest job in the country, President, and he did. He didn’t get the votes to move to the White House, but a way was found to get him the job he wanted.

Being President is a tough job, requiring a lot of hard work, making a lot of difficult decisions, but he could do it. He knew he could, especially if he got good people to assist him. He had developed several good friends in the oil business and in the field of Republican politics. On top of that, he had a vision, a calling to be a great leader in the world.

He had developed a strong dislike for Saddam Hussein and would like to finish his overthrow that his father failed to do. We, and our devoted allies, had whipped his army and pushed him back into the established Iraqi borders. What we failed to do was find a way to share in the oil rich resources of that country.

Then, as if on a silver platter, President Bush was given the opportunity of a lifetime when the terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Now he had the excuse to make a Regime Change in Iraq. However, the people of the United States understood that Ben Laden had pulled off that job and they wanted to pursue and capture him and give him the punishment he deserved. They had little desire to attack Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Their dislike of him could wait.

Art this point the conspiracy began. There was nothing but revenge to be gained by pursuing those terrorists who had holed up in Afghanistan. There was no oil up there.
If all of the terrorists could be lumped together and their center of influence be located in Iraq, then we could get our vengeance for ‘9-11’ and achieve the goal we wanted in Iraq at the same time. New plans were formulated and the search for needed evidence began.

1.Media reports stated that Mohammed Atta , lead hijacker in the 9-11 attack, had conferred with the intelligence chief of Iraq in Prague in April 2001. Bush officials used this story as proof of a link between Iraq and 9-11, but it has been definitely disproved.

2.The National Intelligence Estimate, after receiving input from the entire intelligence community, reported without dissent that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons; was not trying to get them; and did not appear to have reconstituted its nuclear weapons program since the UN and IAEA inspectors departed in December 1998. In October 2002 a new NIE unanimous report stated that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons or a nuclear weapons program.

3. Having the benefit of the information in these classified NIE reports, the following officials made hundreds of false assertions in speeches on television, at the United Nations, to foreign leaders and to Congress: President Bush, Vice President Cheney, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Their statements were consistent and false.

4. President Bush did not say directly that there was a link between Iraq and the 9-11 attack, but did convey that message by mentioning 9/11 and Iraq in speech after speech in his campaign to sell the Iraq war to the public and to the world.

5. Contradicting the National Intelligence Estimate, Mr. Bush stated in his 2002 State of the Union address that Iraq presented a “grave and growing danger”.

6. The President stated that members of Congress had the same intelligence that he had when they voted to allow him to make war on Iraq while in fact much of what they got were summaries that had qualifiers and unsubstantiated additions in them.

7. The Bush administration purposely presented a complex deceit about Iraq to both the Congress and the public in its effort to obtain authorization to attack a nation that had neither the intent, or the capability, to attack the United States.

President has attempted to justify his actions by contending that they were necessary to protect American lives against the danger of an imminent attack. At the same time the President knew that Iraq presented no such danger.

One day in the future some group will obtain the power to obtain information regarding the buildup to and execution of the war in Iraq and the items enumerated above will be affirmed of disproved. The answers will determine whether President should be praised as a good wartime president or scorned and impeached as an ambitious conspiring leader who betrayed the trust of the American people.

War Bulletin 4-17-2004

2006-06-09T22:02:00.000-04:00

War Bulletin 41704

The war in Iraq has splintered into so many facets that it is difficult to find a place to start commenting on the present situation. This current war is so confusing and changing so fast that the paper I intend to write will be out of date before I get it completed.

There are several facts that will not change but will survive this paper and probably will outlive the administration of George W Bush and Dick Cheney.

1. The fact that Bush and Cheney were conspiring to attack Iraq prior to the 9-11 attack has turned the spotlight on the lie asserting that Iraq’s leader was a party to that disaster. This also lends credence to the contention of some that from their inauguration date they were searching for an excuse to take over the oil rich region.

2. The repeated well planned attacks on our armed forces and on the contract reconstruction crews reveals how poorly the administration prepared for the post-war activities in Iraq. It is difficult to believe the president’s statement that the program “is on track” when we read press reports of enemy attacks, kidnappings and bodily mutilations and hear the death and injury statistics.

3. The military and civilian authorities can’t agree on the issue of the number of soldiers needed to control the growing rebellious outbreaks in many areas of the country. Some units due for rotation back to the states are being kept on line in an attempt to prevent further damage and deaths. One of the results of this is a dramatic increase in the number of suicides among the armed forces personnel.

4. Events in Washington bring confirmation that the president pushed the nation into this war without having a plan for handling the aftermath that even simple-minded persons knew would follow the downfall of Saddam Hussein. When events in the area revealed that no workable plan existed the president called in business cronies and gave them generous repair and reconstruction contracts without benefit of bidding procedures. Some of those firms have been caught overcharging for their services and allowing sub-contractors to incur unauthorized expenses in their “cost-plus” contracts. Mr. Bush evidently, and incorrectly, believed that the sight of workers repairing school and government buildings, oil refineries and waterworks would ease the hatred generated in the minds of the local population by the invasion of their country by the “Infidels” from America. Evidently Mr. Bush misjudged the culture and history of these people.

5. Important leaders in the fight against terrorism have left their government jobs and have talked and written about the failures of the leadership and the dishonest tactics used to withhold the truth from the American people. Those people have been abused for their revelations. In one case the name of a man’s wife serving as a secret agent was revealed to the press to punish the man for his telling the truth about the administration’s claim that Hussein was trying to buy Uranium in Africa.

I have no doubt that the passing of time will bring news of many more instances of miss-management in the prosecution of the war in Iraq.

In the meantime, the Bush Administration is squandering the publicly owned natural resources in the United States. I am talking of forests, parks, oil and minerals under these lands that belong to you, me and all the other citizens of the country. The agencies responsible for protecting of health of the people and their property are systematically relaxing the enforcement of laws designed to preserve our resources and protect our health. If they are not able to get the laws removed or relaxed by administrative decrees, they withhold the funds needed to enforce them. These actions are part of Bush’s domestic war in which he appears to consider the American people as enemies of the state. With the help of a Republican Congress he is able to be as successful in this war as he is failing in the Iraq war. He is acting as if he has fee simple title to the natural resources of the United States and is able to let his friends and large contributors use or consume them with no (or minimum) payments to the government. It will be many years before we are able to determine the cost resulting from the administration’s revision of the pollution and environmental laws and rules to suit their program rather than enforcing them for the benefit of the health and welfare of the citizens of the country.

Certainly Mr. Bush will be out of office before the citizens learn the full cost of the management actions which have, within three years, squandered a healthy surplus and replaced it with deficits larger than we have ever had. He will leave office with accumulated national debt that will be a financial burden on the people for several generations. Interest payments on that debt will limit growth and development of our country in ways unimagined at this time.

The persons on Social Security and Medicare at this time can expect to suffer financially as a result of this administration’s policies. The Baby Boomers who will be expecting to retire in a few years will be shocked to learn how their benefits will be reduced and their Medical costs increased.

It is impossible to forecast how the Iraq war will play out, but the present prospects are pretty ugly. Certainly, the United States will have suffered a shameful and unprecedented loss of prestige among the nations of the world, resulting in loss of ability to forge favorable economic, environmental and peace arrangements. Only a long period of honest and fair relationships by future administrations can remove the stigma of chutzpah displayed by the Bush administration.

Finally, a word must be said about the wall of separation between the State and the Church. Our founding fathers had experience and historical evidence to convince them that the government had a fulltime job in managing the affairs of state and should not attempt to run the affairs of the church as well. Likewise, they were convinced that the church was not equipped to act as an arm of the government. They felt that it would be unwise for either to attempt to control the other. President Bush has taken actions that serve to weaken this traditional wall of separation. These actions should be sufficient to alert the leaders in the church and in the government to the dangers to both that would result from attempts to consolidate their functions. Both the State and the Church will work more effectively if each stays on its side of the fence.

Jerry 4/17/04

War Bulletin 11-5-2003

2006-06-09T21:59:00.001-04:00

WAR BULLETIN 11503

We are living in a strange era of American history. A glimpse at the news in print or on television tells us daily of the trouble our nation is in at this time. Ours is a multi-faceted trouble, gnawing at the very roots and foundation of our nation. We have an administration in Washington that has abrogated treaties and agreements that former leaders of both parties worked hard to achieve for our protection and to help preserve the peace and welfare of the entire world. The administration has ridiculed the United Nations organization as well as individual nations who have been our friends and allies for generations. Its actions have destroyed our vast treasure of good will built up by constructive, fair and friendly actions of former administrations.

We have a president who lied to us, who pushed us into a war with a small country which was no serious threat to our security or welfare without having formulated a plan of action following the war. He and his propagandists convinced the nation that we were in imminent danger of being attacked with weapons of mass destruction on hand and in production by the enemy. They lied to us. They used unsubstantiated intelligence information to support their push to war when they knew that information was false or “doctored” to make it appear true. They accomplished their purpose. The people were convinced that war was necessary.

Contrary to a long national history of not striking the first blow, the president declared the right of pre-emption. He declared to the world that he had the right to make war on any nation that he decided was a threat to the national security of our country or that of our friends and allies. It will take a long time to evaluate the worldwide effects of that decision, but we have already seen a few nations take actions to build up their defenses against an attack by the United States. In our own country we are sure to see a tarnishing of our self-image as a peace-loving nation.

As the President proclaimed from the deck of the Abraham Lincoln the major fighting has ended and the new task of cleaning up Iraq and converting it into a Democratic state is in progress. The Congress has given him authority to spend the money he requested to complete the job of rebuilding the nation’s superstructure and get organized a provisional government to manage the affairs until a fair election can be arranged.

During this period of rebuilding one would expect the local people to be happy to see us building and furnishing new schools, hospitals and government building. Surely it is reasonable to assume that they would be pleased to get their water plants, streets and bridges repaired. Shouldn’t it be a joyful occasion to see the power system repaired so they could have lights, and the telephone system made operable so they can talk with neighbors and out-of-town friends.

Of course the people would surely be happy to see these jobs done if the damage had been done by a catastrophe of nature, and the repair workmen were friendly neighbors or members of United Nations work teams. However, it is different situation when the damage was done by the United States in a pre-emptive war and the reconstruction is being done by that same group of people.

To understand the attitude of the local people we need to review the long-term history of these people. Their minds simply are not able to look on people from the United States as anything but another group of despicable characters whose aim is to enslave them and take their oil and other property from them.

They might not wish to have Saddam back in power but even less do they wish to have an army of pre-emptive invaders telling them what to do or how to do it. They understand democracy as a type of government used by the infidels who caused all this trouble. The trade offs of the Great War and the protectorate regime that followed is still bitter in the minds of the older ones from experience and the young ones from their textbooks.

The people of Iraq are divided into strong, stubborn clans with special deep hatreds toward one another which have made it difficult over the years for them to live peaceably together. It may well be that it was Saddam Hussein’s iron-fisted rule that made it possible to hold the factions together as a nation. Saddam reflected a particular hatred from each population group. Yet, there is a far deeper hatred for the despised Americans. The people’s history, culture and pride come together in their determination to do everything they can to destroy everything they possible can that is American.

The people who work with or for the United States are seen as co-conspirators and hatred toward them is only slightly less intense. This will continue to be a handicap to progress as long as we are there. In turn it will make it increasingly more difficult to get support from other countries and welfare agencies who would ordinarily be welcomed to the country.

From all sides I hear that we are in a mess. Mr. Bush is the exception, saying that we are on schedule. There is growing alarm about losses of our troops. This alarm is intensified by reports that additional units are being readied for shipment to Iraq. The Generals continue to disagree as to how many troops should have been sent in the beginning and how many are needed for the rehabilitation effort.

There are calls for bringing the troops home, but without help from other nations this is unacceptable. Other nations are justifiably reluctant to bail us out of the war in which we chose to ‘go it alone’ after insulting both them and the United Nations. We are left with a very short list of alternatives, all bitter and controversial. Jerry

Truth and Respect After Bush

2006-06-09T21:59:00.000-04:00

TRUST AND RESPECT AFTER BUSH Jerry 7/16/04

George W. Bush never admits making a mistake, but admits that he may have at one time or another, but he can not recall making one. Further, he denies ever using evasive language to conceal lies or wrongdoings. The television viewers of the world saw and heard the President making these claims at his news conference.

On another occasion he said no one at the White House or at the Pentagon “had a clue that the mistreatment of prisoners was taking place at Abu Ghraib. The few reported incidents were the work of a half-dozen low-level grunts who should have known better, he said. See, over there we are prosecuting those ‘grunts’ to the hilt. Our system of treating prisoners is working, and that’s the end of the story. So, let’s move on”.

The freedom of the press enables us to know that the President was lying. In the Pentagon Secretary Rumsfeld knew all about it and told Mr. Bush about it January. He had full, detailed reports from the Army itself and from the Red Cross. Yet, they kept it a secret until the awful truth of the torture became public knowledge around the world. His simple lie’s impact is revealed in secret memos from Bush’s Justice Department and from his top White House lawyer claiming that the U. S. did not have to comply with the Geneva Convention s and other international bans on prisoner abuse.

The President’s denial of knowledge was simply a bare faced lie. Apparently his hope was that the blame could be placed on underlings who would have to face courts that would happily choose to believe the President’s word over that of one he called a “grunt”. The President won’t have to defend himself in court, he hopes.

President Bush denied telling the American people lies to justify attacking Iraq. The intelligence data furnished him was inaccurate. He is attempting to place the blame for the fiasco on to the C. I. A. as if that agency has the responsibility for deciding to declare the war. He wants the ‘grunts’ in that organization to bear the blame for failing to determine the accuracy of the data they assembled for consideration by the President. It is true that they failed to do their job, and should be reprimanded or fired. However, it is quite possible that the defective data was what Mr. Bush wanted, to support his declaration to Congress and the American people that Iraq possessed ‘weapons of mass destruction’ and that we were in danger of being attacked at any moment. The factual data would have denied Mr. Bush the sense of urgency he sought and would have left Mr. Hussein appearing as a cruel dictator, mean to his own people, but of no immediate threat to us.

The war in Iraq has turned the spotlight on the shallowness of Mr. Bush’s understanding of the duties of a President as well as his lack of integrity in fulfilling them. As President, Chief Executive Officer and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces it is his duty to determine that data given him by employees are accurate before he acts on them. He is the top link in the chain of command. He is the executive who chose the Cabinet Secretaries and it is his responsibility to do whatever is necessary to make sure the information he acts upon is accurate. His failure to verify the accuracy of the data used as a basis for a war declaration is inexcusable. The President can’t justify his failure by blaming “some grunt” lower down the chain of command.

At some important date in the future the facts and figures will be assembled to assess the results of the war on Iraq. At that time the people will learn what the President knew and when he knew it. We will be able to see the cost of the war in terms of lives lost, people disabled for life, the resources in materials lost or destroyed and the monetary loss and debt incurred in the process. We will be able to read the verified facts explaining the true reasons for the war and the process employed in bringing the various forces into agreement on the necessity of declaring war on Iraq. The story of the ‘process’ will explain to us why the plans failed to include a process of managing Iraq after we had removed its leader until a stable, Democratic government could be established.

In a supplement to the War Report we will learn what failures and leadership breakdowns caused the local population to hate their liberators and why they welcomed world terrorists to come and help them get rid of the occupation forces and their contractors and employees. There will be a section mentioning the treatment of prisoners and explaining the extent to which it encouraged ordinary citizens to join in the harassment and killing of the occupiers.

In a second supplement the report will explore the extent to which the United States has lost the respect and admiration of nations that had been our friends for generations. It will measure the extent to which our ability to negotiate international agreements has been diminished by the war. Speculation will be included regarding possible abuse of our service personnel who may be captured in future conflicts.

Incompetent President

2006-06-09T21:57:00.000-04:00

Incompetent President

It is a great achievement to be elected president of the United States of America. Such an honor brings with it a natural inflation of one’s pride and desire to brag of the accomplishment. So, the ostentatious inauguration of George W. Bush was no big surprise.

President Bush was pleased at the fast move of the armed forces in the capture of Iraq. It was expected that he was proud and anxious to let the world know of that success. It was at this time that the president revealed his basic pretentious nature. He dressed up in an Air Force uniform and exercised his authority as Commander in Chief to set up a ceremonious landing on an aircraft carrier to announce the end of major fighting activities in Iraq.

The aircraft carrier ceremony would lead one to believe that the war in Iraq was going well and the well-planned program for its execution was on schedule. In a short while Iraq surely would be a peaceful place with a new democratic regime replacing Saddam’s dictatorship.

Well, it turns out that the administration over-ruled the General’s recommendation on the number of troops needed and there were not enough troops to do the job.

The anticipated crowds of civilians to welcome our troops into Iraq turned out to be angry people anxious for us to get out of their country. There was no agreed upon plan to pacify the people and bring the troops home. It turned out to be a “plan as you go” operation with no schedule or timetable.

When pressed for information the reply was that we would turn the governmental affairs over to the Iraqi people and leave as soon as they got a government set up that could maintain order. We had already disbanded the military and law enforcement agencies making it necessary to recruit and train a whole new organization. There was no group to undertake this organizing job.
As the lawlessness, looting and citizen frustration took place there arose a group that gladly grasped the opportunity to make a concerted effort to drive the foreign infidels from their land. The coalition forces were placed on the defensive against desperate fighters with unconventional weapons and fighting techniques. They soon learned that their body and vehicle armor plating were not providing them sufficient protection. Their complaints to the Pentagon drew a reply that one fights a war with what we have.

Back on the home front the weather forecasters advised that a severe hurricane was going to strike the Gulf Coast area within a week or two. The television networks gave prime time reports of where it was located and where it was going to make landfall. The predictions were very accurate and it was expected that the advance information would enable the government agencies to prepare for its arrival and the damage would be held to a minimum.

However, the hurricane’s arrival found the area unprepared. The death toll and property damage were unprecedented. The President was enjoying a vacation at his ranch in Texas, apparently dividing his concern equally between the hurricane and an angry gold star mother who was desperately seeking an interview with him. After a few days the President found time to present himself at the Gulf Coast area for several photo-ops. He used one occasion to compliment the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the good work he had done.

The Hurricane disaster is the latest bit of evidence accumulated during the last five years concerning the competence of the man serving as President and Commander in chief of our nation. George W. Bush was not qualified to perform the duties of the presidency when he was sworn in and he appears to have learned very little on the job. He appears to be quite qualified to prepare for and show himself for photo opportunities, but totally unqualified to prepare for military or peacetime emergencies.

We have had earlier presidents who overcame their incompetence by appointing highly competent men to lead and manage the various departments of government. However, with Mr. Bush the appointed individuals have, in too many cases, proven to be as incompetent as the president. This has resulted in disunity, confusion and quarreling in the leadership of several agencies, leading to heavy loss of life and material. These losses are irreversible.

Invictus

2006-06-09T21:56:00.000-04:00

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade.
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishment the scroll,
I am master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Get Rich Easy

2006-06-09T21:53:00.000-04:00

GET RICH EASY

If getting rich is one’s goal we can expect him to pursue that goal in the easiest way possible. That ‘easiest way’ may lead one into ways and techniques that are not very nice----and possibly illegal. So, one has to make a choice, and this choice can lead to a life of hard work and moderate wealth or an easier life of cunning effort, much wealth and possibly a term in the slammer.
The character we observe in this paper has chosen to follow the ‘easy’ route, figuring that he is smart enough to get what he wants and yet avoid getting sent to prison.
Through gossip, newspaper stories and television programs our subject, Randy, has learned that many old people are wealthy; that old, wealthy people often move to ‘retirement communities’ to spend their last days. Therefore, retirement communities would be a good place to find a source of easy wealth.

To extract wealth from those old people in the retirement community requires a bit of skill and intrigue, but this is no deterrent to Randy. He was born with an attractive body and developed a good personality during his youth and early life. He made friends easily and learned to use those friends to make acquaintances among people he felt could be of help in future dealings. He had a good sales personality, sufficient to lead a friend to say “He could make a living selling air conditioners to Eskimos.”

Randy cultivated a roster of friends at retirement communities where residents had endless lists of needs and where some gladly accepted help from nice folks like Randy. He was ever so helpful in putting a dear old lady in touch with an attorney who helped her get a good settlement in her automobile accident. His efforts got an appointment with a doctor in spite of his rule of refusing patients who were on Medicare. He even drove her to his office, avoiding Taxi fare. Randy pays attention when friends talk, and goes to the trouble of giving them DVDs of favorite movies. Randy even called a dear friend and gave her a stock market tip that led to a connection that has doubled her investment income during the last year.

All of Randy’s helpfulness appeared to be actions of a nice man who loves to have nice friends who remind him of his dear mother, rest her soul.

What his friends don’t realize is that he had developed the friendship of an employee of the retirement community who has access to private records of the residents. For his friendship and other considerations he has been able to assemble a roster of old ladies who have special conditions and needs. One category includes those with increasing Dementia, another group who need help with all financial matters but do not have nearby relatives. Still another category list those who are still grieving over the death of their spouse.

Randy’s ‘list’ of friends includes notes by each name indicating what he calls “Hot Buttons” that he uses to evoke desired responses. He alternately refers to his list as his “Gold Mine”, “Wish List” and “Retirement Fund”. His list is revised and up-dated regularly to add new ‘friends’ or delete those who have died, moved away or have otherwise lost their value.

Efforts to identify and root out persons like “Randy” have met with a variety of responses from management of retirement communities. Several contend that such characters exist only as a figment of my imagination, some have agreed to make personal and financial records more secure and a few have agreed to amend their personnel records and rules to make mandatory dismissal of any employee who might be involved in activities that might lead to defrauding of a resident.

All parties agree that victims are likely to resent assertions that their dear friends are suspect. Some residents have responded with threats of libel and slander lawsuits on behalf of their friends. All respondents agree that all Randy characters, if there are any, should be apprehended and punished. Finally, all agree that efforts to defraud the elderly and ill persons is despicable conduct.

Jerry 3/23/06

Early Schooling

2006-06-09T21:52:00.000-04:00

When Mama married Mr. Worthington we moved to his farm which was 8 or 10 miles from the homesteaded place where I was born and had lived for about 8 years. When school started we changed to the one-room school which was nearer to the house than the Spencer Hill had been during my first year in school. Everything was about the same except this school was operated by a man who was called Professor, the playground was larger and the water bucket was filled from a well rather than a spring.
The school had eleven grades rather than eight at Spencer Hill which meant that we had some pupils who were in their later teens. This school also had more unruly behavior which entailed more discipline action by the Professor. One day, for reasons I never learned, the professor told two teenagers he was going to whip them, and sent them out to get a switch for him to use on them. They got the switch which appeared to be about 3 feet long and capable of causing great pain. When the whipping started the switch broke. The boys had cut two or three notches in it. This infuriated the teacher so much that he went out himself and got a strong switch and gave the boys a severe thrashing. All this was done in full view of all the students who seemed to enjoy the antics of both the boys and the teacher.
Persons doing lesser offences got a different kind of punishment, though often as embarrassing to the offender. This school had the usual desks for individual seating, but also had one row of desks that seated two people. When a boy misbehaved the professor would sometimes make him go sit for a time by a girl in one of the double desks. I never learned how he decided to give this style of punishment or how he decided how long the penalty would last.
One of the professor’s actions was inexcusable and placed a black mark by his name in my book that will never be erased. On this day I wore a new pair of overalls. I was never a show-off kid and know that I did nothing to cause any disturbance in the class room. But the teacher called me up front onto the stage which was about a foot higher than the floor. Then he announced in words I didn’t clearly understand that I was wearing a new pair of overalls and he would see how they would whip. He then took a switch and gave me a whipping. It wasn’t severe, but was puzzling and made me angry. I was just 8 year old and didn’t dare question his action. But I will never forget it.
During the school year we moved to West Blocton and transferred to the school there. This was a monumental move. The new school had two floors with grammar grades up to grade 7. Junior High was grades 7,8 &9 and High School was grades 10, 11 and 12. And each of the first 6 grades had its own teacher. In the later grades there were teachers for specific subjects which she taught for all the grades.
Everything was better, but the bubbling water fountain was the most outstanding improvement. There was one located in the entrance way on the first floor and also one directly above on the second floor. Such improvements sometimes bring with them opportunities for trouble. It started here when some child started pushing down the head of the child in front of him so as to splatter water in his face. After this happened to me a number of times I made the mistake of turning around and pushing down the head of the fellow behind me [it was usually the fellow behind who did the dastardly act] and I made the further mistake of pushing down so hard it cut his lip with blood flow. He ran to the Principal’s office with a bloody lip and a finger pointing right at me. The result was a trip to the Principal’s office where he used a switch to whip me appropriately. The only good resulting from this encounter was an announcement at assembly the next day that the incident had happened and a warning that recurrence would bring severe punishment.

For the grades 7 and above there was a home-room session where the teacher called the roll. Then we went to the assembly room for announcements, bible reading and song session. The leader would give the page number of the chosen song and then lead the group in such songs as America, The Spanish Cavalier, and Love’s Old Sweet song. There would the traditional seasonal songs during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter seasons.

This was a great school, with about 300 pupils and opportunities to make new friends. It was located a few blocks from Main street and within easy walking distance of the Manring Hotel where I worked as a ‘live in’ employee. At lunch time I would get to the hotel in time to eat lunch and help with the dish washing and dining room clean-up before returning to school.

The great fire of July 1927 destroyed the hotel. Prior to start of school in September I got a job at the Silver Moon Café, operated by Mr. Walter Riley and his wife. It was located on the opposite side of Main Street and was in the first building west of the area destroyed by the fire. There was a large vacant lot east of the building which helped it survive the fire.

This lot served as a convenient location for the three tables where people sat for domino games. The coal mines operated only two or three days a week during these depression era days and the idle miners enjoyed getting together for domino games. Mr. Riley was glad to furnish the tables, chairs and dominoes without charge. The player obliged by ordering hamburgers, cokes and ice cream cones.

I would meet Mr. Riley for opening and clean up in the morning before going to school. At lunch time I would rush from school in time to help with the short-time rush for hamburgers and cokes. The rush would be over in time for me to eat a quick lunch before rushing back to school.

After school there wasn’t a lot of business but the café stayed open for the occasional drop-in customer. I had time to do my school home work, do any cleaning that needed to be done before opening the next day. There was usually time for Mr. Riley to give me a few lessons at the Checker game. He was an expert player and was patient in pointing out my errors and making suggestions to improve my playing skill. After a time I was able to win a few games and gain a few compliments on my playing.

Hearts A Bustin'

2006-06-09T21:51:00.000-04:00

“ hearts a-bustin’ with love”
Strawberry- Bush
Euonymus americanus

This is a shy, inconspicuous shrub of the staff-tree family that grows in rich woods in altitudes up to 3500 feet. Usually it grows 2 to 8 feet tall with green or pale gray twigs with opposite veined green leaves that are 1 ½ to 3 inches long. We first noticed it on the Gold Branch trail off of Lower Roswell Road. Later, more careful, observation revealed its presence on practically all of the trails around Roswell, including the Autry Mill Preserve and the Big Tree Preserve trails.
Small, greenish-purple flowers appear in May and June. They have five joined petals with rounded ends. In the center of these petals is a small white flower with five much smaller, sharp pointed petals. This center portion of the flower matures and drops the white petals after about 30 days, leaving a small dark, round berry in the center. This berry-like pod continues to grow, develops five indented grooves and turns a darker shade of green. The grooves become more pronounced and the pod takes on a brownish tint. At this stage the pod may be ½ to ¾ inch in diameter and appears to be dry and mature, with a rough bumpy surface with a rusty red color.
At about three months of age, in late August or September, the pod breaks open at the five indentations; the five sections fold back, exposing five bright glossy- red (or orange) seeds. The folded back covers are also colored red on their inside, now exposed. The colorful seeds are attractive to the birds and are soon dropped to the ground or carried away. The seed pod fades from red to a rusty brown color before dropping to the ground.
A ranger at the Island Ford trail advised that he knew of no Hearts a’bustin on that trail. We found none as we hiked the trail until we sat down to eat lunch at the picnic table at the end of the trail. Here I noticed a large shrub in bloom growing in the middle of a cluster of Mountain Laurel about twenty feet from where we were sitting. As mentioned earlier, this is a shy, inconspicuous shrub that is easily overlooked except in its final stage when the seed pod has burst and its brilliant contents exposed.
The manager of the Big Tree Preserve strives to maintain the area free of foreign or intrusive plants. As a part of this program he has rescued a large variety of native flowers and shrubs and transplanted them in this preserve, including many Hearts a’ bustin, Lady Slippers and Purple Coneflowers.

Go Down, Death

2006-06-09T21:48:00.000-04:00

GO DOWN DEATH

Weep not, weep not,
She is not dead
She’s resting on the bosom of Jesus.
Heart-broken husband—weep no more;
Grief-stricken son—weep no more;
Left-lonesome daughter—weep no more;
She’s only just gone home.

Day before yesterday morning,
God was looking down from his great, high heaven,
Looking down on all of his children,
And his eyes fell on Sister Caroline,
Tossing on her bed of pain.
And God’s big heart was touched with pity,
With everlasting pity.

And God sat back on his throne,
And he commanded that tall, bright angel standing at his right hand:
Call me death!
And that tall, bright angel cried in a voice
That broke like a clap of thunder:
Call Death!---Call Death!
And the echo sounded down the streets of heaven
Till it reached away back to that shadowy place,
Where Death waits with his pale, white horse.

And Death heard the summons,
And he leaped on his fastest horse,
Pale as a sheet in the moonlight.
Up the golden street Death Galloped,
And the hoofs of the horse struck fire from the gold,
But they didn’t make no sound.
Up Death rode to the Great White Throne,
And waited for God’s command.

And God said: Go down, Death, go down,
Go down to Savannah, Georgia,
Down to Yamacraw,
And find Sister Caroline.
She’s borne the burden and heat of the day,
She’s labored long in the vineyard,
She’s tired---
She’s weary---
Go down, Death, and bring her to me.

And Death didn’t say a word.
But he loosed the reins on his pale, white horse.
And he clamped the spurs in his bloodless sides,
And out and down he rode,
Through heaven’s pearly gates,
Past sun and moon and stars;
On Death rode,

And the foam from his horse was like a comet in the sky;
On Death rode,
Leaving the lightning’s flash behind;
Straight on down he came.

While we were watching round her bed,
She turned her eyes and looked away,
She saw what we couldn’t see;
She saw Old Death. She saw Old Death,
Coming like a falling star,
But Death didn’t frighten Sister Caroline;
He looked to her like a welcome friend.
And she whispered to us: I’m going home,
And she smiled and closed her eyes.

And Death took her up like a baby,
And she lay in his icy arms,
But she didn’t feel no chill.
And Death began to ride again—
Up beyond the evening star,
Out beyond the morning star,
Into the glittering light of glory.
On the Great White Throne.
And there he laid Sister Caroline
On the loving breast of Jesus.

And Jesus took his own hand and wiped away her tears,
And he smoothed the furrows from her face,
And the angels sang a little song,
And Jesus rocked her in his arms,
And kept a-saying: Take your rest,
Take your rest, take your rest.

Weep not---weep not,
She is not dead;
She’s resting in the bosom of Jesus.

God’s Trombones
James Weldon Johnson

Doing Something

2006-06-09T21:47:00.000-04:00

DOING SOMETHING

For life to mean anything a person must do something. The thing done doesn’t have to have great significance or accomplish a particular goal. The first point is that a person needs to do something to assert his being and give meaning to his life. Later points may be asserted with respect to the importance of doing particular things. But, for a beginning we need to agree on the importance of doing something.
Doing something is what gives meaning to physical, emotional, mental and economic existence. The saying “Use it or lose it” applies to all aspects of life. Further, doing something in any one of the activity fields will exert an influence on the other fields, contributing to healthier general existence. It is the doing, or anticipating the doing of something that gives us the needed reason to rise in the morning.
One of the disadvantages associated with retiring from one’s job is the loss of purpose in getting up in the morning. Advancing age accentuates the loss of purpose, making it more urgent that the problem be recognized and dealt with. A person may not be aware of the dangers associated with this loss of purpose factor. Even in recognizing it a person may reason that after a career of hard work one is entitled to spend some time doing nothing. He may feel that he has done his part and that it is time to let the young folks take over the tasks. Such a person needs to learn that doing things and maintaining satisfactory relationships with other people are determining factors in the personal health of all persons at all stages of life.
Closely, but often unknowingly, associated with the tendency to idleness are the employees of retirement homes or other institutions who find it easier for them to let their wards sit dozing on a sofa rather than pushing them to participate in the scheduled activity. In fact, the custodian may find a host of ways to justify excusing them this time. Actually, they may have been excused so many times in the past that they are no longer capable of understanding and participating in the activity.
Surely there are games, puzzles and activities that are too difficult for some people to perform. For those persons, a special effort should be made to find an activity that, with some conscientious assistance, they can perform. While these people may be the greatest test of our training and skill they may also furnish us the greatest satisfaction of success in our work.
Whether dealing with the task of leading others in performance tasks or in doing things ourselves we need to remember that we are dealing with a matter of living. Our thinking, our interaction with others, the physical things we do and the leadership we provide are the things that define the life we live. They are the activities that contribute to our physical, mental and emotional health. The rewarding thing is the fact that we are making our own lives more healthy and satisfying in the process of assisting others.

Jerry 3/29/05

Cool Tombs / The Ship of State

2006-06-09T21:46:00.000-04:00

COOL TOMBS

When Abraham Lincoln was shoveled into the tombs, he forgot the
Copperheads and the assassin…in the dust, in the cool tombs.

And Ulysses Grant lost all thought of con men and Wall street,
Cash and collateral turned ashes…in the dust, in the cool tombs.

Pocahontas’ body, lovely as a poplar, sweet as a red haw
In November or a pawpaw in May…did she wonder?
Does she remember?...in the dust, in the cool tombs?

Take any streetful of people buying clothes and groceries,
Cheering a hero or throwing confetti and blowing tin horns…
Tell me if the lovers are losers…tell me if any get more
Than the lovers…in the dust, in the cool tombs.

Carl Sandburg

SHIP OF STATE

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
We know what Master laid thy keel,
What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel,
Who made each mast, and sail, and rope
What anvils rang, what hammers beat
In what a forge and what heat
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope!
Fear not each sudden sound and shock,
‘T is of the wave and not the rock,
‘T is but the flapping of the sail,
And not a rent made by the gale!
In spite of rock and tempest’s roar,
In spite of false lights on the shore,
Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea!
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears,
Our faith, triumphant o’er our fears,
Are all with thee,---are all with thee!

H. W. Longfellow

The Touch Revolution

2006-06-09T21:45:00.000-04:00

TOUCH and be TOUCHED
7/12/05 Jerry

With birth comes the natural desire to touch and to be touched. The new mother wants to feel the warmth and life pulses of this miracle that has come to her. She lets her fingers trace the curves of the baby’s ear and chin. In counting its fingers and toes she touches each and proudly celebrates the perfection of the count. She is filled with awe as she recalls the events that have enabled her to produce this wondrously marvelous new life that will play an important role in continuing her family, and indeed, the entire family of mankind.
The scientists who understand such things explain to us that the touching ritual is an essential element in the growth process. It enables personalities to develop and meaningful relationships to grow, both physical and spiritual. Without this touching there will be a void, a lacking, that may appear in later life as a character flaw such as an inclination to cruelty or other social crimes. Its absence may lead one into a life of reclusion. Sadly, such a childhood loss is almost impossible to redeem.
As children grow older touching between parents and children tends to decrease. Children often feel that holding the hand of a parent is a mark of childishness, of immaturity. Sexual mores may lead a child or parent to avoid touching in sight of others. In other cases there may be a decrease in the close relationship that will lead to a decrease in touching. Development of relationships between boys and girls may cause them to prefer touching between them rather than with parents.
Regardless of age there are reasons for touching and no opportunity should be overlooked. A Cub Scout completes construction of a bird house or finishes his leaf collection or graduates into Boy Scouting. All of these should be celebrated with words of congratulations and a big hug. The daughter wins a medal in a swimming meet, makes an A in math, or learns how to play Chess. These should never be passed up as times for hugs from parents, and maybe from sibling too.
Adults continue to benefit from touching. This is especially true for those who have retired and those who may live in “Retirement Communities”. Most of the residents of such communities have moved there from other communities and have lost contact with friends, neighbors and fellow workers. They miss the congratulatory pat on the back for closing an important contract or making good golf or bowling scores. They miss the friendly handshakes of friends at Church or at neighborhood stores.
These people may not realize that the absence of touches is one of the major factors contributing to their lonely feelings. They often come to accept the lonely feeling as normal and continue to spend their time in front of their television set or in meaningless activities with others who are in the same lonely state.
A friendly touch could revolutionize the lives of these people. A hug, pat on the back, handshake or even a friendly assist to a seat could work wonders with everyone. For some, these acts might seem awkward at first. Some women might feel like a man is flirtatious. These feelings will disappear quickly and be replaced with appreciation.
For the ‘Touch’ revolution to catch on it would be helpful if each person would take the initiative, pat another on the back or shake his [her] hand and say a kind word. Even a word about the weather would suffice. In a few days it will become an easy, joyful habit and everyone will be happier. Begin today!

The Psalm of Life

2006-06-09T21:43:00.000-04:00

The Psalm of Life
(Longfellow)
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream !—
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor, and to wait.

The Road Not Taken

2006-06-09T21:42:00.001-04:00

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where in bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The Man With a Hoe

2006-06-09T21:42:00.000-04:00

THE MAN WITH THE HOE

Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages on his face.
And on his back the burdens of the world..
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox?
Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back his brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within his brain?

Is this the Thing the Lord God made and gave
To have dominion over sea and land.
To trace the stars and search the heavens for power,
To feel the passion of Eternity?
Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And pillared the blue firmament with light?
Down all the stretch of hell to its last gulf
There is no shape more terrible than this—
More tongued with censure of the world’s blind greed—
More filled with signs and portents for the soul—
More fraught with menace to the universe.

What gulfs between him and the seraphim!
Slaves of the wheel of labor, what to him
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades?
What the long reaches of peaks of song,
The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose?
Through this dread shape the suffering ages look;
Time’s tragedy is in that aching stoop;Through this dread shape humanity betrayed,
Plundereed, profaned, and disinherited,
Cried protest to the Judges of the World,
A protest that is also prophecy.

O masters, lords, and rulers in all lands,
Is this the handiwork you give to God,
This monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched?
How will you ever straighten up this shape,
Touch it again with immortality;
Give back the upward looking and light;
Rebuild in it the music and the dreams;
Make right the immemorial infamies,
Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes?

O masters, lords and rulers in all lands,
How will the Future reckon with this Man?
How answer his brute question in that hour
When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world?
How will it be with kingdoms and with kings—
With those who shaped him to the thing he is—
When this dumb Terror shall reply to God,
After the silence of centuries?

Edwin Markham

The Day is Done

2006-06-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

THE DAY IS DONE

by H. W. Longfellow

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist:
And a feeling of sadness comes over me,
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of time.

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life’s endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humble poet,
Whose songs gush’d from his heart,
As showers from clouds of summer,
Or tears from eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice;
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

The Creation

2006-06-09T21:31:00.000-04:00

Simon Legree

2006-06-09T21:30:00.000-04:00

SIMON LEGREE---A Negro Sermon

Legree’s big house was white and green.
His cotton fields were the best to be seen.
He had strong horses and opulent cattle,
And bloodhounds bold, with chains that would rattle.
His garret was full of curious things:
Books of magic, bags of gold,
And rabbits’ feet on long twine strings.
But he went down to the Devil

Legree, he sported a brass-buttoned coat,
A snakeskin necktie, a blood-red shirt.
Legree he had a beard like a goat,
And a thick hairy neck, and eyes like dirt.
His puffed-out cheeks were fish-belly white,
He had great long teeth, and an appetite.
Her ate raw meat, ‘most every meal,
And he rolled his eyes till the cat would squeal.
His fist was an enormous size
To mash poor niggers that told him lies:
He was surely a witchman in disguise.
But he went down to the Devil.

He wore hip boots, and would wade all day
To capture his slaves that fled away.
But he went down to the Devil.

He beat poor Uncle Tom to death
Who prayed for Legree with his last breath.
Then Uncle Tom to Eva flew,
To high sanctoriums bright and new;
And Simon Legree stared up beneath,
And cracked his heels, and ground his teeth:
And went down to the Devil.

He crossed the yard in the storm and gloom;
He went into his grand front room.
He said, “I like him, and I don’t care.”
He kicked a hound, he gave a swear;
He tightened his belt, he took a lamp,
Went down cellar to the webs and damp.
There in the middle of the moldy floor
He heaved up a slab, he found a door—
And went down to the Devil.

His lamp blew out, but his eyes burned bright.
Simon Legree stepped down all night—
Down, down to the Devil.

Simon Legree he reached the place,
He saw one half of the human race,
He saw the Devil on a wide green throne,
Gnawing the meat from from a big ham bone,
And he said to Mister Devil:
“I see you have much to eat—
A red ham bone is surely sweet.
I see you have lion’s feet;
I see your frame is fat and fine,
I see you drink your poison wine—
Blood and burning turpentine.”

And the Devil said to Simon Legree:
“I like your style, so wicked and free.
Come sit and share my throne with me,
And let us bark and revel.”
And there they sit and gnash their teeth,
And each one wears a hop-vine wreath.
They are matching pennies and shooting craps,
They are playing poker and taking naps.
And old Legree is fat and fine:
He heats the fire, he drinks the wine.—
Blood and burning turpentine—
Down, down with the Devil;
Down, down with the Devil;
Down, down with the Devil.

Vachel Lindsay
[ 1879-1931]

Love and Goodbye Time

2006-06-09T21:28:00.000-04:00

Love and Goodbye Time

My favorite musical artist, Chet Atkins, can’t sing a fact which he readily acknowledges. Other than a duet with comic Ray Stevens I know of only one recorded performance by Chet. He sang his own composition “I never learned to say Goodbye.” The lyrics dealt with his father’s death and the fact that it had occurred before Chet had been able to tell his father that he loved him or had told him goodbye. Chet had never contemplated his father’s death and was unprepared for it.

Some of us are given advance notice of the death event and have opportunities to tell our loved ones that we love them and are grateful for the many gifts of love and care they have given to us through the years. Yet, this notice is not always easy to recognize. The family doctor may be the one who has the training and experience to determine that the end is near but even then a patient’s strong (or weak) physical condition may make his prediction inaccurate.

We need to remember that dying is a process that may come suddenly in an accident or may extend over a long period of time. Our bodies are made up of many parts and usually they don’t all stop functioning at the same time. The malfunction of one organ may cause others to weaken or stop functioning, giving a domino effect to the dying process and extending it over a long period of time.

The brain is subject to damage from a variety of illnesses that may suddenly cause it to cease a few or a variety of its functions. It may, as when it suffers a stroke, lose its ability to control certain muscle systems of the body. Probably the most devastating injury to the brain is the onslaught of Alzheimer’s disease, breaking of the connection to the library of memories it has accumulated over its years of life. In this situation the remainder of the body may continue to function normally but the person may not be able to remember many of the facts, incidents or persons that make up the history of his life.

In many cases a person may lose the connection to one section of his library but retain memory of other sections. He may not be able to recall where he worked before retirement or where he went to school or where he served in the military and yet may know the names of all the members of his High School graduating class or the names of the kids he played marbles with as a child.

Most of us have experienced the frustration of not being able to remember the name of the preacher who performed our wedding ceremony or spending long seconds trying to recall the name of the Scoutmaster of Troop 6. We can only imagine the frustration of a person who can’t remember such things no matter how long he tries to recall them. For such a person it must be as if a whole list of events and people never existed, the memories of the richness of life contributed by them have been wiped out.

Among the many things lost by such patients are names of family members and family history. After going through the birth process, the diaper period, first day at school, puberty problems and marriage arrangements it is hard to lose a child by having her and all facts surrounding her simply disappear from one’s memory. For the male patient it is sad to be deprived of the memories of a devoted wife, the celebrations of student’s successes at school and on the soccer field and one’s vocation with its problems and achievements. Oh, so many things are lost—forever.

These thoughts bring us back to the idea that it is important to do some important things while we are able to do them and while the ones we love are able to comprehend our actions. It is important that we take care to tell our loved ones sincerely and often, at every opportunity, that we love them and are proud and happy to have them and the beautiful memories associated with them. It is extremely difficult for one to fully comprehend the importance of these actions—until the time has come when it is too late to do them.

Jerry 2/20/05

Life

2006-06-09T21:26:00.001-04:00

Lie Addiction

2006-06-09T21:26:00.000-04:00

LIE ADDICTION

President Bush didn’t have to say that no one expected Katrina to do so much damage to New Orleans. There are a thousand truthful statements he could have made instead of telling us another lie. Surely he knew that when the President speaks some reporter is going to make a note of his remarks for his editor.

Leading A Christian Nation

2006-06-09T21:25:00.000-04:00

Leading a Christian Nation

When President George W. Bush describes himself as a ‘born again’ Christian he obliges himself to meet a very high standard of conduct in all of his activities. This is especially true of Mr. Bush because of his position as President of the nation. The people being led by him look to him to set a Christian example worthy of his position and which they can follow in good faith. When a person achieves the status of ‘born again’ Christian it is assumed that he has been blessed with special knowledge and has been granted a special, close relationship with Jesus Christ. We dare not question this relationship.

We hesitate to discuss whether Mr. Bush recognizes the obligation he has assumed by asserting his ‘born again’ status. Yet, his assertion and repeated reference to his religious beliefs indicates a willingness to permit full discussion of the subject. This has led us to question some of his attitudes and actions during his last four years as President of the United States. These questions are raised with the full knowledge of our personal weakness in this area and that we have fallen short in our living out of the Christian faith.

It is impossible for me to believe that the Prince of Peace would approve of a pre emptive attack on another nation which had not made any threats of attack against our nation. This becomes even more unlikely when we find that the reasons for the attack have been found groundless and, in at least one case, false. The obscene and cruel treatment of soldiers and civilians captured or detained in the course of the war should have been a severe shock to all Christians, and unbearable to any ‘born again’ Christian. Yet, the President’s response to the action was a delayed denial of responsibility.

The attitude and actions of Jesus regarding the rich and the poor were always in favor of the poor and downtrodden. President Bush, to the contrary, has favored the very rich through such devices as huge tax cuts; revision of rules to permit mining and drilling companies to extract products from public lands which belongs to all the people. He has favored the rich with government contracts worth billions of dollars without competitive bidding and has favored employers in labor matters and refusal to support legislation to increase the minimum wage. He has attempted to revise the Labor Department guidelines requiring overtime pay for time worked beyond 40 hours per week so as to deny this benefit to millions of workers.

In the long run we must believe that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” and that we are responsible for the care and maintenance of the land, the sea and the atmosphere. As caretakers of the earth and its creatures we are obligated to protect nature and leave it to future generations in as good shape as we received it. President Bush came into office after pledging to preserve the environment, but he has revised rules and regulations to permit contamination of land, streams and the atmosphere and has allowed the destruction of the habitat necessary for the survival of many species of animals.

The people of the nation must call upon President Bush to reframe his plans for the next four years to truly reflect the Christian standards of conduct he professes. Only then can we deserve the blessings of the Lord we so earnestly seek.

Jerry 11/8/2004

Leadership In Question

2006-06-09T21:24:00.000-04:00

Leading a Christian Nation (Alternate)

When President George W. Bush describes himself as a ‘born again’ Christian he obliges himself to meet a very high standard of conduct in all of the activities. This is especially true of Mr. Bush because of his position of leadership. The people being led by him look to him to set a Christian example worthy of his position and which they can follow in good faith. When a person achieves the status of ‘born again’ Christian it is assumed that he has been blessed with special knowledge and has been granted a special, close relationship with Jesus Christ. We dare not question this relationship.

We hesitate to discuss whether Mr. Bush recognizes the obligation he has assumed by asserting his ‘born again’ status. Yet, his assertion and repeated reference to his religious beliefs indicates a willingness to permit full discussion of the subject. This has led us to question some of his attitudes and actions during his last four years as President of the United States. These questions are raised with the full knowledge of the moat in our own eyes and the instances in which we have fallen short in our living out of the Christian faith.

It is impossible for me to believe that the Prince of Peace would approve of a pre emptive attack on another nation which had not made any threats of attack against our nation. This becomes even more unlikely when we find that the reasons for the attack have been found groundless and in at least one case false. The obscene and cruel treatment of soldiers and civilians captured or detained in the course of the war should have been a severe shock to all Christians, and unbearable to any ‘born again’ Christian. Yet, the President’s response to the action was a delayed denial of responsibility.

The attitude and actions of Jesus regarding the rich and the poor was always in favor of the poor and downtrodden. President Bush, to the contrary, has favored the very rich through such devices as huge tax cuts, revisions of rules to permit mining and drilling on land belonging to all the people. He has favored the rich with contracts worth billions of dollars and has favored employers in labor matters and refusal to support legislation to increase the minimum wage. He has attempted to revise the Labor Department guidelines requiring overtime pay for time worked beyond 40 hours per week so as to deny this benefit to millions of workers.

In the long run we must believe that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” and that we are responsible for the care and maintenance of the land, the sea and the atmosphere. As caretakers of the earth and its creatures we are obligated to protect nature and leave it to future generations in as good shape as we received it. President Bush came into office with a pledge to preserve the environment, but he has revised rules and regulations to permit contamination of land, streams and the atmosphere and has allowed the destruction of the habitat necessary for the survival of many creatures.

The President stands with those proclaiming the United States to be a Christian nation. Yet, his attitudes and actions indicate an attitude disregarding the Christian principles that helped establish the United States and to maintain its reputation for friendship and justice in its relationship with other nations of the worldworld.has been critical of the United Nat
The people of the nation must call upon President Bush to reframe his plans for the next four years to truly reflect the Christian standards of conduct he professes. Only then can we deserve the blessings of the Lord we so earnestly seek.

Jerry 11/8/2004