War

War – Watch the DVD “No End in Sight”

Chapter 1

This is a very difficult section for me to write. I say this because we are a nation of hypocrites and I say this to include myself. The rules we impose on others don’t apply to us. Nothing shows that more than our view on war and foreign policy.
When our country was attached on September 11, 2001, I was in the Air Force on Temporary Duty (TDY) in San Antonio, Texas. I was attending a computer class. The class was terminated and we were sent to our hotel rooms after we were told what happened. When I got to my hotel room and turned on the television I could not believe what I was seeing. After seeing that destruction and hearing that it was a terrorist attack I can’t tell you how angry I was. I could try but I don’t think I could ever show the true level of anger. I was ready to go to war that very day. If it meant I had to die in the process of getting the people responsible, then so be it. I could not believe we could be attacked like that, killing so many people. Even as I write this I can feel the anger rise again.

Let’s look at this way: let’s change the location of the attack. Let’s put it in Iraq and let’s change it from airplanes to missiles. My point is it doesn’t matter what the delivery is. 3000 dead is 3000 dead. I think what makes it so hard for us is we don’t fight that way anymore. We used to but we have evolved. Back when this country was being formed the rules of war was to dress up in uniform and march out in the open and shoot at the enemy. What the U.S. did was hide behind trees and in bushes and fire. If there was a Geneva Convention at that time we would have been in violation. Much like the tactics people in the Middle East are using against us now. As much as I disagree with the tactic they are using, if things were reversed I would do the same thing, except for the suicide part.

People can say anything they want but the truth is we feel like we are better than people of other countries. Think about what we are doing in other countries. Now imagine another country doing that in the United Sates. The outrage would be from coast to coast. There is no way the American Public would stand for another country doing to us what we do to them. If you look at it that way then you will understand why we are disliked around the world.
The sad thing is that I feel we are better than the rest also. I don’t want to feel that way but I do. I guess when you hear all your life that this is the greatest country on planet earth, you start to believe it. You also believe it because so many people from so many countries come here to call home. Most of the people who talk bad about this country would live here if they could. I love what this country stands for and the opportunity it offers. Still you can not deny the hypocrisy we show towards the rest of the world.

Some of it has to do with culture. That still does not change the fact that we have double standards and we use them according to our interest. Example: North Korea has nuclear weapons and detonated one to prove it. Our President did nothing and after some time passed decided to try diplomatic talks. Iran is trying to get the information needed to build a nuclear weapon and he is already talking about attacking. The only difference I can see between the two is the lesser nuclear threat is in an oil region. The country we chose to talk to starves and limits the freedom of its people. The country he is talking about attacking has basic freedom for its people. I can’t help but to wonder if oil has anything to do with his desire to attack this country. I was all for going after the people responsible for the attacks on the twin towers. It is the twisted world police mentality we have for attacking countries that someday may pose a threat to us, if there is oil involved, that I have a problem with. We do this under the cloak of protecting the civil rights of its citizens or our allies.

I like the right wing defense of “is the world better off without Sadam?” I agree, I think the world is better off without Sadam. The problem is I don’t think it was our call to make. I’m sure there are countries out there that would say the world would be better off without George Bush. Do you think they have the right to make that call? I don’t think they do. Bush is our problem. We should not push him off on anyone else. When you look back at the history of this country, it is filled with double standards. We are always talking about preventing other countries from getting nuclear weapons. If you think about it, other countries should be trying to get nuclear weapons away from us. We have shown that we will use it. We have done it not once but twice. As far as I know we are the only nation to use it. Are we saying that we are the only nation that knows when nuclear weapons should be used? I must say that I think we are. I fear that if the countries like Iran had the weapon they might use it. I then ask myself, why do I think Iran will use it if they had it? Because that is what the American media tells me. Then I ask if the American media has spin or bias? Yes. Then I ask, is the American media wrong about Iran? I don’t know and I would be afraid to check or risk it.

Chapter 2

We are too willing to ignore the United Nations and go it alone. When there is something we want we go to the United Nations. We also encourage other countries to go there and do as they say. When the United Nations don’t do what we want, we label them ineffective and do what we want. You are only allowed to do that if you are a superpower. It’s no wonder lots of people around the world have negative views of this country. How can we expect other countries to listen to anything the United States has to say when its foreign policies are filled with double standards? I truly believe that if we applied the same policies to ourselves that we apply to other countries we would not have entered this war in Iraq. It seems that our politicians think that since we give countries money they should support whatever we do. They have not yet realized that everyone is not for sale. There are people on this planet that have principles and to them those principles are more important than money. Others have sold themselves to the highest bidder for so long that they think it is natural. Now that they have us in this mess that is the Iraq War they have found this out. Some people really do hold strongly to what they believe. They will stay true to those beliefs, and views even when faced with death. Our leaders will change theirs quickly for a few dollars without a second thought. When you look at the way our politicians do business and the way the Bush administration does its business, can anyone really be surprised by anything he does? I believe that 90% of politics is driven by personal financial gain. The other 10% is done for the country and its people. This has been the case for many, many years. The Bush administration has taken this to another level. They do things for money and they don’t even try to hide it. They do it right in your face. When you question what they do, they well you that you don’t see what your eyes are telling you. In other words your eyes are lying to you. If you ask them to prove your eyes are wrong, then they are unable to do that due to National Security or Executive Privilege.

We have wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and yes I believe these are profit driven wars. Bush and his boys are raking in some serious money. That’s what it is all about: money, money and more money. It doesn’t matter how many people have to die in their quest for more money. It doesn’t matter what country the dead people are from. Just get them more money. They claim BILLIONS of dollars are unaccounted for in Iraq. They can’t find the money because there is a war going on and war is hectic. When I hear “war is hectic” from Bush I have to laugh. I wonder how he knows. When he had the chance to go to war, he dodged it. Since he became president he has started two of them. He now watches the war from the safety of the white house while counting his money. You would think that the American people would be upset by what is going on in Washington DC but they are not. According to the polls that I see on television most people want the war to end and the president’s approval numbers are way down. Are the people upset yet? No, not yet. If the president was to have sex, then I think that would do it. People being killed and stealing are not big deals as long as there is no sex going on. You have to ask yourself if this is what has become of our government. I remember when the Republicans were going after Clinton about a blow job. They were on television pounding their fists, veins sticking out on their neck, and faces red because they were so appalled. Now we have billions of dollars stolen, thousands of soldiers killed, tens of thousands of soldiers injured, congress and the American public mislead with very bad intelligence, and almost a trillion dollars spent on these wars and to this the Republican party says this is okay. The Republicans beat us and lie to us until we do as we are told. The Democrats watch them and tell them to stop but they don’t get involved.

I guess I want the country to be outraged by what is the Bush-men have done to our country and our military. When I see what they are doing, I don’t understand why we as a people are so complacent. I don’t point fingers at anyone because I am not out protesting either. I can promise you one thing: I pay attention and will protest with my vote. I wish they would put the impeachment to a vote. I don’t know what I am thinking, they would rig that too. This war is being fought based on what our country deems to be injustice on another country’s people. Basically that is what we are being told. I’m not going to say that Sadam was a good guy and he treated his people with respect. In my view he was a bad and evil person. Now let’s look at this a different way: this was a different country. This country has a different culture. A culture I will not pretend to understand. This culture has a totally different belief system. This country’s culture and belief system is much more different than that of the United States. The religion there is mostly Muslim, from what I can tell. There are different types of Muslims and each type has its extremist. They fight over the differences in their religions. There are some among them who ignore the difference and live peacefully. If only everyone could be so liberal the world would be a better place.

Unfortunately the world has too many bullies. Bullies are extremists and want to control. Control as in not allowing them to decide what is best for them: not being liberal and letting them be themselves, understanding that they believe and think much more differently than we do. We decided that we could not stand by and let them live the way they were living. I understand that to a point. I too would like to liberate the world and allow them to live as free as we do. In order to do that I would have to assume that they want the same things I want. I believe that it is wrong for me to force my beliefs on someone else, no mater how strong my beliefs are. When I was in Germany I met lots of people. Most of them found it amusing that we put people in jail for smoking weed. Most of them smoke it everyday. For the sake of argument, let’s say that Germany wanted to invade us because we put so many people in jail and ruin lives for smoking weed. If they tried to put pressure on us because of our stance on weed, we would think they were crazy for trying to tell us how we should live and govern our country. It’s the arrogance in us that makes us think we are better. We have more people in jail than any other country. Let’s say that other countries were putting sanctions on us for the number of people we have in jail for non violent crimes and calling it injustice and complaining about our capital punishment laws. Most of us would want them to mind their own business. I believe that has a lot to do with why we or better yet, our foreign policy is disliked so much around the world. We say we want people to be free to choose, and then we tell them how to live and what to choose. Who is right and who is wrong?

I will be honest and say that I don’t know. I just don’t think we should force our beliefs on someone else because that means it is not free. This is the best country to live in, but that is my opinion and it is the only country that I really know. I have had periods where I have lived in other countries. The thing is; I didn’t live there long enough to say I knew that country. Unless you truly know that country, how can you say what would be best for it. Even if you do truly know the country there is still the question of, is it your call to make as to what is right for those people. Are we the parents of the world? I know parents always make decisions for their children, as they should. Normally that is not the case for adults. Adults in this country are allowed to make their own choices in most cases. That is a freedom that we have by law. Laws are different from country to country. I hear people in this country say all the time, “if you don’t like our laws then you should get out”. I agree with them with all my heart. If you don’t like where your home is then maybe it is time to move.

Chapter 3

We went to war because Sadam was a bad man. I will agree with the President on that one. Now we get down to where I think he and his side kick Dick should be fired. They are President and Vice President. Responsible for millions of people and speak for this great nation. They took us to war based on faulty information they thought to be true. I understand that people do make mistakes and I don’t fault them for that. Here is where my problem is: as the leaders of a superpower and a morally just nation, they have a greater responsibility. When we go to war there will be millions of lives at risk.

When you have that type of risk, the level fact checking should be much higher than what would normally be in place. When millions of lives are at stake and the information coming to the president means many of them will die. I would have thought that Mr. Bush would have had those facts double checked. If it came back and said millions could die, he would have asked to have them triple checked. This was a huge error and for that he should have lost his job. We invaded a county and stepped all over their rights based on faulty information. When the president found out he said, well he was a bad man anyway. Let’s look at this way: let’s pretend that the President and Vice President are doctors or company CEOs. I use those jobs because they are responsible for many people. The doctor got bad lab tests but didn’t double and triple check. The CEO got bad reports and didn’t have them double and triple checked. The fact that they didn’t make sure the facts were solid and many people died. They would have been fired. If they had any class about them they would have stepped down. I am not surprised to see them still in office because our leaders are not accountable for their actions.

The thing that I am unable to understand is Republicans went after Clinton because of a blow job and he lied about it. He was wrong for what he did. I even agreed with them on the impeachment hearings. Not because of what he did, but because he lied under oath about it. He was the president and for me he is held to a higher level of accountability. The fact that he let some chick give him head is none of our business. That should have been between him and his wife. I don’t think he should have ever answered the question. Once he decided to answer, he should have told the truth. He lied and because of that I supported the Republicans in their decision to hold the impeachment hearing. Since the Bush administration took office the party has shown its true colors. By their actions they seem to say that you are only responsible and accountable for your actions if you are a Democrat. According to Mr. Bush if you make a big mistake or do wrong, he will give you a medal. If you get caught and they try to send you to jail, he will pardon you before they get you behind bars. All of this and more is okay with the Republicans because Bush is one of them. They are a group of "party before county" hypocrites. I am not just talking about the Republicans in office. I’m also talking about the American people that continue to support them.

All I can say is that some of the people just refuse to open their eyes. They think their party can do no wrong and only look for fault on the other side. If fault is found in their party, they pretend it didn’t happen. This happens on both sides, both Republican and Democrats. That is the same attitude that got us into this war, only taken to another level.

Some people close their eyes to what this country does, pretending that this country can do no wrong. In my eyes, wrong is wrong no matter who the perpetrators are. Can we really always be right? I think we as Americans need to open our eyes to what is going on. We need to stand as one to defend this nation from our elected officials. I mean defend it against both parties, both republican and democrat. These parties do not have the best interest of the United States at heart. The officials only have the interest of themselves and their party in mind when they make decisions. When I say them, what I really mean is the big business that is funding them. We must open our eyes if we want to regain our status as the moral leaders of this world.

We went into this war without a full plan. The only plan they had was to overthrow Sadam and protect the oil. They removed all the stability the country had. All the political leaders were removed from office. The police was removed. The military was disbanded.

This meant hundreds of thousands of people out of work and a country with no security. After doing all of this the Bush administration didn’t expect what happened next. Think about this for a minute. What would happen if the same thing happened in the United States? Imagine another country invading the US and throwing Bush and his gang out of office. I know what you are thinking, “sounds good so far”. Then they get rid of everyone on the senate and house along with their staff. Okay, it’s not bad yet. Next, they shut down all police departments. Now it’s getting bad. The last thing they do is to close down our military. That would be devastating. Our government is bad and terribly broken, but we do not have chaos in the streets. If all that I said was to happen that is what we would have. The streets would not be safe. Our military was there on the streets but they were not allowed to stop looters and there was lots of it. Again, think about all that going on here at home. Some people would be happy what Bush and gang were gone. Others would be mad that another country was interfering in our business.

We have plenty of guns in this country and the people that are mad would take shots at the invaders from time to time. Now you throw in looting while the invaders watch. People start to get upset and talk to each other about what they saw. Then you add in no running water, no sewage, and no electricity. People are getting more upset. Finally you throw in rapes and kidnapping and the people are pissed. People are afraid to leave home because the streets are not safe. Imagine all this stuff happening and lasting not days or weeks but years. You see the invaders and the only thing that gets protection is the oil. I believe we would fight back, I know I would. The Bush boys didn’t understand that. I’m sure someone in the military tried to tell him but they had a plan and was going to stick to it no matter what. They only wanted to hear about what would make their plan work. The example in my mind is they are all sitting around a big table discussing flying a kite on the moon using only sticks, cord, paper and a tail for stability. The problem they are trying to decide is how long the tail should be. A general walks in and realizes what they are discussing and tries to tell them that their plan will not work because of the lack of air on the moon. They get mad and tell him to get out because failure is not an option. They tell him that unless he is bringing ideas don’t come back. After he is gone they all laugh saying “you would think a general would realize that the gravity is much weaker on the moon”. That is the type of intelligence I see in the white house.

Chapter 4

If we really wanted to hurt Sadam we went about it all wrong. All we had to do was to devote the countries resources to developing alternative energy. Like when government decided we were going to the moon. Our president is an oil guy so I think it would be a cold day in hell before he did something like that. If he would have done that he could have given or sold that information to the rest of the world making him a hero. That doesn’t even sound right, using the word hero in a sentence where I am talking about Bush. That would have removed any possibility global warming caused by people. The world would have little to no use for oil. That would have crippled Sadam. That also would mean less money for Bush and you know he could not have that. We hear the right wing talk about supporting the troops all the time, but I don’t think they really mean it. It is easy to say “we support the troops”. The truth comes when you have to show it.

If you step back and look at what happened: you can see that they don’t support anything but themselves. A while back Rumsfeld said “you go to war with what you have, not with what you want”. Just based on what he said I agree with him. When you look at the real world then I think it was a lie. Either way it shows you don’t care about the troops. Its not like we were being attacked and we were fighting back. We had been attacked a couple of years ago and therefore we had time to prepare. If you really wanted to support the troops and keep them alive by preparing them for war. There was nothing told to us that forced us to attack quickly. The decision for whatever reason was made to attack quickly with no thought on protecting the troops. I would have preferred that Rumsfeld said “we don’t go to war until we are prepared unless we are forced, because troop safety is paramount”. That would be true troop support. After the war started and they found that road side bombs were being used to kill troops: why didn’t they pull the troops back and prepare them for that type of attack? If you cared about the troops you would make adjustments with the troops as you find out more about the enemy. Would you send firemen out to fight a fire without a fire suit? The troops are going to do as they are told so it is up to the leaders to protect them. The problem is, the people at the top (Bush administration) don’t care but like to say that they do.

You want more proof? You can’t say you support the troops and then turn your back on the Veterans Administration (V.A.). When I talk about the V.A. I talk about first hand knowledge, not what someone else told me. So, how can they support the troops but not the V.A.? When troops are badly injured, they are separated from active duty then they enter the VA system. Let me first say that the V.A. varies from state to state. Some states have better V.A. care than others. I have been in some V.A. hospitals that I am ashamed to say it was in the United States. Those hospitals were not in Nevada. The V.A. hospital here in Las Vegas is pretty good; it is part of Nellis Air Force Base. The V.A. system is the problem. I believe they make it as difficult as possible for the veterans in hopes that he or she will give up and go away. I will give you an example by telling you what is happening to me. I was told by the V.A. that when I had back surgery, they would pay me 100% disability while I recovered and was unable to work. I was told that I needed to give them the name of my surgeon and the hospital where the surgery was done. Also, I was to bring them something from my surgeon saying how long I was to be off work. It has been four months so far and I am still waiting for the first dollar from the VA. I have made many calls to them and nothing is helping. My point is if I needed to rely on the V.A. to pay my bills I would be homeless (they did pay me 10 months later).

I was watching C-Span and a woman who was the Director of V.A. for Chicago, if I remember correctly; said they make it difficult because they don’t have enough money. That makes sense, and if it makes sense that it is probably true. So now the questions would be how can you say you support the troops when you don’t fund the V.A.? If you don’t fund the V.A. then what you are saying is “I support you as long as I can use you”. There is nothing about this war and the Bush Administration that makes sense to me. Here is what I get from the Bush gang. They are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on this war in Iraq. The spent no money on equipping the troops prior to starting this war. What that says to me is “send the troops into war and if they get hurt then so be it, we will just send in more”. The troops are just numbers to the Bush gang and not real people with real families. If that is the attitude of the Bush gang then it would make sense. When you don’t fund the V.A. especially after starting a war, how can you say that you support the troops? What that says to me is “we are done with you, now go away”. It’s easy to say that you support someone or something then do nothing. The hard thing is to get out there and show your support. If the Bush gang is doing anything for the troops and the V.A. then I must say they hide it well because I don’t see it.

Chapter 5

This war is wrong. Granted this is my opinion. When I say this war I am talking about the war in Iraq, not the war in Afghanistan. When we went in Afghanistan it made sense to me. We were going after the people who attacked the United States. They were hiding in the mountains there and we were going to get them. If you attack us we will attack back. I was all for that. I am still all for that. Again, I turned this around. If there was a group here in the United States that attacked Iraq and the Iraq government found out the group was hiding here and our government was doing nothing to bring them to justice. Then the Iraq government sent troops here to get them, I would understand. I would never condone another country invading the U.S. and I’m sure I would take up arms against the county doing it but I would understand why they did it. Why is it okay when we do something and wrong if another country does the exact same thing. I think wrong is wrong no matter who the culprit is. This will get me lots of flack from the right wing. They don’t believe in freedom of speech unless they are speaking or you are agreeing with them. They don’t believe the constitution applies to them. They are the only ones that should be allowed to share their opinion with the public. If you disagree with the war then you are unpatriotic. You are called a traitor and stupid and any other negative thing they can think of. These are the people who call themselves the real Americans. Most of them were too afraid to serve in the military and defend the constitution. These same people are the first to step on the rights that document gives us. We say this war in Iraq is about freedom for the Iraqi people. What we really mean is freedom for the Iraq people as long as the United States agrees. If you say you want the troops out of Iraq: the thing I hear the most is “you want us to lose”. Since when did lose become a curse word. What they are doing is using America’s ego against itself. They know what they are doing.

They see the damage they are doing to the country and do it anyway. For them the policy is winning at any cost, party before country. I think we look better as a free nation when we stand up against our government when it is engaged in an unjust war such as the one in Iraq. Can we call ourselves moral when we stand by and watch what the Bush gang is making our military do to another country? I don’t fault the military. I think they are in the middle of a civil war and are acting very responsibly for what they are faced. When I was growing up I heard many times at home and at school “winning isn’t everything”, my conduct was the most important thing. Now we are telling everyone that will listen that winning is the only thing that matters. That is the wrong message to be sending to children as well as the rest of the world. I’m not saying another nation should never be attacked but what I am saying: we should always try diplomacy first before we attack. If we are attacked first we will retaliate but not until the military is prepared, if we have that option. We must always remember that our military are people: people who have families and people who love them. We can’t allow companies like Blackwater to carry firearms and wear the American flag on their uniforms, conduct business in other counties without any oversight. Those countries see them as our military even though they are not. We are the moral leaders of the world and must conduct ourselves as such. When our fellow citizen criticizes our war policies or efforts we should listen. Asking a question or stating your disagreement makes you a free person not a traitor, we should embrace that. When you try to stifle a person’s freedom of speech that goes against the constitution and by definition would be un-American. The constitution is what makes this country what it is. That is something the right wing should be reminded of.

With all my heart I want this war to end. This is where I side with the Democrats. I believe they want the war to end like most of the American public. They are afraid to stop the funds for the war. They have been called weak for not putting an end to the money needed to keep the war gong I will admit that I also called them weak for not ending this crazy war. Now that I have given this more thought and seen the ease of the Bush veto. If they don’t give him the money he will just leave the troops there until they start getting killed. Then he will blame it on the lack of funds. I think the Democrats realize that they can’t play chicken when the other side doesn’t care.

When the first Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off in Iraq, the Department of Defense (DOD) should have pulled the ground units back into the green zone and equipped them with armor. When the troops asked for armored vehicles Rumsfeld said “you go to war with the army you have, not the army you wish you had”. To me that means “shut up and color”. That is a saying we used in the military that means just do as you are told. Rumsfeld was asking these soldiers to put their life on the line for him and he was not even willing to listen to their complaints. I believe his response to the questions should have been “I agree you do need armored vehicles. We are pulling as many of you as possible back into the green zone until we can equip you with what you need. We didn’t anticipate the use of IEDs and for that I am truly sorry. I know I am asking a lot from you guys but hang in there. You tell me what you need to stay alive and I will do my best to get it for you”. That would have been a better response, rather than making a joke out of the question.

This last part is just some things I got from watching the DVD “No End in Sight”

*The oil ministry was the only major facility protected by military.
*17 Billion missing*No marshal law until a month or two after Sadam was removed to stop looting
*1980 – 1988 Iraq at war with Iran. U.S. give economic and intelligence aid to Iraq.
*1990 – Iraq invades Kuwait and U.S. pushed him back. The President (1st Bush) urges the Iraqi people & military to rise up against Sadam. The Shiites did just what he asked. Then our government allowed Sadam to repress and kill them.

This was allowed by Bush #1 and Clinton. The sanctions that resulted only hurt the average people of Iraq. Sadam and his friends still had the luxury life. The Iraqi people turned to religion for help.

Politics

Chapter 1

Law trumps common sense. Example: to me common sense would tell anyone that it is illegal to video a person’s private moments in their home without their knowledge. A smart lawyer found that there was not a specific law on the book against that particular activity and used that oversight to get their client off. These are the people that we have to choose from when we select our political leaders. I was watching the nominee for Attorney General being questioned. He was asked a simple question, “Is water-boarding illegal?” His answer was an in your face lie. His response was “I don’t know what that is.” If this guy does not know what water-boarding is then he is too ignorant to be Attorney General. The sad thing about his lie is we as a people allow our leaders to lie to us. I believe he was lying because I learned what water-boarding was because I have a television. I was an EMT in the military. If someone asked me what suturing was and I said “I don’t know”, that would be a lie. If an EMT said they didn’t know what suturing was they are either lying or not fit to be an EMT. That is how I felt when I heard his answer. When you think about it, it is our fault. We as a people let them do it. What should happen when someone gives an answer like that is the question should be asked again to give them a chance to change their response. If it remains the same then all questions should stop and the process or interview should be ended. If he doesn’t respect us enough to tell the truth and answer a legit question he does not deserve the job.

That is just one of many examples. I believe they do this because they don’t fear the American public will hold them accountable. They don’t feel they work for the public. They now work for Corporate America. Corporate America loves every minute of this. They are getting everything they paid for. It is like our country has been hijacked. Now the question for us is: how do we get our government back? I wish I had the answer. As I see it three things have to happen in order to get the corrupt politicians out of office and get our government back. First, the people must get angry enough to get out and vote. When I say vote, I mean listen to what the person has to say. Watch what the person is doing. Find out where the person’s money is coming from. If they are getting any corporate money, that should raise lots of flags. Nothing is free. If big business gives them money they will want something in return. Voting means: ignoring the endorsement from other people and groups. Everyone has an agenda. By agenda, I mean wants, beliefs, desires and circumstances that shapes the decision making process used when casting your vote. I want to go further in detail on this to be sure I clearly get my point across when I say everyone has an agenda.

I am a 46 year old black man. I was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. I am retired from the military and live in Las Vegas, Nevada. My family has a substantial history of cancer. I am 40% disabled through the Veterans Administration of this moment. I have had three surgeries on my back and continue to have trouble in the form of constant pain. In the military I was in the medical field and was an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Since I retired from the military I worked as a security guard in a major casino in Las Vegas for a few years until I had my third back surgery. I spent about five months in Germany trying to help a friend launch his music career without success. I tell you all this to show you some of the things that shape my vote, but this is not all. Because I am black I want someone who is interested in minority issues. People can say that racism is not that bad but I know better. My wife, who is white, used to think that racism wasn’t prevalent. Since she has been married to me she has seen it first hand, but that is for another section. Due to my having been in the military and currently 40% disabled I want someone that wants the best for our military and its veterans. Because cancer is so big in my family I want someone that the pharmaceutical industry has not purchased. I want someone who will look for a cure and not another band-aide in the form of a pill. I’m sure it is in the best interest of the pharmaceutical companies to have long term treatment but the best for the people would be a cure. After helping my friend with his music I would like to have a president that would the undo the monopoly Clear Channel has on the radio stations. Due to the time I spent in Germany in 2006 I want someone who will work at improving this countries image around the world.

Chapter 2

When I was in the military I knew people that said they voted republican because they gave us pay raises. What really shocked me was some of them got upset at me when I said I don’t always vote republican. I can’t vote republican just because they could possibly give me a $10 pay raise. Even if it was a large pay raise I still couldn’t do it. My vote is not for sale. If it was then I would be a politician. They sell their votes to big business and push the big business’ agenda through at the people’s expense. Even though there are things that I would like the president to do. I don’t want it done at the detriment of this nation. We need leaders who care about this country more than they do about making easy money for themselves and friends. I don’t think what is best for this country even enters their mind anymore. When it comes to making laws in Washington DC I think two things matter. What is best for the party and what does the company paying them want. When I see a politician cross party lines I believe they are either doing what the company wants or they are up for re-election. If they ever find a way to steal an election, and I do believe they are trying, they will no longer have to worry about re-election. Once that happens then it is all big business all the time.

When I was in Germany there were several occasions that people talked to me once they found out that I was from America. It never failed when they wanted to talk about my country that my president would come up. I hate to say”MY PRESIDENT”. I know George W. Bush is the President of the United States of America as I write this. It still pains me to admit it. They all spoke well of this country and very poorly of our president and his international policies. I can truly say that for the first time in my adult life I was ashamed of my president. Because of that I want a president who can fix our image outside of the country’s border. I want a president that I can be proud of or at least one that I am not ashamed of. These are just a few of the things that I think of when I cast my vote. I say this to show that everyone has an agenda. It’s always funny to me to hear people say they don’t put a spin on things. There is even a person on television and radio who claims no spin and “The No Spin Zone”. That is such a load of crap. Everyone has a spin. To me spin is influenced by your opinion. If you have no spin then you have no opinion. If you have no opinion then you are not capable of thinking. So to say you have no spin means you don’t think. Too many people listen to the spin of the TV news and their party. I am registered no party because I like to think for myself. I don’t believe everything either side says. I believe there are three sides to every political story: the democrat side, the republican side and the truth. Think for yourself. Vote for who you want not because someone you like endorsed them.

Second thing is we need to get money out of the elections. The money keeps the people who should be in office out. You need to be wealthy to get in office or have a wealthy person backing you. When you allow a wealthy person to back you then they own you. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

I guess I am a dreamer. I dream of a country where the people care. Where a person determines his or her self-worth by what they contribute to society. Where a person determines the depth of their character by what they are willing to sacrifice for their fellow man. These are the type of people we need in public office. The people we currently have in office do know this and will do all they can to keep them out. The type of people that I am talking about is a threat to the system that they have set up. In defense of the people who may want to do the right thing I believe that if an honest person was to win and get into Washington, their life would be in danger. Outside of the military, where can you find a few hundred people that are willing to give their life to do the right thing? It will be a hard thing to do, but it can be done. It will never happen until the American people get angry enough to get out and vote and make a change. We must vote for who we want to win, not for whom we think will win.

I remember back when Ross Perot was running for president. I voted for him because I like what he had to say and I felt we needed a change. After he lost I heard several people say they wanted to vote for him but didn’t think he had a chance to win. As long as people vote like that, a change will never come. Our two-party system is broken because they have been purchased. We need a candidate from outside those parties. Then we need to get him or her some help in the house and senate. We must vote against the two parties because they are working against us.

The third thing is very important. We need to require politicians to answer questions and be accountable for their actions. For me it is very frustrating to watch an interview or debate where a yes or no question is asked and the politician go into a two page response and never answer the question. What truly amazes me is the moderator allows them to get away with it. My opinion is that the moderator should say “Okay, you are not going to answer that question, let me ask you something else”. In defense of the politicians, if a question is asked that they don’t want to answer then say so. Stop side stepping questions. When I see a politician doing that, I feel like they don’t want to be called a “flip-flopper”, or held to their word. They want to be on both sides of almost every issue. If you don’t have the courage to take a stand then how can you lead? We need a leader.

In a nutshell, I am saying we need to require our leaders to speak plain, honest English. Require them to be accountable for that they say and do. They need to be responsible for the people in their staff and not let them get away with saying “I didn’t know”. We are far too lenient on our elected officials. They are held to a lower standard than the public. They should be held to a higher standard. Anytime a professional athlete makes a mistake and gets into trouble; people talk about how they are role models and should do better because children look up to them. That is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard. It is just parents shunning their responsibilities. A professional sport takes talent. Either you have it or you don’t. Elected office takes an education anyone can get it. Why would you make a role model out of a profession you have little to no chance of obtaining? I think that it where parents come in. If you are not willing to do what is needed then maybe you should not be having children.

If you have children then the things that I am saying should make sense and ring home to you. Your children should be your highest priority. I’m not saying parents must be perfect. I know that will never happen. I am saying that you should try to be perfect but don’t beat yourself up when you make a mistake, it’s going to happen. We should be making decisions that we think will help the future of this country and our children. If you care at all about your children or grandchildren you must do your homework and get out and vote.

Chapter 3

I watch almost every debate and almost every interview I find with a person running for office. I watched a debate (democrat) last night where they spent lots of time talking about endorsements. It does not matter to me what endorsement a person gets. There are things that are important to me personally. The most important thing to me is national security. That means all the things I said was important to me still are but must fall behind national security. If our borders are not protected then we are at the mercy of all who wish to do us harm. I see our borders the same as the doors to my home, it is where I enter. That being said I pose a question: if you knew without a doubt that someone was out to get you and do you harm, would you leave your doors unlocked? Before 9/11 I understood the lack of border security. Since that day it makes no sense to me not to lock the doors and check everyone that comes through.
As I think about this, I wonder what has to happen, if anything, for our government to secure our borders. President Bush likes to remind us that we are at war, that we were attacked on September 11, 2001. That terrorist wants to kill Americans. He has repeatedly reminded us of the dangers we face as Americans but he shows no interest in protecting the very soil that is America. Time and time again he has said that congress should give him what he wants and not question his decisions. He says it shows weakness when what we need to show is solidarity. He says that we can’t set a date for withdrawal because the enemy watches our broadcast and will wait us out. I don’t understand why no one calls him out on what he says, because it makes no sense. If they watch our broadcast then they would stop fighting because he said when the fighting is over we will leave. He says they will wait us out if we set a withdrawal date. They will wait us out even if we don’t because they are at home. He says these things without fear because he knows the democrats are weak and spineless.

The republicans are like a fine oiled machine. They speak as one and nothing is off limits. They have their talking points and they all stick to them. They focus their attacks and all attack as one. It is as if they send out e-mails to Fox News and the right-wing radio stations as well as their political leaders and they attack at once and continue until they are called off. They have total disregard for public opinions.

The democrats are just the opposite. They have no conviction. This party has no union. Each member goes his or her own way. The one thing that they all have in common is that they stand for nothing. When confronted there is one thing that you can count on, they will back down. Democrats could learn a lot from the Republican Party. I think their biggest problem is they have no leader. In their defense, I like the fact that they don’t vote the way the person in charge of their party tells them to vote. I do believe they vote the way big business tells them to vote. One thing they have in common with republicans is they have total disregard for public opinion.
When I look at both parties I see two things. I see bullies and wimps. When I listen to the right wing radio, watch Fox and the right wing news shows on CNN and MSNBC I hear them call the left wing things like: stupid, dumb, evil, un-American, unpatriotic, treason, crazy and ignorant. All said with the sound of hate in their voice. When I listen and watch the left wing I see and hear things like: “that’s not stupid”, “that’s not un-American”, or “that’s not unpatriotic”. They are always defending themselves. They try too hard not to be personal in their attacks instead of just fighting back. While I applaud their desire to fight fair but at this point it is like putting on boxing gloves at a gun fight. I think the left is afraid to engage the right wing on any issue because the name calling is going to start from almost every person on the right and it will be vicious. They will not get much support from the left because they will become targets, from the right.

I was watching the democratic debate and could not believe how the top candidates dodged question after question. Only the candidates bringing up the rear would give straight answers. The bad thing is those are the people that have no real chance at winning. The same can be said for the republican candidates also. The front runners dodge questions the same as the democrats. I’m sure neither party cares what I think because I am registered as no party. I can only wish that all Americans would change their voting status. That one change would really shake things up. It would show both parties that your vote is available for the candidate that you feel would do the best job. Your party has very little to do with who I will vote for. What is the point of having a debate if they will not answer the questions put to them? They do this because they can. There is no repercussion to not answering a question. Therefore, they all do it trying not to anger any groups of people or voters. I believe that if we made it clear that failure to answer a question or take a side on an issue will guarantee a no vote for you from both sides. If we can come together as a nation and vote on issues that are important to each individual and ignore the parties and endorsements. We as a people will take a huge step forward.

You need to do all you can to make your opinion known: go online and participate in surveys. Write letters and e-mails to your elected officials. You can do like I did. Join websites that send the voting results of your state politicians. I watch every debate of both parties. I watch C-Span to see what the House and Senate are doing. I got their websites to see what they have to say. It is a lot to do but I feel it is important enough for me to do it. After eight years of the Bush gang I think we all need to research anyone running for President. If you watch them all the time and read all the interviews you will find the lies. If you think only the other party lies then you are not living in the real world. They all lie. I think it is part of being in politics.

People ask me what party I belong to. I can’t answer that. I know that I feel that I am a liberal. I say that because I feel that people should be free to live their life as they see fit. No adult has the right to tell another adult how to live their life. I don’t feel that I have the right to do that and that makes me a liberal. People like to point fingers at people doing something wrong and point it out to others. Doing this makes them feel better about themselves. Why must you lift yourself up by standing on someone else? You could just be a liberal and stand next to them, upholding their freedom even when you disagree with them. Just because I don’t agree with what you are doing doesn’t give me the right to try to stop you. It seems to me like that is the direction this country is headed. What is sad about it is the politicians are leading the charge. A lot of these politicians are lawyers and because they know the law they look for loopholes. They use these loopholes to get around the spirit of the law. They are putting their interest ahead of the law as well as the constitution.

Chapter 4

Our rights are slowly being stripped away by the very people we elected to uphold the law. They are using our fears against us. We fear another September 11th type attack and they use that fear to further their agenda. We call the United States “Land of the free and Home of the brave”, but that is not how we conduct our policy. We are changing this country based on fear. Fear of what someone else will do to us. I think it is wrong for the leaders to use fear to steer us in a particular direction. When election time comes close we hear more talks or speeches with the words terror attacks or 9-11 in them. This comes mostly from the right wing of politics. This wing seems to be very pro-war, which does not make a lot of sense to me. The problem I have with them is they say they are pro-life also. How can you be pro-life and pro-death (war) at the same time? That does not make sense to me. Conservatives (right wing) are not correct, because if they were they would not have to scare people into following them. They are using two things to keep the population in line, fear and ego. Like I said before, if you don’t elect a republican you will die from a terrorist attack. The other is if you don’t elect a republican we will lose the war in Iraq and America’s ego and pride helps with that angle. I refuse to allow them to herd me with the other sheep. My eyes are open and I see what they are doing. I only want to hear them talk about real issues. Don’t use my fears and pride against me.

Since I am talking about conservatives I guess I should say what I think a conservative is. To me a conservative is someone who believes they are right and the others are wrong. They believe in taking care of business and in return the business will take care of its employees. They believe that abortion should be outlawed because the fetus should be given the right to live a full life. They believe we should continue the war in Iraq because the Iraqi people should have the right to live in freedom. They believe their position is the right one. If you don’t agree with them, you are wrong. They want to decide for you. That is the part that keeps me from being a conservative. I don’t want to decide for any adult. Choice is the basis for any free people in my mind. How can anyone say we are a free country then in the same breath say, “no, you can’t do that”? What is freedom when you have no choice? Conservatives are basically saying, “You are free to do as I tell you”. If everyone thought the same way then that would be fine. If everyone became conservatives we would lose our freedom.

I listen to what the right wing has to say and sometimes I agree with them. For example, I agree with them on not giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. I don’t know if our reasons are the same. The reason I think this is a bad idea is because I think driving is a privilege. This is a privilege given to our law abiding citizens and visitors. When you sneak into the country illegally you are breaking the law. If you break the law you should be denied the privilege of driving. I am firm in that belief and that makes me conservative on that issue. I am always willing to listen to what the other side has to say about their position. Openly listening to the other side is what makes me a liberal. Understanding that there could be something that I have overlooked is what makes me liberal. Listening to what the other side has to say and responding to them without calling them names is what makes me a liberal. Conservatives have started making the word liberal into something bad. It is one of their talking points. Why is it a bad thing to be open minded? I for one am very proud to be a liberal thinking American. I wish more people thought the way I do. This world would be a much better place to live. I’m happy that we don’t all think the same because difference is a beautiful thing. It is very nice to talk to people and have civil conversations about differences. It has been my experience that conservatives don’t want to have a conversation where ideas are exchanged. They want the other side to listen to their point of view and just agree. When they are listening it is only to show you where you are wrong. This country was founded on liberal view points. People were free to choose the life they wanted to live. Now we have the far right wing of the Republican Party growing in the government and the population. There is not a huge difference between them and the people that attacked us on 9-11. The attackers believe in their way of life, their belief system is the right way. They will do anything to make their way the only way, killing in cold blood and ridding the world of liberals. That is what America is: a liberal nation. Everyone is equal, free to do what they want; a place where you are free to worship who you want. Women have the same rights as men. A place where people are free to express themselves as they see fit as long as they don’t infringe on the rights of others in the process. The attackers see our freedoms as a threat to their way of life. They see women as second class citizens. The freedom this liberal country gives us is a threat to them. They believe Islam is the only true religion. The freedom we have to worship whoever we want is a threat to them. Killing in cold blood is their way of defending their way of life. They are protecting their right to force their beliefs on the rest of the world. They will kidnap, torture, beat and suppress anyone that stands between them and enforcing their beliefs.

Chapter 5

I believe what once separated us from the Islam terrorist is that we held strong to what we believed but not at the expense of others. Freedom for us and freedom for others but, not forced on anyone. Now in Iraq we are trying to force our way on them because we know our way is the right way. Rather than let them make the change to their government, we do it for them. Democracy can not be given to any group of people. If it is to work the people must want it and earn it. This nation has lasted for so long because it earned its freedom and had to fight for its democracy. We have always helped other countries when our help was requested. We are becoming more and more like our enemies than most people’s pride will allow them to realize.
The right wing is not completely like the terrorist. As far as I know, they are not killing people. They are still in the early stages of being bullies like the terrorist. Right wing people like to use insulting words when they talk about the opposition. They don’t do this to initiate dialog. They do it to humiliate and silence them. They don’t value any opinion other than their own. I don’t think they have graduated to pulling the wings off of flies but it is in their near future. Right now the most the right wing will do is belittle the left wing verbally. They are all over talk radio with many broadcasters and now they have their own 24 hour television news station. The people on these radio and television stations all repeat the same talking points over and over. They clearly don’t have a mind of their own. If they do they choose not to use it. I must admit, it works well for them. Still I think it must be difficult to find individuals who will ignore what they think in order to push the agenda of the party. Even though as I have said many times the right wing is like a well oiled machine. What amazes me about extremist is their ability to recruit. Terrorist recruit people to commit suicide to further their cause, that’s amazing. The right wing recruits Americans to give up their constitution given first amendment rights to free speech to have them say what they tell them. These people act as if they are speaking freely. Anyone with ears knows that is not the case. There is no way they all could say the same thing unless they are repeating what they are told, or they all share the same brain. Either way it works well for them.

I don’t think much of the Republican Party. It is because of their tactics that I put them below the Democratic Party. As I write this we are still in the party primaries. Going by what the polls are showing the general elections will be between Hillary and Rudy. I pray that is not the case. If that happens, when I go into the polling booth I will have to decide which one of Satan’s children do I want to vote for. We have two groups of corporate presidential candidates. None of the leaders from what I can see have the best interest of this country at heart. Some of the so called “B” team candidates I think want to do what is best for this country. The problem is the television stations don’t talk about them very often. They don’t have the media driving them. When they do speak about them they always let you know this is a “B” team candidate. These are not corporate candidates and they have no real chance of winning. The “A” team people are paid for and they will get their monies worth out of them. It’s easy to tell who is paid for because they don’t say anything when they are asked questions. They do lots of talking for a simple yes or no question. With all the talk that they do they never answer the question. All of the leading candidates do this without fail. When you ask the same question to any of the “B” team candidates they will give a simple answer. One would think the “B” team people would do better in the polls. I believe the main reason they don’t do better is because they hear on television that they are low in the polls. Because they are low in the polls then they are not likely to win. People then go in the polling booth and pick who they think will win and not who they think will do the best job. As the saying goes,”America loves a winner”. We need to get away from that way of thinking. When we vote we need to do the right thing. We must think of America when we cast our vote. If we are trying to pick the winner we are playing right into the hands of corporate America.

Chapter 6

Corporate America has the money and connections to get their people on radio and television. The more exposure their people get, the more they are talked about. The more they are talked about, the better their chances of winning. As long as they don’t say the wrong thing they stand a good chance of winning. I watch and listen to lots of news shows. It’s almost the only thing I do. It only takes a few minutes for me to realize where the slant is for any particular show. That does not make me special. That is just something that I look for. That is what I think everyone should look for. If you only hear one side of an argument you never get to hear the full story. What you are doing is allowing that person to make the decision for you. I hear them saying things like, “I am just looking out for you or I am the only one who has your best interest at heart”. It all sounds good but it is not even close to the truth. I say this because if they know nothing about you, how can they know what is best for you. Another thing is: if they only give you one side of the argument or their opinion, they are not allowing you to make up your own mind. This is common policy on most shows because they don’t want you to make a decision. It would be much better for them if people just did as they are told. Unfortunately, far too many people are falling into this trap and doing what they say. We need to wake up people. We need to do it before it is too late. I fear they will not stop until they have taken all of our rights away or until we stop them. If people would only stop and think about what is going on. There is no way anyone’s side is always right. When you listen to these new people, they will make you think their side is always right. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that they even believe what is coming out of their mouth.

There is a person that I try to listen to from time to time. It is hard for me to listen very long because he speaks with so much hated for those who oppose him. During one of his commercial spots about his show he describes himself as “The man running America”. I hope he was joking, but it didn’t sound that way. What that sounds like to me is, “I tell you what to do”. It sounds that way to me because; America is the people of this country. We are America. If he is running America, then he is telling us what to do. When I listen to him he does sound like that is what he is trying to do. The problem is he is only for his party. If he is only for his party then he is not for America. One would think that everyone would want what is best for this country. In reality what we have now is two parties fighting for power and control. What does not make sense to me is why would anyone want all power and control while at the same time destroying the very country the power and control they seek derives from. If either political party wins and the country is destroyed: they still loose. When I hear leaders from either political party speaking, all I hear is a power struggle. I ask you to pay attention. Listen to what they are saying. People on the left spend most of their time pointing out mistakes made by the people on the right. People on the right spend most of their time pointing out mistakes made by the people on the left. They do this to keep from having to talk about real problems. What is sad is that we let them get away with this tactic.

I see America headed in the wrong direction. It is going downhill and going fast. Our government is split in half with two political parties engaged in a power struggle. The people of this country are busy trying to make a living and take care of their family. Not enough people are open-mindedly involved in the political process. Most of the people that are involved follow their party with their eyes closed. The gap between the rich and the poor is growing. Racial tensions are growing. The government is gathering enormous debt with no end in sight. Most of the world is very upset with the foreign policy of the United States. The United States is at war in two countries and threatening war with a third. Most of the citizens of this country oppose the wars, yet the wars go on, and another country could be attacked in the near future even though the citizens don’t want it. U.S. companies are leaving and going overseas putting thousands of Americans out of work. My wife was a victim to this. She is a chemist. The company she worked for moved to China in 2005.

Like I said, our government is owned by big business. Our politicians have made it too easy for them to move their companies overseas to increase profits. I’m all for companies making profits but not at the expense of its workers. There is something the government could do about this. They could put heavy taxes on American owned companies that operate in other countries. They could triple or quadruple the import taxes on their products when they are shipped back to this country. I’m sure there are many more options but that is what I would do. That would never happen because the companies that do this pay the politicians enough money to protect them. Employees don’t matter in this country anymore. The only thing that matters now in the United States is profit. I think that this is a very sad thing. One would think that a company’s biggest asset is its employees. In today’s profit driven world, people do not matter, only money.
No one really cares about the people anymore. The democrats like to say that they care about the regular people. When they are in office their party never really does anything for anyone other than the companies that give them money. The good thing about the republicans is they don’t even pretend to be for the regular people. They take care of the big business that pays them. If you are rich and live in the United Sates they are the party for you. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the republican point of view. If you take care of the rich people they will put the money they make back into the system. The money they put into the system will help the regular people. I do understand that theory, I just don’t agree with it. They believe in giving the rich incentives to invest and build. My belief is rich people do not need incentives. These are people that motivate themselves. That self motivation explains their success. There is a separation between them and us. They drive high-end cars. Stay at high-end hotels. Eat at high-end restaurants; shop at high-end stores. Save millions in the banks. When you give millions to rich people, millions of dollars will go in their banks and high-end places. If you give the same tax breaks to regular people, all of the money they get will go to places like Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Burger King and McDonalds. These places are owned by rich people or they hold stocks in them. Either way the rich people still make more from the tax cuts to the regular people. The money the rich people make from the tax breaks to regular people will still make its way to the high-end stores and the banks. Think about it, if you give a million dollars to a rich person part of it will be added to the money they already have in the bank. If you give the same amount to a regular person all or almost all of it will end up back into the economy. No matter how you look at it, there is no political party in the United States looking out for the regular citizen.