Madam Secretary: It Does Make a Difference

Hillary Clinton, looking a little long in the tooth, appeared in front of the Senate and House of Representatives today to answer questions about the Benghazi terrorist attack in Libya. The performance of those in Congress who inquired was criticized by both the liberal and conservative press as being pontificating rather than questioning. So what else is new?

Notwithstanding, the main sound bite coming out of Hillary’s non-answers is telling and chilling. She shouted:

"With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night decided to go kill some Americans? What difference, at this point, does it make?"

I would like to answer that question. Madam Secretary, the difference is that you and the President of the United States stood next to the coffins of our Ambassador and three other dead citizens at Andrews Air Force Base and lied. You blamed a lame video when you knew that it was a terrorist attack. You and the President lied in order to bolster his campaign narrative that Al Qaeda was defeated when you knew that wasn’t true. And that lie was carried right through the campaign up to an including the President’s Inaugural Address where he talked of diminishing wars and peace in our time while North Africa is imploding.

It makes a difference, Madam Secretary, because if you didn’t know about the danger before the attacks you are inept or uncaring. I am not sure which is worse. It makes a difference because in all of your answers today you seemed to know nothing, or the passed the buck. Taking responsibility is admirable but meaningless if you continue the lies. Taking responsibility means telling the truth and exposing the cover up so it doesn’t happen again.

It makes a difference, Madam Secretary, because be it through political expediency or ineptness, there are four dead Americans who asked for help, were denied help, who were attacked and denied help again, and then their memories denigrated by political lies.  The press can deny it.  The public can put its head in the sand.  But facts are facts.  Truth is the truth.

It makes a difference, Madam Secretary, because you want to be President of our great nation. We can’t afford any more lies. We can't trust you. That’s why it makes a difference, Madam Secretary.

23 Executive Non-Orders

Read Executive Orders Here

Amid much fanfare, President Obama put on a good show announcing his plan to deal with massacres such as was experienced at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. Look up "lost opportunity" in the dictionary and you will find a picture of Barack Obama standing midst little children announcing with pompacity his 23 executive orders to help prevent this from ever happening again. Really?

The media was positively orgasmic as they covered the event. The NRA (I am a proud member) acted appropriately incensed at the usurping of American freedom and the assault on the 2nd Amendment. The joke, however, was on the American public. The 23 executive orders did NOTHING to solve the problem in the greatest sleight of hand Obama has pulled since taking office. What a crock!!! What a shame!!!

Most all of what he "ordered" was nothing more than finally doing what he should have done years ago. There were a few legislative initiatives, and the rest was clarification of some badly written laws. All of this after Joe Biden put on a dog and pony thing for several days “looking for solutions.” The public should be outraged that a serious effort to understand these mass murders is not being undertaken. There will be no debate. There will be no action. There will be no solution. There will be a lot of useless pontificating that amounts to nothing.

It doesn’t diminish the tragedy at Sandy Hook to say that however tragic that event and events like it are, most gun violence takes place on the streets. Mass shootings are horrible things, but more people were killed on the streets of Chicago than were killed in Afghanistan in 2012. And while gun violence has gone up in America, the overall crime rate has actually gone done substantially the past ten years bad economic times notwithstanding while going up in equal measure in countries like Great Britain.

Getting rid of guns is one of liberalism holy grails…for many reasons…none of which really has to do with eliminating Sandy Hook like massacres. Statistics show over and over and over again that states with concealed carry laws have much less violence than those without. There are over 300 million guns in the United States. The bad guys will always have guns, including the types of guns which are the focus of current gun control efforts. Good guys have guns gives the bad guys pause.

No matter that the liberal media is demonizing Wayne LaPierre and his NRA, he is right. The nation needs much self reflection on what we are doing to our kids. There are too many crazies walking the streets. Violence is EVERYWHERE…on television…in comic books…in movies….in video games. Values have been destroyed. Parents are self absorbed and ignoring their children. The list goes on and on. These are the kinds of issues that will help to stop crazy people from shooting our children.

Most importantly, we need armed guards in the schools. A “gun free zone” sign in the window won’t stop a nut job from killing whomever he/she wants. A locked door won’t do it either. The Sandy Hook murderer shot out the windows. Had the principal and/or guidance counselor and/or janitor had a gun, this could have been stopped.

To Obama’s credit, buried in his 23 executive “non-orders” was a recommendation for increased school security; translate armed guards in the schools. Good for him. But all of the other stuff doesn’t do one thing to look at the root of the problem. It’s not guns. It’s our culture that is the culprit, and the moral relativism of liberalism will never examine what it has wrought.

Baby Mamas in your Living Room

If you want to know what is wrong with modern American society, you have to look no farther than reality television.  Starting with that liberal  paragon of virtue Jerry Springer and his horrible talk show featuring the dregs of society duking it out over who fathered who's baby or who is stealing who's man, moving to Pregnant and Sixteen, moving to Honey Boo Boo....it is a never ending parade of perverse and degraded human beings.  These are examples as to what to emulate or strive for in modern America.  It is pitiful. 

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, here come Oxygen TV and its documentary to be turned into a reality show All My Babies Mamas.  This  reality show follows rap "star" Shawty Lo and his eleven children born by ten different mothers.  They all live in one house in Atlanta.  Oh Gee!!!  Let me set my DVR.

Shawty Lo claims to be supporting his kids.  He said he "didn't know how this happened" but it did nonetheless.  Should I draw him a picture?  He is wealthy man who reportedly made his money peddling drugs.  And it goes downhill from there.

It's a given that All My Babies Mamas is degrading to women on its face and taps into the essence of African American stereotypes.  72% of African American children are born to unwed mothers.  64% of African American children live in fatherless homes.  Then there is Shawty Lo...who somehow finds that impregnating ten women and fathering eleven is admirable because he supports them financially?  Really?

Our society is sick.  Look at what we deem acceptable.  Oxygen TV needs ratings and generated untold amounts of publicity just having this discussion.  People who never heard of Oxygen TV now will try to find it on their cable lineup. Shock for publicity.  At what cost?

In Detroit and Chicago, gangs and gang violence by young minorities is at an all time high.  The number one cause of death in the Black community is violence.  Things are tough enough without some punk television network looking for a cheap way to boost ratings showing trash to be emulated by young folks who have three strikes against them starting out. Do this. This is how to succeed.  This is how to get on television.  That's what young folks see in programs like this.

No culture, not even American culture, can withstand these types of attacks.  Values have been diminished to almost nothing and we are told to be quiet and accept it.  And those who attempt to succeed and better themselves are degraded and made fun of....not just in the 'hood, but on television, on the news, through our political leaders.  It is shameful.

Shows like Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, Family Matters, The Bill Cosby Show...any show with a nuclear family....are made fun of and scorned.  They aren't cool.  Let me tell you something.  Modern America is not cool.  How much more do we have to take?  Is this really the America you want?

In Defense of Catholic Schools

There was discussion on Fox and Friends this morning about attempted legislation in Indiana to re-introduce the Lord’s Prayer into the schools. This is being done in light of the Sandy Hook massacre. It sounded like a good idea to me. Although it is a “Christian” prayer taught by Jesus, Christians often fail to process that Jesus was a Jew. The prayer encompasses a universal theme among monotheist religions. God, your name is holy. Your will shall be done on earth and heaven. Please provide us with life’s needs, and forgive our misdeeds. Help us to forgive those who have offended us. Protect us from the evils of life. You are God forever. I don’t think there is anything there that is offensive to Christians, Jews or Muslims. It is the quintessential generic prayer along with the 23rd Psalm.

The Fox News religious expert, however, spoke out against the plan. He argued it would open the door to all sorts of unpleasantness with atheism, Satanism, and the like. He stated that public schools really mean government schools. That means, he opined, that we are leaving the “values” portion of our children’s education to the government which in turns mean no values at all. A better system would be to allow the parents to choose the schools where they send their children. That is a voucher system.

I agree. Although I was raised Catholic and attended a Catholic school for a few years, I have never been a supporter of Catholic schools. I have always questioned those who move into a community like Canfield and then send their kids to very expensive parochial schools after paying very high taxes to the local school system. I am now changing my position.

I have come to the conclusion that America is experiencing a values crisis. While emphasizing social justice issues in the school, including extreme environmentalism, public schools have left basic values out in the cold. If “Thou shalt not kill” is not on the school wall, where are students supposed to learn it? Sure, schools discourage aggressive behavior, but rather than relying on a universal or greater code of ethics, it relies on punishment.

A case in point is the six year old boy who pointed his finger like a gun at a fellow student in general horseplay. The school suspended him (although it was later rescinded). A school psychologist when questioned about the incident said there were many layers to the issue. Really? The kid is six. How many layers could there be?  Don't show these kids violence 24/7 on television and movies then tell them no-no at school.  He is SIX. 

True values must be established in the context of something bigger than everyday life. For me, it came from a Catholic education both in and out of the Catholic school system. Progressive secularism teaches relevancy…not right and wrong. Suspending a six year old for doing what six year olds do shows how low the public schools have stooped in an effort to compensate for a complete failure of instilling common courtesies and standards of behavior through a value system that can be carried by students throughout life. There are no life guideposts for those graduating from our public school system…just government.

Although my son went to a public school, we made a concerted effort to give him religious training on a regular basis. The same can be said for Jews and Greeks that attend public schools. The parents make sure their children are exposed to religious training on a regular basis be it Hebrew School or Greek School. But in the 21st Century, too many parents are too willing to abdicate their responsibility to the schools, and the schools are failing miserably in their locus parentis responsibility.

At the end of the day, you cannot teach values without God…and you can’t get an education without values. Maybe it’s time re-examine the role of parochial school in our society. Vouchers are looking better by the day.