Uncle Walter's Rants

A Mosque Near Ground Zero

51 Park Place Ave, New York, New York.  Two blocks from ground zero where the World Trade Center once stood until it was demolished by terrorists on September 11th, 2001.  This location is in the news now because a group of people want to tear down the building there and build a Islamic community center and prayer space there.  Pleas have risen up against it because detractors believe that the building is too close to ground zero and it must be preserved as a landmark.  Today the NYC Landmarks Board voted that the Mosque can proceed, the building is not a landmark.  While this argument is valid, there is another, troubling argument that has erupted.  "The terrorists were Muslim and it is wrong to put a center so close to ground zero."

Sara Palin has spoken out against it: "Peace-seeking Muslims, pls understand, Ground Zero mosque is UNNECESSARY provocation; it stabs hearts. Pls reject it in interest of healing."  She followed this message up with one for the people of New York: "Peaceful New Yorkers, pls refute the Ground Zero mosque plan if you believe catastrophic pain caused @ Twin Towers site is too raw, too real."  Unfortunately her views reflect a large portion of Americans who fear a religion they do not understand.  One protester, a Miss Linda Rivera stated "It's a 9/11 victory mosque" while holding a sign with read, "Don't Glorify Murders of 3,000".

Immediately protesters rose up in favor of the community center, stating that it was a clear that religious bias was the reason people were against it.  My 23 cents on the matter?

The building is about 150 years old.  It was a Burlington Coat Factory.  Yes some debris from the collapse of the World Trade Center hit it, but hundreds of buildings were also hit.  There is no significant historic reason to preserve the structure.  And there is no reason to bar a religion just because those who committed horrible crimes were of a similar faith.  (In actuality there are distinct differences between the faith of the terrorists and "real" Muslims.)  There have been people from every faith that have committed horrible acts throughout history and in recent times.  There is no innocent religion, one that has not had extremists.  Blocking a faith from practicing near Ground Zero is an affront to America and the values on which this country was built.  Those who choose to attack others because of their beliefs are either overwhelmed by irrational fear, or choosing to play on the fear of others for their own political gain.

-UW

Equal Rights Amendment

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification

Seems straightforward, seems right, seems reasonable.  It was something I assumed was law.  In school I read about people marching for equal rights, and I knew that there were laws enacted, but it had never occurred to me that the Equal Rights Amendment had become part of the Constitution.  But, in 1923 when it was introduced it went nowhere, but was reintroduced each year after.  In 1972 it did pass both houses but was never fully ratified before the 1982 deadline.  In fact it was reintroduced, but without a ratification time limit as the original had, in 2009.  I had always thought that this was part of our nations fabric, yet it is not there.

 

It is a simple refinement of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness on fair and equal footing, yet politicians have not seen it as such.  Some of the criticisms that have been noted are:

• It would be superfluous since it grants no further rights
• It would eliminate distinctions between the sexes for things such as the draft
• It would defeat legislation that favors women in alimony, custody and divorce.

The waters get even muddier when you look at the attempt to introduce the legislation in 1983 where is was shot down, when an "abortion-neutral" amendment was proposed by Representative Jim Sensenbrenner which read, "Nothing in the Article shall be construed to grant, secure, or deny any right relating to abortion or the funding thereof."  That little amendment put it into the ground. 

Now perchance you may wonder what the UW take on the matter is?  I am of the opinion that these rights are critical to every American and the Constitution should be amended to ensure that fact.  While there are various state laws and state constitutions that do guarantee those rights they are not universal, and what we need is a universal call for equality, and yes that includes the draft and such.  Discrimination swings every which way, and we must accept what equality really means.  We all get equal treatment.  The abortion amendment is nonsense and should never have been brought this bill, it is a matter for another rant on another day.

I would even go further to state that this does not go far enough to guarantee all the rights that belong to the people of America.  I think that those three lines should be expanded upon and introduced into congress as follows (ERA Amendment UW-Style)

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex, sexual orientation, or beliefs.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification

That's my 23 cents on the matter.

-Uncle Walter

An interesting question

In today's climate of immigration debate and such something occurred to me.  Right now we (meaning Arizona and a few others) are trying to kick out anyone who is not here legally and sometimes legally as well.  It's like the South Park episode where they kept spouting, "They took our jobs!"  People are scared, and I accept that.  But, I am not going to talk about the immigration debate, I want to look at something else, related, but different.  If so many Mexicans want to come to the United States, doesn't that make you wonder something?

What if the Mexican states of Sonora, Chihuahua, or Coahuila which all border the United States wanted to join the Union?  If you can't get to the United States bring it to you instead.  After all we basically annexed Texas, how would we react if they wanted to join us?  Would we welcome them and bring the standard of living in those states up to our level or would we reject them?  Would they be territories, or would we grant statehood quickly?  It is an interesting concept, seeing the United States grow because someone wants to be part of us, then again what would Mexico do at the thought of losing territory.  Would it be war, or would they instead do something like the Russians did when they sold us Alaska.  We buy the states for however many million or billion dollars and get the land, people and all.  Talk about manifest destiny in the 21st century.

-UW

Christians pay attention!

I received an e-mail entitled Christians pay attention the other day.  It was a disturbing warning of the loss of  Christian values across America.  It warned us all of the Muslim threat!  What was disturbing was not the intended message, but instead the falsehoods contained within.  Read the message:

: Christians pay attention

 

This is chilling
  
 In
 1952 President
 Truman established one day a year as a
 "National
 Day of
 Prayer."
 
 In 1988,
 President Reagan designated the
 first Thursday in May of each year
as the National Day of
 Prayer.
 
 In June 2007,
 (then) Presidential
 candidate Barack Obama declared that the
 USA
 was no longer a
 Christian nation.
 
 This year
 President Obama, canceled the
 21st annual National Day of Prayer
ceremony at the White
 House under the rouse
 of "not wanting to offend anyone"
 
 On September 25, 2009
from 4 am until 7  pm,
a National Day of Prayer for the Muslim religion
was held on Capitol Hill,
 beside the White House.
There were over 50,000 Muslims that
 day in DC.

 I guess it
 doesn't matter if "Christians"
 are offended by this event -
 we obviously
 don't count as "anyone"
 anymore.
 
 The direction
 this country is headed
 should strike fear in the heart of every Christian.
 Especially knowing that the
 Muslim religion believes that if Christians cannot be
 converted they should be
 annihilated
 
 This is not a
 rumor - Go to the website
 to confirm this info:
 ( http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/ )
 
 Pay particular
 attention to the very
 bottom of the page:
 "OUR TIME HAS
 COME"

 I hope that this
information will stir your spirit.

The words of 2 Chronicles 7:14
 
 "If my people,
 who are called by my
 name,
 will humble themselves
 and pray, 
 and seek my face, and
 turn from their
 wicked ways,
 then will I hear from
 heaven 
 and will forgive their
 sin and will heal
 their land."
 
 We must pray for
 our nation, our communities,
 our families, and
 especially our children.
 
 
 They are the ones
 that are going to suffer the most
 if we don't PRAY!
 
 
May God have
 mercy...IN GOD WE TRUST.

 Please
 pass this on,
 maybe someone, somehow can figure out a way to put America
 back on the map as it
 was when we were growing up, a safe place to live and by
 the Ten Commandments
 and Pledge of Allegiance,
 etc!

 

How horrible!  The US is falling to the Muslims!  What can we do?!?!...  How about educate ourselves of the facts.  Lets rip this thing apart and see the truth behind it.

This is chilling
  
 In
 1952 President
 Truman established one day a year as a
 "National
 Day of
 Prayer."

In 1952 President Truman officially created a National Day of Prayer on a floating day.  There had been other National Day of Prayers before, but this was the first time it was set to permanently reoccur.  This was a day for all people to come together and pray regardless of faith.  It was always a very controversial notion.  Thomas Jefferson chimed in on it in 1808:

"Fasting and prayer are religious exercises; the enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the time for these exercises, and the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and right can never be safer than in their hands, where the Constitution has deposited it. ...civil powers alone have been given to the President of the United States and no authority to direct the religious exercises of his constituents."

 In 1988,
 President Reagan designated the
 first Thursday in May of each year
as the National Day of
 Prayer.

  1988 President Reagan fixed the date to the first Thursday in May.

 In June 2007,
 (then) Presidential
 candidate Barack Obama declared that the
 USA
 was no longer a
 Christian nation.

President Obama was giving a speech on June 28th 2006 where he was supposed to say:

Given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.

But like many politicians flubbed his lines and said:

Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation – at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.

Any one who reads the statement can realize that Obama is referring to the fact that the country is no longer predominantly one faith.  Instead we are a country of many faiths.

 This year
 President Obama, canceled the
 21st annual National Day of Prayer
ceremony at the White
 House under the rouse
 of "not wanting to offend anyone"

Obama did not "cancel the 21st National Day of Prayer".  What he did do was not hold any official engagement at the Whitehouse for the event.  His predecessor George W. Bush held events regularly, President Clinton never held any events and President George H.W. Bush and President Ronald Reagan only held events once each.

 On September 25, 2009
from 4 am until 7  pm,
a National Day of Prayer for the Muslim religion
was held on Capitol Hill,
 beside the White House.
There were over 50,000 Muslims that
 day in DC.

On September 25th 2009 there was a gathering called Islam on Capital Hill.  It was not government sanctioned in any way and there was no National Day of Prayer related to the event.  50,000 people were expected however 3000 appeared.  Christians were at the event attempting to convert those who showed up.  The website describes the event as:

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH....
The objective of this gathering is to invite the Muslim Communities and friends of Islam to express and illustrate the wonderful diversity of Islam. We intend to manifest Islam's majestic spiritual principals as revealed by Allah to our beloved prophet Muhammad (PEACE BE UPON HIM) of Arabia. Likewise; we intend to inspire a new generation of Muslim to work for the greater good of all people. We shall serve all
people, regardless of race, religion or national origin.

 I guess it
 doesn't matter if "Christians"
 are offended by this event -
 we obviously
 don't count as "anyone"
 anymore.

At no point  is this an attempt to offend Christians.  In fact the Christian population is quite large and any politician must reach out to all major faiths to succeed, that includes Christianity as well as Muslim, Judaism, and others.  And, I must once again point out this is not an officially sanctioned event by any government agency or official.

 The direction
 this country is headed
 should strike fear in the heart of every Christian.
 Especially knowing that the
 Muslim religion believes that if Christians cannot be
 converted they should be

 annihilated 

When taken out of context virtually all religious books tend to suggest "it is their way or the highway"  Even when taken in context, and in turn most religious groups are guilty of mass conversion or extermination.  In fact Christians were persecuted by the Romans and then, during the crusades, slaughtered many.  More people die in the name of God...

 This is not a
 rumor - Go to the website
 to confirm this info:
 ( http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/ )

This is a basic site explaining the about the event that occurred.

 Pay particular
 attention to the very
 bottom of the page:
 "OUR TIME HAS
 COME"

There is no portion at the bottom of the page with that text, it may have been removed. 

 I hope that this
information will stir your spirit.

The spirit it moved in me was disgust.

The words of 2 Chronicles 7:14
 
 "If my people,
 who are called by my
 name,
 will humble themselves
 and pray, 
 and seek my face, and
 turn from their
 wicked ways,
 then will I hear from
 heaven 
 and will forgive their
 sin and will heal
 their land."
 
 We must pray for
 our nation, our communities,
 our families, and
 especially our children.
 
 
 They are the ones
 that are going to suffer the most
 if we don't PRAY!
 
 
May God have
 mercy...IN GOD WE TRUST.

 Please
 pass this on,
 maybe someone, somehow can figure out a way to put America
 back on the map as it
 was when we were growing up, a safe place to live and by
 the Ten Commandments
 and Pledge of Allegiance,

 etc!

So what do we have???  Clear and simple propaganda designed to breed hatred and ignorance.  It is disgusting and offensive.

-Uncle Walter

USPS Five-Day Delivery - It's about time

Take a look here: http://www.usps.com/communications/five-daydelivery/

The US Postal Service is struggling against a change in the way we communicate.  E-mails, faxes and on-line bill pay have replaced the traditional mail.  The Postal Service has seen their volume and revenue decline substantially. Because the USPS is a government agency they cannot legally complete with FedEx or other private carriers and as such cannot reach for the profitable sectors.  They are left with the daily, expensive, door to door business.  This has left them with a potential $238 billion shortfall over the next decade.  As a private company the USPS would be an epic failure.  As a government entity it is a drain on society.  It's services are still needed, but the need will continue to decline, while the cost will increase.  Removing Saturday delivery is a small step that will have a large impact.

It is the lowest volume day, it has the same cost as any other day, it isn't necessary, most companies are closed that day.  It is true that I will miss my Netflix coming on Saturday, but that is a small price to pay to see to USPS survive as they struggle to adapt to a new world.

-UW

A politician can not win

With the passage of the new health care bill the blogosphere is alive with chatter.  Many support it, many despise it, and all talk endlessly about it.  I prefer to not look at the matter in my little blog, but I do see one aspect that puzzles me.  When can a politician do the right thing?

On one hand I have seen people verbally attacking various politicians for pandering to the masses.  Claiming that the political viewpoints shift with the polls.  These people are insulted for not "sticking to their guns" and doing whatever they can to appease the people.

On the other hand there are those who just fight the public's wishes.  They ignore the polls and really don't fight for the people, instead pushing their own personal agenda.  They do not care for the people, they just want power.

Both arguments have a degree of merit, however both are used by both sides.  I have seen Obama accused of pushing his political agenda and ignoring the public's negative views on the heath care bill.  I have seen the same said for Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II who is threatening to sue the federal government over the health care bill.  I feel that the core problem here is that no one knows what a politician really is supposed to be.  The oath of office gives us little insight.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.

Essentially Congress will uphold the Constitution without hesitation.  But just like the Bible the Constitution is subject to interpretation.  The Presidential Oath of Office tells us little as well.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

As you can see, even the President does not have a clear mandate beyond upholding the constitution and protecting the nation.  How they do it is left up to the politician.  As such I believe the a good politician must be elected on his/her principles and be guided by them throughout the career.  Public opinion will sway, but the public should elect a leader who will do their best to perform as advertised during the election.  Not one who changes with the wind.  But, a politician must be willing to listen, learn, and, if necessary, change.  Many politicians supported slavery, and changed their views throughout the years.  Many supported segregation.  Politicians are people, and they must act as their experiences tell them to.  As the public we must respect this and understand that decisions will be made that we may not agree with, but nevertheless were made by a person whom we elected into office.  To represent us.

-UW