AMERICA: THE COUNTRY THAT BROUGHT THE WORLD "AGENT ORANGE" CHEMICAL WARFARE

A LETTER TO THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR - THEY PUBLISHED MOST OF IT ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, BUT I CAN'T FIND IT ON INDYSTAR.COM - HMMM, WONDER WHY - IN PRINT, THEY LEFT OUT A COUPLE OF KEY POINTS, SO HERE'S ALL OF WHAT WAS SUBMITTED:

 

The hawks in Washington and elsewhere are willfully ignoring that we are a nation that sprayed tons of Agent Orange over Vietnam, killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese civilians and soldiers, as well as many American troops, and causing birth defects among many of those caught in our years of chemical warfare. 

 

We, of all countries in the world, should not be threatening death to those who, maybe, have committed a similar crime.

 

Our actions in Vietnam began less than two decades after we dropped two atomic bombs on civilian targets, murdering hundreds of thousands of people.

 

Syria is led by an evil dictator who may or may not have used chemical weapons. And why is this particular accusation, after years of Bashar Assad’s brutal attacks on his own people, suddenly a “red line”?

 

American foreign policy has always been very selective in whether we treat evil heads of state as friends or foes. And, we kill democratically elected Lumumbas and Allendes and willingly support the wicked Mobutus and Pinochets who follow them.

 

It is long past time for the Unites States to cease to be the world’s policeman, or, more aptly put, the world’s biggest and most harmful bully. Let us stop killing horrendous numbers of civilians and soldiers in countries where we do not belong.

 

The sanctimonious attitude of the Obama administration, insisting on the use of chemical weapons by Syria, sounds sadly and eerily similar to the claims of “weapons of mass destruction” by the Bush administration in Iraq. 

 

Stop the carnage. Stop using our people as cannon fodder. Stop killing innocents, thus creating martyrs determined to cause harm to equally innocent persons on our soil. Let us draw a “red line” against yet another illegal and immoral act.

 

Never has it seemed more apt to recall that, because we are not without sin, we must not cast stones.

 

 

SECOND AMENDMENT CREATED TO ASSURE SLAVE OWNERS THEY COULD BRUTALLY PUT DOWN REBELLIONS

Below is a letter to the editor to the Indianapolis Star. Although I knew it was longer than the ones they usually print, I felt it had so many points that needed to be made, including information on the origins of the 2nd Amendment.

They rejected it on the grounds of its length, yet I pointed out in a series of emails to Tim Swarens, editorial-page editor, that they have been running lengthy pro-gun articles, so I suggested he not consider it a "letter to the editor," but a “conversation” or “my view” -- and run it. He would not.

Further down in my letter, you will find a description of the true origin of the 2nd Amendment. Those who love guns more than they love children seem to believe that the 2nd Amendment was carried down from the mountain top by Moses. The first step in the process to appeal it, which can’t come soon enough, is to understand why it was created.

You might have thought this point alone would have caught the eye of a fair-minded journalist who wanted to examine and report on this well-documented interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. If you help bring this to the attention of the media, we can get it out there, helping to educate both the media and their readers, listeners, and viewers.

But, please, also read the first part of the letter too that provides details of the Indianapolis Star's lust for guns – in only one issue of the paper. Two days later, on Saturday, January 19, a man shot himself accidentally after shopping at the gun show at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The Star buried this front-page story back in the Metro section the next day. Earlier, it had also given little notice to the story of three people who were shot at another gun show, again when an idiot (read: gun-show lover) accidentally shot them.

Yes, I do start off with "appalling" a lot - but, aren't we all appalled. A lot?

Dear Editor:

I was appalled by the number of column inches in a single issue of the Indianapolis Star (Thursday, January 17) devoted to pro-gun sentiments.

The top item on Local Living’s “Things to Do Near You” was the Indy 1500 Gun & Knife Show at our Indiana State Fairgrounds. I’ve been appalled for years that the board and staff of the state fairgrounds welcome gun shows. It is even more appalling that your paper touts this as a place to go, with children, no less, especially when gun shows have long been proven to be gigantic loopholes in the efforts to control the sale of guns and the background checks on those who buy them. And you know that.

Erika D. Smith’s column about the delight of shooting the semi-automatic AR-15 rifle (the same one used to murder the children in Newtown, Connecticut) was sickening. Perhaps it would be appropriate to have photos of children to shoot at for target practice?

A survey of our members of Congress brought the expected, knee-jerk reaction defending the right to own guns, ignoring the horrible consequences of owning – and using – assault weapons. The comments from my representative, Andre Carson, said nothing about assault weapons. I want a hero to represent me in Congress, not a coward.

There isn’t room to comment on the idiocy of most of the writing about guns on the editorial page and in the letters to the editor.

I don’t believe in “gun rights.” I believe in human rights, the right to be safe from those who bear arms.

Attempts to sidetrack us into a discussion (another word for “long delay”) of mental illness doesn’t address the fact that the Newtown shooter’s mother owned an arsenal of weapons, including her own AR-15, which proved ineffective in defending herself against her own mentally ill son. We hear a lot of talk about “criminals” – people like her are the criminals, along with those who rob a store or another individual. And, no one who supports the right to own assault weapons is in his or her right mind.

President Obama’s proposals, matching those in the new legislation out of New York, allow current owners of assault weapons to keep them, legally. (We also deserve to have a hero in the White House, not a coward.) As you read this, assault weapons are being sold at a rapid pace, either at a gun shop or, even sadder, at our state fairgrounds. Perhaps Erika D. Smith will buy one at the fairgrounds, if she can stomach the displays of Nazi flags and uniforms, and go whoop it up with her own semi-automatic weapon.

The Second Amendment was willfully misinterpreted by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. It is a little-known fact that the purpose of that amendment was to provide comfort to slave owners when the United States was in its infancy. Professor Carl T. Bogus argues in his book, The Hidden History of the Second Amendment, that there is strong reason to believe that, in significant part, James Madison drafted the amendment to assure his constituents in Virginia, and the South generally, that Congress could not use its newly-acquired powers to indirectly undermine the slave system by disarming the militia, on which the South relied for slave control.  Read more at this link: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1465114

Perhaps persons of all backgrounds might be less eager to shout about trampling on the 2nd Amendment if they realized it had been designed to insure that slave owners could brutally put down any slave rebellions.

It’s a great pity that the Indianapolis Star does not have the courage to call for the banning of all assault weapons, including those now or soon to be owned. Obama called them “weapons of war.” Now, however, he has caved, as always, and does not include the banning of the vast arsenal of them already in the hands of the true criminals in this country.

John Sherman

NRA Is Responsible

When a horrible act is committed by a terrible organization, it has become customary for the group to call the media and "claim responsibility."

The National Rifle Association needs to call the media to take responsibility for the horrors of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut.

The NRA is a vile, evil organization.

Guns Kill People

They do. The crazed shooter in the "Batman" movie last night may have held the weapon, but if our society did not make it so easy to obtain guns, so easy to carry them (unconcealed or not), this would not have happened.

Will this madness stop? Nope. (1) Scores of small, single-issue gun-control groups not willing to merge into a force strong and big enough to buy politicians, pressure the media, and have the funds and numbers to fight the sick, gigantic NRA. (2) The sick, gigantic NRA. (3) The bought-and-paid-for politicians afraid to stand up to the sick, gigantic campaign contributor. (4) The media that never is heard to say or write, "It's guns, stupid." They wring their hands and ask, "Oh, my, what went wrong?" but they never say, "Guns kill people."

Well, last night, as of this writing, 71 shot, 12 dead. All wounded or killed by a gun.

Wouldn't you think that, somewhere, someday, some politician would stand up and demand the madness end? That somewhere, someday, a member of the media would demand the same?

I don't believe in gun control. I believe in gun abolition. And, if gun owners say, "You'll have to take my gun out of my cold, dead hand," I have to ask, "What's the downside?"

Indiana is a Police State - Sad, but True

In response to a shocking 4-1 decision by the Indiana Supreme Court, allowing police to bust into our homes, without a warrant or probable cause, I wrote the following letter - it appeared in The Indianapolis Star, with a couple of minor edits.

The "deadly silence" remains. Hello? Hello? Tea Party? Others who denounce "big government"? Where are you?

Dear Editor:

I hear a deadly silence from those who are so loudly opposed to “Big Government” – if they really know what that means – when it comes to the Indiana Supreme Court’s 4-1 decision that seems to weaken, if not outright nullify, our rights under the 4^th Amendment. It’s time for the Tea Party, Libertarians, Republicans, and Democrats – and those who have given up hope and never vote – to rise up against this unconstitutional decision.  This defines Big Government/Big Brother.

Shame on Chief Justice Randall Shepard and Justices Frank Sullivan Jr., Brent Dickson, and Steven David. Only Robert Rucker, the sole African American member of the court, opposed this frightening decision. One shouldn’t have to be of his race to recall how violent our history of police brutality has been – and continues to be – in this state and country, particularly if you do not belong to the “correct” racial and/or socio-economic groups.

While your editorial (“Door’s open for police entry,” September 22) points out that the state’s highest court cannot take away such rights, their disturbing decision make it necessary for me to try to defend those rights by kicking and shoving any police who are now allowed to force their way into my home. Courageous men and women in this country have long refused to obey unjust court decisions and state and federal laws. Once again:  Citizens, to the ramparts!

I have lived overseas under five police states. It appears, to my horror, that I am now living under a sixth:  Indiana.

Don’t Send Them In!

Seeing the stage filled with the coven of declared candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. President brought many disturbing questions to mind, as well as, “Hey, where’s the tiny car all of these clowns climbed out of?”

At about the same time, I read the obit of former Senator Mark Hatfield, described as a “liberal Republican.” It was refreshing to go down memory lane to recall a more civil and civilized time when both major parties had self-proclaimed conservatives, moderates, and liberals. And none was ashamed to be known as such.

Jacob Javits. Edward Brooke. Nelson Rockefeller. Hatfield. Just a tiny sampling of liberal Republicans who were U.S. Senators (and, in Rockefeller’s case, of course, Vice President, as well). Decent, bright Republican politicians and elected officials who were believers in a country with equal justice for all, who knew their American (and world) history and geography, who could work with others in their own party and across the aisle with those of the same or different viewpoints. They sometimes voted for a bill that became a law that advanced the cause of civil rights, individual and group freedoms, racial integration, education and health care for poor children, and other topics that most of today’s line-up of  candidates would , if asked, quickly denounce as “Socialistic.” (Ask them to define the word. Hell, ask them to spell it.)

Some of these people – Michele Bachmann (or, “O’Bachmann,” as David Letterman likes to call her – I don’t know why, but I laugh every time, and so does David), Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum -- would have, only a few elections ago, not have made the “news” at all. Stuff them all in the little car and push it down the hill, far, far away. They should not be taken seriously today by all of the media and too many of the voters. We could be spared the bat-shit crazy whack-jobs that are, sadly, serious contenders for U.S. President.  President. And Republicans could get their party back!  I know so many of them want to do so, but it seems an insurmountable task, having to do battle with the millions of people who actually vote for Sarah Palin or cheer on Newt Gingrich.

Others – like Ron Paul or Jon Huntsman or Mitt Romney – seem a teeny bit saner, but, by comparison, who wouldn’t? And I don’t want any of them, either. Being smarter than Palin or more of a decent human being than Gingrich doesn’t take much, since the bar is so low, it’s resting on the floor.

The party began its decline with Barry Goldwater, took a huge dive with Ronald Reagan, and has been spiraling out of control, condemning liberalism and even moderation, as Republican candidates (and Presidents) over the past several decades have pandered to the far-right Evangelicals, “Christians” who should be the first to be dropped, wearing celestial cement shoes, into the Sea of Galilee. Rapturously.

Then, their strings were jerked by many super-wealthy contributors who duped the definitely-not-rich voters into thinking there really was a trickle-down theory of economics (they felt something wet hit their foreheads and misunderstood). Give the rich obscene tax breaks and deregulate critically important controls on environmental and other issues and you won’t create jobs. You’ll create more bank accounts in the Cayman Islands. It don’t trickle. Then, on top of the Evangelicals and the even-fatter cats, the Tea Party illiterates yank the Republican politicians in other directions.

As a result, we have not only these circus wannabes, we have other elected officials like John “Agent Orange” Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, and Mitch McConnell refusing to help Americans desperately in need, talking about privatizing Social Security, slashing Medicare, cutting off aid to needy children, stomping on the poor and kicking the middle class into poverty – all in a cold, calculating drive to retake the White House (operative word: white). 

It is worrisome. With Obama’s inept performance, overall (including his puzzling choice not to fight for what we elected him to fight for, betraying his base;  his continually offering the Republicans more than they asked for, only to have them demand even more), these graduates of the Republican Clown College are a concern, when his re-election should be a shoo-in. He remains the best choice. And, having to say that, makes me sad. And mad.

Who knows what will happen? Who would have thought, in the summer of 2008, that whiny, mean-spirited, two-faced John McCain would have received the nomination and immediately choose a dangerously goofy running mate that, fortunately, brought down his ticket to defeat, but, thanks to the mainstream media (she doesn’t even need Fox), her every tweet is reported as news. News.

Not a single Republican candidate mentioned should have climbed out of that car. Go away. Bring us a Republican contender who knows history, decency, good governance, who doesn’t live by sound bytes and snide remarks. Who loves this country as much as the average Republican does and who wants to build it up, not tear it down. Someone who is a challenge for the writers of talk show monologues instead of the shooting-fish-in-a-barrel butts of jokes.

We don’t want jokes. We want a bright, sane person to be President. We want our Presidents to be rare, not half-baked.

We’re still waiting, Gabrielle

Maybe I missed it.

Amid the scores of news stories about Gabrielle Giffords, I never saw one that reported on her making an apology to the families of Gabe Zimmerman, John Roll, Christiana Taylor Green, Dorothy Murray, Dorwan Stoddard, or Phyllis Schneck.

Nor has she been covered by the fawning media on her dozens of visits to the homes of the families of victims killed by handguns in Washington, D.C.

Maybe I missed it.

Once she was shot in Tucson on January 8 by a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun, with an extended chamber designed to hold 31 bullets, legally purchased, all we’ve had is the breathless media feeding on her condition: She’s alive! She’s opening one eye! She’s moving a finger! She’s called a press conference to denounce gun violence and go on the record for gun control! (Oh, sorry, that’s my fantasy version.)

In the melee of the daily (or was it hourly? seemed hourly) coverage of her recovery (aided by the best medical plan in the country that all members of the U.S. House and Senate receive, unlike yours and mine), the six people in the first paragraph were forgotten.

Scrolling past numerous articles headlined “the Giffords shooter,” it took me an incredible amount of searching on the Internet to find the names of the dead. And, after much more searching, I had to give up on finding the 13 (some said 14) non-Gabrielle wounded.  

The Giffords shooter? That’s in a headline from this week. Apparently, a member of Congress, though wounded, though a proud, loud owner of a Glock handgun, though a person who voted to throw out the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns, is so much more important than the “civilians” who were murdered. In a climate fostered by such gun nuts as Giffords.

To have voted to overturn the ban on handguns in D.C., one of our most dangerous cities for gun violence, agreeing with the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court (no surprise there) repulses me. She brags about it on her website, deliberately misinterpreting the Second Amendment, just as the Supreme Court deliberately misinterpreted it, to try to make it say something it never did.

Gabrielle is not to be deified. She is to be vilified.

Thanks to Giffords and her ilk, nine-year-old Christiana is dead. Shot by someone who had shown enough signs of mental instability that should have kept a driver’s license out of his hands, let alone a gun. I don’t know if he had a driver’s license but he, legally, purchased the Glock with its extended chamber. And the Glock itself, without a chamber, is known for its ability to immediately ready itself for another firing, as the moment one bullet leaves the chamber, heading for a child, another one is rotated in place, ready for the next kid. Or – much worse! – for a Glock-loving, gun-toting, NRA-owned member of Congress.

Of course, amid this sickening gun culture, Giffords was still one of those members of Congress that Vile Sarah Palin put in her “crosshairs” on VSP’s map of the U.S. as one of the “targets.” And, Giffords’ opponent in the latest primary, Republican Jesse Kelly, urged supporters to help remove Giffords by joining him to shoot a fully loaded M-16 rifle.  And the NRA, which I still consider her boss, has wrinkled its nose at Giffords’ record. This is someone who isn’t pro-gun enough?

M-16 Jesse never said to shoot her, nor did Vile. But, they were both this close to calling for such an act. And this fast to defend themselves after the murders of Zimmerman, Roll, Green, Murray, Stoddard, and Schneck and the wounding of the Unknown, Expendable Thirteen.

The Tucson sheriff said Arizona had become the “mecca for prejudice and bigotry,” Thanks, Giffords, for helping make that possible! (She’s also anti-immigrant. Interesting how often that’s paired with pro-gun.)

And, also thanks to Giffords, a growing number of mothers and fathers in D.C. mourn, as you read this, of the deaths of their sons and daughters by someone with a handgun. Until Giffords proudly voted, and the Supreme Court acted, handguns had been outlawed by the D.C. government. But the feds stomped harshly, yet again, with the hard heels of their boots on the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who pay federal taxes, but have no voting representation in the House or Senate a.k.a. the residents of the nation’s capital.

Following this slaughter in Tucson, President Obama forgot to call for an end to gun violence and to the outlawing of all handguns that, without exception, are intended to be used for murder. A semi-automatic is legal? Really? One with an extended chamber is legal? Really? Hell yes, says Giffords proudly. Every member of the U.S. House and Senate also forgot to call for an end to gun violence. 

And, the media, in its mad race to be the first to report on Giffords’ medical condition, somehow forgot, too. Perhaps I missed those print editorials about getting rid of guns or the TV coverage that laid the blame on the Tucson shooting not just in the hands of a deranged person, but on the fact that he could buy a weapon that should not exist. I’m afraid the media, with rare exception, forgot to blame the guns. 

So, since Congress, the White House, and the media are in bed with the NRA, it’s up to us.

Giffords, those six families in Tucson, the 13 families of the wounded who also grieve, and scores of families in D.C. are waiting for your visit and private apology. We’re all waiting for your public denouncement of guns and the apology you owe all of us. Let’s see if that would even make the nightly news. If so, the brief mention would be trapped between stories of mass shootings here and mass shootings there, the staple of nightly news, local and national.

Gabrielle, the dead, the wounded, and the rest of us are waiting for your apology.