The Public's Right (to decide they do not want) To Know

This morning I observed an interesting bit of human behavior. Sitting in the waiting room of a medical facility, along with a dozen or so other persons, I watched a large screen TV tuned to "America's Newsroom" on Fox News Channel.

The news they covered was important - no fluff - with stories from Washington Politics to Tropical Storm Betsy. The group in the waiting room varied in age. No children but a mixture of young adults and seniors.

I quickly observed that while the TV anchors covered these news stories, the younger adults scanned magazines or newspapers but paid little attention to the TV. The seniors in the group seemed glued to the screen.

Several times, the TV producers took a commercial break. The instant the commercials opened with their explosive sounds, jingles or whatever, every young adult immediately turned their eyes to the TV.

When the news programming resumed, they returned to their magazines.

Are young Americans just not interested in what is going on in their world?

When we hear reports the "Seniors Vote", is it because they DO care?
  

(Dis)organized Labor

In the early part of the last century, work was hard. Really hard. I remember in the 1930s there was no such thing as a 40-hour week. My father worked many long, hard days, quitting each day when the work was done, not when someone blew a whistle. My father was grateful to have a steady job and worked without complaining. But others felt abused. They reasoned that if organized as a like-minded group, they could achieve bargaining power to obtain "rights" for workers.

Organize they did, with sympathy evoking claims of seeking fairness for workers. They called themselves "organized labor" and the nation fell in love with Labor Unions. Oh, how we championed these fighters for fairness. But in the blink of an eye some discovered that if every worker paid monthly dues it would pile up a heap of money... a big temptation for crooks and con men.

Because many union members were lightly educated, they became an easy target for the con artists who quickly took over powerful, high paying union leadership positions. To maintain those positions, they knew they had to keep getting more and more benefits for their members. They soon exceeded reasonable demands.

With their huge bargaining power and help from politicians who sought to mine union memberships for votes, they destroyed many American industries. But they always pressed for more, using increasingly ugly tactics.

Now, however, many Americans - including many union members - have come to understand the destructive nature of Organized Labor. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker decided to rein in his state's public employees unions and found that a majority of citizens backed him. More and more states are enacting right-to-work laws ending, statewide, compulsory union membership.

Labor unions outlived their usefulness decades ago. It has taken some time, but it now appears that Organized Labor as we have known it is dead. A vital step in restoring America's greatness.

 

Religious Freedom

I do not belong to any organized religious organization. I do not go to church. Right or wrong, my decision. But please do not assume that I am anti-religion. Personally, I believe that the closely held positions of some religious organizations are a bit over the top. Some religions have beliefs or customs with which I disagree.

The "Church Of Christ" has prohibitions on using musical instruments in church. Nearly all Christian religions believe in baptism, some sprinkle, some submerge. The "Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints" believes the same Bible most Christian denominations use, but believes God had a new book (The Book of Mormon) especially for them. The Catholic Church believes differently than Protestant religions. Jews disagree with Christians on many levels. I overlook these differences.

In my view, religion must be, in some way, a force for good. I respect others' views and beliefs, including their religious beliefs, so long as those beliefs are based in some "force for good". No one can argue that members of the Church Of Christ do not do a world of good in their communities. My experience with Mormons has shown them to be exemplary citizens who actively care for their fellow man. Consider all the Roman Catholic Church has accomplished with their hospitals, universities and other institutions. Ditto for Judaism.

And, I believe in the U.S. Constitution: If Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion, I will stand for that free exercise.

However, holding millions of members in allegiance does not, in my opinion, make a religion. Since September 11, we have heard much about respecting Islam. I do not.

Muslims fall far short in the "force for good" department. They sentence to death people who disagree with their beliefs. They fight among themselves... Shi'ites, Sunnis, Wahhabis, Suffis, Bahaiis... Muslims all, but they have done battle among themselves for centuries.

But the accepted customs of many Muslims are the straws that break the criteria for a religion for me. In Islam, it is okay to lie for the good of Islam. Honor killings are okay. The universal acceptance of bad treatment of women. And, among the most despicable, one "long standing tradition" recently codified into law by the new Egyptian Parliament (since the Muslim Brotherhood gained the majority) permits a man to have sex with his deceased wife for up to six hours after her death.

Sorry, I cannot personally recognize Islam as a "religion" worthy of my support.