Archive for June, 2014

189 – “Marine One”

Friday, June 20th, 2014

IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray

# 189

June 20, 2014

“Marine One”

Isn’t it odd that a person who depends upon one particular branch of the U.S. Armed Services ignores the fact that one of them — a veteran of two tours in the Middle East — suffers mightily in a Mexican prison after a wrong turn at the California border.

It is irrefutable that the Marine Corps boasts some of the most talented and heroic fighters among all our troops, and that is not to take away from those who serve among the other branches.

Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi made a mistake. He had walked into Mexico and returned to get his car to return to California where he was undergoing treatment for PTSD. The turn back to the United States was very poorly marked. Instead of allowing him to turn around, authorities arrested him.

When Mexicans — even armed ones — make the same mistake and end up in the US by accident, we simply turn them around and send them back home. But what did the Mexicans do in this case? They throw Tahmooressi into prison, give him barely enough food to survive, beat him and treat him as if he were a prisoner of war in a third world country.

Today we learned that our president actually spoke to the president of Mexico. Sadly, the synopsis of subjects released to the press did not have among the topics the immediate release of our Marine. I wonder if he would have even made the call at all without the outcry of people across this nation about the thousands of minor children coming into the country.

After all, it was the policy of this president to take in children, wasn’t it? He is more than willing to lay another burden on taxpayers and ignore the gargantuan benefits of the Keystone Pipeline. Oh, yes, he will think about it. Well, he has had six years to think about it and what good has that done?

Everyone who reads this column should email or call the White House to demand that the sergeant be brought home immediately. Flood their switchboards and their servers. Make noise, folks. It is up to us to do something. Evidently, nobody in government at the highest levels seems to be doing a thing.

Unless there is a “hot potato” on his plate, the president is much more interested in fund raising than “hell raising.” I can’t imagine John Kennedy (a decorated WWII Naval officer) or Ronald Reagan (the patriot in chief for eight years) would have wasted a New York minute to do something.

What kind of advisors work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue today? Evidently, they are more in tune with inviting high profile entertainers to the White House than attending to an international scene. At every turn, the old modicum of common sense is not only rare, it is completely lacking.

To put this in perspective, the president and his minions now move against the owner of the Washington Redskins to take away his team’s name but do nothing about an American soldier held against his will in awful conditions. Yes, readers, now the federal government is going to try to force a business to change its name — all that even though the Redskins’ name roots with its first coach, Lone Star Dietz, a man who claimed to have been born on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Note, too, that Dietz often posed in profile with full feather headdress, mirroring the team logo today.

How sad. It is more important for our president and his cronies to impose the views of a slight percentage of a minority group and force a business to lose millions of dollars than to ask Mexico to release one of our own. Remember, too, that Mexico not only consistently flaunts our laws, but it also looks the other way as cartels and thugs prowl its states and openly fire on our border patrols. Consider all that, plus the incessant movement of illegal drugs and who knows what kinds of terrorists across our southern border.

Demand that Tahmooressi come home. It is time to act. It’s about time that Marine One not only describes the helicopter that routinely lands on the White House lawn. It’s time that Marine One is Job One for President Obama. Call the White House. Flood its switchboard with emails. Let the White House know you are listening. If not you, who? Think about it.

IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray

# 189

June 20, 2014

“Marine One”

Isn’t it odd that a person who depends upon one particular branch of the U.S. Armed Services ignores the fact that one of them — a veteran of two tours in the Middle East — suffers mightily in a Mexican prison after a wrong turn at the California border.

It is irrefutable that the Marine Corps boasts some of the most talented and heroic fighters among all our troops, and that is not to take away from those who serve among the other branches.

Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi made a mistake. He had walked into Mexico and returned to get his car to return to California where he was undergoing treatment for PTSD. The turn back to the United States was very poorly marked. Instead of allowing him to turn around, authorities arrested him.

When Mexicans — even armed ones — make the same mistake and end up in the US by accident, we simply turn them around and send them back home. But what did the Mexicans do in this case? They throw Tahmooressi into prison, give him barely enough food to survive, beat him and treat him as if he were a prisoner of war in a third world country.

Today we learned that our president actually spoke to the president of Mexico. Sadly, the synopsis of subjects released to the press did not have among the topics the immediate release of our Marine. I wonder if he would have even made the call at all without the outcry of people across this nation about the thousands of minor children coming into the country.

After all, it was the policy of this president to take in children, wasn’t it? He is more than willing to lay another burden on taxpayers and ignore the gargantuan benefits of the Keystone Pipeline. Oh, yes, he will think about it. Well, he has had six years to think about it and what good has that done?

Everyone who reads this column should email or call the White House to demand that the sergeant be brought home immediately. Flood their switchboards and their servers. Make noise, folks. It is up to us to do something. Evidently, nobody in government at the highest levels seems to be doing a thing.

Unless there is a “hot potato” on his plate, the president is much more interested in fund raising than “hell raising.” I can’t imagine John Kennedy (a decorated WWII Naval officer) or Ronald Reagan (the patriot in chief for eight years) would have wasted a New York minute to do something.

What kind of advisors work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue today? Evidently, they are more in tune with inviting high profile entertainers to the White House than attending to an international scene. At every turn, the old modicum of common sense is not only rare, it is completely lacking.

To put this in perspective, the president and his minions now move against the owner of the Washington Redskins to take away his team’s name but do nothing about an American soldier held against his will in awful conditions. Yes, readers, now the federal government is going to try to force a business to change its name — all that even though the Redskins’ name roots with its first coach, Lone Star Dietz, a man who claimed to have been born on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Note, too, that Dietz often posed in profile with full feather headdress, mirroring the team logo today.

How sad. It is more important for our president and his cronies to impose the views of a slight percentage of a minority group and force a business to lose millions of dollars than to ask Mexico to release one of our own. Remember, too, that Mexico not only consistently flaunts our laws, but it also looks the other way as cartels and thugs prowl its states and openly fire on our border patrols. Consider all that, plus the incessant movement of illegal drugs and who knows what kinds of terrorists across our southern border.

Demand that Tahmooressi come home. It is time to act. It’s about time that Marine One not only describes the helicopter that routinely lands on the White House lawn. It’s time that Marine One is Job One for President Obama. Call the White House. Flood its switchboard with emails. Let the White House know you are listening. If not you, who? Think about it.

188 – “Why not?’

Thursday, June 12th, 2014

IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray

# 188

“Why not?”

June 10, 2014

Just when I believe that I have “heard it all,” again the hammer falls and another crucial portion of our human experience teeters on the edge of oblivion.

First it was the “new math” that my children barely escaped before actual thinking people saw its futility and trashed it. Then home economics and shop trades slipped over the edge. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of shop equipment made it to the auction block in Indiana alone.

And the result? Countless young people missed out on basic skills that hold any householder in good stead as they go about their daily lives. Still other students missed out on the opportunity to discover a possible interest in the trades. Exposure, you see, is everything.

Today, computers and “tablets” rule — and not the blue-lined paper tablets of recent memory, either. Oh, no. These tablets are small computers. An interesting side note from sources doing research on major book sites like Amazon tells us that retention is far less with tablets than case bound books. That is, children who read actual books retained far more information than those who simply scrolled a tablet or computer screen.

Oh, goody! Not only are our children wired to these gadgets, they do not retain a good portion of what they “read” on them.

Not so long ago, movement began to seed to eradicate cursive writing from the school curricula. Now, does that make sense? What will one use to sign a contract, an “X”? Talk about going in reverse. Are we to emulate illiterate people unable to write? How did we go from beautiful hand script of the 1700s and 1800s to emails rife with abbreviations and acronyms? The answer is really pitiful. Instead of moving forward, we go backward. Oh, wonderful….

I see a dangerous pattern here. With a Master’s in history, I note that current textbooks not only skip over large, important parts of both U.S. and world history; but, they also grossly edit them — leaving out important facts. Minus really solid information, America’s young people could grow up with a flawed view of whom we are, our origins and the wars that kept up and a good portion of this planet free.

For decades, many major authors have warned us of “dumbing down” our population. The only way such a practice makes sense is to consider it a tool with which to control the people. History in and of itself gives us a line of warning signs. It’s not just an old saying that “history repeats itself.” It does. However, if people know their history and recognize the warning signs, they will be able to change course and avoid disaster.

I remember when a “cell phone” would have been in a jail or a prison. Now, children from very young ages march around with cell phones — often oblivious to anyone or anything around them.

What’s more, this penchant is not relegated to the young. How many times have you seen adults in a public place constantly punching away at a phone? How many times has your meal been interrupted by a wild ring or a bizarre sound effect? From time to time when eating out, my husband and I have seen entire families — Mom, Dad, and kids — texting at the table and never talking to one another at all. Have you seen this, too? I’d guess you have, and more times that you can count.

You ask how a cell phone links to my title, “Why not?” Well, it hooks up quite nicely, and herein lurks a disturbing pattern.

One by one, systematically, basic skills wane. First, the thought process for mathematics with a pen and paper was abandoned in favor of a calculator. History surfaced, edited to the point where textbooks totally misled students. Next, trade classes disappeared. Then actual “books in hand” were on the chopping block.

How do I connect all these to the cell phone craze? Here’s how: Once, young people met and formed relationships one on one. School hallways echoed with exuberant voices getting in that last bit of chatter before the bell rang and another class began. Dating posed challenges in conversation and action. A shy young man had to overcome his reticence and actually talk to the girl of interest. Oh, notes passed among boys and girls, but a conversation was inevitable. Today, I see more and more young people text back and forth — literally within a few feet of one another. They don’t talk. They text.

How, I ask, can they possibly develop a persona that will hold them in good stead in the workplace? How will they perform a job interview if they cannot carry on an intelligent, adult conversation? Once, a job was the goal for a young person. He or she did not arrive dressed in sloppy or suggestive clothing — cell phone in hand — grab a job application and saunter out the door oblivious to the employer who stood slack jawed by the office door shocked at the lack of any degree of professional appearance. It’s almost as if the young person thinks the employer “owes” him or her the job. But that subject would take up another column….

Decades ago, when I was looking for a job, things were far different. The interview was paramount to the willing, prospective employee. Dress or trousers and shirt pressed, hands clean, hair combed, teeth brushed, the candidate arrived for the interview determined to make a good impression. Moreover, a well-written thank you note to the employer went a long way in the “good impression” department.

Minus the ability to converse well, how can a new employee express goals and mesh well with others in the workplace? It is easy to see that someone with poor speaking and writing ability is at a terrible disadvantage.

My solution? Instill the love of reading books. Infuse good writing habits in your child, including a pride in good penmanship. Your own child’s signature should not be a mystery to you. You should be able to read it easiliy.

Unless texting to “911”, remove texting ability from phones — especially for those under 18. Considering the highway deaths attributed to texting while driving, that small adjustment to the cell phone program would save lives.

Make it impossible to chat back and forth electronically. Infuse the importance of being a well-spoken individual. We are at risk of losing our ability to talk to one another. How sad.

Alas, first textbooks surfaced with basic facts purged from their content, next “page in hand”, case bound books began to disappear in favor of computers and tablets. Now, children risk losing the ability to carry on a simple conversation.

Do parents have the courage to remove texting from their children’s cell phones? Should texting work in a moving car? It is a shame that such a convenience has become an excuse for disconnecting with our peers.

Would you do it? Would you make sure that your child only used his or her phone when absolutely necessary? Most of us over 60 grew up with a shared party line and only a single phone in the entire house, so the thought of giving cell phones to children is a practice too easily abused.

We need thinking, articulate people to lead this country. Are we rearing them? Really…. Are we?

Limit cell phone use and remove texting ability except for calls to parents and 911? Why not? Think about it.

187 – “A Retrospective”

Monday, June 2nd, 2014

IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray

# 187

June 1, 2014

“A Retrospective”

Seldom do I allow Memorial Day to slip by without filing a column, but this year I decided to submit it to my readers a week later. To put in bluntly, all of us should remember our Veterans each day and not merely the day set aside as a day of national honor.

We would have no holidays were it not for those who step forward, volunteer, and put their very lives on the line so we can enjoy peaceful existence here at home.

As we traveled the Memorial Day weekend, I made it a point to stop to thank any veteran wearing any version of that all too familiar ball cap bearing military service markings. Over a restaurant breakfast, I greeted Air Force, Army, and Navy veterans. To a man, they were well into their 80th decade. No doubt, they view the current world scene far more seriously than most of our young people.

For at least two generations, Americans have not endured the homeland hardships true of World War II. During those years, our government rationed commodities. Folks put aside thoughts of leisure or vacation in an effort to make sure the troops were well supplied. Children picked up tin cans and flattened them. Metals collected as scrap were quickly picked up for war manufacturing. Nobody complained about not having some particular food item either. There was a greater concern. We were at war and everyone needed to do his or her part.

Leaping forward in time to today, I shudder at what is a dangerous complacency. Sacrifice for a lot of young people is not getting fries with sandwich special. Service is what someone else does. More disturbing is the high level of ignorance about world affairs. After all, the younger ones quip, what difference does it make?

Well, difference may well be life or death. Encroaching upon the solid morals and values on which America was founded is an ever-growing number of splinter groups that have no problem crushing established mores in favor of what they want.

We see it in the push for gay and lesbian rights, abortion on demand (often without parental notification), and a total disregard for America’s energy sector.

If the folks a the EPA get heir way, then you will pay more than attention. You will pay through the nose! Taking coal-fired power plants yields a nasty result. Remember the quip, “utility bills will skyrocket.” Hmmmm. Maybe you forgot.

When your electric bill quadruples, you will question why only America cripples its industries. China puts another coal-fired plant on line each week. Remember, too, that many Chinese wear surgical masks to get their breath due to the pollution. Chinese plants are not “clean burning coal plants.” Prevailing winds are west to east, so guess what part of the world will be greeted with their pollution? Yep. Us.

Every people yearns to be free, and for centuries America has been the defender of freedom, the exporter of free enterprise and the goal of immigrants from the far corners of the world. The last true instance of this was World War II.

We fight for freedom, yet so many live under the heavy yoke of harsh leaders. War without victory is war lost. To put it simply and in terms of sports, one team doesn’t telegraph its strategy to the opponent.

Yet, once again, the current administration assigns a date by which troops will leave a conflict area. How convenient for the opposition. All they need to do is wait. All those bodies mangled and broken, all those lives lost, all those families damaged forever.

Once the bastion of everything good and decent, we have morphed into a pitiful shadow a once proud and strong international mover and shaker. Every man or woman who donned a uniform knows that a chain of command is only as good as the person at the top.

After all, any military is only as good as its components: sound objectives, experienced leaders, and outcomes equal to the sacrifice and treasure put forth to achieve them. In short, victory has no substitute.

We have reason to thank veterans. Yet, sadly, our military personnel work for an administration that does not lead. In a garden of people, it has hired the weeds. Instead of leadership, we have “weedership.”

Those who serve need our support more than ever. They are hobbled in their mission to spread freedom worldwide. Once, this nation pledged never to negotiate with terrorists. Never is a term not to be used lightly.

This past week, despite the fact that we achieved the release of the last held POW in Afghanistan, we did so by negotiating with the Taliban. Coupled with announcing our departure date, we guarantee that this heinous group will take control of the nation once again — depriving women and girls of freedom and any education and relegating their populace to societal mores that date to before the Middle Ages.

So much for all those soldiers who came home mentally and physically maimed…. And so much for those who died….

We went into Afghanistan determined to exact a high price for the carnage of 9/11 and, through spirited leadership, spread freedom. After all, Afghanistan was the hotbed of terrorism at that time. Now, we will leave having spread something, but not freedom. We will have spread the word far afield to peoples yearning for help to live free lives that America — once again — mocks the sacrifice of her soldiers, young and old, and leaves without achieving a complete victory.

It must be disheartening for military personnel with long careers to see this happen. We must all work toward a big change in 2016. It’s not only the domestic scene that begs for a change. Not only is the foreign policy realm is at risk, but we are also at risk here at home. Think about it.