Archive for the ‘Law Enforcement/Military’ Category
Terrorists – civilian courts or military courts?
How do we handle terrorists? Are they prisoners of war? Are they civilian criminals? The argument is about where they should be tried, civilian courts or military courts. And, though those on each side have good arguments, the law of war and an opinion by the Supreme Court suggest both sides may be correct, depending […]
Gun control – the wrong discussion
“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.” ~ Thomas Jefferson, 1781 A Connecticut man murdered 20 children and 6 adults, gun control proponents again advocating that disarming law-abiding citizens will solve the problem. And though I believe their logic is folly, […]
Lead, follow or get out of the way
General George S. Patton said, “Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” Mr. President, are you listening? We are nearing the end of the president’s second year in office and, as he promised, things have changed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the question is not if things have changed, but have they […]
“Humans are more important than hardware”
On Christmas day, a Nigerian man boarded Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit with a bomb he planned to detonate over the United States, his success prevented more by luck than skill. The President responded saying there were “human and system failures” and the United States will do “whatever it takes” to defeat the […]
“Earn this. Earn it.” – Veteran’s Day
Who are the men and women we honor each year on Veterans Day? An anonymous person offered the following description – “A veteran is someone who at one point in life wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’” What makes […]
Values and common sense
Do you ever wonder about our lost values, our disappearing common sense? Where is our foundation, our cornerstone, showing us the values that are America? Our foundation is crumbling and a cornerstone is hard to find. And we have fewer anchors to look to for help understanding what we are, and what we should aspire […]
Move to the sound of the gun
“Let’s roll.” Response of Todd Beamer, one of the heroes of Flight 93, just before he and fellow passengers rushed the cockpit upon hearing that three other passenger planes had been used as weapons on 9/11. Have you ever watched a sheepdog working with sheep? Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, author of the book “On […]
Claiming racism be racist
Four police officers and two men; one black, a noted Harvard professor, and one Jewish, a famous singer –each with a recent police encounter. Returning from a trip, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates found his front door jammed. He tried to force it open and then he and his chauffeur got in through the back […]
Thank you Chance Phelps
Are we too complacent, not realizing the price of our freedom? I watched a movie about the cost of this freedom. In fact, I watched the movie four times, each time with tears. The movie is a simple look at the price of our freedom, a simple reminder of what we have, a simple thank […]
Selective law enforcement
What do you do with a county sheriff who treats criminals like criminals, who enforces all the laws, not just the politically correct ones? Simple. You claim racism, civil rights violations, and contact the Justice Department. His critics hoped it would seek to remove him from office. Instead, Loretta King, acting assistant […]
We ask them to kill – VETERAN’S DAY
We ask our military to do the unspeakable, the unthinkable. We ask them to kill fellow human beings. We ask of them what we are unable to ask of ourselves. Moreover, we do not want to see or know what they do. We are appalled when we see a television image of a marine killing […]
Is military desertion courageous?
Jeremy Hinzman is the most recent military deserter losing his legal battle to stay in Canada. I read his story while visiting our son and daughter-in-law at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC; home of the Army Special Forces, the Green Beret. There I met men and women who have clarity of thought, a code of […]
The power of advertising prescription medications
Traditionally, pharmaceutical advertising has focused on advertisements in medical journals and sending representatives to meet with individual physicians. During the last ten years, their advertising has increased over four-fold and they have also added direct to consumer advertising (DTCA). According to Emergency Medical Abstracts, only the United States and New Zealand allow DTCA. Is there […]
Remembering Pfc. Joseph Dwyer
Our country has a large group of people who hope we never go to war. No, they are not the people disparaging our military; rather, they are our military personnel. Our military is full of reluctant warriors who understand better than anyone the travesty of war. They know the price to be paid; but, unlike […]
Taps for the fallen brave – MEMORIAL DAY
Today we remember those who died in our nation’s service. Today we proudly display the American flag, a small flag in the living room window or a huge flag on a flagpole, the size is irrelevant. The flag is flown at half-staff until noon to honor the fallen brave, and then flown at full staff […]
Even military critics enjoy free speech
Thomas Jefferson said, “My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!” Proof of his statement echoes from the Berkeley, California city council chambers. They approved sending a letter to the Marine Corp Recruiting office informing the marines they were […]
Interrogation or torture?
The debate continues. What is interrogation and what is torture? Are there situations in which interrogation is inadequate, situations requiring something more? In the abstract, it seems rather easy to determine what is or is not morally acceptable, what is or is not torture. But, how easy is the decision when it’s personal; when the […]
Allow our military to fight the terrorists
Albert Einstein said, “I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” He believed World War III would be nuclear annihilation returning us to the Stone Age. Is he correct? Will there even be a World War III? If there […]
The price of ‘freeing the oppressed’
How do you propose an acceptable number of dead American military personnel? How do you justify losing even one American life. Are there acceptable deaths? My inability to answer these questions is probably why I did not have the character to serve my country while many of my family members did. Maybe I could never […]
Thoughts of a soldier’s father – VETERAN’S DAY
How do I write about the people willing to do what so many of us are not willing to do? How do I write about heroes? The ones “ready to pick up a rifle, ruck up and close with the enemy.” How do I write about Veteran’s Day when I am terrified because I have […]