Who, What, When, Why and How?

I get so tired and frustrated at trying to learn the real truth - the Who, What, When, Why and How of news items as they unfold. Each news source seems to have it's own bias and political spin. Can I trust Fox's "fair and balanced news", or should I trust Reuter's or AP's version to give me the truth? Is the NY Times more credible than the Washington Post or the Christian Science Monitor? Which sources should I trust and when should I trust them?? Lately it has occurred to me, that I no longer have to agonize over whose truth is more credible and worthy of being believed. The reason is, the Creator God, knows for sure, what the truth is, and who did what, when, why and how? Furthermore, He is the only one empowered to reward or punish the news maker according to His Divine standards and attributes, among which are Holiness, Justice, Immutability, Omniscience, and Omnipotence, just to name a few.
And because He knows, then I don't have to know everything for sure. In fact, I could not humanly process all the bits and gradations of information that apply to each news item, anyway. From now on, when I see a news item about which I would like to know the 'real' truth, I'll be reminded to rely on the One whose absolute knowledge includes ALL of the 'who, what, when, why and how' information.

For starters, - who really attacked the World Trade Center, and who aided and abetted the attack? Did the impact of the planes result in the collapse of the towers and the deaths of thousands, or did the towers collapse by other means?

I have hundreds of other questions.....this is just the beginning.

Equality, Fairness, Justice or Terror?

In the 60s, the courts could no longer ignore the demonstrations and the pressures from those who were demanding racial equality after 400 years of slavery and jim crow segregation. Rather than mandating the equality that was being sought, the courts settled on affirmative action as a stop-gap measure to release the pressures on them to do something positively. (We demanded equality but affirmative action was better than nothing!) Less than 40 years later, California, among several other states, has rolled back its affirmative action laws, and retreated from it's initial commitments to fairness. They could not even stay committed to their own imperfect but effective system, and already they have retreated from this stab at equity for the disenfranchised. Likewise nationally, wherever and whenever the commitments to justice and fairness are retreated from or denied, eventually the rights of ALL citizens are impacted. This can now be clearly seen in the rollback of our historic, constitutional rights due to the outrageously expensive, alleged 'war on terror', that our leaders insist that we have to fight.
Rather than a commitment to a war on terror, my solution would be a national and international commitment to the fight for justice, equity and fairness for ALL oppressed peoples around the world. If and when this is done, the 'terrorists' will have less grievances and a sense of powerlessness, that drives them to the 'terror' we are trying to fight and prevent.

.....Are They Wicked, Just Evil , or......??

The dictionary defines Wicked, as evil or morally bad in principle or practice. Evil is defined as morally wrong or causing ruin, injury, pain, misfortune or destruction.

Who do these words apply to? Do they apply to....

..those who lied about our need to pre-emptively attack and occupy Iraq because of the supposed presence of WMDs, and imminent threat of our being attacked with them?

..those who illegally seized the natural resources of the sovereign nation of Iraq while killing over 100,000 Iraqi citizens, and being responsible for the deaths of over 2,600 of our own soldiers and the wounding of over 20,000 of them?

..those who planned and facilitated Israel's attack and destruction of Lebanon, with the loss of over 1,100 mostly civilian lives (one-third children), over 4,000 wounded, the displacement of over 1,000,000 persons from their homes and villages, and over $3 billion in damages to the infrastructure?

..those who made it possible for an Iranian-backed theocracy to be established in Iraq, and a victorious Iranian-backed Hezbollah to grow stronger in Lebanon?

..those who illegally used funds in Iraq that had been appropriated for Afghanistan?

..those who leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent?

..those who were derelict by neglecting the issues of global warming, domestic and worldwide hunger, AIDS, advance warnings of the impending 9-11 attacks, advance warnings of the impending Katrina catastrophe?

..those who question the loyalty and patriotism of American citizens who oppose our foreign and domestic policies?

..those who 'smear' dissenting citizens as aiding, abetting and appeasing our enemies?

..those who had the motivation, opportunity and the resources to pull off a 9/11, and did so for profit and political gain?

Which of these words apply, ...do BOTH of them apply, ...or do none of them apply?

Are our leaders simply honest, well-intentioned politicians, doing the best they can for our country, or could they be guilty of the wickedness and the evils listed above???

Did We Win or Lose?

....Well, the US basketball team lost to Greece, amid and counter to high expectations that they would dominate, conquer and wipe-out the other national teams in the competition. As has happened in world competitions the past four years, once again the US has failed to 'bring home the gold', that has come to symbolize proof of our superiority and world dominance.

Why do we feel the need to dominate, to feel superior to, to 'shock and awe', to be the best at the expense of others, to invade and occupy, to take advantage of those less powerful, those less wealthy, those less advantaged, those less everything.........???????

Why can't we be just a normal partner in the world of nations, willing to share our resources for the good of all, willing to participate in the common quest for a purer environment for the health of everyone, willing to restrict or ban the manufacture and sale of deadly weaponry so that indiscriminate killing of precious human lives worldwide, can be avoided,.......??????

What is there in our psyche that fosters the 'all or nothing' mind-set, the 'I'm better than you' attitude, the 'winner take all' mentality, the 'manifest destiny' creed, the supremacist and xenophobic rants of our pundits and media,......????

Could it be, that underneath, we secretly suspect and fear that we are not 'all that', but in fact are really a bit inferior and insecure in many areas where we wish not to be 'less than', but in fact, really are! Is our aggressive, pre-emptive, non-negotiable foreign policy, designed to cover-up this insecurity, and then results in death and destruction to hundreds of thousands of victims as we try to show how tough and superior we are?

Personally, I think team USA's loss is good for us and the world sports community. It gives the other teams confidence and hope, and lets our players, our leadership and our country, know that we are not invincible (and we don't need to be), neither in sports nor in our imperialist adventures around the world. Maybe this will be the first step in toning down the overheated rhetoric and belief in our might, our goodness, our purity, our invincibility, our spirituality, our righteousness, our godliness, our......everything!

Our USA team is a winner...IF, they learn the proper lessons from this loss.

However, the sports pundits and others, are calling this loss of the gold medal, failure! As usual, this important lesson has been lost on them!

New Orleans Revisited

I wept and wept uncontrollably, as I listened to the first-hand account of one of the survivors of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans, which started one year ago today. The account spoke of the racist sheriffs who at gun point, either denied them access to neighboring communities above flood level, or who forced them from one shelter to another to avoid any build up of too many people in one place. It spoke about the lack of sanitation facilities, privacy, food, water, medical care and other necessities, that should have been provided, but were not. For five days they rambled about trying to find shelter, food, water etc., while waiting for buses that police officers swore were available, but were not. They spoke about being roused from temporary shelter underneath bridges on the highway, and having their precious little bit of water and food taken away by sheriffs who made them move on.
These are the people who did not leave because the could not. They did not have cars, money and other resources that would have enabled them to leave, like those who left the previous Saturday, when the mayor ordered the city to evacuate. I believe they were deliberately left to fend for themselves, because they were mostly Black and poor, and were also expendable because they were mostly Democratic voters rather than Republican. This is just a bit of the criminality, benign neglect and savagery engaged in by those in high places, while poor citizens struggled to live, and far too many suffered and died unnecessarily.
Will their be an accounting? Will those responsible be brought to justice? Did God witness the suffering and the deaths deliberately allowed? When will they have to pay for their crimes? Will derogatory comments directed at the victims by fascists like Beck, Limbaugh, Savage, Will, Coulter, be recorded and played back as an indictment against them?? ???
I think yes! And as a matter of fact, I stake my life on the certainty of the justice that only God the Creator, can administer. Every single person who suffered, died, lost their possessions and their livelihoods, and who lost their loved ones, will be avenged in due time.

No one will escape - no matter how rich, how powerful, how influential, how smart or how evil!

Insane or Not??

The answer to the question, why White working people, particularly in the red states, vote Republican in spite of the Republican's antipathy to working class issues, is easy to answer.
The Republicans appeal to their racism, xenophobia, prejudices, perceived values, and other fears. This unfortunately trumps any concerns they might have about loss of their jobs, loss of middle class status, and other more important bread and butter issues like educating their children, health care etc. Overwhelmingly they voted for Bush, twice!...and if he could run again, they would vote again for him and his party!

It is said that Insanity, is doing the same thing but expecting different results. This is a prime example.

....'and The Floods Came....and the Damage Stayed!

The anniversary of the Katrina debacle is approaching, and it is becoming clearer to me that the city of New Orleans was the victim of 'benign neglect', and probably criminal neglect as well. The question of who is responsible at the local, state, and federal levels is still being debated, and culpability has been routinely shifted or denied altogether. Thousands have died and the majority of the survivors are still dispersed, because the promises to rebuild have not been kept and the funds to rebuild have not been released. I wonder if what happened was not part of a sinister master urban renewal plan to change the racial demographics of the city, abetted by the certainty that inadequate maintenance of the dikes and levies, would eventually result in the catastrophe that eventually did happen. Meanwhile billions are still being funneled to the Middle East, and most recently, promises have even been made to provide funds to rebuild Lebanon - while New Orleans still waits, and waits, ....and waits!

Unlike the floods of Noah's day, which was Divine punishment sent on the inhabitants of the earth, this flood did not have to happen and the lives lost, could have been saved. Those that are responsible will have to answer to the same God who sent the first flood. The difference is, this time, "..the Fire Next Time" will be their punishment!