I didn’t want to post today
I sure didn’t want to link to Cao. Sorry that the link didn’t come out properly. I am a total Luddite.
But when a person reports on a news item without having real facts to back their argument what are they really saying?
A Copiatic Christian family in New Jersey–Jersey City–right across the Hudson from here was known to proselytize to Muslims. They were killed; their killers haven’t been found. I know and almost respect the argument; if it sounds like; tastes like–it is.
But without facts to back that argument, and I’m sure Fox news and the New York Post are doing everything possible to find facts to keep that argument alive, what is the argument?
They say that we’re wrong for believing a small minority of Muslims want Jihad. Do they know any Muslims? Do they know if any Muslims are trying to start peaceful dialogues?
If the government had acted upon the things mentioned in the new 9/11 report–the one that’s being kept from us, would 9/11 have happened? Rhetorical question as we don’t know since the report is being kept from the people in this country.
I’m going to do my Al Franken thing here: As a Jewish woman (though not the old lady he imitates so well) I can’t help but believe that after they get rid of the Muslims….they want this to believe that this is a Christian country–so they will come after me and my people.
I am not a religious Jew; I am a cultural Jew. As Jews, my family had no place to call home until they came to America–one hundred and one years ago.
Well we had 100 good years.
My family just wanted to live in a place where they were allowed to own land, vote, have careers, and practice or not practice their religion.
Then Hitler happened. I would ask my father why they didn’t protest. “We didn’t know.”
Yes everybody’s idol, himself, the people’s president Roosevelt kept many facts from our country. That’s known now. I don’t have to go into my research files to support that.
I’m proud of my Jewish heritage. While I have big problems with organized religion, Judiasm is something I will always support and fight for the right to exist because it’s my cultural identity.
I will always fight for its right to exist because we have always been singled out.
We’re a mere two percent of the population, but we are represented in various professions way outside the percintile.
My dad was a CPA. he couldn’t get a job in a large accounting firm or in a corporation. He could have now. Yes we have come a long way. But….
We are big supporters of The Constitution and The Bill of Rights, again way outside of our numbers because we know what can happen if the Constitution is tampered with.
We have another president who sits on facts.
We have a president who makes everybody who doesn’t agree with him the enemy.
We have a president who is trying to screw Black people out of their Social Security–life expectantcy–and all that (more about that when I have time to research it).
We have a president who answers to a higher father.
We have a president who didn’t try to make it easier for the people of the metro New York area after 9/11–and I can never forgive him for that.
But of course Montana’s a big target.
He helped make the current generation of college and high school students scared, and leaning toward modifying free speech by not being a decisive leader at first.
Ari Fleisher, who was his Press Security then, told people to be circmspect in their speech. Ari Fleisher’s parents were Survivors–and he told people they shouldn’t exercise their right to free speech? Shame on him.
Bush didn’t come back to New York often to tell us that he supports us and can’t understand the fear we live under but will try to learn how we feel.
Do you know what life’s been like in New York for the past three years? Every single person I know who works for a corporation is scared for their jobs. So much easier to have management in Texas or North Carolina. Every person I know who makes under 75K a year is thinking of leaving. Our cost of living has hit the roof.
We have never recovered from 9/11 but that’s never acknowledged. Lucia and Little Luce live in a one bedroom, rent stabilized apartment. It’s too small for two women. They can’t afford to move; they can’t afford not to move. Lucia’s salary doesn’t cover basic expenses in New York today. Is she supposed to send her fourteen year old daughter out to work? (I’m not going to go into the Bush tax reform scam here.)
As a New York Jewish woman I have the right and the responsiblity to say that I’m scared of what’s happening in this country. I’m also scared that people see the New Times Square and the gentrification of the city, and forget that real people live here.
While, since blogging, I have met many “blue” people in “red states,” I fear the “red'” people in “red states” who so easily talk about subjects that they have not personally experienced, and of course “the red people in blue states” who have always hated Manhattan and everything that it stands for.
I totally admit that I can’t be rational about this subject right now.
Lucia works in Penn Plaza. When I went to meet her for lunch on Friday, I met the National Guard also. Let me say that I think they belong there–it’s just a constant reminder.
Yesterday I went to see my family on the Island. Met the National Guard again.
My niece is ten. I want her to live a long and happy life-in freedom. She’s the first member of my immediate family to go to Hebrew school. She’s bright, enthustastic, funny, and eager to embrace life with all its warts. Fave niece overlooks people’s flaws. She champion’s kids who are disabled or different in anyway. I love her more than I can say. Fave niece represents the best of all of us.
While I’m not big on organized religion I do believe that people have the right to practice any religion–as long as it doesn’t hurt themselves or others.
The Shiatte Muslims hurt others. They should be stopped.
Muslims who want to live in peace (and there are many; I know because I know some) should be allowed to live in peace.
Don’t try to make my country into a Christian country. I know all your arguments and they are old and not true.
When Alexander Hamilton with Thomas Jefferson’s help wrote the first draft of the First Amendment, they specifically said that. It’s in one of my posts on The First Amendment.
I have to put my new blog into categories. I also have many non blog related things to do this week–such as jury duty–my right and my responsiblity as an American.
I wasn’t looking forward to it. But then I read Cao’s post. Then I thought about my grandparents and how to them that was an honor beyond any. It meant that they were citizens of a country and could help “judge” another human being
I didn’t want this to be a political blog; and I am trying to concentrate on stories.
But this is the time in our nations history when every person who believes in The Constitution and The First Amendment has to stand to be counted.
Thank you, Norman Lear, for starting People for the American Way, and a newer First Amendment organization. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he produced All in the Family, among other seminal sit coms.
Thanks, fave niece and Little Luce (who is Hispanic) for giving me two kids I love and I can fight for. You two (and many other kids) give me faces that can make this fight the fight of my life.
I mention Little Luce’s ethnicity because she’s not the right kind of Hispanic. She’s Caucasion, (oh right, that might give her points) may or may not be an atheist, (she’s only fourteen) and hates Bush.
Why does she hate Bush? She was just turning ten when we had an election. She thought Gore won when she went to sleep. She woke up to the after-election. She was a bit too young to really understand it.
She wasn’t yet eleven when 9/11 happened; she sure understood that one. She knew somebody who had lived in the apartment building closest to the Financial Center (fave niece who moved when she was two to Long Island).
Little Luce considered the Trade Center to be a Kool mall; and a place where fun things happened. She wanted to go to war. We all did. We would have supported an action against Bin Laden in a second.
But it didn’t happen. If adults can’t understand or explain things how can we expect kids to?
There was a long period where most of us would have supported a war. But finally, the most drawn out prelude to a war ended. Iraq? Hussein? Where did this come from?
How could we support it? We weren’t going after the person we thought responsible for the attack.
Oh right, Weapons of Mass Desruction. We didn’t find them. The war ended; the war just began.
Viet Nam was just a sratch; this is a deep festering wound that’s becoming totally infected.
We, the people at home, can’t claim ignorance anymore–except to the real report about 9/11.
It’s time to take sides. I can’t be a voice of reason when people don’t use reason on the other side.
Hint: Quoting Scripture makes me want to fight.
Saying that this is a Christian country makes me ready to do battle.
For all you people who are going to tell me to move to France or that I’ve shown my true colors and am unpatriotic–maybe you should think about moving.
I love this country too much to live anywhere else.
Patriotism comes in all races, religions and ethnic backgrounds. It doesn’t mean being loyal to things that are wrong; it does mean fighting to make them right.
Let me make it clear that I admire people who truly believe in a God. But I believe that those people don’t want war or anything fought in the name of God.
yes. YES. YES!!!
I LOVE YOU!
There is nothing wrong with a little faith – until it turns into hate. Christ’s message was all about tolerance. There is no good that can come from the alternative. I also despise Cao’s blog, btw. 🙂
Very well put. Thank you for saying so well the things that have been festering in my mind.
You’re the kind of person that America can be proud of. I just want you to know that. On occasion you will see Cao talking about frenchie. Well, that’s me. I’m American. My husband is French. She spends a lot of time hating us.
Anyway, there seem to be so many listening to her it’s good to see all are not. Thanks 🙂
Hello Pia (is that your name?),
I’ve seen your blog a few times while BlogClicking around, but never took much notice, since my blog (our blog I should say, since it’s a team effort) is only about politics.
My wife (Dianne) noticed this post and called me out to take a look. the magical word “CAO” had caught her attention. BTW, as I’m writing this, she tells me across our desks that she’s replied to you, LOL.
Yes, Mad CAO has to be read to be believed. Because of our stand, we have been honored by her publishing personal slanders all over the internet (she has more than one weblog). My name is Philippe, which you’ll no doubt come across on CAO’s blog – I guess Dianne and I are becoming famous thanks to CAO… the epitomes of despicable American haters, LOL.
As you rightly point out, she has an outstanding knack for making statements portraying “reality†when she actually doesn’t have the faintest idea of the facts. Standard Mad CAO tactics.
Anyway… nice to see ppl like you who are not necessarily into politics standing up for the truth. The likes of you are the Americans your country needs to bring it back to sanity.
Best
Wear the hatred of Cao as a badge of honor. If the folks like Cao and Cao him/herself doesn’t like you, you must be on the Right track (pun intended). If hatred were a sin…no wait, it is a sin..no wait, it’s a republican family value, no wait…no all republicans are like cao…no wait, Coa loves to hate…yikes…this ramble goes on. I stopped commenting on Cao becuase their arguments are not logical. They spew venom like it were snake oil and vitriol was stuff you got a carnivals and served over shaved ice.
Check out my recent post:
http://educationalwhisper.blogspot.com/2005/02/victorious-but-walking-wounded.html#comments
for some thinking on the matter.
“Wear the hatred of Cao as a badge of honorâ€.
LOL, thanks for the positive thinking attitude, Windspike.
At times it gets a bit boring, especially with her relentless daily racist slanders on her tBlog bog ( http://caoilfhionn.tblog.com/ – where she has all comments blocked, naturally).
My personal blog there ( http://whynot.tblog.com/ ) is only midly politically orientated, but it seems to piss her off even more than our political group one on Blogger. Go figure.
Oh well, as you say, Dianne and I will think of it as a badge of honor, LOL 🙂
Ok, I’ll go check your site out now…. again, thanks for your kind words.
Boy Pia, I send you one link and BAM your off to the races. If I had known you were going ot be so fiesty – I’d have sent you more. To coincide with your post, and to show support for the effort, I have dedicated tonight’s Sunday Night Sermon to this very topic.
http://crankyliberal.blogspot.com/2005/02/sunday-sermon-belief.html
One can’t hope to cure Mad CAO disease, but maybe, with the help of Anna, and Windspike and all the others, we can innoculate enough people who still remember that if their is a God, he (or she) gave us a brain for a reason.
I laugh whenever I come across Cao’s blog. The banners for the blog…how inflammatory or baiting can they be?
Wow! I tried to follow the comments you referred to. This is exactly what I am scared of replying to a neocon’s blog because the argument become circular very quickly and it becomes a feeding frenzy where similar minded neocons defend their friend. If the argument does not delve into namecalling, or insulting comments you quickly become deluged with meaningless quotes.
I’m surprised there aren’t any neocon’s running here to come set us “straight”. Perhaps it’s a little different fighting “off” their turf? 😉
You said it all for me, Pia! BTW,we have very similar backgrounds–I am culturally Jewish and a native NYer, now living just outside our nation’s capitol.
BTW,has anyone but me noticed that the so called “red” states are all far, far, away from where 9-11 happened? It’s really easy to wave the flag and spew hatred when you haven’t seen the results in your own backyard! Which I did–I live a mile from the Pentagon and we smelled the smoke from the fire for days. And while Virginia may be a “red” state, the areas around the Pentagon all voted blue. WE know what’s at stake.
People like Cao need to spend a few nights hearing the fighter jets patrolling over the house where your children are sleeping. Then they might know where their hawkish zeal frightens us so……
I don’t consider myself either “Red” or “Blue”, I’m just an American.
Unless your ancestors met the boat when they landed here back in the 1400’s, most of them were coming here to have a better life and freedom of religion.
I have always believed that it isn’t our “sameness” that makes America great, but our differences. That means that every religion has a place here, every culture, and everyone’s opinion.
So… from one American to another… I DON’T want you to leave. I want you to stay here and help because we all need each other.
DB
Calling America a Christian nation makes me want to fight, too, and I’m Christian. (I’m also a “blue” person in a “red” state.) This nation was founded on freedoms and it is sad and disgusting to see a certain portion of the population take away the rights of everyone.
I’ve heard of Cao before and I see the banners to Cao’s site (the banners tend to disgust me), but I try to avoid the site as much as possible because I figure I wouldn’t be too welcome there.