Yes, ME of all people were rendered speechless this morning while reading an article on 12 Haitian orphans that are stuck in bureaucratic limbo. The highlights of this story are that 12 'extra' orphans were included in an emergency airlift from Port-au-Prince after the earthquake there. These 12 are 'extra' because they were not already in the process of being adopted by American families, but the people on the ground decided to include them in the airlift, which in my opinion was probably the best thing to do. If you have to ask why that was the best choice you won't understand the answer. These children range in age from 15 months to 13 years, so they are truly children, that were in the hands of Bresma Orphanage before the earthquake. The dilemma seems to be whether or not these children have to be returned to Haiti or can be adopted by families here in the United States.
The stand of the State Department is that they must verify that relatives of the children truly relinquish their rights and responsibilities for these children before they can be adopted to American families and with that I do truly agree; however, Haiti is an island nation and does not even consist of the entire island of Hispaniola. It is not truly that hard to find family members and verify their desire for these children, sure it isn't an easy task but we are now more than 6 months after, if the relatives were actively searching for them someone would have heard by now and if their relatives were injured then they would have been identified by now and hence be found. We are talking about only 12 children, I imagine that the true nature for the delay is more of a monetary discrepancy than any true verification issues concerning the status of these children as orphans.
Now while this story is one that is one that pulls at heart-strings it is not one that has major impact on the country or global relations. And it was little more than my heart-strings that endeavored me to even read more than the headlines. After wards for some reason I did another thing that is rare for me - - I scrolled down and glanced at some of the comments of this article. And it was while I was skimming over the comments that I found myself speechless. Maybe I shouldn't have, I know that the world is full of closed minded, ignorant people that are so lazy that spewing hate is much easier than making an effort to educate themselves and work at having an open mind that endears the desire to better the world. Sometimes little acts carry huge returns. It is one thing to be mean and hateful to adults, they are capable of defending themselves and understand the evils in this world. But to spew hate against children that have been through hell through no fault of their own is just vile. It shows just how cruel and cowardly you truly are. I find it truly repulsive that there are still "educated, upstanding pillars of society" that can harbor such streaks of true venom.
To judge for your self check out the article here
28 July 2010
27 July 2010
Hey it is still Bush's fault. . . .
Are the Democrats for real? Yes, they are!
If it were not so pathetic, it would be funny to see how long they continue to blame former President Bush for every negative in the world. To date they have blamed Bush for everything from terrorist attacks to natural disasters and now he is also to blame for them not getting their job done. The democrats need to change their slogan from a "Vote for Change" to "Its not our fault, its Bush's." Have the democrats ever really admitted that their policies lead to more debt and larger government? They stretch the Constitution beyond its breaking point to cover their whims without thought to the spirit of the founding fathers or the immigrants that settled and built this country into what it is.
This is supposed to be the land of opportunity not the land of debt and oppression. The government was to remain small so as to never become tyrannical, yet the democrats would have a government so large that even taking a piss would be monitored and regulated and reported on. It is amazing how convoluted current politicians have become with regards to the foundations of our government and their own self worth. Our political leaders are living proof that our education system here in this country is completely unbalanced and insufficient for producing productive citizens across the board so that our country can assume its rightful position to move the world forward instead of shrinking from our responsibility of making the world a better place. However, I am not sure which is the greater tragedy, the politicians that over-inflate their egos at the cost of the our country or the masses that blindly follow worthless leaders while discarding the precious rights that our founding fathers fought so valiantly for. We have become a fractured society where protecting ourselves is the major guiding influence for our actions instead of upholding the pillars that our fore-fathers set in place for our benefit. If not for their sacrifice none of us would have the freedoms that we currently enjoy and we show our gratitude not by insuring the preservation of these freedoms but by shrieking our duties to protect our fellow man. Considering this current mind set do we truly deserve to benefit from prior sacrifices?
If it were not so pathetic, it would be funny to see how long they continue to blame former President Bush for every negative in the world. To date they have blamed Bush for everything from terrorist attacks to natural disasters and now he is also to blame for them not getting their job done. The democrats need to change their slogan from a "Vote for Change" to "Its not our fault, its Bush's." Have the democrats ever really admitted that their policies lead to more debt and larger government? They stretch the Constitution beyond its breaking point to cover their whims without thought to the spirit of the founding fathers or the immigrants that settled and built this country into what it is.
This is supposed to be the land of opportunity not the land of debt and oppression. The government was to remain small so as to never become tyrannical, yet the democrats would have a government so large that even taking a piss would be monitored and regulated and reported on. It is amazing how convoluted current politicians have become with regards to the foundations of our government and their own self worth. Our political leaders are living proof that our education system here in this country is completely unbalanced and insufficient for producing productive citizens across the board so that our country can assume its rightful position to move the world forward instead of shrinking from our responsibility of making the world a better place. However, I am not sure which is the greater tragedy, the politicians that over-inflate their egos at the cost of the our country or the masses that blindly follow worthless leaders while discarding the precious rights that our founding fathers fought so valiantly for. We have become a fractured society where protecting ourselves is the major guiding influence for our actions instead of upholding the pillars that our fore-fathers set in place for our benefit. If not for their sacrifice none of us would have the freedoms that we currently enjoy and we show our gratitude not by insuring the preservation of these freedoms but by shrieking our duties to protect our fellow man. Considering this current mind set do we truly deserve to benefit from prior sacrifices?
25 July 2010
Courage in Uganda
The AU is currently holding a 3-day summit in Uganda, which sustained two bombings on the 11th of July. Al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group in Somalia has claimed the bombings were retaliation for civilian casualties by the AU troops that are attempting to restore peace to the war torn Somalia. It seems pathetic that Al-Shabab, one of many insurgent groups that increases the state of terror in the African country by starving, threatening, killing and oppressing innocent civilians, managed to get that claim out without choking on it.
President Obama has seen the AU summit as so important that the US is represented by Attorney General Eric Holder; wow, how insulting for Africa. I guess they can take solace in the fact that ANY top official was sent. We have yet to learn that terrorist groups seed and grow in areas that we find insignificant and below our concern. When they move into actions and areas that are of concern to us we seem surprised at their organization, influence and reach. At least we are consistent in our failings, just like with street gangs and home grown terrorist groups on our own land we have that upper middle class suburban mentality that it cant happen to us. Keep burying your head in the sand and you will end up in the same quandary that the world was in when Hitler ruled Germany, if we wait too long we will be standing alone in the middle of unending chaos without the means to extricate ourselves.
The AU mission in Somalia, which has 49 of 53 members in good standing, is manned by about 6,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi, the hope is that the number will increase with additional troops from 2 more member countries. It will take more than this minor but courageous effort to truly make a difference, however, courage comes from the desire to do right in the face of terror and over whelming odds. This courage shows in the members of the militaries of Uganda and Burundi as well as the leadership of both countries for stepping up and taking action against an enemy to the peace and tranquility of the whole world. We could take a lesson from the little guys.
President Obama has seen the AU summit as so important that the US is represented by Attorney General Eric Holder; wow, how insulting for Africa. I guess they can take solace in the fact that ANY top official was sent. We have yet to learn that terrorist groups seed and grow in areas that we find insignificant and below our concern. When they move into actions and areas that are of concern to us we seem surprised at their organization, influence and reach. At least we are consistent in our failings, just like with street gangs and home grown terrorist groups on our own land we have that upper middle class suburban mentality that it cant happen to us. Keep burying your head in the sand and you will end up in the same quandary that the world was in when Hitler ruled Germany, if we wait too long we will be standing alone in the middle of unending chaos without the means to extricate ourselves.
The AU mission in Somalia, which has 49 of 53 members in good standing, is manned by about 6,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi, the hope is that the number will increase with additional troops from 2 more member countries. It will take more than this minor but courageous effort to truly make a difference, however, courage comes from the desire to do right in the face of terror and over whelming odds. This courage shows in the members of the militaries of Uganda and Burundi as well as the leadership of both countries for stepping up and taking action against an enemy to the peace and tranquility of the whole world. We could take a lesson from the little guys.
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