26 June 2009
Dear Editor,
I write today in reference to the June 21st 2009, Letter to the Editor, “Say a Prayer and Let God Sort it Out.” It is not the letter that I wish to address but the on-line comments that this letter generated and especially those comments from 4th Ward candidate for City Council, Bob Cvengros.
The apparent bigotry and racial comments of this person is appalling, to say the least. As a former candidate for Ward 4 City Council, and first openly gay male to run for public office in Warren, I take offense and umbrage with the hatred and lack of respect he has shown to the cities LGBT Community.”
Also, several contributors to the on line site, have eluded to disturbing offensive remarks he may have made directed toward other minorities within the City.
Ward 4 has the largest LGBT Community residents, than any of the other ward, and it has two gay owned and operated businesses that contribute to the well being and growth of a struggling downtown.
There has been a strong, positive and productive “gay” presence in Warren since the early 1940’s and one of the Nations first gay establishment was located on Pine Avenue.
I have always been humbled by the overall respect and openness of the general public when I campaigned, volunteered or was asked to serve on any of the Mayors, both Hank Angelo and Mike O’Brien, committees.
As one who has worked closely with the Police and Fire Departments; Pastors and Churches; Community Service Groups and local Charities, I am pleased that his obvious racism and bigotry is a reflection of the minority and not the majority of the populace of the City of Warren.
His election to City Council would not be a positive or constructive dynamic in rebuilding and molding the future of Warren’s growth from decay.
Thank you,
Tristan Hand
Lately I think those of us in the gay community feel like Dorthy, Lion, Tin-Man and Scarecrow, following the yellow brick road to see the Wizard of Oz and there to be given that “special” something that will make us like everyone else.
Every time I hear the words “special rights” I feel uneasy, confused and bewildered and ask myself, “what special rights am I asking for?” What “special rights” do I want that no-one else has? In-fact all you have to do is take a look around at our legal system to see that “straight” people have a whole bunch of “special rights”: the right to legal recognition of their relationships, the right to serve proudly in the military without lying about who they are, the right to raise their own children without being afraid that someone will take the children away because of the sexual orientation of the parents and the right to not have employers and landlords poke into their private business.
Of course it is in the definition of relationship that opens the door to a long list of “special rights”, none of which I can have in my 20 year “partnership”, that all my “straight” friends in their marriages do have.
With marriage, all “straight” relations are able to be consulted and informed about their partners policies, hospital visitation rights, the right to inherit if a spouse dies without a will, the rights of a family unit, the right to death benefits, social security benefits and the right to file joint taxes, which none of these I have.
So do I need the “Wizard” to give me my “special rights” or do we need him to reinforce equality?
The majority of the United States seems to always be leery of “civil rights” issues and thinks of them as “special rights” or a quota system that gives special treatment to a group of minorities.
It has been stated before, from other activists, that what we need to do is stop amending existing civil rights laws. Instead, concentrate on laws that state,
“Before the law, heterosexuals and homosexuals are equal. Neither shall be entitled to special rights or treatment because of their sexual orientation.”
The law shall then treat both as equal and the “special rights” straight people have, the “special rights” they complain we want, would now be just rights of the people, and isn’t that what the Constitutions states anyway?
Judge Learned Hand is often referred to as the 10th Supreme Court Justice and quoted as often as Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Judge Hand is also called America’s first “free speech judge” and his expertise on “tort law” is still used by the courts today.
The following is his speech presented in New York’s Central Park in 1944 during “I AM an American Day”. Later to be published in his 1946 book entitled The Spirit of Liberty.
Of course I am partial to the dynamics of his speech but I truly feel that it’s one to be shared again and again, for it loses nothing over the time of years since it’s utterance.
We have gathered here to affirm a faith, a faith in a common purpose, a common conviction, a common devotion.
Some of us have chosen America as the land of our adoption; the rest have come from those who did the same. For this reason we have some right to consider ourselves a picked group, a group of those who had the courage to break from the past and brave the dangers and the loneliness of a strange land. What was the object that nerved us, or those who went before us, to this choice? We sought liberty – freedom from oppression, freedom from want, freedom to be ourselves. This then we sought; this we now believe that we are by way of winning. What do we mean when we say that first of all we seek liberty? I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws, and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there, it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it. And what is this liberty which must lie in the hearts of men and women? It is not the ruthless, the unbridled will; it is not freedom to do as one likes. That is the denial of liberty, and leads straight to its overthrow. A society in which men recognize no check upon their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few – as we have learned to our sorrow.What then is the spirit of liberty?
I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of those men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interest alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten – that there may be a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side-by-side with the greatest. And now in that spirit, that spirit of an American which has never been, and which may never be – nay, which never will be except as the conscience and courage of Americans create it – yet in the spirit of America which lies hidden in some form in the aspirations of us all; in the spirit of that America for which our young men are at this moment fighting and dying; in that spirit of liberty and of America so prosperous, and safe, and contented, we shall have failed to grasp its meaning, and shall have been truant to its promise, except as we strive to make it a signal, a beacon, a standard to which the best hopes of mankind will ever turn; In confidence that you share that belief, I now ask you to raise you hand and repeat with me this pledge:
I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands–One nation, Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Mike Barefield – Portsmouth, Virginia – Contributor
Just a quick note to readers who are interested in keeping up with the fallout pertaining to the Fort Worth, Texas gay bar raid. Rather than duplicate her efforts, allow me to introduce you to Tammye Nash, Senior Editor of the Dallas Voice on line at dallasvoice.com, who is doing a fantastic job of covering this story. Point your browsers to dallasvoice.com for the latest.
I remember as a child, on those long winter night’s when we lived in North Dakota, gathering around the old RCA radio, that sat in the living room, listening to the popular shows of the late 40’s.
It is with fond memories that I can still hear my Dad and Mom singing along with many of the stars of the day, Bing Crosby; The Chuck Wagon Gang; Doris Day; Red Foley and the ever popular Kate Smith.
The photo above, which I thought everyone might enjoy seeing, was snapped on High Street beside the Trumbull County Courthouse in my adopted hometown of Warren Ohio, and you will notice the flag has only 48 stars. Not sure the event but I imagine it was taken from the Warren Opera House.
Happy Fourth of July to you and yours from the staff and contributors of Dare To Dream. May God truly Bless America and may we soon have Peace.
Mike Barefield – Portsmouth, Virginia – Contributor
Most of our readers interested in GLBT news and who have access to the blogosphere will have read by now about the raid of the Rainbow Lounge by the Fort Worth, Texas police and Texas ABC agents on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall demonstrations. Bloggers are reporting (and I have seen little in the mainstream press yet) that the Fort Worth Police Department, shortly after midnight (purportedly to ensure that it coincided with the Stonewall anniversary) launched a raid on the Rainbow Lounge, a gay bar in Fort Worth, which reportedly had been open only two weeks. According to several eyewitness accounts, one of which I read in a Facebook Group that was launched to discuss the issue, made it clear that the officers used excessive force to arrest several patrons for public intoxication. This eyewitness claimed that one patron was drinking water.
There are a number of questions surrounding this raid and the Fort Worth GLBT community and its friends are on top of getting to the bottom of them. The police, of course, claim no wrong doing in a statement released June 28. Bloggers and persons commenting on blogs in response to the police statement say that the police who claim that patrons made sexually explicit gestures towards them are not being truthful.
Even if this raid were part of the normal course of events for a Saturday night in Fort Worth, choosing that date to conduct this “inspection” of the Rainbow Lounge can only be characterized as appalling. Surely in a city the size of Forth Worth, the police and/or ABC agents were well aware of the significance of the date to the GLBT community.
Among my friends, the big question seems to be, “Can you arrest someone for public intoxication in a bar?” “Isn’t that what you go to a bar for?” The answer is that in Texas, you can!
From the Texas Penal Code:
Sec. 49.02. PUBLIC INTOXICATION. (a) A person commits an offense if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that the person may endanger the person or another.
(a-1) For the purposes of this section, a premises licensed or permitted under the Alcoholic Beverage Code is a public place.
Having worked in law and law enforcement for a number of years (including in 1981 and 1982 in Texas), I can speak with a tad more knowledge than your average bear regarding interpreting criminal statutes and the arrest process. Sec. 49.02 (a-1) makes it abundantly clear that it is perfectly lawful to arrest someone for public intoxication in a bar in Texas. To make an arrest for a criminal violation, an officer is required to have “probable cause,” which is far less than proof. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) had repeatedly held:
“Probable cause exists where “the facts and circumstances within their [the officers'] knowledge and of which they had reasonably trustworthy information [are] sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution in the [*176] belief that” an offense has been or is being committed.”" Bringar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160 (1949), at 175-176, citing Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (1925), at 162.
And:
“The process does not deal with hard certainties, but with probabilities. Long before the law of probabilities was articulated as such, practical people formulated certain common-sense conclusions about human behavior; jurors as factfinders are permitted to do the same — and [*232] so are law enforcement officers. Finally, the evidence thus collected must be seen and weighed not in terms of library analysis by scholars, but as understood by those versed in the field of law enforcement.” Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213 (1983), at 231-232, citing United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411 (1981), at 418.
Texas law is crystal clear on what constitutes probable cause for public intoxication:
“A person commits the offense of public intoxication if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to the degree that person may endanger himself or herself or another. The danger need not be immediate; potential danger to oneself or others suffices to show endangerment. Under Texas law, any area to which the public, or a substantial group of the public, has access, is a public place. When reviewing an arrest for public intoxication, an appellate court must decide whether the arresting officer had probable cause to arrest; we must determine “whether the officer’s knowledge at the time and under the circumstances would warrant a prudent person’s belief that appellant had committed or was committing the offense.”" Escamilla v. State, 2006 Tex. App. LEXIS 2815 (Tex. App. Texarkana, 2006, pet ref’d)
The above notwithstanding, police officers are always required to use the minimum force necessary to effect an arrest. From a political perspective and a perspective of common decency, the Fort Worth Police Department and Texas ABC’s choosing to make this raid on the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall is reprehensible. They have some serious explaining to do.
Mike Barefield – Portsmouth, Virginia – Contributor
Well, at last I put fingers to keyboard after being out of action for awhile to allow my broken heart to mend. While there is certainly a lesson to be learned from each of our relationships, – that is, there are no accidents in the universe – the universe can sometimes be very unkind in how it attempts to teach the lesson.
Being disappointed by someone with whom I have allowed myself to fall in love is not new to me and my pattern had been to crash and burn when it happened. In the past, I’ve gone so far as to quit my job and become a ward of my family and/or friends. This time I haven’t. I haven’t missed a gig and I should receive an Oscar for my performance. I think (although I am not yet sure) that the lesson this time around was this: You can feel pain without bleeding all over everyone with whom you come in contact and you can continue to act responsibly and maintain a level of sanity while you feel as if you will die any second. I think most people learn this lesson as teenagers. I am only now learning it.
Because of being well-aware of this pattern of self-destruction when things don’t work out, I guard my heart zealously. I don’t fall in love easily, although it is my nature to do so. Indeed, I consciously ask myself, “Do I have his permission to fall in love with him?” In this most recent adventure, I not only had permission, but was encouraged.
“I’m really in love with you.” “I can’t wait to start our lives together.” “Let’s shop for furniture.” “Wow, we even have similar décor likes and dislikes!” “This is a match made in heaven.”
This came about not because my lover was malicious, but because he was confused. He didn’t know his own mind and heart well enough to know that the circumstances in which he found himself were causing him to move forward at a speed and in a manner inconsistent with what he truly wanted and needed. Finally, after leaving me wondering, “What the hell did I do?” for weeks, I got this explanation:
I have lost respect for myself as a result of losing my independence. Until I can regain that self-respect, I don’t want a lover. I need to fix this on my own.
Baby, I wish you luck. I sure hope you keep your confused ass at home until you know yourself a little better, though. Oh, and Universe, thanks a lot. Couldn’t you have just sent me a freakin’ e-mail?
I was overseas, preparing to return to the States in 6 to 8 months, and had just turned 23 in January, when June 28th, 1969 happened and my life became different.
Gay wasn’t a word before then but the Stonewall Riots changed a lot about how I looked at myself and others. At that time, I and those like me, were “fags”, “homos” and queers. I still remember my Mother using the English description of “puffs” in reference to gay men.
Then a group of “Drags” and lesbians fought back at the Stonewall Inn, when being harassed, and I thought to myself, “were not puffs any longer.”
Of course I lived a very “don’t ask and don’t tell” life until I was almost 30.
Many of the early leaders are gone but the memory of them and the others who “struggled” in those turbulent times must be honored and remembered. In many ways Bob and myself have tried, in very a conscious effort, to carry on with that “struggle” and to make it better for those who follow.
The younger LGBT generations must not fear, as we did, of physical beatings, mental torment and not being able to be a productive and accepted person in the society around them. Hiding is not an option.
Now is the time. This is the generation. Civil Rights must be obtained for all of the LGBT Community.
Most everyone, unless you’re Rush Limbaugh and the “far-right”, agrees that our health care system is riddled with inefficiencies, excessive administrative expenses, inflated prices, poor management, and inappropriate care, waste and fraud. These problems significantly increase the cost of medical care and health insurance for employers and workers and affect the security of families.
Rush “Limburger” believes that there is no health care crisis in America and it is all a “hoax.” He’s even stated that the high cost of ER care is because “people exercise to much” and the have to use the ER for every “minor ache, scrape and pain.”
Health care spending in the United States is 4.3 times the amount spent on national defense and that should be alarming to both the right and the left.
Economist have found that the spiraling health care cost correlate to drops in health insurance coverage and several national surveys show that the primary reason people are uninsured is the high cost of health insurance coverage.
A Harvard University study has found,
“average out-of-pocket medical debt for those who filed for bankruptcy was $12 thousand dollars.”
That same study noted,
“68% of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. 50% of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses. Every 30 seconds in the United States someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem.”
National figures also show that 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to un-affordable medical costs.
The time has come to take action and bring Health Care costs in line and make it affordable.
In many ways, those who oppose Universal Health Care can be said to be in favor of “assisted suicide,” for without a change to our present Health Care system, more will die because they can’t afford the cost and according to Physicians for a National Health Care Program, 22,000 people die each year because of being uninsured.
Cutting Emergency Room Use Will Help Pay For Universal Health Care For Those Who Want It
Presently taxpayers have a heavy burden, almost 100 billion dollars, in paying the cost of Emergency Room use by those who have no Health Insurance coverage.
Those who oppose “Universal Health Care” are in many ways, through higher taxes, already paying to subsidize the need of coverage by the uninsured.
Lets take a look at the facts of who the uninsured are according to the National Coalition on Health Care.
Who are Who are the uninsured?
- Nearly 46 million Americans, or 18 percent of the population under the age of 65, were without health insurance in 2007, the latest government data available.
- The number of uninsured rose 2.2 million between 2005 and 2006 and has increased by almost 8 million people since 2000.
- The large majority of the uninsured (80 percent) are native or naturalized citizens.
- The increase in the number of uninsured in 2006 was focused among working age adults. The percentage of working adults (18 to 64) who had no health coverage climbed from 19.7 percent in 2005 to 20.2 percent in 2006. Nearly 1.3 million full-time workers lost their health insurance in 2006.
- Nearly 90 million people – about one-third of the population below the age of 65 spent a portion of either 2006 or 2007 without health coverage.
- Over 8 in 10 uninsured people come from working families – almost 70 percent from families with one or more full-time workers and 11 percent from families with part-time workers.
- The percentage of people (workers and dependents) with employment-based health insurance has dropped from 70 percent in 1987 to 62 percent in 2007. This is the lowest level of employment-based insurance coverage in more than a decade.
- In 2005, nearly 15 percent of employees had no employer-sponsored health coverage available to them, either through their own job or through a family member.
- In 2007, 37 million workers were uninsured because not all businesses offer health benefits, not all workers qualify for coverage and many employees cannot afford their share of the health insurance premium even when coverage is at their fingertips.
- The number of uninsured children in 2007 was 8.1 million – or 10.7 percent of all children in the U.S.
- Young adults (18-to-24 years old) remained the least likely of any age group to have health insurance in 2007 – 28.1 percent of this group did not have health insurance.
- The percentage and the number of uninsured Hispanics increased to 32.1 percent and 15 million in 2007.
- Nearly 40 percent of the uninsured population reside in households that earn $50,000 or more. A growing number of middle-income families cannot afford health insurance payments even when coverage is offered by their employers.
Those who are in a panic at the mere mention of “Universal Health Care” seem to overlook the occurring costs to society by the present system.
What additional costs are created by the uninsured population?
- The United States spends nearly $100 billion per year to provide uninsured residents with health services, often for preventable diseases or diseases that physicians could treat more efficiently with earlier diagnosis.
- Hospitals provide about $34 billion worth of uncompensated care a year.
- Another $37 billion is paid by private and public payers for health services for the uninsured and $26 billion is paid out-of-pocket by those who lack coverage.
- The uninsured are 30 to 50 percent more likely to be hospitalized for an avoidable condition, with the average cost of an avoidable hospital stayed estimated to be about $3,300.
- The increasing reliance of the uninsured on the emergency department has serious economic implications, since the cost of treating patients is higher in the emergency department than in other outpatient clinics and medical practices.
- A study found that 29 percent of people who had health insurance were “underinsured” with coverage so meager they often postponed medical care because of costs. Nearly 50 percent overall, and 43 percent of people with health coverage, said they were “somewhat” to “completely” unprepared to cope with a costly medical emergency over the coming year.
It should be a comfort for those who like their present Insurance Program that it will NOT have to change and they can go about their daily routine with the knowledge, that like the ghost of Jacob Marley in The Christmas Carol, taking care of “…mankind should have been…” our business, plus the fact that by getting everyone covered we will save lives and money.
Republican’s Don’t Want Government Envolved With Health Care But Yet They Already Are Envolved, Just Ask A Vet
The Republican machine is in high gear, you can hear the whine everywhere, from Congressman Bonner to Rush Limbaugh, they cry that President Obama’s Health Care is “Un-American” or “We don’t need Government acting as a middle man” and “What does the Government know about health care?”
I have a simple statement that asks them a question.
Doesn’t the Government run Health Care for the military and doesn’t the Government run the Health Care for Veterans who are out of the military?
The answer is yes and they provide it quiet well, so in essence they already provide affordable Health Care for millions of Americans.
What makes the Republican’s feel that this doesn’t qualify the Government as being able to provide quality Health Care Services to the general public as well?
As a Vet who has my Health Care through the Government, and the Veteran’s Administration, I’m grateful for this program and see for myself the quality care I receive from a Government run program.
One other question to my Republican friends.
If you feel that the Government can’t run the Nation’s Health Care System then you must feel that the Government can’t run the Nation’s Military and that needs to be privatized, say with Black Water in charge?
In the “spirit of liberty” we encourage all to fly the flag this Sunday, and by so doing, showing an outward expression of an inward feeling.
Once in a while, as I search for interesting subjects to post on Dare To Dream it happens, out of the blue in an email comes an item that just has to be passed on for discussion.
So it is today and it fits very well with our previous post on “Founding Fathers, Founding Faith.”
The following is an email that seems to be making the rounds that says it’s “An affront to history” when not using the word “God” if it has been quoted in a historical reference such as a Presidents speech, etc.
The email I received was in response to that assertion and I have included it for discussion.
I am personally offended by the calling of “passing it on” and if you don’t, “May God forgive you.”
Here’s the first part:
SHALL WE HIRE A MONUMENT ENGRAVER TO GO TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AND ADD THE MISSING WORDS ?
A MESSAGE FROM AN APPALLED OBSERVER:
Today I went to visit the new World War II Memorial in Washington , DC . I got an unexpected history lesson. Because I’m a baby boomer, I was one of the youngest in the crowd.. Most were the age of my parents, Veterans of ‘the greatest war,’ with their families. It was a beautiful day, and people were smiling and happy to be there Hundreds of us milled around the memorial, reading the inspiring words of Eisenhower and Truman that are engraved there.
On the Pacific side of the memorial, a group of us gathered to read the words President Roosevelt used to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor:
Yesterday, December 7, 1941– a date which will live in infamy–the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked.
One elderly woman read the words aloud:
‘With confidence in our armed forces, with the abounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph.’
But as she read, she was suddenly turned angry. ‘Wait a minute,’ she said, ‘they left out the end of the quote.
They left out the most important part. Roosevelt ended the message with ’so help us God.’
Her husband said, ‘You are probably right. We’re not supposed to say things like that now .’
‘I know I’m right,’ she insisted.. ‘I remember the speech…’ The two looked dismayed, shook their heads sadly and walked away.
Listening to their conversation, I thought to myself, Well, it has been over 50 years she’s probably forgotten.’
But she had not forgotten. She was right.
I went home and pulled out the book my book club is reading — ‘Flags of Our Fathers’ by James Bradley. It’s all about the battle at Iwo Jima .
I haven’t gotten too far in the book. It’s tough to read because it’s a graphic description of the WWII battles in the Pacific.
But right there it was on page 58. Roosevelt ’s speech to the nation ends in ’so help us God..’
The people who edited out that part of the speech when they engraved it on the memorial could have fooled me. I was born after the war.! But they couldn’t fool the people who were there. Roosevelt ’s words are engraved on their hearts.
Now I ask: ‘WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE WORDS OF HISTORY?????????’
Send this around to your friends.
People need to know before everyone forgets.
People today are trying to change the history of America by leaving God out of it, but the truth is, God has been a part of this nation, since the beginning.. He still wants to be…and He always will be!
If you agree, pass this on and God Bless YOU!
If not, May God Forgive You!
Now the open reply:
Hello People!
(I am stepping out of the “Silent Majority” and responding to an email I received that was written by someone I do not know, as many of us do…This is my response to receiving the email below which you want to read first-it appears below my response just as it was sent, in large print)
The United States of America was founded by immigrants escaping religiouspersecution in their own country. We have battled and battled hard in the U.S.A. to preserve the religious freedom of each and every one of our American citizens, this is what needs never to be forgotten. The religious zealot, the atheist- NEITHER can “rewrite our country’s history”.
The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment provides American citizens particular rights and freedoms that are fundamental to any free society. It was written to prevent in new U.S. colonies the kind of religious persecution King George III used in England. These activities included the suppression of non-state religions, the suppression of speech in any form, the obstruction of the assembly of individuals, and the lack of representation of its citizens in the legislature. The First Amendment addresses these concerns by stating:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
If someone says: “God wants to be a part of this nation”, that is a statement of someone’s belief. It is not a statement of fact. If someone says this in the United States of America, his right to say this is protected by the First Amendment.
Today, The United States of America is a huge population of diverse people of many religious beliefs largely made up of the descendants of immigrants from other countries, many of whom came here to escape religious persecution.
By establishing a government that separated church and state, all of these diverse worshippers, for ex.: Mormons, Muslims, Methodists, Quakers, Protestant Christians, Bahai, Janes, Hindus, Buddhists, Unitarians,Scientologists, etc., etc., etc., plus the non-worshippers can be free to believe whatever it is they believe in.
However, they cannot unite and try to infringe on the rights of others granted by the Constitution of the United States of America. They cannot force their beliefs upon others, as the Taliban (extremist Muslims) are trying to do in Pakistan & Afghanistan.
From the beginning of time wars have been waged by each army stating we have “God on our side”!
Is it not time to realize that each one of us can worship our creator in peace?
Fellow “Baby Boomer”- you say you are having a hard time reading your book club book because of the “graphic descriptions” of our troops at war in the Pacific?
My father survived FOUR MONTHS of bombings all night and shelling all day, while having malaria and starving. My now 87 year old Dad (World War II Marine Sergeant First Marine Division Guadalcanal) knows the waste of war since most of his division did NOT survive– (Thus your hard-to-stomach reading material).
My Dad voted in the last presidential election for Obama because he wanted “our boys to not be sitting ducks” for extremist suicide bombers who feel martyrdom is their religious practice. He does not particularly care what is engraved on the headstones he just wants less dead troops needing headstones engraved.
Perhaps it is best not to equate one’s patriotism with one’s religious beliefs. Our country’s history speaks for itself and cannot be re-written now by a segment of our population who thinks their beliefs are correct any divergent belief is wrong. This country is too great for that-it cannot be brought down by extremists or zealots, only damaged by them.
I feel that more than ever the United States needs to be UNITED by the right to worship peacefully as guaranteed by our first amendment rights, not divided by religious intolerance.
Thanks for reading what is, after all, my opinions and my exercising my first amendment rights!
May peace be with you,
Lynn Anderson
In our family the war, WWII, wasn’t talked about very much, so the memories I have of my parents and their part in that event of world history, comes from listening to their general conversations over many years.
I have many of my parents documents from that era, along with a few photos, showing their status, rank and duties, but only the memories of childhood discussions that can tell the passion of my parents past.
Like many of the World War II veterans, my parents are gone, so only the photos, documents and a few stories remain.
Dad was stationed in Oxford England with the 8th Army Air Corp and my Mom was a Control Tower Operator with the WRAF stationed at RAF Kidlington.
As a side note, my English grandfather, who had served in the Calvary in France during WWI, was a firefighter on the Liverpool Docks and survived, along with the rest of our family, the German blitz.
After D-Day I know my father went on to Belgium and an air base that had been liberated from the Germans. I remember only one story from that part of his life, and it had to do with a “booby trap” set near his bomber. His somber reflection on that event made a lasting impression on me as a young child.
Dad related that the crew was standing around the plane waiting to board for a mission, when my father was called away to HQ. As he was returning, and was a far distance away from the plane, he saw one of his crew approach a black box sitting near the bomber.
At this point Dad’s eyes were misty as he shared that the young crewman kick the box, which then exploded. I still remember the silence in the room as Dad paused and stopped. The story over.
So today I pause and remember the many who played a part in the liberation of Europe with the invasion of Normandy. As I pause to remember, I also include my Father and Mother, for their devotion and love of their Country helped bring about this day.
The guns on the beaches are silent, the planes fly no more and many of the young men and women from that age will never see the sunrise again but may we in their memory never forget the sacrifice.
Even before President Obama spoke at Cario University this morning, many on the far-right were criticizing and belittling the speech. Mitt Romney even went on TV last night to take his shots at the speech.
Many far right blogs today have the same tone they did when the President went to the South American Conference in April, expounding on the fact we shouldn’t be “humble” and we shouldn’t “apologize”, calling the President the “Apologizer in Chief.”
So with that intro, Dare To Dream will post our Op-Ed from this passed April since we find that it holds true today.
Repost: Pat Buchanan was livid, as he spoke on Hardball last night, about the President sitting and listening to South American leaders berate America at last weeks conference.
Hannity; Limbaugh; O’Reilly and Beck went on and on about how degrading it was to see the most powerful man and the most powerful nation in the world made to look so bad.
Since the “far right” enjoys quoting scripture for their stand against such things as “gay marriages,” let me take a page out of their play book and quote scripture as seen in foreign policy, plus dealing with the world.
Proverbs 16:18, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Proverbs 11:2, When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom.
Jeremiah 49:16, As for the terror of you, The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, O you who live in the clefts of the rock, Who occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s, I will bring you down from there.
Over the last eight years America has been good at being arrogant and not listening or talking with those who have a contrary opinion and philosophy.
Where has it got us?
Watching a President act like a statesman was refreshing and comforting.
James 4:6, But he gives all the more grace. And so he says, God opposes the arrogant but gives grace to the humble.
Matthew 23:12, Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
In the past, arrogance, pride and our “love it or leave it attitude” has gotten us into wars plus being hated throughout the world and even at home it has divided us as a people.
Matthew 5:9, How blessed are those who make peace, because it is they who will be called God’s children.
Luke 6:35, But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
To the “far right,” practice what you preach for your hypocrisy and arrogance is showing.
Bill “O’Really” of Fox News The Factor, surrounded by his cronies and their reinforcing statements, tried last night, like Pontius Pilate, to wash his hands in any part of the murder of Doctor George Tiller.
“O’Really” used the standard “This is America and I can speak my mind” routine but then after trying to justify his past vile remarks, he ventured into again vilifying Doctor Tiller even in death.
I’m reminded of a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story The Freshest Boy,
“It isn’t given us to know when one word will heal or one word will kill.”
Like the person who yells “fire” in a crowded theater, the “rabble rouser”, who calls himself a “commentator” , must bear responsibilty for his words and there effect on others.
By Michael Barefield- Portsmouth, VA – Contributor
A few days ago, Tristan Hand published his thoughts on pursuing the same-sex marriage issue before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). I posted a comment to his post wherein I stated that while there was some risk, I would go for it, maintaining that I don’t know the answer. At that point, I had not read the actual joint statement from leading LGBT rights groups explaining why, now that Proposition 8 has been upheld, the next step for marriage equality is to go back to the voters in California, not back to the courts.
I still don’t know the answer, but I am signficantly more reluctant to agree with my esteemed and very dear friend and owner of this blog, who graciously allows me to contribute. After having read the statement, I think that it is quite likely that SCOTUS is not ready to rule in favor of same-sex marriage. A defeat would entail signficantly more work for all of us. To risk undoing what we have accomplished, is a big risk. Six states now allow same-sex marriage. That is quite an accomplishment. I think at this point that patience and continued activism is the way to go.
With the release of the movie MILK, the California decision on Prop 8 and now what appears to be a movement to have the Supreme Court rule on the issue of “same sex marriage”, and/or the definition of “marriage” in general, the LGBT Community is need of a collective voice.
I was somewhat alarmed with news reports on National LGBT Groups stating that the time is not right to bring the marriage issue before the Supreme Court and we should wait. Wonder what the founding fathers would have said if they were told that the time “wasn’t right for a revolution against England” or Martin Luther King was told that it wasn’t a good time to “march on Selma.”
It has always amazed me when my “right” leaning friends talk about the “homosexual agenda.” None of them have ever been able to tell me what that “agenda” contains.
If it means that agenda is a code word for “civil rights” then I will agree.
I often explain to my friends that the LGBT Community is so fractured that organizing them under one voice and direction would be a herculean task.
Back in February, Bob and I had breakfast with a good friend and former employee.
When the conversation got around to politics and activism, I spouted my concern about how I felt that the LGBT community tends to be wrapped up in petty “bar politics” and generally “self destructive” tendencies.
When I was done with my “sermonizing”, about how it seems that we as “gays” tend not to want to see anyone succeed in a leadership role, our friend, who is in college and much younger than I, calmly said, “I agree.”
He related several stories about his dealings with the “community” through a Pride Center and how it never moved forward due to the “hostility” and “political” agenda of various members.
I shared the fact that I could relate to his comment, for when I ran for “public office” several other gay bar owners, and patrons of their establishments, would not support me, even tho it seemed a good thing that an openly gay male was standing up and trying to make a difference.
Comments from those owners and patrons ranged from “He’s only running to save his business” to “He think he’s better than all of us.”
The one I like the most, and said to my face, “Tristan you’re a fucking gay bar owner, act like one.” Still haven’t figured that out yet.
Later, after it was known that I had received several death threats in the mail, the “community” was rather silent. In-fact it was our “straight” friends, along with the local Police Department, that was the most concerned for my safety.
With the new administration’s open support for the rights of the LGBT “community,” it is time to find our collective voice.
If we let these first four years of the Obama Administration pass without striving to obtain the “rights,” if we say the “time isn’t right” to fight for that which all other Americans enjoy, then we have only ourselves to blame and the time will never be right to take a stand.
An interesting November race for Warren City Council at Large is brewing with three Democrats and one Independent running to fill those three seats.
Incumbents Helen Rucker and Bob Dean along with former Warren Mayor and State Representative Dan Sferra will face Independent and Incumbent Dan Crouse.
The most interesting “rumor”, heard this week, is of the possibility that Tammy Candella, President of Warren Grows, may be running for Mayor against Mike O’Brien.
Even tho a strong opposition candidate to O’Brien would be a welcomed event, Candella is far from qualified and her flippant attitude towards business, businesses and other activist in Warren does not lend well to take Warren from “Decay to Growth.”
If the rumor is true, this would be an election race to watch and DTD for sees that a third candidate would find their way into the race.
SOFIA DUCHESS of MUSCOVY.
June 24, 1992 – May 27, 2008
Many years ago, as a young man in my 20’s, I wrote a poem that has one of my favorite lines, “Every boy should have a dog to remember as a man.” This was written about my boyhood dog Lady.
Now as one who is approaching the Autumn/Winter of my life I have written another line about another dog, Sofia, our Siberian Husky, who became a big part of our family life just days short of 16 years.
As I watched her draw her last breath on that fateful Tuesday afternoon last year, I found myself saying that line written for Lady and then adding “…and as a man to have a dog who brought out the boy”.
“Sof”, thanks for helping Bob and me to be boys again but most of all, thanks for the unconditional love you gave to the “family”.
In Memory of a Loyal Friend.
THE DOG and THE MAN
As a boy, I had several dogs to romp and play with,
And then later in life, to remember in fondness.
There was Rusty and Scamp,
Companions of my childhood.
Lady and Bonnie Gay Heather,
The friends of my teenage years.
With love and affection they followed my every youthful move.
Every boy should have a dog to remember as a man.
Almost thirty years passed,
Until another spirit of the wild would come into my life,
And she brought all the comfort of my youth
With the pleasure of my age.
Every man should have a dog to bring out the boy.
Fifteen years of unselfish and unconditional love
Has left a hole in my heart by her passing.
I see her soft blue eyes in the fading light of evening
And feel her head upon my lap when all seems lost
From the burdens of the day.
Her memory greets me at the door
As tho she still waits expectantly.
I feel her brush upon my leg in passing
As I walk about the house
Missing her gentle love and faithful trust.
Even in her death,
She gives me comfort and love,
Whisper softly,
“Miss you Sof”.
*A Big Thank You to Kathleen Briggs who painted the portrait of Sofia which hangs over the mantle of the fireplace. “Portrait In Pastels…pets and people.” To obtain more info add comment for information.
Since returning to this country in 1970, after serving four years in the military during the Viet Nam War, I’ve tried to express both my anti-war stand, coupled with my great respect for those who have served, or are serving, this nation to protect it’s freedoms.
I still get a lump in my throat as a parade passes by and the flag leads the way but it is always tempered with my sorrow of those who have fallen and those grieving their sacrifice.
No great words of eloquence can express a nation’s gratitude or profound loss.
By Helen O’Neill, The Associated Press
The auto plants and steel mills, once the lifeblood of Warren, are ghosts of their former selves. Plants lie idle, shifts have been cut, and the huge parking lot outside the Lordstown General Motors factory is nearly empty. The Golden Gate restaurant and Mary M’s, fixtures for years, are shuttered. Houses are boarded up. Businesses have given up on downtown.
There is a saying among old-timers in this gritty river town: What
recession? We’ve been stuck in one for 30 years. Yet even stubborn
Warren, a town with a dwindling population of about 43,000 in
northeast Ohio, is being tested like never before. And folks talk of a hopelessness, a weariness of spirit that is pervading every aspect of life.“It’s like lives are being stripped away whole,” says Pam Bennett, 55, a retired high school secretary who volunteers at the Warren Family Mission, where hundreds of people flock every week for food and clothes and shelter. Many are families with small children. Many have lost their jobs. And many are coming in for the first time.
There was a time when jobs – good-paying jobs – were plentiful. People like Bennett’s husband, David, marched straight out of high school and into Delphi Packard Electric Systems, once one of the area’s largest and best-paying employers. Now the auto parts plant operates with a skeletal crew. After 37 years, Bennett has been told his health benefits will end when he retires, his pension is frozen and he will lose his job if the plant folds this summer.
And so the Bennetts have abandoned their dream of retiring to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and building a small prefabricated house where they hoped to spend sun-filled days after a life of frugality and hard work.
These days Warren is littered with abandoned dreams.
“It’s awful, just awful,” says Nick Angelo, 73, who raised six children and two grandchildren in what he says was once a vibrant, prosperous community. Now he feels nothing but sadness when he walks past the closed store fronts near the courthouse square.
“I feel sorry for the young people,” Angelo says.
Angelo, a retired high school athletic director, vividly recalls a
time when things were different, when the town sparkled with vitality and hope. It was in the early 1970s and for four consecutive years the two high school football teams – the Warren Harding Panthers and the Warren Western Reserve Raiders – won state championships. There were parades and lavish pre-game dinners at the Golden Gate and 15,000 cheering fans turned out in support.There was a glimmer of that former glory this spring when the high school basketball team made it to the state semifinals and several thousand fans drove three hours to Columbus to watch the game.
For a week, it was as if the team held the heart of the town. Bands
played at pep rallies, restaurants donated food, and “Go Raiders!”
signs bedecked the town.“People just desperately need some hope to cling to,” coach Steve
Arnold says. “And for a short time, we were that hope.”Over at the Hoyt Street Church, Pastor Gerald Morgan sees the same thirst for hope. Worshipers are flocking to services in greater
numbers, though donations are down. It’s always that way in a time of austerity, he says. People turn to the church for solace and for answers they can’t find anywhere else.The 59-year-old minister, who spent 30 years on a General Motors
assembly line before becoming a full-time pastor, doesn’t have
answers. Just a deep, ingrained knowledge of how his people are suffering. And an abiding faith that, no matter how bad things get, they will pull through.And so he quotes from Genesis, the passage about how the earth
returned to life after the devastation of the great flood. And he tells his congregation that Warren too will emerge from this latest chapter of darkness, and someday thrive again.
Dare To Dream wishes to thank Jim and Elecpencil blog for sending us this AP article to use in our “series” of Warren “Decay to Growth” posts.
Warren Ohio: “Victory Garden,” Another Shepherding Project That Reinforces Residents Concern For Community
Some local leaders of the City of Warren, Ohio, have stated that the “demise” of the City is simple, they believe that the “residents” of Warren are the “problem”, along with their lack of “education.”
Yet time and time again, the community comes together in a display that debunks those who would not see their sacrifices and which make such statements offensive.
Whether it be the overall “Downtown City Cleanup” or the re-starting of the Courthouse fountain, many are concerned and involved. Yes they may not belong to the “clique”, have a “family name” or the financial where for all to make the local “happy hours” but they are concerned.
I will agree that there doesn’t seem to be a mass movement to join in on the City lead projects but in the local communities of Southwest, Northwest, Southeast and Northeast, you will see the simple “genuine love” for the City of Warren.
For the last two years, as Dare To Dream readers know, we have been championing the “Shepherding” concept for all areas of the City. From empty store front windows, empty buildings on the Square, the parks and even empty neighborhood lots, “Shepherding” is a outward expression of an inner spirit.
Recently Rod Hathhorn, resident on the Northeast side, took the “Shepherding” concept into action and the “Vine Avenue Project” was born and even got national exposure.
The Historic Perkins Homestead Association, The Northwest Association, Burbank Park (as examples) and so many others show that “residents” are far from being the “scapegoat” of the problem but are the “grass root” efforts in making any progress happen.
On Wednesday, May 27th, 2009, another step in the “Shepherding” concept for a Warren area will take place, Community Victory Gardens 2009.
The concept is that of 81 year old Mary Ann Franklin and is simple and direct. Make vacant lots “bloom” into a garden project and especially the approximately 5 acres around Horace Mann School.
It’s been a dream of mine here for many years (almost 30). All the land looked like it was going to waste.
The Community Victory Gardens 2009 is being sponsored by the Community Concerned Citizens and they are inviting all of Warren to join the residents of SW Warren in raising and growing their own fresh fruits and vegetables.
Those interested can sign up, participation is first come, at the Warren City Schools Offices, Greater Warren-Youngstown Urban League and with any member of the Community Concerned Citizens organization.
For those who are first in sign up, they will receive a Free 15′x30′ plowed, disc and fertilized plot; Free garden workshops provided by the Ohio University Extension Master Gardeners; Individual consultation by the Master Gardeners during the growing season; Each family will receive five packs of different garden seeds; Use of garden tools to tend your plot and information on preparation and preservation of your produce.
The Community Victory Gardens 2009 is another example of promoting neighborhood development and pride as well as helping reduce family food cost during this economic downturn, just as the Victory Gardens did in the 1940’s.
Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Victory Gardens 2009 will be Wednesday, May 27th, 10:00 am at the Horace Mann Elementary School (rear of school on York), Austin Avenue SW, Warren.
If Warren residents are the “problem” then I hope that more of these “problem” residents have their ideas happen like Rod and Mary Ann.
BASIC TRAINING 1970
With some unknown sense
I felt his stare
upon my neck.
He stalk’d me,
trail’d my every move
and now
victory was in his reach.
I turned slowly,
gazed into my enemy’s eyes
and knew I was finished.
He laughed,
smiled and taunted,
then fired.
I grabbed my burning stomach,
and fell to the ground
still hearing his laughter.
I would get even
after lunch,
for war was only a game
when we were young.
Written by Tristan-Paul J. Hand while a student at Kent State University, May 4th, 1970.
