TORTURE OR POLITICAL GAMES

The Obama administration wants to prosecute people for doing their jobs and protecting Americans from terror attacks.  After September 11, 2001, we ALL wanted the government to do everything possible to keep us safe and to prevent further attacks.  The Bush administration did their jobs very well and we have had no terrorist attacks on our soil for 8 years!  Now the Obama administration is trying to punish them.

The Bush Administration and many members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, were informed and were well aware of the tactics that were being used to extract information from imprisoned terrorist suspects.  Why are only people in the Bush administration being targeted for prosecution?  I have no doubt that this is politically motivated.

Waterboarding, while it is not pleasant, is not "torture" in its true definition.  It does not inflict pain, nor has it caused the death of any prisoner.  These prisoners were treated in a much more humane way than the terrorists treated their victims.  The information gathered from these methods has enabled the government to stop several attacks and to find terrorist cells in this country.

The argument that waterboarding suspected terrorists is in violation of the Geneva Convention is questionable at best.  These are civilians who defy any law and are not involved in an "armed conflict" as described in the Geneva Convention, but instead kill innocent people in "acts of terror".  

I am much more concerned about the people who were killed by these imprisoned terrorists, either directly or indirectly, and the people who lives were saved because of information extracted from them!  The terrorists do not follow the same moral code that most civilized society follows.  They cut off heads and blow up innocent people.  Why are we concerned if these terrorists are physically or mentally uncomfortable?

It's definitely time to get past the "hate Bush and blame Bush" campaign and concentrate on the pressing problems that face our country today!

MY TEA PARTY EXPERIENCE

I attended a Tea Party in Portland, Oregon on April 15, 2009.  There were several thousand people in Pioneer Square.  Nobody paid me to go, nobody twisted my arm, nobody recruited me!  After I heard about it from my son, I decided to attend out of pure frustration.  I am watching as our constitution is being destroyed, our government is taking more control over our lives and our money, and our values are being attacked.   My elected representatives and my President seem to be promoting their own agendas that I don't agree with.  Their agendas are raping our country and pushing us down a hill toward socialism.

The tea party in Portland was a mix of people from all political persuasions and all walks of life.  It was not a political gathering.  There were young people and old people and everyone in between.  The program was about preserving our constitution, restating the values of our founding fathers, encouraging people to vote and to stand up for their beliefs and values.  The name "Obama" was not mentioned once by any of the speakers.  The tea party was very positive and peaceful with a lot of friendly banter taking place.  There was NO violence at our party, nor were there any reports of violence in any tea party anywhere in the country!  

 A conservative estimate of 300,000 people across the country. attended tea parties on April 15, but the media barely gave it a mention.  There was, however, a lot of mocking, derisive and insulting comments made about the people who attended the parties!  Why was it necessary for the media to do that?  I think it's because they have no legitimate defense against the arguments being presented by these citizens, so their only weapon is mockery.   In life, that is often how someone reacts when faced with an argument or a true fact that they can't defend logically.  They revert to name calling and insult to discredit the person.   (i.e. "Oh yeah,  well you're just a jerk!"  Heard that before?)

The media portrayed these tea parties as being organized by "the rich" or "Fox News" or "right wing extremists".  The truth is that these tea parties were a true grass roots movement unlike anything that has been seen in our country in many decades.  Average citizens took it upon themselves to set up these tea parties in the areas they live in.  In Portland, the people who organized the party  paid the rental fee for Pioneer Square by getting sponsors.  A radio talk station, several citizens' groups, several businesses, and some individuals donated.  The speaker system was donated.  People were asked to clean up the area as they left so we would "leave the place better than we found it".  This was no "right wing" organized event!  People came because they wanted and needed validation for their own feelings and frustrations about what our government is doing.

I had never in my life attended any kind of protest or demonstration.  When I left this Tea Party, I was refilled with patriotism and love for the country our forefathers established.  I was re-energized to keep speaking out and fighting for my country's well being.  That is exactly what is feared most by the out of control government and the media!

WE DON'T LIVE IN A UTOPIAN SOCIETY!

North Korea's recent rocket launch was a bold act of defiance against the Obama administration and in violation of United Nations resolutions.  The North Koreans are developing missiles that could reach Alaska and our west coast.  President Obama is relegating the handling of this situation to the United Nations, who will just issue another resolution that President Kim Jong Il will ignore!  The United Nations may have an effective role in global humanitarian efforts, but it has had little success with controlling global security.  The United Nations has not been able to effectively suppress tyrants, genocides, or terrorists.  Leaders like Kim Jong Il will continue to terrorize their citizens and continue trying to develop nuclear weaponry.

President Obama's utopian dream is to rid the world of nuclear weapons.  In the real world, nuclear power is not going away because of its efficiency.  Europe has used it for decades.  As long as there is nuclear power, there will be sources for nuclear weapons.  America's security is based on our ability to defend ourselves against all weapons.  If nuclear weapons are banned, then only the terrorists and tyrants will have them!  The world will always have evil people who don't play by the rules of decent society.  

President Obama continues to weaken our military and reduce our nuclear capabilities.  We had the capability to destroy the North Korean rocket while it was still on the launching pad, but we didn't.  Aggressive action is the only thing that will deter Kim Jong Il from going forward.  When America loses its resources or its desire to defend itself and to stop threats to our country, we are sitting ducks for any crazed tyrant or terrorist group.

Those of us who live on the west coast should be VERY afraid of what's happening in North Korea and Iran in regard to their development of nuclear weapons.  We should demand that our President take more of an active role in defending threats to our country.

TEA PARTIES ARE PROTESTS

Tea parties are being held nationwide as a form of protest.  The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was not about high taxes.  When the colonists threw the tea overboard, it was a direct protest against the British government taxing the colonies without giving them representation in Parliament and bailing out the financially ailing British East India Company.  Parliament had created a tea monopoly that threatened to extend to other goods and threatened to greatly extend Parliament's authority and control over the American colonists.

Americans today, like colonists of old, have worked hard and believe in the right to direct our own lives.  We want to give our children security and a better life.  We still have the colonial spunk that defeated the British and that established a Constitution that has been the framework of our nation.

Today Tea parties are peaceful symbols of protest against growing government control, taxing and spending, and a disregard for our Constitution.  They are an expression of the American public's frustration with the deaf ears of our government leaders in Washington.

Not every colonist carried a gun and went to war.  Many did their small part to help their country.  We can attend Tea parties.  We can phone, email or write our legislators and our President.  We can talk to neighbors and friends.  Most importantly, we can use our VOTE to elect people who will not ignore our wishes and our values.  Like the early Americans, we can work together to make our voices heard.