SamSaid!

NEW YORK TIMES

     The big question in Washington DC nowadays is whether the New York Times should be punished for divulging highly classified information  –  even after having been requested by the President (and others) not to publish their story. The Times, of course, stiff-armed the President et al and published the story on their front page.

     Several aspects of this story are not in dispute. The voluminous information published by the NYT concerned the US Governmet tracking financial transactions all over the world to get a handle on those who finance the bloody rampages of Al Qaeda, the “home base” of the Islamin terrorists. There is no question that the data gathered has been very helpful in our war against terrorism. By the same token, there is no doubt that the disclosed data is of significant value to the terrorists who are trying to kill all Americans and defeat our efforts in Iraq. There is also no question that the NYT (especially front page and Op-Ed pages) are left wingers opposed to the Iraq war, George Bush and anyone who stands with him, the Republicans, and the entire Bush administration. Translation, anything that is opposed to George Bush is good, and there are no holds barred in disclosing information that is damaging to George Bush.

     With ultra left wing writers such as Paul Krugman, Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd (wonder where she parks her broom?), it doesn't take a genius long to confirm the radical left ideology of the Times. And their unctuous grey haired leader, Bill Keller,  comes on TV to support their publication of the story based on the flimsy “right to know” premise  — totally ignoring that Americans are being killed by the very people they are helping. When I see the notion of free speech carried that far I am filled with both contempt and shame. As you might suspect, I do not subscribe to the NYT and probably will not subscribe until well after the Pope gets married.

     If indeed Al Qaeda benefits from the contemptible actions of the Times, what should be the remedy ? Treason? Seems to me that the very definition might fit. It would be a real battle in Congress –  CSpan might even get a top rating for a few months. I sure would watch. But maybe a better solution would be to deny NYT press passes to attend White House briefings or Presidential Press Conferences.  Let's say that the ban would not go beyong the end of the Iraqi War(whenever that might be)  — barring any other underhanded stunts by the Times.  And if they don't like it, tough! More than anything, I hope and pray that we will not just pass over the indiscretions of the NYT as being “just another bump in the road”. With Congressional elections coming up in November, I hope that the good guys will regularly beat the NYT drum so that all Americans will know where the Times and their so-called “unbiased” word merchants stand. Since the NYT is so openly hostile to George Bush, is there some reason that we cannot convey our view of the Times and its editorial bias in no uncretain terms?

     Zinging Republicans is one thing: giving aid and comfort to the enemy is something else.  

WHERE IS THE MONEY?

     From time to time I have opined that there is a huge difference between tax dollars and cash money. Cash dollars are in an individual's pocket for individual use, while tax dollars belong to nobody and are in a big reservoir awaiting expenditure by our civil servants for good purposes and some not so good.  No better example can be cited than a recent occurrence at that West Coast Educational Citadel  –  The University of California.

    An independent audit recently (and harshly) found that in addition to $9.3 BILLION dollars paid in salaries, there was an additional $334 MILLION paid in ” additional compensation”  –  including pensions. The examples cited in the audit report are disgusting since they come from the highest levels in our Educational system. Maybe $334 Million won't break the bank, but it isn't chicken feed either. This is not a case of a teen age druggie ripping off a 711 for a handy six and a carton of cigarettes; rather, these ripoffs were initiated and authorized by very highly ranked and paid officials of U CAL.   Somehow it doesn't seem quite right to refer to these items of gross overpayment as poor practices, errors in judgment or decisions that are contrary to compensation policies of the University. Consider, in the year audited, there were 4071 members of the department of Education paid in excess of $168,000 and many of them still benefitted from “additional compensation”  –  which was initiated and approved internally.   

     Cal is budgeted just like any other organization, but obviously, the University brass figure that tax dollars are different and there is nothing wrong in blowing away $344 MILLION dollars improperly and then kissing it off by changing a few policies here and there. I have watched the newspapers for the past month, but I haven't seen any reporting that heads have rolled, indictments have been sought, or any repayment has been demanded. After all, This is almighty CAL  –  not Enron, Tyco, Adelphia or any of the other Corporate miscreants. Should we use the standards of Cal to judge the accused at Enron?  Or is Education fraud and theft exempt from trivialities like the law. Don't expect too much from the Chancellor at Cal, since his pension  was doubled to $395,00 per year  –  nearly twice the pre-existing figure. Think we devote enough tax dollars for education??

     But, what the hell  — it's only tax dollars, so why should we care?

BONDS

     Baseball player Barry Bonds has hit his 715th career homerun, thus eclipsing the achievent of the legendary Babe Ruth. It is a stupendous baseball accomplishment and his ardent fans are delirious over the success of their hero. But there are storm clouds that may throw cold water on what might have been a great day. Now, Bonds is a surly, moody, contrary, ungrateful soul whose personal life is a mess (kind evaluation). Among baseball fans and the general public he will never win the Mr. Congenialty contest. On top of that, he is right up to his chin in a major controversy over his use of performance enhancing drugs during his most productive home run years. The Commissioner of baseball is right on the spot  –  What to do with a baseball giant whose is a druggie?

     One suggestion is to attach an asterisk alongside his record numbers, saying, “achieved while using performance enhancing drugs”. Bonds fears that more than anything else. He would become a druggie with phony records. He fears this more than anything else.

     There is also the baseball Hall of Fame. Based on numbers alone, he would be a shoo-in. But years ago, baseball drew the line on gambling, and in the process banned from baseball FOR LIFE, the best player in the game, Shoeless Joe Jackson. Right now, a truly superb player, Pete Rose, is denied entry to the Hall because he got caught gambing on baseball games. If Rose is the pariah denied entry to the hall, how about Bonds?   Gambling vs cheating on fellow players and the general public? If Bonds enters, Rose says “What about me”"

     If baseball wants to clean up its act and get serious about steroids and comparable perrformance enhancing substances, now is the time. As for me, when someone mentions 715, I figure it is a quarter after seven and time for news and weather. One little asterisk, but sports all over America will notice.

     Nobody forced you to do it, Barry. Nobody made you swallow the pills, and nobody forced you to take the injections. My record books will be better without the sorry chapter you wrote!

BONDS

     Baseball player Barry Bonds has hit his 715th career home run, thus passing the long standing achiement of legendary Babe Ruth. No question about it, Bonds is a great power hitter. He also is a moody, surly, impolite egotist who is more interested in his own individuaal records that any other achievemnts. Bonds will never win the Mr Congenialty award. He is not highly regarded as a person  — aside from baseball statistics. True, he has a cadre of hometown fans, but they have a habit of being fickle when things go bad.

     Bonds wants 2 things. First, that his name will appear at the top of the list of all-time home run hitters, and second, that he be elected to the baseball Hall of Fame. Relying solely on baseball statistcs. he would appear to be a shoo-in on both ambitions. But there are storm clouds hovering about which could have an enormous effect on Mr Bonds. The one thing Bonds fears more than anything else is a small symbol called an asterisk (***) —  which could be placed on his home run numbers, saying “achieved while using performance enhancing drugs”. He would be labelled forever as a druggie and cheater. What a comedown.

     Also there is the Hall of Fame matter. Baseball has an iron rule about gambling, and it dates back more than 80 years. The baseball Commissioner banned gambling and also banned one of the very best players in all of baseball for gambling on the world series. Shoeless Joe Jackson was banned for LIFE.

No Hall of Fame for Joe.

AT LAST

     Zarqawi is gone. Long gone. For good. And the world is a better place today that it was yesterday. Maybe some regard him a a hero, but the plain fact is that he was a fanatical religious zealot and a blood thirsty murderous animal. Nothing more or less. True, someone may try to take his place, but he will be tough to clone, and any replacement with begin with his (her) days numbered.

    Republicans have credited the President for the success of the mission to rid him from the earth. Left wingers (Dems), however, are more inclind to give the story  the ho-hum treatment and observe that there will be a replacement, and the war goes on. Bin Laden and Zawahiri might shrug off the abrupt departure of their henchman Zarqawi as just another casualty of warfare –   Al Queda style. But something tells me that they just may be looking over their shoulders a little bit more carefully, like anyone else on a published hit list.

     In the meantime, I hope that we have a few appropriate medals for the crews of the 2 F-16s who delivered the 500 pounders.

BIG DIFFERENCE

     The current wave of Hispanic immigrants is not the first such experience in our history. In the early 1900s there were millions of immigrants from central and western Europe. But there are significant differences between then and now. The root causes may have been the same  –  poverty, no future and the attractiveness of living in America. But 2 distinct differences are readily visible. The first is that the European imigrants WANTED to become Americans. They were fully prepared to cut the tie to the Old Country. They did not come here to ride a welfare gravy train. Second, they WANTED their kids to learn English. For sure, they kept momentos of their ancestry, but they did not march around carrying a foreign flag and demanding their immigration “rights”.

     A personal recollection is appropo. I was born and raised in the ethnic polyglot of Southwestern Pennsylvania. More than half of the parents of my classmates could not speak English. A friend and classmate was Andy Pasquini whose father, Guiseppe, operated a bakery from their home. As kids came by, he always had a piece of warm bread for us.

     Guiseppe had filed for citizenship, and after a long delay, his US citizenship papers finally arrived. He was enormously proud and happy. At a backyard picnic for friends and neighbors, his eldest son, Mario, raised his glass of wine (Italian, no doubt) and offered a toast  — speaking in Italian. Guiseppe interrupted him and said, “No, No, Mario. No more.  Now I am an American  — we speak English” .

      At the Pasquini home, the American flag flew on the 4th of July, but Guiseppe still cheered for Joe DiMaggio.

GASOLINE PRICES

     We are over the $3.00 per gallon threshhold heading for who knows what, and the national media are having a real treat beating up on those greedy, selfish, nasty, money-hungry, Corporate sharks who are taking advantage of every opportunity to gouge US Citizens while the fat cats swell the Corporate coffers  by millions and millions of dollars at the expense of the “man in the street”. No one in the private sector is spared, including all of those nasties driving gas guzzling SUV's (except those in Hollywood). The news is stronly anti-Corporate and anti-business.

     I am not all that happy about gas prices over $3.00 and climbing. But with all of the moaning, groaning and ciiticism of the oil industry, there is one fact that seems to be ignored by the gurus of the left. During this run-up of gas prices at the pump, the price of crude oil has increased from $50 per barrel to $70 dollars per barrel. I have always felt that the  price per barrel of crude drove the price at the pump. No matter what the use of the oil may be, it all starts with the price of crude oil. It is not my purpose to defend the practices or pricing policies oif Big Oil. But it seems to me that in the broad condemnantion of the oil companies, and the hardships caused by high gasoline prices, the soaring cost of crude oil (almosts a 40% increase) has to be fingered as the main culprit.

     Is the news you get from the media accurate without even mentioning  the huge price uncrease of crude oil?  –  an increase not controlled by the US Government or the US Oil companies ???  

     Think about it!

WARMING

     Global warming is the buzzword of the day and is now the popular cause of self styled experts on both sides of the political aisle. We are being bombarded by statistics trying to prove the case for the different points of view. While I am not indifferent to the gloom and doom global warming forecasts, I do not like to be snowed (no pun intended) by the careful arrangement of partial, selective facts.

     One fact does not seem to be in dispute, i.e., in the last 100 years, the climate of the earth has warmed by about one (1) degree. But there is one other fact that many folks seem to ignore; that is, over the history of our planet, whether measured in years, centuries, millennia, or millions of years, the climate of the earth has continually changed —  sometimes in major swings. We have had ice ages, some longer than others,  and warm periods (maybe we could call them hot flashes?) as well. Our planet has evolved so that we now have glaciers at the poles and tropical rain forests in between. And these extremes have come about, thank you, without the help or hindrance of mankind. Nowadays the culprit of climate change, i.e., “warming”, is placed at the doorstep of human activity  —   hence the gloom and doom global warming forecasts.

     I can buy the idea that PART of the climate increase that has occurred over the past 100 years is due to human activity, but ask yourself the question  –  is that element of “warming” 50% of the total, or maybe just 5%? The answers to that question show the fertile ground for statistical exaggeration.  For one, I will be much more comfortable about the whole global warming issue if that simple question is accurately answered. But the obfuscation of factual data by scientists who know better as well as journalists with their own agendas continues. The environmentalists are having a field day and happily throw kerosene on the fire. In the meantime, Mother Nature, the master architect of long term climate change, goes along her merry way toward another millenium  –  with or without our help

     Economics  –  and the price of gasoline?  That  is another matter.

IMMIGRATION

The demonstrations continue in cities across the country. The Mexican flag is flying and illegal aliens are demanding THEIR RIGHTS. Can you imagine that?  People who are in OUR country illegally are demanding THEIR RIGHTS?? Some kind of a country, right?

     The immigration issue is not a new one. It has been around for 10-15-20 years and more, dating back to the memorable Edward R Murrow telecast, “Harvest of shame”. For many years, the problem of “illegals” was considered manageable, and our Congressional folks just looked the other way. At that time, maybe the problem was too small to waste a lot of time on it. If it was too small then, it is too big now. Twelve million people is a whole lot of folks to try to locate, identify and manage. I don't think we could round up all of the illegals –  even if we wanted to. And that ignores the big furor it would create.

     It is not too difficult to put your finger on the essentials of the hassle. First of all, these 12 million  are not “undocumented workers”, as the left wingers like to describe them. They are aliens in our country  — and they are here illegally. To describe them otherwise is to obscure the issue. Second, their services are of value, and certain industries strongly depend upon them. Third, they definitely are a drain on our services that are available to citizens. Fourth, some of them pay taxes  — others do not. Fifth, some immigrants are in the country legally  — most are not. Sixth, the inflow of immigrants continues without our ability to stop it. Seventh, most of the aliens are in the US for money  –  jobs to better their families  — here or in Mexico.

     But any way you look at it, the US government has to deal with 12 million people, and we are not sure who they are, where they are, what they are doing,  or where they may be headed. In my view, no country should tolerate that kind of  situation. In order to have any governmental control or real security, a government should be able to control its borders. Right now, we can't, and that comes at a time when terrorism raises both concerns and doubts about strangers who are loose in our midst. It may require strong medicine for change, and of course we have no shortage of bleeding hearts who will support any measures as long as nobody is disadvantaged or hurt. But we have to face the problem, not finesse it.

    First of all, we need to control the borders and dry up the source. Second, we have to differentiate the legals from the illegals. Third, we must have a reliable ID system toallow us to track the “illegals” and deport the undesireables. Obviously there are details to be determined, but we should not overlook the basic fact  –  they are aliens who are in our country illegally. That has to be the starting point,   demonstrations or no demonstrations.

     In California, bi-lingual means teaching English as the second language. Can we see our future?  Si!

RIGHTS

     Every once in a while I spot an article in which a learned author offers words of wisdom worth thinking about.  James Q. Wilson is is one of those authors. The notable quote was (don't hold me to the precise words);

     The rising demand that every personal preference become a constitutional right is a worrisome disease. People do have rights, and the Constitution and the First Ten Amendments spell them out. Adding new invented rights by either a ratified amendment or judicial overreaching is a mistake. ”

     It seems that everyone nowadays has special rights. The obese, the handicapped (major or minor), aliens, immigrants, illegal aliens, children, unborn children, women, minorities (of all kinds of mixtures), gender deviations, political proclivities, ethnics, religion, age  —  and the list goes on. When a particular group starts to scream and protest, Congress, in some cases,  rushes in to “protect” them by creating new  “rights”. The legality of these rights does not come from a popular vote. The desires of the people are immaterial. In most cases the rights are the product of  the Judicial system —-  the opinion of one man (woman)  — a judge. Just by the stroke of a pen, a group becomes “entitled”, and a new set of “rights” comes under the umbrella of the law —-   and become almost impossible to revise or eliminate.

     They say we have a Democracy, but what good is a system in which the majority opinion of citizens is neither sought nor honored? How many politicians have been ecouraging or proposing plebiscites to “put it up to the people” for a popular vote on key issues? The death penalty?  Abortion? Gay marriage?

     Don't hold your breath. Just suffer in silence.  It's your right!!