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Thursday, August 25, 2005

Is it NOW time to question their patriotism?

This is how Cindy Sheehan's friends at Code Pink and Veterans for Peace "suport" our troops. Just to show you that I am not taking just the word of some "right wing news source" I will direct you here and here and here and here. The Freepers have pictures at their site and there is a video link at the CNS news site.

Every Friday night, armed with props like mock CASKETS and signs that read "Maimed for a lie" and "Enlist here to die for Halliburton", Cindy Sheehan's friends from Code Pink and VFP protest in front of Walter Reed Medical Center - in full view of the patients (soldiers wounded in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan) and their families. The protestors are unapologetic when confronted (by soldiers and their families) with the inappropriateness of their protest at the hospital gates. One said (in the video clip) that he was "offended" at people being offended by his protest!

Now, I have no problems with these folks protesting the war. We have free speech in this country, however, there is a little restriction to full free speech. You are not allowed to engage in speech that can incite a riot and this could certainly qualify for that. The location and the style of the protest are at best questionable. It would be like staging a KKK march through North Minneapolis. Or Downtown DC. Or the Jewish neighborhoods of Skoie Illinois (as was done 5 years ago). Would that be considered "acceptable free speech"? In the case of the 2000 Klan Rally in Skokie, the city of Skokie sued to get the rally stopped, stating that it was (and correctly so in my very humble opinion) a public safety issue.

The demonstrations are held of Friday nights for a reason. Friday night is a popular night for family visits. This protest is DESIGNED TO HURT the family members of the wounded soldiers! So the next time one of these anti-war types tries to tell you how much they "support the troops" I hope you will join me in telling them what they can do with their so-called support.


UPDATE: I am truly honored. This entry was choosen as one of the top 5 entries in the inaugural "Blog of the Week" competition that Hugh Hewitt is hosting. Voting is over at Radio Blogger. The winner of the contest will be interviewed by Hugh (gulp!) on his program next Monday night and will hold bragging rights for the week. I hope that you will all go over to Radio Blogger and read all of the fine entries. The competition is tough. May the best blog win!

posted by The Lady Logician at 6:49 PM permalink 0 comments

Here is ANOTHER story you won't see in the Strib!

I got this story from the Chicago Sun Times. I wonder if we will ever hear about it on CNN, ABC, NBC or any of the other alphabet media outlets or in my favorite "fishwrap" (aka Pravda on the Mississippi).

In June of 2003, a US Customs agent working at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport would not let Ra'ed Mansour al-Banna enter the country. The agent just marked him as a "suspicious traveler". The officers that interviewed him felt that his verbal reasons for entering the country didn't match what was on his visa. Fast forward to February 28, 2005 where a homicide bomber in Hillah detonated himself and killed 125 people - one of the DEADLIEST attacks in Iraq's history. The bomber was later identifed to be on Ra'ed Mansour al-Banna! Now we don't know what al-Banna's intentions were when he tried to enter the country in 2003, but I can tell you this, I am so very grateful to the unidentified agents at O'Hare who decided not to let this bomber into the country.

Having said all of this, I have to ask the following question of Cindy Sheehan and her friends at Code Pink.....would you rather have the homicide bombers coming over here and blowing up your friends and family? Not me, I want to keep them over in Iraq where our valient men and women - people who VOLUNTEERED to go into harms way, can take care of them.

posted by The Lady Logician at 6:34 PM permalink 0 comments

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

65 Girls at Canton Area HS Pregnant

Hugh Hewitt was talking this evening about a story that has him disturbed. 65 girls (out of 490) at Timkin High School in Canton Ohio are pregnant. Now you may know (if you have read this blog before) that I am a mother and as such issues like this interest me greatly. Hugh was of the opinion that the school should be held responsible, in large part, for this situation. Now I rarely disagree with the distinguished Mr. Hewitt (except for his opinion of Pittsburgh Steeler football, but I digress) however I must disagree here.

According to the story the girls will "face mounting tensions created by unplanned child-rearing responsibilities, causing students to quit school and plan for a GED. " Pardon my sounding like the teen-ager I'm not, but "DUH". Did you need a college degree to figure THAT out Mr or Ms. Journalist that wrote this story???? I graduated from high school in the 1970's and I knew that BEFORE graduating from high school.

The statistic from the story that stunned me the most was the fact that number of babies born in Canton, to girls between the ages of 11 (11 year olds????) and 19 is 15% and the number of babies born to girls in the same age group in outside the Canton area (does this mean the rest of the state of Ohio or just the surrounding Canton area?) is 7%.

Just what are the parents of Canton teaching their children? That have kids is an easy thing? Where are the parents of these girls? These are the people, dear Mr. Hewitt, that need to be held responsible for the predicament that these girls are in, not the school. The school does not have the influence that most pundits (and parents) give them "credit" for. Whether we realize it or not, our children watch our every move. They watch for us to do what we say. When they catch us in the "do as I say not as I do" mode, we loose them.

The school is reacting to this situation correctly. Now that there is this "epidemic" they need to give these girls classes on what comes next. Child rearing is not easy. Also, the fathers of these babies need to be included. It takes 2 to make a baby and the boys need to be held accountable for their actions as well as the girls. Next, I think the school needs to re-think their sex education cirriculum. Maybe a cirriculum that includes abstinance education? It certainly can not be as much of a failure as the current cirriculum is.

Parents - you can not be your child's best friend - forget it, it's not happening. So for heaven's sake BE THE PARENT!!!! Know where your kids are and who they are with. Be the "bad guy" once in a while and maybe, just maybe your kids won't end up pregnant and dropping out of school.

posted by The Lady Logician at 6:09 PM permalink 0 comments