I wouldn't call it Radical Islamic Terrorism IF

Quick Thought:  Radical Islamic Terrorism

Sadly, I am posting this in the wake of yet another ISIS terrorist attack. This time the suicide bombings in Brussel. They claimed many lives and severely injured many more. While both sides of the aisle agree about the horrific nature of these attacks, I am continually perplexed by the stance of the Democrat establishment to refuse use the term radical Islamic terrorists.  Is this truly an attempt to avoid spreading hate based on religious affiliation or is a blatant attempt to keep another minority voting block firmly in their control?

Let me state that I do not consider the suicide bombers to be a representation of the values of most Muslims - no more than I would consider Timothy McVeigh a representation of  most Christians.  However, I believe any ISIS leader would clearly say they represent their twisted version of Islam.  They represent a corrupted version that takes the religion and augments only the vilest and most violent of its teachings. Hmmm...you might even say a radicalized version of Islam.

Finally, I might could feel empathy for politicians not using this term IF the leaders within the moderate Islamic ranks were more vocal in condemning the actions of ISIS and other terrorist groups. I find the relative silence of these leaders concerning.  Even worse, many leaders within the religion not only refuse to condemn these actions but quietly applaud the efforts.  Where is their indignation at the hijacking of their religion?  The silence is deafening.  Speak out and change the course of Islam. Speak out and take action.

The fight against terror needs to be fought on two fronts. We need to wage war against the infrastructure of ISIS. We need to capture or kill their leaders.  We need to disband their training and recruitment camps.  BUT the second front is equally important. We need the support of the Muslim people in speaking out against the corruption and radicalization of Islam. We need them to denounce the teachings of the extremists and excommunicate the perpetrators of radicalized teaching from their society.

Then maybe the term radical Islamic terrorist would no longer hold the descriptive accuracy that it does today.


#prayforBrussels

Top 10 Reasons for you to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016

Humor File: 

Top 10 Reasons for you to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016

1. You prefer to drive a foreign car anyway.
2. Show the establishment who is boss by electing the establishment candidate as President.
3. In the world of cyber attacks, you value a President that knows how to wipe confidential documents off their servers.
4. It's is time to have someone with balls in the White House again, even if they are chopped off Bill and kept in her purse.
5. You were tired of having to clean all your guns anyway.
6. You can't wait for four years of "the barking President" skits on S.N.L.
7. The Travel Department employees have been acting awfully smug lately. 
8. She promises to make Bernie Sanders an Ambassador (to Benghazi).
9. The country will save money on Presidential travel because the ankle bracelet will not let her leave the White House.
10. As First Man, former President Bill Clinton gets interns assigned to him again.

    

    Oh Yeah!

    
    

Quick Thought: Missed Opportunity

Barack Obama's Missed Opportunity

Today's quick thought is around what I view as a huge missed opportunity by Barack Obama.  With all apologies to President Clinton, President Obama is truly America's first black President.  As such, he was uniquely positioned to speak to the largest issues facing African American families and to inspire changes in their communities.  In specific, the deterioration of the family unit among minority households has been statistically tied to dropout rates, crime, and eventual imprisonment.  Children in a single parent home, particularly in the absence of a father figure, are far less likely to find success later in life.  Maybe President Obama's on success, which does defy this paradigm, prevented him from having the internal conviction to pursue a pro family, pro fatherhood, agenda.  As the real first black President, Obama had a unique pulpit to enact positive changes that could have helped break the cycle of crime and incarceration that has taken hostage generations of minority men and women.  He could have been proactive on rebuilding the family unit, on improving public schools in impoverished neighborhoods, and on showing dedication to many of those who showed their dedication by voting him into office.  He has nine months to go... but in his first seven years his level of engagement on these issues can only be termed disappointing.

(Quick Thoughts are shorter posts on topics that generated an instant opinion by me.  Because they tend to be more spontaneous, they will be less researched and structured than a complete post.)

Divide and Conquer: How the two party system is destroying America.

Do you ever look at our Presidential race, and ask yourself is that the best we have to choose from?  We, the United States, can find no other individuals as better leaders and intellectuals to set the direction of our country?  Do you believe that any of the candidates are actually the best leaders our country has to offer?  Or do you find yourself so angered by the other candidate that you question how any of your friends could possibly be voting for them?

Undoubtedly, something I say in this blog will eventually offend you.  (In fact I have a future post planned about how this missing right from the Bill of Rights is the Right to be Offended.) My hope for today's post is that it helps you think beyond the spoonfed, media soundbites.  This is not designed to make you change your vote.  It is designed to challenge you to truly examine why you vote the way you do.

Divide and Conquer

American politics are dominated by the two political parties, Republican and Democratic.  I know that is not the news supporters of the other various parties (looking at you Libertarians) want to hear.  But if you follow the money and the number of actual politicians in office from each party, it is obvious where the power in this country lives.

Over time, the two party system has transformed into a divisive scheme to siphon money from both the average citizen and from businesses.  The polarizing of the American populace is not an accident!  It is a strategy based on greed and power that is tearing at the soul of our country.

This is never more evident than during the Presidential primaries.  Each party is trying to rally their "core" consisting of the far right or the far left depending on the party.  Candidates all try to establish themselves as the "most conservative" or "most liberal" to win the nomination of their party.  They take extreme position and draw hard lines about their policies and beliefs.  Then once they get past the primaries, they rush to soften their position to appeal to the voters in the middle.

Apathy of "The Middle"

To win a general election, a candidate needs votes from those in the middle.  By "middle" I am referring to people who are not far enough right or left to be counted among either candidates core.  The reality is that unlike the core, it is hard to motivate the middle to vote.  By definition, the middle does not believe all of the policies of either candidate.  This leads to apathy and lower voter turnout.

There are two strategies that have proven successful in getting voters in the middle to the polls.  We see these two strategies increasingly utilized in our political races today.  The two strategies are: 1. Give them something or someone to vote AGAINST.  and 2. Continue moving people from the middle to the core by polarizing them on specific issues.

(Bonus: Both of these strategies have the added effect of getting the core and the corporations to funnel money to the parties.  More on this later.)

Give me someone to vote for!

Do you ever find yourself thinking those words?  Candidates spend the majority of their time telling you why not to vote for the other candidate.  This type of negative politics is prevalent for one obvious reason - it works.  Recently though, this has become even more pernicious in that not only are you told why not to vote for a candidate; now they prey on your fear to tell you that you must vote against the other candidate.  No matter where you fall in the political spectrum, I challenge you to listen to all the candidates and recognize how often this is their message.

It is the politics of fear.  They talk about all the horrific consequences if the other person wins.  This keeps their base supporters motivated and looks to scare the middle to the polls to vote.  They largely ignore the same arguments being made about them.  If they give you any positions as to why you should vote for them; they will be just a couple of key items designed to keep the focus off other issues where they may be weaker.  The days of the inspirational leader are behind us until we can find that rare individual who can breakdown the politics of fear and deliver a positive message that moves the middle to action.

Where's your sign?

Do you realize all the ways the parties attempt to label you?  It would be interesting if we all had to go through life with a sign on our back that outlined all of our labels.  Even if we limited it to the ones we accept about ourselves, the list would be substantial.  The political system thrives on labels.  They want to label you.  They want more labels that belong in their column than the opposition party.  They want to convince you that the labels that fall in their favor are more important than those that don't.  And the worse part is once they have you convinced that you should be with them; they want you to disavow any labels that do not conform to the core beliefs of the party.

Imagine you are in a room and a man at the front is calling out these labels.  You are required to write them on your sign if they apply to you.  Here are just a fragment of the labels being called out:

Male, Female, Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Minority, Racist, Pro Life, Pro Choice, Gun Owner, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, Pro War, Isolationist, Free Trader, Protectionist, 1%, Middle Class, Poor, Gay, Straight, Conservative, Liberal, Old, Young, Highly Educated, White Collar, Blue Collar, Married, Immigrant, Establishment, and on and on and on....

Then they start telling you to put each label under the headings of Democrat or Republican.  They tell you look at the column which has the fewest labels in it, and you really should reconsider changing those or disavowing them so that you better fit the column the majority of labels are in.

If this sounds simplistic or silly, I challenge you to listen to the messages delivered to you through media by the various parties.  How many of these messages are centered around reinforcing the labeling of the middle?  Each party has the agenda of polarizing the middle by attaching enough of their labels to you that you move into their column.

Follow the $$$$$$$

I will write more on this at another time...but look at all the money being generated by this system of polarizing the nation.  Special interest groups, activist groups, corporate pacts, and even media networks are funded and enriched by the system.

FEAR SELLS.  HATE SELLS.

AMERICA PAYS THE PRICE. 

What is this blog(ger) about?

What is the purpose of this blog?

If you are reading this, then I am assuming you came here with some interest in one of the blog entries posted.  As with all blogs, the content of this one will certainly transform over time as various issues are touched upon.  The blog is being started as an outlet to voice opinions on the political landscape of the United States.  I hope it encourages readers to look beyond the media headlines and sound bites.  I hope it challenges you to not blindly label yourself a Democrat or Republican.  This blog is meant to encourage everyone to shape their own beliefs and values; to see beyond the rhetoric and the pandering; and to begin choosing leaders based on character and conviction.  I am not trying to change your view on any particular issue except maybe how you view the current political system.

At some point, this blog will address what I see as a clear need for a Third Political Party.  To those who belong to or affiliate with an existing party other than the Republican and Democrat, please do not take that as a slight of those parties.  I will explain this in more detail as the blog builds, and I will be open to hearing arguments on both sides of this at that time.

Who is the blogger?

Everyone has biases.  Here is where I confess some of mine.  I am a Caucasian, Male, mid forties, southern, Christian, financial professional, middle income, married blogger.  My views on issues tend to be "right of center".  I am for smaller more focused government, but I also believe in less government infringement on personal rights.  Like anyone and everyone, my viewpoint will undoubtedly reveal the filter of these biases; so I offer them up clearly in advance.  

The blog is under a pen name. This is to maintain that the views expressed here are those of the blogger and not my employer or even my family. While I do not foresee any topics being controversial, I would not want debate or conversation around them creating a distraction at times I am being paid to do my regular full time job.