What are the Limits of Your Forgiveness?

Witness how faith can TRULY be put to the test.  This was an actual event.

Al Jazeera People and Power : Blood and Dust

Al Jazeera journalists embedded with US Army helicopter medics.  This shows the true heart a dedication of the United States Army. I'm posting this as a shining example of the dedication our soldiers show every day. HOOAH!

****Warning: some of the images here may be disturbing****

The Ultimate "Curveball"

His name is Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi and according the Guardian, he is the straw that broke the camel's back during the Bush Administrations march to war in 2003.  Yahoo has his story on the front page today, plastered with misleading language to get the reader to believe that he's the sole reason for the war. He isn't.  It takes more than one man to take a country to war.

In my view, however, he's just as responsible and even more misguided than the Bush administration.  Over 100,000 people have died in this conflict, most of them his fellow Iraqis.  He does not care that his actions forced his former friends and neighbors to live with the indignity of a foreign military not only patrolling their streets but treating them as second class citizens in their own homes. He was granted asylum three years before the invasion of Iraq so he wouldn't have had to live through the "liberation" of his country.  He never lived through the suicide bombers killing innocent civilians, the gun battles in the streets between the Coalition forces and the insurgents, nor the lack of basic resources and chaos that the invasion caused.  An entire population had their worlds literally turned upside down because of "Curveball"'s selfishness.

I am not by any means saying life under Saddam was better than the current government.  The new Iraqi government is a democracy that will for the first time include ALL of Iraq's people in some capacity in its decision making.  The leadership has taken the American example of a representative government and have tried their best to emulate it.  They have ushered in a new, more tolerant and modern era for the country.  The ends, however, never justify the means.  Egyptians, Tunisians, Yemenis, Iranians, and Bahrianis are not asking for foreign help to overthrow their corrupt governments.  They are doing what countless other civilizations have done when the government has become unjust.  They've taken matters into their own hands and forced change.

Some may call him smart for being able to fool the intelligence agencies of over a dozen nations but it could also be argued that these countries were already looking for an excuse to invade.  The United States had been conducting military operations in Iraq since the end of the Gulf War in 1990, enforcing the no-fly zone that was imposed by the UN.  Al-Janabi gave them the opportunity they needed to take out the threat of Saddam permanently.

Thousands of American lives were lost and are still being lost because of this war.  We like to think that they died for patriotism.  I have no doubt that they did.  The question, however, is who's patriotism?

Ours or Al-Janabi's?

Jailed Ohio Mom Symptom of a Bigger Problem

For years we as a country have been working on the problem of socioeconomic inequality.  Most officials agree that the solution is better education for our youth.  The problem is how to get low-income children the education they need to break free of the cycle of poverty that has so many people trapped.  Some parents take their childs future into their own hands and do what Kelly Willams-Bolar did, lie about their child's address and send them to a better school district.  Some local governments but lower income children to better income schools to
try to even out the education gap. (Though as per the news story below, some districts are trying to undo the progress that's been made.)

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

The law turned Kelley Williams-Bolar into a criminal because she wanted to do better by her kids.  Despite the fact that her father, who does live in the school district and was paying the same taxes as the parents who had children attending the school, the courts decided what she did is tantamount to stealing.  What, may I ask,  was her alternative?  In order to prosecute someone for breaking the law you have to give them the opportunity to do right.  Obeying the law in her case would have meant shortchanging her kids.  For anyone who is a parent, that 's not even a choice.  Making an example of her, as the Ohio legal system has chosen to do, is cruel and unusual punishment.  It's a prime example of what happens when the law is used without compassion or common sense.  It's sad we live in a country where it's legal to send someone to jail for trying to give their children a quality education.

There needs to be a federal standard set for educational curriculum in this country.  If we all have a right to equal education then why is the reality that your education is determined by your economic background?  Being born poor in the United States is bigger barrier to success than any other obstacle and it is ignored until incidents like this happen.  The conservative attitude of having everyone fend for themselves shouldn't apply to education.  That's guaranteed by the law and its time steps were taken by the government to ensure that economic discrimination is brought to an end.

Alabama's Governor missed Christ's Point

"And God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son." - John 3:16

John 3:16 is the foundation of Christian faith.  We believe that God chose to sacrifice his son to redeem the world from sin in the greatest example of selfless love in human history.  It does not say, "For God so loved the righteous" or "For God so loved his followers" or "For God so loved the Christians," or Jews or any specific group.  He loved the world.  EVERYONE.  The problem with Christians like this is that they fall victim to the human propensity to puff themselves full of pride and form a clique of like minded people.  They shut everyone else out and talk about how great it is to be saved.  If that's how you practice Christianity then you completely missed the point.

Accepting Christ into your life not only means you acknowledge that he is Lord, your father and your personal Savior, but it also means taking up his character.  Christ did not turn his back on the people who did not believe Him and neither should any Christian.  We are here to live by example, not condemn because we think we're better than everyone else.  Someone needs to let the governor know that whether behind closed doors or out in the open, his philosophy isn't biblical and many Christians won't count him as their brother either.

Haiti Brain Drain 2.mov

Nature Abhors a Vacuum: What I Think Duvalier's Return Means for Haiti

Exile
The Duvalier legacy, whether you support him or not, is steeped in bloodshed.  Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, created the most brutal regime in Caribbean history when he seized power in 1957. He ruled by fear, creating the Haitian secret police known as the the Tonton Macoute and used them to kidnap and murder anyone who opposed him.  He even used voodoo to enhance the image of their "divine" authority in carrying out these acts of terror against his people.  When Jean-Claude inherited the title of "President for Life", created and held by his father, he did little to change the status quo.  He did what all 19 year olds would do when they have access to an unlimited amount of money and no one to tell him "no".  He became a playboy and his people suffered.  Despite all this, the Duvalier government was supported by the United States until a Haitian uprising gave Baby Doc no choice but to flee the country in1986.  As a matter of fact, his mode of transportion out of Haiti into exile was a U.S. Air Force transport plane.  He also made sure to take at least 100 million dollars (US) of Haiti's money with him.  After Duvalier's departure, former members of the Tonton Macoute were brutally killed, as they had been doing to others for decades.  His former cabinet members and inner circle fought to fill the leadership void for the next 5 years. Predictably, it wasn't without bloodshed.  The St. Jean Bosco Massacre is the most infamous example of Haitian political violence in the past 25 years.

A Weak Government
History is not on Rene Preval's side when it comes to the question of whether his administration and his hand picked successor, Jude Célestin,  can survive.   Mirlande Manigat, the aforementioned Jude Célestin, and Michel Martelly (better known as the popular music artist, Sweet Micky) all have laid claim the the Presidency.  United Nations observers say that while Mirlande Manigat won most of the popular vote but because of numerous accusations of fraud and voter intimidation, a run-off was announced to take place in January of 2011 (Update as of 1/18/2011: according the the NY Times the run-off will be pushed into February), Preval is insisting that his protege, Celestin, came in second place, which would allow him to participate in the run-off.  Martelly is saying that he, not Celestin, truly came in second place.  Sweet Micky's claim bolstered by his incredible popularity in Haiti.   No matter the outcome of the run-off, however, the people may not be united fully behind whoever wins, especially now that Duvalier has decided to return.  All of these problems serve only to compound the people's lack of faith in this government and is, in my opinion unless something changes, setting the stage to yet another violent change in Haitian leadership.  If the response to the natural disasters that have ravaged the Caribbean's oldest independent  nation have made Preval's government look weak and ineffectual, then the election debacle is making them look even worse.  Unless Preval makes a show of strength by arresting Duvalier, as the UN and Duvalier's victims, wish him to do, the return of Baby Doc may be the nail in the coffin.

A Choice


Haiti's struggles as a nation have been well documented though probably not well known to most Americans.  To those who know a little about Haiti's history will recognize the political situation as one that Haiti has faced too many times before, unstable leadership compounded by foreign interference.  Duvalier's claim that he has returned to "help" seems not only ill timed but extremely self serving.  If he was so concerned about his country that he could  no longer ignore  the call to return home, why did he wait a until a year after the earthquake?  The only thing that's changed during his exile in France is that Haiti's leadership has never been in a more fragile position than it is now.







How he still has supporters is mind boggling but what shouldn't be confusing is the timing of his arrival.  The Art of War states that the best time to strike at your enemies is when they are at their weakest.  Preval's government certainly has the look of a battered warrior but the choice is still up to the people.  I hope the people choose to hold the ideals that have made them so resilient throughout the centuries and reject Duvalier as a relic of the past that never needs to return.  No to dictatorship.  No to secret police.  No to security at the cost freedom.

Escape...

Sometimes I wonder, as I sit motionless, my knees bent 45 degrees with hands clasped around them, head drooped in fatigue, if this is truly the punishment I deserve.  I've shot a few people, stabbed a few people, cut a few throats but they all deserved it.  No one was going to just hand me credits and say "go make a life" so I made the best one I knew how.  I started doing favors for this local guy who lent credits to people.  He would give people thousands of credits.  He wasn't a saint but he helped the neighborhood stay a float.  He was a man of means and was always well dressed, had a new car and a woman for each arm.  I wanted to be like him so badly that I talked to anyone I could about joining his crew.  Eventually word got back to him.  Turned out he was pretty big on keeping his "philanthropy" a secret and to keep me quiet he allowed me to pay a visit to a few of his clients to remind them of what and who they owe.

It took me being caught and sentenced to realize that people are scum.  They sooner spit on you than help.  The world is cold place where every olive branch is more often than not, poison to the touch.  Every hand outstretched in friendship will turn into a fist when the time came that you were no longer useful.  I've had to defend myself a few times in here so I don't wait for them to make the first move anymore.  I earned a living by collecting bad debts, giving them what they deserve if they don't have the means or will to pay.  They would do the same to me if given the chance.  I just made sure they didn't have it.  Now I'm scheduled to die because life dealt me a crap hand and I decided to kill the dealer.




"Prisoner #05091983"

What the hell....?

"PRISONER #05091983.....STAND UP AND PREPARE FOR YOUR SENTENCE TO BE CARRIED OUT."


I was unprepared for the intensity of the lights and sounds that followed.  The men that burst into my "home" of 5 years were every bit as cold and indifferent in their handling of my malnourished body as the walls were to my need for conversation.  My knees left a tinge of red on the filthy floor that marked my departure from solitude to my impending date with oblivion.  Obviously since my punishment was death, careful handling of such a prisoner wasn't required.  The marks the butts of their rifles made on my face told me that dignity wasn't high on the priority list for a prisoner like myself either.  A few years ago they would have been laying in a pool of their own blood for having handled me so roughly....uniform or no uniform.  Now, however, the inability of my body to what I tell it to do spares them my wrath.

******************

The execution chamber was ironically cleaner than the holding cell.  Neutral colored walls, a clean floor and an observation window for all who came to watch..."justice".  A cold smile creeps across my face with each restraint they attach to my body.  The filtered air feels cool on my face.  I'm almost annoyed they cleaned me up.  As if I need to be presentable to the God they believe they're sending me to.

I wish I believed in Him he way they do.  I wish He believed in me or I probably wouldn't even be here.


My handlers put on a good show for the 25 or people on the other side of the glass.  So much care was being put into ensuring my comfort and dignity as opposed to the brutal cell extraction I experienced earlier.

Its time to stop the excuses

For years each of us has dreamed of doing something special.  We've been told all our lives that we are unique, talented, and that it was up to us to reach that potential.  We each have an individual and unique gift that will take us to the top....and most of us do absolutely nothing with it.  We dream of being superior in our gift but do NOTHING to actually get there.  We don't nourish it.  We don't cherish it.  We don't practice with it...we don't hone our abilities.

This blog represents the end of my excuses for not honing my talent.  I want to be a writer.  I want to transport people to fantastic places they've never been or may not even exist and provide a measure of escapism that fantastic storytellers did for me when I was growing up.  In the coming months, hopefully years, I will share some of the ideas that tend to float through my head and see if it makes sense on paper.  Please feel free to leave comments either praising or ripping my work.  Criticism only makes you better and compliments let you know you're on the right track.  I also my stray once in a while and post my thoughts on a topic that I truly feel passionate about, politics, human interest, or relationships or whatever....so please enjoy.....