Clinton was right?

At a Portland State University Commencement in 1998, impeached former President Bill Clinton said;

"Ethnic pride is a very good thing. America is one of the places which most reveres the distinctive ethnic, racial, religious heritage of our various peoples. The days when immigrants felt compelled to Anglicize their last name or deny their heritage are, thankfully, gone. But pride in one's ethnic and racial heritage must never become an excuse to withdraw from the larger American community. That does not honor diversity; it breeds divisiveness. And that could weaken America."

I’m so glad these words have been archived for our viewing pleasure some 8 years later because I would never have believed it if I had not read them myself. Clinton must have been having one of those ‘truth’ moments that rarely came from his lips. In fact, in this commencement, he was in favor of immigrants learning English so that they (immigrants) could reach their full potential in the United States.

I never thought I would say this but, Clinton was right.

Any immigrant that wants to come to this country legally should acclimate themselves to American culture, not the other way around. What America can’t afford to happen is a splitting and warring of ethnic or racial groups.

Blanket Amnesty

Somehow, even republicans are falling off the fence and landing on the wrong side of this one. Blanket amnesty is saying that you want to give up and just legalize the illegal immigrants who are already here. This statement is true; blanket amnesty will encourage more illegal immigration. History proves this to be true: In 1986 Congress legalized over 3 million illegal immigrants in an attempt to end illegal immigration. Since then there has been an explosion of illegal immigration.

No illegal immigrant should ever be awarded for breaking the law. No person here illegally should be permitted citizenship before those who arrive legally and go through the strenuous process of becoming a citizen.

When you see the marchers in the streets carrying their home country’s flag proudly and flying the American flag upside down, you see the withdraw from the larger American community and the divisiveness that Clinton warned of in 1998.

We should immediately eliminate all tax-payer supported bilingual programs. Why should we taxpayers encourage foreign speaking immigrants who refuse to learn to speak English? The immigrant should learn English and understand the value of independence and not value the dependence of government programs supported by the American taxpayer.

We need to stop this nonsense now and secure our borders while deporting all illegal aliens back to their country of origin and pray our porous borders have not yet yielded extremists who wish to annihilate us to kingdom come.

Trust me, I'm a real doctor

Just when you think you have heard it all........

It seems Philip Winikoff, in his own mind, had a great idea one day. He woke up one morning and decided to be a breast examiner. Winikoff, 76 years old, thought it would be a great idea to go door to door offering up his services as a free breast examiner.

Winikoff, with his professional looking black doctor's bag, actually talked a couple different women into the exam. The gullible women provided Winikoff some northern exposure in which he gladly 'examined'. According to the police report, Winikoff wasn't too happy with just examining the mammory glands. It seems as if he thought if these women were willing to let him handle the upstairs furniture they might be willing to let him handle the downstairs as well.

Police were investigating whether other women were tricked into Winikoff's scheme.

Is 'tricked' really the word here? I think the women who lifted thier blouse for this examine fall into a whole different catagory.

Penitence for Joe

I’m going to go back, way back. About 35 years back.

In my almost 45 years of living on this planet I have done quite a few things that:

I would like to forget about…
I’m not proud of…
I would Love to do over…
I’m Ashamed of…

While I realize that we are not perfect beings, I also realize that when we have a chance to at least say ‘I’m sorry’, we should do so.

When I was a young boy growing up in Miami Florida, I did something that has haunted my conscience ever since.

It was the summer of 1970 and I was three months shy of turning 9 years old. I had a collection of friends who lived on my block and we were always getting into trouble either by ourselves or together as a group.

We always had someplace we could hangout and play or plot our next escapade. Sometimes the hangout would be a simple sheet hanging over a clothes line made into a secret hideout. Sometimes it was one of the rooms in our houses. And sometimes it was just in the middle of the road or nearest mud puddle.

Then one weekend ‘it’ was built; the perfect hangout. At the time it was the biggest tree-house I had ever seen. It was awesome. It was perfect. It was in Joe Robinson’s backyard. Joe’s Dad worked with my dad at a welding and machine shop in North Miami and he was always making something in their backyard. The Robinson’s lived about 10 houses down near the end of the block and was a great in-the-middle meeting place for the rest of the boys on the block.

We made the tree-house the official hangout place from the moment it was built. We were always in it. Even when Joe wasn’t home, we were in it. One day while Joe was away, we were in the tree-house goofing off and planning our next adventure. We had been there for an hour or so when the Robinson’s arrived back home. These next few minutes would be the minutes I wish I could go back and change and the reason I write this today…..

After arriving home, Joe realized that we were up in the tree-house and started to make his way up the tree ladder. However, when he got to the trap door on the floor of the tree-house he found it locked. He hollered at us to open the door and let him in, but we refused. We told him that we had changed the rules that would allow him entrance to the tree-house. We told him that he would have to do what we said if he wanted to come in and be part of the gang. He agreed. He asked what it was that he had to do…..
We just looked at each other. We had not thought before hand what it was that we wanted him to do.

And then I said it.

I told Joe that if he wanted to be part of the gang and come up into the tree-house that he would have to drink a cup of gas; as in gasoline. He agreed to do so. So we came down and I went to his Dad’s shed and poured some gas from the can into a small cup. We all stood there in awe as he attempted to drink it. He managed to get a swallow down and the he went into some kind of convulsing motion as his body tried to expel the unnatural substance that was now burning his esophagus, stomach and lungs. Steve ran into the house to tell Joe’s Mom what just happened as the rest of us ran home.

As you can imagine, they rushed Joe to the emergency room to do whatever they had to do for him. Later that day Joe’s Mom came down to my house and proceeded to rip my Mom a new one verbally. My Mom, not one to be out-shouted, told Joe’s Mom that if Joe was dumb enough to drink the gas in the first place it was his own fault. Probably not the right thing to say, but like I said, my Mom didn’t take crap from no one.

Joe was never the same after that day. He made a sort of hiccup/burping sound every time he spoke. I have a feeling that the incident slowed down his learning and motor skills as well. He just never seemed the same again.

Joe’s family moved away before the next school year ended and I never saw Joe again. I have thought about that day hundreds of times over the last 35 years. If I could go back and change the events of that day I would do so in an instant.

Joe, I may never meet you again on this side of judgment. If you somehow run across this blog and read it, know that I am truly, truly sorry for what I did that day. I would love to tell you in person but I may never get the opportunity to do so.

Joe, forgive me.

He is risen

The Empty Tomb

John 20:1 Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

Mary Magdalene Sees the Risen Lord

11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

The Apostles Commissioned

19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Seeing and Believing 24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

That You May Believe

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Good Friday

Praise Jesus for the final sacrifice. His blood showed His love.

America: Whose country is it?

The claim: This country was founded and settled by force of arms.

My reply: So what?

It’s true. We took some of this country from the British by winning the American Revolution. We took some of Texas and a lot of the Western United States from Spain and Mexico. We took some from whom we call the Native Americans. Should we send Jimmy Carter to Mexico to give back some of our land like he gave back the Panama Canal? I would argue that we just send Jimmy Carter to Mexico, forever. But that may result in even more illegal immigration.

Most all the people of the world occupy a space that once belonged to someone else. And it was usually taken by force.

So called Native Americans were not so innocent when it came to taking land that belonged to others. Before Columbus ever sailed west, North American Indians (This is what they should really be called) were warring, torturing, and raping other tribes all for the gain of more land than they had.

You just can’t claim title to an entire continent by holding up your hand to your forehead and saying, ‘all that my eyes can see is mine’.

Japan and Germany would have loved to take over this country in the early 20th century if they could have. Bin Laden would love to have this country today in his global bid for a unified Islamic state. We posses our country today not because we have a right to it by a deed, but by an awesome military force. Everyday our military is defending this country from hostile take over by another group or country.

Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest can be used for this analogy; If you can’t defend your land by force from force, you won’t keep it.

America belongs to those who can keep it.