Why I bought a “Confederate” flag today.

First I’d say I didn’t buy a “Confederate Flag” I bought the battle flag of General Robert E. Lee’s Northern Virginia Navy. I bought a 38 inch square flag, not a rectangle. Now that you know what flag I bought let me explain what I was thinking.

Soldiers fought and died for this flag.
- I don’t care if you agree with why they were fighting.
- Has everyone agreed with every fight fought under the Flag of the United States?
  - No, Vietnam, The War in Iraq come to mind.
I don’t see it as a symbol of racism or hatred, but part of our history.
I wont be flying the flag, it will most likely take up residence with other flags I’ve collected over the years.
- Yes, I collect flags, most of them are US flags, but not exclusively.
I see attempts at banning this flag as a step down the slippery slope towards censorship.
- We as a nation seem to be afraid to take a stand: i.e. when the movie American Sniper was not shown or nearly not shown on campuses because a few hundred students were offended by it.
- Freedom of speech is a right. There is no right not to be offended, or guarantee of the intelligence of the speaker.
- If they can pressure businesses to stop selling this whats next?
  - Will we start banning or burning books that someone finds offensive and drive them off the shelves?
    - My favorite living author Brad Thor has death threats against him for a book he wrote: The Last Patriot.
    - He writes fiction, or as he prefers to call it faction. As he has said (paraphrasing here) His goal is to take the reader on a white knuckle thrill ride, if you learn something along the way that’s even better.
    - Brad Thor is a master at weaving facts and fiction together that you have to use a search engine to dissect where one ends and the other begins. (Yes, I’ve done this with his books.)
    - Should his bestselling books be banned because they offend some people?
    - No!
  - Will people start trying to control what clothing is acceptable? (ISIS???)
    - Can the elder ladies of the neighborhood get together and have mini skirts pulled off store shelves?
    - I may never wear a mini skirt, but if that’s your style have at it.

So in short I chose to exercise my freedom of speech through expression. I was asked if I wanted an amendment protecting my beloved American flag from being burned.

As much as it pains me to see the flag burned in protest NO! That’s taking away freedom of speech, it takes no courage to stand up for speech you agree with, they true measure of freedom of speech is protecting speech that is NOT popular.

So while the Stars and Bars may never hang on the walls of my home, I’m glad I bought it.

As to whether it should be part of a state flag or be flown over any particular capital or building that’s for the residents of that region to decide. I’m not a legal resident of any of the states in question.

A Mom who cares (Baltimore Riot)

Like the rest of the country I was glued to the coverage of the riots in Baltimore. Nope I’m not taking a position on the overall mess except to say we don’t know all the facts yet. One other thing, why destroy your own neighborhood?

Anyway I was watching the coverage online when I saw this. A mother who went to the riots and found her son to take him home. The video is well worth the watch.

A mom who cared enough to go get her son off the streets. She cared enough to make sure he was home safe so he would not be arrested or worse. She cared enough to stop what she was doing and go find him. A mom who didn’t care what anyone else thought, she wanted her kid home. A mom who just wanted to do what was best for her son.

Why weren’t there a hundred moms like this out there?

Why weren’t there some Dads out there doing this too?

I understand there is pain and anger in the community I just don’t see how stealing things and trashing your neighborhood is going to make people listen to your point. There was a church group shown on the news that was out there singing songs trying to change to atmosphere, so not all of the coverage was negative.

To the brave mom I’d love to talk to you, contact me via my blog.

An open letter to congress!!

Okay I understand that there were some breaks in protocol concerning the invitation of Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is not the first thing I would call a break in protocol. No other president has stuck his tongue out in a selfie. I consider this a breech of protocol as it demeans the office. All presidents must understand that the office is bigger than any one president. This is something I think this president in particular has overlooked.

I think what PM Netanyahu has to say on the issue of our negotiations with Iran is important. His country is a lot closer to the problem than we are. His country has been threatened by Iran. They have publicly stated they want to wipe Israel off the map or into the sea. Does this not sound like a threat? I sure think it does.

I do not think we can trust Iran. I have read the biography of Reza Kahlili titled A time to betray. I encourage everyone who thinks we can trust Iran to read it. I think this book should be mandatory reading for every member of congress. It tells the story of how one man wanted to save the people of his country by betraying his government. The book also tells how they evade sanctions.

Yes they know how to bypass and evade sanctions. They have been evading them for decades. How else do you think they got the equipment to produce nuclear material in the first place? Yes the sanctions are hurting the economy however the sanctions have not changed the goals of the regime. They might claim they have changed but if in my opinion if you buy that ….

Now congress get over the breech in protocol and buck up and listen to what Netanyahu has to say. I never think it hurts anyone to listen and gain information. So tell the President to stop with the selfies and you stop with the tantrums.

I am so sick of tantrums on both sides. I’m thinking of entering my cat in the election we all know where she stands and we all know she can be bought. Diana kitty also doesn’t have a cell phone or know how to take a selfie. What scares me is that people have said they would seriously vote for a cat over what we have now. No, I’m not talking about one or two friends I’m talking about over 100 people. This must say something about what people think of the state of politics.

I think It’s the 1930’s again. Can we learn from history?

Comparing ISIL to 1939 Germany:

First off I feel that I must explain a few things you might not know about me:

I am a news junkie.
I have a love for history.
I am Jewish, yes a practicing Jew.
I watched every minute of the twenty-two minute video showing the Jordanian pilot being burned to death.

First I must explain what prompted me to watch such a horrific video. I wanted to see the horror with my own eyes. I felt it was also a way to look into the past, I thought about the concentration camps. Many people were murdered brutally in the

concentration camps constructed by Nazi Germany. NO, I don’t want you to go [1]

watch this horrific video I would NOT recommend watching this video I do recommend you watch Shepard Smith of Fox News describe it.

Why I felt compelled to write this blog? As an avid news junkie I follow many news agencies, not just the common ones popular here in the United States. I feel there is something to be learned from history so we can hopefully not allow it to be repeated.

I took quite some time in putting this blog post together and researched each fact, to prove this I have done something I have not done since college endnotes. Yes I cite each fact. I strived to make this blog as factual as possible.

ISIL:

Wants to create a master faith. ¹

Has slaughtered many in brutal & barbaric ways. ²

Many governments seem to be taking this situation lightly or trying to appease them. ³

Nazis:

Wanted to create a master race. ⁴

The Nazis wanted to eliminate all who were not just like them. ⁵

Many governments tried to appease Hitler. ⁶

Okay that’s the basic facts. Both groups want the whole world to be just like them. Both groups have and ISIL will continue to commit barbaric acts. Both groups committed horrible atrocities right under our noses.

I could write pages on this as there have been books written on both topics. I feel that we are on the brink of what could become world war three if something is not done. Yes back in the thirties the fight was “over there.” America was reluctant to get into the fight until we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. Military historians often say that Hitler could have been defeated easily during the 1930’s, if stronger action had been taken. ⁷I don’t want to see war in my lifetime, but I fear that it will happen unless governments stop looking the other way. I do think if nothing more is done we are at risk for another attack on American soil, I don’t want to see another Pearl Harbor or another 9/11.

Many of you know I’m married to a soldier; yes I would still like to see stronger action. Yes, we might lose troops but I feel that a strong offensive action now can and will save lives.

As a reminder this blog is mine and the opinions stated in this blog piece are mine.

1 http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/02/06/255824/how-does-islamic-state-justify.html, http://www.vox.com/cards/isis-myths-iraq/isis-islam

2 http://rt.com/news/168916-isis-iraq-war-crimes/

3 http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/21/politics/isis-global-response-list/ : http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/14/america-s-allies-are-funding-isis.html

4 http://historacle.org/hitlers_supermen.html

⁵http://www.kawvalley.k12.ks.us/schools/rjh/marneyg/04_holocaust-projects/04_amack_victims.htm

⁶http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/history/roadwar/appease/revision/1/

⁷http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/the-road-to-world-war-ii-why-wasn-t-hitler-stopped-a-645707.html