Author: coastcontact

I am a somewhat cranky but mostly optimistic 65 plus who refuses to give up on this maddening world. The purpose of this BLOG is to express my feelings, thoughts.

It’s True, The U.S. is a Christian Nation

“I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ….”  This statement by John McCain is reality.  http://apnews.excite.com/article/20071001/D8S0MO881.html. 

My wife and I vacationed to the East Coast a few years ago.  Our destination was colonial and U.S. revolutionary sites.  One of the facts that came to our attention was that only Christian land owners could hold office in colonial times.  Those Christians did not even include Catholics.  So while it is accurate to say that there is no reference to any specific religion in either the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution the nation was controlled by Christians. 

Today this country recognizes Christmas Day, Easter, and Palm Sunday as national holidays.  There are no national holidays in honor of any other religion. The American Jewish Committee (http://www.ajc.org/) may be deeply troubled by Senator McCain’s remarks but he was truthful.

What is a Jew, Muslin, Buddhist, or Hindu to do?  Nothing.  There is no persecution of any group because they are not Christians.  The founding fathers were not particularly religious and perhaps they understood that the nation might change over time.

Religion does play a significant role in this country as it does in most countries of the world.  If this country’s majority population did become something other than Christian the national holidays would change.  Primarily we are a secular nation that does recognize reality.

The American Empire, Is It Manifest Destiny?

John O’Sullivan wrote the article titled “Manifest Destiny” in 1839.  The article can be found at (http://www.civics-online.org/library/formatted/texts/manifest_destiny.html).  Mr. O’Sullivan contends that it’s just meant to be that the U.S.A. is “governed by God’s natural and moral law of equality, the law of brotherhood — of “peace and good will amongst men.”. . .”

I believe that President George W. Bush honors that theory.  The context of that article by Mr. O’Sullivan is remarkably similar to the words of this president.

 

What constitutes an empire? The U.S.A.has nearly 1.4 million active military personnel according to Wikipedia, and over 369,000 of those are deployed outside the United States and its territories. They are located in Germany, Japan, South Korea, The Philippines, Diego Garcia, Cuba, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Djibouti, Italy, Portugal, Qatar, and many other countries.  Try searching for that kind of information elsewhere is futile.

 

Now the president wants an “enduring relationship” with Iraq.  Does that mean we will have our troops there indefinitely?  We still have more than 35,000 troops stationed in South Korea.  The Korean War ended in 1953.

It was said that the sun never sets on the British Empire.  Can that statement now apply to the U.S.A?  I believe the answer is yes. 

 

What is our objective in building this empire?  It is part of our manifest destiny.

Why are most Mexicans in Mexico so poor?

The fonts on this posting were revised on November 23, 2008 to enable easier reading.  The words and text were not revised.

 —

“Why is Mexico so poor?” is the common search question.

The Los Angeles Daily News reporting on President Felipe Calderon of Mexico on Sunday, September 3, 2007,  “Criticizing the United States for its treatment of illegal Mexican immigrants has become routine for most Mexican politicians, including Calderon. Because the immigrants send home about $20 billion a year and because the yearly emigration of more than 400,000 people from Mexico relieves that country of masses of the poor, the government in Mexico City has little incentive either to stem the emigration northward or to support stricter measures making it harder for Mexicans to cross the border.”

 So I wondered why are most Mexicans in Mexico so poor?  I looked at Wikipedia ,ask.com and Google.  The answers I found were very limited.  Those that I found echoed my suspicions.  The web sites are http://www.funqa.com/economics/4400-1-Economics.html

 

http://www.city-data.com/forum/illegal-immigration/134888-why-mexican-economy-so-poor-their.html

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081107091500AAt44RQ

 

http://www.mindfully.org/WTO/2003/Mexico-Poor-NAFTA22mar03.htm

Additional web sites located June 13, 2012

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110611210236AAtOGz1

http://www.knowswhy.com/why-is-mexico-so-poor/

 

The message from all of these web sites is clear.  The wealthy of Mexico have the power to keep most of the country’s population very poor and they like it that way.  It’s all about cheap labor.  Their attitude is if the poor don’t like it they can sneak into the U.S.A.  They have gotten away with this because too many American companies like the cheap labor force and the American government is complicit in this situation.  It’s not a Democrat or Republican thing.  It is a U.S. government thing.

                              

The American public uproar is the best thing Mexicans have going for them to change the Mexican government.  So President Calderon’s statements are just part of that government’s public stance to convince Mexicans that their government really is concerned about the well being of its population.  As to the marches in the U.S. about illegal alien rights, those are the words and actions of do-gooders who have played into the hands of the wealthy Mexicans.

 

A very inadequate educational system and major government corruption are the two issues most commonly identified as destroying the Mexican economy.  Many Mexicans can not read or write.  Bribery is a way of life in almost every part of the government including the police.  These two problems discourage foreign investment.

 

Notice that Carlos Slim, the wealthiest man in Mexico, is now listed as the third wealthiest man in the world according to Forbes magazine.  He along with other wealthy Mexicans couldn’t be happier with this situation.  Carlos Slim alone is reported to control 20% of the Mexican economy.  Can you imagine what would happen to Mexico if the wealthiest in that nation were forced to surrender and share what they have with the average Mexican?  I am not a communist but I believe that the wealthy families of Mexico are one significant cause of that country’s problems.  The U.S. could force this situation to change.  The U.S. won’t do that because the situation benefits American corporations.

I Don’t Like Gay People

This commentary is all Idaho Sen. Larry Craig’s fault. This is not a topic I am really interested in discussing. I don’t like gay people. I find their behavior disturbing on two counts.  I do recognize their right to perform revolting acts. If they want to do those things it’s their business. If they would just keep it private. That’s all I ask. Instead some do their thing in public places. (Associated Press item: A defiant Sen. Larry Craig denied any wrongdoing Tuesday despite his guilty plea this summer in a men’s room police sting, emphatically adding, “I am not gay. I never have been gay.”)

If that isn’t enough, many of these people parade and announce their behavior to the whole world. Gay parades seem to have become a fad in many big cities. Three that come to mind are the parades in West Hollywood, San Diego and Toronto.  Many also seem to take specific pride in announcing to others that they are gay. The announcements are of course more prominent within the entertainment community.  I even had an individual call for an appointment for a job interview.  He advised me that he lived “a different life style.” Do I care what his sexual proclivities are?  Of course not but since he advised me, I concluded that he would be making that fact part of his behavior at work.  I did not interview him.

I have actually known men who I suspected were gay. Since they kept their sexual preferences to themselves it did not bother me.  Apparently they are the exception. Gay men want to make their sexual behavior known. I never told anyone about my sexual behavior. It’s all about women. How dull?  Well not to me.

Hello world!

I have posted 13 blog commentaries using blogspot.com.  I even sent a copy of one to the Los Angeles Daily News and they printed in their opinion section.  However I never received a single response to any of my blog commentaries.  How disappointing!

 

Perhaps my writing style was boring.  Perhaps the fact that there were no pictures (hard to do in blogspot) was the real problem.  So I will try again here with some entries that might be more attention getting.

To start, let me tell you that I am a very fanatical follower of the political developments in the America.  The current campaign fever had made me more independent than ever before.

 

I am not a supporter of any of the current “fad” activist activities.  I am not opposed to any of their beliefs either.  I think Christopher Hutchins views on religion are more similar to my own.  I dislike extremists on almost any issue.  Supporters of “liberal” vs. “conservative” political views are entertaining but unrealistic. Extremists on global warning, cigarette smoking, drug and alcohol use, food fads, etc. are not to be taken seriously.  I love sex but at my age all I can mostly do is look and dream –Damn!  Pornography is fun.

 

Since I am very opinionated I strongly encourage all replies.