Oh, While We're At It......

I read an interesting view last week in the newspaper, "Do all black lives matter?"  I'm not going to go into the embroilment over "co-opting" the theme, "all...lives matter."  But this article raised some points I've written about before.

In Detroit a couple of weeks ago, a 50-something year old woman was stabbed to death on a city bus because she accidentally bumped into the murderer with her walker--her walker!   Another Detroiter, a little pre-teen girl, was shot while she was riding her bicycle in her neighborhood.  A 19-year old waiting to catch a bus to work was gunned down.  A pregnant woman--and the baby she was carrying--were killed on the same night as a 14-year old girl was shot dead.  And several times this summer, block parties were broken up by drive-by shooters, who managed to kill some of the partiers.  And the list could continue as the number of murders continues on at the rate of more than one a day in Detroit--and we aren't talking about the killings in the suburbs.

Where are the protests when these other folks are murdered?  Oh, when a police officer shoots a black, the protests are long and loud.  I know the police are expected to hold to a higher standards, but does that mean we dumb down our standards for civilian thugs so that their murdering ways fade from practically overnight?

OK, candlelight vigils and teddy bear piles are frequent, but they don't have the impact of the protests over police shootings.  The Chief of Police in Detroit seems frustrated by all of this, as one would hope he'd be.  Not only isn't there any prolonged community outrage over the murders of a kid on a bike, of an invalid woman who bumped into another with her walker, of random neighborhood block party attendees, in many instances there is no community help in trying to hunt down the murderers.  The police get little cooperation as witnesses clam up.

When are residents of Detroit going to finally say, "Enough!  We're not going to take this any longer?"  Where is the equal outrage over the senseless murders of good people?

"Anchor babies?"  Yep, Trump raised that issue last week and caused, again, a firestorm.  I break with him and others who do not think citizenship should be granted to American-born babies of illegal immigrants.  The 14th Amendment is pretty clear, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States are...citizens of the United States......"  Yes, they are citizens.  There is some nit-picking with a couple of clauses in the 14th Amendment, but that is wrong.  I find it humorous, if not hypocritical, that some of these same people who want to redefine citizenship in the 14th Amendment are the same ones who insist upon "original intent" when it comes to the main body of the Constitution and earlier amendments.

I see Michigan's governor and even some folks in DC are still making overtures toward the commies in China, trying to attract trade/business deals.  I understand the desire to boost the economy through this trade, but come on......  The commie regime in China is our enemy.  It hacks into our government and corporate computer systems.  It manipulates currency to harm our economy.  It has a dastardly record on human rights.  Yet, we are beside ourselves trying to attract Chinese money.  Sometimes I don't quite understand the people running our government(s).

And, last, that Kentucky clerk who won't issue marriage licenses to gay couples because of her own religious convictions has a simple solution--she should either issue the licenses or resign.  If her religious convictions are so deep, why does she continue to accept a pay check from this government that accepts, even enables, such a "sinful" lifestyle?  And I wonder if she uses her government position to fight against other "sins" such as adultery, domestic violences, and even greed.  No, methinks her convictions aren't really that strong.  When she puts her money where her mouth is, maybe I'll change my mind.

Well, one more thing.  I laugh at the local sports pages.  Today there was, not just a score, but a story about an international basketball game, complete with top scorers, between (I think) Turkey and Italy.  Turkey and Italy!  That goes a long way to explain why I seldom read the sports section and, if I do, it's the last section I read--and only if I have time.