News roundup

I read the news today, oh boy ...

Item 1: A Boston doctor is offering to perform sex-change operations on seven-year-olds.

Dr. Norman Spack, a pediatric specialist at [Boston Childrens Hospital], has launched a clinic for transgendered kids — boys who feel like girls, girls who want to be boys — and he’s opening his doors to patients as young as 7.

I don't know about you, but when I was seven years old, I barely even knew there were anatomical differences between boys and girls. And certainly I was in position to "choose" radical, life-altering surgery.

But what if the seven-year-old hasn't quite made up his mind? No problem:

Spack offers his younger patients counseling and drugs that delay the onset of puberty. The drugs stop the natural flood of hormones that would make it difficult to have a sex alteration later in life, allowing patients more time to decide whether they want to make the change.

When 81% of the country says the US is heading in the wrong direction, it's at least possible that some of the respondents have stuff like this in mind.

Item #2: Barack Obama, widely praised for his impeccable character (for reasons I fail to see, since there is nothing in his background to suggest any especially notable character traits), has declared that all federal supervision of the corrupt, Mob-infiltrated Teamsters Union will end when he is president.

The New Republic reports:

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that last summer, Illinois Senator Barack Obama told officials in the Teamsters union that he favored ending the Independent Review Board (IRB) that was created in 1989 by the federal government to rid the union of organized crime. Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama, confirmed the story, saying that the candidate believed that the IRB had "run its course" because "organized crime influence in the union has drastically declined." The Teamsters subsequently endorsed Obama for president, in late February.

Obama and the Teamsters bristled at suggestions that any deal was made....

Why, of course not. Heaven forfend!

Labor leaders have made plausible arguments for shutting down the IRB, but a Chicago politician should be extremely wary of acceding to them. If there is continuing mob influence in the Teamsters, it is probably centered in the Chicago area. And in the last decade, the Teamsters in Chicago have shown little enthusiasm for rooting out corruption in their ranks. As a veteran Chicago politician surrounded by a veteran Chicago campaign staff, Obama had to have known this--and that makes his warm words to the Teamsters all the more disturbing.

Why anyone would think that a politician who cut his teeth on corrupt Chicago machine politics would be the least bit concerned with ethics is beyond me. It's like expecting a Tammany Hall pol to run a reform administration. But where Obama is concerned, logical thinking seems to be put on hold in favor of an increasingly creepy attitude of blind adulation.

---

Update, a couple of hours later.

I missed this the first time I read it. It's from Obama's speech today.

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.

When I skimmed this initially, I noticed the SUV thing and the thermometer thing, both of which made me think of Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater and lecturing the country. Probably not the very best image to evoke if you're a Democratic candidate. But I missed the money quote in the middle:

"We can't ... eat as much as we want."

So that's the Obama platform, right there. Elect me president, and you won't get to eat as much as you want anymore.

I guess you'll only get to eat as much as Obama decides is good for you.

No one will tell him and his family how much they can eat, of course. They're better than you, don't ya know? That's why Obama can lecture us - the little people - on what cars to drive while tooling around in a gas guzzler with a V-8 Hemi engine and flying on private jets.

There's no inconsistency. He's just a superior person, so the rules don't apply to him.

HT: Ace of Spades, Hot Air

Comments

[william]

“McCain finished 5th from the bottom at Annapolis ( he was a legacy, didn't really have the grades to get in) and lost 6 planes during his commission. He was shot down in Vietnam because he was flying below the restricted ceiling. He caused a missle misfire on board an aircraft carrier that resulted in 128 sailors dying. Don't expect to hear about any of this from the MSM however. They like to refer to him as a war hero. He did serve and so he deserves accolades for that but that's all. He was not hero.”

This is what we need another president that is not the sharpest knive in the drawer. Hope if he wins they don’t let him fly air force one.

"Navy pilot John Sidney McCain III should have never been allowed to graduate from the U.S. Navy flight school. He was a below average student and a 20 hours in combat," explains Bill Bell, a veteran of Vietnam and former chief of the U.S. Office for POW/MIA Affairs -- the first official U.S. representative in Vietnam since the 1973 fall of Saigon. "Since McCain got 28 medals," Bell continues, "that equals out to about a medal-and-a-half for each hour of combat."

If we call our soldiers war heros for fighting in illegal wars does that qualify them for war hero status? It did in germany.

As I have stated on here before it matters not who wins. the country is headed in a certain direction and one person even the president in a republic cannot change that. Not today with the country as divided as it has been since the civil war. Paradigms die a slow death. Politicans are only a reflection of the people.

We will have a few decades of corp fascism and then changes will come. It won’t be pretty but karma can be very harsh. The demos are looking at obama as a great saviour and that comes from a mentality with a religious paradigm of a saviour image in america.

If one takes the time to follow russia’s approach to capitalism one begins to understand this quote.

“With communism man exploits man in capitalism it is the other way around”.

Russia has had the opportunity to try both. It took them 80 years to overthrow communism and about 15 to rid themselves of pure capitalism. They should have listened to gorby. He wanted german type socialism. Dollar =.63 euro.

People confuse an economic system like capitalism with democracy. Pure unregulated capitalism will overwhelm a republic. We are a witness to this occuring now with deregulation. Saving and loan deregulation which mc cain supported (keating five) cost americans 125 billion dollars in a taxpayer bailout in the early nineties. Bear sterns is up to about 50 billion now. Many of the big new york banks are borrowing money like crazy to stay afloat.

Reagan was pure genius to sell the american people on deregulation and the trickle down theory that tripled up to the top one per cent of americans. Downhill ever since for the middle class.

My hunch is that mystics and people like jesus were not capitalists. Warren buffet came out in favor of obama today. His secretary pays more per cent income tax on her salary than warren on his mega stock income. Now that’s fair!

[william]

"Still, some think transgender medical therapies for children, which have been used for many years in Europe, Asia and Australia, may soon gain more acceptance in the U.S."

Until we walk a mile in those children's shoes or be a parent of those children not sure we could fully understand their plight.

I guess these children know as early as 7 years old that they identify with the other sex. Catch it early and avoid a lot of pain?

I worked at a place where a guy switched over from male to female and the stares he got. The pain he must have gone through during that time in his life.

Life is anything but simple. Maybe last life they were the opposite sex and still have the predisposition for identifying with the opposite sex in this life. So little we know about such things.

Maybe the day will come in the far off future were we will live half a life as one sex and switch to the other sex to learn more and develop the soul faster. We have only touched the surface about knowing how to advance the soul through experiences.

I suspect being a woman is a totally different experience than being a man. Neither side appears to understand the other side. Mars and Venus thing. I suspect some day we will think less about politics, religion, sex, and materialism and more about soul development. Or not.

Of course realizing politics, religion, sex and materialism may be all about soul development. All four appear to give great opportunities for soul development.

[Michael H]

So who wants to pick on Hillary?

[Michael Prescott]

>If we call our soldiers war heros for fighting in illegal wars does that qualify them for war hero status?

So, William, you're saying that McCain - who endured five and a half years of torture in Hanoi, in which he was starved and beaten and kept in solitary confinement and his arms and legs were repeatedly broken and his teeth were broken off at the gumline, and who refused early release because he would not leave his men behind, even though his captors told him that refusal would lead to even worse torture, which it did - is not a war hero?

Let me ask you directly: What have you ever done for your country? Nothing? Me neither. But at least I have the good grace to be grateful to the men and women who have answered the call of duty, even if I'm too wimpy to be one of them.

You, on the other hand, only want to smear and insult people who are better - far better - than you or I will ever be.

[Ginny]

My B.S. antenna went all the way up the first time I saw and heard the fatuous phony Obama. Truly the emptiest suit in the closet.

And Michael's reaction to William is why I think politics are ridiculous detrimental.

[william]

Emotions got the best of you Michael. You smear obama with your words and I quote something that someone else wrote. I was a former union member how many factories have you worked at Michael on the factory floor? By the way I am not going to defend unions.

That’s politics Michael it can overwhelm the rational mind.

You missed the point of my war hero analogy. Besides someone being tortured for 5 years does not make him or her a war hero. A war hero to me is those guys that went to Canada and said hell no I wont go and fight in a war for profits.

Here it is again. If we fight in illegal wars are our soldiers war heroes? Germany called their guys war heroes. You can bet the Muslims are calling their guys at gitmo war heroes and from all accounts they have been tortured.

He bombed men women and children in North Vietnam in a war that never should have been. It was a civil war and most Americans did not even know who the Viet Cong were.

Nationalism and blind patriotism has killed more people in the world then one can image. One million Vietnamese were killed in that country, as yet I have not seen many Americans ask for forgiveness and we call ourselves a Christian country.

Anyone that understands economic systems and human behavior would have figured out that Communism would have self destructed on its own did not need our help.

I am not one to judge whether mc Cain is far better than we will ever be I am just glad I don’t have those Vietnamese men women and children that were bombed on my consciousness.

Ginny glad to see you did not slam obama. You may want to check out why mc Cain removed some of his lobbyists today from his staff. I stated nothing that was not correct whether it was the Keating five or the number of planes he lost or the number that was killed on the deck of the aircraft carrier due to the premature release of a missile from his plane.

If his father had not been an admiral I doubt they would have kept him in flight school losing three planes.

It all really comes back to partisanship. Left wingers are more likely to rationalize and defend their fellow left wingers and smear the right wingers, and vice versa.

As far as I'm concerned, they're all liars. It's pathetic.

[william]

“As far as I'm concerned, they're all liars. It's pathetic.”

The world looks pathetic but within that pathetic are the greatest opportunities for soul development. Souls don’t come here for bliss but for advancement at least the older souls.

It matters little who wins; societal paradigms and karma matter far more than individual politicians.

I just visited a liberal blog and one person's comment was that obama was going to save the world and mc Cain just claimed that everything would be fixed by 2013 if he were elected.

I stayed out of politics for 40 years but when the Iraq war started up my conscious would not let me hide any longer.

“Let me ask you directly: What have you ever done for your country? Nothing? Me neither”

Whoops I did not answer your question. Oh I don’t have to you already did that for me. Nothing.

But if still interested I was a Vietnam War protestor and that was my “contribution” not only to this country, but also to the world, especially the Vietnamese. From my point of view a patriot can be more than just someone that goes off to fight in a country’s war.

I would like to think that my peaceful protests and millions others like me put an end to that illegal war based on fear and profits so rather than kill “only” one million Vietnamese we might have killed two million or more men women and children.

Especially children. The thought of us bombing children still breaks my heart. The other day I actually cried over what we did to the Vietnamese children in that war and my wife said “you better go and protest or something”. War is hell both sides were brutal.

If anyone is interested the Viet Cong were South Vietnamese fighting South Vietnamese.

[Dave C]

I wasn't the first to say this but I hold to it: "Wars will only end when the young men of all countries refuse to fight and kill."

I like to think of myself as a pacifist but, at the same time, I am grateful to the young men of my father's generation who did fight the Nazis and Japanese in the WW2. We enjoy the freedoms we have now because of those young people.

Still, if I want to see an end to war, then I should do my part to protest against those who would take us to war (as I did against Blair and Bush over Iraq). I should not vote for parties who advocate military solutions. And I should always support the non-violent solution to any problem, no matter how angry I might be over the latest atrocity inflicted upon the innocents.

One things remains as true as it ever was: Violence begets Violence.

[Michael Prescott]

>Here it is again. If we fight in illegal wars are our soldiers war heroes? Germany called their guys war heroes.

William, I'll say this once and once only: If you persist in comparing US servicemen to Nazis, you'll be banned from this forum. It's bad enough that these men and women were spit on and defamed when they came back from the war. I will not have that shameful treatment recapitulated in the comments threads of my blog.

Not that I'm comparing, but for the most part, most of the people who served in the Nazi army were typical family men, not unlike American servicemen. They were just your every day men, serving in their country's military. A huge portion of them didn't even really understand what was going on, and they were just as afraid of going to war as the French, the English, the Americans or Italians. You most certainly cannot compare the American soldiers to the Nazi ideology. However, it's not entirely unfair to compare the common American serviceman to the common Nazi serviceman. They both have been sent to a controversial (and to some people, illegal) war, most of them scared, unsure or even doing it partially against their will.

Get mad at me if you will; but stop and think about it for a second. Don't think about Nazi or American ideology. Don't think about the commanders and philosophers. Don't think of the atrocities committed by anyone. Don't think of anything above the individual private/schutze. Do they really differ so much? A young man, risking his life for a country in a situation that he may agree with, or may not agree with. The young men who were Nazis were not all evil. Most of them were not evil. Don't disrespect their memories either.

Actually, rereading my comment, I am comparing them. It's a valid comparison when you look at it man to man, and not what the Nazis did.

Think about it.

[Michael Prescott]

I thought I'd add a few words of clarification, so my stand on this issue does not seem unduly harsh or arbitrary. William, after all, is a long-time and prolific commenter, and I'd hate to lose him. But ...

More than 50,000 Americans died in Vietnam. It is quite possible that among this blog's readers there are some people who lost a loved one in that war - a husband, brother, father, son (or wife, sister, mother, daughter). I do not think these people should have to read that their loved ones were Nazis and mass murderers. This is cruel. It is wrong.

Moreover, it is possible that some of the many Americans who survived a tour of duty in Vietnam are reading this blog. They may have lost friends in battle. They may have left pieces of themselves on the battlefield. Their sacrifice has been great. It should be honored. I do not want them reading comments to the effect that they and their fellow soldiers were murderous monsters. Again, this is cruel and wrong.

I have taken the same position with regard to 9-11 conspiracy theories - the nutty claims that the CIA was responsible or that the Twin Towers came down in a controlled demolition. Such idiotic speculation is insulting to the memories of the victims and hurtful to their loved ones. Again, it is quite possible that some people who read this blog lost loved ones on 9-11. They do not deserve to be subjected to unnecessary pain.

Commenters sometimes forget that a blog like this is read by many other people, and that words can hurt. I encourage a fairly freewheeling and open discussion, but not when it crosses the line into pointless provocation and cruelty.

If my feelings are irrational, so be it. In an earlier post, I pointed out that one of the "assertive rights of an individual" is to take a position even if it seems not to make sense to others. This position makes sense to me.

Michael, just let me make my case clear (I'm the previous commenter who spoke about the Nazis):

The men who served in the lower ranks of the Nazi army? They were men too. They were sons, too. They had their dreams, too. Don't disrespect their memory by saying that a comparison of the Americans to them is despicable.

[william]

Do what you have to do Michael it is your blog. Making it a political blog and then cannot stand other's opinions other than you own is interesting to say the least.

As a Vietnam War protester I had to endure much worst than being banned from your blog such as being called a traitor, spit on, threatened, and worst.

It is one thing to talk democracy it is quite another to practice it.

Please note how few commented on your words. Think they know better.

You degrade obama who is against this war then want everyone to agree with you. Best to you on that approach to life.

you still did not answer my question. it was a simple question.

[william]

I never claimed thise men were nazis you read that into it.

my own brother was wounded and received a purple heart and a silver medal for saving a soldiers life under intense fire and my cousins life was taken.

you have no idea how that affected his mothers life her only child. she never recovered fully.

I sure did not spit on him or anyone that fought in that war. it was not their war.

if you make this a political blog instead of a paranormal blog this is what you will get.

most will have the sense enough not to comment as they know your political leanings.

please at least post this last comment then ban if you like.

[Ross W]

Hey William, cool it. You’re the greatest. God bless you. Without you, this blog would lose a lot of value. You of all people must know you’re never going to change another man’s political views. So why try? Let it go. Think Buddhist -you usually do!

[william]

It is not about changing political views.

I have repeated time and time again it matters not who wins.

It is more about societal paradigms and karma than individual politicians.

Everyone blames Hitler for world war two but if it were not Hitler it would have been someone else. My point Germany was ready for a Hitler. He could not have done the things he did without a whole lot of support. I.e. societal paradigms.

He was brilliant in an “evil” way control the minds of the young then make war. Pure self-hatred on his part. I know this sounds weird but in some ways I feel for him and the karma he must have collected in his lifetime.

So much suffering in the Vietnam War over what? Communism would have self destructed on its own.

But your advice is good. The Iraq war reminds me of Vietnam and to sit by and do nothing like I did for 40 years does not sit right with me. This war brings up old emotional wounds.

Low soul level thinking I know but sometimes this needless suffering gets to me by people that want profits and power from others suffering.

Thanks for the kind words. Loved your comments these past few months.

If I am banned know that William is out there preaching his discovery (and apparently not practicing it) about the origin of ignorance to some other blog. Heaven help them.

Now if it had been a realization rather than an intellectual discovery I would not have had this conflict with Michael. Oh well maybe next life. Or maybe not.

[Ross W]

"Now if it had been a realization rather than an intellectual discovery I would not have had this conflict with Michael."

Well. Michael H would say "Amen" to that!

[Marcel Cairo]

I saw a car with a "Mitt in 08" bumper sticker today. Instantly, I was overcome with joy in knowing that yet another creepy corporate robot would not be leading our nation for the next four years.

Amen.

"No one will tell him and his family how much they can eat, of course. They're better than you, don't ya know?"

He's pretty skinny. Many Republicans are obese.

[R]

Thank you Mr. Prescott. My dad is one who was in that war with the Nazis at age 18 for 4 years. He was a sergeant. He has the liberation stars and medals for four countries. He was not drafted...he enlisted willingly and set the tiny bit of money he received home for his mother who had 9 kids and their dad had died.

I saw my dad cry many times over what he saw in the extermination camps..yes I said it..EXTERMINATION. I also saw him cry for as he put it "vicious kids that you didn't want to hurt but you had not choice because if you didn't, they would kill you and not even think twice" from near the end.

He didn't ask for that war..the Nazis did, they made their moves...and the rest of the world responded, as it should have, and did. And my dad was one of them. Maybe the world should have bought them a banana and asked what would they like to receive in order to stop?

William's comments are a insult to my dad, myself, and anyone else with a shred of common sense. If you think what you endured in your so called protests William, compares to what I heard him say...you really are lost in dreamland.

Thank God someone has some common sense yet.

[R]

And William...those 'heroes' of yours...if there were heroes like yours when Pearl Harbour took place, today you would be speaking a different language and perhaps NOT living in country that ALLOWED you to protest...then you could have that on your...'consciousness'. Your 'heros' aren't quite that 'heroic'. Instead of judging everyone else's ignorance perhaps you should consider your own. A little political blog isn't the problem...it's ignorant comments from people like William that are.

[Bryan]

It's not that common sense at all R.
William makes a valid point.It's not the ideology he compares,Nazi ideology is very wicked,evil if you want to call it.

Yet calling murderers heroes is equally wrong(from afterlife ethics) no matter which side you're on in a war.Democratic ethics create at least a paradox,murdering is unethical in society but ethical when dealing with "evil".To me nature has no paradox.It does have consequences however to whatever deeds u make happen.

I think William's message conveys more of love then u might think.Love not only thyself but also Thy enemy.Think about it,who said that again?

[ru intelligent]

I've found it hard to discuss intelligent design because every one has their own definition.

I think it is reasonable to ask, "if the universe and life on eart were created and or modified by an intelligence could we detect it?" We can tell an flint arrow head was not created by an avalanche. Are there any indications that life was not created by unintelligent natural forces?

I think this is an interesting question and I wish that scientists who agreed with my interest could pursue this question free from persecution. Unfortunately they cannot.

[i guess i'm not]

oops wrong blog post...

[Michael H]

Last night, apparently as this thread was exploding, I was reading from Conversations with Yogananda. Passage 289 involved this recollection:

During the Korean War, someone asked the Master, "Do the American soldiers fighting there get bad karma for killing?"

"They are fulfilling their duty as soldiers," the Master answered. "No, they don't get bad karma for that. This is a holy war. The villain must be defeated, otherwise the whole world might become enslaved."

Yogananda then goes on tho explain that he considered Korea to be a holy war because he saw that the "whole world, ultimately, could have been swept up into the materialist philosophy of communism".

Yogananda passed away long before the Vietnam conflict, but the above leads me to believe that he would have likely supported that action as well. We can't know for certain, but I suspect he would have supported the Afghanistan action too, though I'm not so sure about Iraq. But in all cases, the men and women that have sacrificed, and are sacrificing, in those wars deserve our deepest respect.

Michael and I disagree on Senator Obama, and I've addressed those differences in previous threads. I do consider McCain to be a war hero, but I don't want to see the man in the presidency. For me, it comes down to temperament, and I think McCain is dangerously reactive to be placed in a position of such power.

The last thing I'll address may offend some readers. I've recognized a tendency among the more vociferous liberals to consider themselves as somehow morally superior to us lesser souls. A contributor using the handle "Outta Here" spewed all sorts of venom a few threads back, claiming that MP's political leanings indicated a failure to grow spiritually. In doing so, "Outta Here" betrayed his own level of development. Not to judge too harshly, but I wasn't impressed.

To simplify things to an extreme degree, it seems to me that a liberal political persuasion demonstrates a fundamental acceptance that human beings are flawed at the core, and need to be helped along. Indefinitely, apparently. On the contrary, I see human beings as containing nothing but unrealized potential, that needs only to be awakened. As a consequence, I personally lean to the right on political matters. What help is needed is in awakening innate potential. But it's also true that one can't help another before they've at least begun to realize their own.

[Tony S]

> To simplify things to an extreme degree, it
> seems to me that a liberal political
> persuasion demonstrates a fundamental
> acceptance that human beings are flawed at
> the core, and need to be helped along.

I would argue the opposite, liberals seem to believe in the innate goodness of people. They only appear flawed because they are victims of circumstance, or they have been 'bamboozled' by competing political viewpoints, and that's what keeps them from achieving their potential and why they need to be helped along.

Conservatives see humans as flawed, but they believe that anyone can overcome their flaws on their own to achieve their potential.

The definition of 'reaching your potential' varies greatly between the two camps :)

[william]

“This is a holy war.” Yogananda

This spiritual guru taught holy wars? This sure separates his teachings from Jesus teachings on the need for holy wars. For me I will lean in the direction of Jesus teachings.

It appears to me that some Muslims teach the need holy wars.

As I have said over and over communism would have self destructed on its own. The economic system does not work, the political system does not work, it goes against human behavior, and they tried to take spiritually out of the people’s lives. They confused illogical religious beliefs with people’s valid desire for spiritually in their lives.

Without that spiritually where is the meaning and purpose of life? Any political system is destined to fail with this agenda. And it did as I predicted long before it failed to Germans while visiting Germany and they laughed at me and stated that the Berlin wall will always be there.

And to suggest as R did that I equated my protests against the Vietnam War with the service and tremendous sacrifice Americans soldiers and their families had to perform and endure in the Second World War is out and out misrepresentation. Please please show me and quote me where I made such a statement.

My school teacher in that one room school house I attended lost her son in that war and even as a child I could see the tremendous mental pain it caused her in her life.

[Michael H]

I agree that most conservatives see humans as flawed as well, Tony S. The concept of original sin has serious breadth and consequences. Both sides see humanity as flawed, though they do see it manifesting differently, so they reach opposing conclusions.

The concept of original innocence is not widely understood or accepted. Nor will it be until we reach a critical mass of humanity who have genuinely recognized their own. Of all the reasons there are to defend the freedoms that we enjoy in the West, the most important may be that a free society maximizes the opportunity for an individual to become who they really are.

Of course, the definition of "who we really are" varies greatly among us as well. Are we flawed or innocent? If the answer is flawed, then what is the source? If the answer is innocent, then innocent how? What does that mean? How can there be original innocence with all of the injustice and insanity out there?

I think both camps would be wise to heed the advice about removing the log from their own eye before focusing on the speck in their neighbor's. Still, most everyone appears to be convinced that it's all those "other people" that need fixing. Conservatives and Liberals both appear to see flawed people, and just differ dramatically on who and what needs to be fixed.

[Michael Prescott]

I'm willing to let this go, but I do want to respond to a few points.

William said he never compared US soldiers to Nazis. ("I never claimed those men were Nazis, you read that into it.") But in his first comment he wrote, "If we call our soldiers war heroes for fighting in illegal wars does that qualify them for war hero status? It did in Germany."

Sounds like a comparison to me. At least that's how I interpreted it. And I don't apprear to be the only one.

William wrote, "Besides, someone being tortured for 5 years does not make him or her a war hero." I think McCain's decision to refuse early release and endure even more (and worse) torture because he would not leave his men behind was heroic. I am not saying that this, in itself, qualifies him to be president. John Kerry was a war hero with three Purple Hearts, and I didn't support his candidacy. Bob Dole was a war hero who lost the use of his right arm in combat, and I thought he was a terrible candidate. But to say McCain's actions in Hanoi were not heroic is to rob the word "heroic" of any meaning.

Since William likes to cite Jesus, here is something else Jesus said: "There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend." McCain did this when he chose to stay in Hanoi for the sake of his cellmates.

Incidentally, I think Jesus' proscriptions against war were made in a certain historical context, namely, the Roman occupation of Jersusalem. Jesus correctly foresaw that armed resistance to the Romans was futile and would lead to Jerusalem's destruction (as it did, in AD 70). He therefore counseled nonresistance. This does not mean nonresistance is always the right course of action. For an elaboration of this idea, see the works of N.T. Wright, especially Jesus and the Victory of God.

William also wrote, "Making it a political blog and then cannot stand other's opinions other than you own is interesting to say the least."

This blog has always contained some political content. I know it would be more popular if I left out this content, but I'm not interested in winning a popularity contest. To be honest, I also feel it necessary to combat New Age mush with some hardheaded realism now and then. Anyway, I'm happy to let people express a variety of opinions, and for years William has expounded on his political views at length without drawing much of a response from me - but there are a few areas where I draw the line. 9-11 conspiracies are one area; trashing our troops is another.

For those who think comparing US servicemen to Nazis is just an interesting bit of academic speculation, I suggest the following experiment. Go to a bar or eatery that caters to veterans. Present your argument there. See what kind of reaction you get. Report back to me (if you can).

The point is, these are not just academic abstractions. We are talking about real people who suffered and died. Their service should be respected. Surely this is not so much to ask?

Dave C wrote, "One things remains as true as it ever was: Violence begets Violence."

I don't necessarily agree. Sometimes violence stops violence. If an armed gunman is on a rampage, it will take a bullet to stop him. Flowers and cotton candy won't do the trick.

Bryan wrote, "Yet calling murderers heroes is equally wrong (from afterlife ethics) no matter which side you're on in a war."

Again, I can't agree. Some wars are worth fighting. Vietnam probably wasn't, though we should remember that after we pulled out, the Communists in both Vietnam and Cambodia committed unspeakable acts of genocide. Still, in terms of our national interests we would have been better off not getting involved. But WWII? The Civil War? The Revolutionary War? I'm glad those wars were fought. And I'm glad we went after Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Sometimes you do have to fight. It would be nice if the world weren't like this, but it is.

As a quote often misattributed to George Orwell puts it, "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Michael H wrote, "I've recognized a tendency among the more vociferous liberals to consider themselves as somehow morally superior to us lesser souls." I've noticed the same thing. I doubt the people who convey this attitude realize how condescending and off-putting it is. They might want to read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. (Seriously; it's a good book.)

Michael H also quotes Yogananda on war. I believe the Bhagavad Gita makes a similar point.

William wrote, "You still did not answer my question. It was a simple question."

What question?

[PD]

"As I have said over and over communism would have self destructed on its own."

Small consolation for those who were/are forced to live under the more repressive forms of communism for decades.

[william]

It appears that the most profound spiritual teacher that every walked on the face of this earth did not teach nationalism, patriotism, tribalism, communism, capitalism, socialism, war heroes, holy wars, or spiritual warfare.

All of these terms and concepts are of man not of spirit. Spiritual warfare or holy wars: if there was not a more profound oxymoron I have not found it.

They crucified Jesus for his teachings. I suspect they would find a way to eliminate him today if he came back and taught the very same teachings. This is some of what Jesus taught from my memory, which is suspect at this time of my life:

“Love you enemies”

“Do good to those that want to harm you”

“If a soldier asks you to carry his pack one mile carry it two”

“The meek shall inherit the earth” this may be the most profound statement that Jesus made other maybe than love your enemies, love god and love your neighbor.

“And give unto Rome what is Rome’s”

Not overthrow communism or remove dictators or do nation building or have bases around the world.

None of those comments listed above is about teaching nonresistance. Nonresistance can be brutal and is of man not of spirit. Martin Luther King and Gandhi totally missed this point in Jesus teachings. They had a goal and they used nonresistance to reach that goal.

Jesus teachings to them would have been as it was to the Jewish people give unto Rome what is Rome’s. Profoundly different. His teachings were not situational as Michael P claims. They are universal and timeless and were concerned for our souls and not nationalism or patriotism or attainment of anything justice or material.

The Jews wanted their own war hero and military leader to rid them of the Romans and how did Jesus respond? Nonresistance? No give unto Rome what is Rome.

What a misunderstanding of Jesus teachings to suggest he knew that a holy war would be futile so he suggested nonresistance. Complete misunderstanding of Jesus teachings. And we on this blog talk about spiritually and get all bent out of shape over nationalism and patriotism and war heroes.

Cannot the people who read this blog or comment on here see clearly that one man’s war hero is another man’s mortal enemy? Are we too self-righteous to see this? These are human concepts based in human unawareness not spiritual awareness.

Please somebody tell me what is holy about wars. Most wars are fought out of self-righteousness, greed, nationalism, and patriotism. I.e. German nationalism. Necessity is often in the eyes of the beholders and often has many hidden agendas. Wars are based in ignorance not spirit.

I attended Yogananda’s religion for over six months and saw the fallacy of some (very few) of his teachings. Holy war? There is nothing holy about a war. Even with enlightened Hindu masters most have allowed their early religious teachings to influence their teachings. Hard lesson for me to learn.

If you want to believe everything written in the Gita so be it. Have your holy wars. Some Muslims are big on holy wars as Christians are now teaching spiritual warfare. Those two teachings may have some interesting results in the future. Karma will self correct. Universal law of progress.

[Michael Prescott]

>What a misunderstanding of Jesus teachings to suggest he knew that a holy war would be futile so he suggested nonresistance.

Well, you might want to check out N.T. Wright's extensive writings on the subject before you dismiss his interpretations out of hand. He's one of the foremost New Testament scholars in the world. Besides, his books are well-written and quite fascinating. Of course I'm not saying his interpretation is the last word, but it's worth considering.

"Nonresistance" is my word, not Wright's, and it may be the wrong word. I mean that Jesus advised his followers to give up on dreams of liberation from Roman occupation and to focus instead on perfecting themselves spiritually. He saw that the alternative route - violent resistance - would inevitably produce a backlash that would destroy Jerusalem. This, in Wright's view, is the meaning of the apocalyptic predictions made on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13), which were misunderstood in later years when the original context was lost.

In particular, the lines later taken to refer to "the rapture" - the mystical translation of the chosen to heaven - originally referred more prosaically to the randomness of death in the chaos of a besieged city. (One man will fall, while the man next to him will be untouched, etc.) Poetic expressions common in apocalyptic literature were misinterpreted by later readers as literal predictions (the sun will go dark, stars will fall, etc.). These expressions simply indicate that earthshaking temporal events will occur. The fall of Jerusalem and subsequent forced dispersion of the city's Jewish population would certainly qualify as earthshaking events in the minds of Jesus and his followers.

Wright supports his viewpoint with extensive citations from the apocalyptic tradition, which had its own distinctive language and imagery.

[Paul]

I don't know whether this adds value or not but I remember reading from Silver Birch that in these matters the key is motive.

[floridasuzie]

MP,
Thank you.
Suzie

[R]

Mr. Prescott, thanks again, you are absolutely correct in this matter as well as dealing with certain new age mush. I also agree that voiciferous liberals seem to think they are 'enlightened' and as such are better than the rest of us. If the meek shall inherit the earth William, where does that leave you?

If William would like to see photographs from the EXTERMINATION camps I can provide them. William, my dad, who was not a big man, but worked hard all his life and was tough as nails, who saw the fire in the skies, would hear you talk and call you an absolute fool...if you continued to persist as you often do, he would 'put' some common sense into your head. You are in insulting disgrace, as well as your 'love' hypocrisy and I will leave you to ponder for yourself your own 'meekness'.

"R," how is your father all that different from the German men who gave their lives for their country? Who also witnessed unspeakable horrors, and who also were scared for their lives at every given moment?

[R]

I will answer this: How he is different is he didn't bloody well ask for it!!!!! Do you get it or is your head too thick? The nazi 'gentlemen' bought into it and made the problem, get it? THEY DID IT! If the nazis and their 'gentlemen' hadn't started the whole problem IT NEVER WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!!! Is this beyond your intelligence? Or are you just more 'evolved' than the rest of us? Go to hell, I've had it with this BS from ignorant idiots like you. Fools who think they're wise.

[Ryan]

Just in case there is any confusion. The comments by R are not by me.

I am more sympathetic to William's views than others seem to be. But I don't have the will to debate on it.

[R]

We agree on something. I'm out of here, the only thing more foolish than the comments by some on this blog is me taking the time to let foolish 'enlightened' ones spew their dribble. If the nazis had more of William's kind of 'heroes' neither my dad nor anyone else, would have had to go to that war...yet somehow it seems that the nazis have become the 'victims' here.

I have a niece who is married to a person from Switzerland who proudly informed me how his country 'remained neutral' at that time...it was an easy response..'really? then you're lucky that somebody else DIDN'T remain neutral or your counry likely wouldn't exist today.

I'm amazed you can breathe with your head up your butt for so much of the time. You're not wasting my time anymore, though. Hitler's 'gentlemen' would've loved more 'heroes' like William...as long as they were OUR heroes and not his.

R, you're doing what I said not to - you're conflating the common Nazi foot soldier with the philosophers and the leaders of the Nazis. You are forgetting that the low ranked schutzes in the army were just men like your father - trying to raise kids, going off to serve their country. They were confused, they were unhappy, they were unwilling. They witness atrocities left and right, and many of them were just as shattered as the Americans. Some even more so - while it can sound like all the Nazis, including the common soldiers, were all Jew hating, aryan race supremacists, they weren't. They were just like your father, just on the other side.

I understand your frustration at me, though. I'm not saying that your father wasn't a brave hero. He most certainly was. But so were the Germans who did the very same. I'm sure those same men, had they been born in America rather than Germany, would be fighting over for the Allies rather than the Axis. Would you think of them differently, then?

[R]

Neither my dad or anyone else like him INITIATED IT, PERPETUATED IT, OR INFLICTED HORRIBLE TORTURE ON MILLIONS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE...that is the difference, thank God there are people who have the balls to stand up for something...thank God we don't have many of William's 'heroes'..I'm sure the Nazis would have wished we had a lot more of those 'heroes'..my FINAL entry...how is the weather in your enlightened fantasy land?

My dad got half his ass blown off by your poor 'gentlemen'...and millions of Jews got tortured and exterminated by your poor gentlemen...and he never asked to be there...the nazis DID ask to be there and ALL who support them did the same...THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE. My dad's not here anymore but I would love to have you tell him this crap face to face.

[R]

Oh, I forgot...silly unenlightened me...the nazis and there supporters were only fulfilling their spiritual duty right? They were spiritually justified! They chose that and people like my dad chose their fate as well right? It was all for our own good right? What bullshit. Hey, maybe in 'another life' you'll figure this out William right? Maybe you were a cat that belonged to a nazi in another life? or someone else's cat? maybe a beetle that lived with a yogi?

[Greg Taylor]

MP wrote:

"William, I'll say this once and once only: If you persist in comparing US servicemen to Nazis, you'll be banned from this forum. It's bad enough that these men and women were spit on and defamed when they came back from the war. I will not have that shameful treatment recapitulated in the comments threads of my blog."

I certainly didn't take William's comments in that way. I think he raises an important philosophical question in fact, one which goes to the very heart of what is 'right and wrong', based on imaginary distinctions/boundaries between cultures and countries.

Michael, I find interesting how open-minded and intelligent you seem on various controversial debates, and yet when it comes to politics there's this passionate (hysterical?) Republicanism which seems to overcome you. Certainly, I think there's plenty to be suspicious of with Democrat politicians, but after the Bush-Cheney years it seems rather one-sided that there is no equal criticism on this blog of some of the worst political moments in modern history - all from what appears to be 'your side'?

Kind regards,
Greg

[PD]

A hero is someone who does good deeds and as a result risks their own life.
I don't see the German military at any level doing good deeds. If you want to find German military heroes, how about the German officers who attempted to assassinate Hitler, rather than those who did his bidding. If someone does something bad, thinking that it's good, does that make them a hero? Not in my book.

[william]

Wow R you have some serious issues. It becomes easy to see that two thousand years ago how a man that taught love and peace and compassion was put to death.

Although I think humankind has evolved somewhat i.e. I will not be put to death for repeating those words just banned from a few blogs. If Jesus came back or someone like Jesus that taught the same teachings I suspect they would be eliminated. Too threatening to the status quo.

Isn’t it amazing how such statements as love your enemies, give unto Rome what is Rome’s, and the meek shall inherit the earth can bring out such hatred and threats. These were not my words only quotes.

Fascinating to watch. I truly believe we were all created in innocence and we are always in the grace of god even William and R. although I am not so sure about William if r had his way me thinks William is destined to be a beetle.

I am so naïve I cannot believe that others cannot see that one man’s war hero is another man’s mortal enemy. Dualism at it best and not of spirit but of man unawareness. But without that dualism we would have no drama (i.e. multiplicity of expressions) and this particular post certainty has been one with drama.

Ok here it comes some of William’s unsolicited dry humor. The Christians believe Jesus will return to earth some day. My not so humble beetle mania unsolicited advice to Jesus: you may want to put that return trip off a few years, as it appears WE are not quite ready for you yet.

Please r before you start shouting obscenities I said WE and not THEY.

Hi R, first, and foremost, I'm not a spiritualist. I am not "spiritually enlightened" or anything like that, so stop thinking I'm speaking through that vein. I'm just doing a little thinking to myself in between commercials, while watching Seinfeld, and in between video games. Believe me, I am not an "enlightened fellow" and if you think I'm just William ducking behind anonymity... well, I suppose there's no way to prove I'm not, but I'm denying that charge. Perhaps Michael can view IPs and vouch for that.

"Neither my dad or anyone else like him INITIATED IT, PERPETUATED IT, OR INFLICTED HORRIBLE TORTURE ON MILLIONS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE..."

Neither did that Nazi FOOT SOLDIERS. Not the ubermensch, not the leaders, not that powers that be. The AVERAGE MEN AND WOMEN. Do you really think they all went in to WW2, fully aware that they were going to fight for Germans to kill Jews? Do you think that many of them even willingly enlisted? The higher powers in Germany had no qualms with killing to make an example. Many of those men were forced or coerced in to it.

"My dad got half his ass blown off by your poor 'gentlemen'...and millions of Jews got tortured and exterminated by your poor gentlemen"

First, I'm sorry about your father. However, what happened to him likely was just the events of war. I'm sure your father often times had to set up ambushes or kill other people. It's a tragedy of war, but when your dad had to do it, does that really make him different from the German who had to do it? I'm not calling your father bad, I'm just saying that he was a member of an army who had to do these things for his country. Would you be saying that your father was a jerk if he "blew half a German's ass off," or would you be gloating about how he blew up Jerries all day?

"...and he never asked to be there...the nazis DID ask to be there and ALL who support them did the same...THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE."

I highly doubt the common men of the German military asked to be there.

"My dad's not here anymore but I would love to have you tell him this crap face to face."

He's a different story. I could understand why he would feel the way he would. I wouldn't try to confront someone who had to deal with the horrors of war the way I have with you.

Unless you yourself have served?

[Michael Prescott]

>I highly doubt the common men of the German military asked to be there.

Many of them asked for Hitler, though, didn't they? Hitler was very popular and had massive public support. Though he was not elected chancellor, he got a huge number of votes in the election and ended up being appointed to the government as a result of popular pressure. He was later able to assume the chancellorship unopposed, without a ripple of protest from those "good Germans" who later went off to fight.

Most Germans supported Hitler and embraced his rhetoric. They did not stop supporting him even when he forced Jews to wear identifying emblems ... or when he rounded them up and sent them to detainment camps ... or when he started to sterilize them, and later kill them. They either approved of these policies, or they closed their eyes.

It's a ridiculous distortion of history to say that the average German was innocent of Nazi crimes. The Germans knew perfectly well what they were fighting for. They wanted to exterminate the Jews, the handicapped, and other "inferiors," conquer the world, and institute a thousand year Reich. Hitler was explicit about these goals in his memoirs and in his speeches, which were broadcast on the radio and heard by everyone.

Does this mean we should have no compassion for the hapless Nazi foot soldiers? I think we can have some compassion - if we see them as poor, deluded fools. But I do not see members of the US military in the same light.

Greg wrote,

>Michael, I find interesting how open-minded and intelligent you seem on various controversial debates, and yet when it comes to politics there's this passionate (hysterical?) Republicanism which seems to overcome you.

First, I don't think it's Republicanism to object to comparing US servicemen to Nazis. I think most mainstream Democrats would object also. I am sure Hillary Clinton would object vociferously. Only the lunatic fringe embraces such an idea.

Second, I've been more than patient allowing William and others to say almost anything they like on any subject, including politics. William has filled up dozens of threads inveighing against capitalism, Bush, Republicans, the Iraq War, lack of health insurance, the rich, and every other bugaboo in the left's parade of nightmares. Though I disagree with most of his opinions, I haven't tried to stifle him. The only restrictions I have imposed on any commenters are: (1)no 9-11 conspiracy nonsense, and (2) no trashing our troops by comparing them to Nazis. Is this really so unreasonable? My post did not even mention McCain, Vietnam, war, Nazis, or any related subject; I wasn't the one who brought it up.

If you see a different tone in my political opinions, it's because I am much more sure of myself in this area. I don't know if there is an afterlife or a God or a soul; I can only conjecture. But I do know that we all owe an immense debt to the people who served and sacrificed in the cause of Western civilization and democracy. Certainly you do, Greg, since (if I recall correctly) you live in the UK, which would today be a colony of the Third Reich if not for the timely intervention of American GIs.

In short: Less attitude, more gratitude.