Letter from the Iranian President

I received an e-mail from an irate friend who had read a copy of the letter from the Iranian President to all of us "Noble Americans". The text of the letter can be read at the following link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15952309/

It is with great interest that I read this letter. It should be remembered that it is a man who has claimed that the Holocaust is a fiction and who has been compared to Hitler by some. In light of that, he rhetoric is interesting. He is well-spoken and pushes many of the "right" buttons. He speaks of peace and harmony in much the same way as Hitler assured the European powers that his intentions were benign.

While I know that most all of us wish for our soldiers to come home tomorrow, we should be careful not to use this letter as justification for doing so. He states, "American soldiers often wonder why they have been sent to Iraq." If you follow the link that I provide to my friend's blog, you will see that our soldiers are pretty clear as to why they were sent to Iraq and they are pretty clear on what they are trying to achieve.

In addition, he talks about the common concerns of balancing the economics of the war vs. domestic concerns. (..."would it not be more beneficial to bring the US officers and soldiers home, and to spend the astronomical US military expenditures in Iraq for the welfare and prosperity of the American people? As you know very well, many victims of Katrina continue to suffer, and countless Americans continue to live in poverty and homelessness.) Again, attempting to play on the angst of the American public in an attempt to get us to pressure our leaders to cut and run.

It should be remembered that one of the big winners in an American "defeat" (because that is what a full-scale withdrawl will be seen as) would be Iran. Their influence over the Shiite community in Iraq cannot be underestimated. How long would it be before the Iranian government moves troops and "advisors" into Iraq because the Shiite dominated government "requested their help"? Can you say Lebanon (Syria) or Austria (Nazi Germany)? Of course he needs us to bring our troops home, we're preventing him from grabbing more of the Middle East.

The invasion of Iraq is, in my humble opinion, a squandered opportunity to bring stability and prosperity to the Middle East. Iraq is a proud, well-educated country with the potential to be a shining star of democratic abilities. Unfortunately, our post-war actions (or inaction as the case actually was) has lead to the current situation. We should have been prepared to follow up the invasion with a Marshall Plan type rebuilding effort that would have allowed the potential middle-class to work and prosper leading the country back to self-reliance. Instead we disenfranchised everyone and allowed extremism to find fertile ground. Let us hope and pray that we can find a way to make this country work again. Just know, that although I disagree with much of the President's handling of the post-war era, I do strongly agree with the tenet that the troops must stay until "the work is done." To do any less allows Iran and Syria free hand and that would be bad for all.

I have had the great fortune to know an Iranian national who is proud to live and work "amongst us in friendship and peace." He is a quiet, hardworking man who, although is extremely intelligent and wise in international affairs, is happy to work as a custodian. His last comment to me about the state of Iranian affairs was, "Just as we are happy because we take one step forward, they take us two steps back."

It is up to us to help the Iraqis and the Iranians keep taking more steps forward than they take back.

The "New" Senate

I have been told that nothing makes you Republican faster than owning your own business. Those who knew me in college know that I was a staunch Democrat and as you read now, you'll see that I'm now at least a "conservative" Democrat. This is almost directly related to owning my own business for 14 years.

The fact of the matter is, what passes as a Democrat today is what FDR (one of the greatest Democrats of all time, in my opinion) would have called a socialist. Although the "New Deal" is touted as the beginning of the welfare state, FDR was very intentional about the "hand up not hand out" philosophy. The New Deal programs were intended to be a baseline for survival, not the means to the good life without working.

Social Security was developed to keep the elderly from digging through dumpsters for food and shelter. It was not meant to take the place of savings and planning. The minimum wage was meant to be exactly that. A wage that provided a start for someone. There was never the intention that you would spend your entire working life earning merely the minimum. The wage was low enough to provide incentive for people to better their education, training, or situation, but not so low as to make the position merely a step above slave labor.

The Senate Democrats are pushing for an increase to $7.15 an hour without understanding that it will cost jobs. In my previous days as a video store owner, I employed mostly high school and college students. I could not have afforded to pay them $7.15 an hour so I would have either reduced their hours or laid them off altogether. Either way, it's less hours worked for them, less money for them to spend, and less tax revenue for the government. Basically, everyone loses.

The response would be that a small business such as mine is not required to pay Federal minimum wage. That's fine except that anyone who has worked with a high school student knows, they are all "wanna-be" lawyers and are well versed on their "rights" when it comes to working the least time for the most money. They all know what the minimum wage is and they won't work for less.

I weep for the Democratic Party who is kidnapped by the likes of Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, and John Kerry. They are all filthy rich kids who are playing at be egalitarians. They've forgotten what it means to work hard for anything. In addition, they have deluded themselves into believing that we are all of equal capabilities. We are not. Some of us are smart and some of us are not. Some of us are motivated, and some of us are not. We are all different and thus our standing will be different.

The role of government (and I think FDR has my back on this one) is to guarantee that the meek and lowly are not being unfairly taken advantage of. It is not to guarantee that they can live in a 3 bedroom home with 4 kids who become college-educated all at the expense of government or business without comensurate work on their part.

One thing at a time

In searching for things to ponder tonight, I went through a variety of websites and found an editorial entitled, "Holiday Defenses Breached" which is to be published in the November 28th edition of the New York Times (a paragon of virtue).

The writer laments the encroachment of Christmas on the Thanksgiving and even Halloween "holidays" (if Halloween can be considered a holiday). I would agree that retailers are offending our sensibilities in search of the almighty dollar (yes, my employer mandates the constant playing of Christmas music in all stores effective November 1st).

Further research turned up the same topic on over 50 blogs throughout the country. Many were written in early November, and some even in October. This means that I am 'late' to the subject which then requires that I need to add something new to the debate. This presents quite the challenge.

In reading the posts and comments, I realize that the common theme is addressing the "retailers". Being an employee of such an organization I can attest to two things as fact. The first is, decisions of this nature are made at the highest of corporate levels. The second is, those decisions are driven by the actions of the consumer.......that would be YOU!!

This means, despite the muttered grumbling about the Christmas music overhead (and I hear it almost daily) and despite the kvetching (a word from my wife) about the Christmas displays being up in November, YOU STILL ACCEPT IT!! Not only do you accept it, you seem to embrace it.

Are we really so blind to the meaning of the holiday that it has been reduced to buying presents? Have we reduced one of the two high points of the Christian calendar to a holiday that's "really just for the kids"? When did Santa replace Jesus? When did "Peace on Earth and Goodwill to All" (to be politically correct), get reduced to a way to market goods through feel-good commercials?

Just as importantly, in allowing retailers to follow this tack, we've reduced Thanksgiving to a mere footnote. This year Comp-USA opened its doors at 9pm on Thanksgiving Day. Hoo-ray says the shopper!! SHAME ON YOU, I say!!

Do we really need to shop that badly? What about those people who are required to give up their family time to stock out merchandise, ring up customers, sweep the floors, recover the merchandise, and manage the stores? Don't they get a chance to reflect, relax, and be thankful? Don't they deserve to celebrate our national holiday?

If you agree that Christmas season begins with Advent (after Thanksgiving), if you agree that Thanksgiving must remain a day of rest and reflection for ALL, if you agree that there are things more important than merely crossing off "things" on your Christmas list, then I ask you to do two things.

First, e-mail this post to as many people as you can.

Second please write Comp-USA, Federated, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Sears, J.C. Penney's, and any other retailer and let them know, we DON'T want to see Christmas ads/sales before Thanksgiving, we DON'T want to hear Christmas music before Thanksgiving, and MOST importantly, we DON't want to shop on Thanksgiving or Christmas day!!

A Man I Admire

I am certainly not above taking thoughts from others (as long as I attribute them of course) and sharing them for others to see. In that vein, I want to refer you to a posting on http://letters-from-the-desert.blogspot.com entitled, Fall Leaves.

My friend, Major Reverend Jim Higgins, is currently in Iraq as an Army chaplain. While I encourage you to bookmark his blog in general, I definitely think this post is worth a read. As long as I've known him, he likes to preach and this is no exception. Although I'll never admit it to him (as if he's not reading this), I admire him a great deal and those thoughts are just an example.

Please take a read and remember to be more like Cari in everything you do. May today be the first day in which you stop waiting for something big and just do something.

A New Era is Born

Greetings to all of life's travellers who stop by here. I am creating this blog for both selfish and hopefully self-less reasons. I have always had an interest in commenting on things going on in our society, but have never had a forum. Now with the development of the "blog", this is no longer true.

The point of this blog will develop over time. My original conception is to be a place to stop and think about things that we deal with on a daily basis. I will range from ranting about parents who let their children stand in their shopping carts at obvious peril to their children (yes, I work for a major retailer) to the wisdom of the invasion of Iraq (yes, I was a political science major back in college).

I encourage one and all to comment and we will see where we go with this. I do reserve the right to accept or decline comment and will use that right, not to stifle thought, but to keep the discussion appropriate. I've read other blogs and have found that nothing stops an active thread faster than someone posting infantile nonsense. To avoid this, I would encourage all who stop in to keep relevant and stay polite (not necessarily calm, just polite).

I hope you will join with me and let's walk the road of life together.