Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Cruel and Usual Punishment-a book report

By; Nonie Darwish

Those of you who actually read my stuff understand that I have a great concern about the spread of Islam to every corner of the world. While it may be true that the vast majority do not espouse violence against those of different faiths, it is also estimated that at least 15% can be considered devout enough to commit acts of violence including death to non-believers. 15% times 1.2 billion Muslims in the world today equals 15,000,000. I would think that any caring, thinking person would consider that many radical Muslims to be sufficient to cause alarm.
This book is clearly written and clearly understandable. Mrs. Darwish was born and lived as a Muslim in Egypt for 30 years before immigrating to America. Her mission in life is to alert Americans to the danger we face. She describes in great detail what the life of a female is like living in the Muslim world where girls as young as 9 can be married. The very thought is repugnant to me. Women are deemed to be inferior to men, not to be trusted, not to be educated or allowed any semblance of the freedoms American women take for granted.
She dissects the Koran and Sharia law and exposes the hate that drives Islamic fundamentalists to spread the curse of their “religion”. I put that in parenthesis because I believe as she does that it is more a political ideology than religion. She compares it to fascism and Communism, both of which are dangerous ideologies. This book is different from most in that she does offer intelligent solutions.
1-Define religion and exclude any ideology from that definition that does not pass the following test.
A religion must be a personal choice.
No religion should kill those who leave it.
A religion must never order the killing and subjugation of those who choose not to be its members.
A religion must abide by basic human rights.

2-Make Sharia an illegal law and declare it not a religion but a dangerous totalitarian ideology.

3- Control immigration from the Muslim world. Forms should clearly state that the goal of the immigrant is assimilation into democratic society.

4-Stop issuing religious visas to Muslim clerics imported from Muslim countries.

5- Ban Mosques and Muslim organizations that use religion to promote incitement to kill and hate speech against people of other faiths or atheists.

6- Demand access for access.

7- Stop shipping petrodollars to Arab countries.

8- Strengthen Western Judeo-Christian roots.

All of the above headings were fleshed out with full explanations. I cannot re-write the book for you. I can only urge you to purchase or get from your local library. Quite frankly I am pleased that a book as strong as this got published at all. I fear for the life of the author and her family. These people do not allow others to deride their prophet and his teachings.
Finally I must add that I have been concerned since our President took office with his strong support for Islam. Early on he gave a speech in Cairo that glorified the religion. We are all aware of the deep bow he gave to the King of Saudi Arabia. He has given orders to enforcement agencies not to make any reference to the Muslim religion when killings around the word happen. Two years after Ft Hood the killer is still awaiting trial. Obama considers him a radical not a Muslim carrying out a Jihad against America. That in my opinion is exactly what he did.
Now you know how I feel. I still recommend you informing yourself by reading this book and then staying alert to the danger it declares we are facing today.

Jack B. Walters
December 21, 2011

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Revenge of the Electric Car

(A Documentary Film)

I and six others were in the theatre this evening to see this outstanding presentation of the trials and tribulations of the process of bringing electric cars onto the market. It starts with the well documented destruction in 2006 by General Motors. There were several hundred on the road in California. The lessees really liked the car. Since they were not allowed to purchase, they could not prevent G.M. from taking them back and crushing them to be sure they could not be put back into service. This film follows one that chronicled the saga. It was called “Who killed the Electric Car”. I wrote an article after seeing it. To this day it is hard for me to forgive G.M. management. That is why I was outspoken against the Federal Government bailout.
This new film covers the years since 2006. There is a small company that is retrofitting gasoline cars with batteries. It is a mom and pop type of enterprise run by Greg Abbot. Their main contribution is to provide an alternate as opposed to a newly designed electric car. Carlos Chosn of Nissan is by far the most aggressive. He is staking their future on the success of the Leif and other electric cars. Bob Lutz was instrumental in convincing G.M. management to develop the Volt. Elon Musk started his own company called Tesla Motors in California. He almost went under but is today in production with great looking cars.
We are all aware of the hybrids produced by Honda and Toyota. At the end there are brief glimpses of autos from Europe and also trucks on the road today. How great it would be if electric cars became a larger part of the vehicles on the road, particularly in places like California with the smog produced by gasoline vehicles. You don’t even have to believe in global warming to see the advantage. Wouldn’t it be great to stop sending billions to the countries in the Middle East most of whom hate us.
As I usually do I will end this with a plea to our elected officials and the American consumer. This progress can be brought to a screeching halt if gasoline prices continue to drop. The higher cost and limited range will keep consumers from purchasing as the gas savings will not be sufficient, even though we would all appreciate cleaner air to breathe.
I highly recommend seeing this film.

Jack B. Walters
December 14, 2011

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Response to Arizona Daily Star Editorial

Your editorial today,"Dems, GOP need to come together on payroll-tax cut".

I disagree.
Continuing to not fund the Social Security Trust Fund only hastens the day when the well runs dry. If only funding part of it is OK, why not go all the way and stop funding at all? No responsibility for the future, just please the electorate short term.
As to unemployment extension, quit doing it piecemeal, one extention after the other. If the intent to to provide income for not working and contributing to the general welfare then just extend it forever.
I am from the generation that was willing to sacrifice for the good of the country. The "me" generation rejects that concept and demands give aways. They have somehow concluded they deserve it. Since they get their way, I guess they are right.
Jack B. Walters
December 9,2011

Friday, December 2, 2011

Herman Cain pending decision

I can't wait any longer to put words to paper. It has been reported that tomorrow Mr. Cain will gather his supporters together, after talking privately with his wife, and announce the end of his campaign. This is all due to the harassment charges and lastly the accusation of marital infidelity with a woman he has known for 13 years and has aided financially. He has denied infidelity and denied the previous charges. Do I know, of course not, but here is what I do know. This man rose from poverty and strives to excel in every endeavor he ever attempts. He was very successful in achieving those goals. I bought and read his latest book. At the end are page after page of awards and recognitions he has received for achievement.

I do not believe a man like this could be guilty as he has been charged. Just for a moment let's say he is. For all of you who have worshiped at the feet of Bill Clinton, I wonder if this woman did to Cain what Monica did for Clinton. How soon we forget.

Mr. Cain had captured the imagination of Republicans and had surged ahead of the pack. They and people like me were excited to think of a non politician leading our country out of the morass we are in today. I can remember the debate where all of the other candidates jumped on him over his 9/9/9 proposal. Then all hell broke loose with the accusations. To me this was an orchestrated, successful attempt to get rid of him. The fact that Republicans were rooting for him put the lie to racism. The talk show hosts for the most part have ridiculed him. Certainly the late night hosts have had a field day.

If he caves tomorrow, we will have lost a great opportunity and will be left to choose among whoever is left standing. Any thinking, caring person must choose an alternative to our current President.

Jack B. Walters
December 2,2011