NEWS ITEMS

There has been a lot of news in the last 10 days.

Imagine being on a big jetliner flying from point A to point B, over open ocean, at about 33,000 feet and a speed of about 500 mph.

You encounter some mild turbulence that quickly turns into violent shaking, bucking, banging, terrifying all aboard the plane. The shaking gets worse and with a terrible groaning noise, the wings are ripped from the plane. The plane starts to fall, almost like a dart into the ocean. There is no time to grab an oxygen mask. With any luck, the sudden force of gravity and decompression causes all aboard to pass out before the plane crashes into the ocean.

More than likely, that could be what happened to that Air France jet. Either that, or there was an explosion. My prayers are with the families and friends of all who lost their life on that flight.

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Last Sunday, members of the Al Qaeda Muslim terrorist group beheaded a British citizen, because England would not release a jailed terrorist, known as Abu Qatada.

In response to that, I believe the British authorities should take action to behead Abu Qatada, on a worldwide TV broadcast, then have him drawn and quartered; and have his entrails burned on a pile of Islamic religious literature and books. His quarter-sectioned body should be placed in a manure pit and covered with pig's blood, then left to rot in the sun.

People need to wake up to the fact that we are fighting their war, using our rules. There is no level playing field. Al Qaeda is not a signatory to the Geneva Conventions. If we do not start fighting the war using their rules, we will lose. Al Qaeda is a group of religious nuts who want you dead. It is time to think about protecting yourself and your way of life.

For many Muslim/Islamic fundamentalists, the only good infidel is a dead infidel. Supposedly, their religious literature recommends killing all infidels, unless they convert to Islam.

More than likely, we are in the early stages of a war of us against them. Meaning, all infidels (all other religions on the planet), against the right wing Islamofacists like Al Qaeda.

By the way, the goal of war is to win.

Their war consists of doing whatever it takes to strike terror in the hearts and minds of their enemy (that would be the U.S. and allies).

Rape, chopping off of the fingers, hands, feet, ears, nose, emasculation (losing the family jewels), and, beheading, are all part of their play book; because they are not signatories to The Geneva Conventions.

So people should not get too upset if the U.S. or allies decide to use an eye for an eye approach.

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There is another war, one involving the U.S. government against U.S. veterans. The Veterans Administration (VA) handles claims for veterans who were sick or injured while serving in the U.S. military. There is a growing backlog of claims against the VA, and the backlog grows each day as more troops leave the military and become veterans. Presently, there are close to one million claims in the backlog.

The VA, under Cheney and Bush, became very unfriendly to veterans. It is beginning to look like the Obama administration is providing more of the same. Why?

The new VA administration is making it more difficult for veterans to file legitimate claims. Worse yet, the WWII and Korea veterans are being asked to provide “better documentation.” The VA realizes this is nearly impossible for 70 to 90 year-old veterans. I wonder if the VA is expecting most of them to die before there can be a decision on the claim.

Apparently, if you served in the U.S. Navy, doing electrical repair in a U.S. naval shipyard during WWII or Korea, having to work in and breathe asbestos dust, and you now have an asbestos related illness, that is not proof enough for an older veteran.

There ought to be a better way, and President Obama should be all over this to help veterans.

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Last Sunday, a doctor was murdered at his church in Kansas.

With apologies to Joan Baez. and Joe Hill… “I dreamed I saw Paul Hill last night, alive as you and me. Said I to Paul, you’re six years dead,” “I surely am said he; I surely am said he.”

Paul Hill was another right wing Christian, crackpot, defrocked minister, do-gooder, who was seriously mentally ill and unstable, because he really believed he had to act for God, and killed an abortion doctor.

Paul Hill failed to realize that GOD is all-powerful, and does not need any human help.

The State of Florida made sure that justice was done, and on September 3, 2003, via lethal injection Paul Hill became an ugly historical footnote. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jennings_Hill

There are several more like Paul Hill who are doing life in prison, costing the taxpayers of their state close to $125 per day in incarceration and upkeep costs.

The religiously fervent anti-abortion folks just don’t get it. If GOD did not want abortions to happen, they would not be possible.

Throughout history, many people have decided to act on God's behalf. God is all-powerful and does not need any help from people. To believe otherwise is the work of satan.

It is very wrong for anyone to decide that they should become the prosecutor, the jury and the judge to provide punishment, especially on behalf of God.

Just because someone does something that you do not like, it does not mean you have the right to kill that person.

I hope that upon conviction, this killer receives an appropriate and meaningful punishment. Anyone who claims that God sent a killer to kill the doctor is under the influence of satan.