Fourth of July in Petaluma
Thanks to the Argus Courier for bringing us fire chief Chris Albertson’s Guest Commentary on June 26th. His advice is timely, for danger of residential fire always exists, especially during the time fireworks are readily available.
Several years ago, our next door neighbors went away the weekend of July 4th. Someone, possibly a child, threw a firework onto the roof of those neighbors. Petaluma fire-fighters arrived promptly, climbed to the roof and put it out. That was lucky for us, as the neighbors’ house is quite close to our own and the fire could easily have spread to us. On another occasion, someone threw a bottle rocket into our driveway about midnight. Sounded like a bomb going off. Not a very pleasant way to be jolted awake when you have to get up early next morning to go to work.
A few years ago, our City Council discussed enacting a law that would have banned fireworks in Petaluma, except for the display at the fairgrounds. The Council refused, opting instead for a few restrictions on the dates and times when exploding the devices was permissible.
They could have shown some concern for combat veterans. Any kind of explosion has the capacity to startle a vet, given what they’ve just been through. It may even trigger some unpleasant memories.
Perhaps the annual show at the fairgrounds could be preceded by a reading, on a loudspeaker, of the Declaration of Independence, maybe even parts of our Constitution. Recalling these documents is at least as patriotic as a display of pyrotechnics.
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Good News from the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently handed the Bush Administration a setback when it ruled that prisoners at Guantánamo ” have the constitutional right to habeas corpus.” They may now challenge the basis of their detention.
This is certainly good news for the detainees held at Guantanamo, but it is also good news for us ordinary Americans. Habeas corpus – the Great Writ – has protected us, for at least 800 years – from arbitrary arrest, from being held without knowing the reason for said arrest, and for the opportunity to defend ourselves. Habeas corpus is one of the cornerstones of our liberty.
The Supremes in effect said to Bush, “you are not above the law.
It’s about time someone did.
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McCain, Obama and Iran
If we needed any proof that the election campaign of November, 2008, is underway, checking the news provides it. Specifically, John McCain, the GOP presidential nominee has attacked and continues to attack Barack Obama, Democratic presidential nominee, on the problem of Iran.
Obama’s sin, according to McCain, is that he wants to negotiate with Iran. Horrors! That might keep us out of another nasty war like the disaster in Iraq.
Iranian President Ahmadinejad is not any sensible person’s admired statesman, of course. He’s an off-the-wall wingnut and Americans are rightly repelled by his detestable remarks denying the Holocaust and demonizing Israel. McCain’s implication that Obama wants to buddy up with this clown could well hurt the Democrat’s standing with voters. That is if we believe that is what Obama is suggesting. It isn’t. Let’s repeat: It is not.
For the benefit of those among us who don’t have time to read the news in depth, Obama’s exact words were that he “would be willing to lead tough and principled diplomacy with the appropriate Iranian leader. That wouldn’t be Ahmadinejad. Sure, he’s Iran’s president. But in Iran’s system, the country’s supreme leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not the president. He is the commander in chief and it is he who has final say in foreign policy, nuclear programs and defense. We did all know that, didn’t we?
Khamenei has a history of reasonable attitudes. It was he who authorized Iranian diplomats to join Americans, in 2002 in Germany, to talk about the future of Afghanistan. It was he who agreed to direct talks between Iranian diplomats and Americans about security issues in Iraq. And, this January, it was Khamenei who stated his willingness to restore diplomatic relations with the USA after the conflict with Iraq ended.
Obama is not the naive fool portrayed by McCain. By bringing Iran and our country to the same table, the Democrat could undermine Ahmadinejad’s power. That could only be a good thing.
Of course, effective diplomacy would mean avoiding another disastrous war and the deaths of many innocents, including our own soldiers. This would make warrior McCain unhappy. But, as Winston Churchill famously once said, “Jaw-jaw is better than war-war.
Filed under Politics, War | Comment (0)Parents: Don’t let your girls grow up to be soldiers
By Beth Grimes
According to a report in a The International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/25/opinion/edbenedict.php> women are now 15% of our military forces and more than 20% of soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 70% of our female veterans have filed complaints that they were sexually harassed by the soldiers with whom they served and almost a third report being raped.
Female soldiers are now often wounded in combat, producing the same kind of post traumatic stress disorder suffered by men. Adding sexual assault by their male comrades in arms to this trauma has made them nine times as likely as men to develop PTSD. When women fighters are re-deployed after being on leave, they often have to return to the war with the man or men who raped them. Army brass apparently does not see this a problem.
How many Americans know that at least 191,500 women have served in the Middle East since 2001? A lot of them will add to the number of male veterans now seeking care from Veterans Administration medical services, including treatment for PTSD. Will female soldier rape victims be expected to participate in therapy groups filled with men? The VA claims it is going provide more clinics for sufferers of PTSD. How many of these will be for women only? The VA doesn’t say.
Sadly, male officers and political leaders refuse to admit that rape and harassment of female service members is a serious issue.
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