Now that the War in Iraq is finally over

President Barack Obama announced that all U.S. combat forces will leave Iraq by the end of the year, thus marking a milestone and turning the page on military conflict that has lasted nearly a decade, cost a billion dollars a month and over 4,400 deaths of American soldiers killed in fighting militant Islamic insurgents. This deadline comes with the approval of the Iraqi Provisional government headed by the interim Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. For the returning veterans it will be receiving a heroes welcome initially, military debriefing and then integration back into a society that in economically anemic with no booster shot in sight to stimulate a struggling and stagnant economic machine.

The forty thousand or so former combatants will have a host of problems, and perhaps the most prevalent will be post-traumatic stress deficiency syndrome (PTSD), nightmares, and what do you do with your life now when for the last few years all you have been used to is killing people and blowing up things? This is not to say that our troops have not been exceptional in doing constructive things in Iraq such as help rebuild the infrastructure [roads, bridges, schools, hospitals] and restoring electrical, sewer/water and sanitation services, but with an unemployment around ten percent nationally, what skills can these soldiers offer in a very competitive marketplace that can’t even provide adequate employment opportunities to the most recent college graduates with technical and advanced degrees?

Another thing that hasn’t been discussed is the future role of the U.S. military and its mission to protect America domestically and abroad. Warfare as it has been waged in the past is gone forever and a new kind of fighting has been shaping up. The enemy wears no particular uniform and doesn’t meet you out in the open on a vast battlefield; it isn’t a jungle trail in Southeast Asia with overgrowth covering a ditch booby-trapped with sharpened bamboo poles at the bottom, or other deadly projectiles, or landmines; nor do troops storm a sandy beachhead from amphibious boats to breach razor wire and destroy large guns firing exploding 100mm howitzer shells from a concrete bunker. It is urban guerilla warfare using innocent civilians as human shields with explosives strapped to their bodies. It is using technology in the way of disposable cell phones to detonate IED’s [improved explosive devices], cyber warfare and computer viruses to make vital systems malfunction and inoperative, and it is creating a meltdown in financial markets throughout the world. It is WMD’s (weapons of mass destruction) in the form of chemical, radiological, or bacterial that can produce casualties on a massive scale; almost like a global pandemic.

So, the conventional deployment of thousands of troops and having to bivouac and support them with all the logistics and equipment will give way to the more elite, quick strike force teams like Navy Seals, Green Berets, Army Rangers, and Special Forces. There will be more of an emphasis on intelligence gathering in collaboration with the CIA, Navy Intelligence, Homeland Security and increased use of GIS/GPS systems as well as unmanned predator drone surveillance [and attacks, if necessary]. It must also be remembered that before the War on Terror officially started in 2001, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was going around the country and closing some military bases. This practice will resume because America cannot any longer continue to afford paying for the operation of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine military installations in the United States and around the world because it is now just too cost prohibitive. There will of course be consolidation of some bases to reduce redundancy of operations and personnel but the remaining ones will be closed permanently. It is painful and unpopular but hard choices have to be made so while all Americans celebrate the return of our men and women in uniform from Iraq, some of these same ones will be competing with the rest of us for the few and scarce jobs that are available.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
October 22, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

The Republican’s early holiday gift to Barack Obama

Call it an early Christmas present but the GOP candidates for the nation’s highest elected office is a house divided. Instead of engaging in robust discussions regarding some of our most daunting challenges as a nation the political theatre has mainly produced a two-act play pitting two main actors against each other in a real-life dramatization about who is an “authentic” Christian. For Mitt Romney, who is Mormon, this is déjà vu or like the movie “Groundhog Day” where he relives his past over and over again. He is slick and polished, and honest-looking, like a used car salesman but as the Latin phrase goes, “caveat emptor.” Rick Perry is an Evangelical Christian whose religious dialogue with God and faith experience is uncannily similar to that of his gubernatorial predecessor and former President of the United States, George “Dubya” Bush. Michelle Bachmann was “Cinderella” until the clock finally struck midnight and one minute later she has been as relevant as a ‘Raggedy Ann’ doll.

Newt Gingrich imploded from the start like an errant WMD whose target was itself. Ron Paul, the darling of the Lyndon LaRouche crowd is like a lone tree falling in the forest that if nobody is there, who hears the sound that it makes? And then there is John Huntsman who is the perfect gentleman, but he has about as much charisma as former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. Not to forget about Governor Chris Christie, who initially received a little sympathy support to throw his hat into the ring but decided against it; perhaps he looked less like the usual politician and more like a contestant on “The Biggest Loser.” Hermann Cain, the former Godfather Pizza magnate (Mr. 9-9-9) was asked to comment about whether he thought ‘Mormonism’ was a cult on CNN’s “State of the Union” last Sunday and said that he was not going to compare Mormonism vs. Christianity, but by the mere fact that he mentioned it in that way means he had already considered it as a “cult” and not Christian. Even Sarah Palin has decided not to campaign for President but thinks that she can better serve the American people by being our voice and championing our concerns by holding the Washington D.C. politicians feet to the fire on the hot button issues. For President Barack Obama, it seems that his only “real” opponents to a second term in office are THE ECONOMY, House Majority Leader, Representative John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
October 13, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Texas Governor decides to run for President

Texas Governor Rick Perry has finally entered the race as the Republican Party’s nominee for president of the United States, after months of speculation by political pundits. The one thing which can be said about Mr. Perry is his rather non-apologetic entry into the national spotlight and take-no-prisoners attitude. The one thing that may eventually turn off some of the electorate is the swagger of this gun-totin’ shoot-from-the-hip Chief Executive of the great State of Texas is that southern bravado and blunt talk, which he does with great abandon. Perhaps this should be expected from Governor because he is just following in the footsteps of other Texans who have had quite a few notable quotes of their own. Former Houston Mayor Louie Welch was once asked the question by a reporter in 1987, “What are you going to do about the gays?” He said, “I don’t know, I guess take them out somewhere and shoot them.” In 1990, Texas oilman Clayton Williams in his gubernatorial bid was once quoted as saying, “What can you do about the weather, it just like being raped; it’s inevitable [there’s nothing you can do about it] so you might as well just sit back and enjoy it.”

Now Rick Perry has added his quotes to the political lexicon with statements like Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernacke should be tried for treason and if he were in Texas the people there would really do a job on him; you know, “Don’t Mess with Texas.” In the common vernacular, ‘they would treat him like a stepchild that stole something.’ And who can’t forget the now famous Perry ‘dis’ to a reporter: “Adios MoFo.” The only person who probably has more of those down home Texas sayings is former CBS News anchor Dan Rather; although Sam Donaldson, of ABC News, another Texan, doubtless has some witty repartee also. Don't be too surprised if NBC’s “SNL” has an upcoming skit in the works but this is not a laughing matter, with America’s economic future and way of life at stake. It is not known when the Texas Governor will either shoot himself in the foot or insert his foot into his mouth to end his presidential bid, but it will come; and it just may very well be when the political dust settles that Michelle Bachmann will be the “Last Man Standing.”


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
August 18, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Spanking as a form of discipline had its merit

There is an old African proverb which goes something like this: “It takes a village to raise a child” and it is so true. One of the things that probably contributes the most to juvenile delinquency is a lack of discipline; starting in the home. This is the environment where a child is first introduced to the values and conduct which will make him a productive and law-abiding member of society. If a child was seen doing anything wrong ‘back in the day’ then any adult, especially a neighbor or friend of the family would grab their belt and call the child over to them and give them a whipping [spanking]. Not only that, but word would get back to the parents who would beat the child; and maybe the aunt, uncle, or even the grandparents, might choose to administer their dose of discipline, too. There was no such thing as the child cussing out anyone, threatening them or even fighting back because nearly everyone [in the Black community, especially] has heard, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it, as well.” And just about every boy has feared his dad growing up, who was usually meaner-looking and a lot bigger and someone that you didn’t want to get on his bad side.

The one cardinal family or house rule that was almost sacred was “respect for your elders” or any adult person; regardless as to whether you knew or even liked them or not. This attitude was especially important in the schools when it came to interaction with teachers. Just like Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, discipline in the form of swatting an unruly student’s butt was school policy, and the long walk down the hall to the principal’s office was a much dreaded affair and effective deterrent in most cases. This method of enforcement seemed to keep at a minimum schoolyard violence, expulsions and delinquency. Then one day a few Social Scientists and Mental Health Professionals in addition to a growing number of White parents began to allege that this treatment traumatizes the students [their children] and it was deemed as “abusive.” Since it later became “Law” that a teacher could no longer discipline a child in this manner, afterwards, this law was extended to include the home, also. Now with all the legal protections in place a child could virtually do what he or she wanted with impunity because after-all, no one could lay a hand on them; at least, no one except the police.

So, what is the legacy today from people like Dr. Benjamin Spock and other proponents of letting the child sit on “time out” or take away some of their privileges [like watching television and other favorites] or, if they want something then just let them have it? Well, there are more school dropouts and students failing to graduate, increases in teenage alcohol and drug use, pregnancy, gang affiliation and criminality leading to incarceration in jail or prison. Obviously, there are other socio-economic factors at work here and the blame cannot be placed entirely upon the shoulders of a few medical experts, lawmakers, and parents [many of them single-parents] and it just may be too late to reverse course because the genie is already out of the bottle. It does make one wonder, however, if there wasn’t something right and good about “spare the rod and spoil the child?”


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
August 15, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

The Mortgage crisis is an evolution of collective greed

It is sad to see empty driveways, streets littered with trash and debris and abandoned houses in a neighborhood resembling a “ghost town” but this is also the “new” norm in America. The question can be asked as to what has happened to that golden ‘American Dream’ of owning your own home? Well, the answer is a lot simpler than most people think and it can be answered in one word, “greed”? You see, there was a time long ago in this country when one of the main goals in life was to purchase a home and live in it to raise your family; which usually meant until your children graduated from college, got married and had the grandchildren come visit until their teen years, or so.

It wasn’t too unusual for three generations to have lived in the same house at some point in time. A home was thought of as a kind of a permanent symbol so you won’t be a forgotten memory and you can bequeath a lasting legacy for future generations. In a way it is like the Native Americans connection to the ‘land’, it is your own sacred place on the earth. Generally, the times when a house was sold occurred when an occupant died or an elderly or infirm occupant was relocated to a Nursing Home, or as property settlement in a divorce proceeding. Mortgages were usually held on the property for twenty years but sometime during the late 1970’s there was a strategy being circulated where you could pay off your house sooner. Instead of the standard twelve monthly installments per annum [year] the homeowner could remit three extra payments to be applied toward the principal amount of the loan and not have it sent into the escrow account. This usually resulted in mortgages being paid off in thirteen years or so. It may not have a big deal if only a few homeowners did this but when thousands of people began using this technique, then obviously the holder of the note began to be a little concerned.

After this practice went on for some time, penalties were assessed for paying off the loan early and in some instances, loans were not granted unless the applicant agreed to make payments for the duration of the loan. The Banks and S&L’s who financed mortgages for twenty years made most of their money off the interest payments in those first seven years or more and then the homeowner started to chip away at the principal amount. When it was all said and done the homeowner usually ended up paying at least twice the original loan amount over the two decades. Next what came on the real estate market radar were those adorable and appealing ARM’s (Adjustable Rate Mortgages), whereby you can move into a home and make affordable payments and then a few years later your mortgage payments will increase gradually. The thinking was that if a person was still employed then they would probably be getting a raise during the time and should be able to afford the note. Even with a merit and COLA (Cost-of-Living-Adjustment) increase, it was not enough to pay that balloon payment which increased the payments by 50% and sometimes double what the premiums were previously.

In theory, the ARM’s were supposedly adjusted to interest rates, the yield on T-Bills, the rate of inflation or long-term corporate bonds. It seems rather, that this was more like those companies that offer interest-free financing for five years, which is great, but if you are late or miss making one payment, you are charged all the accumulated interest for those five years. This was really the handwriting on the wall because people started defaulting on their mortgage loan payments because of the ARM’s but despite the alarm bells and red flashing lights, financial institutions were heavily leveraged in residential mortgage securities and loans, with backing and approval by the federal government.

Now here is where it really gets interesting: During this time also there were books written by multi-millionaires who acquired their wealth in real estate and seminars sprang up in cities throughout America teaching people on ‘Main Street’ how to make money like the fat cats on ‘Wall Street’ and that is through a technique known as “flipping.” What is was basically is someone buys a house [not for the purpose of a homestead] and hold onto it for a short while and then puts it up for sale when the value of it appreciates beyond what his loan obligation is; usually to the tune of several thousands of dollars. This is, in my opinion, what sounded the death knell in the Real Estate market; and for this simple reason: A house or residential property appreciates in value over time based upon equity and escrow balance. Of course, the federal government through the IRS fed this frenzy through its tax law which stipulated that proceeds resulting from the sale of a primary domicile [residence] was not taxed as ordinary income.

In a typical mortgage payment there is PITI [principal, insurance, taxes {escrow} and interest] and all of this is tied into what is called the “Time value of money.” If a home loan is renegotiated after a couple of years due to the county tax assessors property appraisal there is no real increase in appreciable ‘equity’ or value in the house as well as very little escrow beyond what is sufficient to pay property taxes and prevent the mortgage payment from increasing. The thousands of homeowners who did this over the decades ‘”only” exacerbated an already growing problem [mortgage foreclosures and bankruptcies] along with complicity from: banks, S&L’s, credit unions, and the federal government, including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginny Mae.

So, what can be done about it? Perhaps the first thing is to start depositing money back into savings accounts instead of allocating most or all of our discretionary income [cash minus bills] into a 401-k plan or an IRA for retirement. One of the two main reasons that banks don’t like to loan money is because the average American has a zero balance in their savings account and banks loan money based upon a ration of deposits [cash and cash equivalents] that they have on hand. Although the housing market for residential real estate is in a slump, commercial property investiture has been steadily rising year after year. The reason that banks are more apt to fund a merchant account is because the particular business has deposited money into its account or offered some form of collateral that can be converted into cash that the bank uses to make a profit.

If the average commercial account was like the average individual depositor with a zero balance and nothing of monetary value as collateral, then no business loans would be made. The other thing is major credit cards belong to a bank and when someone is delinquent on their payment obligations and files bankruptcy, then guess who has to absorb that loss-the same bank that you go to and apply for a mortgage loan. Thousands of Americans can’t just conveniently treat credit cards like its “free money” and then turn around and just wash your hands of any further financial responsibility just because you can’t afford to pay on your account anymore, because one thing affects another and the crisis we are in is just “the chickens coming home to roost.”

Lastly, before even considering buying a house, take inventory of your personal motivation for buying a house in the first place-is it as a ‘homestead’ or are you in it for “profit?” The next thing, which is probably the most important, is for the federal government to get out of the mortgage business by insuring or guaranteeing residential loans. The government is not a business or company that manufactures, produces, or sells goods and services, but rather all it has the authority to do is tax and print money.

The financial lending institutions should use “common sense” when it pertains to establishing guidelines for loan applicants. No person or family should be approved for a home loan if it exceeds twice their annual income and the down payment on a house should not exceed 5% of the loan amount. In the present climate of a depreciated real estate residential marketplace and weak economy this should spur more home-buying and free up money sitting idle in the bank vaults or at the Federal Reserve. The thinking here is that it is better to get a person into a house that they can afford with as little financial stress as possible, because they just might stay in it long enough without defaulting on their obligations for the holder of the lien or title to make their money back with interest during the first 7 to 10 years on a 20 year mortgage loan. The one stipulation though, is that the homeowner has to promise to stay [homestead] in it for the duration of the loan unless some unexpected circumstances intervene. In this way it would seem to be a “WIN-WIN” situation for everyone involved.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
August 3, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

The Federal debt-limit compromise is a "deal to nowhere"

As former President George W. Bush would say, “sounds to me like fuzzy math” because as reported in The Tacoma News Tribune and Associated Press on Tuesday August 2, 2011, the agreement between President Barack Obama and Congress to avoid defaulting on its fiduciary obligations to pay on its debt, averted, at least for the moment, a government shutdown and sending America further into a steeper economic recession, as well as panicking financial markets worldwide. The thing is though, was this really good and responsible legislation or just another case of passing the buck or kicking the can down the road for the next administration?

The government “debt-reduction” Plan:

1. To raise the current $14.3 trillion ceiling by an additional $900 billion, then between $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion.

2. A special joint congressional committee is to come up with “new” deficit-reduction measures by Thanksgiving and Congress [The Senate] must vote on by year’s end. They are required to write a bill for reducing deficits [government spending] over the next ten years by another $1.5 trillion, but how does that make any sense when government spending exceeds $3.6 trillion every year [#4b]? The committee could change entitlement programs as Medicare, Social Security, and amend the existing tax code. If they did want to make such changes, that would seem to go against previous statements by the president to protect Social Security and Medicare.

3. The combined [$14.3T + $2.4T] $16.7 trillion increase should be enough to fund government operations and pay its debt through the 2012 election without the President and Congress needing to go through this process again.

4. According to the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] the $900 billion in cuts to federal agency budgets will be phased in over a ten year period, while for the next year alone the cuts would “only” amount to $21 billion, and how is that going to make a difference when government spending will exceed $3.6 trillion [FORMULA: $3.6T-$21.0B/$3.6T=5.84%]?

5. There were no “specifics” on which non-defense programs will be spared besides SSI, low income [HUD and others??] and Medicare.

6. The government is cutting funding in infrastructure projects [parks, roads, bridges, highways]; the very areas that President Obama said would generate thousands of jobs for Americans. There have also been cuts to educational programs [Pell Grants and loans], which again, President Obama guaranteed that every American student who wanted a college education and could not afford one would get one, as it would make us more competitive globally; especially funding areas in such courses as Science, Math and Engineering.

7. The one sticky point is President Obama wants to tax corporations and wealthy individuals while Republicans don’t want this to be part of any tax reform.

If one looks at the numbers it seems that this so-called “New Deal” is nothing more than an “old” cop-out and at least three things it is in reality tailored to do: (1) appease nervous [jittery] major foreign government investors not to start dumping trillions of dollars in T-Bills, (2) pass the buck to another ‘special’ congressional panel to come up with a ‘real’ solution because nobody else has or can, (3) and to postpone any significant legislation until after the 2012 Election, when possibly a new administration will have all of this mess to deal with that is leftover from “OBAMAMERICA.”


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
August 2, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Shooting death of Tacoma city worker very sad

Tacoma News Tribune staff writer Adam Lynn reported on Thursday July 14, 2011 about the accidental shooting death of Code Enforcement Officer Lisa Melancon. This is another one of those inexplicable freak occurrences where a firearm is discharged and the person who is killed was not the apparent target. What started out as an argument and the exchange of nasty text messages between two teenage females spiraled out of control and involved male acquaintances of both of them wherein a fight ensued between the guys [Jordan Kudla and Manny Castillo], which was next door to Melacon. Olujimi Blakeney, a friend of Castillo’s fired a round in the air to break up the fight, after previously pointing it at Kudla’s mother [who was hitting her son and Castillo with a baseball bat to get them to stop fighting] and allegedly threatened to kill her, fled from the scene of the altercation in Herman Jackson’s car and pointed his revolver outside the passenger-side window and fired blindly as he was making his getaway.

The bullet struck Melancon in the head, who had gone outside on the front porch of their house to call her husband back inside because he had gone out to see what was going on. City of Tacoma Deputy Prosecutor Jerry Costello wants to charge Olujimi Blakeney with First Degree Murder because he says the perpetrator [Blakeney] showed an extreme “indifference” to human life. In order to satisfy the legal requirement for “Murder in the First” the Prosecution must prove: (1) A person is guilty of murder in the first degree when: (a) With premeditated intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person; or (b) Under circumstances manifesting an extreme “indifference” to human life, he or she engages in {conduct which creates a grave risk of death} to any person, and thereby causes the death of the person [RCW 9A.32.030]. Most likely, the Deputy PA will seek to prove part (b).

There is however, another provision in the Criminal Law Code of Washington State which could also meet the requirement for unlawful conduct, namely, Murder in the Second Degree: (1) A person is guilty of murder in the second degree when: (a) With intent to cause the death of another person but without premeditation, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person; or (b) He or she commits or attempts to commit any felony, including assault, other than those enumerated in RCW 9A.32.030(1)(c), and, in furtherance of such crime or in immediate flight therefrom, he or she, or another participant, causes the death of a person “other than” one of the participants; except that in any prosecution under this subdivision (1)(b) in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, if established by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence, it is a defense that the defendant. . . [RCW 9A.32.050]

Mr. Costello may have his work cut out for him to prove the higher threshold of Murder in the First because he has to provide evidence which shows that Blakeney engaged in “conduct which creates a grave risk of death” and explain what the legal definition of that phrase means. On the other hand, it would seem that based upon the information that has come out so far and not having access to the Charging Documents, the crime of Second Degree Murder is a much stronger case because Blakeney was (1) involved in the commission of a felony [assault]; (2) he took immediate flight from the scene [extending or furthering the crime]; (3) and his discharge of a firearm caused the death [accidental] of someone [Lisa Melancon] who was not involved in the original assault [allegedly threatening Mrs. Kudla]. Even the possession of a revolver by Olujimi Blakeney is most likely a felony because he may have had a prior felony conviction on some other charge. Be that as it may, it is so sad and such a tragedy when something like this happens because it is sudden, unexpected and is forever; live for all the families involved in this tragic event will never be the same.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
July 15, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

America's economic trouble requires a "We the People" solution, not a political one

The one thing that is becoming increasingly clearer by now is that our elected officials don’t have the answers to solving our problems. They tell us what we want to hear and blame the other political party for being obstructionist and partisan, and yet, aren’t they equally as biased towards serving their own particular constituency and supporters? Politicians cannot fix what’s broken [I guess it’s above their pay grade] and when they show “Humpty Dumpty” to the public, he is a legislative patchwork of duct tape or held together with rubber bands and paper clips. It’s funny, but the Tea Party as a grassroots movement initially had the right idea, and that was to reform the way things were done in the Beltway by wanting to limit the power of Big Government [Federal] and the influence of corporate lobbyists [special interest groups], thereby preserving to the “People” the power to control their own lives and make decisions that serve their best interests and the public welfare. It is under the U.S. Constitution’s Declaration of Independence that a free people can amend or abolish any form of government that deprives them of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness [without ‘Due Process’]; and of which does not promote the general welfare and domestic tranquility of its citizens.

It is time to realize that although we are a nation of many individuals from diverse backgrounds yet we are “all” in this rut together and it is going to take our ‘collective’ intellectual, technical, scientific, spiritual and creative energies [imagination] to save all of us. We can no longer pay attention to the divisive labeling and characterizations of Americans who are just as patriotic, God-fearing and who love this country just as much as anybody else. It isn’t about popularity, celebrity, or even hypocrisy, but rather who can come up with solutions. Sometimes we forget that we breathe the same air and if a butterfly flaps its wings, the effect can be felt somewhere on the planet. None of us is an island unto himself so why not put aside all of the nonsense, bickering, finger-pointing and roll up our sleeves, get to work and try to figure out our way out of this fiscal nightmare and economic mess that even some of the experts haven’t been able to come up with the answers.

Perhaps the best way to go about this is to attack the problem from all sides, that is at the local level [community/town], city, county, state and then all the way up to the federal government. The first thing to acknowledge is that all problems cannot be solved at once and that each and every person is responsible to make sacrifices and contribute in some way, because there are no free lunches. For whatever reason, it seems people are so averse and adamant against being taxed, but yet they still want to benefit from the resources and services that those very unpopular taxes provide as revenue to these same agencies. Somehow, “taxation without representation” means, we pay too much in taxes already so we don’t want to pay more. This attitude forgets to take into account that more people than ever before are receiving payments from some government program today than at any other time in the nation’s history.

Of course, nobody wants to pay taxes, but more importantly than that, no one wants to pay more that their fair-share; there are a few, however, that don’t want to pay at all. Former hotel heiress Leona Helmsley was once quoted as saying, “only losers pay taxes.” The one thing that makes America one of the greatest countries on earth is the unrivaled spirit that people have when it comes to voluntary giving through philanthropy and private donations. Funding doesn’t always have to be the result of a bond, levy, bill, referendum or proposition. There are at least two avenues to pursue when it comes to solving the budget and financial crisis facing all business sectors [private, public, state, federal, etc.], namely, to promote and advertise through some non-for-profit organization or foundation the benefit of public support on a voluntary basis to keep certain programs viable and serving the community. The next idea, which is not new because some schools already use it to motivate academically poorer students to get better grades or higher SAT scores, and is performance-based. A similar approach could be used, which is an incentive program that rewards any great idea, whereby if it is used, the submitter will receive financial compensation or in this case a cash annuity like the lottery. If the person is a teenager, they can receive a full 4 year full-ride scholarship to any university in the country, along with the annuity if they qualify; which can be used to pay for living expenses if living off campus or for whatever.

This strategy means thinking out of the box and is a fundamental shift in the way that things are done but considering the dismal track record that exists now and how politicians seem more interested in Texting pictures of themselves wearing briefs or boxer underwear, this is a much better use of taxpayer money. This can be done at any government level and some age restrictions and other guidelines would apply but it shouldn’t be any different from entering a sweepstakes, game contest or even playing in the State Lottery. Perhaps something like this has been tried in the past and it was more trouble than it was worth to set everything up and administer it. Well, that may very well be but isn’t it worth a second look and remember that it was either Thomas Alva Edison or Alexander Graham Bell that failed in his experiments 99 times before he came upon the one that succeeded. Besides, the way things are going, what do we have to lose?


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
July 14, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Miami Heat wilted in front of hometown fans

It looks like King James may just have to wait a little longer for his coronation because it seems that Dirk Nowitzski of the Dallas Mavericks is holding it, along with the NBA finals title of MVP. Miami Heat players LeBron James and Dwayne Wade mocked Dirk Nowitzski with gestures of choking up, but it seems that they were the ones who couldn’t come back in the final minutes of Game 6 to even the series at 3-3. In one of the most controversial trades in recent NBA history, the Cleveland Cavaliers sent LeBron James to the Miami Heat, joining a roster that included all-stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The “Dream Team” of professional basketball had all but been assured a championship ring with this level of talent, but it seems that their bubble was burst by an upstart Dallas Maverick’s team owned by colorful owner Mark Cuban. This improbable win will have sports analysts and fans of the game scratching their heads in disbelief for some time because statistically, this series should have been a clean sweep for the Miami. And besides, who would have thought that a White guy and B-ball player from Germany would steal the honors and glory from a home-grown legend-in-the-making? The city of Cleveland and Cavalier fans are doubtless very happy at this unexpected outcome, and for LeBron James, he is learning that it takes more than just exceptional skill to be a champion, and revenge is a dish best served cold, which is what he will be chewing on for awhile.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
June 12, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Sarah Palin has her own "birther" issue to deal with

The controversy over President Obama’s place of birth has dogged him ever since his presidency amid allegations that he is not an American citizen and is derided by some of his detractors as the illegitimate president. He has been accused of being born in Indonesia or Kenya and then moving to Hawaii. When the president initially released the short form of his birth certificate it was received with suspicion because it lacked some of the more vital information that is contained in more authentic and official looking forms. It is only recently that President Obama sent his personal attorney to Hawaii and petitioned the State Health Director Department of Vital Statistics to release a copy of the long form birth certificate in order to finally silence his critics and put closure on this long overdue distraction that had began to undermine his policy agenda. The dust may have settled on this matter for the president, but when it comes to Sarah Palin, the issue of whether she is Trig Palin’s biological mother has been simmering on the back burner for some time now. Pictures of a supposed 7 month pregnant Sarah Palin as well as her unexpected and hasty return to Alaska while leaking amniotic fluid and suffering contractions, thereby canceling a previously scheduled appearance in Texas, although her condition was unbeknownst to anyone in her inner circle. Sarah has previously chided President Obama about his birth records, however, the former Governor of Alaska and political celebrity has been remiss in producing an official birth certificate of her youngest child, Trig.

When Sarah was John McCain’s Vice Presidential running mate, she appeared in public like a Norman Rockwell family portrait hugging a child with Down’s syndrome held lovingly in her arms. Nowadays, the mother of a disabled child can be found hamming it up in front of those same “liberal” media cameras that she has expressed such disdain for; whether she travels to India, Haiti, Washington D.C. or New York to meet with billionaire real estate mogul, Donald Trump, FOX NEWS special contributor, or house shopping for and buying a 1.6 million dollar house in Arizona while most Americans have foreclosed mortgages. Outside of riding on the back of a ‘Harley’ into the Nation’s Capital on Memorial Day or continuing to travel across the country on her self-promoting “ONE NATION” bus ride to show the rest of us Americans how to appreciate our Constitutional heritage; as though we need her guidance. The thing is, the woman who promotes family, faith and all of that, who is taking care of her special needs son? It seems that her husband Todd is part of her entourage and is seen almost as often as she is, so who is taking care of home, which is so important to this pit bull soccer mom and momma grizzly? It might be one thing if she actually was a candidate for political office, then one could support her sacrifice for the public good for time away from her family to take on some of the more challenging issues of talking about health care, the economy and jobs, the federal deficit, national security, pre-K through HS education, college tuition costs, prison overcrowding and crime, campaign finance reform, among other concerns. Be that as it may, the former Alaska Governor, author, reality TV star, and soon to be recipient of an undisclosed sum of money for the rights to make a made-for-television movie about her life, Sarah Palin knows how to pick her battles, the ones that she knows she can win.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
June 3, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Putting the brakes on producing Electric Cars?

The initial premise behind producing eco-friendly, lithium-ion battery powered electric motorized cars that you can recharge by plugging into a 220 volt outlet or charging station sounds like the dream-come-true answer to reduce America’s carbon footprint and addiction to foreign oil, but is it nothing more than an illusion? Electricity is being touted as clean energy, which it is in most respects, but there is one significant omission that proponents are forgetting to remind the public, namely, that the majority of America’s electrical appetite is being supplied by polluting hydrocarbons. According to a 2009 study, Coal accounts for over 45%, followed by Natural Gas at 23% and lastly, Petroleum by-products at 1%, for at total of at least 69% to supply our total energy needs.

Outside of these, the next largest industry is Nuclear, and considering the Fukishima, Japan Daiichi reactor meltdown of March 11, 2011 and the Chernobyl RBMK reactor Nuclear Power Plant disaster in April 26, 1986 in the Ukraine as well as Three Mile Island (TMI) in Harrisburg, PA partial meltdown of TMI-2 reactor core resulting in the release of radioactive Krypton-85 gas and Iodine -131 into the surrounding environment on March 28, 1979. Those people living downwind of the disaster reported lung cancer and leukemia rates 2 to 10 times normal as well as a spike in infant mortality rates two years after the event. Considering all of this concern over the safety of nuclear energy, it is very unlikely such unpredictable and potentially dangerous substances will be used as a reliable energy source provider in the present or near future.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
May 25, 2011
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Another End of the World prophesy fails to happen

Pastor Harold Camping’s prediction about the world ending at 6PM EST on May 21, 2011, seems to be the latest installment in a string of failed Doom’s Day prophecies stretching back as far as the middle of the First Century AD. The Jewish separatist religious sect called the Essenes might have believed the countdown to the final apocalyptic battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness occurred when the Roman legion under the command of Titus destroyed the Jewish Temple in 70 AD.
There have been many others, such as in the following from a GOOGLE search:

2nd Century
The Montanists believed that Christ would come again within their lifetimes and establish a new Jerusalem at Pepuza, in the land of Phrygia. Montanism was perhaps the first bona fide Christian doomsday cult.

247
Rome celebrated its thousandth anniversary this year. At the same time, the Roman government dramatically increased its persecution of Christians, so much so that many Christians believed that the End had arrived.

365
Hilary of Poitiers predicted the world would end in 365.

380
The Donatists, a North African Christian sect headed by Tyconius, looked forward to the world ending in 380.

Late 4th Century
St. Martin of Tours (ca. 316-397) wrote, "There is no doubt that the Antichrist has already been born. Firmly established already in his early years, he will, after reaching maturity, achieve supreme power."

500
Roman theologian Sextus Julius Africanus (ca. 160-240) claimed that the End would occur 6000 years after the Creation. He assumed that there were 5531 years between the Creation and the Resurrection, and thus expected the Second Coming to take place no later than 500 AD. (Kyle p.37, McIver #21)

Hippolytus (died ca. 236), believing that Christ would return 6000 years after the Creation, anticipated the Parousia in 500 AD. (Abanes p.283)

The theologian Irenaeus, influenced by Hippolytus's writings, also saw 500 as
the year of the Second Coming. (Abanes p.283, McIver #15)

Apr 6, 793
Elipandus, bishop of Toledo, described a brief bout of end-time panic that happened on Easter Eve, 793. According to Elipandus, the Spanish monk Beatus of Liébana prophesied the end of the world that day in the presence a crowd of people.

Mar 25, 970
Lotharingian computists foresaw the End on Friday, March 25, 970

Sep 23, 1186
John of Toledo, after calculating that a planetary alignment would occur in Libra on September 23, 1186 (Julian calendar), circulated a letter (known as the "Letter of Toledo") warning that the world was to going to be destroyed on this date, and that only a few people would survive.

Feb 14, 1420
Czech Doomsday prophet Martinek Hausha (Martin Huska) of the radical Taborite movement warned that the world would end in February 1420, February 14 at the latest. The Taborites were an offshoot of the Hussite movement of Bohemia.

Feb 1, 1524
The End would occur by a flood starting in London on February 1 (Julian), according to calculations some London astrologers made the previous June. Around 20,000 people abandoned their homes, and a clergyman stockpiled food and water in a fortress he built. As it happened, it didn't even rain in London on that date.

Feb 20, 1524
A planetary alignment in Pisces was seen as a sign of the Millennium by astrologer Johannes Stoeffler. The world was to be destroyed by a flood on this date (Julian), Pisces being a water sign.

May 27, 1528
Reformer Hans Hut predicted the end would occur on Pentecost.

Oct 19, 1533
Mathematician Michael Stifel calculated that the Day of Judgement would begin at 8:00am on this day.

Apr 5, 1534
Jan Matthys predicted that the Apocalypse would take place on Easter Day (April 5, Julian calendar).

Jul 22, 1556
In 1556, a rumor was circulating that the world would end on Magdalene's Day, as recorded by Swiss medical student Felix Platter.

Apr 28, 1583
The Second Coming of Christ would take place at noon, according to astrologer Richard Harvey. This was the date of a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, and numerous astrologers in London predicted the world would end then.

The Millerites [William Miller], a North American religious group [Seventh day Adventists], predicted that the Second Coming would take place in 1833, but when nothing happened they rescheduled the event for 1844.

Back in 1844 a preacher named Samuel Snow, based on a prophecy in the Book of Daniel, predicted the world would end on October 22.

In Chicago, a housewife named Dorothy Martin, said she came in contact with beings from the planet Clarion who told her the world would be destroyed on Dec. 21, 1954 by flood and that the faithful would be rescued at midnight by flying saucers. But there was no flood. No saucers.

Since 1970, Hal Lindsay, the Christian Science Monitor reports, has been predicting the end of the world. His book that year was titled “The Late, Great Planet Earth.” He wrote another book 26 years later titled “Planet Earth 2000 A.D.: Will Mankind Survive?” He said Christians should not make any plans after 2000.

Pat Robertson, the famed evangelist, said in 1980: “I guarantee you by the end of 1982 there is going to be a judgment on the world.”

COMMENTARY: Of course, one cannot forget the panic or anxiety regarding Y2K [the year 2000] and now we have, May 21, 2011. Some people might have thought that September 11, 2001 [911] as the Beginning of the End, but as it turns out it is rather a new normal for American national identity which seems to be a gradual erosion of First Amendment Rights and Privacy issues for the sake of National Security. Interestingly, Pastor Camping made an earlier prediction about the End Time or Rapture but it failed to come to pass, also. Camping uses what he says are the holy numbers 5, 10, and 17 to arrive at a countdown of 722, 500 days starting from 33 AD on April 1st [April Fool’s Day??]. The thing is, none of these secret numbers that he has supplied are considered sacred or special as mentioned in the Biblical canon like the numbers 7, 12, 4, or possibly even 3. Consider the words of Jesus in which He says:

Matthew 24: 11, 36 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Jeremiah 23: 18 Thus says the LORD of Hosts: Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 18: 22 When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; that prophet has spoken it presumptuously [falsely]; you shall not be afraid of him [give heed to him].


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
May 21, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Osama bin Laden’s death leaves more questions than answers

It was late Sunday night, May 1, 2011, that Americans took to the streets in jubilation over the news that the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 airplane attack on the Pentagon, Twin Towers, and the downing of American Airlines flight 97, was killed by two dozen American Special Forces in the town of Abbottabad, Pakistan. Besides the questions that Pakistani security forces [police and military], Pakistani intelligence [ISI], and government officials have to answer about how the world’s most wanted and notorious fugitive could have lived in a residential compound roughly 200 yards from the Pakistani military academy for the past 4 years or longer. For the Obama administration, it is a matter of providing credible evidence that bin Laden was indeed killed in the ensuing firefight between his security and the commando assault from American rapid, strike-force troops. One of the curious things that seem to require some clarity is that Osama bin Laden was shot twice in the head although he did not have a weapon; yet he was supposedly given the opportunity to surrender but he chose to resist, instead. In fact, Aljazeera was the first source to mention that Osama was unarmed and afterwards, officials of the US government confirmed the accuracy of the report as mentioned in the sometimes controversial Arab news agency. To wit, was Osama bin Laden executed mafia-style, by a bullet to the head from U.S. Special Forces?

There is no information on what action bin Laden did to avoid capture and refuse to surrender, or even what threat an unarmed terrorist such as Osama bin Laden posed to the Navy Seals. After he was killed a DNA sample was taken from a deceased bin Laden to confirm his identity, his body was buried within 24 hours, respecting Muslim tradition. The most puzzling thing of all is, why take the body instead of just leaving the bloody corpse in the bedroom on the second floor of the house? Let Osama bin Laden’s relatives in Saudi Arabia along with the Pakistani government decide what to do with his body? The only real proof that the American military operatives need is the photos which show that bin Laden was actually killed. Come to think of it, why haven’t pictures been sent to some U.S. allies who are members of the Arab League or prestigious Muslim clerics who can authenticate what appears to be dead body of the slain al-Qaida leader.

The threat from global insurgency is still an ongoing concern, as the most dangerous terrorists are the al-Qaeda in Yemen, Afghanistan Taliban, al-Qaeda in Pakistan, Hamas, Hezbollah, the PLO, Iran and perhaps the Islamic Brotherhood in Egypt among others. Although al-Qaeda has become more decentralized with numerous splinter groups and sleeper cells operating in many countries, in some ways it makes the efforts to finally defeat global terrorism somewhat problematic. The only thing that can be done is to remain at a constant state of vigilance and as long as there is economic inequality, religious fanaticism, educational disparity, poverty, lack of access to technology, disillusionment, repressive governments and human rights violations, then these destabilizing problems will continue to exacerbate the implementation of even more suicide bombings and other murderously violent acts.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
May 3, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

NATO workers slain in protests over Quran burning

In what is considered an intentional provocation and cultural insensitivity toward the religious faith of over a billion and a half devotees, a copy of the holy book of Islam, was burned at the Gainesville, FL Church of Pastor Terry Jones. Outrage over this premeditated act spilled into the streets of the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan where demonstrators rioted and set cars and shops afire and in the wake of their riot four Afghan protestors and seven U. N. employees lay dead, according to Associated Press reporter Amir Shah and writers Deb Riechman and Mirwais Khan in the Kandahar province. Although Pastor Jones was not personally involved in the bonfire which took place March 20th, yet, he videotaped the desecration gained international attention last year for threatening to do the same himself. Pastor Jones later backed down due to pressure, protests and threats from the international community as well as pleas from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, General David Petraeus, and President Barack Obama, among others. Pastor Jones intention previously was to expose Islam not as a religion of peace but rather as one which perpetuates violence and also because Jesus is portrayed in Quranic texts as a mere man and not the Son of God. In lieu of this controversy the following Scriptures are given for consideration.

Matthew 18: 7-8
Woe to the world because of offenses. For offenses must come, but woe to the man by whom the offense comes. If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.

1 Corinthians 10: 32
Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the Church of God.

Philippians 1: 9-10
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernments, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ [Messiah].

COMMENT: More could be mentioned on this matter but as a last example is the Apostle Paul giving assent to the martyr Stephen’s stoning, although he did not pick up one single stone but was complicit nonetheless in the murder just the same (Cp. Acts 7: 57-60; 8: 1a; 22: 20). The Don Imus of the Christian Church assumes no responsibility for the unfortunate deaths caused in this expression of vehement righteous indignation by Arabs and devout Muslims in Afghanistan and worldwide, but is this position defensible? If violence is to Islam what love is to Christianity, then does Koran-burning exhibit that nobler ideal and virtue (Cp. Romans 13: 10)?


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
April 2, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Obama Administration’s Libyan intervention strategy still unclear

President Barack Obama is scheduled to address the American people on Monday, March 28, 2011 to explain why American military personnel are engaged in dropping bombs and launching missiles on another Middle Eastern nation. It was roughly three weeks ago when U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned that the enforcement of a “no-fly” zone over Libya was essentially “an act of war” against that country; in spite of a unanimous vote to do so by the UN. It seems that the moral imperative for such an intervention was to prevent Colonel Moammar Gadhafi from committing war crimes against his own people. Initially, the U.S.-led offensive was to destroy Gadhafi’s Air Defensive and Offensive capabilities which were used to fight the rebels opposed to his regime and which, if not neutralized could also pose a threat to coalition aircraft used to implement this international sanction. America’s limited offensive role was to protect innocent civilians who would be caught in the firefight between Gadhafi’s forces and the rebels who want regime change and are determined to depose him by any means necessary. The thing is however, even with the dismantling of Gadhafi’s Air Force, he still has armored vehicles and tanks which can still inflict significant damage on the rebels and some former U.S. Military and security experts feel that Gadhafi will ultimately survive this power struggle to still be the leader of Libya.

For President Obama it might be a hard sell to convince everyone that it is in our national interest to have gotten embroiled, although in a somewhat measured way, by using our superior military apparatus to crush another Middle Eastern country and Arab people under the boot heel of American Imperialism. No one really knows what the End Game is and hopefully, the President will go into some detail and lay out specifics as to exactly what was he wants to achieve and were the goals met. President Obama committed American troops without even consulting Congress beforehand, which seems to have been an intentional breach of Executive protocol because the matter was not so pressing or urgent that he had to issue such a command unilaterally without Congressional approval. Also, it is unclear whether political or social unrest in the country of Libya would have destabilized the Middle East to such an extent that it would lead to a cascading ‘Domino’ affect where other nations in the region will start toppling as well. President Obama says that Moammar Gadhafi would unleash a “bloodbath that could destabilize the entire region” and doubtless, creating shockwaves and panic throughout the volatile international commodity and equity markets, sending prices for a barrel of oil soaring through the roof. The phrase “in our national security interest” is just code or political-speak’ and America wouldn’t be in Libya if they didn’t have significant oil production capabilities just like Iraq, Saudi Arabia, or Kuwait, etc.

On the other hand, if it’s all about American values and supporting Western pro-Democratic movements in other countries, then how can we as a people send our military to intervene in the internal affairs and sovereignty of a particular nation while at the same time ignoring the human rights and desire to live with dignity and freedom of those who live in another country that is not deemed worthy of our direct involvement outside of using economic sanctions?


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 27, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Afghan citizens inconsequential cannon fodder to root out terrorists?

It is one thing to take out a high value al-Qaida operative or Taliban leader but quite another to kill innocent civilians. It seems that the payoff in collateral damage for these unfortunate deaths cannot be justified in the fight to combat extreme fanaticism and imposition of ‘Shria’ Law under the religious tenets of Islam and the autocratic rule of a charismatic Mullah or Ayatollah. It seems that these high-tech pilot less aircraft controlled by an operator thousands of miles away using a joystick and computer screen aided by GPS and other telemetry, cannot guarantee within an almost absolute certainty whether a human target soon to be annihilated in a burst of fiery destruction is friend or foe. One would think that these machines would have be more accurate and that their targeting sensors and video capabilities would be able to clearly distinguish between what is a “real” threat or just a crowd of men with guns firing wildly into the air.

The mistakes are far too high because once a decision is reached and that button is pushed to launch hellfire-missles or some other ordinance upon the unsuspecting people cannot be relived all over again, and somehow acknowledging that mistakes were made and issuing an apology with financial compensation isn't enough to assuage the pain and grief of losing a loved one due to bad judgment and the limits of the military's latest warfare toy. It is interesting that the one thing considered one of the most effective in combating the ‘insurgency’ is a major recruiting incentive and propaganda tool ensuring its continued growth and survival because the number of Afghan civilians (men, women, and children) killed by the allies [infidels or the Great Satan "America"] far outpaces all retaliatory strikes inflicted upon the Taliban or al-Qaida operatives and leadership.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 18, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Are the inmates in control at Washington State prisons?

Dear Dana:

I enjoyed watching your KCPQ-13 FOX NEWS interview with the Correctional Officers and Nurse who worked with the now slain Jayme Biendl at the Monroe, WA facility. I am a former CO trainee at the McNeil Island prison nearly 15 years ago, but I decided that it was not for me after only a month; but you can observe and learn a lot even in that short time period especially when prison veterans tell you what’s really going on. I think the real issue is the philosophy of the Secretary of the DOC when it pertains to how inmates are treated during their period of incarceration. When I was in training, the Superintendent of the DOC was a graduate of St. Martin's College in Olympia and his objective was not to punish criminal offenders but to take a different approach, such as leaning on the disciplines of the Social Sciences toward rehabilitation and treating them like human beings with civil rights dignity, respect, and all that.

In fact, the inmates could file grievances against their custodians [the guards] and each complaint would be investigated as far as I know. When a prison guard is sued by an inmate the DOC does not provide legal representation for the employee and the person has to find and pay for their own legal expenses and counsel. Not only that, but any CO who is involved in litigation is not thought of so well by the prison hierarchy (warden, DOC Secretary) because they would rather avoid such attention because it indicates there is a breakdown in communication and it has the potential to upset the fragile balance between inmates and staff which could lead to even greater problems down the road and the operational objective is to run a prison system where there aren’t any confrontations or fighting; and in the long history of McNeil Island at least, there has probably only been a handful of attempted escapes and no rioting.

Of course, for the inmates it was "THREE HOTS AND A COT" or rather three meals a day and a warm bed. McNeil Island did have the "Hole" (solitary confinement) which is essentially what one would expect; although not quite as dire as depicted in the movies. There is this old saying that if you get incarcerated let it be in a prison instead of in the overcrowded County jail where you might not get fed on a regular basis and possibly end up sleeping on the floor of a cold concrete cell [pillow and mattress not necessarily included]. In the prison, the inmates had a nice gymnasium to play basketball, a handball court, a weight room besides the one outside in the Yard, and at one time the inmates could have steroids dispensed to them to bulk up during weight training. Although most of these perks [cable TV, steroids, etc.] were discontinued right before I arrived, still they had a prison library of books which they probably used to work on their legal appeals, and of course as it pertains to Officer Jamye Biendl, just about anyone could make an appointment to meet with the prison Chaplain who was probably alone with the inmate.

An inmate could make an appointment with a social worker such as a case manager or the prison psychiatrist and even the meals served in the cafeteria were prepared or monitored by a dietician. I don't know about Monroe, Walla Walla, and a few other prisons but McNeil Island was a medium security prison where the CO's carried no weapons of any sort but keys and had a proximity alarm on their person but I think they had to be the one to activate the signal if in trouble.

I suppose the concern among prison officials that if the inmates were treated harsher and if some of their privileges were taken away they might become more violent towards one another and their caretakers [the guards], and perhaps treating them with kid gloves is the better approach. Maybe the thinking is that they are not bad people but they just do bad things, however, I don't know if the family, colleagues and loved ones of Officer Biendl can find any consolation in that. I wish I had an answer for this dilemma because the statistics are overwhelmingly clear that prison DOES NOT rehabilitate with a recidivism rate of at least 90% and yet, reverting back to the old school of inmates busting rocks on a chain gang like something out of an old 1960's movies like "The Defiant Ones" with Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier or Paul Newman in “Cool Hand Luke” but that may not work either.

The inmates at the Monroe Correctional Facility are allowed to enjoy certain freedoms that the taxpayers and victims of their criminality would find objectionable such as enjoying barbecues, watching their favorite sporting events on flat screen TV’s, holiday celebrations and other events which seems inconsistent with the magnitude of suffering that these individuals inflicted upon those whom they harmed. At the McNeil prison the inmates were allowed to watch cable TV previously, and not wanting to disrespect the cultural traditions of the diverse population behind bars, Native Americans could use “peyote” [marijuana] in their religious celebrations until the prison administrators came to the realization that it just might not be such a good idea to allow this practice after-all. So, when the inmates at Monroe refer to their environment as “PrisoneyLand” that is not all that surprising because it would seem like a fantasy, a dream come true and sweet reward to them for perpetrating some of the most heinous crimes committed against Washington citizens.

Although Washington is not like Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and a few other states, mostly in the southern United States whose reputation regarding Capital punishment and penology is much deserved, something needs to be done to keep the prison staff safe as well as inmates and the Legislature, Governor, Secretary of Prisons and the CO's have to come together and solve this problem before someone else is killed, raped, or whatever.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 18, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Tacoma Mayor violates city's Ethics law

According to “Tacoma News Tribune” Staff writer, Lewis Kamb, in the Wednesday, March 9, 2011 edition, Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland’s return from a 10-day business trip to Asia just might land her in the middle of an investigation for violating the city’s ethics code. It appears that her airfare was covered by using the frequent flyer miles of Lakewood businessman Ron Chow to cover roundtrip airfare costs. Mayor Strickland acknowledged that she did not seek advice from the city attorney regarding the gesture [gift] from Mr. Chow to see if there was a potential breach of ethics laws. Although it is not known why Mayor Strickland decided to leave at this time, especially in an economic downturn and deficits in the city budget, she mentions there was no personal gain and that she paid for her own lodging and meals, otherwise all the expenses she incurred would have been paid for by the city; saving us around $3, 251 just for the cost of airfare as reported on the travel website Expedia.

Mayor Strickland's concern for taxpayers is touching, but would not a ‘reasonable’ person think that Mr. Chow might want to benefit from his close contact with someone at City Hall who could influence the awarding of contracts to further expand Asian business opportunities in Tacoma and Pierce County, of which he would very likely have a part in? The thing is, Washington State Law and the Tacoma Board of Ethics in particular, says more-or-less, that a gift valued at more than $50 could be used to influence the official in consideration as part of a reward [pay back] for a particular [favorable] action or inaction. And for Mayor Strickland, would this not seem to pose a conflict-of-interest or at the very least the appearance of impropriety? Not only that, but it appears that Mr. Chow has some deep pockets and has contributed sizeable donations to local, state, and federal political campaigns, and doubtless was a supporter of mayor Strickland. So far, no complaint has been filed against Mayor Strickland in the office of the city clerk, but the Ethics Board and the Tacoma City Council should look into the matter and recommend some type of action, either in the way of a formal reprimand or sanction for violation of the law. Mayor Strickland, as the city’s Chief-Executive-Officer should have known better because the provisions of the law is clear on this matter and the fact that she doesn’t think her behavior is a breach of ethical conduct for a city employee is hard to believe.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 9, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

President Obama’s advice to Hosni Mubarak just might be his own

An unidentified spokesman for the Obama Administration has asked Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak not to seek reelection amid the turmoil and demonstrations by many of the citizens’ disapproval of the government’s growing policy on restricting freedom and access to technology. The gathering of one million protesters is an indication of a no-confidence vote for him to continue in power and lead Egypt into the future after forty years as head of one of the largest secular Arab countries in the world. It is interesting that The White House and State Department would weigh in on the internal affairs of another country who is an ally in the fight against terrorism and is one of the few Arab countries at peace with Israel. Be that as it may, Barack Obama may find that the Tea Party just might decide to hold a rally of their own, with a gathering of one million supporters and their spokesperson, namely, Sarah Palin, will demand that he not seek reelection.

After all, the Democrats took quite a shellacking in the November elections, losing over sixty Congressional seats and leaving Republicans in the Majority in the House, and were just a few short of taking over the Senate; not to mention the seven Governorships in states that switched into the hands of the GOP. Under President Obama’s leadership, the bailout or “TARP” has mainly benefitted Wall Street and not main street as unemployment is still at record levels, and his much touted health Care bill had been repealed in the House of Representatives and doubtless the lawsuits by several states who opposed it in the first place as excessive power of the Executive Branch to regulate Commerce will finally be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court as “unconstitutional.” Even the State of the Union address has been given the acronym “WTF” and for some, the high speed rail that the president wants so badly should be the one that he rides out of town.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
February 1, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Alabama Governor’s remark about non-Christians draws criticism

According to Associated Press reporter Jay Reeves on Tuesday, January 18, 2011, and which appeared in The Birmingham News, newly elected Alabama Governor Robert Bentley’s remark on Monday, January 17, 2011, while speaking to the crowd at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church after the official inaugural ceremony, said that if someone is not a believer in the LORD Jesus Christ, then the person is not his brother or his sister. He further stated that anyone who is a believer, regardless of race, color, etc. can be his brother and sister but if someone is not a Christian, he or she cannot have the same kind of relationship with him. One could ask the question, “What was he thinking,” because the statement caused an immediate response from the Anti-Defamation League which called the Governor’s remark “shocking.” Ashfaq Taufique, president of the Birmingham Islamic Society, told The Birmingham News that he wasn’t sure how Bentley’s comment was intended.

Taufique pondered whether Bentley wants people [such as Muslims like himself] to convert to the Christian ‘faith’ and mentioned that “We don't want evangelical politicians, and they can do whatever they want in their private lives.” The thing is, though, it is not so simple to separate personal belief in God or a theistic religion from influencing legislative action. More often than not in America, because there is a First Amendment clause to The Constitution which guarantees religious freedom and protects against a national religion, but yet most Americans believe that we are a “Christian” nation. To wit, when an elected official is a devout Bible-believing Christian it would be rather naive not to think that they could be torn between their civic responsibility to uphold the U.S. Constitution or the State Constitution and at the same time be faithful to the Word of God, and that their belief doesn’t influence their decisions. The question is, rather, whether Bentley is a Christian Governor or a Governor who happens to be a Christian, and only time will tell if his policies are adopted which benefit all the people of Alabama, or if he has an agenda that is largely enacted and influenced by the support of a particular religious constituency.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 19, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Seattle Seahawks improbable season ends in Chicago

To the many diehard Seahawk fans who had a “Dream” of their football team beating Chicago and advancing on to the Division Championship against Green Bay to possibly representing the NFC Conference in Super Bowl XLV, it seems such a fantasy came to once again, a predictable post-season outcome; another loss. All the hype about Marshawn Lynch and “Beast Mode” was nullified on the frozen turf of Soldier Field amid an embarrassing and anemic running game. The Chicago Bears are rated as the best in the NFL against the run and the way they throttled the Incredible “Hulk” [Lynch] made him look more like Bruce Banner in a football uniform. In fact, the Bears Quarterback Jake Cutler had almost as many yards running as the entire Seattle rushing offense did.

It is interesting how the local sports commentators on Q-13 Fox (Seattle) have put such a positive spin on another season of low expectations as the team entered the wildcard playoffs with a sub-par record of seven wins and nine losses. For Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, it is back to the drawing board during the off season and for 36 year-old Quarterback Matt Hasselback, some serious reflection as to whether or not he wants to wear Seahawks blue next season, or if he wants to be traded to another team where he might have a chance to win the Super Bowl before his career ends in the next remaining years. As for the Seattle Seahawks, this defeat is the exclamation point on a team that in order to be among the NFL elite in the post-season, they have to find a way to win on the road in the wintry weather conditions and not be so dependent upon the “Twelfth Man” and Quest Field, because until they do they will be just be wasting more and more of billionaire Paul Allen’s money.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 16, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Does the Tucson shooting implicate Sarah Palin and the Tea Party?

The shooting of twenty people on Saturday, January 22, 2011 in a Tucson, AZ shopping mall, seriously wounding Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has shocked the nation. This heinous act of violence which has claimed the lives of six persons, including nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green was not perpetrated from a sleeper cell terrorist of al-Qaida or a Muslim extremist but by a twenty-two year old White male named Jared Lee Loughner. This attempted assignation of an elected official has fueled a growing debate about civility and hate speech in our political and civil discourse. Not only that, but this incident involving Congresswoman Giffords in particular has centered on Sarah Palin and her Tea Partyers because Ms. Giffords was one of the Democrats targeted by Sarah Palin after posting a map on her Facebook page that had circles and crosshairs over 20 Democratic districts. She also sent a tweet saying, "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!" around March 24, 2010. An aide for the Sarah PAC defended the depiction of the crosshairs as being a surveyors symbol and not the sights of a scope mounted atop a rifle, if you can believe that; but then, why is there a picture of Sarah Palin brandishing such a weapon when the Tea Party took aim at Senator Harry Reid of Nevada on March 27, 2010 in his support of ObamaCare.

In response to the criticism and finger-pointing to the online post last year in lieu of this horendous shooting spree where Gabrielle Giffords was struck in the left side of her head at point-blank range, Sarah Palin said Saturday she wasn't [intending to] incite violence, [but] just trying to inspire people to get involved. Are incindierary rhetoric like: Death Panels for senior citizens, Liberals are destroying America and Our way of Life, Obama hates White people, Obama is a Facist- Socialist-Marxist who wants to negotiate with terrorists, Obama is a Muslim and Muslims attacked Us on 9-1-1, and other such comments as just a way of inviting people to get involved in the political process, or is it code phrases for something else more subtle and sinister that threatens to undermine this Democratic Republic? Syndicated political cartoonist Lee Horsley said on a segment of FOX Q13 News (Seattle, WA) on Monday, January 10, 2011, that he is surprised that there haven’t been more violent acts, considering the way that such partisan anger and misinformation passing for truth has made its way into political discourse.

It is certain that all sided of the political spectrum, radio commentators as well as pundits and news correspondents will weigh in on this issue with unending analysis ad nausem without reaching any mutual consensus or agreement; as one would expect nowadays in a steadily growing partisan, fragmented and polarizing society. Of course, there are serious matters that this tragedy has brought into the forum of ideas, namely: What should be done when an elected official receives threatening emails, and should the sender be prosecuted criminally; What about the First Amendment and Free Speech? Perhaps this another Second Amendment issue pertaining to acessibility to handguns; And what should be done with an individual who exhibits tendencies that are deemed as anti-social, aberrant or a “mental illness or impairment” and consequently, should such a person be mandated to receive involuntary treatment or commitment to a treatment facility with or without his/her consent? The reason for this last point, among which several more could be made, is that a classmate of of Jared Loughner or perhaps it is an acquaintance, made an online post around June 14, 2010, mentioning: Jared was a disturbed individual, a paranoid isolationist, but was friendly when you talked with him, but that there was a real concern that he would end up in the news for shooting a lot of people. Well, it seems that this unnamed person’s fears were finally realized with deadly certainty.

The thing is, if and since this person felt so certain or stronglythat Loughner’s behavior might lead to a potentially fatal outcome as what did eventually occur, then why wasn’t the police or someone in authority who perhaps could have intervened and maybe preempted this attack, saving the lives and suffering of so many people? I wonder how the person feels now after hearing about this massacre that for all intents and purposes was premeditated? People can debate or argue the seemingly inviolable Right of Free Speech in a Democracy, but what cannot be ignored is the ‘effect’ that language, and words in particuliar, can have on someone and as a result, a person has to as the old adage says, “Think before you Speak.” However, no one is seriously advocating censoring “Speech” but words shouldn’t just be spoken recklessly or irresponsibly because once they leave your mouth you cannot take them back and the reaction and response to a particular discourse might just have unintended consequences that the speaker did not anticipate and of which cannot be reversed. As the Wisdom of Solomon says on Proverbs 18: 21a: “The power of Life and Death is in the tongue.”


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
January 10, 2011
robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Do Democrat candidates have a lock on the Black vote?

A reader posed an intriguing and provocative question to syndicated columnist Larry Meeks, whose ETHNICALLY SPEAKING column appears in many newspapers across the nation. He was asked why any Democratic candidate should waste their resources campaigning in the African-American community because Blacks will vote for them anyway; implying that the issues don’t matter because either we don’t understand them or care, and only putting another Democrat in office is the only thing that really matters. The person goes on to state that Black support for Democrats is almost unanimous at around 90%. Mr. Meeks responded with some kind of rambling, incoherent written dribble that lacked any substance because he didn’t know how to answer the question.

It does however, cause one to consider seriously with some introspection why African-Americans vote overwhelmingly Democratic in such large numbers. Have our leaders, who mostly have emerged from the Black Church, sold us out for thirty pieces of silver or a keg of rum? To think of any other political party is seen as treason and the term, “Black Republican” is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms and for some, tantamount to having a mental disease. And yet, is it not prudent to consider every side of a political argument or policy issue and support any political party that has our BEST interests as their most important concern before we vote for them at the ballot boxes? Latinos have shown that they are not monolithic as is seen in the election of a Spanish-speaking Republican Governor of Nevada and New Mexico, but yet they also contributed significantly to re-elect Jerry Brown as the Democratic Governor of California after a forty year hiatus. It is time for Blacks to look at all our options and choose the BEST candidate and not just vote party anymore because as the old saying goes, “When you lay down with the devil, there’s hell to pay.”


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
November 7, 2010
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Does “race” affect the success of President Obama’s legislative agenda or is it something else?

Eugene Robinson: Washington Post (rebuttal)

You had an Op-Ed in the Tacoma News Tribune on November 2, 2010 in which it read that "Race" was the reason for so much animosity toward President Obama. This reality certainly cannot be ignored in America because of its past history and into modern times, but how do you explain Barack’s overwhelming election to the nation's highest office and despite the fact of the nation's woes, he still has a high approval rating as far as people liking him? Let me suggest another reason, which was mentioned during the 2008 presidential campaign by none other than Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Sarah Palin, among quite a few others, namely, "EXPERIENCE," or lack thereof. In the Nevada Democratic Primary exit polls of 2008, voters felt that Hillary Clinton would be better at dealing with the Economy (9 percentage points higher than Barack’s), Health care (13 percentage points over Barack), but interestingly, when it comes to bringing about the needed CHANGE to Washington D.C., respondents gave Barack a 60% confidence vote to Hillary's 29%.

Now the flip side of this is that pertaining to Experience, Hillary Clinton received a whopping 87% confidence vote compared to Barack's 7%, and herein is the main reason for President Obama getting so bogged down in the economic and domestic muck and mire, so to speak. Say what you will about former President George W. Bush and Tea Partyer, Sarah Palin, at least they had broader experience than Barack Obama, since both of them served as Governors of their respective states. Hillary Clinton's tenure as NY Senator as well as being married to former President Bill Clinton and as First Lady of Arkansas would certainly be assets for her serving as the President. The idea that a junior Senator from Chicago who hadn't fully served 2 years in the U.S. Senate and whose prior Community Organizer skills and Harvard Law degree could somehow manage to navigate through all the complex domestic and international issues; irregardless of his intellectual gifts, personality, oratory, and passion, it just might be a little bit too much to expect of him. It's not about AUDACITY but rather IRRATIONALITY to look for anything more.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
November 3, 2010
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Democrats suffer heavy losses in mid-term election

This time the pollsters and pundits essentially had it right, namely, that the Democrats would get trounced at the polls; which they did. It is of course that the #1 issue among voters is the economy, and the other concerns are reducing the size of government, along with shrinking government debt, extending the Bush tax cuts, government bail out of the banks and automakers, the mortgage crisis, and Obama-Care. To a great extent, it is about President Obama not living up to his campaign promises and getting so caught up in trying to solve these unexpected financial crises all at once that he lost his focus. It is also about punishing incumbent Democratic members of Congress, some of whom are very good legislators, because of the obstructionist, abuse-of-power and partisan leanings of a few; namely, soon-to-be, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

What is uncertain at this early stage is how much of an influence that the Tea Party had in the outcome and whether Sarah Palin is a political ‘kingmaker’ or not. After all, Christine O’Donnell lost in Delaware, Sharon Angle lost Nevada, Carly Fiorina lost in California, Carl Paladino lost in New York, and Joe Miller is behind in Alaska. To be sure, several candidates backed by the ‘tea baggers’ won, but in roughly half of those contests, these were formerly or presently Red States or districts anyway. Not only that, but some of the Tea Party candidates are a little bit more to the right of the mainstream GOP ideology. What is not known is how Latinos voted, especially in regions of the country where they are the most populous, and did president Obama fail to reenergize the young, college-educated, predominately White FACEBOOK users who supported him earlier, and did African-Americans not go to the polls in heavy numbers as previously?

And what does the election say about Arizona, who reelected a Governor who introduced the controversial, albeit, discriminatory “Immigration Law,” and what about New Mexico’s ouster of a Democratic Governor to elect a Republican Spanish-speaking Governor and Senator; both of whom are female? Meanwhile, in California, of which one-third of the people are Latinos, voted for former Democratic Governor Jerry Brown to the office again after forty years. Does this mean that the Latino votes are not committed to any particular political party and are up for grabs by whoever is sympathetic to their particular cultural needs and concerns?

It is going to be interesting to see how John Boehner, as the upcoming House Majority leader is going to work with his own Republican Party, Tea Party-backed candidates, President Obama and angry Democrats to pass any significant legislation, since he doesn’t believe in compromise. As the old saying goes, “What Goes Around Comes Around,” and it just might be that in another couple of years, it will be the Republicans and their Tea Party surrogates who will be job hunting.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
November 3, 2010
Robertrandle51@yahoo.com

Will it be Trick or Treat for the Republicans on Tuesday?

Although HALLOWEEN was on Sunday, the real bewitching hour will be after the polls close on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, when it will be known who will get the political “TRICK OR TREAT” goodies of this mid-term election. It isn’t just President Obama and the Democrats who have a lot at stake, but also people like Rep. John Boehner, RNC Chairman Shelby Steele, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sen. Mitch McConnell, and last but not least, Sarah Palin. If the Democrats manage to retain the majorities in both the House and Senate, this will send a resoundingly strong message to the GOP and Tea Party that in spite of all the unprecedented mean-spirited and hateful politics of personal destruction launched primarily against President Obama, still, the American people are willing to continue trusting in the ‘CHANGE’ that he has promised as opposed to the “PLEDGE TO AMERICA” offered by the Republicans.

If this indeed happens and instead of the ‘Thrill of Victory,’ the political Right experiences the ‘Agony of Defeat,’ and have to swallow that bitter pill again, surely they will want to blame this unexpected outcome on somebody, and guess who will be the scapegoat; none other than former Alaska Governor and face of the Tea Party, Sarah Palin. The Republicans took a gamble on her endorsements of candidates, betting that her folksy appeal and catchy phrases would translate into votes across the wide political spectrum, including those undecided Independents, who would sweep out the incumbent Democrats in Washington D.C., thus repudiating Barack Obama’s presidency and leadership. To President Obama and the Democratic Congressional majority, the ‘people’ have spoken and they had better be listening very intently this time.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
October 31, 2010
pbks@hotmail.com

Christine O’Donnell is no Constitutional scholar, but she is not alone

It is amazing to hear people argue over the separation of ‘Church and State’ when it really isn’t all that difficult to understand. The first thing is to start with the Articles of Confederation, and then go from there. The original 13 colonies [New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia] were autonomous, self-governing bodies with legislative power invested separately in each State instead of through a central (federal) government. The Constitution was a compromise between State’s Rights advocates and those who wanted a national government (“Federalism”); with the States retaining some of their power, but not with the same authority as before. Even the Constitution itself was an imperfect document, and thus, 27 amendments were added to it, which are now called the “Bill of Rights.”

As it pertains to ‘any’ mention of religion contained in specific wording of the Constitution itself as it was adopted by the Founding Fathers, Article VI, states: The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and “all” executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution, but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification [or disqualification??] to ‘any’ Office or public Trust under the United States. Now, Amendment I of the Constitution, says: Congress (Const. Article I, Section I) shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion -OR- prohibiting the free exercise thereof… Usually, this clause is used to prove or even disprove, depending upon your point-of-view, whether America is a Christian nation or not; however, nowhere is the specific theistic religion, “Christianity” mentioned, but rather by the generic term, ‘religion.’ The First Amendment should be read in conjunction with Amendment X, which reads: The powers [Legislative, Judicial, and Executive] not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited [SEE Art. I, Sect. I] by it, are reserved to the States respectively, -OR- to the People.

It would seem from combining the two amendments that the Federal Judiciary has no authority to mandate religious matters among the States, to include banning the teaching of creationism in public schools or determining whether a courthouse can display a copy of the Ten Commandments. Of course, the problem arises when expressions of other belief systems besides Christianity are denied to their devotees. And besides all that, even the Declaration of Independence mentions “Nature’s God,” or “Creator,” to which many religious faiths, both ancient and present, could claim as the object of their worship. In fairness to Delaware Tea Party Senatorial candidate, Christine O’Donnell, Ken Paulson, President of the First Amendment Center, who vindicates her by reminding us that as early as 1640, Rhode Island founder and theologian Roger Williams cited the need for "a hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world." He goes on further to quote the words Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, in which he said that the language of the First Amendment built "a wall of separation between Church and State."


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
October 19, 2010

Christine O’Donnell may just be her own worst enemy

Perhaps Karl Rove, former GOP political strategist and brilliant architect of two George W. Bush presidential terms, hit the nail on the head when he said that Christine O’Donnell has a history of saying, “nutty things.” This could not be any clearer than at her first opportunity to publicly explain what her agenda is, she uses the time to explain her past involvement in “witchcraft,” instead. It would seem that she just shot herself in the foot and greatly diminishes voters taking her seriously to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Notwithstanding her previous statements about “masturbation and pornography” are adultery, using condoms are “anti-human,” or about her academic record, and misappropriating campaign funds for personal use, certainly Ms. O’Donnell may have to clear up for voters the part about dabbling in the occult arts. The outcome in November will be more than just reading tea leaves or wiggling her nose because people aren’t looking for a magic act or a “wack-job,” but for someone who can do the job of being a great legislator who seeks bi-partisanship support and has a good plan on how to bring solutions to Washington D.C, instead of using the same old, stale anti-Liberal, anti-Big Government, anti-Womens Choice, anti-Gay Rights, we are the true "patriots" and family-values standard bearers rhetoric.


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
October 5, 2010
pbks@hotmail.com

What really brought down the Twin Towers?

Although it has been nine years since the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, still this question still lingers in the minds of Conspiracy Theorists; and not without some justification, it seems. That the mighty towers came crashing down after being struck by Boeing commercial aircraft is, on second thought, quite implausible if the structural architecture is taken into consideration. According to WIKIPEDIA, The Twin Towers had a tube-frame structural design system with high-strength, load-bearing perimeter steel columns called Vierendeel trusses that were spaced closely together to form a strong, rigid wall structure, supporting virtually all lateral loads such as wind loads, and sharing the gravity load with the core columns.

The perimeter structure containing 59 columns per side was constructed with extensive use of prefabricated modular pieces each consisting of three columns, three stories tall, connected by spandrel plates. The spandrel plates were welded to the columns to create the modular pieces off-site at the fabrication shop. Adjacent modules were bolted together with the splices occurring at mid-span of the columns and spandrels. The spandrel plates were located at each floor, transmitting shear stress between columns, allowing them to work together in resisting lateral loads. The joints between modules were staggered vertically so the column splices between adjacent modules were not at the same floor.

The core of the towers combined steel and concrete structures of each tower with a rectangular area 87 by 135 feet (27 by 41 m) and contains 47 steel columns running from the bedrock to the top of the tower. The large, column-free space between the perimeter and core was bridged by prefabricated floor trusses. The floors supported their own weight as well as live loads, providing lateral stability to the exterior walls and distributing wind loads among the exterior walls. The floors consisted of 4inches (10 cm) of thick lightweight concrete slabs laid on a fluted steel deck. A grid of lightweight bridging trusses and main trusses supported the floors. The trusses connected to the perimeter at alternate columns and were on 6 foot 8 inch
(2.03 m) centers. The top chords of the trusses were bolted to seats welded to the spandrels on the exterior side and a channel welded to the core columns on the interior side. The floors were connected to the perimeter spandrel plates with viscoelastic dampers which helped reduce the amount of sway felt by building occupants. The trusses supported a 4-inch (100 mm) thick lightweight concrete floor slab with shear connections for composite action.

The impact from the aircraft smashing into the upper floors and the resulting fire from burning jet fuel would not be enough to melt steel girders and break down the reinforced concrete structures which were designed to withstand significant shear stresses, damaging a 107 story building to such an extent that it would come crashing down to the ground in a heap of twisted metal girders, dust and ash. Instead of the planes weakening the integrity of the buildings beyond a critical point, it is more likely that a simultaneous demolition-like detonation of explosives at vulnerable areas, probably including the elevator shafts, could be responsible for this tragedy. Even scientific tests, including forensic examination on any available evidence scattered among the remaining debris were not performed by independent, non-government laboratories and the results have not been made available to the general public.

So, yes, the Twin Towers as well as the Pentagon were destroyed and over 3,000 American citizens of various nationalities, ethnicities and religions were indeed murdered by terrorists, but the real question remains largely unanswered, namely: Did all these former terrorists from Saudi Arabia orchestrate such a masterfully deadly plan on the American homeland by themselves or did they have help from inside the United States?


Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
September 28, 2010
pbks@hotmail.com