Is it safe?

Is it safe? A recent executive order banning people from specific countries from entering the US was released. My question is does this make the US a safer place. This is not an easy yes or no question but the answer is yes and it is no. Being that of the more than 40 incidents listed as terror attacks in the US following 9/11/2001. Most of those were committed by US born citizens. Those not born in the US entered either; from countries not on the banned list, and/or were children at the time of their entry in the US. Those entering as children did not commit their acts until a decade or more following their entry in the US. Most of those children were under that age of 10 upon entry. Based on history this ban is not going to make the US safer. Most likely it will further radicalize individuals who are already at odds with and disagree with the US and are currently in the US. Making us less safe. It does seem to make the US safer in terms of increasing the time and changing the vetting process for those entering the US. Which may actually keep the US safer. However, being that it targets specific countries and not many others it can still make the US less safe by adding more rhetoric to those who are against the US and are likely already in the US. Most of whom are citizens and not subject to revocation of visas or green cards. If it were a universal change to the vetting process of non-citizens entering the US. It would be fair and treat all people the same, and would do more to make the US safer Terrorism is a real problem, whether it is from an Islamic State or Non-Islamic State. We need to do things which will do more to reduce further harm rather than increase future risk. Over all I do not think that this ban does make the US safer. Here is a proposal. The US lead/join a multi-national collaborative to set up refugee centers in Islamic nations. Provide aid in running those refugee centers; health care, food, security. Provide military assistance to those Islamic Nations fighting against radical Jihadists and Islamic terrorists. Not necessarily combat troops but advisors, equipment and training. This would allow people to remain near their homes, in culturally familiar areas, to be safe, provide them the opportunity to fight back against their oppressors and overall is supportive rather than combative and dividing. My concern is that the trend of things being passed/proposed by the current administration are written and proposed in a manner which creates turmoil and discontent, leading to the question why? The true fear is the current administration wants the US to be attacked to justify a war. War is, in the short term good for the economy, and tends to unify the people. However, in the long term what do we give up as to our freedoms and liberties and do we once again further the cycle of war and killing. Some last thoughts related to all of this are: “An eye for eye makes the whole world blind.” M. Gandhi And “The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war." Gen. D. MacArthur My hope is that one day, we can prove in the 2 thousand plus years since Plato we have grown and changed somewhat as a species, sadly it is not this day. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

Stop lying to us

Why the wall on the Mexican border is not the answer, it is a distraction. Most people who are in the US as undocumented people entered the US legally as tourist, students, visa holders and other legal ways of entering the US. They just have not left yet, hell many of them go and come back through checkpoints frequently to visit relatives in the countries of their birth and return to the US again, legally crossing the border. I say undocumented because the question of their legal / illegal status is something for legal experts to determine but just because they are here does not mean they came here by illegal means. The point is that most of them didn’t walk across the southern border of the US into California, Arizona, New Mexico or Texas and if they did walk across the border more often than not, it was through a border checkpoint. Now, I’m not saying that there is not a certain number of citizens walking across the border because that happens but spending billions of dollars to build something that will be, and where it already exists, monumentally unsuccessful in doing the very thing it is supposed to do. Unless of course that thing is to drain billions of dollars out of the government and put it into the hands of construction companies, well then it will be a huge success. The irony is that these same construction companies who get the money will bid out to subcontractors to do the actual work. Subcontractors, they know, will everyday go to a parking lot, building supply store, or corner lot and pick up undocumented workers to work on the construction sites. Beyond that irony is that most of those contractors and subcontractors voted for the current administration. The current administration does not care about controlling the influx of undocumented workers that is why they are pushing a plan that does not address the issue. What they do want is to be able to use them for labor; cheap, untaxed labor that is better for their bottom lines and if the workers gripe or complain, the bosses can threaten them with deportation. Undocumented worker keep quiet, they do the work and take the little bit of money they get and put their lives at risk because they aren’t always given appropriate safety equipment for the jobs they are doing. Because buying that stuff also reflects poorly on the profit margins. If they were really concerned about the influx of undocumented people they would hire US workers and if they couldn’t find qualified US workers they would reach out to technically schools and say we need qualified people, how can we help get people trained. But they don’t do that. They hire undocumented people. It isn’t just the construction industry either, it is so many businesses. Many owned by people who voted for the current administration. If they really wanted to stop the influx of undocumented people, they would just not hire them if they were not citizens but they don’t do that. The current administration wants to bully Mexico and other countries into agreements with the US which will take advantage of those countries and are beneficial to the US. Sure, root for the home team this is fine, but be upfront about it. 45 certainly has been honest about that point, he is for trade agreements which are beneficial for the US, okay that is great. Hell, most US citizens can get behind that idea. There are better ways to get there than the dog and pony show that is the “WALL”. Because the WALL is a giant lie, it is a waste of time, it is a waste of money and doesn’t do anything to address the real issue of controlling our borders. Want to make the US great again, stop lying to the citizens and wasting our tax dollars. Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015 Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards

What is the US

What is America? For starters it is most of the land mass on one hemisphere of the planet. The United States is one country out of 35 countries in North and South America. We are not the only Americans What is the US? We are not just our government, we are not just our symbols, and we are not just our laws. The United States is not just a place, it is an idea. It isn’t a thing you can hold on to in your hands. You have to have it in you; in your actions, thoughts, and words. People came together and said it is not right that men (humans) should be subject to the whim and fancy of a few or a single person. We should come together for the common good of all people. All People! Those who lead, are chosen to protect all of us not just those with whom they agree. It is not an easy job to lead, it is troubling and hard. However that is not the US either. The US is still this idea we strive to achieve. A dream we hold, to be better than we were before, not for glory or fame but for liberty, freedom, justice, and happiness. Too many people in power, and those who put those people there, seem to have forgotten these ideals of liberty, freedom, justice, and happiness and only strive for power, fame, and glory. Too many people in power, and those how put them there, feel that it is right to divide the people and say some people do not have the same rights to liberty, freedom, justice and happiness as others. We, the people, All People! We keep our hopes and dreams alive not by debate and political discourse. Our dreams are born from deeper stuff. When we are inspired by those of us who see the world as it could be and arguably how it should be. Our hearts are not stirred by a new piece of law but by song, and art, and poems. Our minds are not broadened by lectures alone, but also by paintings, and stories, and understanding of other cultures. Our flaws and short comings are made into lessons through comedy and satire, so we learn and grow from them. We are not free or liberated if we are unable to celebrate who we are as people. Celebration means our art, our songs, our films, our paintings, and our poems, our dreams made of stuff so others might see how the world could be and really how it probably should be. When you think about the United States, you do not think of laws, or Presidents, or other things. Our flag is only cloth, our laws are only words, and our monuments are only stone and metal. It is the ideas these things represent that make them mean something. Those ideas are built up by the arts. Without the arts, we are stagnant and foul, and our Nation is not long for this earth without them. Taking away funding from the arts is probably the least productive thing any leader can do to help their country grow. Imagine how the world could be and really how it should be and create that world, inspire others with your art, your songs, your paintings, your music, your dance, your stories funny to tragic, Do what you can to make the world a better place for ALL PEOPLE.

What's in the box

What’s in the box? Even if you have not seen the movie Se7en, you probably know the line from the movie uttered, muttered, and screamed by Brad Pitt’s character Det. Mills, “what’s in the box” Spoilers ahead, I know 1995, was over 20 years ago, but some people with an interest in seeing it may not have seen the movie. For example, my son and his girlfriend had not seen the movie. We watched it the other day, their first time seeing the movie, my, I don’t know, 30th time seeing the movie? I’ve seen it more than once and less than 100 times. Not the point. What is in the box. The movie is about a killer, acting out crimes based around the seven deadly sins. Quickly they are Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Wrath and Envy. Each sin has a crime associated with it or so we are lead to believe. There is some debate about the end of the movie, because what is in the box is never shown. Again, spoilers read no more if you want to watch this movie untainted. Most people seem to think that Det. Mills’ wife’s head is in the box, which pushes him to commit the sin/crime of Wrath/Murder. However, I’m not convinced that Tracy Mills’ (Gwyneth Paltrow) head is in the box. Det. Somerset (Morgan Freeman) does see the content of the box. Somerset knows things that only Tracy Mills knows and no one else. She is pregnant. She confides this to Somerset away from her husband. John Doe, the killer (Kevin Spacy) shows up a few times in the film before you know he is the killer. John Doe knows who the investigating detectives are and taunts them. The question mark for me comes with the sin/crime John Doe says he has committed, which is the sin of Envy, in that he longs for the life that Det. Mills and his wife have. However, the sin of envy does not require a physical action, only a mental one, to want what others have. After several crimes are shown, John Doe turns himself in and then promises he will confess and plead guilty to all the crimes if they go with him to find the last two bodies. Prior to turning himself in, John Doe arranges for a package to be delivered to Det. Mills at this remote location at a specific time on a specific date. Yeah, this is the box. Somerset cuts off the delivery driver, opens the box and then runs back to Mills 100 yards or more away. During the time in which Mills and Somerset are apart, John Doe says to Mills, he cut off Tracy’s head. However, because you never see the head, is she dead or not? Envy does not require an action. John Doe wants to die, but suicide is a sin so he cannot kill himself and he technically does not kill any of the other people, he puts them in positions to decide to live or die, kill or not kill, each placed in a test of their will. Each person could have refused to do what they were doing and may or may not have died. I don’t think John Doe would have killed any of the others and been frustrated by their determination not to commit the crimes. The “victims” were all weaker in their will to resist their sins and committed them. John Doe even lets Mills live when he could have killed him multiple times. John Doe will not commit the crime of murder an unforgivable sin, and is avoiding suicide also an unforgivable sin. There is no scenario where John Doe would not have died, he wants to die. How do you accomplish this without sinning and going to hell? Make someone believe you are committing crimes and have them kill you. Which comes back to the test of will, Does Mills resist what he does not know to be true or does he act on his emotion and commit murder. If the murder was unjustified it is likely to have a bigger impact, in that an innocent person was killed. Tracy contemplates an abortion because the world is no place to raise a child. Somerset knows this, John Doe may have known this. Mills does not know about Tracy’s pregnancy until the set up. My conclusion is that John Doe followed Tracy, after she had an abortion took the fetus and packaged it, maybe with a card that says Happy Father’s Day or something, and has it delivered to the remote location. Maybe is it her head in the box, but I have my doubts because John Doe really has only committed a few assaults, the other deaths were all suicides or murders by other people. Assaults are not hell worthy trespasses. David Mills rots in prison a murderer, Tracy Mills mourns him and the life they could have had, John Somerset must live with the reality, as much as he hates the world around him, he does nothing to change it, even when he can. What do you think was in the box? Well, that’s all for now, other stuff to follow most likely Happy Birthday if it’s your birthday and a very merry un birthday if it isn’t your birthday Today’s title: Line from the movie Se7en Thank you for reading, please subscribe, Have a great day and play nice in the neighborhood. Ciao, Invisible Don PS 3 / PS4 Gamer Tag: invisible don Invisible Don PO Box 4425 Roanoke VA 24015, Send me Post Cards … I love Post Cards