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Violence against any person, for any reason, is abhorrent. When the victim is a child we weep. When the victim is a soldier we mourn the sacrifice he made. When the victim is a defenseless, unarmed mother of young children we are outraged. When the tragedy involved the elderly, it is hard to imagine the evil that motivated such an assault. Yet as horrific as it is to consider the crime in this country, against any person, at any time, “hate” crimes are even more outrageous.
Some crimes are the result of insanity. The shooting of Gabby Giffords was probably the best known crime by a person who was mentally ill. Some crimes are determined to be crimes of “passion” where the criminal is so overcome with emotion, that the crime results. The wife who finds her husband involved with a prostitution ring that employs the woman who gave her a massage, might be sufficiently outraged (especially if she were bipolar) that violence might result. Some violence is motivated by a desire for revenge. The Lorena Bobbitt case is a perfect example of a woman abused to the point of seeking revenge. However the victim of a “hate crime” is not only the individual, but the entire society. They are crimes committed against an individual because of his or her race, heritage, sexual preferences, or religious affiliation. In America, those differences are supposed to be protected by the Constitution, so to attack a person for any of these reasons, is an attack on our way of life. It is an assault on the right of life and liberty that we hold so dear. When people carry signs proclaiming “I am Trayvon” the message is, if you attack Trayvon, and ignore his right to life and liberty, you attack my sense of security to live in America, whether I am male, female, white, black, old, or young.
When the President says that his son would look like Trayvon, the message is that when you fail to protect the life of Trayvon Martin, you, the government and the police, fail to enforce the very laws that were designed to protect us.
The predictable response of every American is to question “Am I Next?”
The number of hate crimes in America is widespread, and affects a wide variety of races, religions, heritages, and sexual preferences. Consider just a few of the categories of these crimes that have been shown to be motivated by something other than the content of the character of the individuals.
1. Homosexuals.
There was the example of a gay man burned, sodomized and whipped for no reason other than the fact that he was gay. There was the branding of a young man simply because he was gay.
The famous case of Matthew Shepard involved the assault on a young man who was attacked and died because he was gay. The two men who robbed him left him for dead, after typing him to a fence, pistol whipping him, and breaking his skull. The only part of his face that was not covered in blood was the path of his tears as they washed away the blood.
2. Race
Who could forget the racially motivated hate crime of James Byrd Jr. when he was chained and dragged behind a truck in Jasper Texas until he died after his arm and head were severed.
Then there was the developmentally disabled man of Navajo heritage who was abused and branded with a swastika.
3. Religion/Ancestry
There was the stabbing of the Muslim cab driver in New York, because of his Muslim background.
Five people shot in a Jewish community center were targeted due to the fact that they were Jewish, and no other reason. The three that were children will spend the rest of their lives wondering if they will be targeted again.
In 2008 hate crimes were reported to be on the rise. In 2010 there were 1,606 hate crime offenses motivated by religious bias in 2008. Jews and Muslims were the target of 65.7 percent of them. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation increased 3% to 1,297, although the number of people victimized went up 13% to 1,706. In 2008 alone there were 2,876 hate crimes against blacks, 1,297 against gays, and 1,055 against Jews.
On Good Friday, three days ago, five blacks were shot in Tulsa Oklahoma, three of whom died. The men who have been arrested were white. Based upon Facebook postings of one of the men arrested, it appears that the shootings were racially motivated. Jake England, one of the two charged, wrote:
“…Today is two years that my dad has been gone shot by a fucking nigger…”
The name “Trayvon Martin” has become a household name. Yet the three killed in the racially motivated shooting in Tulsa, although equally tragic, will probably not be remembered by anyone other than their families. Why? Likewise the two elderly people beaten, raped, and killed in Tulsa Oklahoma will be mourned by their loved ones, but who remembers them? The loss of life, and the tragedy of their deaths would only make headline news for a day or two.
The three people killed on Good Friday were black people unknown by their white assailants. The two elderly white people attacked in their Tulsa home were attacked by a person who happened to be black.
Members of the Tulsa community and the police department expressed outrage immediately upon the commission of these crimes. In the case of the elderly people there was no indication that they were victimized because of the color of their skin. However the police responded by arresting the culprit, regardless of his skin color. In the recent shooting of blacks in Tulsa, the police department, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshal Service worked together immediately, forming a task force to find, and apprehend, these criminals. With 24 hours of the shootings, two men were arrested. It was no accident that they were apprehended. During an initial appearance in a press conference the police chief and Mayor of Tulsa, implored anyone with ANY knowledge to come forward in a united effort to bring the assailants to justice. The attitude of the Chief of Police was clear as he declared:
Not only was law enforcement actively involved in locating witnesses, but they were encouraging people to call with information even if they were unwilling to identify themselves. Because of the Facebook posting of the apprehended man it seems likely that it was someone on Facebook that suspected this individual’s involvement.
Unfortunately, the police were not so aggressive in bringing George Zimmerman to justice in the Trayvon Martin case. The shooter in that case admitted that he shot Tryvon, and the weapon was in his possession when he was taken into custody. When George Zimmerman was released his gun was returned. A month later George Zimmerman still has that gun, and is free to patrol another neighborhood. The shooters in the Tulsa killings were identified, apprehended, and charged within 24 hours. Blacks and whites worked together to bring about justice. The shooters in the Tulsa case may assert some type of insanity defense, but that will be up to a jury to consider. In the Martin case the, defense asserted by Martin was considered by the police, and the police became judge and jury.
It may be magical thinking to hope that hate crimes will ever disappear during my life-time. However I expect, and demand, that every law enforcement officer in America is committed to bringing about an end to hate crimes. Barack Obama has done his part by enacting the 2009 hate crime bill. Protesters around the country have done their part to bring national attention to not only the tragedy of the loss of Trayvon Martin, but also to the corruption of the police department in Sanford Florida. While we are ashamed to have a citizen who would commit such an unforgivable act towards an innocent teenager, it is even more reprehensible that the police seem to have assumed the role as protector and defender of George Zimmerman.
I am ashamed that any person from my home-town, Tulsa, Oklahoma, would be involved in such a horrific crime as the tragic shooting of five people in Tulsa on Good Friday. However I am proud to know that the police and government officials in Tulsa find this crime equally reprehensible. Until the police departments across the country demand justice for all, our sense of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness will be threatened. We are all Trayvon Martin.
Jon Stewart helps us understand the Occupy Wall Street Protest.
Over 15 years ago the name “Lorena Bobbit” was headline news. Lorena was determined by a jury to be not-guilty by reason of temporary insanity for the dismemberment of her husband. Three years ago, on the 15th anniversary of that tragic night, Lorena was interviewed. Although her name and her story have become famous, today she appears to be very typical.
Today there is another similar story. Ms. Becker committed a similar crime, but with much more pre-meditation. It is unlikely that she will be found temporarily insane. Her action were much more premeditated.
I’m not saying Sarah Palin should be compared to Bobbitt or Becker, but she has been known to have a temper. She has been known to exhibit behaviors that might be perceived by some as temporary insanity. If I were Todd Palin, I’d be glad that Sarah doesn’t read much.
A story is only “news” if people want to read it, or listen to a newscaster rant and rave about it. If the headline proclaimed “MOTHER EXPOSES CHILD IN SHOPPING MALL” you would likely be interested. If the headline read “Mother Changes Baby’s Diaper in Restroom of Shopping Mall” we might laugh, but few people would care to open the article and read it. Yesterday the internet was filled with headline news announcing that the Supreme Court rejected a gender-discrimination case. Perhaps the headline should have read, “More Stupid Lawyers, Waste Our Judicial Resources in an Effort to Become Rich.”
The case is Wal-Mart v. Dukes. Current and former Wal-Mart employees sought judgment against the company for injunctive (meaning an order to get somebody to stop doing something), declaratory relief (asking the court to issue a declaration of some fact), punitive damages (money to punish Wal-Mart), and back pay, on behalf of themselves and a nationwide class of some 1.5 million female employees, because of Wal-Mart’s alleged discrimination against women in violation of Title VII. The District Court (which is the trial court) certified the class, finding that respondents satisfied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a), and Rule 23(b)(2)’s. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. The United States Supreme Court did not. The Supreme Court simply ruled that the form of the case,being a class action,was not an appropriate method to address this grievance. Specifically the Court ruled that certification of the class was not consistent with Rule 23(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court specifically explained that its ruling did not prevent the Plaintiff, Betty Dukes from pursuing her claim against Wal-Mart as a member of “class”. Thus the decision of the court related to the notion of what is an appropriate class to bring a suit. In this particular case the class was gargantuan. Here are the facts:
Wal-Mart is the nation’s largest private employer. At the time of class certification (in 2004), Wal-Mart’s U.S. retail operations comprised 7 divisions, 41 regions, 400 districts, 3,400 stores, and more than 1,000,000 employees.
Each store employed 80 to 500 people, with hourly employees assigned to 53 departments in 170 different job classifications.
Wal-Mart’s company-wide policy, then and now, expressly bars discrimination based on sex. “Wal-Mart has earned national diversity awards and its executives discuss diversity and include it in company handbooks and trainings. The company has diversity goals, performance assessments, and penalties for EEO violations.” When the complaint was filed in 2001, individual store managers had “substantial discretion in making salary decisions for hourly employees in their respective stores” and “promotion decisions for in-store employees.”
Only three of the plaintiffs were specifically identified in the suit. They worked at different stores, at different times, in different positions, for different managers. They were promoted to (and demoted from) different jobs, disciplined for different offenses, paid different amounts for performing different jobs, applied for different management training opportunities (or not), and kept working (or not) for different reasons.
Rule 23 of the Federal Rule explains the requirements of a “class”. Among other things in order for the Court to certify a group of people as a “class” there must be a showing that…(2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, and (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class . In this case the “class” included thousands of women that were as diverse as the ocean. To allow such a “class certification” would have resulted in a case that would have been impossible for the court or jury to consider. The members of the “class” were not people who worked in the same positions, or under the same supervisor, in the same store, or even people who worked during the same time period.
This was a case of lawyers trying to get rich. It was the lawyers representing the would-be class who would receive a huge recovery and the hundreds of thousands of female employees of Wal-Mart would likely receive nothing. In such a class action suit the members of the class are required to pay the attorneys for their expenses and fees first, and there would be so many women in the class that they would receive a pittance. The women who may have actually been discriminated against would likely not receive appropriate compensation, and others who were not discriminated against would receive money that was not deserved.
Moreover this case was a victory for the United States’ economy. Imagine the cost to U.S. companies of defending a suit of this magnitude. Our largest employer would likely have been bankrupt from the legal fees of such a case. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce filed a brief explaining that allowing the class-action suit to go forward “would bury American businesses in abusive class-action lawsuits to the detriment of consumers, the U.S. economy and the judicial system itself.” The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in this case. As diverse as the Justices are in their views, when an opinion is unanimous, you can rest assured that there is a pretty good reason for their decision. This was a case that had nothing to do with discrimination, and everything to do with greedy lawyers.
She is still under a nurse’s care, and has gone to her husband’s home in Houston, so she’s not back in Arizona. However, the great news is that she is well enough to leave the hospital, five months after the shootings.
I haven’t read the book yet, but Shailey Tripp just let me know that her book is available at Amazon if you might be intersted.
Details about how Bin Laden used flash-drives, and specific internet sites, and e-mails are all beginning to surface. Because we raided the compound instead of blowing it up we now have much more detailed information on possible terrorists targets.
John McCain, the senior Republican serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed his opinion that the No Fly Zone the United Nations implemented in Libya has been implemented”very effectively” and “very quickly.” In fact the implementation was accomplished “much more quickly than the Pentagon predicted. His report is dramatically different than Sarah Palin’s report which suggested that the President was “dithering” and should have moved much fater. Surely even Republicans would recognize John McCain’s knowledge regarding military action to be superior to that of Sarah Palin.
Yesterday my blog post related to the importance of family to Jews, and the offense taken to Sarah Palin wearing a Star of David around Israel. From comments on the post I realized that the Empress was wearing a second necklace. In addition to the Star of David, she was wearing a “Key of David.” Until readers brought this key and its significance to my attention, I would never have appreciated or understood the message behind the fact that Sarah Palin was in Israel, meeting with Jewish leaders, attempting to form alliances with the Jewish community in Israel, while advertising her vision for the future through the Star of David and the Key of David.
The Star of David worn by Palin is the symbol of Israel, and is even found on the flag of Israel. Jews across the globe wear the Star of David as a sign of respect for their religion. Until Sarah Palin wore the Star of David, I have never seen anyone wear the Star who was not Jewish. Many people are sensitive to anyone wearing a symbol of Jewish identity who is not in fact Jewish. Sarah Palin is a member of one or more Evangelical Churches. Thus for Sarah Palin to wear a symbol of any religious belief that does not embrace the notion of Jesus as the son of God, would be offensive to members of her church, unless it was for the purpose of sending another message. That “other” message was conveyed in an unmistakable way by the second necklace Palin wore next to the Star of David. Her Second Necklace was a Key. That key was the symbol that unlocked the mystery of Sarah Palin’s visit to Israel.
If you, like me, did not understand the significance of the “Key” worn by the Empress, let me share what I have learned. Millions of Evangelical Christians believe that Armageddon is coming. Perhaps more frightening is the link between the American evangelical community and Israel. Evangelicals believe that when the apocalypse comes, God will come to Israel. The basis for this belief comes from the New Testament, in the book of Revelations. In particular the book of Isaiah 22.22, 42.7 provides:
“O come, Thou KEY of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
EMMANUEL SHALL COME TO THEE, O ISRAEL.
________________________________________
The phrase “Kay of David” refers to possessing authority to rule Israel. Israel is perceived as the nation that gave birth to Christ Jesus, and the offspring of Jesus who were charged with keeping the commandments of God. According to this belief Christ is the key of David. He opens the door for the church- his royal household – and allows it to come into the presence of God. Christ is perceived to have granted Christians access to God. No one can deprive them of that access, which really means God granted the Evangelical Christians the gift of salvation.
The message of Sarah Palin wearing a Key of David necklace next to a Star of David necklace is unmistakable. The clear belief of Sarah Palin is that SHE possesses the authority to rule Israel. Thus she is predicting that she will not only be elected the next President of the United States in 2012, but that she is also going to be the chosen person who possesses the authority from God to rule Israel. Because she talks to God and knows what he is thinking, she is in the best position to confirm his will. . If there might be any doubt about what God told her, the Holy Spirit also talks to her, and can confirm that Sarah correctly heard and understood what God wanted of her. Sarah Palin is not embarrassed by the fact that she has advertised her conversations with the Holy Spirit. Palin Promotions has advertised the connection between Palin and the Holy Spirit!
Palin has said in her book that she doesn’t believe in coincidences. Thus we can assume that she perceives that it is not coincidental that the next Presidential election in the United States will occur in Nov. of 2012, and the apocalypse will come in Dec. of 2012. The Mayans predicted that Doomsday would come in 2012, and Evangelicals believe that as well.
In fact there are web sites that offer all a believer might need to survive the apocalypse. For the affordable price of $19.95 you can purchase a guide to educate followers on “how to prepare for survival.” This handy guide explains the “conditions on Earth” that every Christian should know to prepare for the rapture.. The same “Quake Kare” offers a variety of survival kits for home, school, office, and auto. Fortunately you can also buy food supplies to ensure your survival in the event of the apocalypse. How lucky we are that a mere human knows and understands the implications of the end of life as we know it. Fox News has even helped educate people about the inevitable end of the world, which would be the result of a solar storm. .
In the unlikely event that you feel I am being too harsh on Palin please consider the posts on this site that have appeared over the last year. The most thorough discussion of Palin’s religious beliefs and attitudes toward Jews came on March 31, 2010, before many people were reading. Again in May I posted an article expressing disbelief that Palin presumed to know the will of God, in spite of her comments that suggest that she would never presume to know the will of God. Then, in case Palin’s comments were not sufficiently clear, her use of the term “Blood Libel” affirms any remaining question regarding Palin’s perception of Jews, and their role in her life.
What a comfort for the inhabitants of the earth that we can predict the end of the earth, the type of disaster that will be the culprit, when it will occur, and that Sarah Palin will be available to lead us out of the Darkness. Too bad for millions of Muslims that will be left without a savior. Fortunately Christians in the United States, and Jews who convert in Israel, will have a leader who has been given authority from God to rule. Fortunately we know that Sarah Palin will be that leader. Since this is in God’s hands, we can assure voters that there will be no need for anyone to cast a ballot for Sarah Palin in 2012, as God will surely elevate her without mortal intervention. The Empress has declared the need to seek Divine Intervention, so this is the time for her to do just that. Surely any deity who is so powerful as to cause the earth to come to an end could facilitate the election of Sarah Palin without relying upon mere mortals to do something so trivial as casting a vote. Sarah Palin has declared that she feels the strength and the power of her prayer warriors, so surely with their help, God will lead her to the White House. For those of us who are not a part of Sarah’s prayer warriors, we may say our prayers, but we will vote in 2012. We may pray for divine intervention, but we will not rely on God to save us from Sarah Palin, we will exercise our vote to protect our country from the danger know as “Sarah Palin.” If Sarah Palin should ever become the President of the United States, it would be the apocalypse. We must remain vigilant to ensure the survival of the human spirit, and of America. The “Key” is not the Key of David, but knowledge. Armed with facts and knowledge of the potential harm that Sarah Palin could cause if ever put in a position of control, we can ensure defeat of Palin in 2012, but we must begin now to educate others about the danger that she represents.
These ladies are shaking what the good Lord gave them…only in Texas.
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