aznorthstar's Blog

They say, if you want to help your economy regain its strength, start a war.  And, if you remember, the state of the economy when we enetered Iraq was not strong at all.  As a matter of fact, the liberals were using that as a talking point against President Bush in the election.

I do not believe, based on my little world, filled with my little knowledge, that we could start a war (or go to war) with the current state of our military.  We are stretched too thin being in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The members of our military who committed to a National Guard make up a good majority of those who are in the battle field currently.

We have had a homeless problem in our country that has gone unnoticed for too long.  Our schools are having to cut budgets and take away programs that kids need and deserve.  Employers are having to deal with a fuel crisis that has taken away the opportunity to make a profit.

You can fill in the blanks to how our current economy has affected you and your world.

The point is this.  The leaders of America, in my opinion, need to focus on our homeland.  We cannot get involved in the Georgia/Russia crisis or any other crisis that comes up...without first resolving some major issues in America!

And according to the current poll on myfoxphoenix, over 200 people agree we should leave the Georgia/Russia issue alone, because it is not our problem! 

We cannot continue to save the world and police the world without recognizing our weaknesses, one being our military is spread too thin. 

Whoever becomes President, Obama or McCain (as if we really have control over it anyway) I hope they spend some time and money and strengthen America.  And after America has a chance to recover, than we can get back to the business of saving the world!

Even Batman needed to get back to the Batcave and Superman had to get back to the Newspaper to rest.  We haven't rested!

On the M&J Show today, they did a story about a lesbian couple who wanted to have a child.  They found a sperm donor who agreed to provide the sperm and would be a male role model for the child, but would not be a dad.  (how would this happen...don't know...) anyway...the contract said the donor would not have to pay child support.

The lesbian couple split up and it left one of the women as a single mother, needing money to care for the child.  So she took the sperm donor to court for child support!

The contract specifically stated the donor would not have to pay.  But the court said differently!

Because the donor was active in the child's life (who later was a donor for the woman's second child), he was financially obligated to the child!

This sets a precedent that would scare the hell out of me if I were a sperm donor!  How many kids of mine would be out walking around and I could ultimately be held liable for child support?

YIKES!

I think a couple things have gone wrong in this story.

1.  The women had a contract with the donor.  They should have honored that contract.

2.  If the lesbian couple went in as a couple with the idea of having this child, then both women should be liable for the raising of this child, not the donor.

3.  The court should have recognized the contract between the three adults.  Tossing the contract aside, in my opinion is  a slap in the face to anyone who has ever done anything with a contract.  We are told by those in the law field to get it in writing.  The donor did...and still lost!

What do you think about this story?   

This can not be more evident in the Federal governments failure to resolve the illegal immigration issue.

It goes so much deeper than a nation wanting better for themselves.  If it were that simple, we would have a much larger population of immigrants in the United States.

The decision to enter undocumented affects everyone.  It affects those that live along that path they take as they cross into America.  It affects the cities they decide to stay in.  Hospitals, public aid and many other areas.

But it also affects children.

Today in Queen Creek (where I live) a 12 year old child decided to bring a gun to school because he was being picked on.  He couldn't have his mom or dad come and speak with the school staff.  They speak spanish.  And they couldn't go to the authorities.  They are illegal.

So the child decided to handle the situation himself.  And in doing so, he endangered several children.  I am not saying this has anything to do with his family being from Mexico...so put that one away!

MCSO was called, which is our local police agency.  Now it is determined that his family is here without the proper documentation.  The decision his parents made some years ago still has consequences today.

Some will feel the pain of a family being split apart and blame the Sheriff.  That blame is wrongly placed!  The parents took a chance some years ago, knowing the consequences.  And the longer they remained without papers, the more comfortable they became in their lifestyle here.

But time has ran out.  And due to their decision they made some years ago, their family will be split apart.  It is sad.  But there are consequences to any bad decision.

The liberals have tried to convince America that invading Iraq was simply about raiding their massive oil wells.

Years later, our own gas prices have sky rocketed.  A new report from Iraq shows they are not even using their profits from oil to rebuild!  However, they are using American tax payers money to rebuild.

The report stated Iraq had 90 billion dollars from oil sales, but spent less than 7 billion of those oil profits to rebuild.  The reason in the report was that Iraq does not have the infrastructure necessary to write checks themselves to spend their money!

Or...better yet, why spend their money when our government is spending 30 million dollars to build a hotel and convention center at the Baghdad airport!

The liberals were wrong in their cry about the oil. 

I'm beginning to think I should listen to what the liberals say...and then vote the opposite!

The NFL feels it is necessary to create a Code of Conduct for fans who tailgate in the parking lot or attends the game inside the stadium.  While the code of conduct mentions several items that are worth mentioning, it is a sad testament that they even need to bring this to fruition.

Why can we as a society simply use common sense?  Instead, we have to be policed from using the F word...we have to be policed to not be drunk in public.  We complain about too many laws and rules and restrictions, but the fact is...because of our lack of policing ourselves, we have to be policed by someone else!

An example...even outside of football.

If we would drive the speed limit, we would almost put the Department of Public Safety out of business!

But we don't...or we won't police ourselves.  The NFL realizes this.  And as they try to keep their players from dog fighting and drugs, they feel they need to also police us.

So be it.  We could have prevented the Fans Code of Conduct.  But we need to be policed.

There has been speculation about Iran and their success with a nuclear warhead.  Who really knows the truth?  Iran?

Couple the news stories about Iran's nuclear program with the comments by their President about destroying Israel, wiping them off the map and so on.

And now...a missile that can be launched from Iran and can reach Israel.

I've never been voted the smartest kid in class, but I've always had common sense!

What happens if Iran decides to make good on its words against Israel?  As the President of Iran is telling all Muslims to prepare for their savior to come, how should we in the United States prepare?

Also, with everything adding up, should Israel take the first swing at Iran?  How about the United States or another country?

Should we avoid the military road and try to "talk" to Iran?  This option, if it was not so pathetic would be funny.  As we are talking to Iran, they are in the background making weapons!  They have already voiced their desire to wipe Israel off the map.  So what do you talk about?  The weather?  The Phoenix Suns?  Religion?

Iran is trouble and they have always been trouble.   Something needs to be done before they decide to do something terrible.  Oh by the way.  Religion of peace...we should be able to trust them, right?

There was a story on the news tonight about a school bus that had caught the median and the driver over corrected.  The bus flipped injuring the passengers aboard.

I have experienced catching the median and having the sensation of being pulled off the road on a couple occassions.

My questions is this:

If we continue to see accidents and over turned buses, semi's and cars because drivers have over corrected, why do we continue to build roads that have a median that pulls you inward?

Wouldn't it make sense to either make the roads wider or so that the median does not pull you inward, making you want to correct automatically?

Whatever the answer is, we should FIX IT! 

Instead, we continue to build the same style road and we continue to see vehicles flipped and people thrown!

The short story goes like this.  A neighbor in Texas observes two men stealing from his neighbor.  He grabs his shotgun and then calls 911 to report the crime.

911 advises over and over not to approach the suspects and the armed neighbor clearly states he is going to kill the robbers.

He does!

And it was decided today that he will not face charges.

Here in Arizona, we have the owner of a vehicle who catches the robbers personally, tracks them down and shoots at them, and he faces charges! 

Which scenario is the one you would want to play out in your own community?  Do you wish your neighbor had the law on his side to shoot and kill anyone who is stealing from you?  Or should we leave it up to the police to catch the bad guys?

One problem I see is this.  By the time the police show up, the bad guys are usually down the road cashing in their loot.  So wouldn't it be better if citizens could take the law in our own hands and resolve the issue once and for all? 

In the early 80's, Miami Florida was flooded with illegal immigrants from Cuba and Columbia as the drug trade was beginning to get into full swing.  Crime in Miami was out of control and the murder rate soared over 500 a year!  There was a shortage of police and due to the high crime rate and that led to a large increase in the hiring of police.  Unfortunately for Miami, the requirements for becoming a police officer were relaxed, which led to numerous officers being arrested themselves for selling cocaine. 

One of the largest incidents, and the wake up call to the Miami Dade Police Department came at Dateland Mall, where a man was murdered in daylight.  The wake up call was the armored truck that was made out of a box truck with many different weapons inside.  The truck was found running.  Immigration in Miami led to many other problems.  And the cry was the same..."These people just want a better life".

Almost 30 years later, we are facing the same problem.  Instead of drugs (they are still an issue) it is the actual smuggling of humans that is causing the crime.  The drug cartels are still involved in smuggling, but they are concentrated on smuggling humans.  And they are dangerous.

As the Miami Dade police found out, the cartels were not scared of the police or the weapons they carried.  The reason was the cartels carried bigger guns!  With the recent incident the other day where the cartels killed a man as they posed as police, this should have been our wake up call.  In Miami at the mall, the killers fired 80 some bullets.  And at the scene in Phoenix the other day, it was reported to be 50 to 100 bullets! 

The crime rate in Phoenix has to go up.  As the Governor, Mayor of Phoenix and the Chief of Police in Mesa defend the immigrants by their lack of action, the severity of the crimes will rise.  Without the proper assault on this type of crime, we will become like Miami in the 80's, where we can not walk without stepping over a victim of the cartels.

History repeats itself.  And this time history will replay on the West Coast. 

Watch as the crime rate goes up.  Watch as the crime becomes more violent.  And watch as the leaders of our cities and towns attempt to throw police at the problem.  We could gain a lot of knowledge from Miami.  Instead, our leaders have stuck their heads in the sand.

There is no doubt we get H O T in Phoenix.  But being voted the number one sweatiest city by old spice????

Does anyone even use Old Spice anymore?

How can Phoenix, with little humidity beat out cities that are drenched in humidity?

We take a bad wrap on car thefts and owning up to the Arizona Cardinals...don't slap a sweaty city label on us also!

Driving home tonight, I heard a new song on the radio sung by Darius Rucker (sp?) from Hootie and the Blowfish.  Not living under a rock, I know who they are.  However, I was a little spun when I heard the Hootie part playing on KNIX.  And then I began to think as I do.

Why would a guy named Hootie...or Darius want to have a song on a country station?  Jewel has a hit on country radio right now that I love.  Come to find out, she is a country girl!  She was forced into hip hop.  Who'd a thought.

Is the same true for Darius?

My thought is this.  And my thought comes from who I am and what I have experienced.  I don't listen to country, I am country.  I guess it is similiar to a guy who rides a Harley.  One is a biker and the other guy rides one.  Get it?

I have two daughters, both raised the same.  One is country and the other is not.  My oldest can listen to country, dress the part but it is not in her.  My youngest however is country.

Another way I look at it is this.  What makes an indian an indian.  (indian as in native American)  Is it his skin color, or his beliefs?  His convictions?  His outlook on life?  I believe an indian is made from within.  And same goes with country!  Or Redneck or Hillbilly...pick a label!

There is a creed, a way of doing things if you are country.  The music is just sound put to the lifestyle.  So can a Darius Rucker be country?  Can Jewel?  Will the next country star be Madonna? 

It bugs me that people can jump ship and "be country".  Just a rant.

Years ago, wrestling was exactly that, two people who would compete to see who was the best wrestler.  At some point, the true sport of wrestling was turned into what we see today.  Scripted soap operas.  It is entertainment.

If you have attended an NBA game, the actual game seems to be secondary to all the frills.  Lights, explosions, dancers and antics take up a majority of the time you are in your seat.  And somewhere in the middle of all this is a basketball game.

The NBA is a business.  It is a business to ENTERTAIN.  And if the story line was not exciting and entertaining, the business would lose money.

So why would the NBA not fix games and make the story line more entertaining?  At what point does the NBA become what wrestling is today?  A soap opera!

I like the game and I love watching the Phoenix Suns.  But in the back of my mind, as I watch, I remind myself this is entertainment.  Not a competition as they want me to believe!

No one squabbles over what Abraham Lincoln accomplished in history.  No group attempts to minimize the impact Benjamin Franklin had on our society by his inventions.  And no legal battles have been argued over George Washington as our first President.  All of these men are engraved in history, as are their accomplishments.

Why not with Jesus Christ?  Why is there so much turmoil and passion when Jesus Christ is mentioned?  He was a man, just like those mentioned above, right?  So if he was a man, like Lincoln, Franklin and Washington, why does Jesus gather so much attention?

There is no doubt that a man named Jesus walked the earth.  Doesn't matter if you believe the Bible's account or not, Jesus walked the earth.  And many of his accomplishments were documented.  So again, why does Jesus attract so much attention, when no other man in history does?

I bring this to you not to stir the religion pot.  My last thread on religion was enjoyable, as people were adult about their responses and we could have a conversation about a controversial topic.  My hope is that with this post, the spirit the last post was used is the same here.

This is a thought that I have had.  And I am interested in hearing your viewpoints.

The match has been set.  In one corner, an African American politician who has a murky background in religion.  Has questionable ties to Islam and promises change.

And in the other corner, a man who has made a career on being a war hero.  Who has been a friend to the other party while snubbing his own.  A career politician who is married to a wife who used to have a problem with prescription medications.

And the audience, the thousands and thousands of voters who want a third option but will receive none!

I can't believe Hillary hasn't called it quits.  Why extend the misery?  She has lost, the world knows it and she knows it.  She can't accept defeat!  I believe she was convinced this was a sure win.  How can a Clinton lose to an African American?  Here is the part about politics that makes me spin wondering what just happened.

For many months both Hillary and Obama were talking trash about each other, highlighting the negatives about each other.  And now Hillary would consider a Vice Presidency position?  Wait a minute.  If Hillary was that bad of a gal last month, why would anyone want her as a VP?  At least she doesn't hunt!

And McCain.  Oldest President voted in if he is elected?  Is he more of Bush as the liberals want us to believe?  How can he claim to bring change to the White House when he has been part of the problem for so long?  What is he going to change?  His depends under garments when he loses the ability to hold himself? 

I am not happy at all with the choices for President.  It is one area of our political system that doesn't work.  Do I vote Republican because that is what I am registered?  Or do I GAMBLE on a man that has attended a church that creates hate?  Or do I claim to move to a different country like some celebrities?

I dunno.  One thing for sure.  When I wake up in the morning, the price of gas will have gone up.  And not one of these two clowns will do a thing about it!

I was in our local Walmart on Sunday afternoon doing some light grocery shopping when I asked my daughter to grab a watermelon.  She, being 12 and lazy said there were none.  I asked the cashier and she pointed me to the front of the store where an empty bin sat.

I had already paid for the watermelon so the manager and I were working out a deal.  She told me Walmart is not receiving a truck daily anymore due to the high gas prices.

I about fell over!  Walmart is H U G E!  When Walmart is feeling the gas price pinch, you know everyone is being affected.

But there is a problem looming.  I could not buy something (it was only a watermelon) at a store because of the gas prices!  Who is to say that Walmart couldn't have run out of milk or eggs or another staple in our diet?  Then what?  Do I use my gas and run from store to store looking for the store that has the product I NEED?

That is the part that gets me.  Sunday I wanted a watermelon.  Next month I could need a product at the store and they could be out.  Who is to say that as the diesel prices reach $5.00 a gallon that the trucks only run every three days, and the products we NEED won't be in the store?

High gas prices have affected me in my own pocket, as they have everyone else.  But now they affect us in what we can buy!  This is not a good situation folks!  Prepare and plan ahead.  Because if this gas issue gets any larger, you may be knocking on your neighbor's door for food!