An open letter to A&E network

The following is a letter I wrote to the A&E network regarding the suspension of Phil Robertson , of Duck dynasty fame..... To Whom it may concern, I find the recent suspension of Phil Robertson to be a bit of an outrage. While A&E network might champion the GLTG agenda it obviously doesn't champion free speech or traditional Christian values. I have gay friends and relatives so I am not some gay bashing Christian writing to you. I in fact think the Christian community has been very tolerant to the GLTG community in recent history. I did not find Robertson's comments to be that offensive and in fact got a chuckle out of his statement. In line with traditional Christian values , based on passages from the Bible , his comments were spot on. He was not pronouncing judgment on the GLTG community , merely stating his own beliefs on the subject. There in lays the issue as it seems that free speech is only allowed by the A&E network when it conforms to a politically correct agenda. Or to put it another way, A&E network believes in free speech only when it is something that benefits the GLTG community or the beliefs of the management of A&E. A&E seems to be fine with pushing things like glorifying serial murderers down Americas throats with Bates motel and Bonny and Clyde but if one of their show's stars comment on his own faith based views in a magazine article you suspend them for exercising their 1st amendment rights to free speech? Even many prominent members of the GLTG community are now coming out and crying foul on this action! If A&E wants to limit the free speech of Christians , which are still a major consumer market factor in favor of a few ,small but vocal percentage of the population in the GLTG community then quite frankly I hope you lose your highest rated show as well as most of your viewership in general ! This is just another prime example of the so called "liberal " community showing just how un-liberal and close minded they actually are. Free speech applies to everyone or no one at all ! Personally, because of the actions of the A&E network in limiting the free speech of Robertson I for one am going to stop watching all A&E programing! I get a little tired of the agenda of the GLTG community constantly being forced on us anyway. I don't harbor any ill will against the GLTG community and as I stated , I have friends and relatives in the GLTG community. I tolerate and in some instances even support the agenda of the GLTG community , especially when it comes to fair treatment and free speech for all individuals regardless of race , creed , gender or sexual orientation. The actions though of the A&E network are a knee jerk reaction to pandering to the GLTG community and in doing so you are limiting the free speech of all Americans! That I cannot, and will not support. There is plenty of other programming on other networks to watch. In closing , A&E can go on pandering to a small but vocal percentage of the population if you want to. In the mean time myself and millions of other Americans will be passing over your network in favor of other broadcasters that don't limit the free speech of Christians. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I would urge anyone else to write to the A&E network and express their opinions of the censorship they are doing in regards to Phil Robertson. As I said in the letter to them , we have free speech for everyone or no one at all .... I will chose free speech for everyone every day of the week! Lasco X

The World We Live In

The world we live in is a very dangerous place and getting more dangerous everyday. Not only do we have to deal with the daily grind of sustenance and making ends meet we also have greater menaces on the horizon. Most people in the world don't pay attention to what goes on daily on the world political stage. Many just would rather stick their heads in the sand and ignore what is going on around them but that is a good way to be buried by the shifting sands around them. So before the year ends a few observations looking around the world landscape are in order. The global dynamic is in flux right now as we have come threw some very rough years in the recent past. I don't expect them to get much smoother in the near future. Here in the USA we are battling threw a rough patch in our economic history. It started long before the crash of 2008. It actually started with the slow gutting of our manufacturing base back in the 70's when off shoring became the corporate rage, continued threw the greed of the "Me" generation of the 80's and well in threw the 90's where we had a bit of a turn around but the economy was mainly churning on the construction industry and a fragile housing bubble that would finally pop late in 2008. During the years after the Soviet Union collapsed after many failed years of communistic oppression, the media touted the USA as the worlds only super power. That was an assertion I never really put much stock in. I felt that it was an egocentric and simplistic view of the world. Yes, the USA was in a position of preeminence but Neo-hawkish players sort of pissed away any good will this country could have gained during that period. The USA ended up getting bogged down in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars which was very profitable for the military industrial complex but did little to rebuild the economic engine within our own borders. That rebuilding was something that was sorely needed. During that time from the 70's until now, more and more production was off shored to countries like China that was able to provide extremely cheep labor , sometimes by using forced labor to accomplish their goals. Also they were able to do lower pricing due to the fact they were not constrained to the same environmental regulations that manufacturing is governed by inside the USA. This gave them a distinct economic edge but has cost them severely in the quality of life as many of them now live in tight , highly polluted areas. Greed from the upper levels of American corporate management willingly fueled this switch to off shore production and in turn left millions of middle class Americans out of work and left only with low paying service oriented jobs to get by on. This has fueled one of the greatest divides between the rich and the poor not seen since the turn of the last century in the USA. It's funny how things seem to keep just going around in circles and ending up a little futher down the road but seemingly back to where it was before. America is going to have to make some fundamental changes to fix it's economic issues , but that's a topic for another day. Looking beyond Americas borders we can see what China has been doing with all that money they have made manufacturing the goods of the world. They are simultaneously buying American resources and businesses while at the same time building up their military to challenge America in the pacific and eventually the whole world. Little is being done to counter this build up at the moment as the USA is hamstrung by its own ignorance and excessive spending practices. The USA and China are intergraded trading partners but even among friends and acquaintances disagreements can occur. If this were to ever happen between these to major world players the effects would be devastating for the whole world. Lets Not forget Russia , who is building up their own military and is led by Putin who is old school KGB. Granted he has a more friendly façade on him these days but there is no mistaking the structure beneath the outward appearance. Does this make him Americas enemy? Not necessarily but it does mean we need to proceed with caution. I am sure Putin does what he does, for what he see's as what is best for Russia, In all honesty though I sincerely question how free the elections over there have actually been since he was elected. I don't think you will see Putin out of Russia's political future as long as he is alive. It does provide a stabilizing force for Russian politics but doesn't provide for good democratic processes there. Meanwhile over in the western side of the Eurasian land mass lays the European Union. The past few years have been some turbulent times over there. The fact they have not imploded by now is a testament to them given the growing pains they have shown over the past decade. Europe's role in world affairs should not be minimized by any means as I see them to still be a major factor on the world scene. Then we have the middle eastern region that continues to simmer with discontent. The whole region has been destabilized over the past couple of years... Iraq , Afghanistan, Egypt , Libya, Syria all are simmering... throw in Iran's unstable relationship with the west, their on going nuclear program and their fierce hatred of the Israeli government and you have a fuse that could cause that whole region to explode if sparked. Spilling over on the side lines of that region is Pakistan and another dark horse player India. These two factions have issues with each other as well and help to up the tensions on the world scene. They have been relatively quiet the past few years but things have not been forgave and forgotten between the two. In Africa , the region is plagued by warlords, unstable governments and ongoing food issues. The food issues while fueled by occasional environmental issues are magnified by the power-plays and greedy interests of the few at the cost of the many. In South America the issues have been economic as well as political. They have been ongoing and developing over the recent past but the region has remained relatively stable given the issues that continent has faced. The areas in between these major hot spots have been relatively quiet. There is some issues like the ongoing power struggles in Mexico that has turned that country into a war zone between the opposing warring drug lords and the government. Hopefully they will get their act together but in the meantime I personally am still all in favor of shutting down the southern border of the USA and closing the leaks that can let the violence down there spill into the north. Given all that when I look around at the end of 2013 , I stand by my statement .... The world we live in is a very dangerous place and getting more dangerous everyday. I am not a pessimist by any means. North Korea has calmed their act down a bit , though they are not a country I don't keep a watchful eye on giving their past history of hostile rhetoric. The middle east did not go completely crazy this past year and hopefully won't in the year to come. There has been a small economic up-tick world wide that will in all luck will continue. The best thing for peace on the planet is when we are all working and trading goods and services. It links us together and gives us a common bond. It also helps feed the planets population while advancing all humanity further along. The greatness of humanity will only truly be realized when we get over our differences and start working towards common goals that benefit everyone. Unfortunately though it is generally a few greedy souls that mess it up for the mass of humanity that just want to live and let live. As we end 2013 it is my sincerest hope that in 2014 ,we will see cooler heads prevail. So , as this year comes to an end and we start a new calendar year I will leave this post with the thought...... May there be peace on earth and good will towards all mankind! Until next time Lasco X