El Gringo Gigante has been silent for some time now. I have been busy and will tell and show you how.
2012 will be remembered for bringing into this world the indescribably beautiful Sasha Carolina Johnson, my daughter.
I will forever be thankful for this wonderful gift.
Adjectives do not adequately describe how wonderful she is. As such, without further delay, here is a picture:
Janet Napolitano said that additional information on Deferred Action for certain dreamers should be available August 1.
As of 5:41 pm on August 1, not a peep has come from DHS. If DHS cannot even keep a simple deadline on giving additional information on a program, it is not clear how they will be able to handle the actual applications for the program.
This bureaucratic inefficiency is particularly disconcerting given that there will be a huge quantity of applications submitted in a very short period of time.
We hope it is just a false alarm, but beware.
The magnitude of Jerry Sandusky’s (former coach at the formerly revered football program Penn State) crime cannot be overstated. He founded a charity so that he could harvest young children for rape. He was likely doing this since the charity’s inception in 1977. We know for a fact that he was at least raping young boys since 1998. We also know for a fact that Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz (“The Four”)–who were four of the most powerful men at Penn State–could have put a stop to these crimes in 1998.
In the end, like so often is the case in our world, self-interest prevailed over what is right. The Four did not want their paradise smeared by the nagging inconvenience of a serial pedophile. If The Four acted in 1998, or even in 2001, the consequences for Penn State football would be severe. The pristine reputation would forever be soiled by the fact that a high ranking coach for so many years was in fact a pedophile. The Four chose to maintain this veneer of spotlessness rather than do what is right: prevent young children from being raped.
In other words, The Four did not want their power, their authority, taken away. They wanted to continue their reign over Happy Valley, like Lords on their Manors. Power, and the authority it creates, must always be challenged. Too often, we do not challenge folks like The Four because we are afraid of the consequences. Will they retaliate? Could you lose your job, like those Janitors who knew of Sandusky yet did nothing?
The Penn State tragedy is analogous to society at large. For example, those Janitors’ fears may have been realized if they reported Sandusky’s crime. They may have been bullied into silence, or lost their jobs. That’s the unfortunate reality. Sometimes doing the right thing will result in negative personal consequences. Given how long Sandusky was allowed to prey upon his victims, my guess is that most of us would NOT stand up to do the right thing. We would choose what appears best for us.
After all, it is built within most of the States’ criminal justice systems. If I see a young boy being raped on the side of the road, I am under no obligation to act, or even to report the crime. This bizarre omission of obligations in criminal law likely contributed to The Four’s inaction.
If people fail to act because it appears to be against their best interests, a counterweight is necessary: Incarceration if you do not act. We should be blaming ourselves as much as the individuals.
49 children were executed by knife attacks and close range gunfire in the Village of Houla.
Syria has not gone untouched by the Arab Spring that began in Tunisia in December of 2010. Yet it appears that the violence occurring in Syria is the most brutal thus far.
The regime, led by Bashar al-assad and family, is fighting for its survival. At any cost.
The Houla Massacre
Since the Syrian uprising began in the Spring of 2011, there have been numerous reports of shocking atrocities committed by the regime against civilians, particularly children. Reports of rebel human rights violations have also been noted.
It now seems that at the Syrian regime is intentionally murdering and torturing children. Last week, more than 100 civilians were murdered in the village of Houla, Syria. Of those victims, UN observers have stated that 49 children and 34 women.
Even worst is that most of the murders were committed “by close-range gunfire or knife attacks.” Witnesses have stated that those responsible for the deaths were pro-government shabiha militiamen. The regime blames it on “terrorists.” In a place undergoing such strife as Syria, it is impossible to verify who exactly is responsible for what, but what evidence is available clearly supports the former theory.
How can a someone stab a child to death? How can someone shoot a child to death at close range? What happened at Houla is so evil it cannot be described by words. It cannot be rationally explained. It is an aberration and something must be done to stop it.
Intervention is clearly a risk, and would largely be the responsibility of the United States, given that the two other super powers in the World, China and Russia, share something in common with Syria: a demonstrated willingness to murder their own people on a mass scale.
Nevertheless, I take the saying of “NEVER AGAIN” seriously, and cannot sit by idly while innocent children are being mowed down by the devil.
El Gringo Gigante 