When to Obey and When not to Obey
It seems like everyday you hear of another American soldier in Iraq is being charged with killing innocent Iraqis’ and there are those that say they don’t believe that American Soldiers could do such a thing. They of course are living in a Fantasy world I don’t think there has ever been an Army in any war that has not committed the Killing of innocent people, or some say that it is “hard to tell an insurgent from an innocent civilians” let me give you a hint you don’t line up unarmed people and just shoot them. The real frightening thing is Islamic insurgents are in a Fantasy world of their own these two groups live in their own worlds the trouble is it’s the innocent people in the middle are the ones that get hurt.
What would you do if you were in the Army or Marines and your officer gives you an order to line up women and children and shoot them? Do you shoot them or refuse to do it and get count marshaled, put in prison or maybe the officer would just shoots you and uses that as an excuse to shoot the women and Children. It would take a person with a lot of courage to do the right thing. Anyone that is in the military better have a good reason for disobeying an order. General Douglas MacArthur disobeyed an order not to cross the 38th parallel in Korea and got thousands of Americans, Korean and Chinese people Killed. So this common old work lad says obey orders unless they violate Human Rights. The best way not to have these kind of tragedies is not to be there in the first place and to let the local people handle their own problems. War might seem like the quick and easy solution and peaceful solution takes too long, but the peaceful solution will last longer with fewer lives lost.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Monitoring Global Finances
Secret, What Secret?
President George W. Bush called “disgraceful” reports last week that a secret Government program to monitor citizen’s investments that is necessary for the War of Terror was the subject of a story in the New York Times and other papers. Now I am just a common old working man have always figured they had such a program I believe I heard it from Bush and Cheney in the past. If the program is actually working and they have been taking money from the Terrorist, don’t you think the Terrorist have figured it out too. If the program is working where is the money going? A secret amount of money going to a secret fund account what is preventing Bush and his gang from taking as much as they want and never reporting it. One must think that the criticism has more to do with the November elections than the “War on Terror”
President George W. Bush called “disgraceful” reports last week that a secret Government program to monitor citizen’s investments that is necessary for the War of Terror was the subject of a story in the New York Times and other papers. Now I am just a common old working man have always figured they had such a program I believe I heard it from Bush and Cheney in the past. If the program is actually working and they have been taking money from the Terrorist, don’t you think the Terrorist have figured it out too. If the program is working where is the money going? A secret amount of money going to a secret fund account what is preventing Bush and his gang from taking as much as they want and never reporting it. One must think that the criticism has more to do with the November elections than the “War on Terror”
Monday, June 26, 2006
No more Torture
Protest Against Torture
There was a protest against torture in front of Rep. Peter King’s offices in Massapequa Long Island on June 25, 2006 by a coalition of Groups for Peace and no more torture of anyone. Why Rep. Peter King’s offices because Peter King as been a strong supporter of torture and the School of the Americas (SOA).
The School of the Americas is a notorious combat training school for Latin American soldiers located at Fort Benning Georgia. Over its 59 years, it has trained over 60,000 soldiers in illegal torture techniques. Peter King has always voted against any legislation for reducing funds, investigation or closing the SOA.
Human rights are not just for American citizens, but for the Global citizens. It is time to stop the torture, since September 11th, the United States has openly authorized and utilized torture in the name of the “War on Terror” this is a global human rights crisis. So we rang our bells on June 25, 2006 at 12noon in a global protest against torture so in our small way we can try to bring awareness and maybe change some minds.
There was a protest against torture in front of Rep. Peter King’s offices in Massapequa Long Island on June 25, 2006 by a coalition of Groups for Peace and no more torture of anyone. Why Rep. Peter King’s offices because Peter King as been a strong supporter of torture and the School of the Americas (SOA).
The School of the Americas is a notorious combat training school for Latin American soldiers located at Fort Benning Georgia. Over its 59 years, it has trained over 60,000 soldiers in illegal torture techniques. Peter King has always voted against any legislation for reducing funds, investigation or closing the SOA.
Human rights are not just for American citizens, but for the Global citizens. It is time to stop the torture, since September 11th, the United States has openly authorized and utilized torture in the name of the “War on Terror” this is a global human rights crisis. So we rang our bells on June 25, 2006 at 12noon in a global protest against torture so in our small way we can try to bring awareness and maybe change some minds.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Offend
Offend
Philip Compton included "The great masses of people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one," while classmate Christopher Koulermos chose to use "Strength lies not in defense but attack." Do these statements offend you? No! What if you found out that they were once said by Hitler? The people that are offend by these and any comparison to the rulers of Germany from 1933 to 1945 say they are offend because they don’t want the Holocaust to happen again. It seems to me that the best way to prevent it from happening again is to make a many comparisons as possible. After all remember that to Nazis were elected to power by the good God fearing German people that just wanted a strong leader to correct what they was wrong with Germany and Europe. The Nazis feed on hate and most of all fear, fear of people not like them that they didn’t understand. Their war on terror was against the Jews, Communist and Trade Unionist who they were told was the responsible for all their problems. So be careful of Governments that use fear (like color alerts) and ask you to give up freedoms so they can better fight the people responsible for those fears.
Philip Compton included "The great masses of people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one," while classmate Christopher Koulermos chose to use "Strength lies not in defense but attack." Do these statements offend you? No! What if you found out that they were once said by Hitler? The people that are offend by these and any comparison to the rulers of Germany from 1933 to 1945 say they are offend because they don’t want the Holocaust to happen again. It seems to me that the best way to prevent it from happening again is to make a many comparisons as possible. After all remember that to Nazis were elected to power by the good God fearing German people that just wanted a strong leader to correct what they was wrong with Germany and Europe. The Nazis feed on hate and most of all fear, fear of people not like them that they didn’t understand. Their war on terror was against the Jews, Communist and Trade Unionist who they were told was the responsible for all their problems. So be careful of Governments that use fear (like color alerts) and ask you to give up freedoms so they can better fight the people responsible for those fears.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Medical Care
Medical Care
According to a UN report on Which Nation give better medical care to it’s Citizens the United States of America ranks 37th even if it does have more Doctors, Hospitals and Medical Equipment than any other nation. So what gives? Well if you have enough money or your employer provides you with Medical Insurance then the United States probably has the best medical care for you, but if you don’t have enough money or Medical Insurance you have a problem. There are many people every day that choose to die than have the family loose their life savings and maybe their home. People go without medical care because they can not afford it. What kind of nation puts profit above human life? Now does Universal Health care have its problems? Yes! Some people do tend to over load Doctors with very little thing that they think is wrong with them or their love ones, but that is a better problem than no medical care at all. Universal Health Care should provide funding for Medical School so we can have the most qualified Doctors no matter what their family’s income level. We can be really number one in Medical care we just need the people to provide their political power over the corporate political power.
According to a UN report on Which Nation give better medical care to it’s Citizens the United States of America ranks 37th even if it does have more Doctors, Hospitals and Medical Equipment than any other nation. So what gives? Well if you have enough money or your employer provides you with Medical Insurance then the United States probably has the best medical care for you, but if you don’t have enough money or Medical Insurance you have a problem. There are many people every day that choose to die than have the family loose their life savings and maybe their home. People go without medical care because they can not afford it. What kind of nation puts profit above human life? Now does Universal Health care have its problems? Yes! Some people do tend to over load Doctors with very little thing that they think is wrong with them or their love ones, but that is a better problem than no medical care at all. Universal Health Care should provide funding for Medical School so we can have the most qualified Doctors no matter what their family’s income level. We can be really number one in Medical care we just need the people to provide their political power over the corporate political power.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Our 37th Wedding Anniversary
37 year Anniversary
Today June 21, 2006 is our 37th Anniversary of our Marriage which means that 38 plus years ago I made the best decision of my life. I can honestly say that we never had an argument that either one of us thought of walking out of the marriage. Now in my family and it seem in many other families in this country (USA) that is rare both my brother and sister have been devoiced as had some of their children. My parents were married for fifty years and if we live that long we hope to reach that target also. Our secret is no secret it is commutation we still love to just sit and talk to each other, to travel together and take care of our Grandchildren together. I Love her now as much as I ever did and will Love her always. Thank you Adele for making my life complete.
Today June 21, 2006 is our 37th Anniversary of our Marriage which means that 38 plus years ago I made the best decision of my life. I can honestly say that we never had an argument that either one of us thought of walking out of the marriage. Now in my family and it seem in many other families in this country (USA) that is rare both my brother and sister have been devoiced as had some of their children. My parents were married for fifty years and if we live that long we hope to reach that target also. Our secret is no secret it is commutation we still love to just sit and talk to each other, to travel together and take care of our Grandchildren together. I Love her now as much as I ever did and will Love her always. Thank you Adele for making my life complete.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Toys
Toys
When I was growing up in the 1940’s & 50’s we probably had more toys than my parents ever thought of having. My children got a least double what I ever had and their children have four times as much has they ever received. Which makes one wonder where will it end? Yet kids today like kids of the generations before them play with only one or two favorite toys and the boxes they came in. They are usually toys that require an imagination and that the child has some control over. You see kids today riding on motorized scooters that seems to me to be boring, we used to make our scooter from two by fours, used roller skates and a box of some kind, which you had to push with one foot to get it going. The only motorized toys we had was electric trains that were fun to set up with the plastic villages and all, but to watch the trains just go around and around I don’t think so. Now kids today have a new kind of toy video games which are a mixed bag of good and bad. Once again the games that take an imagination seem to me to be more fun than the ones that are just point and shoot. Plus I don’t think the point and shoot games teach respect for life. I remember building forts out of anything we could find using our imagination. Now I am just a common old working lad so I don’t really know if today’s Children use more or less imagination than we did, but it seems to me that people should buy toys that require their children to do something.
When I was growing up in the 1940’s & 50’s we probably had more toys than my parents ever thought of having. My children got a least double what I ever had and their children have four times as much has they ever received. Which makes one wonder where will it end? Yet kids today like kids of the generations before them play with only one or two favorite toys and the boxes they came in. They are usually toys that require an imagination and that the child has some control over. You see kids today riding on motorized scooters that seems to me to be boring, we used to make our scooter from two by fours, used roller skates and a box of some kind, which you had to push with one foot to get it going. The only motorized toys we had was electric trains that were fun to set up with the plastic villages and all, but to watch the trains just go around and around I don’t think so. Now kids today have a new kind of toy video games which are a mixed bag of good and bad. Once again the games that take an imagination seem to me to be more fun than the ones that are just point and shoot. Plus I don’t think the point and shoot games teach respect for life. I remember building forts out of anything we could find using our imagination. Now I am just a common old working lad so I don’t really know if today’s Children use more or less imagination than we did, but it seems to me that people should buy toys that require their children to do something.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Veterans for Peace
Veterans for Peace
I recently joined along with my oldest son the Veterans for Peace newly formed Long Island Chapter. They are having a protest in Great Neck today (June 19, 2006) where the President is going to visit. I am not going because for one thing my son is working and two I know from working in Great Neck for the Phone Company that traffic is bad on Lakeville Road on a normal day much less when the President is visiting. So that is in part why I am writing this today although I would have written it one day anyway.
The Military which is made up mostly with the working class people have been used to put down their fellow working people though out history and especially in the last hundred years to fight wars for corporate profit. I realize we have to find a way to keep the economy going in peace time so there will not be any more need for war. My Father used to say that the reason we got into World War two late was because there is more profit in a long war than a short one. When he said it I thought he was being too cynical who could let so many die just to make more money. But as I read about the slaughter of working men in World War one mostly British, French, German and Russians then Americans with the “Generals” asking for more working men to throw into the fight. Then there was the use of troops to put down strikes for better working conditions in the textile mills of New England, the Railroads and steel mills of Pennsylvania or the massacre of innocent Miners and their families in Ludlow Colorado (read Howard Zinn’s books A People’s History of the United States 1492 – Present and Three Strikes by Howard Zinn along with Dana Frank and Robin D.G. Kelly)
If those reasons are not enough can the United State afford to be the Policemen of the world forever or will we run out of blood or money first. We will talk about that in a later posting.
I recently joined along with my oldest son the Veterans for Peace newly formed Long Island Chapter. They are having a protest in Great Neck today (June 19, 2006) where the President is going to visit. I am not going because for one thing my son is working and two I know from working in Great Neck for the Phone Company that traffic is bad on Lakeville Road on a normal day much less when the President is visiting. So that is in part why I am writing this today although I would have written it one day anyway.
The Military which is made up mostly with the working class people have been used to put down their fellow working people though out history and especially in the last hundred years to fight wars for corporate profit. I realize we have to find a way to keep the economy going in peace time so there will not be any more need for war. My Father used to say that the reason we got into World War two late was because there is more profit in a long war than a short one. When he said it I thought he was being too cynical who could let so many die just to make more money. But as I read about the slaughter of working men in World War one mostly British, French, German and Russians then Americans with the “Generals” asking for more working men to throw into the fight. Then there was the use of troops to put down strikes for better working conditions in the textile mills of New England, the Railroads and steel mills of Pennsylvania or the massacre of innocent Miners and their families in Ludlow Colorado (read Howard Zinn’s books A People’s History of the United States 1492 – Present and Three Strikes by Howard Zinn along with Dana Frank and Robin D.G. Kelly)
If those reasons are not enough can the United State afford to be the Policemen of the world forever or will we run out of blood or money first. We will talk about that in a later posting.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
How do you get Salvation?
Salvation
When I restated the question from the Da Vinci Code “What if Jesus was just a great man, what would that do to your faith?” I was asked “What about Jesus dieing for our sins” that bring up a 2000 year old debate do you get salvation from living by the word of Jesus to help your fellow man and forgiving others their sins or by believing that Jesus the son of God died for your sins on the cross. Actually it might be a two question test and you have to do both, but if only one gets you Salvation which is it? Now most churches will say you have to believe that Jesus died for our sins on the cross because then you have to come to them for salvation, but if doing good works and forgiving others get you salvation you don’t even have to be Christian. Which is right? Hey! I am just a common old working man how do I know?
When I restated the question from the Da Vinci Code “What if Jesus was just a great man, what would that do to your faith?” I was asked “What about Jesus dieing for our sins” that bring up a 2000 year old debate do you get salvation from living by the word of Jesus to help your fellow man and forgiving others their sins or by believing that Jesus the son of God died for your sins on the cross. Actually it might be a two question test and you have to do both, but if only one gets you Salvation which is it? Now most churches will say you have to believe that Jesus died for our sins on the cross because then you have to come to them for salvation, but if doing good works and forgiving others get you salvation you don’t even have to be Christian. Which is right? Hey! I am just a common old working man how do I know?
Saturday, June 17, 2006
My Genealogy
I started doing my Family Tree a few years ago mostly on line with Genealogy.com and Ancestry.com with some success mostly on my wife's side. They were came to America earlier than my side, but her father's side ends up in Baden which is now part of Germany. her maiden name is Eiermann her father's name is Frederick Eiermann as is her Grandfather's name and her Great-Grandfather's name. My wife's Great-Grandfather came to America in 1879. My Wife Adele's mother's maiden name was Hixon and came from England Via St. Kitts Adele's Grandmother's maiden name was Kane and John Kane came to America in 1847.
My side of the family comes from Scotland in 1929 my mother Jeanette Greenwood came from Alva Scotland. My Father's Family came from Wishaw in Lanarkshire Scotland. I have had great success on this side in Scotland with www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk which has good Civil Records up to the year 1856 and UK Census to the year 1841 before that you have to go with Church Records which is a lot harder. A lot of both my wife's and my family come orginate from Ireland Like my last name Boyle which I think come from around North western part and my wife's Kane, but all the records I have seen just say they come from Ireland with no Location in Ireland that is ture of both American and Scottich records.
I have gone on too long I will post more about each side at a later time.
My side of the family comes from Scotland in 1929 my mother Jeanette Greenwood came from Alva Scotland. My Father's Family came from Wishaw in Lanarkshire Scotland. I have had great success on this side in Scotland with www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk which has good Civil Records up to the year 1856 and UK Census to the year 1841 before that you have to go with Church Records which is a lot harder. A lot of both my wife's and my family come orginate from Ireland Like my last name Boyle which I think come from around North western part and my wife's Kane, but all the records I have seen just say they come from Ireland with no Location in Ireland that is ture of both American and Scottich records.
I have gone on too long I will post more about each side at a later time.
Traveling though the years
Traveling
Now that I am retired my wife and I do a lot of traveling or at least two trips a year seeing as much of the world as can before we leave it. I also research our families’ history and there I find that before my parents our families travel not just for fun, but for their very survival or to improve their lifestyle. A Lot of the family history ends up in Ireland where someone in the nineteenth century must of yelled abandon Ireland for many left around the 1840’s for Scotland, West Indies or North America. It was because of the famine of course and they had to travel or die. Now my parents a couple of generations later left Scotland for New York City not for survival, but hopefully for a better life for Scotland was in the middle of a depression. They came to New York in 1929 what luck huh! Lucky for me their life did improve by the 1940’s and they started taking vacations. The first trip that I remember was to Atlantic City New Jersey with my parent and my sister. Atlantic City back then was a little different than it is today no Casino’s but they did have the Steel Pier with a woman on a horse that dived into a pool of water at the end of the pier, a diving bell and many games to play. We saw a cowboy do some rope tricks and the Ice Show while we were there. My parent also brought me on trip to Gettysburg PA and to Canada. When I got married and had kids we liked to take them of trips to Florida to Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center and Busch Gardens. We also went to Canada as well as Virginia’s Williamsburg and Washington DC. Now that we are retired we have traveled as far west as Hawaii and as far east as Russia. So I guess your can say we have more fun traveling than our ancestors did and hopefully our kids and Grandkids will have even more opportunities to travel than we do.
Now that I am retired my wife and I do a lot of traveling or at least two trips a year seeing as much of the world as can before we leave it. I also research our families’ history and there I find that before my parents our families travel not just for fun, but for their very survival or to improve their lifestyle. A Lot of the family history ends up in Ireland where someone in the nineteenth century must of yelled abandon Ireland for many left around the 1840’s for Scotland, West Indies or North America. It was because of the famine of course and they had to travel or die. Now my parents a couple of generations later left Scotland for New York City not for survival, but hopefully for a better life for Scotland was in the middle of a depression. They came to New York in 1929 what luck huh! Lucky for me their life did improve by the 1940’s and they started taking vacations. The first trip that I remember was to Atlantic City New Jersey with my parent and my sister. Atlantic City back then was a little different than it is today no Casino’s but they did have the Steel Pier with a woman on a horse that dived into a pool of water at the end of the pier, a diving bell and many games to play. We saw a cowboy do some rope tricks and the Ice Show while we were there. My parent also brought me on trip to Gettysburg PA and to Canada. When I got married and had kids we liked to take them of trips to Florida to Disney World, the Kennedy Space Center and Busch Gardens. We also went to Canada as well as Virginia’s Williamsburg and Washington DC. Now that we are retired we have traveled as far west as Hawaii and as far east as Russia. So I guess your can say we have more fun traveling than our ancestors did and hopefully our kids and Grandkids will have even more opportunities to travel than we do.
About me
I decided to start a blog for two reasons One is for Genealogy and the other to express my views on what is going on the our world what is happening today and what happen and didn’t happen yesterday.
My personal history is that I was born in Brooklyn NY and raised in Amityville Long Island NY went though the Amityville Public School system the best thing I learned in Public School was to read so could read about the History of the working people of the world, and not just the rich elite class. While I was in High School I worked at Jones Beach. After school I worked for A&S Department Stores then got Drafted into the US Army from 1964 to 1966 I was lucky there and just missed going to Vietnam, but knew a lot of guys that were force to go and some never made it back. Vietnam was a waste of lives if we had never went to Vietnam it would still be the same as it is today except that over 58,000 Americans and over a million Vietnamese would still be alive. Then I went to work for AIL in Deer Park Long Island NY that is where I met my Wife Adele the best thing that ever happened to me. Then I went to work for New York Telephone in Nassau County and there I stayed until I retired in 2002 after 33 years.
Now I have time to do such thing as digitize all our old photos some that my Wife got from her mother date back to the 1900’s so I have some of the family history in photos dating back about 100 years. I decided I wanted to go back as far as I could so I got into Genealogy and got records as far back as the 1790’s. I am also into Gardening and best of all taken care of my two Grandsons Kenneth John Boyle Jr. and Richard William Boyle who was named after both his Grandpa’s
I also have time now to join the Veterans for Peace and maybe do something to get this country off the War merry go around.
My personal history is that I was born in Brooklyn NY and raised in Amityville Long Island NY went though the Amityville Public School system the best thing I learned in Public School was to read so could read about the History of the working people of the world, and not just the rich elite class. While I was in High School I worked at Jones Beach. After school I worked for A&S Department Stores then got Drafted into the US Army from 1964 to 1966 I was lucky there and just missed going to Vietnam, but knew a lot of guys that were force to go and some never made it back. Vietnam was a waste of lives if we had never went to Vietnam it would still be the same as it is today except that over 58,000 Americans and over a million Vietnamese would still be alive. Then I went to work for AIL in Deer Park Long Island NY that is where I met my Wife Adele the best thing that ever happened to me. Then I went to work for New York Telephone in Nassau County and there I stayed until I retired in 2002 after 33 years.
Now I have time to do such thing as digitize all our old photos some that my Wife got from her mother date back to the 1900’s so I have some of the family history in photos dating back about 100 years. I decided I wanted to go back as far as I could so I got into Genealogy and got records as far back as the 1790’s. I am also into Gardening and best of all taken care of my two Grandsons Kenneth John Boyle Jr. and Richard William Boyle who was named after both his Grandpa’s
I also have time now to join the Veterans for Peace and maybe do something to get this country off the War merry go around.
The Da Vinci Code
You often hear people say as a put down to those people that are offended by The Da Vinci Code that it is only Fiction, but the fact that a book is listed as Fiction does not mean that it is all Fiction or for that matter that Non-Fiction is all true. The basic idea of the book and the movie is in the line “if Jesus was not the son of God, but a great man would that change your faith?” I have always thought that being a Christian is more than just saying his name over and over, saying you accept him as your saver, but living by his word to help all people around the world live a better life and forgiving them for their sins against you. I think a true Christian should want to know as much as they can about him in and outside the Bible. If new ideas shake your faith maybe you never really had it to begin with.
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