Thoughts To Provoke

The following four topics will help to resist being a Monday Morning Quarterback. You know, “if only the Republicans had done this or the Democrats done that?” These are just ideas which will hopefully get you to think about your own ideas and solutions. Rather than finger pointing, let’s think about what can be done in the future.

1. Iraq
Since the world media calls the war a quagmire, President Bush could call for a referendum of the Iraqi people every quarter or so to see if they want us to stay and continue to help them fight for their freedom or leave. Let their purple fingers speak to us and the media.

2. Media Control Your Appetite
A time will come soon when eager attorneys will target the press, accusing that free and open coverage of horrific events can cause more copy-cat terror. One self policing change would make the world a better and safer place. Our laws say that we are innocent until proven guilty. No one should be tried in the press! The press should restrain itself and never publish names or pictures of suspected criminals (no cameras in courtrooms as news generators). Criminals crave attention. If there was no attention paid there may be less criminality. If the media for their own appetite and profit, open the story naming names at or before the indictment level and before trial confirmation, they could be open to slander and malpractice. They are in effect slandering innocent people. The media can and should report the news of the event, just not the suspect’s name and picture. There may be times when a picture and name could be released by authorities to help in apprehension (neighborhood watch, ten most wanted, amber alerts), but once caught, closed press through trial.

3. Baseball and the Other Pastimes
One of the great things about our athletic heroes is the positive impact they have on our young people. Our children are impressionable and looking for role models to help them grow up with character and the ability to make good choices. Enter performance enhancing drugs. Pete Rose has paid the price for his gambling misdeeds, so string the druggies up by their shoe laces, and fine the owners so much they will never risk again. Either that or face your son or daughter in their bedroom as they hang up the poster of your (and their) favorite hero. “Dad, I want muscles just like those!”

4. To Fence or Not to Fence
To fence our southern border may be useful for public perception and could be a helpful deterrent; however, we must also deal with the millions of illegal immigrants already here and the reason they continue to come. They want a better life and they get it by taking a reasonable risk.

Government and then business must get tougher with this issue. We can’t give away tax payer treasure and reward illegal activity by giving away healthcare, education, and citizenship benefits. We also can’t penalize companies who need low cost labor to compete on a world stage. Guest workers that receive minimal benefits seem logical and maybe their first job is fence-building. Workers could be drawn to these construction sites to start the documentation process. If they don’t come forward, the risk of deportation goes up significantly. For the majority of folks that are already here, they should be given a safe route to guest worker status and again without the benefits of citizenship.

For clarity, please number (1,2,3,4) your response(s). Thanks!!