Memorial Day always makes me think of my dad-Yves "Buster" Melancon. He served for twenty-seven years in the United States Army and went to Vietnam twice. As a Combat Engineer, Dad wasn't directly engaged in the fighting, but he did travel throughout the war zone. I always wonder how my life would have been different if Dad had never come home.
I was lucky. Thousands of sons and daughters lost their parents to the war in Vietnam. Once, when I was an adult, and after he had retired, I asked my dad to tell me about his experiences. He simply said, "all I know is that a lot of good brothers died for no reason," and then he started to cry. I never heard the rest of the story.
Now, I'm a dad and my son-Christopher Yves-Paul Melancon-is joining the United States Army. He plans on being a Combat Engineer. I wish my dad were still alive. He would be proud.
Millions of men and woman-like my dad and my son-have sacrificed themselves to serve and protect you and me. Do we do enough to protect them? Do we do enough to prevent "a lot of good brothers" from dying "for no reason"? I'm convinced our new President understands that he has their lives in his hands.
Facing falling poll numbers, the Republican political elites are downplaying their anti-gay and anti-abortion rhetoric. Political consultants had told them to use these "wedge issues" to divide America and win elections. More and more voters, however, want to know what their leaders stand for, not what they oppose. For the first time in thirty years we have an opportunity for real pro-family policies.
Washington politicians and lobbyists are already lining up for a Supreme Court confirmation fight. The buzz words are flying fast. Their jargon is meant to rally activists for or against any nominee. As citizens, however, we need to take a step back and look at the issues more closely. Who is pushing for "big government"? Who wants less?
Conservatives will make the abortion debate at the center of the confirmation process. How much control should politicians have over a pregnant woman? The 1973 Supreme Court Case Roe v. Wade limited state and federal control. Ever since then, conservatives have been fighting to reinstitute a larger role for government.
Humans love short cuts. Americans in particular have developed a culture based on instant gratification. There is, however, a price to pay for cutting corners. As my momma used to tell me, lazy people work the hardest. Our national security agencies are learning this lesson the hard way. It takes good old fashion hard work to keep America safe.
Our security requires good intelligence. The very word "intelligence" should give us a clue that short cuts will not work. Thinking may be natural, but it takes practice and effort. The mind is like every other muscle; it needs proper exercise and diet. Feeding a well-trained mind junk information produces bad results. Our Intelligence services need to break their addiction to junk information and start exercising more.
My oldest son will enter the US Army in June. In all likelihood he will go overseas with thousands of our brave men and women. If captured by the enemy, do I want him water boarded? Do I want his captors to strip him naked, to throw freezing water on him, to slap his face or to slam him repeatedly against a wall?
When I think about torture, I'm reminded of the story told in almost every Roman Catholic Church. Hanging on the walls are the Stations of the Cross. They tell how the Romans tortured and then murdered Jesus.
Who would Jesus torture? No one. Torture is wrong. It clearly violates the Golden Rule: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).
Our founding fathers knew that concentrated power hurts society. They wrote a constitution that divided political power into three branches. This system has served us well for over two hundred years, protecting us from tyranny. The founders didn't foresee today's vast concentration of economic power and the destruction it could bring. We, however, can. We should have known the danger it poses to us all.
The local news station KXII has requested from You Tube, and You Tube has complied, for Glenn Melancon's web ad of Ralph Hall's energy stance to be taken from their website. This is a violation of the First Amendment right of the Melancon campaign and a threat to political speech and copyright fair use policy. The web ad used a small section of a new cast from KXII in the ad. The section was attributed to KXII, yet they claim that it was copyrighted and requested that it be taken down. When the Melancon campaign replied that they thought they were within the law to post the video, KXII requested that You Tube take the video down.
The video has been transformed form its original use which was a chamber of commerce award. Its new purpose is to show how out of touch with the Texas fourth district values that Ralph Hall really is. Glenn Melancon should request that You Tube place the video back online and ask for a public apology from KXII. If we as progressives do not stand up and let the media know that they cannot decide what is on the net and what is actually copyrighted we will end up with a corporate owned net as we have a corporate owned media.
Time and time again Ralph Hall tells voters that American soldiers will have to "fight a war and take some energy away from someone." Does this represent your values? It doesn't represent mine. I believe it's time to stop talking about stealing and to start investing in America.
My campaign has produced a short video using Hall's own words to expose his values. Please circulate it to your family and friends.
We have twelve days left to spread the word and fight for change in Texas. Donate today and help put this commercial on the air: https://secure.actblue.com/con...
Jim Hightower is coming to Rockwall to campaign for Glenn Melancon. Jim is the most entertaining and thought provoking Texan alive today. Author of the book, Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow, Jim Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Jim wants a true populist to sit in Mr. Sam's seat. Are you ready for change in Washington?
Don't miss the fun as Jim and Glenn team up to fight George Bush' good ol' boy network. Space is limited. Tickets for this event are only $100. All money raised is a donation to Texas Families for Glenn Melancon.
Glenn Melancon of Sherman is the Democratic candidate in Texas' 4th Congressional District. The district includes Bowie, Camp, Cass, Collin, Delta, Fannin, Franklin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Lamar, Morris, Rains, Red River, Rockwall and Titus counties.
