Neo-Nazi couple learn they are Jewish

How odd would it be to grow up convinced that another person is of lesser value then you based on their ethnicity only to learn you are of the same ethnicity? Can your beliefs suddenly change so drastically?

This is exactly what happened to two Polish neo-Nazis who were childhood sweethearts and later became skinheads. They discovered their shocking family secret, that they are both Jewish, a few years ago after going through records at the Warsaw’s Jewish Historical Institute. Both their families had escaped Nazi Germany and hid their true identities in order to escape persecution.

Before they learned of their true roots, they both practiced the belief “that Jews were the biggest plague and the worst evil of this world".

They've now embraced their Jewish identity and are active in their local orthodox synagogue.

When I read this story I was struck with the obvious very deep lessons to be learned here. Not the least of which is that all people want basically the same thing, we just have differing ideas on how to get it. And who is to say that one idea can be judged as better ot more value than another?

Before these two ex-skinheads learned they were Jewish they would have never stepped into a synagogue and now they worship in one. The basic concepts of their belief system can not have drastically changed, they just focus them in a different direction within a different frame f reference. They are still the same people.

Plus, we can see how we are shaped by ideas and stereotypes. Now that they have learned they are Jewish, surely, they no longer believe “that Jews were the biggest plague and the worst evil of this world".

CNN did a documentary about Poles rediscovering their Jewish roots generations after their ancestors hid their religious identities to escape persecution during World War II. You can read more about it and watch excerpts from the documentary on CNN.

America Got Dick Roll'd

Cheney will also shoot you in the face.

Judge in Virginia Strikes Down Federal Health Care Law

As if any thinking intelligent person thought this bill was going to viewed any differently, a federal judge rejected a key provision of the Obama administration's health care law as unconstitutional Monday, ruling the government cannot require people to buy insurance.

This is exactly what should have been on the minds of every politician working on this bill. How can any politician possibly think they can force the American public to pay for something they don’t want? Well, I’ll tell you what allowed them to think this was going to pass. Arrogance.

Politicians have become so entrenched in the wasteful process of writing new legislation, solely for the purpose of justifying their positions, that even though they knew this law was not going to fly they would rather waste taxpayer money in writing this legislation, debating it, and then voting on it.

Falling From High Horses and Journalism As It Should Be

Two things that came about because of WikiLeaks. Journalism and diplomacy have both been given higher standards. What the American public expects from each is slightly different but very much the same thing.

We expect transparency from our public leaders. We expect not to be lied to. We expect journalists to not pander to special interests and to present all of the truth about everything that affects every aspect of our lives.

Our political leaders have been given the opportunity once again to listen to what the voters think about a very important issue. We want them to end their policy of keeping things hidden from public view.

Far too many politicians believe they are the wizard behind the curtain and that we should pay them no mind. They put themselves above the public and consider themselves too important to be replaced. They are neither.

What WikiLeaks unveiled about U.S. diplomats and foreign leaders is something that U.S. citizens have known for ages. It is refreshing to see that people in these positions make mistakes just as the rest of us do. However, the people in these positions remain indignant that this simple truth has been revealed about themselves. My advice to these people is to get over yourselves. So you have been embarrassed by the same human traits the rest of us suffer. Correct your blunders and get on with doing the job your are tasked with doing.

Another bit of advice, and trust me I feel it is ridiculous that this even needs to be said to adults, keeping secrets from the American public only makes you look worse for having kept the secret in the first place.

You politicians must think we view you as infallible. Well, you are sadly mistaken. Just as mistaken are you if you believe we think you are above the law. Truth be told, we don’t believe that you are ‘privileged’. We do believe that if and when you are caught committing a crime and you are then determined to be guilty of that crime you should not get to keep your salaries and your pensions. We don’t get to keep ours, why on earth should you?

Concerning your outrage over WikiLeaks, who do you people think you are fooling? The American people see who these leaks have hurt. We would never condone the leaking of secrets that brought death and destruction to anyone. Nor would we accept the malicious telling of secrets that would bring down legitimate governments.

WikiLeaks did neither of these things and yet the federal government views him as a traitor of the highest degree. Again, I say to our political leaders, get over your embarrassment and get on with life. Hopefully, you can do a better job with the knowledge that we know you all make mistakes, just like us.

Here’s something for all of you to think about, the Society for Professional Journalists, in regards WikiLeaks, after addressing issues such as ‘is this journalism, is it responsible and have news organizations responded ethically’ has deemed that the action of WikiLeaks did fall within the ethical guidelines of good solid journalism. In fact it is my guess that a vast majority of journalists are crying in their afternoon mixed drinks that they themselves did not uncover those secrets.

Journalism, needs to be informative. Journalism needs to investigate issues and report on them ot just report on them. Journalism should confront every issue with the sole determination of presenting all of the facts. Allow the public to determine what is important and what is not. We do not need or want to be pampered or protected from the truth. If anyone tries to prevent the truth from being reported then that person needs to be put out in front of the public eye so we can deal with them.

WikiLeaks has shown us finally what journalism can be. Responsible. Hard-hitting. Truthful.

The Next Step in Losing Our Freedoms

From Digital Journal comes a dark and dire warning that freedom loving Americans cannot afford to ignore.

The very freedoms that have been granted by our Bill of Rights are slowly slipping away from us. We will not lose our freedoms in one fell swoop at the passage of a law. We will not relinquish democracy at the end of a gun barrel. Our freedoms will only disappear if we freely give them away.

Currently, our own Homeland Security, and its Machiavellian policies, under the guise of protecting us against terrorism, is the agent of the demise of our freedoms and we are blissfully going along with it. The heavy-handed treatment by the Transportation Security Administration towards law-abiding citizens is in deference to political correctness. We have given up our dignity for fear of offending an ethnic group who has overwhelmingly been behind every terrorist threat against America.

So far, the invasive body scans and pat-downs only take place at U.S. airports, but rest assured, we will soon suffer this indignity at seaports, train and bus stations, and border crossings, and before you know it road blocks are going to be set up outside major cities.

Janet Napolitano has announced a despicable program by which U.S. citizens will be asked to spy on one another and rat them out to law enforcement. The act of having Americans turn on each other is another in a series of steps to allow an out of control government to crack down on our freedoms.

We are already painfully aware of how the arrogance of our political leadership has demonstrated their willingness to override what the public wants beginning with George W. Bush’s illegal declaration of war against a sovereign nation. Even though information backing his decision was found to be a fabrication we still send our fighting men and women into harms way. We have but to follow the money trail to see why this illegal war continues.

For the first time in America’s history, our leadership has denigrated itself by allowing the use of and participating in the barbaric act of torture. And still those individuals responsible have not been punished nor have any charges been brought against them. What more proof do we need that the phrase ‘human rights’ is nothing more than an empty banner to be brought out and dusted off whenever it suits us?

When a nation can so callously override civil rights and freedoms by pretending to ‘protect’ us, when a nation can so blatantly lie to the voting public without fear of punishment, that nation is on its way down the slippery slope of abandoning democracy.

The sad truth is that this new program will find eager ‘citizens’ who will gladly turn on their fellow man out of a misguided sense of patriotism. Thinking they know what’s best for this country by denying freedoms to another person is an abomination of our rights and it allows law enforcement to begin accusing citizens of crimes they may not have committed.

Once this nation begins turning on itself the descent into paranoia will lead big brother to decide that, for the good of the country, martial law needs to be imposed, curfews implemented, and citizens rounded up and placed in detention camps for an indefinite period. This has already been done during the last two presidential elections.

It is now only a matter of time before we are living under dictatorial rule, something that the Founding Fathers would have found as repulsive as it is oppressive.