Indecent Indifference

Until this month, it had been more than 30 years since a Syracuse police officer was killed in the line of duty.

Ten days ago, on April 14, two of the city's officers were killed: Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen and Onondaga Sheriff Lt. Michael Hoosock.

As one might imagine, the law enforcement community has been grappling with shock and grief. The officer funerals were held in the past few days; Officer Jensen's was on Saturday, and Lt. Hoosock's was on Monday--two days ago.

Joe Biden is scheduled to make a campaign stop in Syracuse on Thursday--tomorrow. Due to the enormous burden a presidential visit places on local law enforcement, the Syracuse police chief and the mayor expressed their concern to the White House about managing this event in the midst of such stress upon their officers. They did not request a postponement, yet it's painfully obvious that basic decency demands one should be offered.

But we're talking about Joe Biden. He's the cold-blooded candidate who recently held a campaign fundraiser in New York City and ignored another murdered officer, Jonathan Diller, who was being mourned the same day in a New York suburb. It would have been an easy limo ride away, especially for a president. After all, there was a former president who made a special trip to pay his respects to Diller. But not Biden. His show must go on. Especially, it appears, if it includes murdered officers.

If you think Biden might delay his hurrah speech in Syracuse for a couple more days, just to be respectful to law enforcement officers, you'd be wrong. He's coming to Syracuse tomorrow as scheduled. The cops will just have to cope.

There are many things I could say about the current occupant of the White House. Most of them I wouldn't want to appear on my pages. But there's one thing I will say with certainty--Joe Biden is not a nice man.

Sadly Symbolic

Today's devastating fire at the Copenhagen Old Stock Exchange is, similar to the destruction at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, in 2019, symbolic of the deterioration, dismantling, and outright destruction of Western civilization. 

Do you recognize our country? I, for one, do not. In the past few years, it has become a hostile, alien place filled with danger and uncertainty. There is no reliable system of justice. Crime is rampant and without consequence. The economy has been crushed by inflation, with prices rising at every turn. The middle class is ever shrinking, leaving us with a feudal-like system of the mega-rich in their safe enclaves surrounded by always increasing impoverished masses. The southern border is non-existent, and the unknown throngs of foreign entries is reminiscent of barbarians overwhelming the Roman Empire.

To add to the mounting national dismay, young children are encouraged to explore and affirm a different "gender," with parents rendered largely powerless to protect them. Those same parents are subject to unfettered surveillance by Federal agencies if they speak out for their children at school board meetings, pray outside an abortion clinic, or attend a government-disapproved church. 

And, for the first time in US history, we have a major political candidate, a former president seeking a second term, prosecuted as a criminal under feeble and frivolous charges. Since when is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) considered "hush money"? In my career I've drafted, typed, processed, notarized, mailed, and maintained files on hundreds of NDAs. Not one of them was ever referred to as "hush money." But that buzz term certainly makes for juicy headlines in a jaded media.

In short, we're losing our society. We are losing it through our inaction and unwillingness to face the hard reality of the threats within. We're losing principles of freedom that go back to the Magna Carta and that are enshrined in our country's founding documents. Western civilization may already be beyond rescue, and we just don't realize it yet. Perhaps the fiery end to Denmark's iconic four-centuries-old building is just one more symbol of the implacable march to our demise.

 

Copenhagen Old Stock Exchange Building

Allowing Stages

“Play is the work of the child.”

 ~ Maria Montessori

When I was about four years old, I became fascinated with large trucks and similar heavy equipment vehicles. I asked for a “dump truck” for Christmas. My parents were not worried, horrified, or intimidated by this traditionally unfeminine interest. They made sure that Santa came through for me.

I can still see the three gifts waiting for me that Christmas morning. They were all Tonka trucks, a time-honored quality brand for sturdy toys. The boxes were big and heavy for a little tyke, but I wrestled them open. I received the yearned-for dump truck; it had a yellow cab and a green bed, with a working mechanism that lifted the bed, tilted it backwards, and opened the hatch. The next box contained a bright red tractor with a steering wheel that moved the huge tires. The last box held a teal green steam shovel that swiveled left and right. It had a yellow “scoop” operated by a little switch that could move it up and down, back and forth. Oh, joy; I was in make-believe heavy construction heaven.

I remember playing with these toys for at least a year, probably closer to two years. They transported stuffed animals, checkers, ping pong balls, cookies, unshelled walnuts, and innumerable other compact items that fit into their functional parts. Eventually my well-used trucks transitioned to my younger siblings, and I moved on to play with Easy-bake ovens and Barbie dolls. But it took a long while. The point is, I never felt like a boy when I was playing with my Tonka toys. My preoccupation with trucks was what my mother accurately termed, “a stage she’s going through.”

Can you imagine if I were a four-year-old girl today expressing such interest in dump trucks and similar construction vehicles? Probably already I'd be on hormone blockers and waitlisted for my penile implant. Children aren’t allowed to go through stages these days. At the first sign of any unusual behavior, they are immediately analyzed, diagnosed, and drugged. This is a mental sickness on the adults’ part, including—perhaps especially—the physicians and therapists. The overhyped gender hysteria is warped, it’s wrong, and it’s most often irreparably damaging to the child.

If a boy wants to play with dolls, or if a girl wants to play with trucks, let them play. Childhood is brief enough, and it moves with lightning speed. There is plenty of time ahead to sort out gender identities. And, as my experience shows, given enough time such things sort themselves out. If, indeed, such sorting is even necessary—which it usually is not.