Poly-lies

Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, after being convicted of child sexual assault, was removed at his request from the courtroom during the sentencing hearing, but only after he read a statement he claimed was from God that promised a "whirlwind of judgment" on the world if Jeffs wasn't set free.

Thank goodness for that.

Now, after he is sentenced to most or all of his remaining life in prison and there is no whirlwind of judgment, perhaps some of his followers will figure out he's been lying to them all along and that he is not God's hand-picked representative on earth.

Of course, living in their enclaves of solitude, they may only continue hearing lies fed to them by another so-called leader who enjoys taking advantage of the disenfranchised. I hope, for their sake, they find the truth.

Then there's the wrong way

Let’s just say you’re in a bad situation in your home country. You take a trip and, perhaps through dramatic means, you manage to infiltrate the country of your dreams, the place where you feel you can live safely and achieve a happy life.

It’s not that simple, however. Your dream country has laws concerning who it allows to enter and, more particularly, who it allows to stay and take up residency. In the meantime, according to your dream country’s policies, you remain in a detention center specifically for people seeking asylum. You will stay there while your appeal for asylum is considered.

OK, not exactly the way you saw it working out in your dream, but it’s still a step in the right direction. Meanwhile, you have the chance to prove what a wonderful addition you will be to your dream country. Goodness, it would be crazy to not want you, right?

Time drags on, you start to worry a bit and then ... a couple of your fellow detainees supposedly get word their requests for visas have been denied. They start to make a scene. Others join in and, before you know it, approximately a fourth of the detainees are caught up in a protest.

And we’re not talking peaceful resistance here.

Buildings are set afire. Nine structures are gutted. Detainees perched on rooftops hurl roof tiles and furniture at those fighting the fires.

I’m not likely to make up such a scenario. No, it’s real and it’s still playing out in Sydney, Australia. Just who started it and who participated are questions yet to be answered by immigration officials, but there’s one thing you and I have already figured out.

There is no way protesting – rioting, really – can help someone trying to win favor with the local government. They must wonder if you’re seeking asylum because you cannot get along wherever you live.

Certainly, there may be underlying story lines worthy of consideration: mental illness, living conditions or a process moving too slowly, for example. However, the idea of setting buildings on fire is never a good idea. Those involved will now have a tough time finding any place to live out their dreams.
(c) 2011 by Steve Martaindale   

Hasty rumors

If you have any remaining hopes political races are anything more than popularity contests, consider the latest exhibit: “Gabby Giffords Doesn't Know She's a Senate Front-Runner” via The Atlantic Wire.

After U.S. Rep. Giffords was shot in the head Jan. 8, 2011, in an assassination attempt that killed six and injured a dozen others, even those of us who never heard of her learned she is respected and loved by many. Over the next days and weeks, small bits of information came out about what may prove to be a dramatic recovery.

Now, as the story above informs us, some are suggesting the congresswoman make a run for the Senate. Of course, it’s merely speculation at this point because Gabby, as she’s called by many, is just now beginning to formulate entire sentences. She only recently was told she was shot and not in an accident, as she had been assuming. She still has not yet been told of the deaths of friends at the shooting.

I hope Giffords does complete a full recovery. She might even make a wonderful senator, but there’s nothing now to lead us to either assumption.

However, her name still evokes passion, so people are floating the idea before things cool down.

And someday, they just might be able to tell her what they’re doing.

On the heels of coolness

While driving around the small Texas city where I work, it's common to see young adult men (teens and 20s, I'd guess) walking down the street while holding their pants up with one hand or, even funnier looking, pulling up the pants with each step.

I may laugh at the spectacle, particularly when they add the skewed cap and other contemporary accoutrements, but nothing about it bothers me. They're simply trying to be cool ... or whatever the appropriate term is today.

It struck me, however, they have one huge hurdle to overcome in achieving coolness.

They are walking.

This may mean nothing in a large city, but nobody walks here (within reason) unless it's for exercise or because he has no car.

Yeah, that's what you're telegraphing as you hike down the street while hiking up your pants -- you either have no car or no license. And here in small town Texas, that's a far cry from cool.

Death of a pioneer

His wasn't a household name, but a medical pioneer died Monday. Like me, you probably had not heard of Ronald Lee Herrick, but he made history in 1954 when he donated a kidney to his twin brother. Today, thousands of organ donations occur every year and each recipient owes a small amount of gratitude to those who broke new ground.