THE CHILDREN OF SYRIA ARE BEING KILLED - AGAIN

For over five thousand years, the armies of three continents have fought using Syria as a battleground. Now a despot is killing Syrian children with chemical bombs. Please bring yourself to look at the schoolboys who will die from the burns they sustained from one of Assad's bombs. It was filmed by a respected journalist from the BBC.

I believe, from the evidence on TV and the internet, that Assad used chemical weapons on innocent civilians, including almost 500 children. But we will NEVER be able to prove that Assad issued the orders.

It is now certain that Assad has moved his chemical weapons. Using my two year old child analogy, the child has hidden his bow and arrow. So the next thing to do it to take away some other toys the child cares about. With a child, it is really important that the punishment is swift, so that the child connects the punishment with the crime.

Luckily, that is easier than taking away his chemical weapons. Personally, I think taking away Assad's air power would be an excellent punishment. It should be remembered that the US has bombed Syria in the past, with little or no political ramifications. His neighbors do not like him either.

I have heard rumors that Assad is thinking about retiring to Russia. We HAVE to agree to let him and his family have a comfortable, wealthy, and safe retirement. Otherwise he will fight to his last breath. Worse, other despots will fight to their last breath.

A philanthropus has established a retirement fund for dictators who did NOT steal monies. He says that sometimes people stay in office because their country has no retirement system for them. He is right.

President Obama is right. Assad has crossed a red line.

If the US does not stand against this evil, who will?

WHEELCHAIR SAFETY -- UNCARING CITY

I have injured myself twice this year, on wheelchair ramps missing or blocked. Both times were in the City of San Jose.

In January, I drove my wheelchair off a curb where I thought there was a ramp. Oakridge Mall contends I was crossing a loading dock. I say I was using the sidewalk on the immediate outside of the mall and it looked like a driveway to me. I think that the representatives at Oakridge treated me in an extremely snotty manner. I think they believe they do not have to upgrade the wheelchair access in an area built in the 1960s, even if they expanded the mall several times since then. I think they even changed their map on Google to show a safe wheelchair route to Bank of American, which does not exist. They refused to even consider my injury claim.

But why didn't the City of San Jose building inspectors REQUIRE that Oakridge put in safe wheelchair routes?

Yesterday, I was unable to cross Saratoga at Steven's Creek on the San Jose side. The ramp ended in an asphalt lump which my wheelchair would not cross until I went over it rear wheels first. Thank you, bicycle guy and car who blocked traffic for me. But why didn't the City of San Jose REQUIRE as safe wheelchair ramp?

The answer might be found in city hall. San Jose built the R2- D-dome, but wheelchairs in the City Council chambers have to use the top or the bottom (with help from security). Compare this to the Santa Clara County Board chambers, which is amazingly wheelchair friendly.

And do not get me started on the incredibly stupid state law which prevents demand notices for access violations. The mislead legislators say they are protecting small business. Instead they are allowing huge businesses to IGNORE WHEELCHAIR SAFETY.

SYRIAN DREAMS

In my dreams, the world declares a ceasefire in Syria, and marches in and takes away all of Assad's chemical weapons. The extremely brave men who do this would be allowed to return fire and should be given air coverage. But dreams are not foreign policy.

Bombing Assad does not secure the chemical weapons. Israel said that it knew where all the chemical weapons are located. NO ONE wants chemical weapons loose in a world which contains people crazy enough to use them.

If NATO and the neighbors of Syria agree, then Assad and the rebels would be TOLD that the foreign troops are coming in ONLY to secure and REMOVE all chemical weapons in Syria. The troops should be covered by air support, given tanks, and weapons to defend from attack. 

Assad is acting like a child, destroying what he can not have. If a child misuses a bow and arrow, you take away the bow and arrow.

I can dream, but foreign policy is complex. There may be many reasons why my idea would not work.

SUMMERTIME

For those of us in this hemisphere, we are in the last week of summer. In the US, the social summer ends with Labor Day.

So this weekend, and next weekend, you should spend at least some time on summer fun. Go to the beach, go boating on the river, have a picnic, go to a music festival. Do whatever used to make summer feel like summer. Sometimes this can be taking a ball and a bat to a park.

I also love this time of year for the back to school sales. I get some cheap, fun, office supplies to make me smile when I work during the dark days of winter. (I have been reading Regency Romances.)

It is really important to leave the house and meet new people. There are some new studies that show that loneliness can kill you.

GO HAVE FUN!

GRAVITAS AND THE FRB

When bankers say, "The candidate lacks gravitas," they actually mean, "She is not a man, or he is not 'one of us.'" Gravitas is actually the respect that someone is given, making the term easy to use as code for "only Harvard educated white men need apply."

Frankly, I have great respect for a woman who has become a member of the Federal Reserve Board. The glass ceiling in banking seems to be a steel reinforced ceiling.

If you think a woman used to debating other members of the FRB cannot also testify in front of Congress, you are wrong.

Recently I was reminded of why I am blogging. I want every person to be able to do anything their talent and education allows them to do. I do not want ANYONE to be told that they can not do something JUST because they are a woman, or because they are purple or old or fat or short or ugly or disabled.

However, men are going to have to accept the fact that they can not gestate a baby. %<)

GETTING MARRIED IN THE VALLEY

If you are getting married in Silicon Valley, please consider getting married in my friend's chapel. Pat cares about the people she marries and always holds a ceremony which has a positive emotional impact on the couple and their guests.

It is almost impossible to spend more than $500 getting married by Pat, even if you chose all of the fun add ons like the sand ceremony or jumping the broom. The least expensive wedding is only $80.

When Pat first started marrying people, I wrote and edited parts of her ceremonies.

You can find all of the information at www.siliconvalleyweddingchapel.com.

ORIGIN TOURS

Every US citizen, except for Cuban Americans, can go be a tourist in the land of their ancestors. Iranians, North Koreans, and Syrians, can be tourists in the land of their ancestors. But a Cuban American can only go to Cuba if they have a good reason and permission.

Newspapers tell us that this is because we are still punishing Castro. I hear rumors that it is actually the Miami hotels that fund the "no tourists in Cuba" campaigns.

If you are Cuban American, it is time for you to tell your Congressperson that you would like to have unrestricted travel to Cuba. And if you are a Silicon Valley engineer, do not forget to add that you would like to be able to bring back souvenirs, such as the perfectly maintained autos from the 40s, 50s and 60s.

It is time to stop punishing the people living in Cuba for their desire to have an education and health care for their children. It was easy to say that Castro was a villain unless you were poor and your child was dying because of lack of health care.

Cuba is a warning that if you do not take care of all of your people, your people may take care of you.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

Good people WAY outnumber bad people. All good people have to do to win is to refuse to cooperate with bad people. Bad people try to FORCE you to do something. Good people try to PERSUADE you to do something.

Often, people try to make a law against something that should actually be decided by each individual. Every time you attempt to force people to comply with your religious principles, you are being a bad person. Good people try to persuade others that their religious principles are worth respect.

If you are currently playing dirty tricks on someone, you should think about how you would feel if someone was playing the same dirty tricks on your grandson or your daughter. It is evil prejudice to try to annoy another person because the person is a woman or a minority or has another religious belief.

The world contains so much joy. We should celebrate the good things, not try to make bad things happen to good people.

FINANCING POLICE BY LEGAL THEFT

Cash strapped local governments are using civil forfeiture laws to steal money from poor minorities and then use the money to finance police and prosecutors.

I could not write any better than the article in the New Yorker entitled "Taken".

Laws we were told would take profits from drug lords, are being used against the totally innocent, or against a person whose son sold $60 worth of marijuana.

I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN. AND I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

Drug dealers are not stupid. You civilly forfeiture one drug dealer's Maserati and soon all drug dealers with brains have their Mazeratis registered in the name of a Cayman Island Corporation and hordes of well trained, well paid lawyers show up to fight the forfeiture.

It is WAY easier to take all of the assets of a poor minority person who is too afraid to fight back. It is the same reason that the police tend to arrest more minorities for violation of drug laws. Most of them are too poor and too afraid to fight back. This is why over 50% of the drug arrests nationwide are for possession of marijuana. Since everyone is using marijuana, you just have to stop the nearest black kid to have an arrest and conviction to brag about when asking for more money from the DEA.

BTW, you did see that the DEA admits to routinely lying about the probable cause for an arrest? They think they are allowed to make up a story about how they saw a red light out and stopped the vehicle in order to cover up inadmissible info they got from the NSA.

We need to STOP THE WAR ON DRUGS. Because it is impossible to stop drug trafficking, our law enforcement officers are breaking the law under the pressure to make arrests. And the bribery money available would tempt the devil himself.