'Just wondering' about some unsettling things

MANY E-MAILS AREN’T worth opening, but occasionally there’s one that poses a question that William Tells appreciates. One was labeled “Just wondering;” here’s some of it:

“Where are all of the Hollywood celebrities holding telethons asking for help in restoring Iowa and helping the folks affected by the floods? Where is all the media asking the tough questions about why the federal government hasn't solved the problem? Asking where the FEMA trucks (and trailers) are? Why isn't the Federal Government relocating Iowa people to free hotels in Chicago? Where are all the looters stealing high-end tennis shoes and big screen television sets? And … how come in two weeks, you will never hear about Iowa flooding ever again?”

PW would say “Why indeed?”  Sometimes questions tell a better story than so-called answers.

But, part of the answer to the e-mailer’s question, in PW’s opinion, is that the majority of those who just were “flooded out” have practiced taking responsibility for their own lives instead of depending on various governmental entities for “entitlements.”

Please understand that PW doesn’t believe this is the ONLY answer; there are many in this situation. Some people, for instance, need all the help from any source they can get and it is not their fault that they need help. PW is strongly in favor of helping those who cannot help themselves, especially if it can be done through non-governmental sources.

However, PW strongly admires those who can take adversity in stride, working to solve their own problems instead of waiting for bureaucrats to do it for them. In this case, it was inspirational to see people working together to fill sandbags even though their own homes already had been washed away.

These people who worked so hard to save the property of strangers are true-life “heroes.” Nobody should have to “just wonder” about that.

ALTHOUGH PW NEVER has had to fight floodwater, he’s survived several hurricanes.  These storms, however, never have seemed as dangerous to PW as “paper disasters” that give one element of humanity an advantage over another.

For instance, Jay Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice is among those fighting a Category 5 storm that could cause longer-lasting damage than Mother Nature’s creations. Here is how he put it:

“The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has Christians in its crosshairs.  It is lobbying the United Nations to adopt a resolution that would make speaking out against Islam a crime ... A crime punishable by imprisonment, heavy fines, and even death.

“…The OIC is the largest lobbying organization inside the United Nations … (Its members are) attempting to pass a sinister resolution, 'Combating Defamation of Religions,’ (which) sounds palatable … (but) this radical proposal would … make the proclamation of your faith an international crime.”

In other words, saying something negative about negative actions of Methodists, Baptists, Catholics or any other religion – especially Islam – would be yet another “hate crime.”

Audacious as this sounds, ANYTHING is possible within the nest of vipers that is the United Nations. Many of these member-countries have owed the U.S. for loans since WWII, don’t cover their share of the giant U.N. costs and their diplomats don’t even pay their New York parking tickets.

Why the U.S. has not kicked out the U.N. is something that PW “just wonders.”

CONTINUING “JUST WONDERING” as a theme, PW ponders how long it will be before the economic gloom spewed by the national media spoils the Odessa area’s excellent economy. Watch national TV news for awhile and you’ll hear that hundreds of banks soon may be closing, that automakers are shutting down the production of trucks since nobody’s buying them due to the gas price and loads of other awful economic predictions.

Maybe they are true, but it doesn’t seem the case in Odessa.  Everywhere new buildings are going up and there’s no shortage of giant trucks/SUVs in the city’s ever-crowded traffic patterns.

In other words, PW believes Odessa’s “boom” shouldn’t be propagandized into a “bust.” The problem is that despite Odessa’s current blessing, stock markets affect everything everywhere.  PW isn’t an expert on this, but Ann Coulter recently analyzed it in this way:

 “According to CNNMoney.com, Wall Street securities and investment firms have given over $35 million to Democratic candidates this election cycle … (so) if you've been wondering why the financial industry has been in meltdown -- and taking your 401(k) or investment portfolio down with it -- now you know.

“Let's face it: The former frat boys who populate Wall Street today understand economics about as well as the pinko professors whose courses they snored through.

“That's why betting their entire industry on ‘subprime’ loans to people with no jobs and no collateral made sense to them -- and why betting the entire U.S. economy on the likes of Hillary and Obama makes sense to them now.”

Could the outspoken, audacious Coulter could be right? PW’s just wondering.

HAVE A SUPER SUNDAY and a wonderful week!