SHOULD A MUSLIM BE PRESIDENT

SHOULD A MUSLIM BE PRESIDENT

A cranky opinion for

CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY

The following opinion (thoughts?) are from a cranky old man with little expertise on the subject opined, opposing opinions will be tolerated…maybe, but please, no name calling, and that means you, you big stupid head!

Should a Muslim be President of the United States of America? It seems as if this is a very important question today.  It has become a litmus test for Presidential candidates.  I am not sure why as there are currently no Muslims running for President.

I don’t ever recall the question of a Muslim President being raised before.  Why now? Why, when our country has been attacked by Muslims and ISIS is threatening to turn the world into their own Caliphate, when the biggest threat to world peace today is from radical Islam, why are we being asked about a Muslim President?  Because I can guarantee you, that regardless of what the man on the street will say if asked the question, a Muslim has as much chance of winning a Presidential election in this country in the next few years as Gary Busey has of winning “Dancing With The Stars!”   

Of course a person should not be restricted from holding the highest office in this country because of his religion.  That would be contrary to the Constitution.  It is ridiculous.  Yet this religion test is not new with Muslims. 

In ninth grade (1960) I was taught by my civics teacher that a Catholic could not be President as he would have allegiance to the Pope and the country could be ruled by Papal decree.  I’m pretty sure my civics teacher was incorrect on this subject, and I don’t recall JFK paying much attention to the Pope…he seemed more interested in listening to voters.

As recently as 2008 the question was raised about a Mormon being a suitable person to become President.  I have done some research into why this question was even raised and really came up with nothing other than Mormons come from a close knit group that has a culture of secrecy.  (Hey, that is what I’ve read, it is not what I know or believe.)

Point is Mitt Romney is Mormon and when he was running for the Republican nomination and then for President, questions of his religion were raised by factions which did not want to see him victorious.

This question about various religions was silly and unfair, but at least it was kind of pertinent in that the candidates, JFK in 1960 was Catholic and Romney in 2008 was Mormon.  I do not understand why the question is pertinent regarding a Muslim when there is no Muslim running for president, but since it seems so important here is my position…in case I get drafted by some party to run for the highest office.

If a Muslim (or anyone) swears allegiance to the United States and not a mullah, then he is ok.  If he/she (fat chance for a Muslim she) refuses to stand for our national anthem or recite the Pledge of Allegiance I would probably not support that person.  Not because of his religion, but for his failure to Pledge Allegiance to the country he would be elected to serve.

If a Muslim (or anyone) thought it was OK to cut off a person’s head if he was homosexual, bisexual or transgender, I would not vote for him.

If a Muslim (or anyone) claimed to hate all Jews, and didn’t much care for Christians either, if he supported the destruction of Israel, he would not get my support.

If a Muslim (or anyone) did not favor women receiving an education, or showing any hair or skin, I would have a problem supporting him.

If a Muslim (or anyone) favored Sharia law above our Constitution, I would not vote for him.

That is my litmus test, the above five “If’s.”  It is not a matter of religion, it is the person and his beliefs, the problem is some religious beliefs must be suspended or they are in conflict with the qualifications I would like to see in a President. It is for the voters to decide if these potential conflicts are important or not.

Now I have to ask, should a Buddhist be President? How about a Hindi or a Taoist? Is there a problem with a Pagan?  Can a Satan worshiper be President? 

Oh, here is a good one…can a Jew be President? 

Why aren’t all the candidates being asked these questions which are so important to the outcome of the next Presidential election?

The preceding opinion (thoughts?) are from a cranky old man, and not necessarily those of management…Mrs. Cranky.

Listening To Music Through The Years

Listening To Music Through The Years

I remember the first time I bought a vinyl record.  I complained that something was wrong with it because it was flexible.  The clerk explained this was the new thing, and if you dropped it, it would not break.  COOL!

We used to go to the record store (that was a store that only sold records for you young folks), and we could test play the latest 45’s before we decided to make that big seventy-five cent investment to purchase one.  There were two sides to each 45, and except for a very few occasions, the flip side was never played more than once.  It was always horrible.  The 45’s were great, you could pile them on the player and play songs in any order you wanted.

Sometime in the sixties LP’s became the thing.  Groups recorded multiple songs on one large record.  On some albums all the songs were great, always with a Beatle album, some were like the old 45’s, one big hit and twelve crap recordings that no one ever listened to.

In college my junior year, Don Chasen brought his new Mustang to school.  The car was cool, but the excitement was playing The Beatles “Sergeant Pepper” on this thing called an eight track tape.  A way to play the latest albums in a car!  Amazing!  I seem to remember having to flip the thing over a lot to hear the whole album.

The eight track didn’t last long; it was replaced by a newer smaller "Cassette"tape, more compact and less flipping.  I thought I was cool when I got a tape player and my records became obsolete.  About a year after I made the switch from records to cassette, I saw my first Compact Disc player.  It played one CD at a time, but you could choose any track with a remote, no more skipping through a tape.

By the time I bought my first CD player, they were selling units that could load five CD’s and play songs randomly if you chose.  A few years later I bought a car that could load five CD’s at a time…amazing!

Then my son told me about this thing called an I-Pod that could hold hundreds of songs and could be played through your car’s auxiliary plug.  He now has a feature on his phone that can play anything ever recorded.

Musicians complain that too many people now get their recordings for free and they are being ripped off.  I guess that makes up for all the extra sales they made when everyone switched from vinyl to eight track, to cassrette, to CD.

I still just have my five disc player in my car.  I love technology, but I just can’t keep up with it.  To me Pandora is still a box I don’t want to open.  When my son visits he has a speaker in the shower that plays songs from his telephone which is in another room.  How the speaker works without wires I’ll never figure out.

I recently heard that the latest thing is high quality record players and vinyl records.  Seems some aficionados claim that CD’s and digital audio files are too clean.  They prefer the hiss and pop of the old vinyl.

I think even Edison would be confused.

THE HOARDER...SORTA

THE HOARDER...SORTA

Mrs. C is an almost hoarder.  She doesn’t like to throw things away, but it is not like we can't enter and exit our house unimpeded.  Our closets, attic and garage are chock full of stuff, and there is a storage unit that sucks up a monthly fee that I don’t even like to think about (Storage units are where old crap goes to die), but occasionally she will let go of things.

Does she save Popsicle sticks?  Well yes, but not always.

Does she save boxes in case she needs to return the item that came in the box?  Well yes, but she will put other boxes in the boxes.

Have I found receipts that are over three years old?  Well yes…is that unusual?

I have learned to bite my tongue about stuff that takes up space.  I have stopped arguing that space is as valuable as useless stuff.  I did find an old VCR rewind machine that I made fun of and sure enough the next day we used it to help sort through some old family tapes.

I let it go, because I can deal with it, and also because I know it is a disease.  How do I know?  When I suggest we throw away something, there is a palpable look of fear that crosses her face.

If a movie producer needed an actor to show fear in a scene, they could hire Mrs. C.

“Ok folks, this is where the monster rings the door bell.  Mrs. C, you answer the bell and give it your best fear face.  Action…”

The bell rings, Mrs. C goes to the door.

“Queue the old pair of jeans, threaten to throw them away.” 

Mrs. C opens the door and sees not the monster, but her 20 year old jeans being thrown away.

“Arrrrrrgh!!  NO!! NOOO!!!”

“Cut.  That’s a take.  Beautiful.  Give Mrs. C her old jeans back, we’ll need her to calm down for the next scene.”

I could fall down the stairs and make a huge crash and Mrs. C would yell, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine, just a little bruised, but I broke the coffee mug I was carrying.”

“Which one?”

“The ‘fifty and nifty’ cup.”

“Arrrrrrgh!!  NO!! NOOO!!!”

“I can buy a new one.”

“Arrrrrrgh!!  NO!! NOOO!!! They don’t make them like that one anymore!”

It’s a disease.