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I've been getting a bunch of email about the Youth Against War and Racism (YAWR) rally that took place on Wednesday, November 2, 2005. The rally, intentionally scheduled on the first anniversary of Bush's reelection, advocated the end of the Iraq war as well as an end to military recruiting in high schools. Apparently, students from around the metro skipped school, congregated at Coffman Union on the U of M campus, and then proceeded to picket a nearby military recruiting office. This sounds like the 1960s!

My Take on the Iraq War

Maybe I've just gotten older and less idealistic, but it seems to me that while Bush is a lying sack of crap, and while the Iraq war was badly planned and probably unnecessary, we shouldn't just leave Iraq. We ought to make sure that the country has a government and that the people are at least somewhat secure from these psycho terrorists. Of course, we probably will leave the place a mess, and it's not because of the agitation by anti-war protesters. It's because we have allowed Islam to be the foundation of their legal system. In that area, the people with the most influence promote radical Islam. While moderate Islam, which is what you see practiced in America, can be a religion of peace, Radical Islam is fundamentally a cult of death. If you're not a part of it, it's followers will kill you in the most gruesome way possible. With this type of ideology running the government, they will eventually want to kill or convert us, and they'll have the nuclear weapons to back them up.

What ought to be done about this? Well, we need to get rid of radical Islam, something the Bush administration is too stupid to do. They probably want to have a permanent war with Radical Islam to support their friends in the weapons industry who will sell both sides weapons.

All that said, this mess is not the military's fault. We need the military and we need recruiters. Somebody has to protect this country from attack (a good place to start that protection is on the nation's borders and in the nation's airports). Most people in the military are good people who want to do just that--protect the nation. But they don't give the orders and they don't make the rules, so if you're mad at the military, look toward the people who DO make the rules.

Make Your Voice Heard at the Ballot Box - And Stop Having Premarital Sex!

The Bush Administration and the Republicrats and Demicans in Congress decide where the military will go and what policies and procedures the military uses while recruiting members. If you want to get change, you'll need to do it at the ballot box. In 2006, a third of the Senate and all of the House will be up for reelection. Make sure that you elect candidates who will support your views. But be flexible enough in your views to give yourself a chance of winning. In 2004, if the Democrats would have spouted anti-abortion rhetoric, they could have beaten Bush. There's a lot of people who voted for that guy because of abortion alone. If you're willing to lose an election just to allow abortion, then I don't know how you're going to get your agenda passed. My opinion is that abortion is a necessary evil, but I wish it was unnecessary. But in order for it to be unnecessary, we'd need to get all the rotten scumbag boys who think it makes you a man to have premarital sex to realize the truth--that they're just a filthy piece of trash. Sex is for people who are truly in love. If you don't think you love someone enough to get married, you're probably not in love, so why have sex? Get a sex toy, you jackball! I don't give a rat's ass about the religious aspect of it, all I'm saying is, I know people who have had a lot of sex in their youth, and most of them regret it. One of the few people who doesn't regret it could have been much more successful if he'd used birth control, married his girlfriend, and spent a couple years on his career before having his first child before he was legally allowed to buy booze. Anyway...back to the protest story.

Schools Can't Endorse Protests

There's one other thing about this protest that I think is fascinating, especially considering that this protest was held on the same day as Rosa Parks' funeral. Before the protest, there were some articles in the Pulse of the Twin Cities newspaper complaining about how some school districts were insisting on giving students who skip school for this event an unexcused absence. On the morning of the event, the news on the "Evil Neighbor" (WCCO-AM 830) said that Minneapolis schools planned to give excused absences to students whose parents gave their children permission to attend the event. Apparently, these protesters feel that they have the right to protest without any consequences. In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, protesters of segregation and/or the Vietnam War (including the late Rosa Parks) had to contend with tear gas, death threats and jail time. These kids can't even handle an unexcused absence. That's pretty weak willed. In 2002, I was thrown out of school for creating this website. I complained, and I did get some media coverage, but ultimately, I had to suck it up and get on with my life. These kids should do the same.

That's not to say it's a great policy. But whatever the policy is, it needs to apply to everyone fairly, and I'd rather give these kids an unexcused absence than give every student a day off of school to attend a protest. After all, if we start giving kids excused absences to attend protests and rallies, one day some neo-nazi parent will bring his kid to a KKK rally and expect an excused absence. And, as sick as it is, he'd be constitutionally right. If a school allows students to skip school to attend protests, they have to allow students to attend any protests, not just the ones they agree with.

The bottom line is that protests should occur during your free time, and that means evenings, weekends, and the numerous school holidays. And if you skip school to attend a protest, accept the consequences.

Now get out there and elect a third party, because they're the only chance we've got!--Dr. Vinny, Founder & Publisher

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