The Tipping Point Toward Fascism and a Young Boy in Salt Lake City

November 23, 2010 | Comments (1)

We’re not in America anymore. While many of us have suspected this over the last few weeks in our slide toward fascism at America’s airports, it became official on November 19 when a young boy was stripped searched in public at Salt Lake City Airport as four TSA agents looked on.  The seach was naturally caught by cell phone by another passenger waiting for his own groping session, and it has gone viral on YouTube:

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSQTz1bccL4)

Disgusting, of course, was the sight itself of the small boy’s bare back as he was checked for weapons and explosives, but even more disgusting, more disturbing, more pornographic even, was the site of the TSA  agents standing watch – particularly the burly female in the bunch, who we will call Ilsa/Eva for obvious, rather chilling, reasons. She stands watching with a look of satisfaction on her face, her beefy arms crossed across her chest.

I felt nauseous after I viewed this footage. Who are these people? What country is this? And I am left thinking that of those TSA agents, I must believe that at least one (please more than one) watched this happening, knew how very wrong, how despicably disgraceful and fundamentally un-American this spectacle was. And I pray that today that one, whoever he or she is (could have been Ilsa/Eva), is berating himself or herself for not stepping in and saying simply: “Stop!”

But no such admonition came.  How empowering it would have been not only for that young boy being exploited so horribly by the Obama administration, but for our nation as a whole.  But, sadly, that simple word – “Stop!” — never came.The moment, that lost moment of redemption and salvation, became instead, once and for all, the tipping point to fascism.

No one is more pleased to see that lost opportunity replaced by this tipping point than Barack Obama, his wife, his handlers and his followers. Remember, too, that the timing of the groping and strip searches and all-out fascism that has erupted over the weeks following the democrat electoral bloodbath of November 2nd  is no coincidence.  We the people are to be punished for that bloodbath, and we are witnessing that punishment today and every day at America’s airports.  We can only hope that when a moment of redemption and salvation presents itself again, the good people in positions of authority who believe in this country will at last stand up and say “Stop!”

Betsy Siino | Comments (1)

TSA Security: A Dream Job for Pedophiles?

November 13, 2010 | Comments (2)
It appears a rebellion is brewing at America’s airports, and just as we enter the holiday-travel season.  The Napolitano/Obama Department of Homeland Security has mandated that air travelers will have two security options from which to choose if they are to be deemed safe for travel: Submit to radiation photography and add to Janet Napolitano’s naked picture collection (four images evidently being equivalent to a chest x-ray), or permit the TSA to perform a full-body pat-down of your full body and all its nooks and crannies (images of 1950s womens’ prison movies come to mind).

In response, airline pilots, who must also make the choice, are rightly incensed, Muslim organizations are demanding exemption on religious grounds and instructing their burka-clad women to allow only a pat-down of their heads and necks (now that exemption would certainly be ironic, wouldn’t it?), and travelers in general are just saying “No!”

I don’t know how it will shake out, although I must say I personally am not looking forward to my own upcoming holiday air travels.  I think back to my family’s flights across the country three months after 9/11, when, for some reason, my 5-year-old son was labeled a potential terrorist, a label that would stay with him for several years until he reached middle school.  Every time we would travel, and I mean every time, we would traverse the security gauntlet, and the TSA official would invariably say “Which one of you is…”  We would interrupt the official mid-sentence with “this is who you’re looking for,” as we pointed down at the young child beside us with tousled sandy hair and a t-shirt that we made sure featured an eagle and an American flag.

It became a joke, both for our family and for the rugged National Guardsmen whose job it was to stand guard over my son as he was checked for weapons and explosives.  My son started to look forward to that moment when a big, burly Guardsman, machine gun in hand, would say with a grin, “Come on over here, buddy,” and usher him aside for further inspection.  On many occasions, the Guardsmen would even let their young suspect examine their weapons, the likes of which were found nowhere on my son’s person, but surely contributed to his fascination with weapons today.

In time the federal government apparently realized that my son posed no threat to national security, and he has not been targeted for several years now.  But given the current state of airport security practices and the privacy-violating choices facing American air travelers in this age of non-profiling political correctness, my son’s years as a potential threat got me thinking.  Wouldn’t TSA security be today’s dream job for a pedophile?  Think about it.  The day consists either of taking naked pictures of children or patting them down physically.  What more could the garden-variety pedophile ask for?  And all with the stamp of approval from the U.S. Government’s Napolitano/Obama Department of Homeland Security.  I know I certainly feel safer.

Betsy Siino | Comments (2)

Tonight on Discovery: Man vs. Metrosexual

September 4, 2010 | Comments (0)
The attack this past week on the Discovery Channel headquarters by an environmental activist who was inspired by Al Gore and his “documentary,” An Inconvenient Truth, got me thinking about a trend – a convenient truth — I have been noticing this summer. In a nutshell: Men are alive and well, and we still like having them around.

I recognized this trend, this truth, while, at the behest of my son, I was watching Discovery’s reality shows that showcase the fine art of survival, either on the job (Deadliest Catch) or in the wild (Man vs. Wild, Dual Survival, etc.) . These shows are wildly popular, their key players — from captains of ice-encrusted boats seeking Arctic crab, to military-trained experts demonstrating survival tips in case of wilderness isolation or apocalypse — becoming household names coast to coast. Like I said, alive and well.

Which tells me something, too, about all those soft, non-threatening, oh-so-celebrated metrosexuals that grace most of America’s magazine covers: George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and, of course, the illustrious Barack Obama. Sing their praises if you must, but obviously there are still plenty of Americans, men and women alike, who revere the masculinity, self-sufficiency, independence, resourcefulness and virility at the core of the Discovery guys’ popularity (and, in a sense, at the core of America itself).

It’s not that difficult to figure out. Our culture may have been subverted in recent decades by radical feminists who would label men “scum” yet insist that women are their equal, and politically correct philosophies and policies that mandate there is no evil, no right, no wrong, but that does not change who we are fundamentally as animals. When faced with danger and those who would hurt our homes and families, most of us, like our non-human brethren, still look up to those who know how to keep us warm, keep us fed, keep us safe, and keep us alive.

If my family were stranded in the tundra, left to our own devices in the aftermath of a natural disaster, or threatened by the consequences of a lawless society, some guy whose skill set consists solely of mugging for a camera lens, reading a teleprompter and matching a silk tie to an Italian suit would be of no value whatsoever. On the other hand, a man who can navigate a ship through a blizzard on an icy sea; who can find water and shade in Death Valley; who would take down a plane hijacked by terrorists before it reaches DC; or who can use a gun and a blade for food, shelter and self-protection.…I’ll stick with him, thank you very much.  It’s a safe bet most of the rest of us would too.

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

Thanks to the Grizzly Moms!

May 18, 2010 | Comments (1)

I want to thank all the Grizzly Moms out there who have contacted me since I praised the spirit of the great mother bear in my last post.

In the crazed times we are now enduring, sometimes it’s natural to feel we are all alone in the wilderness, facing circumstances none of us ever dreamed possible in this great nation of ours. We need to be reminded from time to time that we who love this country and want to preserve and protect her for our children are not alone.

When I hear from others out there who share my love for this nation and my faith in our people, then I know this insanity will be short-lived. You all are doing that for me, as you express your own love for this country and our heritage; your genuine concern for your children, their futures and our liberties; and your faith that together we will prevail in the ferocious spirit of mama Grizzly herself.

So many thanks to you all for reminding me that I am not alone. May this serve to remind you that you – and all who share our love for this country – are not alone either. Keep the faith. We will see morning in America once more.

Betsy Siino | Comments (1)

Happy Mom’s Day!

May 9, 2010 | Comments (0)

On this day I pray for all children to be blessed with nurturing, loving moms, who not only give them the care and cuddles and guidance they need each and every day, but also protect them and their families with the fierceness embodied in our legendary mom Grizzly. There is no greater calling.  

Wishing a happy day to moms everywhere — moms, grandmoms, sisters, aunts, foster moms, moms-to-be, wannabe moms, grizzlymoms, and every mom in between. And a happy day to all who love them.  Cheers!

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

The Plague that Never Was

March 10, 2010 | Comments (0)

I watched a documentary today on the History Channel about the plague. You know, the plague that swept through Europe hundreds of years ago and wiped out half of the continent’s population — not the plague (the H1N1 ”swine flu”) that our chicken-little leaders started warning us last spring would strike and wipe out half our population. To their great disappointment, I think, it never happened.

Who can forget U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, and her boss warning us repeatedly that if we didn’t wash our hands and cough into our elbows, we might die. Oh, and get the vaccine, they said. Very, very important. Critical. Life and death…wait…no, never mind. Not enough vaccines, so don’t worry about it….ahh, there they are…okay, go get the vaccine or you might die. Ooops, never mind again, can’t get them after all…oh, there we go, found them, so go get the vaccine, because, you know, if you don’t, you might die.

As we know now, the casualties, while heartbreaking as they are for any flu, any senseless loss, were far less numerous than predicted (hoped?), and we haven’t heard much about this particular flu for awhile. But then today, wouldn’t you know it, just hours after I learned everything I ever wanted to know about the bubonic plague, I hear on the car radio a commercial for an H1N1 vaccine clinic this week “while supplies last.” 

I think I’ll pass. My son had the distinction of being one of the earlier cases of the swine flu last spring, and I have tell you, after what I saw on that documentary today, it was nothing like the plague. It was a flu with a high fever, but, like I said, nothing like the plague. Seeing how well it could be survived (again, unlike the “real” plague), the rest of our family defied the government’s intermittent orders, refused the vaccine, ignored the hysteria, and lived to tell about it.  Thinking for youself sure can be liberating.

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

Missing the Oscars

March 7, 2010 | Comments (0)

March 7, 2010 | Comments

I do miss the Oscars.  And tonight, I am missing them literally – not watching, not paying attention.

It wasn’t always this way. Back in the day, I was a rabid movie lover with an endless list of favorites. I cut my teeth on Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, To Kill a Mockingbird, Streetcar Named Desire, West Side Story, anything Rogers and Hammerstein, and everything Disney. And I never missed the Oscars.

Once I was out on my own, the little “movie club” my friends and I organized would happily await that magical moment after work when we would purchase our tickets for our weekly “meetings” that introduced us to the likes of Schindler’s List, The English Patient, The Verdict, Glengarry Glen Ross, everything from Britain, and anything intriguing and obscure. Afterwards we would discuss the night’s film passionately – what worked, what didn’t – then just as fervently debate our Oscar-night picks.

But in the post-9/11 world, just as plot and character in films were being obliterated by computer generation, the Hollywood elite decided it was their duty not to entertain, but to bash America and scold us for our misbehavior. My viewing habits thus now trend toward kid fare and classic series (Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Pirates, the new Star Trek), with a Sweeney Todd, Blind Side and romantic comedy (The Proposal, The Wedding Date, Four Christmases) thrown in here and there. The rest, well, I just can’t see beyond the characters most actors portray, thanks to their hypocritical, “America-is-bad” preaching off screen.

The same applies to Oscar night. Back in the day, those of us who made the Oscars a major media event would anticipate the inevitable, usually laughable, political showboating. But now it’s no longer laughable, with Michael Moore’s standing ovation and his proclamation that the threat of terrorism is a hoax; Al Gore revered for a film he made about a hoax; Hollywood standing yet again to honor absent fugitive winner/rapist Roman Polanski (apparently none of these Hollywood types have daughters); and, with the exception of Avatar and the annual obligatory nod to George Clooney, a roster of nominees unknown to the movie-loving, movie-going populace.

Needless to say, the Oscar’s ratings have plummeted. And needless to say, I have seen almost nothing nominated this year. I adore scheduled host Steve Martin, and I’m sure he and his partner-host Alec Baldwin are being hilarious even as I write this, but still, not interested.

So, yes, a sad night tonight as I think of Oscar nights passed. Tomorrow I’ll look over the list of winners, and even if I see a surprise or two, I’ll know what I’m missing is the way it used to be.

Betsy Siino | Comments

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

Stupid Commercial for Financial Irresponsibility

March 2, 2010 | Comments (0)

March 2, 2010 | Comments

The camera opens on an attractive, well-dressed, well-spoken couple with expensive hair. They sit chatting in what appears to be the kitchen in a bright, airy, well-appointed contemporary home (theirs, I presume).

Their topic on this fine, sunny morning? The high service charges levied upon them when they cash their weekly paychecks, government checks, whatever checks they say they are regularly cashing. It seems these attractive people don’t have a bank account – not even a small savings account that would earn them check-cashing privileges. Poor things. So they apparently have to cash their checks with the shark on the corner, and it’s costing them far too much.

But today they share the great news: Walmart’s check-cashing charges are much cheaper than what they have been paying! Oh, happy day! And it gets better. Once they figure these reduced charges will save them as much as $200 a year, they gleefully agree to put that sweet savings to good use and buy a new flat-screen TV! Oh, happy day again!

Now, if this is indeed a valid portrait of Americans faced with economic challenges today, it’s no wonder households across the nation are in such dire straits financially. I also have to wonder just who Walmart is targeting with this message? Perhaps the woman I saw at Best Buy the other day fits the audience profile. Denied her attempt to purchase a laptop computer with food stamps, she stomped out of the store and bee-lined in a huff to her Lexus parked in a handicapped spot outside the door. I guess she has been cashing her checks at Walmart.

As for you, commercial couple, how about taking that $200 and opening a savings account. You’ll likely find that family security trumps new toys any day.

Betsy Siino | Comments

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

The Whale in the Room

February 28, 2010 | Comments (0)

February 28, 2010 | Comments

In the spirit of my affinity for mama Grizzly Bear, I have a great passion for all animals — the world’s wild predators in particular. Having had the great honor of writing about them professionally and catching glimpses of them in their home territories, I am, needless to say, heartbroken by the events surrounding the death last week of a trainer by an orca at Sea World in Florida.

I never would have witnessed a spectacle like this myself, as I am one who avoids like the plague “shows” that feature the ability of whales of any kind – orcas, dolphins, belugas – to tolerate life in small concrete tanks, coerced at specified times to jump through hoops or “kiss” the faces of young spectators. Seeing such magnificent animals humiliated in this way is nothing short of, as I said, heartbreaking.

As for the case at hand, we know now that this is the third death attributed to orca Tilikum. Third. This beautiful, tragic animal — a wild animal, mind you, a wild predator — has done everything he can to convince our so-called “superior” species, that he is not cut out for life as a trained clown. Indeed, I believe that none of these animals should be sentenced to such a fate. And I am not alone.

Through the years, thanks both to writing assignments and personal passion, I have had the great privilege of spending time with marine-mammal trainers and caretakers who have lived and worked with orcas and dolphins (dolphins being the smallest members of the whale family) – many ultimately turning against their vocation, once they realized that they were in fact abusing animals of such sensitive, intelligent souls, and, as the statistics bear, shortening the animals’ lives significantly.

And now here we are, faced with yet another so-called “mishap,” in which an orca was simply being an orca – a large, wild predator (also known as “killer whale” for legitimate, biological reason). The public really can’t be blamed for the mass misconception, given the rosy portraits painted by those who seek to make a buck off of whales, proclaiming them to be sweet, gentle giants driven to dedicate their lives to humans. How else do we explain the playful smile on the dolphin’s face or the orca’s wish to be ridden by a salmon-wielding trainer? The same holds true, I suppose, of other predators — lions, wolves, tigers, cuddly bears of all species — all of whom have at one time or another been convicted of crimes committed because of their true, though misunderstood, natures.

When the news broke about this most recent orca attack last week, debate erupted over what should be done to/with the whale. When further news broke that this was his third offense, attention actually turned from the whale’s culpability to the grossly irresponsible decision on the part of those who own him to keep him performing despite his record. I only hope that Dawn Brancheau, the trainer who lost her life, knew of Tilikum’s past and made her decision to partner with him voluntarily and out of love for him. If she didn’t, well, that’s an issue for her family to handle now that she is gone.

Tilikum the whale, however, remains with us, a public-relations nightmare destined now to become not the elephant in the room, but the whale in the room. Sea World has benevolently announced that he will retire from show business and live out his days in leisure. His fate, then, is to become a curiosity, “that whale that killed those people.” Either way, captivity is a torturous existence for an animal created to roam the open oceans with his pod, his family, hunting, procreating and navigating underwater mysteries with only other whales and his superior mind to guide him, without benefit of cheering crowds or artificial reward systems.

I can only hope that someday our own species, in the wake of these repeated and tragic events, will hear the whales’ message and realize it’s time to stop relegating these creatures to those mind-numbing concrete tanks and the show-biz humiliation that comes with them. In that sense, I have found last week’s public support of this animal heartening. Maybe we’re starting to hear the whale’s song at last.

Betsy Siino | Comments

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

Generations of Sacrifice

February 16, 2010 | Comments (0)

February 16, 2010 | Comments

I’ve received some interesting, not entirely unexpected, feedback in regard to my most recent post on Patrick Kennedy’s (D-RI) decision not to seek reelection to his seat in the House of Representatives this year.

As we all know, the Kennedy legacy (or mythology) is alive and well, and we are all entitled to our own opinions and interpretations of it. What puzzled, and even saddened me, as I read the feedback opposing the opinion I presented in the February 12th post, was the generalized statement that no family has sacrificed more for this country than the Kennedys.

I’m sorry, but that simply is not true.

The history of the United States is graced with countless families that for generations have sacrificed everything to build, protect and maintain this great nation of ours. From the pioneers who first carved out an existence on the eastern coastal regions of the United States, then moved westward, facing unspeakable hardships to create our notion of “sea to shining sea;” to immigrants who brought to life such wonders of the world as railroads, skyscrapers, tunnels through the Rockies, and their own proud multi-generational dynasties and traditions in the promised land that is America; to slaves that made the ultimate sacrifice to claim freedom for their children; to those military families that for generations have devoted themselves to the protection of our nation and our Constitution….each has demonstrated the extraordinary brand of sacrifice that has for centuries set this country apart from every other nation on earth.

So please don’t insult or belittle these families, some renowned, some not, that have made America what she is and always has been. Most families cannot boast Presidents and Congressmen among their ranks, and, thankfully, most have never experienced political assassination. Yet virtually every family has experienced its own victories and injustice, and, like the Kennedys, its own brand of tragedy, self-made and otherwise. In other words, all have sacrificed, and in a land where all are created equal, all families that have sacrificed for this nation are worthy of honor – even if they don’t have powerful public relations teams and unbridled wealth behind them to tell their stories.

America is the product of these families, some who have been here from the very beginning, others who came later, all lured by the legendary promise of a nation unlike any history has ever witnessed. So go ahead and tell me precisely why a certain individual of a certain family may be deserving of a certain honor, reputation or office (more than merely a name, please) – and I may or may not agree with you. But let us also agree that the heart and soul of this nation are the many, many families who have made this country what she is, families that I believe remain devoted to that same mission today. I remain forever grateful to them, even if I don’t happen to know their names.

Betsy Siino | Comments

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)