Nothing much this week. Just some thoughts that’ve been floating around between my ears. To wit:
After hearing about Miley Cyrus and her “performance” (I’m stretching the term here) during the recent MTV Music Awards ceremony, I decided to have a look for myself. Truly wish I hadn’t. Let’s just say that, for now, words like taste, decorum, decency, and judgment aren’t going to appear in any sentence that has her name in it.
For the record, I’m not a prude and, given the fact that I have three children, I think that I’m acquainted with the mechanics necessary for the continuance of our species. That said, what I saw in the video would’ve made the owners of even the dingiest “off-limits” bars in ports worldwide blush with embarrassment. It was that bad.
Speaking of which, it’s being reported that Billy Ray Cyrus recently cancelled an interview on CNN. Hopefully, so as to make time for a “come to Jesus” talk with his daughter.
No doubt about it, though, in the race to coarseness, crudity, and just plain vulgarity, Miley has a lead that makes Secretariat’s run at Belmont look like a photo finish.
•Syria.
By the time this column makes it to print, we may already have “taken action” or gotten involved in this mess.
If not, might I register a vote that, militarily, we sit this one out. Let’s let that group of perfumed parliamentarians, poohbahs, peacocks, and non-payers of parking tickets perched in New York (See: the U.N.) handle this one. Maybe they can send so many harshly-worded memos that the area will become so clogged with paper that fighting will become impossible.
Failing that, let’s allow, say, the Arab League, the French, the Italians, the Spanish, the Swiss, or even The Duchy of Grand Fenwick to take the military lead on this one.
That it’s an ugly situation that’s going to get worse before it gets better is a given. That innocents are going to continue to die is a certainty but, just this once, let’s take a breather before spilling more of our own blood or spending more money that we don’t have on what is now and will continue to be a horrendous fiasco.
Assist the refugees? You bet. Send food, clothing, medical supplies, shelter and relief personnel? Certainly. But, given the history of this entire region, doing anything militarily will likely earn us nothing more than increased enmity from all sides involved. And we already have more than enough of that.
•Thuggery.
Police in Spokane have arrested two 16-year-olds for the recent attempted robbery and murder of 88-year-old World War II veteran Delbert Belton.
I doubt that either of these two: (1) Have ever heard of the Battle of Okinawa or, (2) Could find the island on a map, but I’d bet that Mr. Belton never forgot the time he spent there.
It was one of the fiercest battles of that war and, if you want an inkling of what one small corner of hell was like, you might thumb through “Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II” by Robert Leckie.
If there are those amongst us deserving of peace and quiet throughout the remainder of their lives, they are — like Mr. Belton who was wounded during that battle — the men and women who’ve seen the carnage of war up close.
Unfortunately, these two thugs allegedly attempted to rob Mr. Belton and, in the course of that attempt, beat him so severely that he later died. Like the veteran he was, though, police say that Mr. Belton attempted to fight them off.
Race doesn’t matter here. White, black, asian, hispanic, whatever. There are many such individuals all across the spectrum of this race that we call “human.” Individuals who’ve — for whatever reason — decided that their pathetic “needs” trump all else and are willing to resort to violence to satisfy those needs.
What matters is that the two allegedly responsible for this crime have been arrested and, if found guilty, must be held accountable for their actions. And the terms of that accountability had better be harsh.
If convicted, one hopes that they’ll be put in some cell in some penitentiary and, then, the keys should be lost forever. To be honest, I harbor the same wish for the rest of the rapists, child molesters, serial killers, mass murderers, and other assorted predatory types who wreak havoc on the innocent amongst us.
No apologies offered for that.
Ranting finished. Lighter tone next week.
Larry Simoneaux lives in Edmonds. Send comments to: larrysim@comcast.net
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