The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 303, Ed. 1 Friday, November 20, 2009 Page: 4 of 10
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FHday, November 20,2009
ini': bayiuwn sun
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Letters to the editor
to
’Cl
Maa
Keys were
not needed
Harvey Carsey
Baytown
Jana Harville
Baytown
WRITE TO US
The Sun welcomes letters of
up to 250 words and guest
columns of up to 500 words.
Guest columns should include
a photo of the writer.
We publish only original
material addressed to The
Baytown Sun bearing the
writer’s signature. An address
and phone number not for
publication should be included.
All letters and guest columns
are subject to editing, and the
Baytown resident Ray Wilson is a retired
Exxon process supervisor. He can be
reached at rayehasen@msn.com.
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JIM
FINLEY
Luke Hales
Assistant Managing Editor
M.A. Bengtson
Community member
Dave Rogers
Sports Editor
How to reach us
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements,
Publisher
cliff.clements@baytownsun.com
Dave Mathews
Managing Editor
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NEWSROOM
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FRED II \RTMAN
Publisher Emeritus
IQTiO-IW
State
Rick Perry,
Governor
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Fax: 512-463-
1849
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Dist. 2 Rep.
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866-447-0242
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Dist. 14 Rep.
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979-230-0000
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gov/paul
Gene Green,
Dist. 29 Rep.
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www.house.
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Opinion
4
Federal
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5®-
Whose flash was that?
My recent experience is another detri-
mental example of red light cameras.
Before sunrise on October 23 I was
turning from southbound Garth to east-
bound Baker. I was sure the turn signal
light was green; however, out of the cor-
ner of my eye, I saw the camera flash
right behind me. I have therefore spent
the last month stressing over whether or
not I got a ticket, and I think life is
stressful enough. I figure when six weeks
go by, I'll be in the clear. But who was
that camera flash for, if not for me?
Jfeptoton feun
1301 Memorial Drive, P.O. Box 90
Baytown, Texas 77522
Main: (281) 422-8302
Newsroom: (281) 425-8017
Retail: (281) 425-8036
Classified: (281)425-8008
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E-mail: sunnews@baytownsun.com
Web site: www.baytownsun.com
The Baytown Sun, 461801s published
five days a week by The Baytown Sun,
1301 Memorial Drive, PO Box 90,
Baytown Texas 77522. Periodicals
postage paid at Baytown, Tx.
Sun reserves the right to
refuse to publish any submis-
sion.
Send signed letters to:
Dave Mathews, The Baytown
Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown, TX
77522; fax them to (281)427-
1880 or send an e-mail to
sunnews@baytownsun.com.
Items featured on this page
are the views of the persons
identified with each submission
and do not necessarily reflect
the views of The Baytown Sun
or its advertisers.
Muslims in the military
t
RAY
WILSON
ok
-MOW 60
i*cr-CHecK
AL GofcO'S
Root-.-
However, an individual entering the mili-
tary does not have to surrender their reli-
gious beliefs. With that in mind, the mili-
tary makes every reasonable accommoda-
tion to allow all military personnel to
practice their religious convictions,
including providing military chaplains of
various faiths to minister to their religious
needs.
Of the 2,700 chaplains presently serv-
ing our troops, 12 are Muslim. Major
Abdul-Rasheed Muhammad became the
first Muslim military chaplain in 1993;
He served in Iraq, and is coincidentally
in the presently stationed at Fort Hood. Defense
Department regulations require all chap-
lains to serve military personnel of all
faiths, no matter their own personal reli-
gious beliefs.
Americans of all religions serve in the
military of the United States and every
person entering the military takes an oath
“to support and defend the Constitution
of the United States against all enemies
foreign and domestic.” Since military
service is strictly voluntarily, a person
whose religious beliefs conflict with that
oath and sacred responsibility should
never enter the armed forces of the
United States.
Give them a chance
Why is it we hear so many people
complaining about our government?
Where were all these people when we
found out that Iraq didn't have any
weapons of mass destruction?
After 9 years of fighting in
Afghanistan and supporting a govern-
ment that's in my opinion shown itself
to be corrupt, why all the rush to make
a decision to put more Americans at
risk?
Health care is a big issue not just
because people who don't have health
coverage want it, but the cost for a hos-
pital stay is way too high. Give our
leaders a chance to deal with this tough
issue. Turn off Fox News and CNN
and talk to your neighbors about how
they feel on these issues.
Stanley Clark
Baytown
Jim Finley is a retired managing editor
for The Baytown Sun.
Living in fear
It is surprising to see the reaction to
the US Presentative Services Task Force.
Breast cancer screening is only one issue.
There are more to come. Still, is it so
hard to see the motivation?
The issue is not better healthcare, it is
cheaper health care. It is not Republican
or Democrat. It is, rather, reduced cost of
screening.
The false economics are that the cost
of treatment will be offset by fewer
screenings. Of course the Democrats will
say the guidelines are voluntary-they
already have. The Republicans will point
to failed executive leadership-they already
have. Insurance companies will reduce
coverage to match the new guidelines. In
the end, people in need will suffer alone.
More to come? You bet. The healthcare
industry is in fear of their bottom line.
Insurance companies are in fear of thier
profits. Congress is in fear of re-election.
Do they really believe they are smarter
than the Europeans?
The Europeans hate socialized medi-
cine. 1 am in fear for my friends — and
my country.
tk.boomffit.
There was this major discussion
going on -1 don’t remember where or
with whom, as we say in polite, correct
society - about keys and security.
Talk was centering around security
systems, and deadbolt locks, and keep-
ing the bad guys at bay. Important
stuff.
Car alarm systems never entered the
conversation, but they could have.
Most autos have them in modem '09
America.
With criminals more brazen than
ever - why is that? - we have become
a people, and rightfully so, who pretty
much barricade ourselves into our
homes at night as
we seek protection
and safety.
Some folks even
go so far as to
place a sign in
what would be an
otherwise perfectly
lovely yard warn-
ing would-be
thugs that their
house is protected
by such-and-such
alarm company. This pre-supposes that
these stupid burglars can read.
The last thing I do before retiring,
as they say in polite, correct society, is
to conduct what 1 call a “Security
Check." It has become a ritual,
because I, like you, am scared, too,
even though heavily armed. (Note to
would-be burglars, presupposing you
can read: I have a quick trigger finger.)
My nightly routine goes something
like this:
“Pick up your socks before you come
to bed,” Wife Margie will command.
“Can’t,” I reply, “I’m doing the
Security Check.”
(Well, it works.)
I go first to the back door. I open it,
look out, and having not spotted any
sleaze bucket criminal-types, shut the
door hard and then turn the lock and
the deadbolt. I proceed to give the
door a tug to see if it is secured.
Satisfied, I repeat this dramatic
crime-prevention practice at the front
door.
I do this every night.
Wife Margie, meanwhile, has
picked up my socks and jumped into
bed (not with the socks).
Young people of the world, I am
here to tell you that it wasn’t always
this way. Not even close.
The conversation about security
caused me to recall those days when
Wife Margie and I were newlyweds
and were living in our first rent house,
equipped with one bedroom, for which
we paid the staggering sum of $35 per
month. That was every month, too.
We had house keys, of course, but it
was nothing to run to the grocery
store there in a place called Sweeny
and leave the doors unlocked.
Everyone did it in those days.
That $35-a-month castle was
daughter Robins first home. But when
son Scott was born we needed a larger
place. So we made this major, major
move - to the house just to the rear of
our first home.
We didn’t even need a truck We
carried everything across our backyard.
By hand and muscle.
Life was good, even if the rent had
soared to $45 per month. That was
every month, too.
I was in my first year as a young,
dynamic newspaper guy at The
Brazosport Facts. The future looked
bright.
But here’s the thing. The man we
rented from, a Joe somebody, never -
as in never - gave us keys to that sec-
ond house.
On principle, it was irritating, sure,
and I called him about it. But we
never got keys. And, frankly, it wasn’t
something we worried about.
Heck, we’d travel to Kilgore, up in
East Texas, for three or four days to
visit Mama and Papa Finley, my
grandparents, with the house
unlocked. No big deal.
Try that today and they swipe the
whole house.
Oh, and nobody ever worried about
locking their cars. This is true. I swear
by Gaston Chevrolet.
You’d pull up to church, the grocery
store, the movies, and just go on in.
No one thought about locking their
vehicles.
Tofflfy? Wish I had stock in a secu-
rity company.
The tragic shooting at Fort Hood,
committed by Army Major Nidal Malik
Hasan and resulting in the deaths of 13
solders and the wounding of many others,
has re-focused the attention on the ten-
sion that at times exists between Muslims
and other Americans.
We know now that Major Hasan was a
deeply troubled individual, with deeply
misguided and conflicting beliefs con-
cerning his military service that motivated
him to commit this horrifying act.
Although we cannot isolate his Muslim
beliefs, no matter how misguided, from
this horrendous act it is unfair to other
Muslims serving in our armed forces or
Muslims worldwide to characterize
Hasan's actions as representing the feel-
ings of every Muslim.
In the weeks since the tragedy at Fort
Hood, countless Internet postings have
condemned the act and offered sympathy
and support to the victims, while others
unfortunately have demonized the entire
Muslim community for the action of one
individual. Some have even called for the
Department of Defense to screen every
known Muslim presently serving in the
military (a clear act of discrimination) and
reassess their loyalty to the United States.
These kinds of statements are senseless
considering the fact that American sol- . On? of the treasured rights guaranteed
diersin the past, for various reasojjsJyave ” * n—*- *i—
killed other American soldierSand nobne-
questioned the loyalty <5r their fellow sol-
diers not involved in the incident. During
the Vietnam War assaults, commonly
called “fragging” (especially against offi-
for the same reasons as
other Americans; serv-
ing their country, trav-
el, acquiring money
for college, and other
military and veteran
benefits. In addition,
many Muslims have
stated they enlisted to
regain the respect of
other Americans by
showing their patriot-
ism at a time when people of their faith
were viewed in negative connotations.
Since 9/11, The Defense Department has
actively recruited Arab-speaking person-
nel both for military and civilian services.
Because of their linguistic and cultural
awareness skills, the Middle East military
command has repeatedly stated how
indispensable Muslims and other Arab-
Americans are to military success in the
Afghan/Iraq war.
Since the start of the Afghan/Iraq war,
many Muslims have been deployed to the
war zone and officially seven have lost
their lives. Yet history will view the repre-
hensible act of Major Hasan in more
detail than the deeds of those Muslims
who served their nation in combat and
those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
b^the United States Constitution is the
right of every individual to practice the
religion of his or her choice. In order to
maintain military discipline and combat
effectiveness, the military places certain
________ _______________ limitations and restrictions on some of
cers and NCOs), were prevalent, resulting fhe c*v*l liberties enjoyed in civilian life,
in countless deaths. The precise number “ ~~ “ *
of Americans killed by other Americans
in Vietnam is unknown, but the military
verified 600 murders and another 1400
deaths under mysterious circumstances.
Although the investigation into the
event of Nov. 5 is incomplete, the fact is
that our military and our intelligence
agencies ignored warning signs of Hasan’s
disloyal feelings toward the U. S. military
and the Afghan/Iraq war, and unfortu-
nately no one acted on that information.
There are 1.2 billion Muslims world-
wide, including 6 million Americans, and
Islam is the fastest growing religion i..
United States. Like other Americans, the
I Muslim community represents nationali-
ties from all over the world, including
many Eastern Europeans. Countless
Muslims, like other Americans, have and
continue to serve in the armed forces of
the United States, some tracing their
legacy of service back to World War I.
Because a soldier does not have to state
his or her religious preference, the mili-
tary cannot provide an accurate number
of Muslims or any religion serving.
However, over 3,500, across all branches,
identify their religious preferences as
Muslim. Because of the fear of negative
reactions from their fellow soldiers, many
Muslims do not state their religion, so the
number is probably considerably higher.
Muslims are attracted to the military
U WMun /
ww
EDITORIAL BOARD
Clifton E. “Cliff” Clements
Editor/Publisher
Dave Mathews
Managing Editor
Jay Eshbach
Community member
Jim Finley
former Managing Editor
1
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Clements, Clifford E. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 303, Ed. 1 Friday, November 20, 2009, newspaper, November 20, 2009; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1192634/m1/4/?q=j+w+gardner: accessed June 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.