In the words of Marvin Gaye, “What’s Going On”? Some things that we do, or don’t do in this country, gets me a little perplexed. Take California for instance. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his state are currently suffering from a $24 billion deficit. If the budget crisis is not addressed, California will run out of money next month. The Governor has already called for 5,000 state jobs to be eliminated, and a 5% pay cut for the remaining state employees. California’s various social programs, robust state employee retirement benefits, illegal immigration and safe haven cities have contributed to this fiasco. But even when Schwarzenegger attempts to take corrective action, the Obama Administration puts up a roadblock.

One of the budget cuts that California has suggested is trimming $74 million from a subsidy program involving unionized health-care workers. These specific health-care workers give in-home health care. The health-care providers in question are members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The SEIU was very active in giving President Obama campaign contributions and also personnel for election related activities. Currently the state of California contributes $12.10 an hour in reference to health provider wages. This is not what they actually are paid per hour, but what the state’s share is in reference to their hourly wage. California proposed to decrease its share to $10.10 because of the budget crisis. The Obama Administration has stated that if California lowers its share, it will withhold approximately $6.8 billion in stimulus funds from the state. I wonder if any of the $5 million per month the SEIU gets in union dues ever finds its way to the coffers of the Democratic Party.

 
You will all be happy to hear that Boston Massachusetts hosted a celebration of gays and transsexuals. On May 9th a Youth Pride Day event was held with a “prom” that evening inside City Hall. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino issued a proclamation welcoming homosexual and transgender youth to the celebration. The event was sponsored by the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans-gender Youth organization. Some of the activities at the event were an Elvis transgender parade with condoms and pro-homosexual material being given out. You will all be happy to know however, that it was announced that “sex on the dance floor” would not be tolerated. It was also for individuals under 22 years of age. I’m happy to see that the City Hall of Boston, a government facility, is being used to do something for the city’s youth.

I don’t guess the city of San Diego was as tolerant of gatherings when it threatened to file a summons on Pastor David Jones and his wife for a bible study gathering at the pastor’s house. On this past “Good Friday”, while Pastor Jones was conducting a bible study, an employee of San Diego came to his residence and informed him it was illegal to have the gathering. By San Diego standards it was a “religious assembly”. Pastor Jones was told that to continue the gatherings would necessitate the need to obtain a Major Use Permit. What brought us to a time in America where you can have a gay and trans-gender rights event at a City Hall, complete with a proclamation, but you can’t have a bible study gathering at your own house without a permit?

I discussed the security issue concerning illegal immigration in an earlier A.P. American segment. The intent was not to generate ill feelings toward illegal immigrants, but to voice concerns of how illegal border crossings are decreasing America’s safety. As stated in my earlier article, in 2005, over 650 people illegally attempting to enter the U.S were from countries of special interest. As you remember, Special interest countries are those “designated by the intelligence community as countries that could export individuals that could bring harm to our country in the way of terrorism.” Well, it seems al-Queda has recently shown interest in our southern border as a method of entry for terrorist.

A video that aired on the Arabic network Al-Jazeera shows Abdullah al-Nafisi, a professor in Kuwait, stating how the Mexican border could be utilized to send terrorist and weapons into America. Nafisi states in the video:

"Four pounds of anthrax -- in a suitcase this big -- carried by a fighter through tunnels from Mexico into the U.S. are guaranteed to kill 330,000 Americans within a single hour if it is properly spread in population centers there. What a horrifying idea; 9/11 will be small change in comparison. Am I right? There is no need for airplanes, conspiracies, timings and so on. One person, with the courage to carry 4 pounds of anthrax, will go to the White House lawn, and will spread this 'confetti' all over them, and then we'll do these cries of joy. It will turn into a real celebration."

It is sad but America is under attack. Take the incident that occurred in Arkansas on June 1st. Two Army soldiers were shot outside a recruiting station. One, Private William Long, was killed, and the other, Private Quinton Ezeagwula, suffered gunshot wounds that he will recover from. As the investigation unfolded it appeared the shooter was a Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, 23, also known as Carlos Bledsoe. Muhammad was on the FBI’s radar because of his traveling to Yemen and being arrested for using a Somali passport illegally. It seems Muhammad shot the two young men for simply being American servicemen. Long and Ezeagwula were smoking outside an Army recruiting station when they were shot. After his capture, Muhammad admitted to the crimes and stated in an interview he gave via phone to the Associated Press:

“I do feel I'm not guilty. I don't think it was murder, because murder is when a person kills another person without justified reason. Yes, I did tell the police upon my arrest that this was an act of retaliation, and not a reaction on the soldiers personally. It was an act, for the sake of God, for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the world, and also a retaliation on U.S. military. U.S. soldiers are killing innocent Muslim men and women. We believe that we have to strike back. We believe in eye for an eye. We don't believe in turning the other cheek.”

I could go on with other examples that make me ask myself what is going on in this country. Have our leaders gotten so fixated on saying and doing anything that will get them re-elected that they have replaced doing what’s right for America, with doing what’s right for them? How can a city let a government building, it’s City Hall, be utilized for a gay rights function, but another city determines that a Pastor cannot have a bible study at his home? How can President Obama’s administration show more loyalty to a labor union, than to one of the states of the Union? How can we continue to disregard that illegal immigration is one of the greatest threats to America’s security? We all better try to answer the question of “what’s going on” in America, before it is too late. Right or wrong, that the way A.P. American sees it. Yeah baby!!!!!!!!!