Jefferson Barracks burial

A shock came over me a few weeks past when I was at a local Jewish funeral home to make plans for my wife and I. When I informed them that we wished to be buried at Jefferson Barracks they informed us that we better check with our rabbi first, to see if he would officiate since we belong to a Orthodox shul, as there are some rabbis in our community who will not officiate at a “JB” funeral. 

I find that a disgrace to those who gave their lives for this country and those of us who just served and came back home to our families. Since when does a rabbi think he is above those who served to protect his family. Perhaps he should have served as a chaplain to understand that we are all equals.

Gary Wilson

Creve Coeur

The case for a nuclear armed Iran: 

a red-blooded American perspective

Advocates of a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution have successfully argued that, above all else, no individual should be deprived of the right to bear arms, let alone to defend himself. Should he surrender that right, such surrender must be purely voluntary.

With respect to bearing nuclear arms, Iran voluntarily surrendered its right under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, which entered into force in 1970 (when, by the way, the Shah was still sovereign). Apart from its dissembling and breaking its international commitments under that treaty, for which Iran has been roundly condemned and sanctioned, another factor troubles the global community. The very impetus of the treaty arises from the danger to world peace inherent in certain types of weapons and posed by their unrestricted availability. Obviously, the danger is much more acute if and when such weapons are procured by parties bent on aggression and/or terrorism. Arguably, Iran falls into this category.

With this in mind, Iran’s political mistake lies not in its posturing and secretiveness. Rather, its mistake lies in its not having hired the NRA to manage its PR. For surely the NRA, as the United Nations Charter recognizes, would trumpet the right of any nation to defend itself. How can any limits be rationally placed on one’s means of defense? Indeed, wouldn’t our global society be safer if every UN member possessed and brandished nuclear weapons? And why should any nation be subject to a background check regardless of the temperament of those whose fingers are on the launch button? Of course, Iran is not protected by the Second Amendment.

Solution? Join the Union.

Rabbi Scott B. Saulson, Ph.D.

Creve Coeur