The Day After...

Finally. While we have been told that 04 November is the date to be circled on the calendar, if we’re truly honest, the real date highlighted in bright red has been 05 November. It’s over! In a country where people frequently grouse about our collective attention span, who thought a twenty-one month long presidential campaign would be a good idea?
But, here we are, at last. And we have a winner. Congratulations are due to Senator Obama!
It’s more than likely that while many people are celebrating (and rightly so), there’s at least one or two for whom last night was a crushing disappointment and defeat. Now, we will see one of the finest parts of America – the way we come back together as a country, united being the first word in our name, and move forward.
We don’t have to be unified in our joy and celebrations, though we should be. Senator Obama has achieved a success that to date has been enjoyed by only forty-three individuals before him. Out of the billions of Americans who’ve come and gone, this is nothing at which to sneer. And when we factor in his being the first black President, how can we not applaud?
Certainly, there will be hurt feelings and hardened attitudes. “This should make them happy,” was overheard more than once this morning. Whether the them refers to Democrats, Liberals, or more than likely, blacks in our country, as insincere as the wish is by those grumbling it, no doubt, they are happy.
As am I. We will soon witness a peaceful transfer of power in this country, again. A roundly despised leader is not being run out of town by tanks, nor being hung by his neck from the nearest light pole. The military of this country is not the grantor of power as it is in so many others – a simple ballot box is.
We will watch as the People of this country demonstrate one of the greatest lessons of this campaign – if you want change (in whatever form it may come to you), you need to work for it. And lo, Senator Obama, Senator Biden, and his legions of supporters certainly did work for it, very hard work. Change is accessible by one and all in this great land of ours.
Oh, and for those who truly cannot fathom nor accept the concept of President Obama, then you can always take heart that you, too, can work for change. As is heard in stadiums frequently this time of year, “Wait till next time,” may be your new refrain. Start when you’re ready – the current record for a campaign is only twenty-one months.

Drew Carey on The Nanny State

A Christian Military?

It would be SO easy to wade into this as an issue of "Separation of Church and State". After all, it's one of our rights, right? (No, it's not, but that's for another opine.)

In this article, an Army Specialist claims that being an atheist cost him his career in the military and resulted in threats upon his life.

It's tempting to dismiss such claims, until you realize one thing.

It's perfectly reasonable to believe.

How many times does the Army have a formation (all the Soldiers lined up together) and the Chaplain comes out to lead in prayer? Don't think it's not noticeable if you don't participate? Think again. Many professional workplaces are well covered with religious paraphanelia. And if yours is noticeably not decorated in kind? Yeah, there might be questions.

It's been said that "There are no atheists in foxholes." It shouldn't matter if there are, or not. What should matter is if the SOLDIER in that foxhole is well-trained. Anything else? Well, let's just leave that to the Soldier and his/her god. As they say, "Mind your own lane."

Cruel and Unusual

I've had a lot of thoughts in my head of late (here, here, and here), spurred by the recent passing of Punk Rock Mommy.

And as I was chatting with my dear friend, I drew a connection.

I first was thinking back to one of my favorite Star Trek quotes, "How we face Death is at least as important as how we face Life."

And that's true, because for many, Death comes unexpectedly. Unplanned. Unanticipated.

Yet, there are those who know that Death is coming.

They've been told they are going to die. Not exactly when, but... It WILL happen.

Then, they get told that Death is soon approaching. Probably within a month, but no other details.

And finally, you know... Today is your last day.

It's Death Row.

Except, these people are not criminals. They've committed no horrific atrocity.


So, I ask... If we as a society complain about the cruel and unusual nature of executions on Death Row... Executions of our society's most heinous members..

Why are we not more vocal and active in our complaints against the executions of our more innocent members? The children who die from cancer.. The mothers... Wives... Fathers... Sons... Husbands... Daughters... And those indistinguishable people who are mere faces in the crowd that no one even notices is missing...

Priorities.

Outrageous Outrage

The thoughts from my previous post continue to weigh on my mind...

As I wrote, I am disturbed by the misplaced outrage that we have in this country. Large segments of the populace are "outraged" at the number of Soldiers dying in Iraq. Each gory milestone (1,000... 2,000... 3,000... 4,000!) is trumpeted as a further example of how we MUST CHANGE.

4,000. Over five years. While each Soldier lost *IS* a tragedy... Truth (listen up, Truthers) be told, that's a LOW number

Low compared to non-combat deaths, for example.

Low compared to vehicular deaths in our country.

Low compared to disease (pick your favorite) deaths. Quick, show of hands of the oncologists... How many would be ECSTATIC if the death rate dropped to 4,000 over five years?

And I'm fairly sure that most of those outraged would be hard-pressed to recall the name or a detail or two of those who've sacrificed in Iraq.

So, what's with the outrage?


And then I realized. Those Soldiers' deaths serve a *political* purpose. They are an excuse to be outraged. They are names to be written on throwaway cardboard protest signs.

Whereas for another sizable group of the populace, it is the Soldiers' LIVES that hold a purpose and are celebrated.

Now, THAT is something to be outraged over.

Where Is YOUR Righteous Indignation?

Yesterday, another casualty was recorded. This brave Soldier lost her battle.

Andrea Collins Smith.

That's her name. Pay attention, and remember, because you won't see her name on any protest signs.

No mock gravestones.

No bracelets.

No one will interrupt a Presidential speech, Congressional hearing, or a nominee's stump speech asking what they'll do to stop the tragedy.


And why not?

She died of cancer.

No, it's not as sexy a "cause death" as an American Soldier dying in Iraq. She died at home, with her husband, leaving behind five children.

I don't begrudge the "Code Pink" folks, or others, as they exercise their right to protest. Go for it.

I wonder what it'd be like if we put all that energy and effort into fighting a bigger battle.

(Bigger battle?! Bigger than... how do they put it???... an unjust war for oil where Bush lied so _____ died? Yeah, bigger than that.)

So far this year, 208 American Soldiers have died in Iraq (source: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count). That's a little over a Soldier per day, or extrapolated to the year, at the current rate, that'd be approximately 408 Soldiers.

Whereas, it is forecast that 565,650 Americans will die of cancer this year. (Source: American Cancer Society) 1,385 times the number in Iraq. Or, put another way... 1549 EACH DAY! Including holidays... Cancer doesn't take a day off.

Code Pink, you've already got the right color... let's put an end to this daily death count... Everyone, where is YOUR outrage? We must end this. So many needless deaths...

Happy Fourth of July!

Ready for some fireworks??? We are! We're camped out at Mt. Trashmore in Virginia Beach, amongst probably a good 10-20,000 fellow fireworks loving Americans.

One highlight already was when the band asked everyone on The Hill to light up and wave their cell phones while yelling, "Thank You Troops!" repeatedly.

It's a great night, and it's another great day to be an American!

For all of our country's faults, we're still the best place to be on the planet.

(And to all my comrades in the desert of Iraq, Missing y'all... Stay safe!)

The Truth About the Campaign Trail

 

Drew Carey on Mexicans and Machines

What Has the Government Done for Me... Lately?

It's sad to think of the attention span of the average American voter. It's drastically short.

I could go into various degrees of examples, but...

it's late.

So, like the teachers in my government indoctrination centers used to do... we'll have a short film.

:)

Drew Carey on Medicinal Marijuana

Drew Carey takes a look at Medicinal Marijuana in this one...

I don't mind government protecting us from harm from others, but why... WHY must busybodies insert themselves into the lives of those conducting activities that are A) Not harming anyone and B) actually helping themselves?!

This is ridiculous nanny-state'ism, and one day, it'll affect your favorite activity.

Remembrance Flag

There is an effort circulating to create a National Flag of Remembrance. Take a look at this website. It's worth a peek.

I signed the petition...

Government Schools

I had a frightening experience last night. We were working on D's homework.

Some background: Last week was the week for Virginia's standardized testing (as mandated by No Child Left Behind).

As one might expect, while the intent of the test is to measure how well the students have learned their material over the year, what actually occurs is called "Teaching to the Test".

Great.

Any guesses on how successfully students learn, retain, and COMPREHEND their material?

What's frustrating is that they are "teaching" methods, for mathematics in particular, that do NOT enable functionality for the student. For example, instead of multiplication tables, they're taught calculators and charts. And we wonder why the cashiers of today can't make change?

It is HORRIFYING the destruction being wreaked on our youth's intelligence and future capabilities.

Sigh.

We MUST take back our schools... If "Children are our Future", then we need to wake up TODAY!

By the way, the Virginia tests are called the SOL exam... How apt... because if we don't do something, and soon... that's exactly what our children will be... SOL.

The Wall

The Drew Carey Project continues with a discussion on The Southern Wall...

Putting Words In the Mouth of Another

Seen on a church sign: "Keep using my name in vain - I'll make rush hour longer. -God"

Anyone see a problem with this?

A majority of Judeo-Christian teaching these days teaches of a merciful, forgiving God. The line above sounds more like the vengeful OT God... You remember the one who tested his worshippers loyalty, etc?

But worse, it's an example of us putting words in themouth of another... And as typical, it can't be countered or argued. Much like a forwarded email saying "Can you believe what _______ said?"

Just a thought... If God is as we describe him, do we need to put words in his mouth?

Drew Carey on The Drug War

I still wonder just what we're achieving with this "War on Drugs"... like so many "Wars on ____ ", we haven't had too much success...

More later.

Drew Carey Project - Food Fight

Drew Carey on Immigration

Freedom Never Cries

I saw this video, and it's beautiful... Everyone who clicks to view it, $1 is donated to Operation HomeFront.

The man behind the counter in the video is Fred Ferguson, a Medal of Honor recipient.

The singer is John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting...

Please watch.

Hillary Hears a Sniper

It's definitely making the news now... Senator Clinton made a speech about how when she went to Bosnia, as First Lady, she landed under sniper fire.

Except, it wasn't true.

Now, the video below by (believe it or not, CBS News) deconstructs her lie. However, it shouldn't even be necessary to do that.

Not, if you have a little common sense.

At the time, she was First Lady of the United States of America. Such a position, while contrary to her assertion of its power, IS a very symbolic one. As such, her safety is paramount. Thus, the United States Secret Service would have never tolerated nor allowed the First Lady to land where she was at risk of being killed by sniper. And if she had really pushed the issue, there would have been extraordinary measures taken to prevent it.

Along for the ride was Chelsea, the First Daughter. Perhaps even more of an emotional target, her presence would also trigger extreme protection. Besides, what mother takes a daughter into sniper fire?

There were USO entertainers aboard, notably Sinbad and Cheryl Crow. Big names. No one wants their safety compromised either.

And if the USSS didn't have a coronary about flying into sniper fire with the First Lady, First Daughter, and two huge celebrities... the USAF brass would have gone to extra lengths to make sure nothing happened while the group was under their care and protection.

So, besides the fact that her story is a complete fabrication, which should certainly give voters pause, especially if she says it's because she was sleep deprived (brings the 3 am ad into new light if she's not at her mental best with low sleep), it's beyond plausibility.

It is apocryphal that politicians lie... but one thing that is expected is that they should be able to lie convincingly. And I would expect one with as much practice as her to be much better at it and not tell a lie so transparent, so blatant, that even CBS News can take it apart.