Hello...It's Me, Distracted

Why hello everyone...long time, no write.  Forgive me Lord, it's been three months since my last post...  

I miss writing!  There have been so many distractions in my life lately that have gotten in the way of writing.  Besides, the inspiration just hasn't been there.  Hopefully, this'll get me going.  At this point in my story, I don't even know what I'm about to write, but here goes...

The Move

The last time I posted anything here, I was preparing to move out of the house after selling it.  Well, that was three months ago and I am all about the new place these days.  I really lucked out in the end...selling so quickly and finding a comparable (and hella cool!) spot to call home.  

I'm now living in the village of Patchogue, about a mile from my old house, which is probably the best place I could have found myself.  I always wanted to live a city life, and this is about as close as I can get to that out here on Long Island.  

For those of you not from these parts, the village of Patchogue is a former major shopping destination turned neglected, depressed area turned revitalized minitropolis about twenty years ago, give or take.  It is today the most popular spot on this sprawling 118 mile island, with trendy bars and restaurants, cool housing, fun events, and shopping, too.  I am just outside of the main district, and also about 1/4 mile from the water...both great for walking.

Alive After Five in Patchogue

I mentioned above the hella cool spot I'm living in.  Well yeah, the square footage is comparable to my old place and it's one of five apartments in a big, old, Victorian house.  Lots and lots of character, plenty of space and tons of windows to make it bright and airy.  Here's a photo of my living room that I just took:

Nice, right?  I could post more, but the only ones I already have are a little light on the furniture, and it's too dark to take any more now.  Maybe when I take some new, homey ones, I'll share.  So this has been one of my distractions, but it's brought me to a happier place.  

Him

Yeah, so there's a him in my life.  For a change.  For the first time in a very very long time, there is a him.  And almost six months now, too!  Who'd have thought?  Not me.  Anyway, out of respect for his privacy, I won't say much about him except that he is a beautiful person both inside and out and for him to even have gotten this far into my life, he's got to be a special one.  Again, distraction, but also, a happier place!    

Professoring

It still feels weird for me to say that I am a professor at a well-known university, but it's already been three years now that I've been doing it.  It's weird where life takes you, almost as if I've just naturally grown into the type of person who can do this, but let me tell you, even though my teaching life made me well-prepared for it, professoring is hard!  I must be decent at it because they keep asking me to do more and more at the university and I am very conflicted about it.  

Currently I am teaching a brand new class, which causes me about ten hours of work per week outside the three-hour class.  And I've been asked to teach three more for the remainder of the school year.  Ugh!  But how do you turn down the money?  Teaching college classes helps afford me the opportunity to enjoy the summer without work and I have to keep telling myself that, but this is probably the biggest distraction of all, and it doesn't make me a happier!  Double ugh!    

The United States of America

The one, overarching distraction lately is the amount of attention I give and its resulting dismay I feel about the state of our country.  Multiple times a day, I follow news feeds on Twitter, watch news bytes on YouTube, and read news articles, all feeding into what I feel is this dark, ominous cloud hanging over all of our heads.  It's quite maddening all of the crap I see out there, and it makes me afraid for our future.  I'm scared to see how this craziness ends, and I could write pages and pages on this, but I'm going to leave this right here...for now.  

Well okay, I think we've got a post.  Hopefully I'll be around again sooner rather than later.  Lots of stuff inside my head!  I just have to learn to work around those distractions...  As always, thanks for checking me out.

This Is Why P!nk Moves Me!

We are searchlights, we can see in the dark

We are rockets, pointed up at the stars

We are billions of beautiful hearts

And you sold us, down the river too far

This is why P!nk moves me!  After a post in which I complained that she'd been absent for too long, I now make my repentance.  I should have known better!  From the very first time I ever listened to a whole album of hers, 2001's M!ssundaztood, I was moved by her music, and that only grew with each new record, Try This, I'm Not Dead, Funhouse, and the ultimate, the one that got me to make a silly video lip-syncing to her, The Truth About Love.  

Yup, the master lyricist and overall uber-talent has done it again, perhaps even eclipsing (sorry, I couldn't help myself!) anything she's ever done in the past, and that's saying a lot.   At a time when we all could use a clear head, without all of the bickering, name calling and such, she's given us this gift, this gem of a tune, and it's from all of our perspectives.  

What about us?

What about all the times you said you had the answers?

What about us?

What about all the broken happy ever afters

What about us?

What about all the plans that ended in disasters?

What about love? What about trust?

What about us?

I've heard P!nk say in the past that she doesn't like to tell anyone the meaning behind her words, that she likes fans to garner their own significance from them, but this time there is no mistake.  P!nk has gotten political before, back during the Bush years with the raw Dear Mr. President, with the Indigo Girls.  That time, there was no doubt which side of the political spectrum she was speaking from. She performed the song during the Funhouse Tour in 2009, and when she did she said that she'd been booed while performing it in certain places.  The partisan divide that's ripping this country apart today was already well into big-crack mode.  

We are problems that want to be solved

We are children that need to be loved

We were willing, we came when you called

But then you fooled us, enough is enough

This time around, P!nk isn't singing from one side of the aisle, though it isn't hard to see from the video to the song that she's still writing from the same perspective.  However, if we can all look beyond what we know to be her views, forget left or right or anywhere else, we can easily see that she speaks for all of us, and maybe if we listen closely, we will understand.

Back in January, Patrick Crowley opined in Billboard Magazine whether the singer would write a Dear Mr. President for Mr. Trump.  She'd been openly vocal about her displeasure with the newly elected President, but at the time there was no hit of any song:

“To anyone reading this: if you think this is a time for misogynistic jokes, or for laughing about voting in a person that doesn't believe in climate change, or humanity. To any of you closet racists, homophobes, sexists..... please block me. Please unfollow me. We do not respect each other. You do not have my respect, and I obviously don't have yours. We are not friends. To everyone else, we shall overcome. Stay on the path of love and tolerance. Hug your kids. Teach them about diversity and about fighting for others, and sticking up for themselves. I will do my part.”

Yes, there is no doubt to how P!nk looks at our President, and things have gotten worse in the seven months since she said that.  But with this song, she's not pointing a direct and angry finger at Trump. The they she speaks of includes virtually anyone who's said they had the answers, made broken promises for our happy ever afters and made plans that ended in disaster.  Sure, that includes our current Commander in Chief, but also past ones, as well as congressmen, senators, Cabinet members, and virtually anyone else who has an R or a D next to their name.    

What about us?

What about all the times you said you had the answers?

What about us?

What about all the broken happy ever afters?

What about us?

What about all the plans that ended in disasters?

What about love? What about trust?

What about us?

Yeah, what about us?  Politicians from all sides have been working for a long long time to create this great divide that is scarily coming to a head, and yet they never do anything really that makes our lives better, fixes our problems, or shows their loyalty to us, the ones who always come calling.  All they've done is point fingers, ridicule, and line their own pockets off the true holders of power, those with money.  And we all suffer the consequences.  

Unfortunately, she seems to hearken something I've been afraid of for a very long time now, something terrifying that I alluded to in my last opinion post:

  Sticks and stones they may break these bonesBut then I'll be ready, are you ready?

It's the start of us, we cannot come on

Are you ready? I'll be ready

I don't want control, I want to let go

Are you ready? I'll be ready

And now it's time to let them know

Yes, I am with her.  I am ready!  There are a great many of us in this country who recognize the ominous state that this Administration is leading us towards, and I hope to God that it never comes to pass, but if it does, yes, I'll be ready.  I would hope that many will take a hard listen to the words of this song and will recognize that the two sides in this struggle are not necessarily what we think they are.  Though we may think differently, we are all a part of those billions of beautiful hearts and we all just want to be happy.  We need to recognize this and let them know.  Take a listen and a look at this cleverly written piece and accompanying video and you'll realize that P!nk is such a gift.  There's a reason why this song has resonated with so many, but it needs to resonate even more!  

  

Good Riddance to a Former Friend and a Conservative Hater

It happened, something that I really hoped wouldn't, but it did. After about seven months of President Trump, I finally lost a Facebook friend over my political views and to me it epitomizes the state of our world, and our United States, today.  It's sad that things have come to this, but I, like many others, are beginning to lose my patience with some of these people.  

Though I do have strong political views, I'm always very careful about what I share and where. Sure, every once in awhile I will write a post on here, but that's rare. As for social media, I use Facebook and Twitter for different purposes. Twitter is where I post a lot of the political stuff I read, as well as making comments concerning news and politics (you can see my Twitter feed on the bottom right-hand side of this page). I haven't many friends there, mainly followers (around 1800 of them, too!), and so that's my politico go-to.

Facebook, on the other hand, is a place where I interact with people I've known from all facets of my life.  Because of this, the only real political actions I perform there involve liking a post here and there. On occasion I will share something, but normally without commentary.  There's no need to ever rile anybody up, especially in these times.  I never try to engage anyone there out of the fear of creating animosity or even worse, public argumentation. That way, I keep my friends, regardless of their political affiliation.  I mean, they are friends for a reason, right?  I do have a few friends out there who do post political stuff from the other side, and when I do read what they write, it often takes great restraint not to engage. Thus the case with this so-called friend.

I'm going to call her JD.  She used to be a fellow writer on Associated Content and Yahoo Voices, and we got to know each another through there, commenting on one another's pieces and such.  For quite a few years, JD and I interacted a lot.  She is s talented writer, and eventually we became FB friends.

Though I never was aware of her political views before, her page clearly showed that she had abandoned liberal ideals in favor of conservative ones during the last election cycle.  That's putting it mildly, really, because from her posts you could see the transformation from her previous, likable demeanor towards a brash, in-your-face, outright liberal basher.  Her posts often made me grimace, but out of respect for friendship, I always just kept on scrolling.

About two months ago, JD posted this to her page:

This post disturbed me, and the comments that followed, including phrases like locked and loaded'and oh, they're gonna find out what real anger is, really got my blood boiling.  Those remarks were her own replies to her friends' own incendiery remarks on the post made it all just totally appalling to me.  I didn't know what to do, so at first I saved it and then sat on it for awhile.  I so much wanted to engage JD on this because to me this was serious stuff.  Advocating Civil War? For Donald Trump?  Pretty scary if you ask me.  

I decided to report the post to Facebook.  I didn't really care if she found out or not, but I thought this was too disturbing to leave alone.  Within a week, Facebook contacted me to let me know that the post didn't infringe on any of their rules.  Sigh!  More about this another time...

So after this incident, which happened in May, JD and I continued to be on one another's friends lists, but hardly interacted.  I believe that she unsubscribed to my feed a long time ago when she saw my political leanings, but I kept hers on mine.  It's always a good idea to know how the other side is thinking.  Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, you know.  

So just yesterday, JD posted something about how George Soros, liberal-leaning millionaire, was behind the whole Charlottesville thing.  My jaw dropped, but as per my own way of acting on FB, I said nothing, but I did see that there were like 60 comments, so I began to peruse them.  There was this one guy, another liberal friend of hers, who challenged her theory, asking for facts, to which she had none.  He was polite and non-threatening in his remarks and he even posted links to prove some of the points he was making.  

The now-famous right-wing talking points came up...libtard, snowflake, fake news, blah, blah blah, and every time she responded with a very condescending attitude, name-calling and at one point she even told him to f**k off.  The guy never lost his cool, though.  I've gotta give him credit for that.  He even mentioned in one of his comments that if he was so wrong, then why did some of her friends like his comments.  (I was one of them!)  She had nothing to back up her claim.  

Next thing you know, she posted one of those word boxes that are so popular these days saying that she was itching to clean her Facebook of dumb-ass liberals and how she wanted to get her friend count down to 1,000.  Who's she trying to impress?   A couple of hours later I received a notice that I had lost a friend.  Guess who?  Ah well!  F**k off  JD!  

Reluctantly Rejoining the Political Fray

I am a reformed political junkie.  From the dark days of the Great Hunt of President Clinton in the 90's to the questionable wins of Dubya in 2000 and 2004, eight ensuing years of war and economic mess, and right up until the first election of our current POTUS, I yelled at my radio in the car and shouted at the Sean Hannity's and the Bill O'Reilly's and cheered on Keith Olbermann and Bill Maher.  I had my views, based on my own personal experiences in this life, in this country, and I always believed it was important to stay on top of things.  You know, keep a watchful eye on who I saw as the wrongdoers while cheering on and helping those who I thought were doing right by us. But that all changed in 2008.

At the time, Election Day 2008, I was super elated.  We had just broke unprecedented ground by electing our first (paritally) African-American president and we were finally ridding ourselves of the shackles that had a terrible hold over this country for the previous eight years.  The names Cheney and Rumsfeld would soon fade into obscurity and finally we could get on to cleaning up the mess that they all left behind.  

I soon realized, though, just how nefarious our system of checks and balances can work.  There's been enough of a strong Republican base out there to give that party a hold of Congress, and the unprecedented obstruction of the elected president's policies began.  Tea Party politics fought Obama at every turn, making it difficult for him to get anything done.  The power of a President is not as great as people think.  Heck, the party that says it admires the Constitution so much has unconstitutionally held back the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice for 8 months now, leaving it one man, or woman, short. Deplorable! Out of complete disgust, I stopped paying attention altogether...until now.

An Election that Could Change the World

It's been really hard to avoid this current presidential election, probably the most disgusting of all time, but until yesterday I've managed to hold off on voicing my opinions for the most part.  Doing so does nothing to change minds and only works to create a divide among friends who may have different opinions than you, especially in this time where all civility has flown out the window.

I've said before that what has become of politics in the past 20 years or so is this my team, your team mentality, no matter what.  It's not about helping us, the little guys.  It's all about winning.  A Republican comes up with an idea...a Democrat will reject it before he even hears it.  A Democrat proposes something, it too is rejected unequivocally by a Republican without reason.  If the other guy comes up with something good, it makes our side look bad, so we're going to block it at all costs. And this ugly new norm on has worked its way down to the American public, who will side with their own side just because.  Pretty sad state of affairs, no?

Reluctantly Rejoining the Discussion

For the past few months, this election has been gaining steam, and I've bitten my lip many times over a Facebook post or a Tweet that I don't agree with, but I've said nothing.  It's not worth it.  But what I've been watching this past week has been truly alarming and I just had to do something about it, I shared an article on Facebook with a simple comment, This is very scary.   

The article, from the Boston Globe, was entitled Trump's supporters talk rebellion, assassination at his rallies.  In case you've been living in a bubble, Donald Trump has been feverishly telling his supporters over and over this past week that the upcoming election is a big conspiracy and is rigged against him. Perhaps he senses a loss and is trying to find something to blame it on.  He is, after all, an egotist.  

The reason I decided to share the story had nothing to do with which candidate I favored.  In my opinion, and in the opinions of many others, this talk is nothing but dangerous and irresponsible for any presidential candidate to claim, especially so far ahead of Election Day.  For someone to speak of such things and incite such anger can lead to very serious consequences.  

One of my friends innocently commented on the post:

I was hoping this whole article was satire.  It does not appear to be.  People make me sad.

Almost immediately, another friend of mine, an outspoken Republican and Trump supporter/avid Hilary Clinton hater, ratcheted up the conversation with an angry reply. The two, who have no connection to one another aside from knowing me, went back and forth for some time.  I was dismayed with each reply.  I knew I shouldn't have posted anything.  Ugh, politics!

The second friend was soon joined by yet two more friends, who simply posted videos showing how it's the Democrats who cause violence at Republican rallies.  Videos were posted, Imagine if conservatives disrupted a Clinton rally (an opinion piece), White girl attacked by Mexicans at Trump rally, and Rigging the Election: Clinton Campaign and DNC Incite Violence at Trump Rallies.   This is exactly what I was talking about just a few paragraphs up...no matter my intention, the other side will deflect the conversation by attacking, without reply to the original point.  I finally responded:

Oy, I have to say I've been very reluctant to post anything about the election on FB, and the responses to this post exemplify my reasons.

First of all, to friend #1 and friend #3 (the poster of the first tow videos) I admire your civility towards one another. If only that existed in all political discussion. (Their replies to one another were civil.)

My reasons for posting this piece have nothing to do with this side, that side, blah blah blah. To me, my choice in this election is a no-brainer, but regardless all of this talk about election rigging so far in advance of the election is potentially dangerous.

Trump said, and I quote, "If she gets to pick her judges, there's nothing you can do folks...although the Second Amendment people. Maybe there is. I don't know."

What is that supposed to mean? A candidate for the American presidency veiling a call to "Second Amendment people" to do something about it? That's horrific, and from the fervor I've seen on the part of his supporters, does no one think that maybe, just maybe, one might try and take him up on it?

We are the United States of America, champions of true democracy, where no one gets to hold the highest office for too long. In more than 240 years of presidencies, there have always been peaceful transfers of power.

Whether he meant it or not, that very statement and the constant gripes about election rigging and media conspiracy instead of talking...in detail...about the issues, is the height of irresponsibility, and I only hope my fears will be assuaged come November 9th.

Still, the arguments continued.  Excuses were made, Hilary and Democrats were attacked, and other issues were brought into the fray.  I once again tried to quell the arguing by reasoning my point again:

I said NOTHING of who I am voting for or anything else political. My only point here was that one candidate for the highest position of power in this country thinly veiled a call for his supporters to shoot (yes, I think when he said "second amendment people," that's exactly what he meant!) the other candidate if he loses. If you're okay with that...I don't give a crap if it's Hilary Clinton or Bozo the clown, that is absolutely disgusting and dangerous, and no, this wasn't just reported by the liberal media, I heard him say it! If that's okay with you, then the America you want to be a part of sounds a lot like some of these other countries from where you'd like to keep people out. (Immigration, one of my own hot topics, was brought up and not in a positive light!)

I ended the discussion, which was clearly avoided by the majority of my friends, probably out of the same fears as I'd earlier harbored.  Once again, the article I posted had nothing to do with political favor.  I was simply making a statement that this type of talk is incendiary.  It has the potential to come to fruition and that is very dangerous ground to take and is highly irresponsible on Trump's part.  Though it should seem like a good situation, a non-politician running for office, unfortunately someone who's never been in politics should never start out by vying for the highest office in the land.  

No one ever knows with certainty what will happen in the future, either come Election Day or a year from now.  Deplorables worry about Muslims and Mexicans wanting to kill us, yet in the 16 mass shootings over the past 8 years, the vast majority of them were perpetrated by not Muslims, nor Mexicans, but by Americans.  And they're worried about the the immigrant?  One of the highest prices we've always paid for freedom is the sad reality that there are crazies out there, of all stripes, and we can never see beforehand which ones will act upon their crazy.  I just hope to God it is not one of these guys.

     

Song of the Day - Will You Be There - Michael Jackson

Jim Hunt - Facebook

Like the rest of you, I wake up this morning with a heavy heart for all of those innocent souls who lost their lives so senselessly yesterday in Newtown, Connecticut.  My thoughts and prayers and inner sadness will be with them in the days, weeks, and months to come and I dedicate this song to them.

Michael Jackson Will You Be There from Michael good on Vimeo.

Will You Be There

Hold Me
Like The River Jordan
And I Will Then Say To Thee
You Are My Friend

Carry Me
Like You Are My Brother
Love Me Like A Mother
Will You Be There?

Weary
Tell Me Will You Hold Me
When Wrong, Will You Scold Me
When Lost Will You Find Me?

But They Told Me
A Man Should Be Faithful
And Walk When Not Able
And Fight Till The End
But I'm Only Human

Everyone's Taking Control Of Me
Seems That The World's
Got A Role For Me
I'm So Confused
Will You Show To Me
You'll Be There For Me
And Care Enough To Bear Me

(Hold Me)
(Lay Your Head Lowly)
(Softly Then Boldly)
(Carry Me There)

(Lead Me)
(Love Me And Feed Me)
(Kiss Me And Free Me)
(I Will Feel Blessed)

(Carry)
(Carry Me Boldly)
(Lift Me Up Slowly)
(Carry Me There)

(Save Me)
(Heal Me And Bathe Me)
(Softly You Say To Me)
(I Will Be There)

(Lift Me)
(Lift Me Up Slowly)
(Carry Me Boldly)
(Show Me You Care)

(Hold Me)
(Lay Your Head Lowly)
(Softly Then Boldly)
(Carry Me There)

(Need Me)
(Love Me And Feed Me)
(Kiss Me And Free Me)
(I Will Feel Blessed)

[Spoken]
In Our Darkest Hour
In My Deepest Despair
Will You Still Care?
Will You Be There?
In My Trials
And My Tribulations
Through Our Doubts
And Frustrations
In My Violence
In My Turbulence
Through My Fear
And My Confessions
In My Anguish And My Pain
Through My Joy And My Sorrow
In The Promise Of Another Tomorrow
I'll Never Let You Part
For You're Always In My Heart.

AZLyrics

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Song of the Day - Dear Mr. President - P!nk, featuring the Indigo Girls

Vimeo

Today is Election Day and I thought this song by one of my favorite artists would be a good reminder of what we lived through for 8 years and what we don't want to go back to...

 

Dear Mr.President from lavena staten on Vimeo.

Dear Mr. President
(feat. Indigo Girls)

Dear Mr. President,
Come take a walk with me.
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me.
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?

Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb and we're not blind.
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?

Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President,
You'd never take a walk with me.
Would you?

AZ Lyrics

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Election Day - My Two Cents...

Well, tomorrow is Election Day and I think I will finally take this opportunity to throw my two cents into the ring.  Until the day four years ago when Barack Obama was first elected President, I had long been an avid follower of politics, but soon after I got disgusted and gave up.

Let's face it, government and politics is not nearly what it should be, not by any stretch of the imagination.  No matter what political party this congressman or that senator belongs to, it doesn't make things any better from where I stand.  Politics, like everything else in our society, is all about perception, and we have a general populace that is at best apathetic towards the whole thing.  People care more about Snooki's baby than who's governing the country.  Elected officials do plenty of things on one hand and make it look like something else in the other, and in the end, what we don't see is what we unfortunately get.

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VOTE!

With that said, I still think it's important that we all vote.  After all, we are lucky enough to live in a country where we are asked every year to participate in our own political process, so we should make our voices heard.  As you can see from the picture above, I'll be giving my vote to President Obama.  Here's why...

- President Bush had eight years to screw up this country, I think we should at least give Obama eight years to get it right.

- The largely ignorant public doesn't seem to realize that the President is not the king.  Congress makes the laws that govern us and without cooperation from Congress, there's not a whole heck of a lot a President can do to get his policies in place.  Being dissatisfied with not performing a miracle his first two years, voters turned a Democratic majority in Congress to a Republican one.  The result has been a record number of filibusters and one of the lowest approval ratings of any Congress in history, with very little getting done.  Oh, and by the way, these guys have been on vacation for almost two whole months. And you thought teachers got a lot of vacation time...

- Mitt Romney wasn't the Republican's choice in 2008, nor was he a runaway winner earlier this year.  Why all of a sudden do Republicans think he's going to be our savior?

- In my own personal judgement, from what I've seen of the President, I wholeheartedly believe he is a man of good character who truly wants to help us.  I cannot say the same for Romney, who will probably never stand up for at least 47% of us.

There are other reasons why my vote will be cast in favor of Obama, like his backing of GLBT rights, his policies on paying for higher education, and healthcare for everyone, but in laymen's terms, I think what I've said above is good enough.  I admit, I've had my own disappointments with Obama.  I thought when he first got voted in that we'd be better off at this point than we are today, but I still think he deserves four more years to finish the job he started, and I honestly don't know what Romney will do other than maybe revert us back to policies of that horrible Bush era that were kinder to the haves and not to the have-nots.

It's funny, but where is George Bush these days?  I can't remember the last time I saw him...  Just wondering...

Remember, no matter what you do tomorrow, vote!

We Survived Bush, You Will Survive Obama - Facebook

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A Day of Silence
Every year, on the "Day of Silence", I wear the rainbow ribbon. This year, however, I'm feeling more and more like a hypocrite lately, living a lie when it comes to young people to whom I perceive myself as a role model.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1660786/a_day_of_silence.html

Obama Lifts Moratorium on Coverage of War Dead

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that the Pentagon would be ending an 18-year moratorium on coverage of the return of the war dead to Dover Air Force Base.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1518852/obama_lifts_moratorium_on_coverage.html

State of the American Union

The state of our union is at once both regretful and promising. What once seemed like the highest of highs in the nineties crashed and burned early this century. The past seven-plus years have greatly diminished our relationship with the world and each other. But with the record length of a presidential campaign coming towards a foreseeable end, hope looms on the horizon.

Without question, the nineties will be remembered as a time of prosperity and good times. The economy was performing well, people were working, and home sales soared to record numbers. The nineties weren't all that rosy, however. The popularity of a President incited a wave of hatred towards him and all he represented, and that abhorrence came to a head in the election of 2000.

I hadn't realized the hate I'd developed towards the other side until the day after results of the election were finally confirmed. I was so angry at the time; I spent several hours putting all my frustrations on to twelve pages of paper, only to be ripped into pieces in the frustration of the helplessness I felt. Although the country had been experiencing good times, there was a certain group of people bonded together to start a movement, playing on the sentiments that would divide the masses by appealing to a segment of the population motivated by the distractive issues that had nothing to do with the nation as a whole, but issues that affected the liberties of the individual. Pundits and politicians alike played on moral issues to divide and conquer. From big-time radio pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, to the rising political players in the neo-con' movement, the American people flocked towards opposite ends of the spectrum, separating us into the red and the blue. In the moments of haphazard penning, I realized that this marked a turning point in our history. It was an event that would change the way we existed as a nation. The goal of dividing the country in two had been successful.

With the endowment of the presidency to George Bush by the Supreme Court in 2000, the lines had been drawn. Left-Leaning Americans were left in a state of shock as the Bush era forged ahead reversing an agenda that was the complete opposite from anything Clinton had done. At first, it seemed innocuous. The most egregious offense committed by Bush during the first nine months of his presidency was his record length of vacation time. That is, until September 11th.
At the time of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the country became as united as never before. I recall being moved to tears as I witnessed the displays of unity all around me. Flags and banners hung on highway overpasses, the glances of solidarity towards fellow Americans became a source of comfort, and candlelight vigils outside my home with all my neighbors present all gave me the feeling of intense nationalism. I was overwhelmed with love and pride for my country.

In the aftermath, the President had the support of the nation and the world. He had been given the opportunity to take his place among the great leaders in history, to harness the collective energy of a grieving nation to face adversity in the eye and overcome it. Indeed, the world would have been behind him had he'd made the right decisions in achieving justice for what had been done.

Instead, September 11th, 2001 has become a point in time from whence our great United States became disjointed. Far too many controversial and decisive issues have been brought to the forefront to discuss in detail here, but needless to say, the country has been longing for something, or someone, to come along, to take us away from all this madness and bring us together as a country again.

The present campaign for the Presidential election of 2008 began in November 2004. Never before in our history has there been such an eagerness for change so early on in an administration. As we begin 2008 with the knowledge that change is on the horizon, people seem to be getting a little excited, and that's a good thing. Clearly, the Democratic Party, the party that's been suppressed for the past twenty-plus years is finally regaining the confidence it needs to right the ship. We have been presented with a group of talented people who all have the ability to right the ship, and we are fortunate to be given the chance to choose from among them. Every candidate on the Democratic side possesses the ability to steer the country back towards unity and prosperity.

In this campaign cycle, we are presented with two clear choices: a group of candidates who promise a redirection from the regretful course we've taken, and those who would continue to play on our fears and our divisions to their own ends, leading us further towards the demise of our great society. I am confident that the choice has already been made. The only question left is which person will be chosen to take the lead.

There is a light on the horizon. There is hope that Americans will finally see through all that's happened the past seven years and look towards the future once again with hope, hope that our time as a beacon for democracy and a champion for human rights has not ended. Of course, not everyone shares this optimism. There are still those out there who wish to continue the great divide for whatever reason. But for the first time in a long time, there is hopefulness. And come November 4th, the outlook is surely promising. And maybe, just maybe, we'll become the "United" States of America once again.

Why a Military Draft Should be Enacted

The United States needs to institute a military draft. Many countries around the world require some sort of military service of all its' citizens, and it's about time we do, as well. While this may be an unpopular position, it is the best option to force Americans into societal participation. This effect on the general population is worth the sacrifice of mandatory military service. It would help to restore the principles upon which America was founded.

Our republic was established on the ideology that the general population has the definitive power to select leaders who will govern for the betterment of the nation. The core of the principles of democracy centers on participation of the citizenry in the decision-making process. This is accomplished through the election process. When populace is unhappy with the current state of affairs, it has the option of voting for leaders they think could make things better.
Unfortunately, our democracy has metamorphosized into something quite different, and a military draft may just help to change things for the better.

On September 11, 2001, we were attacked in a horrible way by an enemy many didn't even know existed. In the immediate aftermath, nationalism ran at a fever pitch. People from all walks of life; men and women, old and young, black and white, were willing to volunteer to contribute to the cause of response to the provocation initiated by this new enemy. Consequentially, the war in Afghanistan was met with praise as a proper response to the attacks. Patriotism was everywhere, as was the notion of supporting the troops. We were united as Americans in a way not seen since World War II.

The decisions made by our leaders in the ensuing period failed to capitalize on this state of mind for the betterment of the nation. Instead, all of that nationalism was squandered. Rather than being asked to pitch in, we were told to go about our lives and let the government handle it. "Go shopping", the President told us, and many did what they were told. Slowly, but surely, those feelings of patriotism faded.

In the subsequent months and years, the "War on Terror" became a tool used to paralyze the nation into fear, as our leaders sought to exploit the state of affairs for their own gain. The War in Iraq was the initial step in this master plan. Eventually, with the shock and awe turning into a quagmire, mass apathy began to take hold of the populace. People distanced themselves more and more from the horrors of the situation.

Fright initially persuaded many to go along with the war at first. Instead of trying to calm these feelings of fear, our leaders chose to use it as a tool to subjugate the population into mass lethargy. Our participative mission in this "Global" war was to run to the local convenience store and buy a "Support Our Troops" bumper sticker. This would make us all feel better about ourselves, but did nothing for the benefit of the nation or the troops.

Who supports the troops, really? In a way, we all do. We want them to be safe in whatever they're doing as they represent us in the world. The pertinent question herein is: How many of us take the time to monitor the decisions that steer our policies and actions? The population has become seemingly unable or even unworthy to participate in the democracy. Genuine supporters of the troops are those with direct or indirect connections to someone who serves in the military. They're the people most likely to pay attention to government policy. They experience the very real connection between the actions of government and real lives.

A military draft surely would be unpopular. Few politicians have dared to bring it up. Charles Rangel, a congressman from New York brought up the notion on more than one occasion and was subjected to ridicule from fellow members of Congress, and many in the political punditry machine that plagues our airwaves. Leaders have become fearful to support draft legislation for fear of losing their seats. Getting reelected seems more important than doing the right thing. Making unpopular decisions is the sign of a true leader, as long as they benefit the country. This debate, though, is a topic for another conversation.

Enacting conscription is a tough decision to make, there is no doubt. However, it's an important choice that will help to clear a path back towards the true democracy that our forefathers envisioned. It would cause people to care again, to become mindful of the actions that affect both the nation and its citizens. Sometimes, we all need to be forced to take some much needed ownership of our country's actions in the world, to take time out of our busy lives to pay attention, and to hold accountable those who decide for us.