Random Thinkage
I have several jokes and things to post to fill in the gaps in this journal.
Pulled an all nighter. Got carried away with some reading. It happens. Feel like death warmed over and my stomach is queasy at the moment. Bleah.
Now, for some good news on the family front. My baby boy passed his driver's test, yesterday, with flying colors!! YAY!! It really felt weird to have only one car here and both Kevin and I at home. Tom still has a week of the driver education course to take, but between the that and the Drug and Alcohol Program that they offer, he is eligible for a 15% discount on his car insurance rates. Those of you with teenagers or that are younger drivers can probably know what a boon that can be. A rep at our State Farm agent's office said the 10% for the driver's ed program is good until he turns 25.
Heh, cracks me up that GWB was caught saying shit over an open mic. Given the comment was pretty much on the money, I have to wonder why he sounded so smart when he thought the mic was off and like a bonehead when the cameras are rolling. Reminds me of the "Hey, y'all watch this," joke, not sure why. Things that make ya go hmm.
Is it just me or does anyone else hear that snarkey British chick's voice when they read the phrase, "Goodbye, you are the weakest link?"
Before I begin my little soirée into the world of editorializing, here's something to ponder:
The Soldier
It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.
Poem has been credited to several authors including
Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC
Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army
It is the soldier
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.
A protest raged on a courthouse lawn,
Round a makeshift stage they charged on,
Fifteen hundred or more they say,
Had come to burn a Flag that day.
A boy held up the folded Flag,
Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.
An OLD MAN pushed through the angry crowd,
With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.
His uniform jacket was old and tight,
He had polished each button, shiny and bright.
He crossed that stage with a soldier's grace,
Until he and the boy stood face to face.
"FREEDOM OF SPEECH," the OLD MAN said,
"Is worth dying for, good men are dead,
So you can stand on this courthouse lawn,
And talk us down from dusk to dawn,
But before any Flag gets burned today,
This OLD MAN IS GOING TO HAVE HIS SAY!
My father died on a foreign shore,
In a war they said would end all war.
But Tommy and I wasn't even full grown,
Before we fought in a war of our own.
And Tommy died on Iwo Jima's beach,
In the shadow of a hill he couldn't quite reach,
Where five good men raised this Flag so high,
That the WHOLE DAMN WORLD COULD SEE IT FLY.
I got this bum leg that I still drag,
Fighting for this same old Flag.
Now there's but one shot in this old gun,
So now it's time to decide which one,
Which one of you will follow our lead,
To stand and die for what you believe?
For as sure as there is a rising sun,
You'll burn in Hell 'fore this Flag burns, son"
Now this riot never came to pass
The crowd got quiet and that can of gas,
Got set aside as they walked away
To talk about what they had heard this day.
And the boy who had called it a "dirty rag,"
Handed the OLD SOLDIER the folded Flag.
So the battle of the Flag this day was won
By a tired OLD SOLDIER with a rusty gun,
Who for one last time, had to show to some,
THIS FLAG MAY FADE, BUT THESE COLORS DON'T RUN.
In searching for that poem, I found this: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/convention2004/zellmiller2004rnc.htm I want to know why Zell Miller didn't run for President.
Before you go past these either of these cuts, be warned... it's angry, it's political, it's many things, but it's what I think. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it.... but in the spirit of our founding fathers, I ask that you respect MY right to Freedom of Speech and my opinion. And some of you that know me really well are likely going to thinking.... "What in hell woke up the bear?"
The Gold Star I never want to get and the phrase I never want to hear.
From the time we are children, we are taught that receiving a gold star on our work means that we have done a good job. So, let me tell you a story about a gold star that I do not aspire to earn or be given.
Many years ago, my great grandmother, hereafter referred to as Nanny, used to go to meetings at the American Legion and VFW. She was a member of the American War Mothers. As a side note, I learned that because of my daughter, Jessica's military service in the Navy and her participation in Operation Enduring Freedom that I'm eligible for membership. My great grandfather had been in World War I and her son, my grand uncle, Billy, had been in the Navy during World War II. Uncle Billy was in a ship that was sunk off the coast of Greenland. Thankfully, he lived until about two years ago to tell that story.
I think I was about 7 at the time when I overheard Nanny talking about Gold Star mothers. I thought that they must have done something very special and wonderful to be given a Gold Star Award for being a mother. Little did I know how special. It was in my late teens that I learned what it really meant.
Flags with Blue Stars were displayed by mothers with sons and daughters serving in World War I. It was part of the war effort and represented their hope for the safe return of their children. Those mothers whose children didn't return displayed the Gold Star flag to represent the ultimate sacrifice given by their children.
Now, if you read that carefully, you can see why I never want that Gold Star Award. My daughter is in the Navy and the price is the life of your child, who died in the line of duty.
The phrase I never want to hear is ... "On behalf of a grateful nation." That's what they say when they hand over the neatly folded flag that was draped over the coffin of of someone that has served in the military. I'm not sure if it's all military funerals just just those that are active duty deaths.
This is a link to Toby Keith's American Soldier Video. Keep in mind that for twenty years, I WAS that wife watching her husband board planes, trains, cars, buses, and tanks to go to parts unknown all over the world not knowing if he'd be walking through the front door again. I WAS the mother that listened to her child explain to her grandchild why mommy's vacation was cut short and watched her child board a bus after 9/11 to go board a ship sailing for the coast nearest to Afghanistan. People can preach about supporting the troops all they want, but it's been a part of my daily my life since 1982, when Kevin, my husband, took the Oath of Enlistment to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. I have a hard time watching it because you never forget what that feels like and you hope you never just "get used to it," but you do hope that one day they don't have to go off like that.
So, the next time you open your mouth to dispute someone else's right to Freedom of Speech, remember what it really costs ... lives and blood. No matter how silly you think it is, they have the right to look like morons, but I have the right to laugh at them for doing it. If they do something I disapprove of, I have the right to protest it or in the case of a business, not patronize them, not purchase products from them or dispose of products of theirs that I PAID for that I no longer wish to keep.
There's a story about a guy that wandered into a store after 9/11 dressed as a jester. When asked why he was wearing it during a time of national mourning, he said... "Because I can." Sure, he looked silly, but he was right. Being dressed in that costume did no harm to anyone, but it made him happy.
Remember that? Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness? When one persons pursuit of happiness interferes with another's that when the law steps in. When one country's pursuit of happiness infringes on another's that when wars or occupations happen.
What I think about the Dixie Chicks and their current hoopla
Allow me to preface this section by saying the Constitution grants that CONGRESS shall not abridge ones freedom of speech, religion, the press and right to peaceably assemble. The last might require a permit, but hey, they need to route traffic around any large groups. Congress is not a private corporation, I seem to recall getting into that argument with more than one person who spouted off that AOL was wrong because they deprived them of their Freedom of Speech. The same is true of the press... the owners of the publication have the right to regulate what its employees publish since it is the company that usually bears the brunt of any libel that results from the content.
How many Americans on foreign soil have made the mistake of yelling, "Hey, you can't do that, I'm an American," when they break a law. Tell that to Nick Berg, people. He was an American on foreign soil just trying to earn a living, his only "crime" was wanting to do his job in a place where Americans are not always thought of in a kind way.
As some of you recall, I wrote my feelings about Natalie Maines's statement on a stage in London. She exercised her American right to Freedom of Speech, but didn't I just say that Americans don't have American rights on foreign soil?
Frankly, I'd have more respect for Natalie Maines if she stuck to what she had said in the first place and didn't back peddle to save face or her bank account. She's entitled to her opinion, but other people are entitled to theirs as well. My opinion is that Ms. Maines, who is the one that actually made the statement about being ashamed, is a hypocrite. Her band mates admitted, on a Barbara Walters special, that they were in shock at what she said when it happened. However, being the good friends to here that they are, they backed her ass.
It really bugs me when people complain about the trashing of the CDs and other Dixie Chicks merchandise. They seem to forget that people spent THEIR money on it in the first place, while the creation process belongs to Chicks, the finished product belongs to the person that bought it and is theirs to use as it was intended, resell, or destroy as they please.
Natalie also seems to feel that she is the only person, who can speak her mind without reservation as evidenced by this:
http://top40-charts.com/news.php?nid=3488&compag=7
"Don't get me started," Maines told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I hate it. It's ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant. It targets an entire culture - and not just the bad people who did bad things. You've got to have some tact. Anybody can write, 'We'll put a boot in your ass.' But a lot of people agree with it. The kinds of songs I prefer on the subject are like Bruce Springsteen's new songs."
Keith's spokesperson had "no comment" in response to Maine's quote. In the past, however, Keith has been quick to defend the song, because it was written in tribute to his late father, who served in the Korean war. "That's why I'm so defensive when somebody jumps on that song, you know," said Keith. "You get on that and you just turn into a commie heathen with me."
So, I have to ask, where was the tact she asked of Toby Keith and others when she opened her mouth in London?
Comedienne/actress, Janeane Garofalo, is one of the most outspoken people in Hollywood. She says a lot I don't agree with, but when asked to stand up and answer for what she has said, she does. I respect her for that. Unlike Ms. Maines, Ms. Garofalo sticks to her opinions. She doesn't change them because her agent or production company tells her it's bad for business.
Charlie Daniels goes off about shit all the time, but unlike Natalie, HE STICKS TO HIS GUNS!
In my opinion, this is one of the reasons that many Americans aren't ready to make nice with Natalie and the other Dixie Chicks. It's OK to say you don't care for the President or even that you are ashamed of him, Hell, it's ok to say anything about him that you want other than making a death threat. It's even ok to say, "Hey, I screwed up, and I shouldn't have done that." But hell.. if you really don't mean the apology, spare me the poor pitiful me teary eyed routine on TV to save your ass and your bank account then a year later write a song that implies you never meant the apology in the first place... and then back peddle again ans say you no longer thing the same, but are going back to pretty much what you said in the first place.
Sure, people are entitled to change their minds, but make no mistake, most of the general population are NOT fooled by hypocrites. Frankly, I'd rather deal with a gun toting redneck that owns a big ass dog, oh, wait, that's probably me, than someone who is a blatant hypocrite.
I really have to wonder about someone that would have poked around the empty socket "just to check it out," when referring to someone's dead family pet. That's just gross.
Do they record good songs? Sure.. I heard one in the background of an episode of Medium not too long ago. Will I be buying them or downloading them, probably not. Maybe when she admits that she never meant her so called apology in the first place.