Center for Military Readiness...

Sounds like your everyday run of the mill flag waving patriotic bullshit doesn't it? Well, it's not. It's an organization I found (no suprise it was linked to from Tucker Carlson's website) which purportedly looks out for the "well being of the military". It's website reads:

This website presents background information and commentary on additional issues of concern to CMR, the principles that guide us, and the contributions we plan to make in this unique field of public policy.

What do they fight for? Maybe more body armor...maybe better equipment or pay? Nope, their entire platform is to keep women out of combat and roll back the jobs they already have and strengthen the laws against gays in the military. Their reccomendations for "Military Readiness" include taking more control of the military and military decisions out of the hands of members of the military and putting them into the hands of Congress. Because everyone knows, the best way to have a strong military is to have the rules that govern who should serve and how are made by people not in the military.

Obviously I'm not a person who believes there should be a huge gap between the civilian and military authorities, in fact, that pretty much goes against everything I believe, but hell...if military commanders are saying a person can do job A, who is the congress to say otherwise?

I Never Knew...

I never knew how my parents met and wed. I was talking to my mom today and she told me...and I can't believe I didn't know.

They met between my dad's time in Vietnam and him leaving the Marines for the Army. He had been upset he was only on float in Vietnam and wanted to go back, but the Marines wouldn't guarantee it to him and the Army would. Also, the Marines would have demoted him and the Army said it wouldn't. As things turn out, once he signed the papers, he was demoted anyway and sent to Germany where he was a PSG or SL, I don't remember.

They were at a wedding, a rowdy one my mother says, and she was wearing a wig (a detail I did know before because I always thought it odd that my dad might have fallen in love with a woman in a wig). My mom had a party later my dad went to, which counted as their second date. From there, my dad went to Germany and they wrote each other for about a year.

Things didn't go too well in Germany, there being loads of drugs, alcoholics and race issues in the Army at the time, and I remember my dad telling me bad things about his time there. He was stressed and upset and they stopped writing for about two years.

When he came home, my mom was cutting a friends hair down the street when my aunt came over to tell her the phone was for her. My mom said Aunt Irene made it known who was on the phone and that my mom ran home and jumped over the fence to talk to my dad. He was in town, but couldn't meet and was leaving up to Fort Lewis that night. She said she might be going up there with her sister for a vacation and my dad said if she did, they should go out.

My uncle convinced my mom to go see him off at the airport, but by the time she decided it was a good idea, he was already gone. So, my Aunt Irene (her sister) and my Uncle Richard and their daughter (my nina) went to the airport to find him. They went opposite directions as LAX is shaped in a circle and it was my godmother, a young girl at the time, who found him leaving a bar and asked, "Are you Ed?" He said yes and she said her aunt was looking for him. He gave my mom a kiss and boarded the plane.

My mom went up to Lewis and that's when my dad proposed. Three "dates" and a year of letters. I don't know if the letters still exist, or what was written in them. My mom said she used to look at this picture a lot as my dad had sent it from Germany. She said she'd fantasize and pretend he was buying something for her in the picture and play stupid games like, "I wonder what cologne he has on...I wonder what kind of store it is...I wonder if the bread is good or who he's eating it with..."

Gotta Love the Bush...

My moderate friend's reaction?

Son0fCarl: How much you wanna bet that W. appoints this kid as an adviser?

How...Hip?

Oh yeah, I'm about to blog a myspace bulletin. But, it was my little sister's bulletin, which we all know means it's cooler than most. Tell me she isn't awesome after you read this, I dare you fool!

Here's how it works....There are 17 questions that you have to fill out about the SECOND person on your top 8. This is just to see if you know this person as well as you think! So start answering!
1) Name: AJ, Harmon, mi hermano, adam, brother
2) Age: 25
3) Are they single? yes they are
4) How long have you known this person? since birth
5) Are you related? no we just have the same mother
6) Where does this person live? This crazy place that gives him a a curfew, I think its called east mound or west point, something like that.
7) How often do you see them? Lately its been bi-yearly, is that how you would say every two years?
8) When was the last time you talked to them on the phone? The other day cause he wanted our sisters phone number. haha

In my own defense on this one, I called her just to say hello, but I thought maybe she'd have Kristie's number...so, asking for it was incidental, not the "reason" I called...so there!

9) talked on Myspace? a couple of days ago
10) talked on IM? na
11) How did you meet this person? he used to have to play with me when we were kids, We used to have dirt clot fights when i was in 5th grade
12) Are you pretty good friends? surprisingly yes, if it wasnt for him I wouldnt have made it threw highschool
13) What does this person do for a living? learns stuff
14) Have you ever kissed this person? on the cheek, our family is kissy
15) Ever slept with this person? When we would get stuck sharring a bed. Apparently I would kick alott and grind my teeth. And on long trips aj and kristie used to fight over who had to let me lay on them when I fell asleep. apperently Id get all swetty and drooly. I was a verry atractive child. usualy adam lost

Because it's worth telling, yes, car trips were hellish. Lucia had this crazy long curly hair that wasn't very clean when she was a kid...it was also always in knots which would then hurt her. She would sweat and the hair would stick all over our legs and arms and we had a volvo that wasn't very comfortable to begin with...ha ha, I also remember she used to sneeze a lot and one time, she sneezed a big ol booger on me and I screamed and cried like a ten year old girl...ha ha, man we were little brats.

16) Broken the law with this person? I drank with him before 21 so that counts i think
17) When will you see this person next? This question scares me cause I dont know.

Soon Lucia...soon.

Why I Came...

I had a party over Christmas at my house with a bunch of friends from the Army, West Point and home, which I think I wrote about. Alex's cousin and her son from Florida came for a while before hand, and her the son reminded me a lot of me when I was his age...it was funny really. We all thought he was a cool kid and they left early (because his mom didn't want him going back to school saying he had "been to a college party")

Anyway, Alex wrote that, ever since, he's been talking about coming to West Point and that I was an "accidental recruiter"...which got me thinking about why I chose to go into the Army. If any of you knew me before (or, for those of you who did know me before) it was quite a suprise I guess, since none of you were in my head.

The first time I'd thought of it was when I went to my cousins graduation from Marine Corps boot camp in second or fourth grade...I don't remember which. What I do remember was being impressed by the attention he got and by the fact that they weren't allowed to drink anything but water, orange juice and milk durring boot camp. That year, I gave up soda for lent, just to see if I could do it...I think that might be the first time I thought about it.

Let's see...what else...obviously my dad was in the Army, but I think those of you who knew him and us know that his military life was very little a part of my growing up. I vaguely remember my mom or him pressing his uniform once a month so he could go to LA, or about how sometimes he'd take me with him and I'd stay at Aunt Irene's house on the internet all weekend since we didn't have the internet...but again, I only saw him before or after duty when I'd make fun of him for shaving.

My Uncle Z was a Marine, which is how he met my Aunt, and he and my dad were close. I remember (and this is probably when I made my decision) that after high school, when we were bombing Yugoslavia, there was a lot of talk about a draft. We had a family reunion from my pop's side of the family and my Auntie Janet and Uncle Z came out from Tenessee. Z's son, Blue, had been a Marine, and he visited us once when we lived in LA, but I don't remember it too vividly. Anyway, we were standing there, Me, Ruben (my cousin, who's like a brother and was in the AF), my dad, Uncle Z and my Uncle Richard (another Air Force) and it suddenly struck me that, while there was never really a whole lot of military talk, all of them had done it, and I hadn't. I started to feel a little...left out. My dad never said he wanted me in the military...in fact, he talked a lot of shit about the Marines and about the military life...but, at the same time...it seemed like something you just did.

Anyway, the next day I called the recruiter and the rest is history (or...more like...present, I guess). Yeah, so...I guess it's not all bad, being in the army (kind of). And as for Alex's cousin...he's still young, but hell, West Point sure isn't the worst goal the kid could have.

No Suprise Here...

There is this thing on facebook where you can see what the most popular things at West Point are...books, music, movies etc. I'm not suprised...other than by books. I would like to point out that, while the first couple of books are pretty expected shitty military reads, the last half isn't hat bad...Other than that, there are too many Texans.
West Point
Music
1.DMB
2.Jack Johnson
3.Green Day
4.Coldplay
5.Led Zeppelin
6.OAR
7.Classic Rock
8.Fall Out Boy
9.Red Hot Chili Peppers
10.Weezer

Movies
1.Boondock Saints
2.Gladiator
3.Braveheart
4.Wedding Crashers
5.Fight Club
6.Old School
7.Black Hawk Down
8.Anchorman
9.Shawshank Redemption
10.Top Gun

Television
1.Family Guy
2.Simpsons
3.24
4.The OC
5.South Park
6.Seinfeld
7.Lost
8.Sportscenter
9.The Daily Show
10.Smallville

Books
1.Gates of Fire
2.The Bible
3.The Da Vinci Code
4.Angels and Demons
5.Harry Potter
6.Once an Eagle
7.Catcher in the Rye
8.1984
9.Ender's Game
10.Catch-22

Clubs & Organizations
1.OCF (Officer Christian Fellowship)
2.Army Football
3.Army
4.Sandhurst
5.FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes)
6.KARS(korean American something or other)
7.Spanish Club
8.Glee Club
9.Football
10.Ski Patrol

Hometowns
1.West Point
2.Houston
3.San Antonio
4.El Paso
5.Tampa
6.Chicago
7.Fayetteville
8.Tucson
9.Miami
10.Fairfax

Needs...

I am in PL300, a class I hate, and of the things they tell me is that I have an inherent "need for competence"...I disagree. But, that's not the point. A couple of days ago, I wrote a blog about my father and thinking about him...again. (and Mike, don't worry about the email...a billion things can trigger me thinking about my Dad...that was just one of them that day.) Alex wrote the following comment on my blog:

Every time I look down and see my own feet in worn out Birkenstock clogs I get a little dizzy. I ran into my English teacher, Mr. Raymond, at the grocery store a while ago. He told me his parents died young, and he said it gets worse, not better over time, that each year he wishes more that he could tell them, "Look, I made it." Which sounds grim, but closer to the truth than a lot of things I hear.

I think that said what I've been feeling way better than I could...maybe I do have a need for competence, or just reenforcement. I want to know, not just think that I "made it"...that my dad would be proud of me, but I don't have that. I will always think, no matter what I do, that maybe, just maybe, it's not good enough. And, if anyone of you knew my dad, you would know how absurd that is, as he was the most unconditionally loving person I've known. (Jesus, I remember how many people showed up to his funeral, people who had met him once or twice, friends of mine who wanted to stop by just to tell me how much he meant to them because he had this way of making people feel special and accepted and loved...so to think that anything I could do might disqualify me from that is absurd...but still...)

I want him here to see my ring. I want him here to hug me when I get my diploma...I want him here to be angry I'm failing MS, or to tell me...yeah...you made it.

Immigration and the Press...

I wrote before about the Immigration Law, and I just read another article (thanks for pointing it out Alex). It's one of those times where I thought, "Hell yeah I'm Catholic!" Ha ha, sometimes, the Church acts in ways that are just awesome. Cardinal Mahoney, someone who has his problems (have you ever set foot inside the new Cathedral?) has instructed the preists of his dioscese they are to ignore the law were it to pass. Friggen right! Interestingly, the Republicans are still holding the line that Hillary "does not know the first thing about the bible." Seems Cardinal Mahoney might disagree on that one.

Every breif we have here now, some jack-ass cadet stands up and asks some variant of the question, "Is the media hurting" or "Why don't they tell the good stories?" I shake my head in disgust and about half the cadets nod in agreement and echo with "amen brother!" (OK, that doesn't happen, but it might as well.) I have thought the media is doing a good job, and, if anything, aren't critical enough of the war. There was this interesting interview with a reporter I found online today that really articulated well what I was thinking.

As another blogger put it:

It's ridiculous that anyone in our media is entertaining the notion seriously the charge that they're underreporting all the great stuff that's happening in Iraq. As someone who experienced the civil war in Lebanon, Peter Daou understands that while life goes on in the midst of such things the news it not in fact that "life goes on" - it's that 30 people were beheaded.

Dad...

A friend forwarded me an email that I responded to last night and it was from his father. It was short, just a sentence or two, and simply signed, "Dad". It's wierd...I opened the email this morning and, knowing it was just a forward, my heart kind of sunk.

Last night, driving with a friend and I almost asked, "so, do you still think about your dad a lot?" and then I realized that his dad hadn't died...mine did. I wonder when that kind of stuff stops happening...probably never I guess. I still kind of freak myself out sometimes when I see things like my dad's handwriting flowing from my pen, or his poor jokes coming from my mouth...

Dinner and Madeline Albright...

The E3 Cows went to dinner last night to celebrate Michael C. Ballmann's 20th birthday and hang out with good people. TGIF's was kind enough to seat 25 of us, which took a bit of planning, and overall, we had a good time. I got a little drunk and I'm not sure, but I think my last drink cost twenty dollars...or maybe that was part of my dream.

Yvonne paid for our meal with about 22 credit cards...they were happy about that.

Crazy D (or D-Block) lived up to his nickname cause he's...well...crazy.

Another fine picture ruined by Mikey B's crazy ass faces...

And the end of the night...I love these guys, I really do-

Anyway, onto Madeline...

She wrote an Op-Ed in the LA Times that is quite well written and gives me a lot of hope that at least someone seems to "get it". I wish I had been older when she was Secretary of State, so I could better evaluate her job. I do remember, vaguely, thinking the Rwanda thing didn't go so hot, but that's about all I can remember. Anyway, this is what she had to say:

THE BUSH administration's newly unveiled National Security Strategy might well be subtitled "The Irony of Iran." Three years after the invasion of Iraq and the invention of the phrase "axis of evil," the administration now highlights the threat posed by Iran — whose radical government has been vastly strengthened by the invasion of Iraq. This is more tragedy than strategy, and it reflects the Manichean approach this administration has taken to the world.

It is sometimes convenient, for purposes of rhetorical effect, for national leaders to talk of a globe neatly divided into good and bad. It is quite another, however, to base the policies of the world's most powerful nation upon that fiction. The administration's penchant for painting its perceived adversaries with the same sweeping brush has led to a series of unintended consequences.

The article is great and should be read...so...click...read.

Fair And Balanced...

So when I was passing time durring an inspection, I came across a mediamatters article about Senator Clinton and Fox News. Apparently, there's a bill titled Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act going through the Senate that she's opposed to because of the following language:

assists, encourages, directs, or induces a person to reside in or remain in the United States, or to attempt to reside in or remain in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such person is an alien who lacks lawful authority to reside in or remain in the United States.

Lest one think she's crazy, Cardinal Mahoney specifically spoke out against the bill as well becauase simply offering someone food, if he's an illegal immigrant, would subject someone to a five year penalty. Most Catholic Charities for immigrants would be illegal also. So, Senator Clinton said the bill:

would literally criminalize not only every nondocumented immigrant in our country but every person who helped, assisted, reached out [or] otherwise responded in a humanitarian way to the needs of immigrants.

It is certainly not in keeping with my understanding of the Scripture, because this bill would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself

So, Senator Clinton says a law that makes charity toward illegal immigrants illegal seems un-Christian...how does Fox "News", which we all know is fair and balanced, put it?

Ah ha ha ha, "Hillary: Jesus wants illegal immigrants in America." Wow! I don't even want her to run, but holy hell what a rise it would give me to see her run and win simply because all the nuts hate her so much.

Athiests...

I just stumbled across this article today and it cracked me up...I don't know why, but it did. I finished reading "Freethinkers" a book about the history of athiests, agnostics and...well...freethinkers, in America, from Thomas Jefferson to modern day, and it was inspiring, to say the least. I'm not an athiest, at least, if I were, I'd be about as orthodox an athiest as I am an orthodox christian...but, I do relate to them. Anyway, this was the money quote I think:

The researchers also found acceptance or rejection of atheists is related not only to personal religiosity, but also to one’s exposure to diversity, education and political orientation—with more educated, East and West Coast Americans more accepting of atheists than their Midwestern counterparts.

I'm absolutely convinced that I need to start a school of progressives in the south. Education is the key to conversion and goddamned if I'm gonna let the BYU's and Bob Jone's of the world claim a monopoly on huge areas of the country. Ha ha, whoa...that's gonna come back and haunt me when I run for president never...

Picture and Politics...

I guess I'll follow the order of the title. The first pictures of Spring Break are just now emerging. I warn you, as these come out, that since it was a school trip, most of them will be in uniform...sorry. Anyway, here is my friend Ms. Delva (I like to pronounce it Delba) on the right and her twin sister SGT Delba on the left. I don't know the one on the left, but being around both of them was definately twice the fun. And now...onto politics.

Apparently two new things have surfaced in regards to upcoming elections. First, is Chairman Mehlman's COA for a Republican win in the next election and second is Sen Biden throwing his name in officially for 2008. Neither of these things is much of a suprise and neither gives me a whole lot of hope.

First, the Republican gameplan. No big suprises here. Obviously, they can't cut Bush loose and distance themselves in this election or they wont have any coattails (however short they might currently be) in the Presidential. Much like the '04 elections, they know they can't win a referendum election (it's all explained in the article). So, how do you make it a "choice" election? Somehow distinguish between the Republicans and the Democrats on grounds that have nothing to do with job performance...hmm...let's think, what's the best way to do that?

SEX SEX SEX! Why didn't they think of that before. What else gets voters out other than a little hate against gays and those godless abortionists? Here's the money quote passage:

This spring and summer, Republican leaders in the Senate and House plan to bring up a series of issues that are popular with the Republican base of voters. The aim is to stir conservative voters and spur turnout in the November election. Just last week, House Majority Leader John Boehner and Whip Roy Blunt met with leaders of conservative groups to talk about these issues.

House Republicans, for their part, intend to seek votes on measures such as the Bush-backed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a bill allowing more public expression of religion, another requiring parental consent for women under 18 to get an abortion, legislation to bar all federal courts except the Supreme Court from ruling on the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, a bill to outlaw human cloning, and another that would require doctors to consider fetal pain before performing an abortion.

Awesome...nearly related, actually, is Biden's run for President. He seems like a weak choice...in fact, he doesn't seem like much of a choice at all...more of the same. Maybe I haven't read enough, but from what I have read, I'm unimpressed. According to this article, it seems like he thinks he can beat the Republicans on security, which he can't...

Biden said that the country's ports, railways, nuclear plants and chemical facilities are no safer today than they were before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He said that Bush had heightened the problem by eliminating funding for police officers and firefighters who would be the first line of defense against another attack.

"We have to be able to demonstrate that we are the party capable of providing security, both homeland and foreign, for the United States of America," he said. "Unless we're able to ante up the security chip, the poker game is over."

So, where does that leave us? Another election just like the last, both parties trying to show which can be the dog-gone warringest uprightiest of the two. Maybe it's time one of the parties, or a third party, came up with an alternate route...one in which diplomacy, negotiations and an understanding of the contribution the US makes to global issues and how that can be changed to help fix the issue of terrorism...a candidate who has an energy plan that isn't funded by oil companies, someone who sees our growing trade and education defecits and wants to fix them in some way other than enriching the rich.

You know who I like? (call me crazy) Gore. Yes, I said it, Gore. He's coming into his own and I think his time has come. He's sat out the last six years, not really defeated, but still out, underestimated and torn up by the media...he says what he wants, he's shown he has forsight (see the whole internet thing...which isn't what it was made out to be) and the balls to go up against Bush and the Democratic cronnies who have nothing to offer thus yet. Yes...I like Gore...maybe another Gore Clinton ticket...this time in reverse.

Spring Break '06...

Oh yeah, I was on Spring Break...kind of. I took a little (large?) part of West Point with me on the Glee Club trip down the East Coast. I'm not going to lie; I wasn't too excited about the trip. All things considered though, I not only had a blast, but I learned a lot and met some great people and even made a couple of people I'd consider "friends"...something I don't throw around lightly.

I'm not sure where to start, so I'll try and go chronologically, but, normally when I do that, I forget stuff and the end gets shafted. Anyway, here we go...

I started out staying with a family in DC. The couple were really funny, she was a USC grad and he was a Kentucky grad (I think). She was a pilot and he was a transportation officer and now both work in or for the Pentagon. They have a three year old son who is really funny, but I didn't get to see him much as they dropped him at a neighbors house so they could hang with us. They drank good beer, they cussed and they have a birthday party every year for their son where they invite no children. They do, however, have a margarita machine and have a steel drum band play. Their house was huge and one room was unfurnished. I stayed in the "hotel room" and Mike stayed in the "don't ask/don't tell" or "carribbean" room, depending on who you asked... We performed in the Kennedy Center (not the main stage, so don't get too excited) and the Library of Congress...which was really cool. Afterwords, I drank free wine in a room covered in gold leaf and frescoes. The dome of the Capitol Building was framed in huge windows and the sight was amazing.

From there we went to Virginia where I stayed in my friends room because his parents hosted us. I had a whole day off where I sat out in the sun under a tree and read almost all of East of Eden, which is an amazing book. I wont go into how amazing it is right now because that's an entirely seperate blog, but thank you Alex for getting it for me. You're amazing. I also saw Capote, which I really liked.

From Virginia to the Bible Belt...yes folks, I have seen the things we've only heard and read about. The Baptist Churches down there are as omni-present and important as, say, surf shops in Oceanside. They are both community centers and Churches. The Churches come complete with "music ministry wings" or plaques that read, "this wing furnished to the glory of God by Mr. and Ms. so-and-so" and have architecture and decor reminiscent of hotels. (imagine gold leafed mirrors and marble tables with gaudy gold urns and table lamps in the back of St. P's...it just wouldn't fit) I stayed with an officer on Fort Bragg who will be in charge of me next year, so that was a pleasant suprise. We went to the 82nd Airborne Museum and then to Pebble Beach Golf Course where, since I don't golf, I initiated a couple of freshman into the joys of sushi and bar food.

From there to Greensborogh, NC and a Methodist Church (they all have huge pipe organs, by the way...something that they love out here on the East Coast...I personally miss my hippie hymns of yore) I met some of the oldest old grads ever and stayed with a great couple who graduated in '53 or '54, I can't remember. They made me laugh and I wrote a little som'n on myspace about em earlier.

From there, we went to Florida. Florida is awesome, it's like California, with less traffic and more vegetation. We stayed with my Friend Patty Silvola who quit earlier this year. His family is great and reminded me of my own family, particularly his Grandma.

She is Forrest Gump....no really, she is. Here are some of the things she did:

• She was in Pearl Harbor for the attack
• She was in Lebanon for the Marine Barracks attack
• Her family gave Samoa to the US
• She was "1st Lady" of the Saudi Embassy for years
• She speaks arabic
• She knows the dude who played the Joker in Batman

There is more, but I can't go into it all here. We hung out, four cadets and Pat, for about four or five hours drinking beer and listening to her stories. She kept us all enthralled and I'm going to send her something in the mail...maybe a picture, I don't know yet...either way, she amazed us all.

I hung out with a kid named Mike who is a real good guy. I think I consider him a friend now. He's a military bratt with these crazy eyebrows that go up on the outside of his face kind of like wings and give him a slightly sinister appearance if it weren't for the fact you can tell nearly immediately he's just a genuinely good person. He's political and literate and likes good movies...so you know we got along. I'll post pictures soon...and sorry I've been away...I'm sure you all...both of you...were waiting nervously for my return.

Cryptic...

Sorry, but only one or two people will understand the following...but I felt the need to post it anyhow:

From an Iranian political dissident:

"Why must a guy like me, in the throes of youth, work this hard for a mi nimum of rights? Just so others can speak freely, so that they don't stammer with fear, and they can get their very first rights. Sometimes when I sit alone and think, I ask myself why and for whom it is that I'm making such a sacrifice."

And, from a friend:

It is like standing on the edge of a cliff...and you want to jump, but you're scared, because you don't know if there's water or rocks below.

To that, I say...JUMP!

So Much For Approachable...

Apparently my plan to be "professional yet approachable" isn't working out so hot. Here's what someone wrote about me in our evaluations:

Put away the iron fist every once in a while...

ha ha...oops. Guess I need to smile more. In fact, I've been told (often) that I always look either pissed, angry, sad or upset. I think if you know me, you'd know that's not the case...I think my "neutral" face is just a little more stern than most. Oh well.

I Had a Thought...

and it hurt...ah ha, I kid. Anyway, I was sitting the other night thinking about politics instead of doing work and I had this idea. I was thinking about the future and the upcoming elections and president and whatnot. I thought, wouldn't it be horrendous if the opposite of Reagan happened. What I mean by that is, I'm fairly confident I can say now, after talking with some people who know (such as the highest ranking hostage in the Iranian hostage crisis) that Jimmy Carter did everything he could, and did it correctly, to save the hostages, but, because of timing, Reagan got the credit. What if, after these elections, the Democrats take office.

They're not left with many options...Bush got us into what is, basically, an unwinable war. They would inherit a problem with no solution, but will stuck with the consequences (none of which can be good) of their actions. They will be blamed when (if?) Iraq delves (further) into Civil War and will be seen as "weak on terrorism" even though they didn't cause the problem, nor did they work us into this comfy spot between a rock and a hard place. They will then loose the next elections again and we will be thrust into even more Republican leadership.

In arabic, I would say, "la semah Allah" which is basically the opposite of God Willing.

Free From Bias...

Back when I was a young buck, I was a little unsure of the world and operated under the assumption that law was a black and white thing which Judges were just well versed on. In my mind, I thought that when a judge made a decision, he just pulled out a book, applied the necessary law and that was that. Obviously, that's not the case, as law can be viewed in one way or another, depending upon the judge. Her view of what the law means, what it says, or what particular outcome she wants from the law all color her opinions.

In FAIR v. Rumsfield, the law school case, the law schools pointed to Dale v. Boyscouts as justification for thier argument. While I am nowhere near a legal scholar, it was an interesting argument. Most people who are "pro gay" thought Dale was a poor decision while most who were "anti gay" thought it was great as it gave legal permission to not allow gays into your club. Thus, a law that FAIR supporters probably didn't agree with was their justification for going to court (among other things).

On this website, some law guy wrote the following:

(3) The Court rejected the schools’ claim, relying on Boy Scouts v. Dale (upholding the associational right of the Boy Scouts to exclude a gay scoutmaster), that their freedom of association should allow them to exclude military recruiters. Slip op. at 18-20. There was much irony in the dispute over the meaning of Dale as it applied to this case. Some of the same people who criticized Dale as “anti-gay” six years ago relied heavily on it to make an aggressive claim about associational rights. Of course, the irony went both ways. Some conservatives who hailed Dale as a great victory for freedom six years ago argued for a very narrow interpretation of it.

It seems fairly obvious the more gay rights legislation goes to court that, so long as there's no constitutional basis for considering homosexuality on par with gender, race or religion, the only thing the courts are going to do is continually re-word laws to suit the outcome they want and the laws and understandings will get continually murkier. Unfortunate, to say the least.

name this movie:

Sorry for all the short posts...but I am really busy.

name this movie:
Only people of a certain disposition are sure they're going to be alone for the rest of their lives at age 26, and we were of that disposition.

I'm Kinda Screwed Says Kev-O

I went to dinner on Friday and my friend Kevin was torn between eating something he wanted and getting a fish plate being Lent and all. I had the Jack Daniels Sampler Platter with Jack Daniels Chicken Strips, Ribs and Shrimp along with pot stickers, artichoke dip and three ultimate long island iced teas.

Kevin asked if I was eating meat. I said, with a mouth full of pork, "yes" and he said, "but it's Friday. Oh yeah...you're kinda screwed in that field anyway aren't you?"

I think this post is a test. If you "get the joke", you're "on the ins" and consider yourself a friend. If you don't...meh, I'm sure you'll get it someday, when you're all growsed up.

Those Crazy Catholics...

So apparently the dude who owned Domino's Pizza isn't content with a Catholic Law School. He wants to create an entire Catholic community. I guess in some ways it's the same vision I have...a community of like minded people...but the oppsite mind of people. Anyway, I found it funny that in a community with no porn, condoms, birth control or access to birth control, he plans on having 11,000 homes with a population of about 20,000. Is anyone else confused by that? My friend said, "so...a community of single people and couples with no children...are they all gay?" The article is here.

I Surpised Myself...

Sorry for all the introspection instead of politics, which is, I'm sure, why most of you (all seven of you) read this...but it's snowing and I'm in a mood.

I said something that suprised myself to a friend today...as the words came out of my mouth, I realized that they were both true and incredibly sad.

(are you ready?)

I've gotten to a point in my life where the fact that I'm alone makes the happiest times in my life make me feel the most empty.

Catholic Politics...

I just read this interesting letter signed by about fifty House Democrats explaining how Catholicism plays into their politics. On the one hand, it seems pretty cool that someone is finally stepping up and fighting against the monopoly of faith by the religious right...someone is trying to articulate that it is not a lack of faith that drives liberals to believe as we do, but for many of us, it is precisely because of our faith we feel as strongly as we do that the right is wrong.

On the other hand, the idea that politics and religion have fallen so low as to become this...partisin religious ideas is simply sad. I don't want to see official state letterhead claiming God drives us to do anything, be it something I agree with or not.

On another note...we were discussing ring weekend next year and who we want to come speak. Of course, I'm the only liberal, so it takes all I have to fight against getting the Governator, Bill O'Rielly or Ann Coulter, but there seemed to be some definate interest in getting Barak Obama or (believe it or not) some interest in Representative Murtha. I doubt either will come...but it would be cool. One person commented, "but he's a Democrat" and someone else replied, "Yeah...but he loves America."