GROKING RIBBONS
Any soldier worth his salt doesn't get wrapped up in ribbons and accolades. I learned that long ago, when I saw medals thrown haphazardly in a foot locker. And I took notice when a guy from my husband's armor unit showed up at his new finance unit and tossed my husband's OIF medals on a desk for him. Finance wanted to have a big ceremony for my husband; armor knew the medals were an afterthought. The men who earned the medals, they knew that the pride came in the work they had done, not the bits of ribbons they received for it months later.
Soldiers wear their uniforms with pride, making sure that everything is proper and in its place. But rarely do they care which ribbons they wear. In fact, I was appalled recently to overhear one soldier belittle another for his paltry chest collection, because I had never heard anything so vulgar in my life. I had never before seen anyone point to his hardware as "proof" he was better than someone else. (But this soldier proves himself a douchebag, time and time again.)
Remember when Mr. Miagi said that karate was in your head and your heart, but never in your belt? Real soldiers think the same thing about their ribbons.
And over the past few days, I have read a couple of slams on GEN Petraeus for wearing a chest-load of commendations when he testified before congress. Badger6 is right that the people who write these columns have no idea what they're talking about. It's not like Petraeus can simply decide not to wear parts of his uniform for fear of intimidating the public. Oh gosh, better leave a couple of these stars off my shoulder, lest someone think I'm trying to show off with four of them. I guess two of them will do for today; I'll leave the other two at home.
Badger6 is dismayed that a wine critic somehow got paid to write an opinion column about Petraeus' hardware. Me too. Because it seems obvious that this fella has never even met anyone who has ever been awarded a medal:
In more contemporary times, decorations have suffered a fraught reputation among the rank and file: nice to get but awkward to display if the memories associated with them are of violence, loss and the ineptness of commanders. There have been isolated incidents of Iraq war veterans returning their medals, and, of course, Vietnam War vets were better acquainted with this kind of protest.
Oh yes, the only reason for medals is so you can throw them on the White House lawn. I forgot. Silly me.
Cassandra found another piece griping about Petraeus' uniform. (You really must read her entire post: A Suspension of Contempt.) She says this:
Challenge the good General on his testimony. Challenge him on the facts if you wish. But check the ad hominems at the door. Just because he wears the uniform of the day doesn't give you carte blanche to take cheap potshots at medals that commemorate battles where better men than you will ever be have fought and died for ideals they believed were worth fighting for, even if you do not.
Petraeus doesn't wear those ribbons because he thinks he's better than everyone else. He wears them because they're a part of his uniform. And I bet if you asked him about them, he'd be humble and dismissive.
Go on, critics, ask him which ribbons he got for getting shot in the chest and breaking his pelvis. None.
It took me a couple of years of being in the Army community before I really grokked ribbons. I should've learned the lesson from watching The Karate Kid for the umpteenth time, but it took a while for it to really sink in. It took seeing real heroes brush off praise over the medals they did receive -- heroes like Neil and my husband -- and seeing those precious awards being treated like the hunks of metal that they are for me to truly get it.
I'm not surprised that some wine critic doesn't grok.
1
unfortunately, too many Americans don't grok. At all.
I thought General Pace's actions after leaving the Joint Chiefs explained it best:
http://excaliburrd.com/cs/blogs/excalibur/archive
/2007/10/17/general-pace-retires-remember-
s-his-troops-killed-in-vietnam.aspx
Posted by: airforcewife at April 19, 2008 05:39 AM (mIbWn)
2
It's so funny that you should write about this today. Just the other day, I was going through some items that C had stuffed into a box in the dresser. Inside, I found everything from loose change to a couple of chains that had gotten tangled up and in the mess were some medals and a couple of coins he had gotten from a couple of generals. I fished the coins and medals out and said something like, "Don't you want to keep these in a safer place?" and his response was, "Yeah, do whatever." And to think that I have every award I've ever gotten (not too many)either framed or carefully packed with that acid free paper....lol.
Posted by: Nicole at April 19, 2008 09:04 AM (sBJ2p)
3
Thanks for another great post.
I think there's one other element that you gloss
over a bit as to why soldiers brush aside medals, particularly valorous ones. Most of them really look at it as "just doing my job." I think there's a line of thought in that that says, "How could I have done other than what I did in that situation?" And some also brush them aside because they hate what they had to do that led to receiving it, even though they believe they did the right thing. I have a friend who absolutely refuses to tell me why he won a rather impressive medal--says, "I did a job that had to be done, took out a threat. Period. I will not talk about it."
And then there are the issues of medals that are the equivalent of "good job pushing that paper," which generals have usually collected in great number on their way up the ladder. That is something these "critics" also don't get at all.
I LOVE THAT OL' PUP
Today is our stinker's 3rd birthday.
His birthday kinda snuck up on us this year, so he doesn't get the same treatment he got for his 1st or 2nd. But he is getting steak for dinner. And he loves his birthday present: a stuffed beaver.
INTO MORDOR
This morning we had an appointment with a fertility doctor.
I wanted closure. I wanted reasons. I wanted someone to pore over my charts with me and help me find the definitive a-ha as to why we haven't had a baby yet. And honestly, I wanted a big fat neener-neener "I told you so" that I could say to all the people who told me to just relax and stop stressing. I wanted there to be something wrong with us that we could fix.
But I didn't get that. Instead we got hemming and hawing and maybe you could get pregnant on your own but maybe you couldn't and you got pregnant once before but actually these test results don't look so good, well they're not the worst we've ever seen but they're not great and when are you deploying and for how long and hmmmm and uhhhhh and...OK, fine, you're candidates for fertility treatment.
And I guess the reasons ultimately don't matter so much. After 15 months, the ends justify the means, and whatever means it takes us to get a baby is fine by me. But I really wanted answers. Because as of now, we're still living with the same amount of uncertainty that we've dealt with for the past year. If there's nothing absolutely, definitively wrong with us that can get fixed, just some low numbers here and some less-than-optimal conditions there, then we just blew it. We had an 85% chance of getting pregnant this year and we blew it. That sucks.
And even though we're getting an extra dose of Science to help us on our way, it's just going to be more finger crossing and hoping for the best.
So my husband's leg of the journey ends here, but I must soldier on. Like Frodo with the ring, I will continue to carry the burden while my husband goes off to fight the battles of men (this analogy is totally working for me.)
And I'm ticked because we're right where I absolutely didn't want to be. We did everything we were supposed to do, and raised all sorts of concerns along the way. I took all my charts to the doctor last August and begged someone to listen to me. After the miscarriage, we pleaded with someone to hear our case. And now, now that my husband leaves for Iraq in less than a month, now they decide to help us. Now that the last 15 months have been one big fat waste of time.
And I can't help but be annoyed that if someone had just listened to me last year, our journey could've been more like this:
At any rate, we are where we are now and we have to make the most of it. At first the prospect of multiple babies freaked me out, but now I've gotten really used to the idea and I think I really want twins. Give me all the babies I am ever going to have in one fell swoop so I can be done with this horrible procreation process once and for all. Sorry, Mark Steyn, but I just don't have the stomach for it.
But it's funny; if we do end up having a baby, we will have Mark Steyn to thank for it. America Alone is the only thing that's kept me going. I asked my husband the other day what happens if we go through this entire stupid process and then only end up with one baby, do we go through it again? And he sputtered, "But...but...one child? But...Mark Steyn..." Ha, that book really messed with our heads.
So it's America Alone and now Sarah Alone, headed into Mordor with a burden that grows heavier with every step.
Posted by: Guard Wife at April 18, 2008 10:02 AM (cYEXP)
2
I can't imagine your frustration. I felt something similar when I had knee surgery; I was hoping the orthopedist would find something, anything that was truly wrong, so that it could finally be fixed.
He didn't find anything, either.
As little as you know me, I'm here for you.
Posted by: Green at April 18, 2008 10:19 AM (6Co0L)
3
Okay, I'm going to make it sound like Steel Magnolias here in the comments... but I'm here for you if you need anything, too.
Posted by: airforcewife at April 18, 2008 10:28 AM (mIbWn)
4
Frodo wasn't alone and you aren't, either. You're just... MOSTLY alone. (movie reference: Princess Bride, and I hope it made you smile).
You know I haven't been through what you're going through... but when have I ever let that stop me from handing out advice!? I have found out in my life that things are almost never the way we want them to be. Even with careful planning. We have a vision of the way it SHOULD be, and we base our reactions to what IS based on that vision. Then when things go awry, the disappointment and desire for what we wanted can overshadow what we actually have.
I'm an atheist and I cannot say that I believe that "everything happens for a reason" or "God has a plan." What I can say is that in every situation you face, you have the opportunity to learn and grow and become a better person, wife, and friend. And if you become a mother, you will be a stronger one through what you are experiencing now. I look back over the last few years and as overwhelmed as I am by the stress and loss and hurt, I can say without a doubt that I would not be the person I am today without those trials. Holy hell do they suck... but they made me who I am.
You will come through this. You really are not alone, although you do not have the support that you hoped to have during this time. Funny you compare to Frodo, because I'm currently reading the LOTR series yet again (I usually do once a year). For some reason that story helps me find hope and strength and helps me to keep putting one foot in front of the other, despite all odds.
It's not ideal, it really really sucks, but you can do it. And you have a whole host of people cheering you on during your journey, even if we don't always know exactly what to say.
You can do this.
Posted by: Sis B at April 18, 2008 10:55 AM (0ZS+T)
5
I am here as well, trust your gut and instincts, you will soon learn to rely on them as a Mother...
always trust yourself.
Posted by: awtm at April 18, 2008 12:26 PM (xa7ES)
6
All of us out in the great WWW wish we were seeing baby pics from you today, but we're not. Right now what I wish for you is HOPE. I can understand if you have lost it, but now there is another plan and I hope it works.
And BTW, have I ever mentioned I am a twin, an identical? My point on that is, nothing wrong with multiples.
Cheers, looking forward to hearing good news from you.
(I feel like signing myself granny ruth.)
Posted by: Ruth H at April 18, 2008 01:15 PM (w9ltj)
7
My best friend used fertility treatments (in vitro)after many months of trying to get pregnant. They finally discovered that she had a bad case of endometriosis with no symptoms. Anyway, she and her husband now has the cutest twin boys you've ever seen. They're 2 and she's crazy busy but happy.
Posted by: Nicole at April 18, 2008 02:55 PM (sBJ2p)
Posted by: Nicole at April 18, 2008 02:56 PM (sBJ2p)
9
Well I'll make sure I cross America Alone off my reading list, we are currently faced with that exact dilemma you mentioned. We went through it all and have only one child to show for it.
I wish you could have gotten more answers, and I wish you lots of luck as you begin this process. Mordor indeed.
Posted by: dutchgirl at April 19, 2008 08:45 AM (+usWx)
10
You start treatments on the same day he deploys? Girl you are an amazingly strong woman. I'll keep you in my prayers.
Posted by: Tonya at April 22, 2008 07:47 AM (KV0YP)
OUR FLAG
What is this, f-ed up art day? First these wacko artists and now another one. Apparently some girl put a bunch of American flags on the floor for people to walk on, as art. Several people are talking about it, but I really like what Kat had to say. Please go read her whole post.
As for the provost who called the flag "just a piece of cloth"...
Typing that hurts my heart.
You know, I've lived in a couple of countries and I've met people from all over the world. And most of the ones I've met, they don't give a flying fig about their flag. Some of them were downright ashamed of their national identity and wanted no part of flags. When a friend and I found a shop in the Netherlands that sold flag patches from all different countries, we bought respective flags for all our exchange student friends. Some took those patches gingerly from our hands, half smiling and half wondering why on earth we would've bought them such a weird gift.
But my flag, it is not just a piece of cloth.
You know what the coolest part of that Aftermath program was? The end, where they said that once all traces of man are wiped from the face of the earth, when nothing is left to show we were here, there will still be an American flag on the moon.
I spent about ten minutes just now trying to find a story I'd heard once. I finally found it: The Mike Christian Story. And as I finished reading the story, I got a jolt when I realized it had been told by John McCain.
And it's times like this when I feel sad that we're relieved that some people didn't walk on a flag on the ground, when other people risked beatings and death in order to salute the flag.
1
You know what strikes me? Is that the same people who do things like that, get incensed over people who don't abide by political correctness. Very strange...
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at April 17, 2008 02:16 PM (U2RJu)
2
I was practically a pariah at my American Legion post because I did not support the "protect the flag" amendment.
I don't salute the flag for what it is. I salute for what it stands for.
I didn't serve in the military to protect the flag. I served to protect everything it stands for.
Yes, in it's base form it is just a piece of cloth. I don't worship the symbol, but I dearly love the meaning behind it.
And I hate that the meaning includes allowing bozos desecrate that piece of cloth, not because of what it is, but because they don't understand nor honor what it truly means. At the same time, it makes me proud that our freedoms extend even to those who go to that extreme. Again, they don't realize just how inclusive our culture is, and how strong that makes us.
3
Ted, I agree with you. In fact, I find this "just a piece of cloth" comment worse than burning the flag. If you burn it, at least you think it *means* something. If it's just cloth to you, it's nothing. I'd rather someone burn it than pretend it doesn't matter.
Posted by: Sarah at April 17, 2008 04:21 PM (TWet1)
4
If that spoiled brat had ever had to WORK for her freedoms, or fight for freedoms that she could not exercise (like active duty military and freedom of speech), the flag would not be "just a piece of cloth" to her.
Americans are spoiled indeed - and people like her illustrate that most.
Posted by: airforcewife at April 17, 2008 05:08 PM (mIbWn)
5
The flag that was folded into a triangle and given to my brother and I when our father passed away is not merely a piece of cloth. It is a treasured possession with so much meaning to us.
Our flag is such a powerful symbol to many people. Some see freedom. Some see safety. Some see tyranny.
I don't think she was trying to debase it with this project. It seems like she's taken a lot of crap for it.
Posted by: Mare at April 18, 2008 05:08 AM (EI19G)
6
Mare -- I don't necessarily blame the artist, though I do use the word "art" loosely for this project; it sounds like more of a sociology experiment than art. But the people associated with protecting the project, they sure did say some dumb things.
Posted by: Sarah at April 18, 2008 07:46 AM (TWet1)
7
The things that were said surrounding the project were more despicable than the project itself, I agree.
I kinda see where this young, naive and thoroughly shallow girl was headed. Just because you CAN do something to try and prove a point (or not) doesn't mean you should.
As in, I would could say, "I bet if I laid American flags on the floor of the atrium in my law school, almost no one would step on them because many were raised to see flags on the ground as wrong and improper and to walk on it would be disrespectful." It doesn't mean I'd do it or feel the need to. And, if I did, I certainly wouldn't call it 'art.' MONET is art. REMBRANDT is art.
Guard Wife's definition of art: I am not an artist...therefore, if I can do what you're doing...it ain't art!
Thank God for that veteran who stood, once again, for what the flag stands for, even if he was the only one standing in the gap. Had I been there, there would have been two of us.
Posted by: Guard Wife at April 18, 2008 12:55 PM (BslEQ)
8
It's what they call 'performance art' or what I call 'being to frickin' lazy to learn real technique and create something that takes actual time'
Art is subjective. Unfortunately we live in a world that does not value it as others have in history. To make a living at it you have to make a name for yourself by pulling stunts like this.
While I don't agree that the piece has value, I do believe in the artist's right to free speech. I just wish that she had had something more important to say to have received this sort of national attention.
And isn't it a shame that in this country the art that's pro-war or pro-troop is ignored, or worse, no one even bothers to create it. I've personally designed a few sculptures that I know would cause riots ala that Mohammed cartoon.
Posted by: Mare at April 24, 2008 05:24 AM (EI19G)
GOOD NEWS
Wow. After the Dem debate last night, a bunch of Democrat focus groupers talked about why they'd consider voting for John McCain. Check out the video.
I am putting my fingers together like Monty Burns and saying, "Exxxcellent."
1
A couple of weeks ago a very liberal, and dear, friend of mine told me she guessed she was just going to have to vote for McCain cause Hillary and Obama just weren't right to be president! I tried to act to NOT SHOCKED.
Posted by: Ruth H at April 17, 2008 06:56 AM (4u82p)
TOO MUCH ON HIS PLATE
My husband is on block leave right now, using his vacation days before he deploys. Three guesses as to where he is right now. Yep, he's at work, just like he was yesterday and just like he will be tomorrow. But in civilian clothes, cuz he's on vacation. Whoopity doo. Then he gets to come home, take an economics final, and work on a group project.
You know your life is particularly stressful when the pep talk you give is, "The next few weeks are going to be insane, but you just have to make it through them. And then you leave." When deployment is the light at the end of the tunnel, you have too much on your plate.
1
Poor Husband. And Poor Sarah, who is missing out on some extra time with him pre-deployment.
But know what? I do thank God in my prayers for people like your husband that do what needs to be done; even if it means giving up time off right before deployment. It also makes me feel more irritated that the cluster-you-know-what that could be solved if the right people where doing what they were supposed to be doing... But c'est la armie...
Please give him a back pat from me, and some kind of rotgut liquor. I don't know enough about rotgut liquor to make a suggestion, but the thought is there!
Posted by: airforcewife at April 17, 2008 07:59 AM (mIbWn)
2
Sounds like my household at the moment. Deployment isn't at the end of the tunnel, but the work hours are atrocious because of upcoming inspections. He basically comes home to sleep a few hours, then go back to work.
Posted by: Green at April 17, 2008 09:33 AM (6Co0L)
IN STRANGE COMPANY
Ha, Mare thought to do a little googling, and she found that we don't know the only Hitler cat. There's a whole website of 'em: Cats That Look Like Hitler. I'm gonna get permission to add our kitteh to the bunch.
1
Actually my roomate told me about it. She told me Tabby cats, like your inlaws, always have a little black patch on their lip if they are female. I just thought Kitler was hilarious.
Posted by: Mare at April 17, 2008 04:43 AM (EI19G)
2
I never noticed a black lip on my female tabbies... then again, they were black and grey tabbies...
Posted by: Green at April 17, 2008 09:23 AM (6Co0L)
OH MY GOD
This "art project" is just beyond anything my brain can comprehend:
Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.
That's art?
The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body.
...
But Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for “shock value.”
“I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” Shvarts said. “Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it’s not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone.”
What could you possibly think your art project is going to inspire me to talk about, besides the fact that you horrify me as a human being? Do you think people will go to the exhibit and say, "Huh, I had no idea there was so much blood during an abortion. Thanks to this display, I feel educated on the subject." You're unbelievably stupid if you don't think the only thing people will feel is shock and revulsion.
Look, even people who think that there might be some times when the morning-after pill or an abortion is the right choice for a woman, that time is certainly not whenever you feel like pumping yourself full of sperm and videotaping your miscarriage for a passing grade in art class.
And because these days I have a hard time seeing anything without my own lens of reproductive woes, this just appalls me on levels I can't even describe.
What in the hell is wrong with "artists" these days? Doesn't anyone just paint anymore?
UPDATE:
Here's another completely awful "art" exhibit. This time, a dog is chained up Tantalus-style, just out of reach of food. And left to starve to death. It's art!
1
Wow...that is just on a whole 'nother plain of thought...weird. I also had the same sentiment a last week when I read about the art exhibit in Vienna portraying religious scenes in really sexual ways. This was a money quote: “I don't see any blasphemy here," Boehler said, speaking of the crucifixion scene where a Roman soldier beats Christ and holds his genitals. "People can imagine what they want to."
And this:
The exhibit’s most disputed work, “Leonardo's Last Supper, restored by Pier Paolo Pasolini,” displayed the apostles sexually abusing each other. Hrdlicka said he presented the apostles in that manner because there are no women in the Leonardo da Vinci painting which inspired it.
I am not religious...but I understand the definition of blasphemy...and if that isn't blasphemy, I don't know what is...
People who do things for shock value, and then try to pretend afterwards that it isn't that shocking are just off their rockers...
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at April 17, 2008 04:25 AM (U2RJu)
2
As an Artist (and a human being) this offends me in so many ways that I'm almost speechless. WTF?
Posted by: Mare at April 17, 2008 04:45 AM (EI19G)
Posted by: Nicole at April 17, 2008 01:21 PM (sBJ2p)
7
What this clearly says to me is that she is most definately not an artist. She WANTS to be an artist but lacks the talent and vision to be one so she is doing the most ridiculous thing she can think of to attract attention to herself. She's an attention whore and that's about it.
Posted by: sharona at April 17, 2008 02:11 PM (BeRta)
8
I can't even comment on the dog story. That truly is the most horrific animal abuse story I've ever heard. (And I hope I never hear anything worse.)
But the miscarriage story? That just pisses me off. Stories like that always lead me back to the question, Who the hell is in charge of handing out the fertility cards?
Posted by: Erin at April 17, 2008 05:06 PM (y67l2)
LENDING A HAND
I read yesterday at CG that a blogger I've never read before, Dispatches from Blogblivion, has fallen on hard times. I noticed his wife has an Etsy shop, so I went and bought a cute crochet pattern. If anyone is so inclined to get a crochet pattern in exchange for a little charity, her Etsy shop is here. Looks like I will be crocheting little birdies at some point in the future.
Posted by: Sarah at
03:45 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 78 words, total size 1 kb.
CHARLIE HEARTS KITTEHS
These LOL Cats are hilarious (via Mare). I crack up at this kind of stuff, but I'm easily amused. A simple "teh" can make me want to wet my pants.
Anyway, Charlie loves cats. Loves them. His first cat experience was with my in-laws' cat when he was young, and their cat thinks he's a dog. Seriously. He goes on walks and stuff. And he wrestles with Charlie. They scrap and fight and roll around. Unfortunately, Charlie now thinks this is how all cats are supposed to act. He's since scared the bejesus out of numerous cats because he wants to play with them and most kittehs are not into that sort of thing.
But he got to play with his favorite cat all last week, which was so fun to watch. Sadly, it's not so easy to photograph. But here they are, face to face, right before the cat reaches out and punches Charlie in the face.
Also, I forgot to mention that this cat is hilarious for another reason. The jokes write themselves because he has a dark patch of fur right under his nose. Beware of Hitler Cat.
Charlie doesn't seem so scared. Maybe he thinks his blond hair and blue eyes will endear him to Hitler Cat.
BAGHDAD – Spotting irregularities is a tactic that is drilled into the minds of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers throughout training and in practice while in Iraq. Soldiers recently watched as a car pulled up to an entry control point at Forward Operating Base Callahan in northern Baghdad. They continued to watch as a woman stepped out of the car holding a bag. Once the woman dropped the bag near the gate, internal alarms were ringing and a careful search was called for and conducted.
That search yielded a newborn baby wrapped tightly in several cloths. Soldiers raced to the bag, retrieved the child and brought him to the aid station to be examined. “We unwrapped it to make sure he was alive – and he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t dead, he wasn’t injured,” said Staff Sgt. Paul Briscoe, the Aid Station NCOIC at FOB Callahan. “He was a perfectly healthy baby. I’m guessing three to seven days old. He was in perfect health. There wasn’t a scratch on him.”
And what's to happen to the little bouncing boy? That's the best part of the story:
The baby is to be adopted by the brother of a local national, who works at the base. The brother and his wife have been married five years and have been unable to have a baby of their own. The interpreters at FOB Callahan have taken a collection to donate to the family to help care for the baby.
A happy ending for everyone. Plus I like thinking about manly soldiers in Iraq changing diapers and cooing over a newborn.
Heh, that reminds me of the time we went to visit some friends who had just had a new baby girl. While we were there, our friend was telling my husband about the new pistol he'd bought. He brought it out to show my husband, and oh how I wish I had a picture of my husband holding a newborn baby girl under one arm and aiming a Glock with the other.
CENSUS BALONEY
We had our mail held while we were on leave, and it just got delivered today. Some interesting pieces in there. First of all, via the university my husband is about to graduate from, there's a letter urging him to consider joining the Army. Heh.
Secondly, our 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal. Wanna know the choices for race?
Mexican, Mexican Am, Chicano
Puerto Rican
Cuban
Other Hispanic, write in Argentinean, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Spaniard
American Indian or Alaska Native (print name of tribe)
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander, write in Fijian or Tongan
Other Asian, write in Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian
Oh yeah, and White or Black.
Christ on a cracker, where to begin? These are not races; these are national identities! We're really going to let Asians self-identify as Japanese, Korean, or Laotian but white Europeans can go f themselves? Oh, and remember, Arabs are considered "white." So we'll lump Swedes, Sicilians, Bulgarians, and Arabs all together, but heaven forbid we don't know whether you're Fijian or Tongan living in the US.
This makes me so mad I can't even see straight.
Who cares about any of this? You know what prevents us from moving from the color of one's skin to the content of his character? This bullcrap. I have the audacity of hope that one day we won't have to check stupid effing boxes like this, that one day we'll just all be called Americans.
Is that too much to ask? Really? Because otherwise I want a write-in tally for German-Irish-English-Native-American-American.
1
I thought the same thing when I got the census today. Where's the "other" category?
Posted by: Green at April 15, 2008 05:12 PM (6Co0L)
2
So now you're on Rachel Lucas' blogroll. Congratulations!
Posted by: Oda Mae at April 16, 2008 01:54 AM (6zvrq)
3
This has bothered me FOREVER...
I remember having a discussion with a Frenchman (he was not carrying a white flag.)
Explaining am German, English, French, Lakota...
DH is Austrian, Irish, German, Scottish....
the Collective...the mind boggles...
The Frenchman thought it was disgusting...
Posted by: AWTM at April 16, 2008 04:49 AM (xa7ES)
4
I am (where to begin!) from my genealogy work:
Swiss, German, Dutch, Belgium, More German, More Swiss, Spanish, Brazilian (Dutch East Indies era
), French Hugenot, English, Scotch Irish, Scottish, Irish, more German, Mexican or Spanish, more German, Irish, etc and so on and so on. I'm sure I've left some out. It is ridiculous, Heinz 57 as they used to say. Do you know how many ancestors there are when you really do them? My ancestors were here in 1648 and 1748 and 1848 when I can trace them to the shores. What do I check? I, too am looking for strictly American, or other.
Posted by: Ruth H at April 16, 2008 06:45 AM (FAgoX)
5
Out of four grandparents, two were directly off the boat from Europe. The other two were first generation Americans. They were all extremely proud of not just their heritage but the fact that they made themselves part of this country's culture. They'd be insulted that I don't get to check the "American" box, or not having one of those, the "European American" box.
Posted by: Ann M. at April 16, 2008 07:10 AM (HFUBt)
6
When I joined the British army in 1940, I was interviewed by a sergeant who, while taking down all the relevant particulars, asked, "What is your race?"
Well, nowadays, I would say "white" or "Caucasian," but at the time, that wouldn't have occurred to me. In England, we never spoke about race. I knew what the Germans meant by it, however. So I asked the sergeant whether I should put "Jewish" in that category.
"Nah," he dismissed. "That's your religion, and we've already got that on another line."
At that point, I was completely mystified. "What, then," I asked, "am I supposed to put?"
"As far as the British army is concerned," he replied, "there are four races: English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish. You are clearly English."
So, I went to war with documents that said that I was British by nationality, English by race and Jewish by religion.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1204546415778&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Posted by: David Boxenhorn at April 16, 2008 09:48 AM (SEEcB)
7
I guess I'd really be screwed. I know I am an American and will gladly check that box, when if ever offered, but for now what do I do?
Black AMERICAN father - German National mother - born on German soil in German hospital. Gone are the days of check what you look like. PC crap!
Where is Archie Bunker when you need him?
Posted by: Vonn at April 24, 2008 07:05 AM (gNLi0)
BOOO
Today is tax day, the craptastic-est day of the year. Well, OK, it wasn't tax day for us; we filed months ago because we were owed a ton of money that the gov withheld from my husband's retention bonus.
Anyway, today is the day for Boortz to shine. Read here.
Posted by: Sarah at
06:33 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 52 words, total size 1 kb.
WOAH
This is just...well, awful. It's one of those stories that on the surface sounds funny if it weren't so damned serious and sad.
'World peace' hitcher is murdered: An Italian woman artist who was hitch-hiking to the Middle East dressed as a bride to promote world peace has been found murdered in Turkey.
The artist's sister says it all:
"Her travels were for an artistic performance and to give a message of peace and of trust, but not everyone deserves trust."
HI
I've decided that whoever came up with the expression "misery loves company" has never truly been miserable. Real misery feels worse when you hear someone else is going through it.
I got to go check my email at the local public library while we were on vacation. I found out that two other bloggers had miscarriages this week.
I cried quietly the whole way home from the library.
I do not want to share that misery with other people.
We're home now. I've got some stuff to share, but I'm too exhausted from the 18-hour drive to do it now.
But I did have a laugh the first night we were gone when I heard that Hillary's story of the girl who couldn't raise $100 for a prenatal visit, the story I wrote about when she was campaigning here in town, was baloney.
1
Oh thank God! I missed you way too much - I clicked over here so many times just to check it bordered on stalking behavior.
But I did manage to control myself a bit, as I didn't start hounding you or anything. But only because you had to spend some time with the husband.
Posted by: airforcewife at April 14, 2008 01:34 PM (mIbWn)
2
Although I have never experienced that misery, I do remember going through the motions to try to conceive and they can be brutal, for those you know through the blogsphere that lost their little ones this week, my heart goes out to them, that heartbreak, I can only fathom in my worst nightmares......
On the lighter note, it's good to see you back, get some rest....
3
I have experienced a miscarriage and well, the misery is simply unbearable. The real misery though? Those people who just don't understand how miserable you are.
Hang in there.
Posted by: Tonya at April 15, 2008 09:29 AM (KV0YP)
RANDOM REALIZATION
My husband deploys in about a month and I haven't given it any thought at all. In fact, it just now kind of hit me. We've been so wrapped up in trying to have a baby that we haven't had time to think about any other emotions. We haven't even talked about his leaving.
And all of a sudden, I am sad. I am really going to miss him while he's gone.
I went and read the things I missed about him last time he was gone. Ha, they're all still true. Mostly this time, I will miss his company. Last time, I had many good friends whose husbands were deployed with mine, but now...well, I don't have any friends here in town. All of my friends are internet-based, and when the husband won't be coming home at the end of the day, I fear time is going to drag.
But anyway, enough about that. My husband is signing out on block leave today, so tomorrow we're headed across the country to visit his parents before he deploys. And while everything is up to date in most of the city, they haven't gone as fer as they can go at his parents' house. My in-laws don't have internet access, so I will be taking a week off of blogging. Don't have too much fun without me...
Posted by: Ann M. at April 05, 2008 07:08 AM (HFUBt)
2
I am thinking that I may need to come see you once your husband deploys so you can teach me to knit, I can take Charlie for walks, and we can work our way through some of your awesome cookbook collection. We could make some meals to put in your freezer for later, if nothing else.
But, I SERIOUSLY need to learn to knit.
Or, you could come here & teach me AND GBear to knit as we live so close. LOL
Have fun @ the in-laws!!
Posted by: Guard Wife at April 05, 2008 09:24 AM (BslEQ)
Posted by: Butterfly Wife at April 05, 2008 09:43 AM (K0acE)
4
Hey! I'm here in town too! We just have to drag our friendship off the internet for lunch or something when you get back. You can teach me how to knit
Posted by: Green at April 05, 2008 11:44 AM (6Co0L)
5
It's funny how our love and desire grows so strong for our spouses with each deployment. Civilians will never understand the strength and committment that develops.
Look forward to his return and making your bond that much stronger.
Posted by: Vonn at April 15, 2008 07:00 AM (5ZDPj)
I wonder whether Democrats ever indulge the suspicion that "world opinion" may be bunk? Let's contrast, for example, the popularity of Israel (19 percent positive, 52 percent negative) and North Korea (23 percent positive, 44 percent negative).
You can imagine the juxtaposition she sets up between Israel and North Korea. Why do we care if Europeans don't like us; if they nestle us in betwee China and North Korea, they're the ones with problems, not us.
1
This story honestly makes me wish I would have grown up during my grandmother's generation...although, at 92, my grandmother is still alive. Good grief...the wierdness (and that's the best word I can come up with) of this world is out of control.
Posted by: Nicole at April 03, 2008 09:39 PM (YHVU/)
2
Apparently I can't spell...*weirdness* (if it's actually a word)
Posted by: Nicole at April 03, 2008 09:44 PM (YHVU/)
3
Everything I've heard on this story is doublespeak.
The pregnant person has, and was born with, all the female equipment needed to get pregnant. This person is NOT a male, just wanted to be. But the PC world keeps referring to her as a man. I find it very disgusting that they are even playing it up.
Posted by: Ruth H at April 04, 2008 03:54 AM (wWMQq)
4
IÂ’m with Ruth H. This freak isnÂ’t a man.
Let me get this straight, she wants to be a man but was born a woman so she is in the process of changing her sex. But sheÂ’s so convinced she should be a man that she felt the need to give birth to a child. Yes, how manly of her.
I feel for the child. How screwed up with that kid be?
Posted by: tim at April 04, 2008 04:14 AM (nno0f)
5
Ugh, this made me so mad. I try to be open minded about things, but either you are male or female. I don't see how you can feel that you should have been born male, take all these steps to become one, and yet say "leave the uterus! I might need it one day!" Basically what this is, is a pregnant woman in man-drag. So why is that news?
Posted by: Ann M. at April 04, 2008 08:25 AM (HFUBt)
Posted by: Green at April 04, 2008 08:49 AM (6Co0L)
7
Wow... I'm a little flabbergasted by some of the comments, but I recognize every one's feelings are valid.
However some education might be in order, for those that are curious/interested.
My opinion first: I think anyone who truly wants children and can have children and do go ahead and have children, well there's worse scenarios I can think of. Anytime a child is wanted, that's a positive thing in my view. Regardless of whether the person identifies as male or female.
Some background info...
Gender ambiguity occurs in 1 out of 20,000 babies.
I recommend reading Middlesex to better understand transgender/ambiguous gender or AIS experience.
Many people are born with certain combinations/levels of X and Y chromosomes that determines whether they clearly have a penis or a vagina.
Some people are born with different levels so their sex is ambiguous(not clear) which can result in having the genitals of one sex but they have the emotions and hormones of another sex - which tends to show up in puberty. Some have characteristics of both males and females.
Doctors often assign a sex early when gender is ambiguous or a baby has characteristics of both genders. But when this happens, sometimes the assigned sex isn't the one the baby later identifies with. This is why you sometimes see the phrase "trapped in a man's body or a woman's body etc"... they are literally stuck with the gender assignment that was given at birth. This isn't liberal-speak, it's medically, scientifically a reality for many people. These people are not freaks or "confused" either, they're human beings. They don't deserve better than pity or scorn.
Another good source of information: http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Gender/intersexuals/intersexuality_faq.htm
Posted by: Crys at April 04, 2008 12:24 PM (dqGUK)
8
::flushes red::
I mean... "they deserve better than pity or scorn."
Major typo on my part, my apologies.
Posted by: Crys at April 04, 2008 12:47 PM (dqGUK)
FREE PLAY
AirForceWife wrote the following recently:
A few weeks ago I read an article that summarized a study about kid play. The results of the study were ASTOUNDING. The gist of it was this:
For the last fifteen years or so, parents have been directing children's play more and more in an effort to help them learn earlier and more easily. Action figures are no longer generic, but so specific they can't even be kept in the same vinyl storage case. Rather than "free play" where kids interact together with a minimum of adult involvement, adults are now fully involved and moving their spawn from place to place and activity to activity without giving the kid a chance to just play.
And a lot of kids don't know how to "just play" anymore.
The results of the study showed that in trying to help our kids this way, we were actually stunting the evolutionary adaptions that kids self-teach themselves to problem solve and interact in society. These learned behaviors are the basis for everything else a kid learns. In effect, we are giving our kids learning disabilities by trying to give them learning advantages.
I am no longer teaching knitting classes, but I am still working at Michaels when they have in-store events. And my favorite thing to do is watch parents interact with their kids when they bring them in for the kid-geared free events.
One example was the day sponsored by Crayola where the kids got to try out these fancy new markers and paper. So the craft was to make a door hanger, you know, like a Keep Out sign. And it was fascinating how many parents didn't like the way their kid was coloring or what he was doing and literally took the markers from his hands and made the hanger for him.
Yeah, little kids color like crap. The door hanger will not have their name and a fancy drawing of a cat if the kid is 3 years old. But if he just wants to take one marker of every color and draw a mess of squiggles, why not? It doesn't hurt anything, and it sure doesn't teach the kid any skills when you take the marker away from him and do the craft yourself.
At the play-doh section, I saw one parent tell her kid his thing was ugly. And she was right, it was ugly. But dang. She made him re-do it.
I think this is related to the idea of "free play." One thing that I have learned from watching all this parent-child interaction is that I will have to remind myself someday to let my kid put whatever he wants on his door hanger. And not do it for him. No matter how ugly it is.
1
#3 made me a necklace of beads (she used my expensive ones) for my birthday.
It's hideous. But I wore it anyway. And smiled.
She and The Boy made it behind my back when they thought I wasn't paying attention. Cleaning up the beads they left behind made it kind of obvious what was going on, but it was so funny and sweet that they were trying!
I think a lot of the parent problem with directing kids making door hangers has to do with the fact that they are around other people and conditioned to the thought that we all have to have little prodigies. If they did these things at home more often, the kids might have more chance to express themselves without being directed.
Or, maybe they should just give their sons mohawks and teach them to yell, "Gernomino!", which makes the kid stand out sufficiently enough to make them a little less subject to the whole group dynamic pressure.
Or maybe I just scare people.
Posted by: airforcewife at April 03, 2008 11:40 AM (mIbWn)
2
From door hangers to school projects. My kids definitely turn in their own work, even though it is hard for me to step back sometimes and not say a word. I sure don't want to have to go to college with them because they can't do things themselves!
When my oldest was little and in Gymboree, she was 2 and she and her little friend were the only ones that weren't in freaking golf lessons! The other Dad was a golf pro too, but he didn't see the point in it and neither did I. Oh well, so I am not raising a Tiger Woods, but my kids certainly don't lack in creativity!
One thing I will definitely do as a teacher is to nurture the spirit. I see too many kids during my observation hours that are beat down and told horrible thingsat home and then always think the things that they do are not good enough and want to give up.
Maybe...hopefully...I am determined to make a difference.
Pretty soon Gunner's hooch will be decorated in early childhood scribble and I know he will love all of them.
3
This reminds me of that chain email that was purportedly from Paul Harvey (but was a hoax, but I still liked the message): We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. http://cluestick.info/hoax/Paul_Harvey_Riddle.htm
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at April 03, 2008 01:43 PM (U2RJu)
4
I always thought that when you're a parent, everything your kid makes is a work of art. Not so?
Posted by: Green at April 03, 2008 02:09 PM (6Co0L)
5
My SIL is like this. The kids play all these sports and never have time to do things on their own. It's sad. And she's always making fun of the projects they do in school. I don't see the point of that. Allowing them to suck at stuff gives them the skills and practice they need to get better.
Posted by: Ann M. at April 03, 2008 03:25 PM (HFUBt)
6
I think too many parents obsess about credentials and "skills," while ignoring *metaskills*...or what used to be called "character."
It doesn't matter how good your grades are, or how many extracurriculars you were in...once you get out into the world, if you can't take initiative and make decisions for yourself...if you can't bounce back from a disappointment...it's unlikely that you're going to be very successful.
Posted by: david foster at April 03, 2008 05:15 PM (ke+yX)
7
Moderation is the key. Let them do stuff on their own and every once in a while stick your nose in and teach them how to do it a little better.
I don't know if I was any good at it when my kids were small. You'd have to ask them now that they're grown up. I was too tired to hover (hovering is a hell of a lot of work). LOL. They did much playing on their own.
I will never forget one of the mothers I knew who was a "hoverer". She would listen at the door of her daughter's room to see if everyone was getting along. I asked her what she was doing... when she told me I said - leave them be, they can work out their own problems. She said "but if there's a fight I want to settle it fairly". I said, "Oh hell no, if they fight and come to me to settle it - everyone is in trouble... that makes them work at it harder next time." I believe she thought I was insane. LOL.
Posted by: Teresa at April 03, 2008 05:17 PM (rVIv9)
8
It is hard to let your kids do it themselves. My husband is way better at this and has helped me. Even with the everyday stuff. As soon as the girls could walk, he had them walk as much as possible. Get out of the car, they walk to the door. Go to the grocery store - once we are inside, walk down the isles with us. It made things slower and sometimes it would have been easier to pick them up and go. But now they are both excellent walkers!!!!
A HEARTY THANKS
Oda Mae emailed me to say that someone mentioned me on a Rachel Lucas post about people's favorite bloggers. So I just spent ten minutes reading through all the comments looking for my name, cuz I'm a douche like that.
Anyway, thanks to MargeinMI, whose moniker I recognize from years of readership, for mentioning me, especially in the same breath as names like Lileks and Steyn. It was such a compliment.
And she shaved four years off my age, so there's that compliment too!
1
Wow! I got a thrill there Sarah! You ROCK and so does Rachel. I hope she checks in here now that 'Rupert' is being deployed. I think she would get a lot of comfort from your POV.
I remember when I first started reading you and you were so thrilled at getting an email from Stephen Den Beste. (I miss him!) Now I know just how you felt! Too Cool.
)
Posted by: MargeinMI at April 04, 2008 02:22 AM (rmiFZ)
125kb generated in CPU 0.1503, elapsed 0.2671 seconds.
64 queries taking 0.2467 seconds, 311 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
Search Thingy
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living. --The Count of Monte Cristo--
While our troops go out to defend our country, it is incumbent upon us to make the country worth defending. --Deskmerc--
Contrary to what you've just seen, war is neither glamorous nor fun. There are no winners, only losers. There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, WWII, and the Star Wars Trilogy. --Bart Simpson--
If you want to be a peacemaker, you've gotta learn to kick ass. --Sheriff of East Houston, Superman II--
Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind. --Jed Babbin--
Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. --President John F. Kennedy--
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. --General Patton--
We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over. --Full Metal Jacket--
Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed. --Dick Cheney--
The Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. --Col Steven Arrington--
The purpose of diplomacy isn't to make us feel good about Eurocentric diplomatic skills, and having countries from the axis of chocolate tie our shoelaces together does nothing to advance our infantry. --Sir George--
I just don't care about the criticism I receive every day, because I know the cause I defend is right. --Oriol--
It's days like this when we're reminded that freedom isn't free. --Chaplain Jacob--
Bumper stickers aren't going to accomplish some of the missions this country is going to face. --David Smith--
The success of multilateralism is measured not merely by following a process, but by achieving results. --President Bush--
Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life.
--John Galt--
First, go buy a six pack and swig it all down. Then, watch Ace Ventura. And after that, buy a Hard Rock Cafe shirt and come talk to me. You really need to lighten up, man.
--Sminklemeyer--
You've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting --General Curtis Lemay--
If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained -- we must fight! --Patrick Henry--
America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American. --President George W. Bush--
are usually just cheerleading sessions, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing but a soothing reduction in blood pressure brought about by the narcotic high of being agreed with. --Bill Whittle
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stuart Mill--
We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other. --General George Marshall--
We can continue to try and clean up the gutters all over the world and spend all of our resources looking at just the dirty spots and trying to make them clean. Or we can lift our eyes up and look into the skies and move forward in an evolutionary way.
--Buzz Aldrin--
America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.
--Dinesh D'Souza--
Recent anti-Israel protests remind us again of our era's peculiar alliance: the most violent, intolerant, militantly religious movement in modern times has the peace movement on its side. --James Lileks--
As a wise man once said: we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Unless the price is too high, the burden too great, the hardship too hard, the friend acts disproportionately, and the foe fights back. In which case, we need a timetable.
--James Lileks--
I am not willing to kill a man so that he will agree with my faith, but I am prepared to kill a man so that he cannot force my compatriots to submit to his.
--Froggy--
You can say what you want about President Bush; but the truth is that he can take a punch. The man has taken a swift kick in the crotch for breakfast every day for 6 years and he keeps getting up with a smile in his heart and a sense of swift determination to see the job through to the best of his abilties.
--Varifrank--
In a perfect world, We'd live in peace and love and harmony with each oither and the world, but then, in a perfect world, Yoko would have taken the bullet.
--SarahBellum--
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. --Ronald Reagan--
America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for. It will probably be interesting, and it is sure to be large. --E.M. Forster--
Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse. --Mark Twain--
The Enlightenment was followed by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, which touched every European state, sparked vicious guerrilla conflicts across the Continent and killed millions. Then, things really turned ugly after the invention of soccer. --Iowahawk--
Every time I meet an Iraqi Army Soldier or Policeman that I haven't met before, I shake his hand and thank him for his service. Many times I am thanked for being here and helping his country. I always tell them that free people help each other and that those that truly value freedom help those seeking it no matter the cost. --Jack Army--
Right, left - the terms are useless nowadays anyway. There are statists, and there are individualists. There are pessimists, and optimists. There are people who look backwards and trust in the West, and those who look forward and trust in The World. Those are the continuums that seem to matter the most right now. --Lileks--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
--Winston Churchill--
A man or a nation is not placed upon this earth to do merely what is pleasant and what is profitable. It is often called upon to carry out what is both unpleasant and unprofitable, but if it is obviously right it is mere shirking not to undertake it. --Arthur Conan Doyle--
A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the existing of better men than himself. --John Stuart Mill--
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." --Dave Grossman--
At heart I’m a cowboy; my attitude is if they’re not going to stand up and fight for what they believe in then they can go pound sand. --Bill Whittle--
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. --Alexander Tyler--
By that time a village half-wit could see what generations of professors had pretended not to notice. --Atlas Shrugged--
I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and everything seemed so shitty. And he'd say, "That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too." --Alabama Worley--
So Bush is history, and we have a new president who promises to heal the planet, and yet the jihadists don’t seem to have got the Obama message that there are no enemies, just friends we haven’t yet held talks without preconditions with.
--Mark Steyn--
"I had started alone in this journey called life, people started
gathering up on the way, and the caravan got bigger everyday." --Urdu couplet
The book and the sword are the two things that control the world. We either gonna control them through knowledge and influence their minds, or we gonna bring the sword and take their heads off. --RZA--
It's a daily game of public Frogger, hopping frantically to avoid being crushed under the weight of your own narcissism, banality, and plain old stupidity. --Mary Katharine Ham--
There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms
of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. --James Madison--
It is in the heat of emotion that good people must remember to stand on principle. --Larry Elder--
Please show this to the president and ask him to remember the wishes of the forgotten man, that is, the one who dared to vote against him. We expect to be tramped on but we do wish the stepping would be a little less hard. --from a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt--
The world economy depends every day on some engineer, farmer, architect, radiator shop owner, truck driver or plumber getting up at 5AM, going to work, toiling hard, and producing real wealth so that an array of bureaucrats, regulators, and redistributors can manage the proper allotment of much of the natural largess produced. --VDH--
Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves. --Marcelene Cox--