Articles Worth Reading

Jonas Goldberg has what I consider to be an excellent article about the current controversy surrounding Bill Cosby. You know the one I mean, Cosby gave a speech on May 17, at a Washington, D.C. event celebrating the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education. Cosby rips into parents for their lack of parenting their children.

Cosby has endured an onslaught of criticism since he dared lay blame at the parents feet that their kids are neglected. Cosby directed his comments at black parents and blacks don't like it. It was apparently a little secret that wasn't supposed to be let out. I'll tell you another secret: white parents are just as guilty. I work in a juvenile prison. We have both black and white juveniles in custody. Are all these parents neglecting their kids? Not at all. There are all kinds of reasons, but lack of parenting, for whatever reason is a big part of it.

On a somehow related note, in my mind anyway, Neal Boortz discusses the Dumbing Down of America in this article.

Both are must=read articles.

No WMD'S?

I've read several stories now telling that the US has removed 2 tons of radioactive material from Iraq. Material that could have been used to create dirty bombs. Here's a story from Military.com. I found the link at Freedom of Thought. And this one at Yahoo.com. And this from a Google news search.

Several of the Google articles note that the US didn't have UN approval to move the material. If we had waited for UN approval, it would have been years before it came. After all, it was only after twelve years of UN resolutions that the US decided that the time had come for Saddam to go. The UN has outlived an usefulness it ever had. It's time to disband it.

GMAB!

The Two Johns

I haven't been paying much attention lately to the Kerry campaign since it became the Kerry-Edwards love fest. Good Grief! Found this link at Knowledge is Power.

I really didn't plan to go there, but it was just too good not to.

Internet Woes

I haven't had much opportunity to blog this week. It's tough when you have two computers but only one with an Internet connection. I still don't know or understand the problem and it's not really important that I do. I check in and do a few things in the morning before I leave for work, but it leaves no time for blogging unless I get up really early. Yeah, I could write on my own computer and upload from a floppy, but, I prefer writing on the fly. I know, it sometimes looks as if my posts were written by a fly, but we'll both have to live with it.

I have more computer time on the weekends. Dale doesn't get to bed until the wee hours and then sleeps until sometime in the afternoon. That's when I get the most computer time for myself - Saturday and Sunday.

He's been talking lately about going wireless. Something I suggested before we started drilling through walls and splicing cable wires. He didn't think it was a good idea then, but it seems to be more appealing now. So, when we have some extra money, maybe I can push him over the last hurdle and go wireless.

Election Projection

I found a link to a site that tracks the electoral votes for each candidate. It looks to be updated weekly, maybe more often. The link is here and on the right-hand sidebar.

Ooops!

Looks like more than a few (me included) were taken in by the New York Post's blunder. I was rather surprised that Gephardt was the reported choice. I kind of thought it would be Edwards. Should have listened to my gut instinct.

Edwards brings something to the mix that Kerry can't: personality. Not to mention that Edwards is good looking, intelligent, and closer to a "man of the people" than Kerry could ever expect to be. Not to say that Edwards is a "man of the people" but he is more so than Kerry. Being a southerner doesn't hurt, but it won't necessarily help, either.

Geez Louise, I can remember the days when we didn't know before the convention who the candidate would be. I remember staying up as late as I could, waiting for the final tally. Most of the time, I couldn't stay up that late. I was just a kid, after all. Then, we'd be waiting with baited breath wondering who the VP would be. Of course, it was really interesting if there both parties were nominating candidates - an incumbent not being in the running. It was an interesting time.

For me, some of the fun has been taken out of the campaign because we already know who the challenging candidates will be. Oh, well. Times, they are a changing.

Wictory Wednesday!

It's that time again, the time when you have a chance to donate your time or actual money (of the folding variety or that old favorite, a check) to the Bush/Cheney campaign. If you think that we need four more years of Republican leadership, please take a moment to show your support.

Volunteer here or donate here.

I can't say enough about how important it is to re-elect the President. I don't agree with everything Bush and Cheney have done, but I know I don't want Kerry in the White House. Do you?

Show Me the Votes

Michelle Malkin is reporting that Kerry has picked Dick Gephardt of Missouri to make the run for the White House.

My guess is that Gephardt was chosen because he is from Missouri, the Heartland of America. He'll bring that down-home, just folks touch that Kerry so obviously lacks. Kerry, wearing work boots and jeans, claims that he understands what the average American feels and how they think. Well, this average American would like to know how anyone with his bank account can possibly relate to me and people like me. Most average Americans struggle everyday and work paycheck to paycheck hoping that the car won't need new brakes or little Johnnie or Susie won't need braces. We hope that the car insurance or the property taxes won't go up and that our next raise won't put us into the next higher tax bracket so that even with a raise, we're taking home less money. Don't laugh, it's happened to me.

As a boy, John Kerry says he spent summers on a farm. He rode a tractor and learned his first cuss word on a John Deere. Isn't that impressive? I wonder if he mucked out a barn or got sweaty and dirty bringing in the crops. Did he slop the pigs or feed the chickens or milk the cows? My dad did all that and more. Dad also spent summers on farms. His grandparents and aunts and uncles on both sides had farms. His parents had a cow and chickens at home. I sincerely doubt that John Kerry ever got up before dawn to milk the cow before breakfast and school. I have doubts that he ever worked the farm. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I ever did either. I never milked a cow, brought in crops, and the only time I ever rode a tractor was as a little girl when my Dad sat me on his lap and let me drive it.

There is no way John Kerry can understand what it's like to be an Average American. It would be like me saying I understand what it's like to be a sharecropper in Alabama. I have no idea whether Gephardt bring in the votes, but he is from Missouri, the Show Me state.

But, can he show Kerry the votes?

God Bless the USA

In keeping with the theme of the day, here are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs. I lifted...err...borrowed them from
Right-Wing and Right Minded.

"If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,
From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there’s pride in every American heart,
and it’s time to stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A."

Happy Birthday America!

I'd love to write a really top-notch essay on the 4th of July, but I just don't have the talent to write what I want. So, instead I'll write what I feel.

I am so proud to be an American. I'm proud of the American way of life. I get choked up every time I see the flag and hear patriotic music. I get high on Americana and the American way of life. Do I like everything about America? No, life in America isn't perfect. But, I happen to believe that it's better than anywhere else on Earth.

We have personal freedoms that other countries don't grant their citizens. But with those rights we also have duties and responsibilities. First and foremost, we have to be informed about what our politicians are doing in Washington and our state capitals. If we are not informed, we can't be responsible voters. I believe that we also have the responsibility to present ourselves to the rest of the world in a manner befitting an American citizen. In my opinion that does not include saying things against our country or our leadership, especially in another country. The right to do so may be woven into our very being, but I think it's bad manners at the very least. I also think it's bad manners to come to this country, become successful (or not), and then say and do things that are harmful to America. There are times that if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all.

Do I believe in government censorship? Not in the least, but I do believe in personal censorship. I believe American citizens have the right to say pretty much whatever they want to say (you shouldn't shout "fire!" in a crowed theater for example). I also believe that not everything needs to be said. I believe that if I say or do something that other people do not like, I may have to suffer the consequences. A writer may not get more book deals, a movie producer or actor may lose ticket sales. I may have the right of free speech, but other Americans have the right to retaliate.

Liberty and Freedom come with a price. It began when the Founding Fathers signed our Declaration of Independence. Those men knew when they put their signatures on that parchment that they might forfeit their very lives for what they believed in. The price of freedom continued during the Revolutionary War when Americans died for the right to be a free nation. Americans continued to die during the War of 1812, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War I, and finally, the current war, the war on Terrorism. I thank each and every veteran for the time they gave to my freedom. I thank the families of those lost in wartime for the sacrifice made on my behalf.

A few of our rights:

We have the right to free speech. We have the right to say (or write) what we want about our government, good or bad. We have the right to make movies and write books that slam the government without reprisal from the government.

We have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It's stated in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed by the Constitution. Let's make sure that generations to come enjoy these same rights and liberties that we enjoy today.

We have the right to religious freedom. We can worship however we want. Or not worship at all. It's a fundamental right of an American.

We have the right to bear arms. I may not want to own a gun, but don't tell me can't have one, or five, or twenty if I want. Along with this right comes a responsibility to know how to use the weapon and to keep it safe from those who don't know how to use it properly.

We have the right to engage in free enterprise and make as much money as we can. It's called capitalism and it's a good thing. We also have the right to live off the government and accept welfare. We have the right to make foolish life decisions, to not get an education, and then be qualified only for minimum wages jobs, have children we can't afford to feed, clothe, and educate, live beyond our means, and then blame everyone else for our lot in life.

And finally, we have the right do and say stupid, ignorant, mean and hateful things. We have the right to speak out against the government whenever we please. We have the right to give concerts in other countries and say that the president is not our president. We have the right to say things against our country and to make movies that purport to be truthful, but are in fact, full of lies and deceit with only a grain of truth. And we have the right to win awards, and make bucketfulls of money doing it.

God Bless America!