Author: sailorj

Most people who join the military at 18 aren’t really thinking about Patriotism and all of those issues. At towards the end of the book, “The Cain Mutiny”, by Herman Wouk, he suggests that people select military service, just as a person selects any other way of life to make money, except, there are no great rewards for military service. You’ll never be rich from serving your country. It is just the fact that we have people at the ready during times of peace, so that when there is times of war, a trained and ready military can do something about it.

“See, while I was studying law ‘n’ old Keefer here was writing his play for the Theater Guild, and Willie here was on the playing fields of Prinshton, all that time these birds we call regulars – these stuffy, stupid Prussians, in the Navy and the Army were manning guns. Course they weren’t doing it to save my mom from Hitler, they were doing it for the dough, like everybody else does what they do… Old Yellowstain, for dough, was standing guard on this fat dumb and happy country of ours… Of course, we figured in those days only fools go into armed service. Bad pay, no millionaire future, and your can’t call your mind or body your own.”

It is no different today than it was in WWII. Buy his book today!

I just went to a Concert at the House of Blues, here in Orlando, FL. And while this may seem to be an innocuous entry, yet when you think about it, you may agree that times are a-changing.

They packed us into the house of blues to see Sister Hazel. It was a decent concert, however two things really got to me about the overall “concert experience,” at least at this venue. First of all, people have become extremely rude. I don’t know if I’m just getting older, or if my observation is correct. I do believe though that with people bring cell phones and all sorts of different devises with them to these concerts, that it is way out of hand. But not only that, people just don’t shut up when the concert begins. It was like someone turned on the radio, so everyone started talking louder. The sound guy at the back of the room didn’t even turn up the sound, so much of the vocals were drown out by the conversations and mindless chatter in the room.

OK, so I couldn’t hear very well, but HOB doesn’t provide chairs at their concerts, its standing room only. I suppose that’s ok, but people crowd you out there. You think you have space and you don’t. The more people that move in, the more they push forward and squeeze you out. I thought that I was legally marriage in 14 states after that experience. HOB could provide quite a few more chairs. It would make it so much more enjoyable, but what can you do.

My whole point is that people are not as awed by seeing concerts as they once were. It’s just a club and the music is a secondary event. Maybe a “bigger name” would make a difference, but I’m not so sure.

Welcome to 2005

Do you feel that you’ve wiped the slate year and are ready to start fresh, or are you still reeling from the fates that have befell us through out 2004? I sit here at my iBook pondering the possibilities for 2005 and know that there are many good things that are yet to come.

I think that it is healthy to be a little cynical. After all, without that dose of cynicism, how else could we objectively look at all the possibilities. And how could we become easily talked out of taking the risks in life with the help of a Cynic?

It’ll never work. Pessimism, the life blood of many a good cynic, but not the only attribute that a cynic needs.

So should I look forward or should I look backwards? Looking back, I see that 2004 was the year of Disasters. What will 2005 be? Maybe this will be the year of the Constitution, and a return to the values of Freedom and Liberty at home.

My hope for 2005 is:

• That we learn that Liberty and Security are two separate and exclusive things.
• That we work towards reduction of this nation’s debt.
• That we work as hard on humanitarian efforts the world over, as strong as we do on our war on terrorism.
• The pendulum swings back towards the middle.

Peace for 2005

You know, I’m driving around town lately, and suddenly I find myself behind some SUV that is bigger than anything driving around Iraq, to only see that it is a billboard for every ribbon that there is a cause for. I guess, when you see something like a person who as one of those special blue star flags, or gold star flags, you really know that has special meaning. (A blue star means that a son or daughter is in the war zone, and a Gold one means that they died in war.)

But we are faced with that sort of strange patriotism that is pervasive in this era of American culture. It seems that more and more we are banded together by war and fear rather than love of country and honor. Supposedly recruiting in the Army is down, and the Navy is drawing down its numbers, and they tell us that we need to be ready to fight the terrorists where ever they are hidding.

But getting back to the magnets. I think that there is a point when these things lose there meaning, and become just an eye sore. First it’s yellow ribbons, then it’s US Flag ribbons, then Black POW ribbons, then Pink breast cancer ones. I know what you’re saying, it raises awareness and money. But when they sell them at Wal-Mart or 7-11, I just don’t know if you can directly say that the cash is making to the troops, or their families.

I don’t think that the little bracelet phenom is much different. First Lance Armstrong comes out with his yellow cancer awareness bands, then everyone else seems to jump on the band wagon.

What it seems to me, is that many people are just wanting to be part of the “Cool Factor.” Look at me, i’m wearing a band or I’ve got a sticker on my car. This is supposed to put you on the “in” crowd. I teased some Republican folks because John Kerry was wearing a yellow band during his candidacy, and I told them they were wearing John Kerry 4 President arm bands.

I guess, in the end, I’m for solidarity, and I’m for patriotism, but I believe if you’re doing it for the “Cool Factor” then YOUR WRONG.

We are the music-makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams.

World-losers and world-forsakers,

Upon whom the pale moon gleams;

Yet we are the movers and shakers,

Of the world forever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties

We build up the world’s great cities,

And out of a fabulous story

We fashion an empire’s glory:

One man with a dream, at pleasure,

Shall go forth and conquer a crown;

And three with a new song’s measure

Can trample an empire down.

We, in the ages lying

In the buried past of the earth,

Built Nineveh with our sighing,

And Babel itself with our mirth;

And o’erthrew them with prophesying

To the old of the new world’s worth;

For each age is a dream that is dying,

Or one that is coming to birth.

Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy

I would say that I am an advocate of Civil Rights. That is to say that I support the Bill of Rights, and those principles that make up our American way of life. I suppose that the big question is how we deal with people who are not American Citizens. Be it that we won’t know the citizenship of the average joe walking down the street, it would make sense to treat everyone the same, according to our Laws and Customs. But can we differentiate between citizendry and foreign nationals? I’m not sure that we have a caveat that says, these laws only apply to those who are US Citizens. I would tend to believe that it isn’t our way… at least it hasn’t been our way for over 200 years. Even in the face of countries that we have been at war with, we have not relinquished our hold of civil rights for both ourselves and those from far away lands.

Once again, I say that we need to protect ourselves from those who would do us harm. The enemy is not within, and the more we look inward, the less chance we have of protecting ourself from the enemies out there.

It is from the a line in this “non” rythming poem…

Everyday!

30 Jan 1998

There is a funny thing that happens everyday,

It’s the thing I know, and it happens everyway.

I look around and look at my life,

I know that things can’t go on.

Things that are going on need to change,

I want to be who I am,

the person who I need to be.

I’m ready to figure out who I need to be.

Put in the effort,

Put forth the energy,

Walk that straight line to infinity!

Just to recap a few posts ago…

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

If you have had the pleasure to travel by air over the Thanksgiving weekend, then I applaud you on your willingness to undergo the most difficult adventure of the modern era… Domestic Air Travel. Recently people have been subjected to the most intrusive searches of their persons that has ever been done in the history of air travel.

While I’m not one to argue that air travel must be safe. I say look at the 4th Amendment… unreasonable search and seizures… What part does our government not understand.

I believe that the 9/11 attacks that this government wants to remind us of daily was purpitrated by mostly Saudi Arabian Citizens… aka foreign nationals… or non-US Citizens. It would be REASONABLE to search people who match the same M.O. (Modus Operandi), and it would be fair.

If we are catching Drug Smugglers and other criminals through this highly tighten net of security, maybe we have done so at a real cost, and that is the weakening of our Constitution. Using Anti-Terrorism dollars to support other law enforcement efforts would be good, if that was the purpose of the airport screening process. But we know that it isn’t the case. They are there for one singular purpose, and that is to make sure another 9/11 never happens again.

Searching my 59 year old mother will not make airplanes more safer.

Skipping the other 19 Middle Eastern Men that boarded the plane because we’ve exceeded our quota of inspections won’t make our planes safer either.

I’m confused where my rights under the 4th Amendment as a US Citizen ceased, when non US Citizens seem to be able to take advantage of our laws, when they don’t even pay (or believe) into the system that protects them.

Maybe it is profiling, but I can’t imagine needing to pat down a 55 year old woman who clearly can be observed not carrying anything, especially after they’ve emptied their pockets and been through the metal detector.

If we keep spending our time searching the common folk, we will miss the real terrorists.

If you aren’t upset on this Thanksgiving after traveling through our nation’s airports, then maybe you should be. How can we “Americans” honestly be asked to believe that they are really looking for terrorist. While we allow the real potential terrorists to pass through security, we will be patting down grandma, and your son or daughter, because for some reason everyone in America is a suspect when it comes to terrorism.

For those of you who haven’t got it, this war on Terrorism is the world against Al Qaida. But we’re not concentrating on the individuals who are members of these organizations. Rather we have made things more difficult for American’s while ignoring the fact that if you want to stop terrorist, you have to profile.

Justice may have to be blind, but that doesn’t mean that the police need to be. I’m confused what law states that visitors to the US are supposed to be afforded the same rights as citizens. Maybe we should have a separate code for visitors to the US. Obviously there are countries that should have a more “favored” status, such as the UK. But we must protect our country from enemies both foreign and domestic.

There has to be a happy medium between what the ACLU says helps to maintain the Bill of Rights, while being able to protect America.

Honestly, we need to target the same type people who did the 9/11 attacks.

This is a war between Western Civilization vs Muslim Extremists. Until we acknowledge this, we can’t win. Let’s face it, what other culture in the world is using suicide and marytdom as a positive aspect of their society.