Let's Play Pretend

Let’s just play pretend for a short minute.  Let’s say that there is a company out there named Company A.  It is a good company.  It has a long history of success and it is highly respected in the industry.  It’s had its bumps and bruises over the years, like any company.  But it has survived, thrived, and become a great place to work.  

Now, things got a little rocky with Company A a few years ago.  There was a lot of discontentment in the company about how things were run.  It seemed like some people wanted the company to get more progressive and some others thought the company should stick to what made it so successful. (There were many more underlying issues, too, but you could boil down the overall problem to that big difference.) When the last CEO was going to step down, this all came to a head.  The two camps clashed over who the new CEO should be.  One camp thought that the CEO should come from within, like it almost always had - ironically it was the group that was advocating more change that wanted to hire the more traditional choice.  The other camp thought that Company A needed to go outside to get a CEO with fresh ideas that was not colored by the company’s biases and history. In the end, the company chose the outsider as the CEO.  The decision left the company very split and created aftershocks that were very troubling to the workers and other companies in the industry.

So the new CEO took over and immediately started shaking things up, as he said he would.  He fired a lot of the middle management and filled those positions with people he knew, as he said he would. He overturned some of the policies that were in place, as he said he would.  He didn’t connect so well with a lot of the workers, which wasn’t surprising since he came from a completely different background.  As you would expect, a lot of the people at the company were not happy with things. They didn’t want this CEO in the first place.  But this is how business goes.

Then things started to get a little weird…

The CEO started to do some things that - completely independent of what he thought about the future of Company A - were very disturbing.  There was another company next door to this company - we will call it Company M.  They were in the same industry, but nowhere near competitors.  The CEO got angry because Company M next door didn’t have as nice of landscaping and so a bunch of the squirrels from their property kept getting across the property line.  The CEO demanded that Company M build a giant fence between the two companies so the squirrels couldn’t cross over.  The facts that these squirrels could climb the fence, dig under the fence, run around the fence, find places where the fence was broken, or catch a ride with people going from Company A to Company M made no difference. Neither did the fact that the second company had absolutely no plan to build the fence anyway.  

The CEO wasn’t content to just act combative with the company next door.  There was another company on the other side of town that was run by the halfwit son of the former owner, who also wasn’t too bright.  We will call this Company Nutso.  They fancied themselves as a competitor of Company A.  To anyone observing this posturing by Company Nutso, the entire proposition was sheer lunacy.  Company A was the best widget maker in the whole city. What Company Nutso made was barely considered widgets at all.  Rather they looked like something a group of preschoolers would create when given the materials to make a widget.  They would be thrown together, covered with clumps of glue and sparkles.  Flames would be drawn on them with crayons.  The R would always be written backwards.  But Company Nutso kept insisting they were amazing at widget making.  Company A’s CEO didn’t leave these ridiculous comments alone.  Instead, he kept wildly freaking out and would tweet out comments on the company twitter account taking shots at Company Nutso.  He kept threatening them and insulting them.  However the CEO didn’t consider the fact that, while Company Nutso was atrocious at making widgets, it was simply fantastic at raising fire ants. They had enormous fire ant hills all over their property.  These ants would obey every command and could worm themselves into everything. And they would frequently unleash these fire ants onto other companies’ properties - just to cause mischief and mayhem.  Even though it seemed like a bad choice, playing with fire ants, the CEO just couldn’t stop himself.  

His refusal to work well with other CEOs and companies within the industry was quite disturbing. During the annual convention for major companies in the widget industry, the CEO did everything he could to irritate all of the other CEOs.  He said that he would not continue to work together with Company E and Company F on their joint widget improvement projects.  He insulted just about every other CEO.  He skipped out on meetings he was committed to and even was seen pushing another CEO out of the way in a group photo.  Most baffling, though, was his bizarre interactions with Company Red’s CEO.  They seemed to hit it off very well, to the point that some speculated Company A’s CEO would rather be working for Company Red.  The worst example of this related to the WidgetMAX.  Company A had created WidgetMAX in conjunction with Company E and Company F.  They were planning to roll out WidgetMAX in thirty days and everyone was working very hard to make sure there were no problems with the launch.  But the CEO told Company Red all about WidgetMAX as well as several journalists that were at the conference … and some waiters, valet drivers, maids, and even a traveling minstrel.  In fact, the only people he didn’t talk to about WidgetMAX were the CEOs of Company E and Company F.  By the end of the conference, most of the other companies were considering severing ties with Company A.

But this wasn’t all.  The CEO seemed to completely lose his sense of reason when he got angry.  A perfect example of this was when he started attacking the local high school’s football team because he didn’t like the way they walked into the stadium - a stadium built by generous donations from Company A. He railed against the players in meetings and flew off the handle because he didn’t think they were being respectful with their entrances. He cursed about several of the players and insisted they should be cut by the team.  This had absolutely no bearing on how Company A actually ran, mind you, but the CEO just couldn’t bear the slight.  He didn’t limit his outrage to the football team. He also got into a fight with the local high school’s basketball team.  They were a little hesitant to come to Company A’s factory for their annual tour and career day, due to the well-documented friction within the company. The CEO once again used the company’s twitter account and publicly withdrew the invitation from the team.  He also would use the same twitter account to make random verbal assaults on people that worked at the company, that lived in the town, that worked at other companies.  He demanded that people who didn’t even work for Company A should fire employees or shut down their own companies because they didn’t agree with him.  He kept tweeting out violent cartoons and comments about the person that he defeated in the CEO vote. Anyone who questioned the CEO's behavior, decisions, fashion sense, or dessert options would immediately be besieged by an onslaught of insults and threats -- more often than not on the company twitter account.

As long as the CEO was doing a good job running Company A, it could all be justified.  At least that was what a lot of workers were saying.  But he wasn’t even taking care of Company A.  He frequently bailed on important planning and strategy meetings to play golf.  Even though Company A was cash-strapped and in great debt to several banks, the CEO kept taking expensive trips using Company A’s resources.  He frequently made comments about Company A that were not even true. He routinely attacked the publication team that put out the monthly newsletter, saying that they were lying about what was going on in the company.  There was a group of employees from the mailroom who had taken to creating an unofficial newsletter during their lunch break. They would write it on paper towels from the employee bathroom and stick copies up around the building with tape and used gum.  The CEO began referencing these paper towels as the real company newsletter and even transferred some of the mail clerks to run the publication department.  At one end of the major production facilities for Company A, there was a large hydroelectric dam that generated power for the entire complex.  There had been several problems caused by the dam.  Leaks had sprung, flooding some ares of the complex.  It shut down productivity for that entire sector for months, costing workers their jobs.  In response, the CEO threw a picnic for the workers in that sector and thanked them all for coming.  He then bragged about how many workers showed up and then mumbled something about the allure of a really good potato salad, took a selfie, and went to the bowling alley. Several of the engineers who built and maintained the dam came to the CEO with concerns that the dam was possibly unsafe.  It was older and needed some upkeep.  It also was overworked and would benefit from some alterations to the energy use policies in the company.  The CEO refused to listen to the engineers and fired them. He replaced them with some guys who liked model trains and used to dress up as engineers who didn’t believe in the fact that dams could fail.  He got rid of the employee training team and hired someone to head up training that had spent her career to that point as the owner of a bookstore.  He even sided with a group of workers who wanted to publicly fire and banish anyone who had green eyes.  And to top it all off, he hired his children to serve as CFO, CIO, and COO - even though their experience to that point had been shopping for clothes, watching television, and caddying at the golf range.

Now, at this point in our pretend story, don’t you think that the company should possibly rethink its decision to bring on this particular CEO.  We haven’t even gotten into how he ran the company. The policies he enacted within the company seems irrelevant, truthfully.  All of the hostility that led to his hiring wouldn't even be involved in this decision.  The employees from both side of the divide should take a second and look at how things are going and at least ask if this is the person to be in charge. Instead of defending these increasingly ludicrous behaviors, instead of trying to justify everything this CEO did, employees who really care about Company A should take a pause and seriously perform a quality control check, right? How is this a beneficial direction for the company?  How far will the CEO go?  At what point do the workers do something?  I don’t care if a group of workers felt that this CEO candidate was more concerned with their welfare at the outset and even agreed with some of the measures taken within the company. There still should be some part of all of this that makes THAT group go, “You know?  This CEO is a little unhinged.  Maybe this isn’t the best dude to be in charge of my life and livelihood.”  It becomes about much more than the internal mechanisms of the company at that point.  This CEO is ruining the reputation of Company A.  He is destroying everything that Company A has stood for over the years.  The question isn’t if he is causing damage; it is how much damage he is going to cause before he quits, gets fired, or finishes his contract.  What state will Company A be in by the time that happens?  Right?  

"The president is the CEO of the country.” 

Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations

May 14, 2017

Memorial Day

I went back through my blog and was shocked - SHOCKED - to see that I had never actually written a Memorial Day post.  I could have sworn I had.  I know when I worked at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace I wrote a yearly article about the day.  But somehow I have not done a Memorial Day blog post.  Time to remedy that oversight....

This weekend is the official opening of summer, according to most people.  It is a three day weekend filled with cookouts and beach trips and car races.  School is winding down or finished for most students in Florida.  Big movies are invading the multiplex.  So it is easy to forget the point of this weekend.  In America, we have three national holidays to recognize those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom: Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veteran's Day.  We also have two unofficial holidays that bring the same reflection - September 11 and December 7 - and several smaller days like Armed Forces Day and Flag Day.  You would think that our country would just be filled to the gills with appreciation for the military and other service groups.

But, somehow, it isn't that way.  In recent years there has been a resurgence in these feelings of thanks - largely due to 9/11 and the military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It wasn't too long ago, though, when it felt like Veteran's Day and Memorial Day just slipped by with nary a mention of what the point was.  It also was easy when the country went through a long stretch of time without a major military conflict.  It was normal to have a President with military service.  Anyone remember how damaging it was to Dan Quayle when he was labeled a "draft dodger?"  And that was one of the points against Bill Clinton, too, when he first ran.  Now, though, it is more uncommon to have a veteran running for President.  None of the major candidates over the last few elections, with the exception of Wesley Clark and John McCain, had military experience.  Well, John Kerry did, but that somehow came across as a bad thing due to what happened with it.  Obama, Bush, either Clinton, Romney, Palin, Huckabee, Gore, Edwards, Guiliani.  None of them were of a military background.  I'm not criticizing this - just stating facts.  Most of the military actions - Kosovo, Somalia, Panama, First Gulf War - were smaller in scope and not seen with the same eyes as the larger wars in the past.

I have always been more sensitive to this, having a father who was one of those who served.  He was a Marine and veteran of the Korean War.  He earned a Purple Heart for being wounded in battle.  He is buried in a Veteran's Cemetery in Vermont.  I have spoken of this several times in this blog.  This military service is one of the things I am the most proud of about my father - it always was.  I learned to appreciate the sacrifice he made.  It was easy to remember, since I saw it every day of his life.  He lost the top joint of each of the fingers of his right hand to the frostbite that set it after a bullet struck him.  He had scars on his neck and leg from shrapnel.  His hearing was damaged from explosions.  It was a living reminder.  You couldn't really look at him and NOT remember.  He rarely talked about it.  But we knew enough from the few conversations he had.

The First Gulf War took place when I was a junior in high school.  It was scary to me.  I had grown up with the spectre of the Cold War looming over everything.  There were nightly reports of the Soviet Union and the posturing between our countries.  When the USSR fell, it felt like there was going to be peace.  And then this war came along out of nowhere.  I remember the fear was that this war was going to drag out.  The last two conflicts were far from short - Vietnam and the Cold War.  I was about to hit the draft age.  There were several times my friends and I discussed this fact.  And it hit close to home when a friend of mine from Debate Club enlisted and was sent to Iraq.  He was dating the sister of one of my best friends - so we got updates frequently.  I remember making a badge with a yellow ribbon and his name and wearing it every day to school.  Then it was over before you could blink.  This kind of started a string of shorter, limited conflicts.  Budgets got cut since we weren't in a perpetual battle.  And the military slipped from view.

I firmly believe that our challenge, as Americans, is to never forget the past.  It isn't so we live there.  But it is to remember the lessons taught.  It is to be appreciative for what we have.  There are two major dangers that people groups face - forgetting history and feeling entitled.  That is how atrocities happen.  You forget the sacrifices made to get you where you are, the price that was paid.  And you begin to believe that somehow you deserve the freedoms and luxuries you have.  In my opinion, this is one of the biggest problems in America today - people feel they deserve a certain quality of life, a certain status, a certain set of goods.  So they get angry when they don't have those things.  And they blame everyone else for that.

There have been societies in the past that have had that mindset.  Ancient Greece.  Ancient Rome.  The Feudal Lords.  Even to some extent, WWII Germany.  What happened to those places?  They got lazy and complacent.  They were blind to the dangers around them.  They started to think they were invincible or too mighty to lose.  They got greedy and fat.  And they got defeated by someone else who were not looking at things through a falsely covered perspective.  I believe that gratitude goes a long way to keep your perspective right.  It requires you to look back at the lessons of history.  It makes you realize that there was a supreme cost to your situation.  It forces you to remember there are other people around you.  It reminds you that you are in someone's debt, that your good fortune came at a price.  We teach our children to say thank you when they get a present, right?  Why?  It is to show them that we should always show appreciation for the good things we have.  It helps us also appreciate the gift more when we remember that someone gave it to us.  There are some things I have received as gifts that I would have gotten rid of over the years based on the item itself - it had outlived its usefulness, for example.  But I kept it just because of who gave it to me.  It meant more because it was a gift.

The fact is, we as Americans did not get to where we are just because we are inherently awesome.  We didn't deserve it.  It wasn't just our destiny.  It took the sacrifice of literally millions of men and women.  And, once we achieved a land with freedom and opportunity, we had millions more people sacrifice themselves to protect that way of life.  I may not agree with everything the government does.  I may not like some of the decisions they are making or some of the steps they take.  I believe as a responsible engaged citizen that I am required to point out when there are things wrong.  I need to vote and debate.  I need to write my representatives.  I need to be informed.  That is part of my role.  But I am never going to get to the point where my frustration with the people in government is going to be mistaken for a hatred of the nation itself.  It drives me crazy when people threaten to leave America because they are angry over health care or social issues or gay marriage or whatever.  I do not believe that you can show me another country on earth that allow you to the freedoms you have in America.  There are not other places that give people the chance and ability to move themselves out of the status they were born into like the USA.  A person born into a regular average home can make money, get elected, fulfill their dreams.  They are not locked into a status forever.  I am a born again Christian and an ordained minister. I am allowed to type that into this blog without fear that someone is going to come bust down my door and haul me off to prison.  You may not like the fact that I believe that way.  You may detest my God and my religious beliefs and WISH someone would drag me off to prison.  But, the great thing about America, is that you can feel THAT way too.

We live in an amazing country.  And the only way that this place exists is because people fought and died to create it, maintain it, and defend it.  It is essential to remember that.  If not, we start to think that this is just the way things should be - that it is our right just because we were born here.  Earlier today, someone told me that when they complain about stuff, their mom will say, "It could be worse.  You could be deployed overseas for a year."  It is her way to remind this person that there are other people whose situation is harder than ours.  That is important to remember - it gives the right perspective.

That is why I think Memorial Day is SO vital to our country.  It forces us to remember those people who are serving in our military to protect us.  It makes us think back through history - the good and the bad - to make sure we learned the lessons well.  It gives us a chance to express our gratitude to those people who sacrifice their lives, their families, their safety for ours.  "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."  Yes, that came from John 15:13 in the Bible, but it just as much applies to the members of our military.  They sacrifice their lives for us - how can you top that?

So I challenge you this holiday weekend, in between the hot dog and the burger, express some gratitude.  Offer a prayer of safety for our troops overseas.  If you know someone who is serving, send them a letter.  Contact their spouse and see if there is anything you can do for them.  At the very least, thank THEM for allowing their loved one to serve.  If you can, make a donation to the USO or to a Veteran's support organization.  Make something to take to the veterans at a local nursing home.  If you see someone in uniform, pay for their meal or coffee or groceries.  If you own a company, give a military discount.  If you work at a company that offers a military discount (most of them do, if you check), make sure that you give that to your customers.  At the very least, be thankful.  It is quite certain they deserve that.

Broken

The recent battle of health care legislation has brought some of the ugliest elements of the American political scene to the forefront.  I think I have heard more hateful comments tossed around via news sources and Facebook than any time since, well, the Fall of 2008.  It isn't enough to realize that someone thinks differently than you.  We must then berate and attack that person - ripping into them and their beliefs.  We call them morons and jerks and worse.  It doesn't matter which side of the aisle or the debate you are on - it seems like just accepted behavior to absolutely thrash the other side.

I hate this.  I get very upset at my friends online when they use their Facebook status to post inflammatory comments - or to insult other people.  I remember this happened with disturbing frequency during the last election - to the point where it severely damaged friendships outside of the virtual world.  I have lost so much respect for people based on their statements.  It isn't what they believe that bothers me.  I understand that people think differently - that is kind of what America is founded on.  It is the intolerance and outright hatred for the other side that really gets me irritated.  I remember reading during the election that one of my friends posted that they wish McCain had died in Vietnam.  I don't care what you think of the person, that is just vile.  And now, with this latest smackdown, we again get to see the hatefulness emerge.

More and more, I just shake my head at our political system.  It is not even close to what was intended by the Constitution.  Putting all political stances and beliefs aside for a moment (yes, for this that is necessary), we really need to examine what happened if we ever can hope to fix things.  This can't be fixed by switching ideology or party affiliation.  It affects every American.  And it is something that all of us need to get behind.

Our government was built with checks and balances in its foundation.  It also was created in a way to to ensure for an open exchange of ideas.  There was never supposed to be a class of "professional politicians."  The Congress had two Houses.  One was the House of Representatives.  This was supposed to be make up of the leaders of their communities who would come to Washington to serve their country for a short period of time.  The term was only two years for a reason.  It was so that doctors, soldiers, lawyers, accountants, ministers, teachers could take a short time away from their duties to bring their perspective to the nation's government.  It was not a stepping stone.  It was an end in itself.  This constant turnover was to help reflect the changing and growing needs of the country.  Person A would be elected, bringing a fresh perspective on his region's needs.  Two years later, Person A would return home and Person B would take his place - bringing with him the current perspective.  This allowed for a contant refreshing of the government.

It also brought constant turmoil and turnover - a complete lack of continuity.  So there was a second House - the Senate - which allowed for the upkeep of tradition and long term perspective.  These terms were six years long and rotated so the entire Senate never left at the same time - only 1/3 left at any time.  The Senate was the closest that we were supposed to have to "professional politicians" in DC.  These were elder statesmen who could bring a more knowledgeable perspective.  But they were not to lord it over the other house.  Maybe a particularly gifted Representative woud later move to the Senate.  But, again, it was never intended to have people site there for fifty years.  In addition, it was easy to get rid of some incompetent yahoo that managed to sneak into the mix.  He could just get removed on the next cycle - just two years away.  And it was hoped that by the time they hit the level of Senator, the boneheads would already be gone.

Committees were established to deal with particular issues.  My guess would be that these were filled by the people who understood those issues.  They would debate it and then present their bills and findings to the group as a whole to process and vote.  Fill the budgetary committee with business minded people. The foreign affairs committee would have former military people with international experience.  It made sense.  I am not going to understand some things as well, so don't put me in that group.

The Supreme Court was the truly long-term check.  The judges didn't have term limits.  They would stay there until death or retirement.  This allowed for one branch to be very stable - no turnover to speak of.  It guaranteed that there would be security that the Constitution would not be ignored with the constant changeover in the legislature.  The President was to help the operations and enacting of laws.  He gave leadership and vision.  It was a brilliant system that was established.

But the problem didn't take long to emerge.  People like power.  They like to be in charge.  And once they got it, they weren't too keen to give it up.  When this happens, the free flow of ideas and needs stops.  Instead the people in charge become more concerned about staying in charge, instead of helping the people they are representing.  Ambition takes over.  People come up with a plan for reaching their ultimate goal - state legislature to state cabinet to state governor to President.  Or state house to US House to US Senate to President.  Instead of taking a stand on an issue, you have to protect your position.  Taking a stand will make people angry.  So you hedge your bets - change your position so many times in different speeches that no one knows what you believe.  Or, better yet, never really say what you think.  Just offer cliches and platitudes and promises with no concrete plans at all.

Is it any wonder nothing gets done?  I mean, seriously, everyone is worried about job security.  People don't fill committee spots with the best people - they get filled based on favors and consideration for how it will help future elections.  Legislative members try to land on committees that will give them the experience and appearance they need for their future steps.  It is almost impossible to get an incumbent out of office.  They have to do something really stupid, or face someone with a ridiculous amount of money at their disposal.  It is less important now to have good ideas or a good mind.  You need to look good on camera, speak well, and manage your constant nauseating presence on every media source there is.

And with our party structure the way it is, things get more muddled.  I wrote about this before - how strange the combinations in different parties are.  Sometimes if you have a certain stance on a moral issue, you end up siding with people whose ethics make you ill.  This was true in the Republican party recently.  They had a huge rash of scandals that took down a bunch of their up and coming members.  It became obvious that these people were picked due to their stance on abortion or their ability to win an election - while completely ignoring the fact that these guys were complete dirtbags with no ethics.  With the explosion of media coverage and the ease of becoming a celebrity, being elected is a quick way to fame.  And fame is a quick way to get elected.

I just finished reading Game Change by John Hellemann and Mark Halperin.  It was a fascinating book about the 2008 Presidential election - and an amazingly well written one.  It was as exciting as a novel.  There were some points where I didn't want to put it down because it was so intriguing.  It also was very fair.  Honestly, it made everyone look like a complete idiot and/or jerk.  The best of them came off as self-absorbed and petty and vulgar.  The worst were incompetent, untrustworthy, delusional, and clueless.  Obama won due to his incredible organization and preparation, his mind boggling amount of money, his celebrity, and his gentle treatment by the press.  Clinton lost because, for some unexplained reason, a lot of people didn't like her - and because she couldn't shake the spectre of Bill.  And McCain lost because he was the worst Presidential nominee since they used to campaign by horseback.  (Seriously, it is embarrassing to see what passed for a Presidential effort by the GOP.)

Is that the way to choose our leaders?  I know that by even writing that last paragraph, some people will be in an uproar.  "Obama won because he was the best choice!  He is going to bring change!"  I am not insulting him, I am just commenting on the process.  He always had a plan to get elected - and he executed it brilliantly.  And, I do give him credit because he recognized the futility caused by the Congressional logjam - even going so far as considering leaving and becoming Governor of Illinois to be able to "actually get things done."  I just think that we have missed the boat.  Fine, we want Obama to be the one to cast vision and execute.  But think about the fact that in the last fifteen months he has really only been able to pass two meaningful things - the bailout and the health care reform.  And this was even though he had a super-majority in Congress for most of that first year.

Congress has become reliant on parliamentary tricks - like the filibuster and rider amendments and death by committee.  Nothing really gets done.  And it doesn't matter what side you back, you can't be happy with this.  I really wish that the anger generated in our country by the handling of the economy, the war, health care, and ethics will cause us to look differently at the people we are putting up for office.  We should actually hold them accountable for their actions.  They should represent US.  There is no way that legislation that is opposed by SEVENTY PERCENT of the populous should pass.  And there is no way that we should be giving money to save the butt of some multi-billionaire who stupidly wouldn't improve his business and grow with the times.  If the elected officials do a crappy job, vote them out.  Send someone who will do it right.  Don't get swayed by a name and a commercial and a fake tan (Charlie Crist, I'm looking in your general direction).  Do your homework.  I would love to see some real Americans take Congress back by getting rid of the professionals.  Let's have a return to how it should be.  Don't let these guys and gals get rich and fat off our tax money, their campaign funds, and lobbyists. Use the tools at our disposal to elect quality people - use the internet, social networking, grass roots efforts.  Stop being so vicious with each other.  It isn't that the structure is broken - it is that the execution is not there.  We don't even know how it should look, since we haven't seen it done right.  So let's reclaim government.  If not, we will just keep going in circles and fighting with each other.

Veteran's Day

I did not think that I had ever written about this topic on ye olde blogge. But to be sure, I strapped on my lighted helmet and went digging through the dusty, cobweb laden archives of Blogville. Alas, I realized that really had - shockingly - never written at all about Veteran's Day or Memorial Day. I know I did once back at First Baptist Temple Terrace in a piece that ran on the back of the bulletin. Hmm. Well, I guess I should remedy that.

Today is Veteran's Day. It is the day when we are supposed to express our gratitude for those men and women who helped defend our country over the decades. Or, as most American children call it, that day that we get off from school right before Thanksgiving. Veteran's Day almost was a lost holiday a few years ago - until the current efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq began. I remember it coming and going without much of a peep. That's why I wrote that article at FBCTT for Memorial Day one year. No one else was doing it and I thought it needed to be done.

Veteran's Day and Memorial Day are very important to me. As some of you know, my father served as a Marine. He fought in the Korean War and was wounded. He carried those wounds every day of his life after that. Now he is buried in a beautiful Veteran's Cemetery in Vermont. I think of all the things my father did in his life, the thing I was the most proud of was his service to his country. He was always a good worker and made his way up the ladder at the Post Office. But none of that compared to the fact that he was a soldier. He had a Purple Heart.

He never talked much about the war. He would sometimes tell stories about things - usually with the enhancements that made him such an amazing storyteller. But it was hard to get information about Korea out of him. I remember doing a paper in ninth grade on the War, hoping to use him as a source. He didn't want to do it. I think it was too much. My father had that tough streak, refusing to admit fear. And I think that Korea was just months of pure fear. I can see why. I have David Halberstam's amazing Korean War book - The Coldest Winter. Halberstam is one of my favorite writers, but I can only read small chunks at a time. The reality of that horrific war comes through so clearly that it is hard to stomach - knowing my dad was there makes it even harder.

Sometimes it was hard to match the image of my father as I knew him with the picture of him as a young Marine. Sure, the temper part I could picture. But he didn't seem a soldier type. He didn't run his home like some former military guys - where they treat their kids like little soldiers. In fact, the mental picture I had of a soldier seemed almost opposite of my dad. But, the facts don't lie. His Marine picture sat on our shelf. The Marine Corps memorabilia was all over the house. There was the Purple Heart pins, the old patches and awards. The newspaper clippings. And there was his hand.

Any time I doubted, I just had to look at his hand. When he landed in Korea, he got there in the summer. As he said, "When I got there, it was so hot that the jeeps wouldn't run right because they overheated. When I left, it was so cold the jeeps wouldn't run right because they froze up." He landed at the Pusan Perimeter, when the South Korean forces were about to be run into the ocean. As the US assisted Korean forces, they marched further and further North, finally crossing into China. At the battle for the Chosin Reservoir, the Marines found themselves fighting both North Korean and Chinese forces. They were outnumbered at least 8 to 1. This is where my father was wounded. In the extreme cold, he was shot in the hand. The below freezing temperatures quickly affected his fingers. By the time he got to a surgeon, he had to have the top joint of each finger amputated.

So he had this hand without fingernails, just nubs on the top. There were some things that he had trouble doing - like opening some bottles and packages. But there was a constant testimony of just how great his sacrifice was. I was proud of that hand. I was proud of what he had done. My father had answered the call and put himself on the line for others. I'm not sure why that was such a big deal to me. Maybe it was because that valiant quality was not very obvious by the time I came along. He wasn't a man who defended the weak or protected others. In fact, there were many times when he took advantage of the weak and failed to protect those very people he should have. He wasn't a hero - but he had been once upon a time.

That is the thing about soldiers. They are just ordinary people. And they are asked to perform in a way that is the exact opposite of how a normal person lives. Instead of fleeing danger, they are supposed to go towards it and neutralize it. Instead of putting their own interests and survival first, they are supposed to defend nameless faces at their own risk. We are told not to allow violence to run our lives, but they have to live a violent life. We are told not to fight, but they have to fight every day. We are told not to kill, but they must accept that killing is a fact of their mission. They have to put their own lives on hold so we don't have to.

I have friends that are serving right now. A man that was a student at USF when I worked there is now a chaplain overseas. His wife is expecting their second child next week. He won't be home until the baby is a month old. A woman that was a student at USF when I worked there is now serving in the Army in the Middle East. Her husband, another former student, is living alone down in Melbourne, FL while she serves. Another former student has watched his father pulled into Reserve Duty as a logistics officer. What was once a "one weekend a month" position is now a "going on eight years" job.

I couldn't do it. I know I couldn't. That is why I admire them so. They do what I can't and won't - and they do it so I don't have to. They fight for me, protecting what I hold so dear. Whether or not you agree with the US presence anywhere in the world, you have to appreciate what our soldiers do each day. And as we found out in Fort Hood last week, being a soldier doesn't mean you are only in danger when deployed. Being a soldier means you are always a target - a representative of our country. You take a risk every day.

So what do we do on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day and July 4? I think that we need to make a special effort on those days to go out of our way to make those who served feel special. I wrote emails and Facebook posts this morning, thanking those serving. Make sure your kids understand exactly what today means. My kids know that today we pray for those who are fighting. They know about our friends overseas and ask about them. They draw pictures for them and pray for them. But we do that all the time. I point out soldiers (and police officers) to the kids and tell them we should thank them. I remember when I worked at Apple and we had a military person come in. I would always thank them - and make sure they got the military discount even if they didn't ask for it. They were always kind of surprised. But I did it every time, because they deserve it.

It is kind of like how we should be thankful every day, but on Thanksgiving make a very visible and vocal demonstration of our thanks. I think that is how we should be with our fighting men and women. Every day we should be appreciative. But on those few special days, go out of your way. Pay for their dinner if you see them in a restaurant. Applaud them when you see them. Send them a card or an email. How would you treat a person who saved your life, especially on the anniversary of the day it happened? Maybe that would be a good start. Because they did, you know. They saved your life and are saving it every day.

John Scanlon. Heather Schmidt. Glen Kitzman. Matthew Creviston. Buddy Joca. Stephen Orf. Cobie Lee. Jack Stultz. Mark Flach. Sherri Flach. Kevin Sheridan. Larry Cortez. Steve Vaughan. Sam Glenn. Scott Evans. Stanley Puckett. Dad. And any other that I don't remember or know right now. Thank you so much for all you have done and are doing. One day doesn't seem like enough to say that.

New Directions to Blogville

I want to begin by saying how much I appreciate all of the kind comments related to my last post - my tribute to Heather's grandfather. I received a lot of feedback from people - both in comments on Facebook, on the actual blog, and in person. I loved that man and he made an eternal difference in my life. So, it truly was the least I could do. This past weekend we had a memorial service for him, and it was again great to remember what an amazing man he was. In November, we are planning a large family reunion of sorts - which will also serve as a "memory exchange" of him. Be praying for his children and wife, as they are expectedly dealing with how to fill that large hole that has opened in their lives.

As my blog is reaching new heights of popularity - both at the blogspot site and on Facebook - I am constantly reminded of the varied people that I am blessed with as friends. I have people who share my beliefs on many fronts, and people who do not. The last thing I EVER want this blog to be is something that hurts someone. It is not something that is attempting to cram my opinions or beliefs down your throats. I realize that I am more conservative than some of my friends, and more liberal than others. And that is the beautiful thing about life - we can be friends despite our differences - and sometimes because of them. If I ever write about a topic, like religion, it is merely reflecting what I am going through.

Being at home more now, I have more chances to write. I have tried to limit my posts to once a week. But I have a backlog of posts, since things come to me more than weekly now. I also have had numerous people ask me to write more. I have resisted that for a while, but finally came up with an answer. I am going to divide the blog into six categories.

Think of it as Trivial Pursuit. I have matched the colors and tried to match the topics. We all love Trivial Pursuit, right? Anyone? I love the game. I remember that growing up, we had every version that came out. We would sit around the card table and all play - even my dad. (This was before his strokes and heart attacks robbed him of his mental prowess.) He knew everything. It was crazy. "What color facemask did the Topeka Raiders field hockey team use on their 'Puckin Crazy' promotional tour in 1958?" My dad would sit there, staring at the table for a few seconds. "Puce." And it was right. It was my goal to beat my father. I was the second strongest player, usually, having devoted a great portion of my brain to learning absolutely useless minutiae for much of my life. As the years slipped by, I slowly began to reel him in.

Finally, it happened. We were playing one night and I went out to a huge lead. I started to get cocky, as most teenagers would do. Talking trash. Stupid stupid stupid. My dad was a former Marine - a hulking 6'5" man of about 350 lbs. And bald - this made all the difference. You can shave the head of most men and make them look tons meaner. Worked for him, I can testify. He didn't take kindly to smart alecks of any age. So he began to slowly eat at my lead. Finally, it was like 5 pies to 5 pies. And then he got his sixth and made his way to the inner circle. We all ganged up on him and kept picking the questions he wouldn't get. Finally I got my sixth pie and got to the center ring. I think it was my sister - she lobbed me a softball question and I won. Sure, it was tainted. But I won. He looked at us, said it didn't count, and never played it again. So, that was a fun memory. Hmmmmm.... Let's get back to the explanation of the new setup.

SPORTS: I am well aware that many people are not interested in sports. The orange disc always meant Sports and Leisure. So if you see orange, think sports. This will cover football, UCF, basketball (rarely), and the other sports I generally don't care about or watch. I may even slip some fantasy football stuff in there. Because, we all know, the only thing worse than listening to people tell us their dreams is listening to them talk about their imaginary football league.

POLITICS: This has always been the topic I care the least to write about. Why? Well, because it never ends well. I wrote a post about why I voted for Huckabee last year - and I was afraid that I was going to get torched by my own party mates. But it is the blue disc, since that was usually Geography. I may post in this group, just so I can use that awesome picture of Obama. It isn't a comment on him - just an awful picture.

MEDIA: This would have been called Entertainment, but the word was too big. No lie. I figure this way I can also squawk about the news and such too. Sound all official and blustery. But this is mostly going to be used for movies and tv shows and music. And it is the traditional Trivial Pursuit pink color. Was anyone else equally terrified by the pink pie? I remember growing up the questions were always like, "Which onscreen duo released seven films under the Warner Cousins banner before becoming seal trainers in Panama?" I would just stare at the reader, drool running out of my mouth. Then my dad would mumble, "Percy and Ingrid, you dolt."

FAMILY: Falling into the traditional History color, Family will wear yellow. I thought that was appropriate. Family. History. Get it? [sigh] I think this will swallow up my posts about my brilliant wife, my adorable kids, and all those adventures. If you only care about my general statements on the world in general, then avoid yellow. And if you are eating snow, avoid yellow. Or so I'm told, since I live in Florida and we don't have snow. Or seasons. Or culture.

RELIGION: That's right, Arts and Literature takes the guise of religion with their brown disc. Again, I thought that this wasn't a hard stretch. I will do my best to confine my theological musings to this color. Obviously, there may be crossovers, and I may put two discs up for a post. I can see Yellow and Brown pairing off a lot. They seem like buddies. Like Green Lantern and Flash. Or Bert and Ernie.

FOOD: Science and Nature becomes food. Green. Okay, so this is a big stretch. But food is from nature or science - and sometimes both. Or something. Whatever. I wanted to keep this category because a lot of people liked my Angus burger review and asked for more food related stories. I think this is something I have spent my life preparing for. If there was a job on Food Network that involved no cooking whatsoever and just was some guy being a smart mouth about food? I would take that job.

So there you have it. This will take effect immediately. I hope that it helps. I look forward to sharing more, and I think that this will challenge me to come up with stuff. I know I have several things ready to get posted soon. One of them has the potential to be the most inflammatory, controversial, dangerous thing I have ever written. I can only tell you that it falls under the pink disc. And it will be coming soon.

Time of Discord

It certainly has been rough to actually find time to write on the old blog lately.  I now am working FOUR jobs.  I got hired to teach one Old Testament class at International Community School.  So now you never know where I'll be in the course of a day.  And, like most of you, we also had two kids start school recently - actually start and re-start thanks to the rain machine known as Tropical Storm Fay.  I have wanted to write a couple times, but I've been so tired at the end of the day I fall asleep in the chair.  Oh, what fun to be getting older.

I was thinking today how much I dislike this time of year.  Sure, football is starting, which is wicked good.  But there are several things that also happen that I can't stand.  Some of them are pretty minor (baseball playoffs, mosquito invasion).  But a couple are pretty big.  One is the annual dance of death with the Hurricane conga line in the Atlantic.  You know, I grew up in Florida.  For 34 years I have lived here.  And until 2004, I never really dreaded hurricane season.  I didn't like it - that's for sure.  But I can't remember going through a hurricane until we got hammered by three in a month in 2004.  After that, I just hate watching the weather and seeing those monster storms lined up.  Part of it is due to my kids.  They hate the storms.  Both of the older ones went through the 2004 season.  Josiah especially remembers it.  They can't stand the entire concept.  

In addition, it gets to be a really complicated way to look at events - like some sort of ultra-twisted ethics puzzle.  I don't want the storm to hit me, but to miss me it has to hit somewhere else.  I was worried about this Gustav storm.  And I was thrilled that it turned to miss us, until I realized that it was going to bust up New Orleans (same thing happened with Katrina).  Now there is Hanna out there.  I am rooting for it to miss us, but I don't want it to hit anywhere else either.  It's getting to be to where I hate the entire season.

The other thing I hate is the political season.  It seems like some variation of it happens every single year.  But every four years we get this super-duper-hatemonger extravaganza.  The Presidential election.  Being passionate about something is great.  I know that I have made my opinions known on this blog before about candidates.  [Lots of good it did.]  Opinions and feelings are good.  That is what this country was built on - the merging and melding of ideas.  What I can't stand is the hatred and vitriol that is spewed over the course of the election process.  It is ridiculous.

On my Facebook the other day, one of the people that I knew in high school actually wrote that she wished McCain had died in the POW camp.  WHAT?!?!  How is that even close to appropriate?  People have sent out dozens of emails about Obama - slandering him and his family.  Now, Sarah Palin is facing the same character assassination.  I swear that other countries must laugh their butts off at how we handle these elections.  We spend months and months insulting and berating candidates, bashing them time and again, insulting them until it is amazing that anyone would even trust them at all.  Then the one party who is the least offensive and incompetent squeaks out a win.  And we spend the next three years with half the country hating the winner.  Woo hoo!  Democracy at work.

I especially can't stand how this plays out in the Christian community.  The majority of "fundamentalist evangelicals" are Republican sympathizers.  So, those people who dare to venture to the other side are usually ridiculed for it.  And, as a result, they seem to feel it necessary to constantly either justify their position or fight like a cornered wolverine.  Yes, this is definitely how a church groups should act.  Definitely.  It is weird, too.  If Christians really believed what is taught in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs and 1 Peter, then they would believe that God is the one who chooses the rulers anyway.  So our in-fighting and out-fighting seems kind of pointless, right?

But, my griping isn't going to change either of the things bothering me.  Hurricanes aren't going to stop coming.  And the elections wars are going to get worse as the two sides get further apart.  I guess the key to do my best to make it through this season unscathed.  Be prepared, be informed, be aware.  I can't for a moment forget who is really in control.  And I need to extend love and mercy to everyone around me - those with opposing views, victims of the storm.  Even still, I can't wait until it is Thanksgiving.  The only swirling white caps will be the mashed potatoes, not the satellite image.  And the only steaming turkey will be on the table - not the podium.  

Watch Out for Charlie Crist

At the risk of being too political, there is something that is really bugging me lately.

For those of you reading this that live in Florida, you'll figure this all out quickly.  For those in other states, you may not care.  But you should still read this because I guarantee that your state is going to make stupid choices like this soon.  As you probably know, a state takes in various taxes from its citizens.  This helps to fund the budget for the state.  Now, for larger states (like Florida), the budget is bigger than most countries.  That is what happens when so many people move to your state like flies on a fresh carcass.  

So, the state has various taxes - property, sales, vehicle.  Most states have a state income tax.  Florida does not, so that means that it has to rely even more on taxes to fill its coffers.  So, if you were to remove or cut a particular tax, that would cut a large amount of money out of the budget.  What is the next step?  Things that the budget funds get cut.  And I'm sure that there are tons of personal ego projects that the legislature and governor have crammed into the budget.  So what actually gets cut is important stuff.  This is how it happens in our personal budgets, right?  If you stop getting income, you have to cut expenses.

Well, at the primary election, we in Florida also had to vote on Amendment One.  It was personally proposed and shepherded by our Governor Charlie Crist.  Up until this point, property tax in Florida was handled thusly:

• When you bought a house, your house was appraised and you were levied a tax depending on area of town, price of house, etc.  Let's just say this figure was $3600 a year - which is a common figure in the Orlando area.
  
• Next year, your tax was only legally allowed to go up 3%.  That is the most if could ever go up.  So your tax would be $3708.  This happens each year.  $3819.  $3933.  And so on.
• However, when you moved, your new home was subject to the current tax rates.  
• This caused problems for especially the elderly, who would live in a home for 30 years and still be paying taxes based on when that law first was passed.  Then they would get a smaller place and pay twice in taxes.

Crist's proposal was that you would now be able to take your 3% with you.  So your new home would only be able to have your tax raise 3% - even if the house value was higher than what you were in.

Sounds great, right?  If you are a homeowner you would love this.  You would pretty much lock in your tax rates on the first home you bought.  (Of course, with property values nosediving, it doesn't sound so great now.)  However, as the vote neared, I began to notice something as I thought on this issue.  Just about every public service group (Police, firefighters, teachers) were fighting the issue.  Why?  Well, think about it.  When that Amendment passed, the legislature would find itself with a shortage.  And we all know the first thing they are going after.

Crist was confronted with this and waved his arms and squawked, "No no no people.  I will not let a single public service get hurt by this."  The media helped Crist by trying to paint this as a home owner vs home renter issue - which never made any sense.  I voted No for several reasons.

• I don't believe that legislative issues like this should be run through making Amedments.  It is a fact that in Florida it is easier to pass an Amendment than a bill.  So this was a way to circumvent the legislature - who already had shot this proposal down.
• If this passed, the state would know that they would only have one shot to nail a homeowner with a high tax rate - on their first home.  How much you want to bet that tax rates are going to skyrocket on new homes?  That $3600 will be $6000 before you know it.  (Doesn't sound like much?  That adds $200 a month to your mortgage!)
• I knew that the services would get whacked.  I've watched politics enough to know they are ALWAYS the first thing that gets hurt - regardless of Crist's thoughts.

Turns out I was part of the 29% minority as the Amendment sailed through.  So what happened?  The legislature is working on the budget right now.  And they immediately told every state-funded service to slash their budgets.  The biggest hit?  Schools.  Orange County Schools were told to cut $70 MILLION out of their budget!  (jaw drops)  So, the people of the state took this into their own hands and just shot their kids in the foot.  The new teacher hires in the state have been cut in half.  And road repair, emergency services, etc etc all took hits too.

Way to go Governor Crist!  Of course, people are starting to get angry.  Florida is the worst hit by the subprime fiasco, with Orlando in the top 10 cities in America for foreclosures.  (I heard it was #1 at one point.)  And now these people realize that schools just got decimated by the budget cuts.  Crist's popularity is the lowest since he took office.  And his solution to all of this?  You ready?  No seriously, this is how proposal.  He wants to legalize gambling.  Not just lottery, which we have had for 20 years.  He wants to legalize full-scale gambling.  Awesome.  Yes, my friends, this is the man who was personally hand-picked to replace Jeb Bush (who was a GREAT governor - I don't care what his last name was).  Charlie Crist, defender of the conservative moral right.  

Oh it gets better.  You want to know who is high up on the short list for Republican Vice President list?  That's right.  Charlie Crist.  So those of you out of state just went back and re-read this post?  Charlie Crist is being considered for the Vice Presidential nomination.  That kills me.  In 15 months he has lost 20 percentage points of favor in the third most populous state in the country.  He personally damaged the already struggling education system.  And he mortgages the state's future for the present (on second thought, he sounds like he is perfect for the national stage).  

I will say this right here.  If John McCain picks Charlie Crist, it will have made me 95% sure that I will NOT vote for the GOP ticket.  Unless the Democrats pick a convicted felon.  Actually, I would not at all be surprised that after the completely unexciting Republican offering, and the sure-to-be-contentious Democratic convention, there will be a third party candidate show up and really mess up the whole process.  Seriously.  You watch.  Once the conventions are over, someone will step up and really throw a monkey wrench into everything.  

***This post was not sponsored by the Republican Party, Democratic Party, Green Party, or Bachelor party.  I am David Staples, and I approved this message.

Finally Found Our Man

Some brief housekeeping.  

• When you leave comments, please affix your name.  I know that people like to remain anonymous and stuff.  But when the comment is personal, and no one signs it, it makes it hard to know who to beat the stuffing out of . . . uh, I mean . . . who to respond to.  This is not a requirement.  If you choose to remain anonymous, you can still respond.  I just will be meaner to  you.  :)
• To the comment-creator who told me that I would not like the end of The Appeal:  Thanks for that.  The whole time I was worried about what that meant.  In the end, I guess you were right.  I didn't like the events that transpired, I didn't like the outcome, I didn't like decision.  But, it was very realistic and true to life.  Happy endings don't always happen.  And bad guys win - a lot!  I was more disappointed with Grisham's writing.  I would say the book was thought-provoking, but one of his worst outings as far as story, characters, writing, etc.
• Just to clear up any confusion.  I am now primarily a Jacksonville Jaguars fan and secondarily a Tampa Bay Bucs fan.  That switch was made about 18 months ago.  Also, I am a UCF Knights fan.  That is it.  I like the Georgia Bulldogs, but they are not even in the same class as UCF as far as my affections.  I have no other college paraphernalia being flaunted anywhere.  

And with this post, I complete my political trifecta...

I finally decided who I think should be the President of the United States.  I am tired of all of this wussy campaigning.  Everyone goes out of their way to not insult anyone.  This will often make long segments of debates sound like speed dating.  "I think Senator Obama is a brilliant man."  "Senator Clinton is my friend."  No one wants to seem like a jerk - or be too negative (now).  So it is the Mutual Admiration Society.  And why not?   These people run in the same circles, work in the same building, and basically are just slight variations of each other.

Case in point, the whole Geraldine Ferrarro debacle.  I cannot believe that I would EVER defend that woman for anything.  But all she did was express a sentiment that was not altogether incorrect.  She may have done it in a tactless manner or at an ill-opportuned time.  But it was not complete bunk.  Even Senator Obama knows this - and uses it to his advantage.  She said that if Obama was white, he would not be in this place.  Well, can anyone really see a problem with that?  Part of his appeal is that he is NOT white.  Part of what sets him apart is his race.  He knows that and uses it.  It helps with the whole "outsider coming to fix DC" bit.  He's an outsider because he hasn't been in Washington for too long, and because he is not a "traditional" candidate.  What does that mean, if it doesn't mean race?  Is it because he smokes?  It is because he doesn't have a lot of experience?  

We have gotten so caught up in not offending people that Clinton's people turned on Ferrarro and basically forced her to quit her position in the campaign.  Two different major figures have used the word "lynch" in statements in the last six months.  Both of them turned into huge firestorms, when it was clear neither person had any racial intentions.  I understand that the imagery behind that word is a very negative one - but look at context, people.  It is amazing to me that people have gotten so uptight.

So, I believe that we need to find a candidate who is strong and self-assured.  He needs to be able to not give a rip about big business, but he also needs to have a startling lack of concern for people around him.  He needs to be able to make the tough decisions - even in the face of disaster.  He needs to be tough, unrelenting, and charismatic.  Yet, he needs to be able to fess up to his mistakes - when they are big enough to get him in trouble.

I think our next President should be Eliot Spitzer, outgoing Governor of New York.  Let's look at why:

• He Is Fearless - He rose to prominence by breaking down organized crime, big business crimes, and prostitution.  And then he goes and gets hooked up with a prostitution ring.  Absolutely brilliant.  You have to have absolutely NO FEAR to do something like that.  I mean, get involved in the same kind of people you made a career out of destroying?  Awesome.  Imagine how having no fear would play out in the Presidency.  Some foreign leader threatening you?  No biggie.  You took down Mafia before, how hard is dealing with Pakistan?  Secret treaties, backdoor bribes.  Whatever it takes.  Drop bombs all over the place and then be their friends.  The possibilities are endless.
• He is Heartless - The big meeting with him and his, uh, lady friend took place the night before Valentine's Day.  That is just cruel.  Did he then take his wife out for a romantic evening?  Did he do anything?  But, to top it off, he had his wife by his side during his speeches.  How did he pull that off?  As Mike Golic said the other day, "My wife said I would be there with a bloody eye, and she'd have bandages around her bloody hand."  This is a man who will sign a treaty with a country and then bomb them.  We need someone like this, who can look past every entanglement.  If you offend someone, so what?  You're the President! 
• He is Relentless - Eight times!  It is being reported that he used the ring eight times.  You have to like the audacity to continue to frequent the place.  That's not a one time mistake - it is just relentless arrogance.  That kind of person isn't going to worry if he keeps getting turned down by some wussy group like the UN.  North Korea not letting you search for weapons?  So what, they will.  Keep on asking.  Or bomb the snot out of them.  Eight times.
• He Knows Quality is Worth the Price - He doesn't care if things are expensive, he'll buy them anyway.  $1500 an hour for a prostitute?  That's fine.  See, THAT'S the kind of President who wouldn't balk at a price tag.  "$2 Trillion for a war?  Go for it!  $80,000 for body armor for soldiers?  Get them two sets each.  $1.5 million on a toilet seat?  Who cares?  Get it!"
  
• He Can Apologize When Absolutely Necessary - Get backed in a corner, have everyone questioning you issue a wimpy apology -- for nothing!  Notice, he never said why he was apologizing.  This is even better than the non-apology apology.  "I'm sorry for making poor choices."  That could be buying the wrong cheese.  But he's not afraid to admit mistakes, which the President has to do sometimes when everyone gets all uppity.  Bombing North Korea eight times is bound to tick people off.  "I'm sorry for making bad choices."  See, everything is all better.

THIS is the man we need in Washington.  He'll clean it up good, and then replace the old filth with at new, higher quality of trash.  He'll never let emotion rule the day.  He'll never settle for less than the best.  He'll never stop - even when common sense has long ago stopped crying out because it is a waste of time.  He'll do what needs done, regardless of who it hurts, how much it costs, or how stupid it is.  And he's not above issuing a meaningless apology to ease tensions.  THAT'S COMMITMENT!  THAT'S DEDICATION!?  THAT'S PRESIDENTIAL!!!  Now, if only he hadn't resigned.  That's going to be hard to live down. 

There's Something Wrong Here

A couple of housekeeping elements:

• I forgot one major movie in my last post.  I have never seen The Passion of the Christ.  I have never had the desire.  I didn't need to see something horrific to get saved.  I don't want to watch it now.  It was a good movie with some great ramifications.  But I wasn't there.
• I had to delete the Mike Huckabee panel, since he dropped out of the race yesterday.  I was proud to back a good man like that.  And I hope that he has a long and illustrious career.  He really showed that there are a lot of people in his party that are not happy.  I hope that didn't fall on deaf ears.

That actually leads me into my post.  I am reading a really good book right now - The Appeal by John Grisham.  It is not ruining anything to outline the plot.  A major chemical company loses a lawsuit and a huge financial award for causing illness through negligence.  They don't want to pay it, largely due to the flood that it would cause.  So they appeal the ruling, and then try to rig the outcome by backing a sympathetic judge in Supreme Court elections.

Then last night I started watching Oscar nominee Michael Clayton.  It is about a law firm that is representing a chemical company that is being sued for negligence which causes illness.  (Popular storyline I guess.)  The thing about both of the stories that bothered me is the role big business plays.  They cut corners, save dollars, hurt people, and then try to outlast the injured parties with repeated appeals.  These companies have lawyers and millions of dollars to use in the battle.  Most people don't have that to fight back.

This is hardly new territory.  Grisham himself visited here with The Rainmaker (which was made into a far inferior movie with Matt Damon and Claire Danes.)  There have been examples for years - from the S&L collapses in the 1980s to Enron and its ilk to the recent sub-prime mortgage fiasco.  Big companies run over the little people, leave a swatch of destruction, and then hurt the little people again when their scheme goes belly up.

So what really bothered me was in the Grisham book, where they were finding this new judge.  He was a devout Christian, and he was paraded in front of Pro Family Groups, Christian Groups, Prayer Groups -- along with Pro Gun Groups, Big Business Guys, Tort Reform Supporters.  And that is where it hit me.  If you are a Conservative Christian, chances are you vote Republican.  And you get tossed in with those other groups.  Basically, you have to support those other causes if you are taking a stand on "moral issues" because there is nowhere else to go.  So, because of that, it is assumed that the following are true (using the vernacular used to describe me by the "other side").

• I am pro-gun
• I am pro-war
• I am pro-big business
• I am anti-lawyer
• I am pro-pharma
• I am pro-insurance company
• I am anti-gay
• I am anti-abortion
• I am pro-death penalty
• I am anti-poor
• I am anti-minority

The thing is, when I look at that list, some of those apply.  But a lot of them don't.  I am not pro-war.  I never backed it in the first place.  I just think we have to have an intelligent strategy over there (immediate and total withdrawal is not intelligent).  I hate insurance companies.  I hate pharmaceutical companies.  I hate big business.  And I'm not even a gun fan.  (Can't think of a reason why I should be a gun owner.)  I don't hate minorities or poor people.  But I do support some facets of moral issues.  So that lands me in with these groups.  It is said that politics make strange bedfellows.  But this is ridiculous.

There is not really an option, it would appear.  If you vote one way, you are accused of supporting a complete breakdown of morals in America.  If you vote the other, you are accused of supporting evil corporations and hating poor people.  Honestly, it seems like that it doesn't even make sense how the parties picked their platforms.  

I remember reading an interview with Bono from U2 in Rolling Stone a few years back.  He commented on how ironic it was that so many Christians were Republicans.  He said that many things the Democratic party stood for (helping poor, helping victims) actually were closer to what Jesus taught.  But he pointed out that Democrats rarely even went after those Christian groups because of the big issues (abortion, gay marriage).  It really makes it difficult to vote responsibly.  How can you support one person - when they stand for some things you agree with and for others you don't?  It almost comes down to which issues are the MOST important.

That is one of the reasons we backed Huckabee.  He was called a compassionate conservative - where he actually had some mercy in some of his positions.  Of course, this got him absolutely destroyed by the Republican establishment.  They called him a closet liberal and swore to never support him.  I am very frustrated right now.  I have no idea what to do with my political stance any more.  I cannot in good conscience continue to support candidates just because my party tells me to.  Look at the Republican party the last few years - all the scandals and problems.  It was just like when American backed all those dictators in the 1950s and 1960s to keep the Soviets out.  Instead, twenty and thirty years later, the US is trying to get rid of those dictators because they are killing people and blowing up OUR stuff.

The GOP did the same thing.  "At least this guy isn't liberal."  Instead, he was a total liar, fraud, skeevy pervert.  That's a LOT better.  What are we supposed to do?  Some of you reading this are getting angry - some because I am questioning the Republicans, some because I am a Republican.  Others of you are in the same boat as I am - really trying to figure it all out.  If I let the Bible be my guide as to how I vote, shouldn't I be against some of the very things my Party supports?  And shouldn't I be for some of the things that my "opposition" supports?  How do you rectify that in the voting booth?  I can't believe this is the way things are supposed to keep going.  I have a lot to think about between now and November.

Why I Voted for Huckabee

So today was Super Tuesday.  Something like sixteen states across our fine land cast their votes in their primaries.  Not down here in Florida.  Noooooo.  We moved our primaries up a week to mess with people's heads.  As a result, the Democrats penalized Florida and won't let their delegates sit at the convention.  (For now)  Probably for the best.  Apparently, hundreds of people called election offices in Florida to find out where to vote (huh?).  This was explained away by some people as saying it was confusion from people in California calling the Orange County, Florida election offices.  Um, the 407 area code didn't tip them off?

Anyway, I know that talking about politics is the sure way to get put on the jerk list - or to get punched in the mouth.  But after hearing so much of this political blather, I felt like someone needed to just come out and say how they felt.  I voted for Mike Huckabee last week.  I have been a big fan of his for many months - technically since before he officially was running.  And I have tried to spread the word.  Even after one of Fox News' "brilliant" talking heads said Huckabee was a non-entity and a dead campaign, I still thought there was something worth backing.  I don't think I have been this actively involved in an election ever.  Why?

I have been reading the Reagan Diaries book for many months - it takes a long time to slot through eight years of info.  One thing about Reagan that I was continually impressed by was his convictions.  I honestly didn't know if we ever would see another politician who combined strong convictions with the fortitude to back that up.  I've seen people have strong convictions (I would argue that W does).  And I have seen people have fortitude and competence.  But they don't seem to intersect that often.  Huckabee has very strong convictions.  They have been tested again and again by the news casters in charge of interviews and debates.  He is even willing to make sure that he keeps his convictions honored even if he looks stupid - like with the whole negative ad business when he killed a negative ad the day it was supposed to run.

But he also has been very competent.  His is the most eloquent and presidential in his debates.  The people of Arkansas LOVE him and think he did a great job (I actually got them from some Arkansas residents).  He seems unflappable.  He may not be the most trained on every single issue, but he is a tremendous leader and speaker.  And that is the kind of person Reagan was - and the kind of person people can get behind.

I have been ridiculed by others (even Republicans) for backing Huckabee because he is "unelectable" or because I am "wasting my vote."  I completely disagree.  First of all, it is a primary.  This is the perfect time to back someone who may not win it all.  How else do you show what you believe?  If Huckabee continues to be a pain to the Republicans with his victories and showings, he can't be ignored.  His approach, stances, policies have to be acknowledged.  Some have said that his presence hurts Romney.  I don't care.  Romney should have worked harder or something.  It is not MY job to help the candidate I don't back.

I like the way he ran his campaign.  I like the fact that he has not had much money, yet still is winning delegates and states.  I like his compassion for people.  I like his approach to taxation.  I like his stance on abortion.  I like his approach on health care.  I like his views on gun control and Iraq and blah blah blah.  Probably most importantly, I like him.  Huckabee is a man of integrity.  He is a GOOD man and a FAIR man.  And I for once wish we could have a President that we were proud of.  I know that as a person who voted for W - twice - there are many times I am embarrassed by things that happen.  And I know that some of the stupid decisions made in the last eight years will cost us for a long time.  

I admire Huckabee - his pluck, his drive, his decency, his faith, his family, his hope, his humor.  He is a not a lifelong politician who has guarded every step and sentence for decades to make sure that he was safe when he ran.  He is a normal guy who saw a broken government and thought he could fix it (Arkansas).  And he is doing the same thing now.  He saw a chance to  make a difference and did.  Go investigate how much money he has and see what he did with it.  At one point during the Florida campaign, Romney had spent $30 million on TV ads in Florida.  Huckabee had spent $7 million on his entire campaign.  Guiliani spent six months trying to win Florida.  Huckabee was there for five days and only lost to Rudy by 23K votes.  People like him.  People relate to him.  

I wish that more people had the guts to actually vote the way they wanted - no matter who it is for.  Stop listening to the news shows and the pundits and the spin doctors.  Find someone you trust and can be proud of and take a freaking stand.  Don't vote just based on who can win.  How else will anything get done?  Back someone who you believe in.  Who cares if they have a chance in the world.  If everyone did that, the parties would have to pay attention.  And in the meantime, your candidate may shock some people.  After all, Huckabee did win five states already tonight, and still could win or come close in a couple others.  So apparently he's not such a pointless vote after all.  Like him or not, I know one thing, you can't ignore him now.  I hope that didn't offend you too bad.