Sunday, May 25, 2008

Warriors

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
John Stuart Mill

A very dear friend of mine steered me to a site; www.warriorsthe film.com and being the sucker I am for most anything military I will now have to purchase some of these CDs to send to my adopted soldiers. Of course I will need one and the book also. If I get many more books on my shelf 'to read' I am going to turn into a library. I must feel if I do not get it as soon as I see it I will never find it again, hence the ever mounting pile.

The above stated site itself is not that large with the trailer of the CD leaving one wanting to see more. I was much inspired by listening to the soldiers speak so humbly, yet passionately, about their service.

A warrior is fearless, willing to serve their country and fellow countrymen with a dedication and passion that outshines most of us. Warriors serve their country without being called to do so. They serve out of their love for their country and are willing to do and sacrifice whatever it takes to accomplish the mission. For them, to accomplish and complete their mission is greater than their own being. Walking away from the mission, not coming to the end product is not something they find acceptable.

While many of us sit here at home, comfortable in front of our TV sets listening and consuming what the news wants us to hear, the warriors are the ones who know the sacrifice required for us to maintain our freedom as we know it. The warriors understand the USA is seen as a beacon of light by many other countries, even if many of us do not feel so. After all, we are merely sitting here watching TV, they are fighting the battle. They are on the front lines fighting or in the streets, hospitals, schools helping to teach those who have been suppressed for so long. These people have never known freedom and are now struggling to come to grips with how to handle what is now within their reach.

Warriors know it comes down to 'balls to the walls...just go'. Do the rest of us understand?

Remember our military past and present this Memorial Day. May GOD be with all of them and keep them safe.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

'O'h...for Oil

While $4/gal sounds bad for gas, and it is there already in some parts of the country, just wait until it goes to $5, $6, $7 or more. On May 13, the Senate defeated a bill to drill ANWR. It was put through the Senate as an amendment (S. Amndt 4720) attached to another bill, S. 2284-the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007. I can see where the two would go 'together'. When this was voted on in the Senate, all of the Democrats voted against the bill with the exception of one, Sen. Mary Landrieu , D-LA. Five Republicans voted against, also. There were others who did not vote at all. I am not sure if they just chose not to commit to either side, grow some balls here people...or if they were simply NOT at work that day. Democratic 'nays' came from my own two senators, Kohl and surprise..Feingold. That is a shock...right! Others I tend to watch...Durbin, Obama, Clinton, the Kenedy's, Kerry, Byrd, etc....all voted 'nay'. Then of course we have the conservative in liberal clothing, McCain, who was a 'not voting'. Guess he was out campaigning, and I figure if you are still employed as a senator on my dime, you better show up for work!


Since then we have had the polar bear placed on the 'Threatened Species' list. Not endangered...just threatened....evidently because of melting ice. Now, there are currently record numbers of Polar Bears out there. In the 1950-1960's the numbers ranged from 5,000-10,000. Currently they number 20,000-25,000, with 11 of the 13 bear populations stable and some increasing according to Canadian scientists. This is all comng down to the whole Global Warming alarm. Thank you, Al.


Now, I by no means have a dislike for polar bears. Aren't they cute as cubs, and won't they rip you to pieces as adults. But, if we continue to NOT be able to drill for the oil we so desperately need to keep this country running, well, sorry...when it comes down to the polar bear or the survival of this country the polar bear rates a 2ND spot on my list. This also applies to NOT drilling off our coast line because somebody with ocean front property will have their view spoiled. It appears the 'rigs' are rather far out there so these people must have unbelievable eye sight. I guess 'unbelievable' being the key work here.


We are a country that uses alot of oil. Not all of it ends up in our gas tank. There are numerous products we use on a daily basis that are derived from oil. If anyone in this country really believes the OPEC nations are going to either produce more oil or lower the costs, think again. (If you still believe that then I have some ocean front property in AZ to sell you. Well, that might come true some day when CA falls off into the ocean and after their Supreme Court ruling to allow gay marriages...may it fall off soon.) Evidently Saudi Arabia does not feel there is an increase in demand for them to produce more oil. Either that is true, or they have us right where they want us and that is by the balls...the ones our government does not appear to possess. Even with other countries exploding with the numbers of cars on their roads, China for one, it is still said the demand is not there. Oil needs to increase in supply or decrease in demand for the price to go down.


Until the government gets it's nose out of the oil business, starts to allow exploration and drilling of new sites either in ANWR or off our coasts........and the tree huggers are duct taped in a closet somewhere...we are pretty much screwed. We cannot have it both ways.