Dick Cheney, shooting straight... again...

Ok... here we go again, Dick Cheney under fire for a tiny flag seen at a hunting outing. Here we go again, with tiny insignificant news issues becoming big stories. Why is this one of the top ten breaking headlines right now. Ok so Cheney went on a hunting trip where a confederate flag may or may not have been visible. Rev. Al Sharpton is calling him out and saying that he should have left immediately when he saw the confederate flag. First off, as the article indicates, Cheney may never have been able to see the flag as it was in a garage that may not have been open at the time. Second, ok so what... He didn't denounce the club for allowing a private citizen to have a flag pinned up in a garage on the property.

I may have my issues with people who choose to fly confederate flags on occasion, but I certainly am not going to denounce an establishment just because there is one present. The confederate issue isn't just about racism Mr. Sharpton.

I am getting really tired of everything being a race issue. It gets exhausting. Yes there are still race issues in America, however clobbering a politician for not denouncing an establishment simply because there is a small chance that someone who uses the hunting property is a racist, is not an efficient nor an effective way to create an opportunity for change.

Bulimic School of Education

I don't buy in to it. Here, swallow all of this information vomit it out in test format and then pretend like you never learned in the first place. Besides the only that is important anyway is the fact that you get the dumb little piece of paper. Is it just me or does America have a no respect for academia? I get frustrated because most Americans appear to be completely apathetic, but now I am starting to believe that it isn't their fault. I think it has something to do with the fact that our lives are so much more complicated than they used to be. There are things that we have to worry about now that we never had to even think about now.

What can be done I don't know. I just hope that this difficult, way too fast lifestyle doesn't completely kill everyone's desire to learn and better themselves.

Eh... sorry that I don't have much more to say about it, I just find myself frustrated with education right now.

In need of a giant spoon... thanks Hillary

I have moments of forgetting about the impending election, then I get to read fascinating articles like this one. It is a good thing that the presidential elections have been reduced a popularity contest. It is so heartwarming to think that there are real issues to be discussed and yet at the top of the CNN Political Tracker this afternoon it is "Hillary opens up on romance with Bill." I am so glad for her, he buys her gifts and they love each other. And she even describes how he looked when she first met him. Great! I am glad to hear that she is willing to stand by a man who cheated on her (several times). Look I am not really here to give Hillary a hard time, she got quite a bit of that before, but let's be realistic. This is one of the most important elections in a long time with so much going on international and domestically and the only thing CNN can come up with to put on their "NEWS"worthy website is a tidbit on the love story that is Hillary and Bill Clinton. I guess I just can't be comfortable with that.

This brings me back to my last post, no one cares about politics anymore, they care about the popularity contest. Well, when get stuck with some babysitter president who does nothing and everything goes to hell in hand basket maybe then we'll step up and realize. Of course the question then becomes, will it be soon enough?

Our Nation's Capitol

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit the city of Washington D.C. for the 3rd time in my life. The first time I was in 8th grade, the second I was only able to visit Georgetown for corporate training, and the third was to visit the city with my grandmother. She and I have been discussing a trip to DC together since my 8th grade trip and finally it was accomplished.

There is something strange about visiting the capitol these days. While walking past monuments and looking at the iconography associated with each one I found it difficult to avoid hating a good portion of the politicians we have elected. I won't name names and give a list of those in particular I dislike for this reason or that, instead it is a general frustration at politicians as a whole. I also will not be so ignorant as to assume that they themselves cause this problem. I think it is a deeper problem present in the US.

With the speed of daily life, continued increase in technology, and decrease in political interest comes an overwhelming problem. People in America no longer have the time, energy, or interest in politics or what gets done to make this country great. When you stroll through the monuments in DC it is hard not to feel patriotic and think long and hard about all of the people who have fought with words or with weapons to make and keep this country together. One of the most powerful images is the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights in the National Archives. Standing just inches from the parchment makes one remember and realize that everything we are able to enjoy today is a direct product of what those men (and women) argued for hundreds of years ago. Yet, what is disheartening is that many today don't think about this and don't have time to care. Politicians no longer make speeches about freedom and rights the way they used to. It has been a long time since we have had a George Mason, Abraham Lincoln or an FDR.

I could go on about this subject for a long while, but instead I focus on this one aspect of discovery I had this weekend in DC. Americans no longer look to political leaders and soldiers as heroes, instead they look to MTV and Hollywood. The time of political leaders who can rally the American spirit and remind people why the Senate, House, Supreme Court, and White House even exist seem long gone. I miss those days and I fear we won't see them again. What will it take to get back there and what will it take for Americans to realize that the life we live is a product of these types of heroic figures, not because of hip hop artists and movie stars? Will Americans come to realize that everything they have could disappear if not properly maintained?

helping addicts

San Francisco is considering public policy that would allow for a legal, safe injection room. The idea seems like an interesting one with all of the current clean needle exchanges that already exist. The only hesitation I have with it is what it may do for drug users. In my opinion it would further the belief that the public is okay with what they are doing. In truth, we're not. I understand that getting clean can be rough and the process of rehabilitation is daunting, but seriously, legal shoot up stations that keep nurses on staff to assist. Seems like money that could be better spent elsewhere. Like helping these people get the serious help they actually need. The clean needle exchanges serve a straightforward purpose. We don't want HIV and other blood born diseases to spread so here is a clean needle to use. That I can live with, but the just in case you overdose here is a nurse to help you out, it just goes too far.

Maybe I am not seeing the big picture here, but I just don't see why giving them a safe place to shoot up is a good idea. Yes it is dangerous to do drugs and you could die from unsafely injecting or even from injecting at all. That is the very point, drugs are unhealthy. So why encourage a safe and somehow "approved" way to do them.

I admit I am not offering any suggestions here only shooting down the idea, but there really is little that can be said for the situation. Drugs are unhealthy and people shouldn't use them. Organizations spend millions a year trying get this point across and people still won't listen. There is a warning label that says don't drop this in a bathtub on a hairdryer. Should we be protecting the idiots who ignore the labels and blow dry their hair while bathing, or do we let them continue to collect Darwin awards?