SOME CANDOR AND REPARTEE ON SOME CURRENT EVENTS

SOME CANDOR AND REPARTEE ON SOME CURRENT EVENTS
By Andy Weddington
Friday, 24 June 2011


“Dogs need to sniff the ground; it's how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard.” Dave Berry


Washington, DC, and misbehavior in the people's House...

Let's begin with Codes of Conduct.

"A cadet will not lie, cheat and steal and not tolerate those who do." U. S. Military Academy/ROTC

"We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does." U. S. Air Force Academy/ROTC

"A Midshipman will not lie, cheat, or steal." U. S. Naval Academy/ROTC and U. S. Merchant Marine Academy

"Honor. Courage. Commitment."  Core Values of the U. S. Marine Corps and U. S. Navy

How long to flush the creep from New York, Representative Anthony Weiner?

This is simple. Anyone serving in a sworn office of public trust who does not conform to the standards of personal conduct expected of a young man or woman seeking commission in the United States armed forces, or, for that matter, anyone--officer or enlisted--serving in the United States armed forces, and so self-admitted or expeditiously proven, should be summarily disciplined or punished and unceremoniously dismissed from office. Period.

One is either honorable or not honorable. Honor is a prerequisite for leadership. Those entrusted with voluntarily sought public office are by default, like it or not, "leaders." Flush the other-than-honorable.* Enough said.


To New York and the Carolinas...

John Edwards. Liar. Cheater. And compelling signs a thief. A stalwart creep among the other-than-honorable. Prison. And Mzz Hunter's sex tapes will be the least of his concerns.


To Florida...

Poor little Caylee Anthony--an innocent, bright-eyed, defenseless toddler killed by her sick mother, Casey. A tragedy. A circus surrounds the long overdue trial. Assessing from media coverage, much of the trial has been a circus. The defense? Bizarre. Stupid. Insulting, even to a nitwit. Will there be justice?


Caddy corner to the Northwest...

A horde of "gold" diggers converged on Alaska to pan through tens of thousands of recently released Sarah Palin emails. Their hope--gold. No luck. Empty pans. Three "s" words come to mind: silly, sad, and sick. The media's continued assault on Ms Palin beyond tiresome. And way out of line. Despicable. Oh, and she was absolutely correct about Paul Revere's famous ride. Therefore, raw crow, less ketchup, around the table for the media idiots--who, by the way, didn't bother acknowledging she was right. Gotta love Sarah and her hockey mom 'back atcha' style. Big sassy wink! Yeah, baby! More on hockey shortly.

Juicy email? Want to peek at folk's email? Email surely more interesting than Ms Palin's? Let's start with Senator Chris Dodd (D, CT) and democratic Representative Barney Frank (MA) and work through the entire Senate and House, then move on to the Cabinet and the White House. And whilst email is being perused--ahem, ladies and gentlemen--how about taking this little bottle to the head and filling it.

All serving in the military are subject to routine and random urinalysis. Florida recently passed law subjecting those receiving government assistance to urinalysis. So high time those holding office and the public trust--our servants--do likewise. Ut oh, there's that nagging concept of "honor" again. Offended? Resign. And good riddance. A quote--more like a mission statement--from the cryptology community comes to mind: "In God We Trust--All Others We Monitor." And that means "all others." Lead the way, Mr. President.


And speaking of "In God We Trust"...

How about NBC's antics during the U. S. Open golf tourney on Sunday? Airing a dramatic, patriotic clip of school children reciting our Pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God" conveniently omitted. Commentator, Dan Hicks, addressed the matter while it was going viral on Twitter and blogs, "We began our coverage of this final round just about three hours ago and when we did it was our intent to begin the coverage of this U.S. Open Championship with a feature that captured the patriotism of our national championship held in our nation's capital for the third time. Regrettably, a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance that was in that feature was edited out. It was not done to upset anyone and we'd like to apologize to those of you who were offended by it."

The network's official "apology" couldn't include that "...portion of the Pledge of Allegiance..."--the words "under God"? Yet another clue the omission purposeful.

Yes, I noticed. And, yes, was offended. Anyone believe this was an innocent mistake? If so, snuff that doobie and crack pipe and proceed to rehab. Baloney! Let's see, the footage included homage to men and women in uniform. Men and women in uniform, at the moment of air play, were on the ground in Afghanistan so golfers (and our president et. al.) could play golf. And NBC offers a lame apology? How about a damn straight-faced explanation and the heads of the moron(s) who did it?

And so NBC discovered our nation, though fast asleep during 2008, is now wide awake paying close attention. Stand by for more November 2010-like heavy rolls.

Expect nothing honorable from NBC--who, ironically, airs "The Biggest Loser."


Back to Washington, DC...

Our government has directed tobacco companies to print graphic photos (of people and the effects of smoking) on cigarette packaging. Interesting. Is there anyone alive unaware of the substantiated dangers of smoking cigarettes (and using other tobacco products) and unable to read the current warning on packaging? Perhaps photography supercedes a thought of printing text warnings in English and Spanish and Chinese and Arabic? Goodness, what's next? Photos of clogged arteries, heart disease, and the obese on fast and junk food (e.g. candies, ice creams, cookies, chips, and soft drinks) wrappers and packaging? Don't laugh. The logic follows. And it's probably coming. Twinkies will never taste the same.


And this from Washington, DC, and one of Mr. Obama's strategy advisors, David Axelrod...

While interviewed on CNN, "I find it as cool to be an Obama supporter. Having sat with him for two years in the White House and watched him -- watching him work through some very difficult things with a lot of intelligence and grace, equilibrium...I, I have great admiration for him...The people who were participating in the campaign in 2008 weren't involved in some sort of cult of personality. It wasn't just about Barack Obama, it was the country and they cared deeply about this country."

"Cool" supporting Mr. Obama? "Cool"? Really, Mr. Axelrod? Uh, no. Though it seemed so last election, the presidency is not a junior high school superlative. Psst, raise $2 or $3B for the looming campaign--credible polls suggest it's not going to matter. The gig is up, and regardless of the opposition's early and expected who's who in the zoo. Start packing. Pass the word. Uncool is cool.


On to a small community adjacent to Toledo, Ohio...

I don't know much about ice hockey but enjoy watching games once in a while. Visiting family a couple of weeks ago, after dinner we tuned in the Canucks and Bruins Stanley Cup series. Some great hockey, I suppose, if a Boston fan. Regrettably, I did not see the last game but good for Boston. While Canadians showed they're as idiotic as all others around the globe--whether winning or losing a championship. The rioting and destruction for the sake of rioting and destruction simply ridiculous. Good grief.

But no matter, for my point commenting on hockey is to offer an observation. While my brother was channel surfing between skating periods, a commercial for 'The Bachelorette' caught my attention. Never seen the show, could care less, and am bewildered why anyone tunes in. But whatever it was about the 30 seconds ad, it occurred to me there's a quirky parallel between ice hockey and the goofy dating show--that is, a bunch of guys aggressively moving about checking each other, sometimes fighting, spending time in the penalty box, and making passes with swinging sticks all the while trying to score. And then it occurred to me there are like analogies to be made with baseball, basketball, football, and most any sport. Even golf. Frankly, golf just may be the best. Minding civility, I'll digress no further and conclude dating must be sport.


And finally on the world front...

A 22-year old young man who hails from Northern Ireland visited our nation's capital last week. He labored amongst nature at 'the Congressional' Thursday the 16th through Sunday the 19th. That is, Rory McIlroy whacked a white ball around the links, with near perfection, while smashing records en route to winning the U. S. Open.

After young Mr. McIlroy dropped his last putt on 18 he'd finished at -16 with a stunning eight stroke win--unheard of in Open play; at least since such domination displayed by Tiger Woods. Anyway, the Irishman smiled, shook hands with competitors, hugged his caddy, and then walked off the course and bear hugged his Dad while wishing him happy Father's Day. What a gift! Joy.

About the same time on the other side of the globe, supporting an effort tabbed Operation Enduring Freedom, Private First Class Josue Ibarra, USMC, 21, of Midland, TX, died from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

PFC Ibarra will not hug his father again. And what a nightmare for his father on Father's Day! Terrible. Sad.

And the others who died in defense of America during the four days of U. S. Open play...

June 16th

Sergeant Mark A. Bradley, USMC, 25, of Cuba, NY, died while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, NC.

Specialist Marcos A. Cintron, U.S. Army, 32, of Orlando, FL, died at a medical facility in Boston, MA, of wounds suffered June 6 in Baghdad, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, KS.

June 17th

Specialist Scott D. Smith, U. S. Army, 36, of Indianapolis, IN, died at Khowst province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 81st Troop Command, Indiana Army National Guard, Indianapolis, IN.

June 18th

Sergeant 1st Class Alvin A. Boatwright, U. S. Army, 33, of Lodge, SC; Sergeant Edward F. Dixon III, U. S. Army, 37, of Whiteman Air Force Base, MO; Sergeant Alan L. Snyder, U. S. Army, 28, Worcester, MA; and Specialist Tyler R. Kreinz, U. S. Army, 21, Beloit, WI, all died in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, from injuries suffered in a vehicle rollover. The soldiers were assigned to the 4th Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Baumholder, Germany. Also, Private First Class Brian J. Backus, U. S. Army, 21, of Saginaw Township, MI, died in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY.

The hearts of fathers, proud of their sons and their selfless service to country, ached on Sunday. As did the hearts of mothers. And families and friends, too.

What these men stood and fought for--important. Damn important. Their (and all the others who've died selflessly serving country) sacrifice an unrepayable debt. Shame on you NBC--Shame on you!

Golf? Not so important.

Nor ice hockey.

Nor dumb "reality" shows that don't come close to the dumb of  reality.

Life goes on.

* The other-than-honorable are accommodating and forgiving bedfellows--while the apathetic public fails to throw a collective tantrum to oust them all. Ergo we ever suffer at the hands of self-serving, lying, cheating, stealing scoundrels. Our tolerance nonsensical and inexplicable yet we wonder why. Hope is wasted effort. Change will come when the truly honorable are intolerable of the other-than-honorable. And act--with speed and conviction. Simple as that. But don't hold your breath.

Post Script

And one more on the American home front...

Despite all the backbreaking work, moral support, and good will to be done in communities across America devastated by recent wild fires, tornadoes, and flooding, not to mention a pathetic economy wrecking lives, Michelle Obama, with daughters and who knows how many 'Family & Friends of FLOTUS' in tow, is off on another overseas junket courtesy of her mean country's thin dime--that's worth about a plug nickel. Offered with just a tinge of sarcasm, as the home folk in the Big Easy say, "Laissez les bon temps rouler!" and, "You go girl." Good grief.

Author's Endnote

As a respected friend is famous for saying, "Keep those cards and letters coming!" Have a great weekend!