Thursday, September 28, 2006

A Matter of Conscience

For those who have yet to read, please read a statement of conscience from Whil Wheaton. As we do live in a representative democracy (no snickering please), I enjoy reading the opinion of others. While I do not agree about everything he says, he most certainly has the right to say it. I can remember feeling that way about other issues that I to felt I was not well represented on. I live in a state that opposes many of the viewpoints I hold dear and feel I should speak up when I can.

As far as courage is concerned, I think many people have the wrong idea. You should stand up for what you believe and the members of our government should vote their beliefs. So stands the question, when we elect a government official, do we totally take away his opinion and beliefs in favor of ours. Or do we elect someone in whom we hope would share the sames beliefs as ours. And if the later, do we call someone who would vote opposite our personal opinion, a coward.

If we could elect a non-thinking being to congress (again, no snickering), one that immediately turned around and polled the constituency before voting? Would we feel better? If my memory servers right, and depending on which state you live in, I am fairly sure that a lot of people would feel they were misrepresented by the results of the last presidential election, even if it had turned the other way. You cannot avoid that in a two-party system.

And I am pretty sure you cannot get people to change their beliefs or ideas by calling them cowards. If you can, then they are the ones deserving the boot, not those that stand for what they believe in.

Wil states that the bill currently in debate would be passed by Republicans and scared Democrats. I am assuming he means that the Republicans aren't scared. In either case he implies that they will follow Bush regardless. That's a terrible assumption, not only would our Democracy be in trouble, but also the very foundations of the Constitution. Two branches of government, or even one of them, taking direct orders from one of the branches seems to be a recipe for disaster. And to think it took only 230 years for our government to collapse, after all that's what we are talking about.

I don't think that Congress is simply playing follow the leader. I get emails from my representative in Congress (I didn't vote him, he does not share my ideals, but he IS my congressman and for that he gets my support AND my opinions) and he's not always the staunchest supporter of the Bush administration.

I think that the members of Congress have their own opinions and ideas, and that they act on them. I beleive if I disagree with my representative, I should let them know, but not by calling them cowards or spineless.

Your representatives are just that, representative of the constituancy. I can disagree with my neighbor, and we disagree, which one of us is the represeted one. Work with them, don't berate them.

As far as my opinion on the whole thing, like they said in 1776, 'Don't tread on me'. My addendum, 'Woe to them who do!'

Monday, September 18, 2006

The Dread Pirate Bubba

Jess and I were discussing Talk Like a Pirate Day. An interesting day were one interestingly enough, talks like a pirate . I'll let the website fill in the blanks. Anyway, in the discussion we somehow happened to mix Rednecks and Pirates. You may be just now realizing just how well those two go together . To help who have yet to come to that realization, here are the top 10 ways to tell if you are a redneck pirate.

  • 10. If your truck is jacked up four feet from the ground to allow adequate clearance for the rudder.

  • 9. If your gun rack contains a shotgun that shoots shells and monkey's fists

  • 8. You use your peg-leg to hold up the car before you slip in the concrete blocks.

  • 7. You great your friends with the phrase "Ahoy Y'all".

  • 6. Your sister's pirate name is Redbeard.

  • 5. Your truck bed has a hole for the mast.

  • 4. Your pirate flag is the skull and crossbones on a field of stars and bars

  • 3. Whenever you refer to Pirate Jack, you face reverently towards Lynchburg, VA.

  • 2. Your hound dog is perched continually on your shoulder.

  • 1. The sails on your boat are flannel.

Disclaimer: I am niether Jeff Foworthy or Dave Letterman.

I also managed to watch "Wife Swap" last night. I don't like the show as it normally is, but I have to say the idea of swapping a pirate wench with an OCD mom epitomized the stupidness of the show. The show, in celebration of "Talk Like A Pirate Day" appeared to be the most honest episode of the 3 episodes I have seen. What can I say, I am against wife-swapping no matter what the circumstance.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Please remember John Bruce Eagleson

Today on this fifth anniversary of the tragedy in New York City, we remember John Bruce Eagleson. Bruce, a resident of Middletown, Connecticut was a vice president at The Westfield Group, a company running retail shops at the World Trade Center and was only seven years from retirement. He was attending a meeting on the 17th floor of the second tower when the first aircraft hit and had received a phone call from his oldest son, Kyle, urging him to leave the building right away. In midst of the tragedy, he spent his last moments helping his friends and colleagues evacuate. Of the 11 Westfield employees working there that day, 10 survived thanks to Bruce. Bruce was last seen going back into the tower to get two-way radios to stay in touch with others, just before the building collapsed.

He is survived by his wife, Gail, and his three sons: Kyle, Timothy and Brett. He has left quite an impact on those that around him. Relatives from abroad and co-workers on that day. Different memorial sites have comments from those around the nation, from Marietta, GA to Issaquah, WA. Bruce is remembered as someone who always had a kind word and a smile, and that he liked to laugh. The words I read the most are those like: selfless, concerned and thoughtful

He was avidly concerned with education and a memorial scholarship award was created to help high school students who excel in the arts. He had spent all of his life helping and nurturing others from giving swimming lessons to disabled youth, to coaching sports, to the assistance he had given those in business-related endeavors.

John Bruce Eagleson was a lot of things, what he IS though is missed. Missed by any and everyone whose life he had touched. I would have liked to have known him, and I feel slighted at the fact that I never will.


To read more tributes to the innocent victims of September 11th. Go to the 2,996 Project.