Random Comments (RH)

[Bo D]

I am wiser than this man, for neither of us appears to know anything great and good; but he fancies he knows something, although he knows nothing; whereas I, as I do not know anything, so I do not fancy I do. In this trifling particular, then, I appear to be wiser than he, because I do not fancy I know what I do not know.

Socrates

[Y]

You want to know what REALLY SUCKS about getting old?

Losing your friends one by one.

Lost another one last night.

An unfortunate side effect of living a long life is that the older you get the more dead people you know...sad, but true.   

[me]

[Bo D]

...

[Palehorse]

...

It sickens me how hypocritical we are as a nation. We castigate countries that do the very same or worse, and yet sweep under the rug our own complicity in such doings. . .

[Palehorse]

Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

The irony is all of this is this day, all these years later, we find ourselves in a situation wherein workers rights, benefits, wages, and quality of work life, are at their lowest point since this nation began this national holiday created in recognition of the social and economic achievements of the American worker. . .

[Locutus]

One of my friends is moving.  They're cleaning out a lot of stuff, and in an old box, her boyfriend found this.  Since some of you are from around there, I figured I would share it.

[Purplelady1040]

One of my friends is moving.  They're cleaning out a lot of stuff, and in an old box, her boyfriend found this.  Since some of you are from around there, I figured I would share it.

Wow, that is a great piece of history to have!

[me]

I'll bet the library would love to get ahold of that.

[Exterminator]

Is that a bong on the table behind him?   

[Palehorse]

Is that a bong on the table behind him?   

Could be. IS that a bottle of wine to fill it with? 

Are they moving to Colorado? 

[Palehorse]

14 years is apparently the amount of time it takes for a national tragedy to fade enough to be pushed out of the minds of those of us here, to the point where political issues are far more worrisome than what took place 14 years ago.

Football shenanigans now take priority over the loss of 2,997 American lives, the loss of freedoms, and the loss of a nations safety; however false said safety apparently was, and remains. Moreover, the subsequent loss of lives of service members deployed toward actions initiated as a result of this tragedy can be added to the aforementioned total.

I am not advocating for a perpetual day of mourning, but when I hear statements (historical) insinuating that this nation was brought to its knees by this event, I cannot help but feel anger and resentment over such speculation. We were never on our knees, except for those members of the population that chose prayer as an initial response, (as is their right), nobody in this nation was brought to their knees by such a cowardly and insidious act.

9/11/2014 finds this nation more divided than it has been in 200 years? Yes. Have we struggled in the ensuing years as a population and as a nation? Yes. And we continue to just as the rest of the planet does; and for some of the very same reasons.

In the days, weeks, and months following the event, this nation purchased more American flags, and flew them, than any other time that I can recall within my lifetime to this point. And as it has since well before this event, that flag has flown from my home almost every single day; and especially on historical and commemorative days such as this one has become.

As I pulled into the neighborhood I live in this evening I noticed something. Most of the homes have fixtures for a flag within a prominent position, but only a very few actually had a flag flying from them. I made a pass around the whole subdivision before pulling into my driveway, just to observe how many flags were flying this day. The count was 5; and each one of the homes from which the flag was flying belonged to the family of a former service-member, or the family of a currently serving family member. I know because I am personally acquainted with each family living within the homes that are flying those flags. And every single one of them are families we are friends with. . .

Yes, there was period of time when the "patriotism" this date evoked within the media and the general public was, to be blunt, sickening to me. Sickening because it was nothing more than propaganda induced, and used as a means to covertly further the cause so dearly loved by the dogs of war. The cause that has placed, and continues to place the sons and daughters of this nation directly into harms way; and a place they go to, 14 years later, voluntarily.

They are as scared as any one of us would be going into such a situation, and for some perhaps those fears are amplified by the fact that throughout this period they have had to deal with the absolute worst humanity can muster up; several times. And yet they move forward.

I, (and many, many more), have my disagreements with the justifications and validations for the 14 year conflict we continue to find ourselves entrenched within, but when it comes to our sons and daughters none of that matters.

What matters is that they follow orders and do the bidding of this nation in securing what remains of freedom within this world today. But for them, the specter of war would be playing out in our own neighborhoods, streets, fields, and yards. Whether the initiatives they are deployed toward are right or wrong is a matter for history to adjudicate.
And make no mistake, it will.

I fly the flag this day in their honor, and in remembrance of those men and women victimized by the twisted and insidious logic of terrorism, and to prove to the rest of the world that this nation was never on its knees over what took place 14 years ago. We were never in danger of dying over this event. The event awakened a sleeping giant and his dogs of war, and we've spent the past 14 years trying to quell the thirst for blood those dogs you awakened live for. And at the same time we've been dealing with the very same issues every other nation on this planet is dealing with. And we're still here, still breathing, still living, and still struggling to find ourselves within this new world order.

We paid a price, yes we did, but do not make the mistake of assuming we do not have a place at the table. This nation is akin to a bully breed canine, and it will assume the Alpha role in this new world order. . .  In fact, we have never abdicated the position. . . And never will.

[Henry Hawk]

like always......................well said. 

[Y]

Our Constitution is decidedly isolationist - read it.   

[Locutus]

Does this look like a bomb to anyone?