It's been a While

So it’s been a while since I posted to my blog, time seems to always get away from me as I’m sure you all feel the same. I hope everyone had a Very Merry Christmas and I pray that you all have an even Happier New Year. This is the year for change, we have the first African American President, the economy has shown us all that we need to look at what we need more then what we want and that we can help others no matter how bad things get for ourselves. Let’s remember to carry that willingness to help forward into 2009.

For me, I have been blessed. I have my health, my loving family and things overall hadn’t been that bad for me. I spend two tours in Iraq and survived it, had to have surgery on my shoulder and it turned out to be in much better shaped then the doctors thought, and my son Christopher has been the healthiest he’s been in years. One of the key things that happened this year is I started to reconnect with my daughter Nikki who I hadn’t seen since 1998. She’s in her last year of college and has grown to be a wonderful young woman. I’m hoping that as we continue to talk with each other we become closer and closer. I also started talking more with my son Adam, but us men are a little slower about forgiving but in time I hope we can connect. It’s harder to speak with him because he’s in the service and stationed in Japan with his lovely wife. Maybe when he returns to the states we can try harder to work things out.

So what’s on my list of things to do in 2009?

1) Live life a little better
2) Learn to love my wife and son better
3) Take care of myself more (Health Wise)
4) Become closer to Marque Jr., Nikki and Adam
5) Lose about 30lbs and 4 inches around the waist
6) Not work so hard, give 100% vs. 150%
7) Take my family on a vacation
8) Find Florence

I recommend you look at what you should do and this year stick to it. Anyway, I’d like to wish all of you a Happy New Year and may you all get the things you wish for.

Know your candidates

Over the past few days I have heard many people say when asked when did you first hear about Barack Obama? Their answer was normally "a year or less ago"

When asked about Palin most said today but one did say in 1995 when she won a beauty contest.

Everyone has heard McCain and most have heard of Biden

So I have decided to introduce them all to my readers.

Ladies and Gentlemen here are your Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates

Democatic Candidate for President Senator for the State of Illinois Barack Obama:

http://obama.senate.gov/about/

His Running Mate for Vice President Senator for the State of Deleware: Joe Biden

http://biden.senate.gov/senator/

Repulician Candidate for President and the Senator for the State of Arizona John McCain

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCain

His Running Mate for Vice President and Governor of the State of Alaska Sarah Palin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

Now please go read about them and you make the call. But I also what you to take a different view of who would be the best President. McCain is 70+ years old in the event he was to Die or no longer be capable of performing the duties of the President do you want Gov Sarah Palin as President. In the event of Obama's untimely death would you want Joe Biden as your President?

One thing for sure Joe Biden has 10 times more experience then Sarah Palin.

How is McCain's Support for Veterans?

If you really want to know then have a peak at this article.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/does_mccain_have_a_perfect_voting_record.html

As a retired veteran I honor and respect McCain for his service and what he went through as a POW, I am; however, sick of hearing him use that as a qualifying point. No Disrespect intended. For me this article drives the point home about my lack of trust in him and his policies when it comes to Iraq, Economy and Veterans Affairs. I'm waiting for someone to pull that skeleton out of the closet that shows he has ties to some big corporation that is getting fat off the Iraq War. I ask the question, how can you say you have an understanding of the U.S. Economy when you don't know how many houses you own and lastly, how can you say you support veteran when you vote down bills that increase benefits, like health care and education for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Having been in the military during Vietnam and seeing how the U.S. government treated veterans who returned home physically and mentally damage it would seem to me that McCain would be at the four front of any bill put before Congress and Senate and House ensuring that it passed instead I find that he voted them down. I'll admit that I don't know all the facts but I do know if he voted one down that he voted one to many down.

Why is it about color???

And they said things have changed; funny as this presidential campaign continues it does seem like anything has changed at all. The other day someone sent me a picture that was taken in Tennessee. The picture was of a T-Shirt a man riding a motorcycle was wearing and it said “Nigger Please, it’s the White House!”. So tell me have they changed? Not from my seat. Now to be fair I will confess to having a T-Shirt that has on it “Don’t Worry People, It can stay White on the Outside”. What may surprise you is my Texas born, mainly Republican White wife bought it for me and I wear it around the house and only worn it twice to the locate Wal-Mart. Funny I got a lot of compliments on it…From white people.

Ok, enough about color. If things have changed then when will this campaign be about who can best service the American people and not about black or white; that’s a silly question. It will never be about who can best service the American people as long as one candidate is White and the other is Black.

What set me off you ask? I was reading this article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081013/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_lewis) and I wasn’t surprised at how McCain and Palin, in this case can dish it but can’t take it. Palin called Obama a Lair, Traitor and a Terrorist for his association with a man dubbed a domestic Terrorist in 1960’ and 70’s (http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1215925,CST-NWS-ayers12.article). Oh I failed to mention that Obama was 8 years old at the time this was going on. But his association with an English Professor at Columbia University, who was on a Board for Education Reform with him and who pushed for better education for trouble kids was not in question. Funny how in the 1960’s, when you fought for racial equality, constructional rights, and better treatment of minorities you were marked as a Domestic Terrorist (i.e. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.).

Ok back on point. McCain and Palin if you can dish out the fear driven remarks about Obama then stand up and take it when Rep Congressman Lewis calls you on your running a George Wallace type campaign.

The day was going good until...

So I'm starting my week with a sore throat and little sleep. It was boys night for me and my 4 year old, this is when he pulls the "can I sleep in here" card which is normally the following up from a discipline moment. Yesterday was a good day until my son decided it was a good time to "Do what I want". Needless to say it ended badly, for him, but then somehow it really ended badly for me.

He talks in his sleep so at 3am he decided to hold a 30 minute meeting in his dreams. To add to my troubles I wroke up this morning to a sore throat, sore to the point that it feels like I swollowed broken glass followed by a can of gas which was then lite. A Mortin 800 (Ranger Candy), a hot cup of coffee and I'm moving at a snails pace. But there's no getting a good man down, for the whole day anyway. The good thing is this was a planned day off soI'll get to rest a little before heading back to the salt mines tomorrow.

Anyway, enjoy your day...

Question: What do you call a leader with no followers?
Answer: Just a person taking a walk.