What's The Deal?

Hey Everyone,
  Well, after a much deserved vacation and a little undeserved computer trouble, here I am.  I know this is old news, and everyone is completely tired of Anthony Wiener and his well publicized little buddy, the little part being purely speculation as I did not view the offending photos.
   But what is the deal?!! Politicians, most of whom are men, and sex scandals? Bill Clinton, John Edwards, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Ensign, the list goes on and on.  Back in the good ol' days, dutiful wives were just supposed to put up with their husbands' roving eyes and look the other way.  Those two wild and crazy guys, John and Robert Kennedy were well known and in some circles most likely given the "we're not worthy" "Wayne's World" arm waves for their exploits involving Marilyn Monroe and various assorted reputed mob girlfriends.
  What is it about powerful men and sex?  Is it the thrill of the chase? The thrill of being caught? The thrill of appearing to be a pillar of virtue and morality while all the while living a double life as some kind of sex freak? I'm not a psychiatrist, nor do I play one on TV, so I can only speculate like everyone else.  Maybe the feeling of invincibility is just too overwhelming. Perhaps the ego boost of going from being just your average Joe to being a household name.
  Sean Hannity brought up a very good point.  He said that something seems to happen to some people who get elected to public office.  When they get to Washington they become surrounded by all the trappings and entrapment that go with it, and some where along the way they forget the meaning of being elected by the people, and of being a "public servant". I also heard someone bring up the notion of character. That the definition of character is what you are doing when no one else is looking. That speaks volumes in this case.
  But there is of course, another side.  For some women, a powerful man in a position of authority and being seen as somewhat unattainable is a very attractive prospect. Perhaps another side of "the thrill of the chase." All of these things must play into throwing family, career, and caution to the wind, and being fully convinced that your behavior will not ultimately be found out, and you will wind up on a podium somewhere apologizing for lewd pictures being sent to people who did not ask for them, and not knowing why your Congressional, Senatorial, or Governor's office was not the perfect place to hide your sex toys, or in Arnold's case, your love child.
  We could be stuck with the fact that powerful men and bad behavior just sort of go together like chips and beer. And there will always be women who are attracted to them. We can only hope it remains the exception and not the norm.      

A Few Random Thoughts

Hey Crew,
  Hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend.  More on that in a minute.  First of all. I would like to send out all of our thoughts and prayers to the good people of Joplin Missouri.  What an earth-shattering week they have had.  From loosing every possession they had, to loosing loved ones who can never be replaced. As a Wiccan, I have the utmost respect and awe in Mother Nature. She can be the most beautiful, magickal essence that one will ever encounter, and she can be a brutal, dare I say it, evil  force that can be unleashed at a moment's notice. It  is something that mere humans just cannot wrap their minds around, no matter how hard we try. It has been so great to see people from all over the country drop their own lives and come to Joplin to help the people there try to put their lives back together.  We Missourians are a hardy resilient  bunch, and Joplin WILL be back better then ever.
  While everyone is busy enjoying an extra day to sleep in, barbecuing, and the opening of swimming pools everywhere, let's not forget the true meaning of this day.  We are able to enjoy all of those things thanks to the men and women of the United States Military who have gone to far away places and put their lives on the line, been wounded, lost limbs, and of course, given the ultimate sacrifice so that the United States of America remains the land of freedom and opportunity for not just those of us fortunate enough to be natural born Americans, but for people from all over the world who desire a better life for themselves and their children, and who very often risk their very lives to get here because they know it is worth the struggle.

  American soldiers are a unique breed. They go where they are ordered to go. They carry out the missions they are ordered to carry out. They leave their own lives and families to do so. They know that there is always a possibility that they will not return. But they know that is part of the job. And it is not just a job, it is a calling. They are the best trained, best equipped military force in history. They are the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardsmen of the United States Military. On this Memorial Day, let us honor them and thank them for the job of protecting America that they do so incredibly well every day.  

Farewell To Evil

Hey Everyone,
  Well, as I have said before, when it rains it pours.  As the great Rush Limbaugh would put it, Osama Bin Laden "has assumed room temperature." It has taken 10 years, the lives of thousands of American soldiers, and two Presidents, but the world is finally rid of this evil man.
  I think the first people in line for credit are the amazing guys of Navy Seal Unit #6.  Were it not for their elite training, their bravery, and their love of this country, we would not be celebrating this accomplishment.  We do have to give President Obama the credit for issuing the go-ahead orders for this mission.  It was an incredibly complex operation and one that could have had enormous consequences in so many arenas had it failed.
  Last, but most certainly not least, George W. Bush.  He knew that the war on terror would last beyond his Presidency, and that of his immediate successor.  He had the vision and the foresight to put the policies in place that would keep America safe and ever vigilant.  Of course most Obama-zombies are not going to lower themselves to admit that.  Will they also like to deny that President Obama used a lot of these tools, the same ones that he opposed as a Senator, to make this mission possible?  No, probably not.  It would not fit into the "George Bush is an idiot/evil genius" template.
  That's O.K.  The rest of the world knows now that you can run, but you can't hide from the United States military.  Bin Laden is dead. And, as another great American once said, "It's morning again in America".      

Definitions of Feminism

Hey Everyone,
  As I was getting ready for work Friday morning, I heard a local radio host interview Phyllis Schlafley about her new book "The Flipside of Feminism."  My first exposure to Mrs. Schlafley was my junior year of high school when the Equal Rights amendment debate was in full swing.  Admittedly, I have never read any of Schlafley's books, but I have seen her interviewed many times on TV.
  I do agree with her on several points. How liberal feminists have tried to convince women that we do not need a man gumming up the works. That having children when you are not married is "cool". The list goes on.
  I often wonder, when I was born in 1965, if my mother had any idea of the vast array of opportunities that would be open to me by the time I was 21.  In those days, the options for women were scarce. If you did not marry right out of high school or soon after, the only viable career paths for women were secretaries, nurses, and teachers.
  If someone were to ask me what my "definition" of feminism is I would have to tell them that the first word that comes to mind is choice. The choices for women today are like nothing any society has ever seen before. You can choose to be a stay-at-home Mom, a job that does not get nearly enough credit or attention, but more often than not is just something blown off as menial. You can be a doctor, a lawyer, a trash collector, or you can blaze your own trail, the sky's the limit!
  The reason liberal feminists loathe the very ground Sarah Palin treads is that she is a walking definition of feminism.
 She is attractive, educated, intelligent, is happily married to a wonderful supportive husband, has great kids, and a great career. Their problem is that, she is supposed to be a liberal too. The conservative part was not supposed to happen, and it wrecked their whole vision.
      My argument with Mrs. Schlafley would be this.  Many women who came before me have opened the doors of opportunity for me. While I probably do not agree politically at all with the early feminism movement movers and shakers, I cannot deny the progress they made for the women of my generation. I think that sometimes Mrs. Schlafley would like us all to be June Cleaver, vacuuming in our pearls again, having dinner on the table at precisely the time Ward comes through the door. Guess what Phyllis, the cat is out of the bag and I don't think that will be happening. Too many of us learned early on that men were not standard equipment, they were strictly optional, and we could accomplish the goals we set for ourselves all on our own.
  Some of us have been blessed with amazing husbands or boyfriends and children, and we know we would not be who we are without them. But it was our choice. Having been on both sides of this fence, I know how vital it is to have a choice.
  I think I only have one more question for Mrs. Schlafley...What is Ward cooking for dinner tonight?        
   

Devastation In Japan

Hey Crew,
  Been a little busy, when it rains it pours I guess.  Well, I'm sure the big thing on everyone's mind is the massive 8.9 earthquake that hit Japan on Friday. The death toll stands at around 10,000 as we speak. The pictures coming out of Japan are just heartbreaking, and as much as you try, you just can't imagine what you would do if it was you. I know I can't.  I know that everyone's thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people. I know we will do all we can to help.
  That's kind of what I was thinking about.  I think we can all agree that Americans are a unique breed of people. who else could invent rock-n-roll and a 5-speed Corvette? But we are also unique in the fact that anytime there is a natural disaster in the world, Americans are always first on the scene with the aid of money, food, clean water, manpower, you name it. We even offer up aid to people we know don't particularly like us. Maybe people in other countries expect that we will be the first to arrive, maybe they don't, but we expect it of ourselves. We do it because we have been taught generation after generation to help people who need it. We have been taught to be nice, kind, generous, and giving of ourselves until it is time not to be. That is just the way we are. Call it American DNA, American values, or American exceptionalism, but just like a pull-your-face-off Ted Nugent guitar riff and that Vette that will go from 0 to 60 in a nanosecond, that's how we roll. We wouldn't have it any other way.          

Tolerant Conservatives?

Hey Gang,
  Well, it was springtime for Republicans this week at CPAC. For those of you not familliar, Conservative Political Action Conference.  Most of the rock stars were there, Pauls, both of them, Romney, Gingerich, et al. A few no-shows like Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. I am sure there were some great speeches. I heard that Rep. Allen West (R-Fl) brought down the house with his closing speech. I am definitely planning to watch it later when I get a free minute. But the one thing that stood out for me was the boycott by certain Conservative groups like Concerned Women For America, Family Research Council, and the Heritage Foundation in response to the invitation to a group called GOProud, a Conservative Gay group.
  OK. as human beings, much less Conservatives and Republicans, we are not going to agree with one another on everything Conservatives espouse. We don't in my own house. But my gut reaction was "Are you kidding me??!!" For decades Liberals have painted Conservatives as, what does Rush Limbaugh like to say, racist, sexist, bigoted homophobes. Are we helping them now? I understand that these groups are idealogically opposed to each other. But as a Conservative Wiccan my first question was, "Where do we draw the line on who are going to boycott?" Because I do not pray to the same deity as these groups does that mean I am not welcome either? I can go to any Pagan gathering any day of the week and be told in no uncertain terms that I CANNOT be Wiccan and Conservative.  Is that who we have become? Who gets to decide who is boycotted and who is not? See where I am going?  I thought as Conservatives, we were very proud of our inclusiveness. That we wanted to show people how wrong Liberals are about us.
  We have differences amongst ourselves it is true. I am not minimizing those differences. Let's talk about them and debate them. It will only make us stronger as a party.  But the stakes in 2012 could not be higher. Let's focus on what we have in common, and not sacrifice what could be great ideas for the sake of moral purity.

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Unrest In Egypt

Hey Everyone,
  I know everyone is getting ready for their Superbowl parties, so I understand if you don't have time to catch up on your favorite blogs. I'm sure all eyes are turned right now to what is going on in Egypt.
  I think that a lot of Americans are a little unsure, myself included, just exactly what is going on.  What I can tell you, based merely on observation, is that it is a very volatile situation.  Americans always have at least a passing interest when there is anyone protesting the government in their country. We are encouraged when people make their voices heard, it is practically in our DNA.  Egyptians as a population are young, the majority under 30, so Hosni Mubarak is the only leader they have ever known. They also know that about 90% of them are out of work, and that many people are living on about two dollars a day. The level of poverty and the disparity between the upper and lower to middle classes is widening. The one very troubling and dangerous aspect with this particular protest is the very real possibility of a radical group like the Muslim Brotherhood getting into power.  This group is very anti-Israel and very anti-US, and could foment other protests going on in places like Tunisia.
  Today the Vice-President of Egypt, Omar Suleiman, was involved in talks with opposition group leaders, the Muslim Brotherhood included. The Military is a very well respected institution in Egypt, so right now, they could be the best hope for any governmental transition. I don't hold out much hope that our State Department or President Obama will have little if any influence in keeping the Muslim Brotherhood out of the Presidential Palace. The next few weeks could determine just how much influence the United States still has when people in other parts of the world start to whisper to each other, words like freedom and democracy.