this veterans day

at the 11th hour, on the 11th day of the 11th month of  the year 1918, the "war to end all wars" was concluded with an armistice, in a rail car near Compiegne, France.  this agreement ended hostilities between the allies and germany, but it was the treaty of Versailles that actually ended WWI.

the first armistice day was commemorated on  November 11, 1919, by presidential proclamation of  commander and chief  woodrow wilson who stated, "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."  this was a way to memorialize those who died during the great war.  a similar resolution was passed at congresses request by calvin coolidge on 4 june 1926.  armistice day became a legal holiday by act of congress on 13 may 1938.

the name of this holiday remained in effect until 1 june 1954, when congress official changed the name from armistice day to veterans day.  this was due to 9 years of work by WWII veteran raymond weeks, and honors all veterans, memorial day being the day we honor our fallen service members.

yesterday our town dedicated it's new veterans memorial, it took only 11 months to be constructed,  from ideas first being floated to the dedication ceremony.  on the black granite panels are the names of over 400 local residents who have died in military service to our country.

there has been a lot of talk this week about how "i'm fed up" and "i'm finished, my vote doesn't count for shit anyway."  really?  we lose an election and you are ready to curl up in a ball in some corner and die?

                            HARDEN THE FUCK UP AMERICA

there are men in the ground and wheel chairs and mental hospitals who willingly gave their best efforts and in many cases their lives, so that you could have a say in how you are governed.  read the stories from the revolution about the continental army, marching over frozen ground with rags on their feet, to fight the best army in the world at that point, so that they could establish our republic. go find a veteran and listen to him tell stories of friends made and lost in far off places.  then come tell me about lines at polling places being too long or your vote being worthless.

the freedoms we enjoy are not due to the "hard" work of journalists, politicians, lobbyists, lawyers or protesters, but rather the lowly grunt, who has been putting his feet in the mud and ass on the line for people he  largely does not even know, since 1775.

if you can read this thank a teacher, if you are reading it in english, thank a vet.

vote for change november 6th

i've been quiet for some time now.  wishing for something better and preparing for something worse.  i have a bit of time, so now that i've gathered my thoughts, i'll share them.

4 years ago barrack obama made history as the first black man to become the president of the UNITED STATES.  at the time i posted on a blog i previously wrote, that i wished him luck, as a rising tide floats all boats.

as i sit and write this tonight, i look around the harbor and see many vessels that have had their hulls holed, and are sitting in the muck of a low tide.  i see a president who has asked AMERICANS to do without and to dig a little deeper, as he golfs and vacations like a trust fund millionaire.  rising food and fuel prices have not kept him from flying a chef from st. louis to the white house to make him pizza.  how many of you have had to decide over pizza OR gas these last 4 years?

the wife and i consider ourselves lucky that we got to see Toby Keith and Brantley Gilbert in concert in CANADA of all places, while on vacation this summer.  over the last 4 years mr. obama has enjoyed performances by; paul mccartney, smokey robinson, joan baez, the marsalis family, (wynton came to town last year, and i'd have liked to gone, but not for $140 a ticket), bob dylan, earth, wind and fire, shelia e., stevie wonder, b.b king, the list is endless, and they all came to him.  how many concerts have you had to pass up since january 2009?

the man that came into office as a uniter and healer wasted no time in accenting the divide between blacks and whites in the country, by telling us how his white grandma, who loved and raised him, was afraid of black men on elevators.  who played up blacks distrust of police with  his 'the cambridge police acted stupidly' blast.  by inserting himself into the george zimmerman case asserting, 'if i had a son he'd look like treyvon.'

a man that swore to'....the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA.'  that would be all of the articles of the Constitution, not just the ones he likes.  allowing ATF to smuggle guns into mexico and then attempt to prosecute the gun shop owners who sold those firearms at the ATF's request,  is not preserving, protecting or defending the 2nd amendment. .invoking executive privilege after some of those same guns killed Jaime Zapata and Brian Terry, is not upholding the 5th and 14th amendments.  it is unconstitutional to require citizens to participate in commerce, and to tax or penalize them if they fail to do so. 

is he the commander in chief, campaigner in chief or chief apologist?  taking the bow for green lighting bin ladens death, an order my 6 year old would have given, is simply craven.  and this is  perhaps his strongest  character trait.  this man has blamed a shrinking workforce on everything from ATM machines to the japanese tsunami.  the massacre in libya?  that was caused by a crap movie tied to a coptic christian.  and after those 4 AMERICANS were killed, he went on letterman, again.  and he still does not apparently know the national debt.  if reelected, who's left for him to curtsy to?  we can surmise that he intends to further gut or military based on his conversation with medvedev, and the message he asked medvedev to relay to putin.

nothing matters more to this man than power.  not the death of the grandmother who raised him.  not a supposed financial meltdown as bad as the great depression.  those things barely got him off the campaign trail in 08.  not bengazi and not sandy these last couple of months.  and sure as shit not you, or the difficulties you and your families have had to stare down since january 08.

mr. obama is right about 2 things however.  that we should drive FORWARD to the polls and AVENGE the insults and injuries of the last 4 years.