As I noted in yesterday's post, we spent some time standing in various lines at our local polling place, waiting to cast our vote in the primary. As I noted, the crowd was amiable--and geriatric--and well-behaved. There was no weeping or wailing that I could discern, but apparently at another polling place nearby our placid mountain burg, there was some weeping and wailing. The local daily newspaper, sometimes good for a laugh with a dufus-headline missing an important word, had a story about the lines at all nearby polling places. And there was a quote, from a man who claimed to be a Vietnam veteran--the quote was, "I'm a Vietnam vet and I can't believe I risked my life for this kind of crap." The "kind of crap" this poor man risked his life for was standing in line for AN HOUR to vote.

Three things. One, this kind of "thinking" gives Vietnam veterans a bad name; couldn't the local paper have found a Vietnam veteran who felt privileged to spend a little time exercising his or her franchise? Apparently not. Two, one of the things people (well, thoughtful people, at least) recognize is that when they put on the uniform of the armed forces of the United States, they are fighting for exactly the "kind of crap" this guy found so difficult to tolerate--the right to vote for someone to represent his political party in an election to select a national leader. Damned few people in the modern world, and damned fewer in the not-too-distant past, have been granted that right and privilege. Those of us who served in the military at any time, in Vietnam or not, helped to secure that right for ourselves and, as far as the Vietnamese were concerned, well, we tried, unsuccessfully, to secure that right for them. Three: An hour is a big deal? See my note at the end of yesterday's post about being glad for the absence of threats of physical harm in order to vote--standing in line for an hour is a damned small price to pay.

So, while reading about the weeping and wailing of some "Vietnam vet," and his lament about waiting an hour to vote, it was me doing the gnashing of teeth. I'm still steamed. . . .

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND (except for the dipstick referred to, above).

Today was primary day for lots of people around the nation, MLB and myself included. So, after my regular shift at the slaughterhouse, I made the drive back home, picked up MLB, and we trundled over to our local polling place inside a nice gymnasium adjacent to a church that obviously exalts physical as well as spiritual health.

We live in an area with plenty of geezers, which makes driving around here at turns interesting, infuriating, and dangerous; today's trip to the polls reminded me of how aged our little mountain community is. There were more walkers, canes, limps, wheezers, stumblers, gropers, hearing aids, liver spots, and portable oxygen tanks in the polling place than I have ever seen, anywhere, anytime. The youngest person in the room was a woman standing in line behind me; she must have been about 40 and she was clearly the only representative from that particular demographic group in a roomful of doddering buzzards. We all stood in various lines for, I heard, upwards of two hours, waiting to make a selection that took all of about 12 seconds, but I didn't hear a single complaint, nor did anyone audibly moan about being "disenfranchised" by having to wait a bit in line before casting the ballot. Frankly, the whole process was anti-climax and a little disappointing; I wanted to show off, as the Iraqis did in their elections, a purple-stained finger, but all I got was one of those "I Voted" stickers that won't stick to anything. One of the election volunteers, a geezer herself, wearing red Converse high-top sneakers, repeatedly announced that things would be better, more organized she meant, in November, but aside from some standing around and some shuffling from line to line, it was pretty damned painless.

And no one was worried about being blown up or gunned down just for showing up to vote. Wonderful. And that reminds me--TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.

AJ

ABC News, Fox News, Bloomberg News, and other sources, reported recently that two women with Down Syndrome were used as homicide bombers in Iraq the other day. If these reports are true (and remember, just because it's widely reported, doesn't mean it's true) the Islamofascists have indeed sunk to a new low. Dr. Phil and I were discussing this and I mentioned that the new brand of fascists have apparently chosen to rid themselves both of infidels and opponents through this sort of tactic, and like the Nazis they emulate, they have apparently decided to eliminate the disabled amongst themselves, too, in the process. Unlike the Nazis, who only tortured and murdered the disabled, the infirm, the mentally ill, homosexuals, gypsies, Jews and other "vermin" from their midst (their word--vermin--not mine) the new Nazis of the Middle East now will use their disabled to commit unwitting acts of murder against innocents. I cannot think of a word that describes the incomprehensible evil that would permit people to think up and carry out this kind of act--if you can think of the appropriate term, please let me know.

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.

P.S.: See this site for more edifying materials from the Religion of Peace: http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA41908

Read this, please, if you are at all interested in Iran and nuclear weapons: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/Stopping-Iran-br--Why-the-Case-for-Military--Action-Still-Stands-11085

Also, last evening I received a couple of comments on my most recent posting, Californicated (which you can see, below). There are a couple of typos in my responses, for which I apologize--hey, Steve ran me around the tennis court for 90 minutes yesterday, my back hurt afterwards, and oh yeah, I had a beer with dinner. Those are my excuses; that's the best I can do.

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.

Music of the Day: John Scofield, Hand Jive

Two things here this time.

First, some time back in this fine space I wrote about the nut-jobs in a group called the California Coastal Commission (see my post entitled What Planet Are These People From?); this group sued the U.S. Navy to prevent the Navy from training its sailors to use sonar to detect underwater threats both here at home and abroad. It all had to do with sonar causing undersea creatures to become disoriented (something akin to what happens regularly, apparently, in official bodies in California) and, thus, a danger to themselves. The latest news is that President Bush has given a specific executive order to over-ride some court decision in favor of the undersea creatures and against the Navy. This is not, however, the last word; other courts may become involved--but for the moment, sanity prevails. . . .

. . .and second, except in the People's Republic of Berkeley, California. The City Council there just voted 6-3 in favor of banning U.S. Marine recruiters from the city--the exact language is as follows, and if this doesn't make the hair stand up on the back of your neck, I'm not sure what will: If the Marine recruiters don't leave they will be considered "uninvited and unwelcome intruders" in the great city of Berkeley. All of this has to do with the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has a certain segment of the Berkeley population up in arms (oops, that's not right is it?). Last time I checked the Islamofascist's position on homosexuality was somewhat more restrictive than "don't ask, don't tell," and the last time I checked the Marines were doing everything in their power to protect us from those folks in the Religion of Peace who would gleefully torture and murder any and all of us, regardless of our sexual "orientation." Those folks would genuinely be "uninvited and unwelcome," at which point the members of the Berkeley City Council still left alive might want to reconsider having some U.S. Marines nearby.

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.