Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Gunfighter @ Blog Talk Radio

If you have some time this afternoon, come and give me a listen at my blog talk radio show.  5 PM on the east coast, 3 PM out west.  Today's topic will be:  "Chickenhawks and other Republicans", as usual, there are few taboo subjects with me, so feel free to call in and speak your mind on a variety of subjects.

The call-in number is: 347 539 5520

See you later!

The Rest of America - A Report From "Flyover Country"

A fellow progressive blogger, a smart lady called Cynematic, recently posted a piece at the MOMocrats blog, that reminded me of the following post that I wrote in 2006, just a week or so after starting this blog.  I took a moment to re-read it, and thought that I would support Cyn, by re-posting it here.  I have inserted a few images, and all other additions, other than stylistic will appear in red text.

Enjoy!

GF

Recently Uncle Sam sent me to Altoona, Pennsylvania, to attend a week-long course on pistol, rifle, and shotgun repair. It was a class that I needed to take because guns get a lot of hard use (at least, they do where I work), and from time to time, they break and need to be repaired or worn parts need to be replaced.

This wasn’t the first time I had been to Altoona, and it won’t be the last, but this was the first time I had an extended stay in this blue-collar town in the midst of rural Blair County, Pennsylvania.

While the subject of firearms repair is mildly interesting, it isn’t quantum physics, so it didn’t consume my evenings with study. This gave me plenty of time to take a good hard look around at a part of America that urban coastal guys like me aren’t terribly far from, but rarely ever see.

The Altoona area has been settled since the middle of the 18th century, but the Pennsylvania railroad is what put the town on the map. By the middle of the 19th century, the railroad system was how people and goods moved about the country in large numbers. Since railroads were becoming so important to the economy, railroad centers became important regional centers. Altoona was one of those centers, and as a result  the population exploded.  One of the results of said population explosion was that Altoona grew rapidly, and subsumed another town, Juniata (pronounced Jew-knee-AH-ta), into itself. What was a newly incorporated borough in the mid 1850’s became an incorporated city by 1868. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the end of the steam age and brought in the diesel locomotives of today, and by the end of World War II, Altoona had seen it’s population at it’s high-water mark.

Altoona continues to be the regional population center, such as it is, but with the decline of the railroads as the way most people travel long-distance, it has fallen on hard times… or so I thought.

When you drive through Altoona, it strikes you as a classic down-at-heel mill town… sort of reminiscent of the town that the Robert DeNiro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken characters in “The Deer Hunter" lived in. Old houses that had their best days many years ago dominate the central part of town. It appears, at first glance, that the local area high school, and its well-kept athletic fields, is the focal point of the community.

The people of Altoona, if what I saw was accurate, are a religious lot… and if you don’t believe me, you should see how many churches are in this town (pictured here is Trinity Lutheran, on 6th street). The people of Altoona are a patriotic lot as well, the area's Army and Naval reserve and National Guard units having served in all of America’s wars. One of the ladies at Wendy’s has a son that just joined the Army. She is worried about him, but is proud of her son’s decision. As a matter of fact, nearly every man that I spoke to while I was in Altoona was a fellow veteran.

Altoona also has a minor league baseball team, the Altoona Curve.  I drove past the stadium and wished that I would be in town for a game, but alas, the season was a week or so away, and I wouldn’t be there that long.

Another thing you will notice in Altoona (well, if you are me, anyway) is that everyone looks the same, which is to say, that I was in town two days before I saw any black people other than the guy I always see in the mirror when I shave. It was rather odd when I walked into the local Wal-Mart and was met with open staring. One woman actually bumped into her husband while she gaped, open-mouthed. The ice was broken when I laughed and told her to try not to hurt herself. The Instructor for our course (a crusty old former Navy SEAL), remarked on the first day, that our class had drastically, if only temporarily, changed the demographics of the town, where, as he put it, “die-ver-sit-tee” ain’t Altoona’s strong point, men”. He wasn’t kidding. There were 12 men in the class and 6 were white, 5 were black, and one was Latino.

Lest you think this is going to be a discussion of rural Pennsylvania racism, I urge you to read on.

The people of Altoona that I encountered (referred to by one of their own as “Altoids”) were mostly very friendly and cheerful people. The ladies at the Wendy’s restaurant, where we ate lunch a few times, were eager to chat, and were very solicitous about our comfort while we ate our three-dollar burgers (and yes, I did have fries with that).

Determined to find out what Altoona was all about, I spent a fair amount of time just driving around looking at places as well as a fair amount of time sampling places to eat. I had dinner at three different Chinese buffets while I was in Altoona, all of which were along Plank road, which is Altoona’s economic jugular vein. One of them (across the street from the Veteran's Hospital) was REALLY good, the other two were quite unremarkable… but the people were nice. I also went to a place called CiCi’s Pizza (located next to Wal-Mart… also on Plank road). CiCi’s is a pizza buffet, which I wasn’t really in the mood for, but it was getting late, and I hadn’t eaten in nearly 8 hours (hungry Gunfighter means CRANKY Gunfighter... Cranky Gunfighter... not good), so in I went. "WELCOME TO CiCi’s!!”, the teenaged girl behind the counter bellowed at me, almost causing me to beat a hasty retreat. The pizza was fair; the atmosphere was a cross between Sizzler and your high-school cafeteria. I read while I ate my dinner and then quickly made for the door. Before I could put my hand on the push-bar, the barely-out-of-her teens manager rushed up to me and bellowed (bellowing is obviously a big thing in Altoona) “Thank you for dining at CiCi’s! We’ll See-See ya later!” (“No you won’t", I thought to myself).

NOTE: Before I went to Altoona, I had never heard of CiCi's Pizza... now they are everywhere, including good 'l' Woodbridge, Virginia.

So, let’s recap, the people were nice, the streets were pretty clean, the town isn’t terribly diverse, the young folks like to bellow… ok, moving on.

I was saving the highlight of Altoona’s retail pleasures for my next to last night in town, and THAT was the local mall… on Plank road, next to K-Mart, which I visited the night before. The mall had all of the standard stores, the jewelry stores, a skate shop, several athletic shoe stores, the obligatory cellular phone kiosks, etc… but the place was devoid of any sort of soul. Even Sears was rather lifeless! Damn! My yardstick for many places is how much I like the local mall. Well, Altoona failed miserably in that respect… but I have to give the place a break, since it is kind of unfair to make a comparison to a mall in that area to any of the myriad malls in the DC suburbs.

The next evening, my classmates were going to go to a local place for dinner and drinks, but, I went to the regional library instead (on 17th street, NOT Plank road, thank you, very much). On this beautiful spring-like afternoon, as I was about to enter the library, I met a lady named Judy. Judy works at the county Senior Services Center... a delightful, silver haired, 61 year old with whom I chatted about politics, social issues, our mutual dislike of the current occupant of the White House, our sorrow at the waste of lives that our war in Iraq is producing, and saving the world. Judy is married to a retired Coast Guardsman, and is the main reason that I decided to write about this place, for reasons that I hope to make clear, below.

You see, Judy made me realize that Altoona, and by extension, other places like it, is a different place than perhaps we metropolitan east and west coasters think. Often, we derisively call places like Altoona “flyover country”. It isn’t fair, and it's not right (who can give me the musical reference???). We hip, urbane, in-the-know people think that since we live in major population centers and work in finance, government, the arts, the law, or the widely-distributed media, that we have a better grasp on things happening in this country.

We don’t.

We liken people that live in places like Altoona to be backward hicks. They aren’t. They are the population of what I call “The Rest of America”… people that spend their days working to raise families and live their lives… lives that started and will likely end very near where they live today. They have views and opinions shaped by their experiences, and those experiences, like my own or your own, make them think and believe as they do. Their experiences may be different than ours, but the opinions and views that are shaped by them are no less valid than our own.

I spent nearly an hour talking to Judy, and was very pleased with our conversation. She had spark and vitality that I smugly wouldn’t have thought to find in a place “like this”. When we parted ways, I decided people had to know, or at least that I had to tell someone what was on my mind.

I know that not all who read this live in or near major metropolitan areas, but rest assured that there is at least one person in my America that isn’t ignoring you and doesn’t think that you are any less worthy than someone that does.

I promise to pay more attention in the future.

Two years down the road from when I originally wrote this, I'm still paying attention.  As it turns out, the two different Americas aren't as different as we may have thought.  Sure, differences remain... what else can you expect from a country as large as this one.  The important thing is that we are still one America, and if you don't believe me, take a look at the candidacy of Barack Obama.  His campaign is living, breathing, walking, talking proof that the America the my parents were raised in has for the most part been washed away. 

I am excited by this new America, where all of you who read this, who have children under the age of sixteen, will raise their kids into adulthood, never knowing an America where you had to be male AND white to aspire to the highest offices in the land.

A fellow progressive blogger, a smart lady called Cynematic, recently posted a piece at the MOMocrats blog, that reminded me of the following post that I wrote in 2006, just a week or so after starting this blog.  I took a moment to re-read it, and thought that I would support Cyn, by re-posting it here.  I have inserted a few images, and all other additions, other than stylistic will appear in red text.

Enjoy!

GF

Recently Uncle Sam sent me to Altoona, Pennsylvania, to attend a week-long course on pistol, rifle, and shotgun repair. It was a class that I needed to take because guns get a lot of hard use (at least, they do where I work), and from time to time, they break and need to be repaired or worn parts need to be replaced.

This wasn’t the first time I had been to Altoona, and it won’t be the last, but this was the first time I had an extended stay in this blue-collar town in the midst of rural Blair County, Pennsylvania.

While the subject of firearms repair is mildly interesting, it isn’t quantum physics, so it didn’t consume my evenings with study. This gave me plenty of time to take a good hard look around at a part of America that urban coastal guys like me aren’t terribly far from, but rarely ever see.

The Altoona area has been settled since the middle of the 18th century, but the Pennsylvania railroad is what put the town on the map. By the middle of the 19th century, the railroad system was how people and goods moved about the country in large numbers. Since railroads were becoming so important to the economy, railroad centers became important regional centers. Altoona was one of those centers, and as a result  the population exploded.  One of the results of said population explosion was that Altoona grew rapidly, and subsumed another town, Juniata (pronounced Jew-knee-AH-ta), into itself. What was a newly incorporated borough in the mid 1850’s became an incorporated city by 1868. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the end of the steam age and brought in the diesel locomotives of today, and by the end of World War II, Altoona had seen it’s population at it’s high-water mark.

Altoona continues to be the regional population center, such as it is, but with the decline of the railroads as the way most people travel long-distance, it has fallen on hard times… or so I thought.

When you drive through Altoona, it strikes you as a classic down-at-heel mill town… sort of reminiscent of the town that the Robert DeNiro, John Savage, and Christopher Walken characters in “The Deer Hunter" lived in. Old houses that had their best days many years ago dominate the central part of town. It appears, at first glance, that the local area high school, and its well-kept athletic fields, is the focal point of the community.

The people of Altoona, if what I saw was accurate, are a religious lot… and if you don’t believe me, you should see how many churches are in this town (pictured here is Trinity Lutheran, on 6th street). The people of Altoona are a patriotic lot as well, the area's Army and Naval reserve and National Guard units having served in all of America’s wars. One of the ladies at Wendy’s has a son that just joined the Army. She is worried about him, but is proud of her son’s decision. As a matter of fact, nearly every man that I spoke to while I was in Altoona was a fellow veteran.

Altoona also has a minor league baseball team, the Altoona Curve.  I drove past the stadium and wished that I would be in town for a game, but alas, the season was a week or so away, and I wouldn’t be there that long.

Another thing you will notice in Altoona (well, if you are me, anyway) is that everyone looks the same, which is to say, that I was in town two days before I saw any black people other than the guy I always see in the mirror when I shave. It was rather odd when I walked into the local Wal-Mart and was met with open staring. One woman actually bumped into her husband while she gaped, open-mouthed. The ice was broken when I laughed and told her to try not to hurt herself. The Instructor for our course (a crusty old former Navy SEAL), remarked on the first day, that our class had drastically, if only temporarily, changed the demographics of the town, where, as he put it, “die-ver-sit-tee” ain’t Altoona’s strong point, men”. He wasn’t kidding. There were 12 men in the class and 6 were white, 5 were black, and one was Latino.

Lest you think this is going to be a discussion of rural Pennsylvania racism, I urge you to read on.

The people of Altoona that I encountered (referred to by one of their own as “Altoids”) were mostly very friendly and cheerful people. The ladies at the Wendy’s restaurant, where we ate lunch a few times, were eager to chat, and were very solicitous about our comfort while we ate our three-dollar burgers (and yes, I did have fries with that).

Determined to find out what Altoona was all about, I spent a fair amount of time just driving around looking at places as well as a fair amount of time sampling places to eat. I had dinner at three different Chinese buffets while I was in Altoona, all of which were along Plank road, which is Altoona’s economic jugular vein. One of them (across the street from the Veteran's Hospital) was REALLY good, the other two were quite unremarkable… but the people were nice. I also went to a place called CiCi’s Pizza (located next to Wal-Mart… also on Plank road). CiCi’s is a pizza buffet, which I wasn’t really in the mood for, but it was getting late, and I hadn’t eaten in nearly 8 hours (hungry Gunfighter means CRANKY Gunfighter... Cranky Gunfighter... not good), so in I went. "WELCOME TO CiCi’s!!”, the teenaged girl behind the counter bellowed at me, almost causing me to beat a hasty retreat. The pizza was fair; the atmosphere was a cross between Sizzler and your high-school cafeteria. I read while I ate my dinner and then quickly made for the door. Before I could put my hand on the push-bar, the barely-out-of-her teens manager rushed up to me and bellowed (bellowing is obviously a big thing in Altoona) “Thank you for dining at CiCi’s! We’ll See-See ya later!” (“No you won’t", I thought to myself).

NOTE: Before I went to Altoona, I had never heard of CiCi's Pizza... now they are everywhere, including good 'l' Woodbridge, Virginia.

So, let’s recap, the people were nice, the streets were pretty clean, the town isn’t terribly diverse, the young folks like to bellow… ok, moving on.

I was saving the highlight of Altoona’s retail pleasures for my next to last night in town, and THAT was the local mall… on Plank road, next to K-Mart, which I visited the night before. The mall had all of the standard stores, the jewelry stores, a skate shop, several athletic shoe stores, the obligatory cellular phone kiosks, etc… but the place was devoid of any sort of soul. Even Sears was rather lifeless! Damn! My yardstick for many places is how much I like the local mall. Well, Altoona failed miserably in that respect… but I have to give the place a break, since it is kind of unfair to make a comparison to a mall in that area to any of the myriad malls in the DC suburbs.

The next evening, my classmates were going to go to a local place for dinner and drinks, but, I went to the regional library instead (on 17th street, NOT Plank road, thank you, very much). On this beautiful spring-like afternoon, as I was about to enter the library, I met a lady named Judy. Judy works at the county Senior Services Center... a delightful, silver haired, 61 year old with whom I chatted about politics, social issues, our mutual dislike of the current occupant of the White House, our sorrow at the waste of lives that our war in Iraq is producing, and saving the world. Judy is married to a retired Coast Guardsman, and is the main reason that I decided to write about this place, for reasons that I hope to make clear, below.

You see, Judy made me realize that Altoona, and by extension, other places like it, is a different place than perhaps we metropolitan east and west coasters think. Often, we derisively call places like Altoona “flyover country”. It isn’t fair, and it's not right (who can give me the musical reference???). We hip, urbane, in-the-know people think that since we live in major population centers and work in finance, government, the arts, the law, or the widely-distributed media, that we have a better grasp on things happening in this country.

We don’t.

We liken people that live in places like Altoona to be backward hicks. They aren’t. They are the population of what I call “The Rest of America”… people that spend their days working to raise families and live their lives… lives that started and will likely end very near where they live today. They have views and opinions shaped by their experiences, and those experiences, like my own or your own, make them think and believe as they do. Their experiences may be different than ours, but the opinions and views that are shaped by them are no less valid than our own.

I spent nearly an hour talking to Judy, and was very pleased with our conversation. She had spark and vitality that I smugly wouldn’t have thought to find in a place “like this”. When we parted ways, I decided people had to know, or at least that I had to tell someone what was on my mind.

I know that not all who read this live in or near major metropolitan areas, but rest assured that there is at least one person in my America that isn’t ignoring you and doesn’t think that you are any less worthy than someone that does.

I promise to pay more attention in the future.

Two years down the road from when I originally wrote this, I'm still paying attention.  As it turns out, the two different Americas aren't as different as we may have thought.  Sure, differences remain... what else can you expect from a country as large as this one.  The important thing is that we are still one America, and if you don't believe me, take a look at the candidacy of Barack Obama.  His campaign is living, breathing, walking, talking proof that the America the my parents were raised in has for the most part been washed away. 

I am excited by this new America, where all of you who read this, who have children under the age of sixteen, will raise their kids into adulthood, never knowing an America where you had to be male AND white to aspire to the highest offices in the land.

Where Is God?

Last year, Bono was the recipient of the NAACP's Chairman's award for work that he as done on behalf of the poor.  Here is part of his speech.

Just in case you have forgotten.

John McCain: "Maverick"?

You think John McCain is some sort of "maverick"?, well, just watch. This country cannot afford John McCain as President. Not now. Not ever.

Top Tier VP Picks?

Some people are calling the following the top tier of potential VP picks for Senator Obama....

Senator Jim Webb (Va)

Webb is doubtful.  Not because of his viability... I like the guy myself., but but he is a Democrat holding a Senate seat from Virginia, I don't think we should give up that seat, and potentially lose it.... unless, of course, Governor Tim Kaine decides to appoint the fabulous Mark Warner to the seat.

Senator Hillary Clinton (NY)

Doubtful in my eyes.  Too many negatives.  Additionally, a nasty campaigner that doesn't signal change... and her last name is Clinton.

Senator Joe Biden

I can't see it.  Joe Biden is like watching paint dry.

Governor Brian Schwietzer

Who would bring what? (yes, I know who he is, but does the rest of the country?)

Governor Janet Napolitano

Bold move... but I am fairly convinced that his running mate won't be a woman.  Good choice or not.

Senator Sherrod Brown

Nope.

Senator Chuck Hagel

Last I heard, Chuck Hagel is still a Republican.

General Wesley Clark

Possible... too close to the Clintons for my taste... but still a possibility.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius

See my comments on Napolitano

(former) Senator Tom Daschle

You're kidding me, right?  fat effing chance... this guy lost his Senate seat when he was minority leader!

Mike Bloomberg

Bwaaahahahahahaha!  No.

Bill Richardson

An interesting choice... he has maturity, tons of foreign policy and executive experience.  He might have to lose that beard though... which would be a shame.

What say you?

Issues (1)

Today, I had planned to talk about how spectacular it was to enter my very own Wegmans grocery this past Sunday, but I can't.  Oh, not because it wasn't spectacular, it was everything I wanted it to be, and more, but... I need to talk about a serious issue instead.  I suppose that some would call it  a political issue, and some would cal it a social concern, but no matter what you call it, you'll probably call it important.  It's this:

The health care crisis.

Yeah.  That.  The 800 pound gorilla, the third rail of modern politics.  The issue that most people talk about but refuse to do anything about.

Oh, sure... it's easy for mt to sit here and talk about it... what with my great health insurance that I owe to my employment by the federal government... but, it wasn't always that way.

I happen to know, first hand, like so many other Americans, that our health care problems run deep, and cause daily pain, both physical and financial to not only America's poorest people, but for the middle classes as well.

In the time between the end of my military service and my later employment by the federal government, I worked for a government contractor for seven years.  During those seven years I was without health insurance.  I wasn't without insurance because my company didn't offer it.  I wasn't without health insurance because I thought that I didn't need it.  I wasn't without health insurance because of my own personal feelings of invincibility.  No, I needed it alright... I was the (divorced) father of a young child, who, fortunately was covered by her mother's great coverage.  No, none of those reasons.

I didn't have health insurance because, despite my good job, I just couldn't afford it.

I ha a good job.  I was gainfully employed, but despite the fact that I didn't have many expenses (except for child support and rent) , I still couldn't afford health insurance.

A couple of weeks ago, I told you that I had sustained some injuries when I was in the serveice of Uncle Sam?  Well, some days, those injuries (my lower back/ right hip) used to leave me in such pain, that I would looks and move as feebly as Yoda.  I was in pain more than I wasn't in pain, and needed treatment, but I couldn't afford it.  Even if I could have paid ofr a Doctor visit or two, I couldn't afford to miss work.... because I was paid by the hour and we only got 4 sick days per annum.  Yeah.  4.

So.  There I was.  What did I do about my pain?  I took lot's of Alleve and walked really slow so my limp wouldn't be so pronounced.

OK, sob story over... my back is in much better shape, thanks for asking, and rarely bothers me anymore.  The point here is that it isn't how being uninsured effected me.  No, the point is that this isn't just some case of people crying poor-mouth about costs, the point is that our medical system is broken, badly

I just can't fathom that a country such as ours, which can project power and wage war anywhere on the globe... which can shoot down errant sattelites and ballistic missiles... which can send scientific probes to make soft landings on Mars, can't find a way to provide basic health care to it's poorest citizens and/or at least subsidize basic coverage for the middle classes who work hard, and pay taxes.

It seems to me that our priorities are out of whack.

I'm not advocating a system like the British system necessarily, but I am suggesting that we could learn an awful lot from our British, Canadian, and Australian cousins.  It's the civilized thing to do.

Look, I don't have all of the answers... I'm just some blue-collar civil servant with guns... but what I will tell you for certain is this:

We should serve our citizens better in a country such as this.

However you feel about the coming Presidential election, you need to ask candidates about their position on health care.  Anyone who tells you that everything is just fine, should be beyond your consideration as someone who cares about this country or it's people.

Hillary Clinton, Assassination, & Slimy Politics

I wrote this on Sunday evening.

It's a beautiful early Sunday evening.  I am sitting on our lower deck, waiting for the coals to turn from charcoal black, to that fine, nearly white ashen color that will tell me that they are ready to cook the tenderloin that I will sere to my family this evening.

The sounds of the holiday weekend are all around: the light traffic on the street that runs behind my house is there... so is the drip from the hose that I keep running whenever the grill is operating. The hum of the central air conditioning unit is ever-present, but not bothersome, and the temperature is just right.

In the deck above me, Soccer Girl is having a snack and reading one of her books.  She is tired, having just returned from the swimming pool with Mrs GF.  We worked in the yard for a few hours today, and made great strides in getting the back garden ready for spring.

The air is fragrant with the smoke a fine Maduro cigar, and there is a pint of Stone India Pale Ale at my side.  I can sleep in, tomorrow.  All is should be right with my world.

Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

I intentionally did not post any wild flings at Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday, after hearing her rambling, semi-coherent discussion of staying in the Democratic nomination race until June, because that's when her husband seized the nomination... and when Robert Kennedy was assassinated.

I wanted to wait to post until most of the furor died down, and take this rationally.

No, I'm not leading into an Olberman-like rant.  I don't have to do that... because my man Keith did a fine job Friday night.  No.  Instead I am going to tell you why I believe that Senator Clinton isn't worthy of the highest office in the land.

If you have been paying any attention to the storm of controversy about these remarks, you surely know, by now, that the junior Senator from New York didn't make these remarks off-the-cuff.  Apparently, the good Senator has been saying words to this effect since March. 

Why?

Why would she, being as smart  as I believe she is, say anything about her husband clinching the nomination in California... in June?  The California primary isn't IN June anymore.  Any bump she might have gotten from a big state like California has already happened.  So since the California primary isn't going to put her over the top, and we have to presume that she knows this, what's the big selling point?  Could it really be that she is staying in the race in case someone murders the presumptive nominee?  Is she waiting in the wings, like some horrible ghoul?

No.  I don't think so, either.

However... it isn't all that much of a stretch to  believe that this is indeed the case considering the rather disgusting race-baiting that her campaign has involved with almost from the start.  No, you can practically hear the coded message that says: "Don't vote for Obama.  He's black, and sure to be murdered by a hardworkingwhiteAmerican racist.  Vote for me instead.  A lot of people dislike me... but look, I'm white"

Do I think that was the message?  Possibly, but to tell you the truth, I can't know her mind.  That said, I'll just have to take her statements, and follow-on statements as truth.  She wasn't saying that she'll stay in the race because Obama might be assassinated.  She'll stay in because it ain't over until it's over.  Fine.  Whatever.  Frankly, I think she SHOULD finish it up.  Great. Maybe after Obama is inaugurated, she can do something in his cabinet.  Like be Secretary of The Interior... or EPA or something like that.  Maybe she could be Secretary of Defense, what, with all of her combat experience in Bosnia, but I digress.  My apologies.

So, I said earlier that I would discuss my reasoning for why Senator Clinton shouldn't be President.  I guess I'd better get started.

Senator Clinton has truth issues.  As I mentioned in jest earlier.  She just made up that whole thing about being under fire in Bosnia.  It wasn't a misstatement.  You remember getting shot at. She wasn't shot at in Bosnia.  She wasn't thinking about some other time or place where she had been under fire.  She has never been under fire.  Not in Bosnia, nor anywhere else.  It was a complete fabrication.  What they call that, Senator, is A LIE.  I won't even get into the whole "experience" red-herring that her people have been throwing around.  Let's just say much of her "experience" is as fabricated as that bullshit about Bosnia, and leave it at that.

Senator Clinton is a divisive race-baiter. Yes, I realize that some of her most staunch apologists don't care about this, but I'm going to call bullshit on them right here, right f***ing now.  Clinton's defenders were quiet when Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania, said that he knows that a lot of conservative white Pennsylvanians won't vote for Obama because of the color of his skin. Sure, it wasn't Clinton talking, but you should note that her campaign never rebuked Rendell for saying it.  I suppose he was just bucking for a job in her administration.

Her defenders were also quiet when Clinton's primary wins in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Kentucky (turns out she didn't really win in Texas) led her to claim that "hard-working white people" that are on board with her.  Way to go, Senator. Divide the party by race and class.  Nice.  Hey, I thought that we weren't supposed to BE LIKE THAT IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!  I guess that only counts when you aren't getting your ass kicked.

Senator Clinton has judgement issues:  As you all know, I have said from the outset that I wouldn't support any candidate that said "yes" to giving George W. Bush permission to invade Iraq.  I said it.  I meant it, and I stand by that (hey, what good are you if you won't take a moral stand somewhere?).  If Senator Clinton is to be believed... she made her vote based on the intelligence that was presented by the administration.  Fine... I didn't buy it, and you probably didn't either.  That's because you have an IQ somethin slightly higher than a turnip.  I didn't believe it, and I don't think she did, either.  Having said that... what if that were the real truth?  What if she really bought that crap?  If she is telling us the truth, that is confirmation that Senator Clinton is about as smart as a box of rocks.  I mean, really, you bought that bullshit?  You believed that crap about the "Yellowcake Uranium"?  You really believed that "Mobile chemical lab" horseshit that the disgraceful Colin Powell took to the UN?  You believed that?  Dude!  What kind of an idiot are you?   Someone who is that dumb will believe anything, and if you'll believe anything, you have no business being in the Oval Office.

Please note that Senator Clinton's only child hasn't seen fit, much like the Bush twins AND Jenna's new husband, to join our armed forces, nor have they been encouraged to do so by their parents.  I guess Senator Clinton, much like the majority of the entitled class in this country, doesn't believe that they should serve in any capacity at risk to their own asses.   I guess they'll leave that up to the working class.

Lastly, I have to say that even if all of the above weren't true.  You have to ask yourself if someone who is as careless with her speech as Senator Clinton clearly is, has the capacity to focus hard enough to be President?  Clearly, in Senator Clinton's case, the answer is a resounding no.

PS:  It's time for some youth in the White House.  It's time for some focus.  It's time for some principle.  Senator Clinton is past it.  Her generation has had it's chance.

What a Loser

Who am I talking about?    

This guy

Just in case you haven't been paying attention, you should know that Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Ct) is a scumbag.

What decent, rationale, respectable member of the United States Senate would be so irresponsible that he would refer to one of his own senate colleagues and fellow caucus member as "The Hamas Candidate" for the Presidency?

How do you think it would play if Senator Obama had responded to that barb by saying something along the lines of "Senator Lieberman is a Jew, So I understand his employment as the highest ranking member of the Israel lobby"?  Do you think THAT would be responsible?  of course not.

Your days are numbered Joe... after this election when we have an unassailable majority... you can kiss your committee assignments goodbye.

Hmm.  Since Lieberman is up John McCain's ass all the way to his waist, could it be he is angling to be McCain's running mate?  It wouldn't shock me a bit.

Hey! Wake Up!

Hey!

You!

Yes... YOU!

Wake up.  I know you are tired.  I know that you are weary.  I know you have been talked to death over the battle for the Democratic nomination.  I know that you are sick of hearing about Jeremiah Wright, I know that you are probably tired of hearing about how well Hillary Clinton polls among white blue collar workers.

Tired or not, I need to remind you of something.

OUR ARMED FORCES ARE AT WAR.

THEY HAVE BEEN SENT TO WAR BY IRRESPONSIBLE POLITICIANS, FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN AN IRRATIONAL, KNEE-JERK RESPONSE TO 9/11.

Over 4,000 of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines have died in this immoral, illegal war of aggression.

In this Presidential election, you will have two choices, those of you who haven't voted in Primaries yet have three.  Those choices are between two Senators that mired this country in a war that has lasted longer than World War Two (without an end in sight), and another Senator that has opposed the war from the start.

Whom do you trust?  A man like John McCain, whose policies will mirror the failed policies of the current idiot-in-chief?, Hillary Clinton who stated that she voted to authorize war in Iraq because "we had to do something" about terrorism?, or the man with enough vision to say that this war was wrong, right from the start?

Never mind The Keating Five... never mind, Jeremiah Wright, never mind flagrant and unrepentant race-baiting.  Let's stick to the biggest issue that everyone seems to ignore:  Which of these people do you trust to keep the United States out of stupid and costly military misadventures?  Whom among you want to trust the lives of YOUR own children, to idiot warmongers?  Which of these people has the vision and the moral authority to make a difference in Washington?

Well, I can almost hear all of you shouting:  Barack Obama... and you'd be right.

The future is upon us.  We have clear decisions to make, and clear paths to choose from.  We can choose more of the same old bullshit if we elect either Clinton or McCain, or we can take a much needed new direction, and vote for Barack Obama.

Yes. We. Can!

YES WE WILL!

A Publice Service Announcement

The following is reprinted from colorofchange.org, portions in red are my own words.

Dear Friends,

Some leaders in the Democratic Party are playing with fire. They think that they can betray the will of millions of voters--and choose Hillary Clinton as their Presidential nominee, regardless of whether or not she is the choice of the majority of voters in the Democratic primaries. We can't let this happen. It would be the largest disenfranchisement in modern history, and it would mean the Democratic Party giving their stamp of approval to a clear and consistent pattern of race-baiting by the Clinton campaign.

If we make our voices heard, we can stop it. Please join us in signing an open letter to leaders in the Democratic Party -- DNC Chair Howard Dean, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and all superdelegates -- demanding that they reject an outcome that involves trampling voting rights and legitimizing the politics of division and fear:

http://www.colorofchange.org/dems/?id=2281-546680

By the time the last vote is cast on June 3rd under the rules of the Democratic Party, it's unlikely virtually impossible, unless Barack Obama is struck by a meteor, that Hillary Clinton will beat Barack Obama among voters. But there's a chance that superdelegates will hand Clinton the nomination anyway.

This would be a shocking attack on democracy, and it would destroy the Democratic party's credibility on protecting the right to vote. Black Americans of color people have a long history of fighting against voter suppression, and now the Democratic Party will be the enemy in that fight. As bad as that would be, there's another reason that a coup by party insiders would threaten racial progress.

Senator Clinton's plan to have superdelegates hand her the nomination doesn't make sense without a parallel strategy -- she has to stoke enough division and race-based fear among Democratic voters to convince superdelegates that white voters will not vote for Senator Obama in the general election. One of Clinton's key arguments to superdelegates is that America won't elect a Black man, and therefore she's the better choice for Democrats to beat John McCain. While she makes that argument in private to superdelegates, in public Clinton's campaign and her surrogates are doing everything they can to damage Barack Obama by ginning up fear and division and playing to the worst instincts of our society. It's an insult to Black people and all Americans, Obama and Clinton supporters alike.

The pattern has been clear and consistent to some party leaders. Last week, according to the Washington Post, James Clyburn -- who as House Majority Whip remains neutral and is the highest ranking Black member of Congress -- accused the Clintons of marginalizing Black voters. Referring to this strategy in another interview, Clyburn said that "Nothing in this campaign has been by accident."

Congressman Clyburn warned that "black people are incensed" over the divisiveness of the Clinton strategy and that it threatens an irreparable breach between Black people and the Democratic Party. He's right. And if superdelegates hand Clinton a victory despite her defeat among voters, they will be condoning and rewarding that strategy.

Some party leaders have expressed strong concern about superdelegates overruling voters. But as a whole, superdelegates have not made it clear that they will respect the will of voters. Today, we want to send a clear, unequivocal message to superdelegates and other party leaders: Reject the idea that the nomination can be won with a strategy that preys on racism, sows division, and disenfranchises millions of voters.

Please join us: http://www.colorofchange.org/dems/?id=2281-546680

Further, Governor Dean,  I think that you should know that there are no small number of activists in the blogosphere that plan to influence as many voters as possible to directly attack the democratic party's ability to achieve the White House if Clinton is handed the nomination with out winning it via the legitimate votes that were cast in the various state primaries and caucuses.  We view another four years of bad Republican government as no better than a Democratic government installed by immoral practices.

Some may see this as an exercise in "sour grapes", but what it will actually be is the permanent... PERMANENT fracture of one of the largest voting blocks in the Democratic party.

My name is Gunfighter, and although I didn't write the bulk of this message,  you can bet your entire ass that I heartily approve of it.