Thursday, December 30, 2010

Of Snobs

 
 
Snobs
(by R.P.Edwards)

Snobs to the left
Snobs to the right
Intellectual giants
In each others…sight
But I’d trade them all in
For the lowly and meek
Who tremble, while waiting
For their Father
To speak

       "But to this one I will look,
         To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word”
(Isaiah 66:2)


“Need to take a loan out.” It was a conversation starter.  A throwaway line while filling our mules…with fuel.  Once again I had crossed the river for the twenty cent discount and, on the other side of the Quick Trip Island was an elderly gent--and, since I’m in my 50’s, “elderly” means…elderly--who, wearing his jean overalls and flannel shirt, also sported a well-worn military chapeau; a black ball cap with the insignia “DD-something.”  Well, being a navy graduate (as in former-enlisted) I knew this meant “Destroyer” and, with another piece of commonality, I mentioned the hat, and my time in the service.  Then he said it, “I was in World War II.”

That little phrase opened the floodgate.  “One of the Greatest Generation,” says I. 

“Just doing my job,” says he.

I guessed his age.  “85?”

“87”

I then told him about my “Pop” (just turned 90) who was a ninety-day wonder (pulled from college, rushed through officer training, put in the fleet.  Apparently the Annapolis folk didn’t care for them).  Anyway, this fellow then related how the only trouble he ever got in had to do with one of “those.”

“I was in Hawaii,” he said. “A ninety day wonder came by, stopped, and said, “Don’t you salute officers?” I replied, “I do…when I see one.””  He then added, “It was the wrong thing to say.”

Before we parted I crossed the barrier and asked to shake his hand.  Said I wanted to touch…history.  Handshake done, I went back to the guzzler and remarked…again… “Thank you for your service.”  He said, again… “We were just doing…our job.”

You know, I’m not stupid (well, maybe in some ways), I realize that the passing generation--the one the Lord used to save the world--I realize that they were flesh.  Imperfect.  Subject to sin like the rest of us.  But, without question, that generation was raised…to fear God.  To respect Life.  To hold to moral tradition and purity.  To recognize evil.  To DEAL with evil. And, although some of these may have strayed from the moorings over the years, I dare say, if we could ask the millions--at the direst time of the conflict--when churches were bursting with petitioners, when gold stars popped up in windows like dandelions on a summers lawn, when school children read scripture and prayed prayers, when congressmen wept because their sons lay dead in a foreign grave; if we could ask them their opinion of what we’ve done with the freedom they paid for with blood and innocence; if we could ask them what they think of our twisting of truth, and the murder of youth; I dare say they’d reconsider their sacrifice.  Or, at the very least, they’d take each of us by the hand --away from our I-phones and “I” lives--to spend a day before their memorials.  To spend a day to perhaps consider our standing; a standing that is grounded in and on those who were “just doing their jobs.”

You know, I began this offering with a scripture.  It tells of those who get the Lord‘s attention.  Of those “He” listens to, helps, even…honors.  And today, with so many who have positions of power, prominence, or simply…the microphone; well…I just don’t see it.  Again, those who often tell us what is right and wrong; moral and immoral; these, every one, every…single…one, they did not bring us here.  It was not their sacrifice that paid the price.  It was not their useless degrees or hollow accomplishments that moved the hand of God to help a nation.  And, if we want His aid again--and oh, how we need it--then we simply must return to a time, and an attitude of heart, which will cause Him to look, and have …compassion.  But…what will it take to bring us to that place?  In the past a horrible World War caused the already God-fearing to quickly go to their knees.  But, what will it take for we…their snobbish offspring to humble ourselves?  I honestly don’t know; but I think, whatever it is…it is coming.  Yes, I believe it is coming…and perhaps…it is almost here.

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Dirty Snowman

 
 
The Dirty Snowman
(by R.P.Edwards)

The dirty snowman
Tells a tale
Of season
And of place
But most of all
It speaks of joy
The child’s
Smiling…face


Frank, the night janitor peered over his nose-specs at the photo on the Pending Board (as in, not solved yet) and, after taking a sip from the Hot-Drink machine’s fifty-cent decaf, he muttered to himself (well, not really, he knew the squad was listening), “Middle America, around latitude 38, maybe St Louis or thereabouts.”  Another sip, a nod, and then he began to shuffle towards the janitorial cubby.

“W-w-wait a minute, Frank.” It was Harv, the new junior detective assigned to this “person of interest” case.  “How can you tell all that from this snowman picture?”

The stoop-shouldered custodian slowly turned, sipped and, as the half-dozen in this brain-bank listened intently and knowingly (after all, one of “these” had placed the photo in the “see me” place) he stopped just short and, using a black Bic as a pointer, he began his mini-lecture.  “It’s a dirty snowman, obviously.  So… since, in the northern climes there is a packing of the white stuff; most “snow-persons” are white, without blemish, except for the additions of the essential modifiers of carrots and coal.  Unless, of course, it’s early in the season.  However, if you look just here (pointing to the barely edge of the figure) you’ll see the slightest colored reflection, meaning…(a pause for an answer.  None offered) meaning…Christmas lights.  No doubt a close neighbor had lights and, since only the most enthusiastic Christmas lover would decorate pre-Thanksgiving, this means a mid-America clime because--as I said before--the snowman is…dirty.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll buy that,” said Harv, coming closer to see “the reflection.” “But how do you come up with the St Louis area?”

“Look here.” the pen-point nearly touches a couple of the “dirt” spots.  “These are leaves.  One is obviously Quercus microcarpa, and the other…Acer saccharinum L.”  The puzzled look on the detective’s face begged for a little more light.  “The Bur Oak and the Silver Maple.” And, pointing to the eyes, which were “not” made of coal, he added, “Liquidambar styraciflua L., or Sweet Gum,” a colorful tree in the fall, but a downside is that it produces these nasty little balls.  A southern resident, it doesn’t tend very far north, but I happen to know it spikes…near St Louis.  If I were you, detective (a turning and sipping) I’d inform the mid-west bureau that your man…is very, very near.”

The east coast is slammed with a lot of snow, but here, in the Midwest (at least my lo-cal) only a few friendly inches.  Enough to make (you guessed it) a dirty snow-man.  The weather folk say all our white stuff will disappear in a day or so.  That’s the way I like it.  Just enough to look pretty (see last entry), build a snowman (dirty or no), throw a snowball, and then…go.

****

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Not quite ready

 
 
Not quite…there
(by R.P.Edwards)

Not quite ready
Not quite…there
So keep the stockings hung…with care
Keep the tree up
Shining bright
Keep on singing
Silent Night
Whatever reason
Kinda slow
Just warming now
To mistletoe
So, please
One week more
Of Christmas fare
I’m not quite ready
Not quite…there

Years ago it got me a ticket.  It was evening and I was on an unfamiliar street--long and straight and dotted merrily with stoplight after stoplight.  I was on the job; driving the company van, somewhere, to do…something.  Anyway, here’s this long road and I dutifully focused on a coming light.  Problem was, it was the light “after” the nearest.  As a result I blew right through an intersection.  By God’s grace there was no traffic, but there was…a cop; of the State variety.

Well, today, on the way home from “the job” I did the same thing.  No, not the intersection “ticket” thing, but the “look down the road” thing.  And, as we had been blessed with a Christmas-eve snow (a few unassertive inches) and, as traffic was nearly nonexistent, I happened to fix my gaze just a little bit higher, and a little bit…further.  And I saw them.  Just above the common path--the always traveled from here to there roadway--there were stars; stars and angels and stars and angels, one after the other--each softened and framed with heavens glitter--for blocks and blocks and blocks.  You see, in this Midwestern town we still have some holiday decorations--the street light variety--that have not yet been sacrificed to the PCers who swarm on the edges.  Yes, an unrepentant  recognition of the season, and the season’s…reason.

It’s Christmas Day, and I’m not quite ready for it to end.  Not quite ready to give up on the feeling and the finding.  Not quite ready to shift into the non-essential…essentials.  Yes, for whatever reason--be it work or worry--I’ve been a bit slow to the warming that is the finer part of this time.  And, even though we’ve been bombarded with fashions of the message for nearly two months, I’ve been slow to turn; slow to listen. 

And so, with presents presented, and good wishes to all, I shall endeavor to hold on…just a bit longer.  Yes, just as this working-man’s town holds on--in spite of the railings of the unfeeling or forgetful--to the symbols of substance, I, too, shall seek to extend the season beyond its normal confines.  One more week should do it.  One more week with the tree still lit.  One more week with the parables still playing and the carols…calling.  And then; perhaps then I can freely let the year give way to the new.  But, if I am wise, if I am…very wise, I shall not fully…let go.  I shall, as a converted Ebenezer spoke to the final phantom, I shall… “honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

****

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

True Believers

 
 
Believing
(by R.P.Edwards)

I believe, in believing
The holding to unseen…more
A foundation beyond the feeling
A certain, distant…shore
But “believing,” itself, is not virtue
Unless the object, is true…and right
For believing, askew, brings darkness
A cold…and bitter…night


“This is done,” the words spoken by the Commander in Chief as he finished signing the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  Yeah, I watched the news conference and, I must say, I found it somewhat …inspiring.  Yes, with the well-crafted rhetoric and home-style spice, I actually found myself wanting to believe the premise that “gayness” is in exactly the same category as race, and creed.  That discrimination against those so oriented--in the military setting (even though involving youthful sex drives)--is just as wrong as singling out a black, a white, a Baptist…or Jew.  Yes, I found myself wanting to join “the cause,” the march, the movement that claims a seat at the civil rights table.  However, what hinders me from jumping on “the wagon” is…my belief in God.  And, what puzzles me, is how our “religious” leaders are so quick to discount what has always…been true.  Consider Joe Lieberman; as an orthodox Jew he honored  his God by walking to the Senate (it being the Sabbath and driving is…out), but then he went right on to add his amen to a lifestyle that the Torah condemns.  And then there’s Joe Biden; one who’s known for taking the religious step of having the Lenten ashes applied to his forehead at the appropriate time (being a good Catholic), but he too has no apparent problem with saying, “God, on this one…your wrong.”  And, of course, Barack Obama also seems to have a Bible with pages missing.  Yes, believers all.  I’m just not sure how their “belief”…is divided. And so, with the full force of their “convictions” (whatever their true source), the law is repealed, and the president adds,  “this law I’m about to sign will strengthen our national security.”  Time…will surely…tell.

As an aside:  You know, watching the President do his thing; I really think he is…sincere.  For sure, I think he’s terribly wrong; and that his unhindered leadership will tear us down, perhaps even destroy us. But, in spite of all this…I like him.  For (and call me foolish) I believe his direction is heart led.  And, I believe if he finds his foundations…faulty; I believe he will turn his affections…elsewhere.  And “elsewhere,” these days, means back…to the proven path.

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Monday, December 20, 2010

"Son, don't enlist"

 
 
 
When America rose to Greatness
(by R.P.Edwards)

When America rose to greatness
The churches all…were full
God was in the courtroom
And God was in the school
Right and wrong had boundaries
Good and evil…had a place
And words had simple meanings
Such as Honor…and Disgrace
But today, we wayward children
The inheritance…we splurge
We dismiss our parents warnings
As we yield to every urge
And we speak of revelation
And the truths…they couldn’t see
But when “their” money runs out
Oh, how wretched…we will be



Some recent quotes of note:

"We have an opportunity not just to right a wrong, not just to honor the service of a group of American patriots who happen to be gay and lesbian, not just to make our military more effective, but to advance the values that the founders of our country articulated,"
Senator Joe Lieberman

“I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Senators Lieberman and Collins and the countless others who have worked so hard to get this done. It is time to close this chapter in our history. It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed. It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly. I urge the Senate to send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law.” President Barack Obama

“I hope that when we pass this legislation that we will understand that we are doing great damage. And we could possibly, and probably, harm the battle effectiveness which is so vital to the survival of our young men and women in the military.” Senator John McCain

Perhaps it’s because I’m working the midnight shift, but I’ll be blunt…and brief.  To begin; I know that America…has changed.  I know that practices, and lifestyles, and deeds, and doings that would, at one time, be shunned, criticized, abhorred…are now, often, accepted.  And, with this acceptance, there is a tendency to ascribe “rightness” to the act; to say that we have “evolved” or “matured” to a place where what was once considered error is now, appropriately and openly, proclaimed as…truth.  And, since many of our old “delusions” had a foundation in our religious “faith,” this too, of necessity, has evolved, matured, …changed.

Well, the lame-duck congress has passed the repeal of “Don’t ask, Don’t tell.”  The policy, enacted in the Clinton years, which allowed “gays” to serve in the military…as long as they weren’t open about their chosen lifestyle.  Believing that open homosexuality would effect the cohesive nature of our defenders, this seemed a reasonable compromise for our pluralistic society.  Some say it worked well and should have remained.  Others; especially among the left, thought it didn’t go far enough.  Thus, with the urgency of the soon to be ousted, it has been repealed and, with the President’s promised signature, it will soon become the law of the land.

Now, to the “I’m working midnights” frankness.  Without apology, I am a Christian; the kind that believes there is a God who is well able to preserve His “will” in written form.  And, as a believer so armed, it is my firm understanding that it has been God’s hand that has granted this nation…favor.  It is He who has lifted us up, empowered us, given us strength and position.  And, since no amount of “military readiness” can avail when God turns His back on a forgetful people, I believe the unnecessary action of molding our military into the image of the new-definers is just another step in a most dangerous direction.  And, since the Biblical admonition--“the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”--has been soundly rejected, my advice to my young men is simply this…don’t enlist. Don’t go into the military.  For, although, in the past, the armed forces have been a source of structure, and necessary honing for young minds and bodies, they are now becoming yet another tool of transformation from those who would, inadvertently, destroy the old foundations, and replace them with the “new.” 

Oh, to be sure, I will continue to have the highest regard for those who are serving.  And, if there is a draft implemented, or an imminent and dire threat to national security, or a “calling” of God to go in (for I certainly believe in such things), well, that’s a different matter.  But, to me, our national leaders--although speaking in the highest moral tones--by their actions they display a glaring ignorance of our divine benefactor.  And, as such, they boldly invite…His rebuke.

One final, tedious, thought:  I know there are many who are vehemently opposed to this expressed opinion.  And, I’m sure that bloggers, especially, will have no problem in loosing their vitriolic best; but, to these, and indeed to all of “this” generation, a simple reminder:  None; absolutely none of our wealth and position; our freedom and  independence comes…from us.  Oh, we may move and juggle the coins, the playing pieces, but the riches; the true riches of these United States… are inherited; an inheritance earned by generations past.  Generations who, although imperfect, understood what “under God” meant.  And, although we may malign and mock them, soon the store (which “they” stocked) will be depleted, and then, my fellow citizens, we--the enlightened ones--will be required to back up…our boasting.  Let’s see if we, alone, can sustain...our cause.

****

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Christmas reminder

 
 
Something Comes
(by R.P.Edwards)

Something stalking
Something…comes
Darkness, dieing, all succumb
Young and vibrant
Old and frail
All are destined
For…the veil
Hiding in the shadows, there!
Unimpressed by who, and where
None deterred by station, stead
Something comes
And someone's …dead
Oh, dear one
Perceive the ends! 
And seek the Life
That Living...lends
And bow before the “something’s” foe
Who died, and rose, and conquered…woe

Richard Holbrooke, diplomat, ambassador, author, editor, professor, husband, father, dead…at 69.  Stricken suddenly while in the service of his country. 

Just a pause to put a somber and necessary face on the Christmas season.  You see, a Savior needed to be born because the human race…needed (and needs)…saving.  Our universal and damnable offense is treason, and the penalty for the heinous crime is eternal separation from a loving God.  The judgment had to be rendered (for God is nothing, if not just) but, because He is Love, the Almighty provided a substitute to pay the penalty; to receive…the wrath.  And, since the debt was paid in full, those who are willing can find forgiveness at the foot of the blood-stained cross.

Yes, Christmas is about the birth of the Savior.  And, with all due sympathy for the Holbrooke family, this man's untimely end reminds us all…that our “individual” untimely end…is coming.  Let us remember, therefore--all who still walk this mortal plane--that the gift in the manger came…for the cross.  And,  “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)

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Monday, December 13, 2010

1501 is done


Judge Henry Hudson
(by R.P.Edwards)

My, oh my
Oh, can it be
A federal judge
Agrees…with me?
To put a stop
To federal lust
To stay the beast
That kills…our trust?
But wait…he’s one
We must have more
For those who wolf
Will battle…sure
But today, at least
We pause, to praise
And hope to win
In coming…days


The mighty Achilles; fallen by a well placed arrow…to the heel.  Today a federal Judge by the name of Henry Hudson may have struck the death blow to the Monstrosity known as the Healthcare Bill.  Or, if not a death blow, at least a slowing wound to greatly hinder…the unwieldy and threatening giant.

No, I didn’t read the whole ruling.  But I did go to it directly to glean some morsels.

From Pg 1.
In the case, the Commonwealth of Virginia (the “Commonwealth”) through its Attorney General, challenges the constitutionality of the pivotal enforcement mechanism of the health care scheme adopted by Congress in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA” or “the Act”),… At issue is section 1501 of the Act, commonly known as the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision (“the Provision”). The Minimum Essential Coverage Provision requires that every United States citizen, other than those falling within specified exceptions, maintain a minimum level of health insurance coverage for each month beginning in 2014.  Failure to comply will result in a penalty included with the taxpayer’s annual return.  As enacted, Section 1501, is administered and enforced as a part of the Internal Revenue Code.

From Pg 38, 39
On careful review, this Court must conclude that Section 1501of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act--specifically the Minimum Essential Coverage Provision--exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power…the Court’s next task is to determine whether this section is severable from the balance of the enactment.  Predictably, the Secretary counsels severability, and the Commonwealth urges wholesale invalidation. The Commonwealth’s position flows in part from the Secretary’s frequent contention that section 1501 is the linchpin for the entire health care regimen underlying the ACA. However, the bill embraces far more than healthcare reform. It is laden with provisions and riders patently extraneous to health care--over 400…  The final element of the analysis is difficult to apply in this case given the haste with which the final version of the 2,700 page bill was rushed to the floor for a Christmas Eve vote.

Some thoughts:  I like the use of the word “scheme” in the first paragraph.  I suppose it’s an innocuous oft used add-on, but to us non-legal folks, it carries a special meaning.  Next, after gently declaring that this compulsory--pick your pocket--provision is…unconstitutional, the good judge alludes to the fact that there is SO MUCH MORE in the bill than just health care (400 plus additional items), and, as an added delight, the mention of the rush to judgment; as in a Christmas Eve vote on a 2,700 pg bill that could not have been read and digested by the "votees".  Well done, Judge Hudson.  Even if you are eventually “overruled,” (because, c’mon, the scales of justice are too often tipped), at least, on this day, you have…our thanks.

1501
(by R.P.Edwards)

Fifteen O one
Fifteen O one
Because of thee
The death knell…rung
A peal of hope
The monster’s scream
A chorus rises
The people’s…dream
And when the giant
Fills the earth
Perhaps a better
Comes to birth
But now
Beginning
The course, begun
It starts with thee
Fifteen…O one

Here’s a link to the ruling.   The Ruling

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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Is it Doe, or DOH!


Oh Deer
(by R.P.Edwards)

Deer are dear
This fact…is clear
We love each graceful beast
But when they pack
To fight the lack
On venison…we feast!


Valley Forge; once the wintering place of General George Washington’s troops; a place of battle--not of bullet or bomb or bayonet--but of the patriot’s will. Today, however, Valley Forge is under siege.  No, not by the British or their Hessian hirelings, but by Bambi and his ilk. Problem is, there are just too many darn deer for the five square mile park.  And, these graceful groupings, since there are no natural predators about, are breeding with abandon, and eating with equal gusto.  As a result, the ecosystem has become unbalanced.  In other words, sure, the deer are thriving, but other little beasties (rabbits, ground-nesting birds) are losing their homes.  Thumper would not be pleased.

So, the solution…culling. Get some sharpshooters to bring the number of deer down to a manageable number.  In other words, kill a bunch.  And, to “waste not,” the venison from the fallen is given to the poor.

However, as reasonable as this solution sounds, there are some who cannot bear the thought of one of natures graceful ambassadors dieing so.  Some even suggest introducing some predators back into the mix.  Huh? Tooth and claw, bite and gnaw, versus…a quick snuffing by a well aimed round? As Homer Simpson would say, “Doh!”

So, again, let thoughtful reason prevail. The deer population, there, and elsewhere, must be managed.  And, a little bit of research will reveal that “hunters” contribute much to the maintaining of a healthy balance (not to  mention the fees they pay for the privilege).  So, shoot away, brothers.  And, when the deer sausage is due, remember your couch-bound cousins who support and salute your manly endeavors.

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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Pearl Harbor remembrance. Really?

 
 
Why Bother?
(by R.P.Edwards)

We say the words
We bow the head
Give mind and homage
To honored…dead
But distant deeds
Reveal the way
A speaking that our words…won’t say
The truth?…despised
Our parents worth
Yes, those who bled
And saved…the earth
But today we’ll speak
And feign our due
But actions prove
It isn’t…true

Sixty-nine years ago, today, the planes came, the bombs dropped, the torpedoes sped, the bullets ripped, the ships blew up, and over twenty-four hundred “defenders”…died.  It is on this day we remember, and honor.  But I contend, alas, that we really only do…the former.

Maybe it’s the--of necessity--overtime I’ve been working (yes, I’m thankful to have a job), or the plethora of weights that responsible men must bear, but, with my observation of society as it is, and the direction our “handlers” want it to go, and also a cursory knowledge of who “we were”…back then, well, as up-beat, and thoughtful, and inspirational, and patriotic, as I should be on this “memorial” day, I find myself in a bit of a funk, and my words will reflect it.  I ask you to treat me as the sometimes melancholy uncle who comes to the celebration.  “He’s kind of a downer.  But he’s family.”

You see, from a variety of sources (including my parents) I know that after the bombs fell and the thousands died in the Hawaiian sun and, during the four subsequent years as another four hundred and fifty thousand Americans died; I know that public school teachers led those in their charge in prayer and perhaps an inspirational scripture reading to under-gird the tender that would have to grow up…before their time.  Many, who, as the war years lingered, would also don the uniform, and then go stain a foreign field…with liberties young blood. 

And, as many in high places, even this day, clamor that the modern military accept and honor behavior that most of the near half million fallen would have found abhorrent; and, as, this day, the God to whom those heroes prayed, and relied upon, and anchored their rightness in; as He is forbidden from taking His rightful, foundational place in the education of the young.  And, as, this day, thousands of unborn Americans are ripped to shreds in a “free” society that owes its very existence to the generation that couldn’t imagine such bestiality (until they visited the Nazi extermination camps).  This day, this writer finds our celebrations and remembrances of the saviors, at the very least…disingenuous. 

So, in somber conclusion: if we want to remember them, to honor them, to recognize who they were, and what they did…then, let’s strive to be more like them. 

****

Here’s a link to the video, “The Stone.”  A song and photo montage which honors “The Greatest Generation.” The Stone

Also, I’ve been a bit occupied of late with another work.  This one is for those of the Christian faith who find themselves…in the test.  It’s titled, “To go Higher.”  To Go Higher

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Friday, December 3, 2010

Band of...lovers?


Fire them
(by R.P.Edwards)

Ham and Mullen…hit the road
Johnson, Gates…the door
Go and take your turgid views
And trouble us…no more
And in your place…reality
Born of noble threads
Those who fathom founders faith
And reverence…honored dead

You’d think, with all the research done concerning the how and why’s of the Titanic disaster, that the “survey” would have come to light sooner.  But, due to its “embarrassment potential,” the White Star Line had all copies of the questionnaire destroyed…save one.  It, incredibly, was found in the ramshackle remains of the once great company; hidden in an underground vault.  Here’s a sample of some of the questions:  1. Do you think you will be safe on the Mighty Titanic no matter what nature can throw at you?
2. Do you think the thick steel of the mighty ship’s hull is stronger than frozen water?  3. Do you think you can have a safe voyage knowing there is floating ice en route?  4. Do you think the “unsinkable” Titanic can survive an encounter with an iceberg?

The survey results revealed that seventy percent of the passengers thought the mighty liner, and icebergs, could peacefully coexist.  It seems that opinion surveys, based on conjecture, are of little, or no…use.

Alright, just read of how the head of the joint chiefs of staff (admiral Mullen) says that if the door is opened for homosexuals to--in your face--participate in the armed forces; well, those who don’t like it…can get another job.

And, what is the basis for the good admiral’s confidence?  Why, the survey, of course.  Silly me, I thought the military was doing “research,” (as in, the effects of the homosexual lifestyle) but no, they were seeking “opinions.”  And, as the farcical first paragraph illustrates, opinions…carry little weight.  

Two things.  One: I am convinced that, since most of my parents generation--the one the Lord used to save the world (remember that?)--have passed on; I am convinced that with “the greatest generation” so, too, the source of our “greatness”…goes.  You see, as imperfect as they may have been (for they were, after all, made of flesh) theirs was a mindset that reserved a prominent place for God, and morality.   And, sadly,  we, their offspring, have filled the place of the spoiled heirs who gladly squander our parents inheritance and then dare to believe and act as if the substance of “they” belongs to “we,” as well.  It does not.  And, if Admiral Mullen and General Ham are content that an opinion poll is adequate justification for acquiescing to the ungodly oozings of academia to throw out our longstanding moral foundations in order to create another “legitimate” minority class, and then forcing it’s behavior down our military’s throat (some of whom are strongly opposed) then, let our subsequent decline be evidence of their folly.  Unfortunately, that “decline” puts our nation at risk.

Secondly: I bristle at the attitude displayed by the good admiral.  And, as so many who had prominent positions of power have, in the last election, been given their walking papers (not enough, in my opinion), I would like the “Joint chiefs” to be soon reminded that they are subservient to...the “people.”

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