Mitt Romney made the right call. I don't know if it will help or
hinder his chances for success in November, but it does show that the
Romney (now the Romney-Ryan) campaign will be more about the facts and
new ideas than their opponent's touchy-feely scare-mongering
retreat to the out-moded aims and harmful effects of 1932 and 1965.
Ryan
is one of the most intelligent people in our current government. He
speaks the truths that others are unwilling to utter. The federal
behemoth takes from and spends altogether too much of the people's money
on things that are not the within the sphere of federal
responsibility. We are going broke kowtowing to special interests that
are all take and no give.
Now, the American electorate
may be too selfish or too stupid to take his words to heart, but when
Ryan speaks, we surely ought to listen. Even if the R-R team loses in
November, we can go back and listen to Ryan's utterances to understand
what happened and why when the biggest bubble of them all finally
bursts
12 August 2012
11 August 2012
ANOTHER SPECIAL HONOR DILUTED
I went to the post office the other day to buy stamps and mail a snail-mail letter! (Wait for gasps and shudders to subside.) I noted the the national colors were at half-mast.
"Who died," I asked. The clerk at the counter gave me a puzzled look. "Why is the flag at half-mast?"
He didn't know, but actually went back to check. "It just came in this morning," he said. "The President ordered all flags to be at half-staff (sic) until Friday for the Sikh shooting."
I have nothing against the Sikhs, or the movie-goers in Colorado, or the people at Virginia Tech, but why not just permanently fly the flag at half-mast if we're going to dilute this time-honored tribute to nothingness. I remember when flying the flag at half-mast was a rarity, reserved for those special instances when the entire nation, or a part of it, was actively mourning. The national colors were so flown only in the case of the death of a President, a Senator (in his home State), a Congressman (in his home district), a justice of the Supreme Court, or some other national figure. And, of course, the flag at a national cemetery was half-masted during the actual interment of a deceased member of the Armed Forces, or a deceased veteran.
In other words, this honor was reserved for someone who actively did something more for the Nation than going to church, or to a movie, or to class. I chalk up this dilution to two factors: our elected leaders are willing to render meaningless what once was a real honor, all for a political benefit, and our schools no longer teach American History and Civics in any recognizable form.
I wonder how many of the Sikhs and the movie-goers (other than the members of the armed forces) ever rendered appropriate honors to that same flag while they were alive? Just wonderin'.
"Who died," I asked. The clerk at the counter gave me a puzzled look. "Why is the flag at half-mast?"
He didn't know, but actually went back to check. "It just came in this morning," he said. "The President ordered all flags to be at half-staff (sic) until Friday for the Sikh shooting."
I have nothing against the Sikhs, or the movie-goers in Colorado, or the people at Virginia Tech, but why not just permanently fly the flag at half-mast if we're going to dilute this time-honored tribute to nothingness. I remember when flying the flag at half-mast was a rarity, reserved for those special instances when the entire nation, or a part of it, was actively mourning. The national colors were so flown only in the case of the death of a President, a Senator (in his home State), a Congressman (in his home district), a justice of the Supreme Court, or some other national figure. And, of course, the flag at a national cemetery was half-masted during the actual interment of a deceased member of the Armed Forces, or a deceased veteran.
In other words, this honor was reserved for someone who actively did something more for the Nation than going to church, or to a movie, or to class. I chalk up this dilution to two factors: our elected leaders are willing to render meaningless what once was a real honor, all for a political benefit, and our schools no longer teach American History and Civics in any recognizable form.
I wonder how many of the Sikhs and the movie-goers (other than the members of the armed forces) ever rendered appropriate honors to that same flag while they were alive? Just wonderin'.
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