So, wow it's been a interstingly odd week.
This will be my only response to Chik-fil-a. I like their chicken sandwich and the waffle fries. I spent ten years in uniform so that the owner can exercise his Freedom of Speech, and yes to donate his money to whomever he wants to.
No one I know is saying that he doesn't have this right. They like me are not boycotting his right to say what he wishes, or donate his money, we are saying however, that we will not participate in our own demise.
I am not allowed to legally marry Allison. We have been friends since 2001 and a couple for four and a half years. In that four and a half years we have been through the following:
Hurricane Ike: Oddly, Allison had picked that weekend to move her stuff out of the house she was renting and move in with me. She evacuated and we watched the Galveston we both love devistated. Then she saw it when she went back to complete the move. She was lucky, her block was one of the few left intact.
Two major illnesses on my part. One for ten days and one for seven.
Two surgeries: One minor and one left acl replacement.
Helping her mom recover from 2 knee replacements each a year apart.
Me losing my job due to outsourcing while recovering from the acl, and the year long job search.
My mom being diagnosed with CLL, which is a lukemia that strikes the elderly. My mom moving to and then from Dallas.
We have met each challenge and have not once waivered in our commitment to each other.
The owner of Chick-fil-a gives money to organizations who actively lobby to deny gay people the same "rights" everyone else takes for granted. If it was up to them, should anything happen to this wonderful woman in my life, I would not be legally allowed access to her in the hospital or make medical decisions that we've both agreed on despite a power of attorney. We are lucky, our families recogize our commitment to each other. Others are not so lucky.
I'm not going to address the "Religious" aspect to this argument because let's face it, your faith is your business and my faith is my business.
Onward to the next thing that's bugging me. Immigration.
As my old army buddies used to say..."You don't say much, but when you do...."
For the last couple of years I've listened to friends both in person and on fb talk about immigration as in "damned illegals taking up benefits and raising my taxes, my insurance premiums are too damn high...it's all the illegals getting medical help that I'm paying for now..." etc. So now that the President is offering immunity those same people are now saying "well those people are taking jobs away from Americans".
Ok, here's a thought...if those who are in this country illegally 'stealing your tax dollars' fill out the paper work and become non illegal, any job they get they will pay taxes on. In the year I was looking for a job, I can't tell you the number of times I heard someone say "wow, I can't take this job, it only pays x." Well in my opinion x is a lot more than zero. A couple of those people were coming to the end of their unemployment benefits. Sometimes immigrants will take that low paying job that citizens don't want due to 'low wages' since it's more money than those immigrants have ever made in their lives. Just about every family in this country has an immigrant or two in the bloodline, some of them were illegal.
Here's a historical note, during the mid 80's to early 90's the largest percentage of illegals in this country were not of hispanic origin, they were Irish.
Onward. People still harping on entitlements. Ok here it is again....Social Security and Unemployment benefits are NOT entitlements. If you have ever worked in your lifetime, every paycheck you ever got had taxes taken out, including taxes for those two items. You worked for them, you paid into them, so did all the working types who are now not working types EARNED them. Quit your bitching and be thankful you still have a job and quit begruding others who aren't as lucky.
Drug testing for those on welfare. I'm actually for it as long as politicians are drug tested as well. I've had friends in the Secret Service, you'd be surprised what they see. Here's another note, some people on welfare and food stamps aren't who you might expect. There are soldiers on food stamps, there are the elderly on food stamps. At one point growing up my mother had a decent job, but was newly divorced, with four kids...she made enough to make the house/insurance payment, the car/insurance payment, keep us in clothes and shoes, but feeding the four of us was expensive. We did not spend frivolously we were very careful. She still needed help, I used to watch her eat as little as possible so that we could have enough, it was either food stamps or hurt her family. Think on that one for a while.
Taxes. Heads up...instead of bitching about what you think the current administration is or is not doing in reference to taxes...go look it up. How many of you actually know what happened after this President took office. If you figure it out, get back to me.
The deficit, job market, economy...instead of parroting your party of choice again go look it up. Because quite honestly when you parrot something that is blantantly wrong (read written down somewhere in the record) it's really not attractive.
Basically a lot of people in this country (of all political parties) got greedy and the people (again of all political parties) who were supposed to be in charge let it happen.
Politicians lie, it's part of the job description.
Gun control. Why is it everytime some wingnut shoots some place up there's a cry over gun control. Do I think people need assualt rifles in the house? Maybe one or two, you never know what the future holds, but in general no I don't. Does a so called hunter need an AK? Since I've never seen wildlife wearing balistic gear I'm going to say no. Do I belive in gun ownership? Yes. I have one. I'm eyeballing a couple more. How about this...we try as hard as possible to promote RESPONSIBLE gun ownership? I've seen idiots with one weekend of training get a concealed license...I try to remember their faces...I don't want to be anywhere around them if the shit hits the fan.
I have more than twenty years of firearms experience. I know what my sidearm can do and what I can do with it. If there are children coming to our house my sidearm is locked away. When my sister Elaine's kids (they were younger back then) wanted to play with my sidearm, I instead showed them firearm operation and rules. They lost interest in my sidearm when it was no longer a 'taboo' and when I explained and demonstrated how to clean said sidearm.
There are always going to be those who get a weapon and use it for bad purposes. That is the sad truth of the human condition.
So there's the this and that in my mind lately.
Wishing you all a great weekend. Slainte.
This will be my only response to Chik-fil-a. I like their chicken sandwich and the waffle fries. I spent ten years in uniform so that the owner can exercise his Freedom of Speech, and yes to donate his money to whomever he wants to.
No one I know is saying that he doesn't have this right. They like me are not boycotting his right to say what he wishes, or donate his money, we are saying however, that we will not participate in our own demise.
I am not allowed to legally marry Allison. We have been friends since 2001 and a couple for four and a half years. In that four and a half years we have been through the following:
Hurricane Ike: Oddly, Allison had picked that weekend to move her stuff out of the house she was renting and move in with me. She evacuated and we watched the Galveston we both love devistated. Then she saw it when she went back to complete the move. She was lucky, her block was one of the few left intact.
Two major illnesses on my part. One for ten days and one for seven.
Two surgeries: One minor and one left acl replacement.
Helping her mom recover from 2 knee replacements each a year apart.
Me losing my job due to outsourcing while recovering from the acl, and the year long job search.
My mom being diagnosed with CLL, which is a lukemia that strikes the elderly. My mom moving to and then from Dallas.
We have met each challenge and have not once waivered in our commitment to each other.
The owner of Chick-fil-a gives money to organizations who actively lobby to deny gay people the same "rights" everyone else takes for granted. If it was up to them, should anything happen to this wonderful woman in my life, I would not be legally allowed access to her in the hospital or make medical decisions that we've both agreed on despite a power of attorney. We are lucky, our families recogize our commitment to each other. Others are not so lucky.
I'm not going to address the "Religious" aspect to this argument because let's face it, your faith is your business and my faith is my business.
Onward to the next thing that's bugging me. Immigration.
As my old army buddies used to say..."You don't say much, but when you do...."
For the last couple of years I've listened to friends both in person and on fb talk about immigration as in "damned illegals taking up benefits and raising my taxes, my insurance premiums are too damn high...it's all the illegals getting medical help that I'm paying for now..." etc. So now that the President is offering immunity those same people are now saying "well those people are taking jobs away from Americans".
Ok, here's a thought...if those who are in this country illegally 'stealing your tax dollars' fill out the paper work and become non illegal, any job they get they will pay taxes on. In the year I was looking for a job, I can't tell you the number of times I heard someone say "wow, I can't take this job, it only pays x." Well in my opinion x is a lot more than zero. A couple of those people were coming to the end of their unemployment benefits. Sometimes immigrants will take that low paying job that citizens don't want due to 'low wages' since it's more money than those immigrants have ever made in their lives. Just about every family in this country has an immigrant or two in the bloodline, some of them were illegal.
Here's a historical note, during the mid 80's to early 90's the largest percentage of illegals in this country were not of hispanic origin, they were Irish.
Onward. People still harping on entitlements. Ok here it is again....Social Security and Unemployment benefits are NOT entitlements. If you have ever worked in your lifetime, every paycheck you ever got had taxes taken out, including taxes for those two items. You worked for them, you paid into them, so did all the working types who are now not working types EARNED them. Quit your bitching and be thankful you still have a job and quit begruding others who aren't as lucky.
Drug testing for those on welfare. I'm actually for it as long as politicians are drug tested as well. I've had friends in the Secret Service, you'd be surprised what they see. Here's another note, some people on welfare and food stamps aren't who you might expect. There are soldiers on food stamps, there are the elderly on food stamps. At one point growing up my mother had a decent job, but was newly divorced, with four kids...she made enough to make the house/insurance payment, the car/insurance payment, keep us in clothes and shoes, but feeding the four of us was expensive. We did not spend frivolously we were very careful. She still needed help, I used to watch her eat as little as possible so that we could have enough, it was either food stamps or hurt her family. Think on that one for a while.
Taxes. Heads up...instead of bitching about what you think the current administration is or is not doing in reference to taxes...go look it up. How many of you actually know what happened after this President took office. If you figure it out, get back to me.
The deficit, job market, economy...instead of parroting your party of choice again go look it up. Because quite honestly when you parrot something that is blantantly wrong (read written down somewhere in the record) it's really not attractive.
Basically a lot of people in this country (of all political parties) got greedy and the people (again of all political parties) who were supposed to be in charge let it happen.
Politicians lie, it's part of the job description.
Gun control. Why is it everytime some wingnut shoots some place up there's a cry over gun control. Do I think people need assualt rifles in the house? Maybe one or two, you never know what the future holds, but in general no I don't. Does a so called hunter need an AK? Since I've never seen wildlife wearing balistic gear I'm going to say no. Do I belive in gun ownership? Yes. I have one. I'm eyeballing a couple more. How about this...we try as hard as possible to promote RESPONSIBLE gun ownership? I've seen idiots with one weekend of training get a concealed license...I try to remember their faces...I don't want to be anywhere around them if the shit hits the fan.
I have more than twenty years of firearms experience. I know what my sidearm can do and what I can do with it. If there are children coming to our house my sidearm is locked away. When my sister Elaine's kids (they were younger back then) wanted to play with my sidearm, I instead showed them firearm operation and rules. They lost interest in my sidearm when it was no longer a 'taboo' and when I explained and demonstrated how to clean said sidearm.
There are always going to be those who get a weapon and use it for bad purposes. That is the sad truth of the human condition.
So there's the this and that in my mind lately.
Wishing you all a great weekend. Slainte.
