Something that most folks probably missed...but I am sure that the mainstream media will get to this sometime...

I happened to see an excerpt from Capt. K.A.’s oval office address which bothered me a great deal…for a whole host of reasons.  It is only 6 sentences long…but that was enough for me….  Here is the excerpt:

 

“{1} Instead, what has defined us as a nation since our founding is our capacity to shape our destiny – our determination to fight for the America we want for our children. {2} Even if we’re unsure exactly what that looks like. {3} Even if we don’t yet know precisely how to get there.   {4} We know we’ll get there.

 

{5} It is a faith in the future that sustains us as a people.   {6} It is that same faith that sustains our neighbors in the Gulf right now.”

 

• First sentence, no problemo.  I believe that there are a few other major factors that define us as a nation (like democracy and capitalism)…but at face value there is nothing terribly offensive here.

 

• Second and third sentences…uhhh…you are starting to lose me Cpt. KA.  I am rather certain that the Founders knew EXACTLY what “our destiny” looked like.  They may have disagreed on some of the smaller details and how to get there…but the big picture was pretty damned clear…and they articulated it pretty damn clearly in the founding documents.  Take for example the first sentence of the Constitution: 

 

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

 

Sounds like a pretty clear vision…and oh by the way…Mr. Constitutional Scholar…they proceed to define in specifics HOW to do this in the 7 articles that followed this sentence!  So does his verbiage in sentence 2 imply:  1.) that “HE doesn’t currently have a vision of the future” or 2.) that “America doesn’t understand HIS vision”?  You be the judge.

 

• Fourth sentence…very re-assuring stuff…”We know we’ll get there”.  Hope springs eternal from this font!  FYI - I always start every road trip this way:  “I’m not sure exactly where we are going kids…not sure exactly how to get there…but I know we’ll get there”.  I wonder if even a child would say…”uhh…but where is there dad?”.  I am pretty sure that the Mrs. wouldn’t let this one slide…but hey…he is THE ONE after all…

 

• Ok, the fifth sentence is where I start to get pretty agitated.  HIS assertion is that what sustains us as a people is our “faith in the future”.  Hmmm…does that resonate with you?  This is a very telling passage.  If someone were to ask ME “what sustains me”…I might be more inclined to say something like…oh…let me think…maybe “my Faith in GOD”…or my faith in “Good will triumph over Evil”…or my faith in “Truth always prevails”???  I find it really ironic that Capt. KickAss believes in our “faith in the future”…this from the same man who is putting up regulations left and right to protect us from “the greedy oil/banks/corporations”…so which is it…are we by nature good or by nature evil? 

 

• Last sentence…”that same faith (the faith in the future) that sustains” people affected by the oil spill.  I will let you be the judge of where this one lies on the Stupid scale.  Maybe you can ask some of the folks in the LA tourism industry or in the (non BP) oil drilling business what their future looks like….

 

I know what everyone will say:  Why bother deconstructing these things…he is just pontificating…trying to make a broader point….give “the small people” some HOPE… 

 

Yes – I agree…we reap that which we sow…

 

 

 

 

Cpt. Kick Arse

Good old Captain Kick Ass made an interesting pitch this weekend in his radio address...one that I am willing to bet will not get a lot of national media attention:

"Since 2003, Congress has acted to prevent these pay cuts from going into effect. These votes were largely bipartisan, and they succeeded when Democrats ran Congress and when Republicans ran Congress - which was most of the time.

This year, a majority of Congress is willing to prevent a pay cut of 21% - a pay cut that would undoubtedly force some doctors to stop seeing Medicare patients altogether. But this time, some Senate Republicans may even block a vote on this issue. After years of voting to defer these cuts, the other party is now willing to walk away from the needs of our doctors and our seniors."

Can anyone tell me why this is so interesting? Have you been paying attention?

The interesting twist here is that Cpt. K.A. is trying to frame the argument that keeping the Medicare Dr. Fix is now needed. Huh? Isn't this the same Cpt. K.A. (and Doogie over at CBO) who promised that ObamaCare would pay for itself (and realize net-savings) as it was written? If you remember...ObamaCare was written INCLUDING the 21% cut. The phrase..."you break it, you buy it" comes to mind.

So, as a hypothetical...let's assume I go to buy a car. The salesperson promises me that the Cadillac will save me money over the long-run because it consumes less gas than the Pinto. Then I ask, but don't the "oil changes" cost more and thus eliminate all the savings? To which the answer is...oh no...the "oil changes" will cost less. So I buy it. Then I find out that the oil changes do in fact cost more and do in fact make the total cost of ownership greater than the lowly Pinto still sitting in the corner.

In this hypothetical...who is the sucker and more importantly...Who should Cpt. Kick ass be going after???

Kade wanted to share this with all of you...

The pickle tree

The other night Payton and I were talking while she was getting settled into bed for the night.

Payton: "When we were going to plant the garden?"
Dad: "Tomorrow we are going to start planting the garden."
Payton: "I can't wait to grow some pickles"
Dad: "You mean cucumbers...cucumbers are what we grow and then they get turned into pickles."
Payton: "No dad, I want to grow a pickle tree...that would be awesome!"
Dad: "Well - cucumbers actually grow on the ground."
Payton: "Well, I am going to plant a pickle tree."
Dad: "Sounds great. Good night."

So naturally, being an Enginerd...I just had to see if there was something called a pickle tree. Voila. For $3.99 it may just be worth setting a 4 year-old's imagination on fire!

Payton's Dance Recital (23 photos), by Jennifer Cavagnaro

I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.
Click here to view photos

Another gem from Santa Clara county

The news article failed to mention what the Live Oak High School mascot is … you guessed it …. the Acorn …and their home page has “Go Nuts” across the main screen.  How fitting!

 

 

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local-beat/Students-Wearing-American-Flag-Shirts-Sent-Home-92945969.html

On any other day at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, Daniel Galli and his four friends would not even be noticed for wearing T-shirts with the American flag. But Cinco de Mayo is not any typical day especially on a campus with a large Mexican American student population.

Galli says he and his friends were sitting at a table during brunch break when the vice principal asked two of the boys to remove American flag bandannas that they wearing on their heads and for the others to turn their American flag T-shirts inside out. When they refused, the boys were ordered to go to the principal's office.

"They said we could wear it on any other day," Daniel Galli said, "but today is sensitive to Mexican-Americans because it's supposed to be their holiday so we were not allowed to wear it today."

The boys said the administrators called their T-shirts "incendiary" that would lead to fights on campus.

"They said if we tried to go back to class with our shirts not taken off, they said it was defiance and we would get suspended," Dominic Maciel, Galli's friend, said.

The boys really had no choice, and went home to avoid suspension. They say they're angry they were not allowed to express their American pride. Their parents are just as upset, calling what happened to their children, "total nonsense."

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Julie Fagerstrom, Maciel's mom, said. "All they were doing was displaying their patriotic nature. They're expressing their individuality."

But to many Mexican-American students at Live Oak, this was a big deal. They say they were offended by the five boys and others for wearing American colors on a Mexican holiday.

"I think they should apologize cause it is a Mexican Heritage Day," Annicia Nunez, a Live Oak High student, said. "We don't deserve to be get disrespected like that. We wouldn't do that on Fourth of July."

As for an apology, the boys and their families say, "fat chance."

"I'm not going to apologize. I did nothing wrong," Galli said. "I went along with my normal day. I might have worn an American flag, but I'm an American and I'm proud to be an American."

The five boys and their families met with a Morgan Hill Unified School District official Wednesday night. The district released a statement saying it does not agree with how Live Oak High School administrators handled this incident.

The boys will not be suspended and they were told they can go back to school Thursday. They may even wear their red, white, and blue colors again, but this time, the day after Cinco de Mayo, there will be no controversy.