Grubulub: dirvish’s Blog

Found on Quentin’s Blog, orginally from the Chicago Tribune:

In 1961, a young African-American man, after hearing President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country,” gave up his student deferment, left college in Virginia and voluntarily joined the Marines.

In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.)

The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician. Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy’s premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief’s medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation.

What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.

While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/sailor, received five deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for being a prospective father. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty through family connections.

Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system? Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who merely talk about their love of the country?

After leaving the service of his country, the young African-American finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America’s biggest cities.

This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retiring pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, who has been in the news for comments he made over the last three decades.

Since these comments became public we have heard criticisms, condemnations, denouncements and rejections of his comments and him.

We’ve seen on television, in a seemingly endless loop, sound bites of a select few of Rev. Wright’s many sermons.

Some of the Wright’s comments are inexcusable and inappropriate and should be condemned, but in calling him “unpatriotic,” let us not forget that this is a man who gave up six of the most productive years of his life to serve his country.

How many of Wright’s detractors, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly to name but a few, volunteered for service, and did so under the often tumultuous circumstances of a newly integrated armed forces and a society in the midst of a civil rights struggle? Not many.

While words do count, so do actions.

Let us not forget that, for whatever Rev. Wright may have said over the last 30 years, he has demonstrated his patriotism.

Stephanie is on wikiHow, she is step 1.

Update: Apparently wikihow is a fairly popular site. Here are my flickr stats as of last night…

I’m not convinced that Hillary is the demon spawn that many make her out to be, and as far as Republicans go McCain isn’t the worst…but I think Obama blows them both out of the water. I’m not a phone calling dude either (I talk on the phone more than enough at work), so I’ve taken Ryo’s challenge and contributed to his mini-fund raiser. I’ll post an update if Ryo gets back to me on how to say “yes we can” in Japanese.

A relative forwarded me the following email:

TAKE A FEW MOMENTS AND READ THIS LETTER. THESE ARE STRONG, POWERFUL AND COURAGEOUS WORDS COMING FROM A RETIRED COLONEL. AND READ WHAT LINCOLN HAD TO SAY AT THE END. WOW! 33 Senators voted against English as America ’s official language on June 6, 2007. Of the 33, only one is a Republican and two are Independents; the rest are Democrats!

On Wednesday, June 6, 2007, at 23:35:23, Colonel Harry Riley, USA-Ret. wrote:

Senators:

Your vote against an amendment to Immigration Bill 1348 to make English America’s official language is astounding. On D-Day, no less, when we honor those who sacrificed in order to secure the bedrock, character and principles of America , I can only surmise your vote reflects a loyalty to illegal aliens.

I don’t much care where you come from, what your religion is, whether you’re black, white, or some other color, male or female, Democrat, Republican or Independent, but I do care when you’re a United States Senator representing citizens of America and you vote against English as the official language of the United States.

Your vote reflects betrayal and political surrender. It violates your Pledge of Allegiance, dishonors historical principle, rejects patriotism, borders on traitorous action and, in my opinion, makes you unfit to serve as a United States Senator. Impeachment, recall or other appropriate action is warranted or possibly even worse.

Four of you voting against English as America ’s official language are current or former presidential candidates: Senator Biden, Senator Clinton, Senator Dodd and Senator Obama. You are and were four Senators vying to lead America, but you won’t or don’t have the courage to cast a vote in favor of English as America’s official language when 91% of American citizens want English officially designated as our language.

This is the second time in the last several months this list of Senators have disgraced themselves as ‘political hacks’ unworthy of being Senators and certainly unqu alified to serve as the President of the United States.

If America is as angry as I am, you will realize a backlash so stunning it will literally ‘rock you out of your pants’ and, preferably, totally out of the United States Senate. The entire immigration bill is a farce. Your action only confirms this really isn’t about America , it’s about self-serving politics and it’s despicable at best. It has been said, ‘Never argue with an idiot. They’ll drag you down to their level!

The following Senators voted against making English the official language of America :

Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE) (Unsuccessfully ran for President)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Clinton (D-NY) (Wants to be President)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT) (Unsuccessfully ran for Pre sident)
Domenici (R-NM) (Coward. Protecting his Senate seat.)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI) (Not unusual for him!)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA) (Unsuccessfully ran for President)
Kerry (D-MA) (Unsuccessfully ran for President)
Kohl (D-WI))
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (I-CT) (Disappointment here.)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL) (Wants to be President)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV) (Senate Majority Leader)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)

President Abraham Lincoln stated, ‘Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged!’

PLEASE KEEP THIS GOING AROUND THE UNITED STATES UNTIL THE ELECTION!

Breaking my normally strict rule of NEVER responding to or forwarding chain letters I did ~5 minutes of research and sent the following response (hopefully I got my facts right):

The issue isn’t as simple as the email makes it sound. The democrats in question voted for a similar amendment sixteen minutes earlier. Some of the language of the cited amendment contradicted the first, but the spirit behind both amendments seems the same. It doesn’t make much sense to vote for an amendment that contradicts another you just voted for.

The only problem I see here beyond the usual political shenanigans on both sides is the confused souls who voted for both amendments thus potentially making the bill in question very unclear.

It also shouldn’t be assumed that there really is a Colonel Riley and that he really sent this email. A similar email went around based on a bill that actually passed in 2006: http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/englishvote.asp

Keith

I kept it mellow since I was also breaking my rule of NEVER talking politics with family, but I felt like it needed some response.

Also, Lincoln didn’t really say that.

How is McCain not being conservative enough for conservatives a problem for him? Who else are conservatives going to vote for? They’re sure as hell not going to vote for Hillary. He seems like the perfect candidate for the Republicans: independents are drawn to him and conservatives are stuck with him.

You may have noticed that there was, at most, only one voting machine at your polling place yesterday. This is because California Secretary of State Debra Bowen decertified the machines that Butte County just spent loads of money on.

I would like to take this moment to say: I told you so.

Below is the letter I sent to Butte County Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs in February 2004 and her response.

My Email:

I need to know whether electronic voting systems, particularly those made by Diebold (www.diebold.com), will be used at my polling place in upcoming elections. It has come to my attention that Diebold’s systems are severely flawed. They have stability and security issues and do not produce a verifiable paper trail. I am concerned that use of these systems could cause me to be disenfranchised. If these systems are being used at my polling place will there be an alternative voting method I can use, or should I apply for an absentee ballot to avoid the situation?

I have read (http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7321237.htm) that electronic voting machines will be required to produce a paper receipt by 2006, but I am concerned about the elections taking place in the interim.

I have voted at the church across the street from the City of Chico office in the last two elections.

For additional information about the issues involved with Diebold and electronic voting machines, particularly the lack of a verifiable paper trail see http://wiki.volitant.net/diebold-cd.

Thanks,

Keith Adams

County Clerk-Recorder’s Response:

Mr. Adams,
Butte County has not changed it’s voting system. Be assured that any voting system this department may employ in the future will have security in place and no voter will be disenfranchised, just as we currently make sure that every vote that can legally be counted is counted now. My staff and I take our jobs very seriously.

Candace J. Grubbs
Butte County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar
25 County Center Drive
Oroville, California 95965
530-538-7761