this saddens me

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/us/pentagons-web-timeline-brings-back-vietnam-and-protesters-.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

WOW $15 million dollars to the Pentagon to whitewash, er, I mean commemorate the VietNam war.  I don't even know how to begin.  Maybe with this: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Lejeune_water_contamination

I was in Nam, briefly, and I was in LeJeune, not so briefly.  I am covered by the VA for a gazillion unpronounceable diseases because of exposure to Agent Orange and I drank the Camp Lejeune water.  That is, of course, if I could even get an appointment at a VA hospital.  My last application for an appointment was rejected because they can't find my military records, even though I sent them copies.

So nothing will be said about the Johnson Tapes in which he admits that the Gulf of Tonkin incident never occurred and that the war was being escalated for political reasons.  None of the perpetrators of these war crimes will ever be brought to justice.  Monsanto will continue to make billions of dollars on one of the two ingredients of Agent Orange, AKA Roundup.  You, know, the spray that kills the weeds on your lawn, the genetic modification made to most GMO crops that you and livestock ingest on a daily basis.  And it doesn't stop there.  In the Gulf War it was DU (Depleted Uranium) that the Pentagon said was safe and wasn't making the Gulf War troops sick. 

So yeah, I maybe don't quite trust the Pentagon to use that $15M to create a fair and balanced history of Nam.  It sound a little too much like "We report.  You decide."

As the saying goes:  "I am already against the next war." 

DANGER WILL ROBINSON - EBOLA!!!!!!!!!!!

This one is a no-brainer comment on the ebola death yesterday.

Cause of death        US Deaths per year         Public Response

Tobacco                     380,000                 Ban on advertising to minors
Automobile                   35,000                 Mandated safety features that add profit to manufacturers
Alcohol                         90,000                 Ban on advertising spirits, no beer advertising aimed at minors
Guns                             30,000                 HA HA - Yeah right
Ebola                            1, only 1               WIDESPREAD PANIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  WE'RE ALL

GOING TO DIE.  HELP US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back (maybe) with a Feminist Twist (at least for today)

I just read this article. 

http://m.runnersworld.com/womens-running/do-i-look-like-a-man?cid=socMOT_20141007_33080086

By coincidence this subject came up in a discussion I had with a dog walking friend last evening.  Obviously, not having my surgery until my mid 50s meant that I had all those years of testosterone poisoning.  She and I were talking about how masculine I am and how I felt as a child.  She thought that I must have been very feminine as a child but as my cousin said when he found out that I am trans:  "Wow, I never would have thought that of you.  You were the biggest badass I knew growing up."  And I was.  And I still am and I am proud of it. 

Masculinity and Femininity are social constructs that have nothing at all to do with a person's body/mind connection.  As Lauren stated so much more eloquently than I can.  When did being strong become a masculine trait?  Man up?  Don't make me laugh.  Big strong professional football players, who are stronger and tougher than 99.99% of the general male population still have to beat up on woman to "prove their superiority."  If that's "manning up"  who would want to be a part of it.

I agree with Lauren as far as doing away with any gender reference relating to strength or weakness whether it be mental, physical, or emotional.  Grow a set should refer to boobs and balls equally.

What makes someone a hero?

Stormin Norman died this past week.  A real man's hero.  War hero.  What could be more heroic than being a war hero? Of course since history is written by the victors, he is even more heroic.  None of the Nazi soldiers were heroic in WWII, nor the North Vietnamese soldiers in that "police action." And none of the North Korean soldiers of today could ever be called heroic.  They are all vicious murderers supporting vicious corrupt regimes.  Not at all like the peace loving people of the US with it's thousands of gun deaths per year.

But this is about Norm and not those vicious animals from the losing armies, nor the debate about gun control.

Posted on December 27th on theblaze.com:

 “I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I’m very proud of that,” he once told the AP. “But I’ve always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I’d like to think I’m a caring human being. … It’s nice to feel that you have a purpose.”

"Caring"?  not if you were gay.

From the May 12thy, 1993 edition of the  La Times:

Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf told a packed congressional hearing Tuesday that the U.S. military would become "a second-class armed force" if President Clinton lifts the ban on homosexuals serving in the military.

To the best of my knowledge he died having never rescinded that remark. So what makes a hero?

Support my son

It has now been 20 months since I wrote.  Since then I've lost about thirty pounds (the bad part of that is that I had gained the thirty pounds that I had to lose.), I have run a half marathon (slowly jogged is more like it), and  bought an RV so I can soon return to the Road Warrior life. 

However, today's post will be short.  It's purpose is to introduce you to a web site:

http://wewillnotsupportviolence.org/

and its sister Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/petitiontomsmtonotprofitfromviolence

My son, Phil, is the author of the sites.

The web site is a petition to the major media to stop glorifying mass murderers for a profit and the FB page is a purveyor of good news.  Please visit and friend or sign if you agree.  If you disagree, please leave a message so that we can have an intelligent discussion about such an important issue.  I find it ironic that one of my last posts concerned Jared Loughner.  To be honest I couldn't even remember which of the atrocities he committed.  Its a sad commentary when we become so inured to the violence that it is nothing special and "they all look alike."

There are many other sites like Phil's. That's good.  I know that I feel helpless.  I am sure that many of you feel the same way.  But maybe by supporting him he can join with others who have similar support and they can accomplish something.  And I truly believe that something needs to be accomplished .... just sayin.

I leave you with a Youtube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTU2Y0VFH0E