ElfDude wrote:My first thought was one that I probably shouldn't share, since I'm rather ashamed of it. I'll just say that it had to do with Pelosi taking a break from Congress and visiting home...
Wow. That is a shameful thought. Funny as a muv, though
With all of the shaking that her head does naturally, she'll probably survive by some sort of reverse osmosis, though
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
misconceptions of nuclear power as a result of an informed public. The effects of radiation are NOT what one would expect from watching movies or thinking the media is accurate.
My mom had radiation poisoning from treatment for cancer back in the early 70s. She lost feeling in parts of her lower extremities and had to re-learn how to walk at one point from it. It was always great fun for her to try to figure out which pet was bleeding only to realize the blood had come from the tack in her foot! (She actually did laugh about that when it would happen. she didn't take herself too seriously)
But she never glowed in the dark or grew a third eye that she hid under her cap. *sigh* Might have been cool to have a glow-in-the-dark mum...
Sgt. Edmund John Jeffers' last few words were some of the most touching,
inspiring and most truthful words spoken since the tragedy of 9/11 - and
since our nation went to war. Sgt. Jeffers was a strong soldier and
talented writer. He died in Iraq on September 19, 2007. He was a loving
husband, brother and son.
Hope Rides Alone
By Eddie Jeffers
I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to
the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar
rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the
streets of their neighborhoods.
My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been
given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of
others.
I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young
American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday
allow them to see their families again. And yet, I too, am just a
boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead.
I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid... because death is
everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners
and windows, and........it is always there. There are the demons that
follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my
own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with
my humanity. And I am not alone in this.
Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same
streets... who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not. And
to think, I volunteered for this... And I am ignorant to the rest of the
world...or so I thought. But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi,
Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me.
In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that
doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will
walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on
the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.
I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al
Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their
mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right,
however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of
boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the
words boys and girls, because that's what they are.
In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old.
The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.
People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the
results of their idiotic ramblings, or, at least I hope they are. They don't
realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva
Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from
the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine
the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the
enemy.
The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It
is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of
this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the
inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets.
And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming
something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists
to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend
with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions,
denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are
isolating the military from society... and they are becoming our enemy.
The Senate Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word
"quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam. In a way they are
right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the
isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are
a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us
for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on.
Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with
our war. Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the
Internet... and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi
in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes
soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job.
It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this.
Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at
nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good
we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC
or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq? Or the
leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? ]It's all happening, but
people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good
news, because it just might show people that Bush was right.
America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right
and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people
have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World
War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into
metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice
anything.
Unless you are in the military or the family member of a service member,
it's life as usual...the war doesn't affect you. But it affects us. And when
it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece together
what's left of them after their service...where will the detractors be then?
Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help
them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have
been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their
friends?
They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the
horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can
complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things
that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon
their shoulders.
We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else
wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a
country that is safe to raise their children in, not a place where their
children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply
with terrorists' demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And
America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the
cause, and see it to its end.
But the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden
on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform
or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on
your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause. Right
now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides
alone. But it can change, it must change. There is only failure and
darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't.
Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop
all the bad news, and let's stand and fight.
Semper Fi, Sgt. Jeffers. Thank you for your still-inspiring words, and
for making the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Maybe this will change
some ways of thinking - maybe not. No matter, you touched many by
your words. They will live forever. OOO-RAH.
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misconceptions of nuclear power as a result of an informed public. The effects of radiation are NOT what one would expect from watching movies or thinking the media is accurate.
Dude. Thanks for setting me straight. It was a joke (an ironic attempt at humor.) I thought Elfdude might enjoy the Simpsons reference.
ON JULY 20, 1969 , AS COMMANDER OF THE APOLLO 11 LUNAR MODULE,
NEIL ARMSTRONG WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO SET FOOT ON THE MOON.
HIS FIRST WORDS AFTER STEPPING ON THE MOON, "THAT'S ONE SMALL
STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND," WERE TELEVISED TO
EARTH AND HEARD BY MILLIONS.
BUT JUST BEFORE HE REENTERED THE LANDER, HE MADE THE
ENIGMATIC REMARK, "GOOD LUCK, MR. GORSKY."
MANY PEOPLE AT NASA THOUGH IT WAS A CASUAL REMARK
CONCERNING SOME RIVAL SOVIET COSMONAUT....
HOWEVER, UPON CHECKING, THERE WAS NO GORSKY IN EITHER THE
RUSSIAN OR AMERICAN SPACE PROGRAMS!
OVER THE YEARS MANY PEOPLE QUESTIONED ARMSTRONG AS TO WHAT
THE "GOOD LUCK, MR. GORSKY" STATEMENT MEANT, BUT ARMSTRONG
ALWAYS JUST SMILED...
ON JULY 5, 1995 , IN TAMPA, FLORIDA, WHILE ANSWERING QUESTIONS
FOLLOWING A SPEECH, A REPORTER BROUGHT UP THE 26-YEAR-OLD
QUESTION TO ARMSTRONG. THIS TIME HE FINALLY RESPONDED.
MR. GORSKY HAD DIED, SO NEIL ARMSTRONG FELT HE COULD ANSWER
THE QUESTION.
IN 1938, WHEN HE WAS A KID IN A SMALL MIDWEST TOWN , HE WAS
PLAYING BASEBALL WITH A FRIEND IN THE BACK YARD....
HIS FRIEND HIT THE BALL, WHICH LANDED IN HIS NEIGHBOR'S YARD BY
THE BEDROOM WINDOWS....
HIS NEIGHBORS WERE MR. AND MRS. GORSKY.
AS HE LEANED DOWN TO PICK UP THE BALL, YOUNG ARMSTRONG HEARD
MRS. GORSKY SHOUTING AT MR. GORSKY:
'SEX! YOU WANT SEX?! YOU'LL GET SEX WHEN THE KID NEXT DOOR
WALKS ON THE MOON!'
