How to give away the rest of your day

So, we went out this morning at 10am to see the USS Reagan. A huge construction it is. look closely towards the right of the thing; that's a pretty darn big yacht. The warship is 20 stories high, and each link on its anchor chain is 6 feet long and weighs almost a ton.

About 5 years ago, a friend came out to visit at the same time the USS Lincoln was in our harbor. On a lark we hopped on the water taxi and went out for a tour. It was pretty interesting, but it was also pre-9/11. Meaning that there was no checking of ID, or signing away your life, or signing up days or weeks in advance to go see it. We also got to see much more of the ship than is allowed these days. I have pictures of that time somewhere. Maybe I'll post them when I find them.

All the sailors and officers that were in town this weekend (6000 on leave) were well behaved, friendly and polite. Young men in their dress whites, and those hats that always make me think of the magic kingdom, walked up and down State Street. Drinking too much perhaps, but still.

When I think of how much good can come of military service for some; a good education, discipline, career training, a sense of pride; I wonder how many would give all that up, not to have to fight a war that doesn't seem to have an end in sight. How many have to live with the horror of what they have seen and done for the rest of their lives for signing up when they did. How many will spend their days trying to get VA benefits (which our esteemed president has seen fit to cut) because they can't work because of their injuries.

How many of them have wives, husbands, families at home that are living hand to mouth because they aren't able to get their paychecks to them? Right now there are about 1800 dead and 10,000 wounded. How about their futures? Their families?

I'm tired of the far right conservative mouthpieces that throw out the word "unpatriotic" any time someone questions what we are doing. Cindy Sheehan? Oh, she's "treasonous" because she wants an answer, and is willing to demonstrate her desire for that answer by camping out in front of Bush's home. That is, until she went home because her mother had a stroke. I'm sure Rush will say that Cindy caused it somehow.

Here's a local example. The city charges a 10% tax on any out of town boat that docks in our waters. This covers the water taxis, increased security if needed, extra sewage removal, etc. We would have received about $20,000 from the USS Reagan. Well, the Navy League here petitioned the City Council to have the tax waived. Some members of the City Council, including our mayor, balked at this.

Well. You would have thought she (our mayor) was assisting Bin Laden herself! She was an "unpatriotic bitch" among other things according to people who inundated her email in-box with hateful words. The city council voted and guess what? Our town just lost $20,000. How is that helping anyone?

Now, after this has been done, the Navy League revealed that Dr. Laura, (Yes, the Doctor Laura, who happens to live part time here) had donated $30,000 recently to cover the costs of the Big Bad Boat docking here. It was all a publicity smear. We have city elections in November, and the conservatives in our town don't like the former teacher as our mayor.

What happened to just being honest?

Oh yeah, I forgot for a moment who our role models are.