Do You Remember.......

It is so easy for America to find one person to place the blame for events or happenings within our country, such as our President, and not only our present leader but those in the past as well have suffered this same fate. We fail to look at the entire spectrum before us, or should we say "behind and before us".

This was brought to my attention and I thought you might be interested in this forgotten bit of information..........

Recently, at a lecture, playing an old news video of Lt.Col. Oliver North testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings during the Reagan Administration, the year 1987.

There was Ollie in front of God and country getting the third degree, but what he said was stunning!

He was being drilled by a senator; "Did you not recently spend close to $60,000 for a home security system?"

Ollie replied, "Yes, I did, Sir."

The senator continued, trying to get a laugh out of the audience, "Isn't that just a little excessive?"

"No, sir," continued Ollie.

"No? And why not?" the senator asked.

"Because the lives of my family and I were threatened, sir."

"Threatened? By whom?" the senator questioned.

"By a terrorist, sir" Ollie answered.

"Terrorist? What terrorist could possibly scare you that much?"

"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.

At this point the senator tried to repeat the name, but couldn't pronounce it, which most people back then probably couldn't. A couple of people laughed at the attempt. Then the senator continued. Why are you so afraid of this man?" the senator asked.

"Because, sir, he is the most evil person alive that I know of", Ollie answered.

"And what do you recommend we do about him?" asked the senator.

"Well, sir, if it was up to me, I would recommend that an assassin team be formed to eliminate him and his men from the face of the earth."

The senator disagreed with this approach, and that was all that was shown of the clip.

By the way, that senator was Al Gore!

Also:

Terrorist pilot Mohammad Atta blew up a bus in Israel in 1986. The Israelis captured, tried and imprisoned him. As part of the Oslo agreement with the Palestinians in 1993, Israel had to agree to release so-called "political prisoners."

However, the Israelis would not release any with blood on their hands, The American President at the time, Bill Clinton, and his Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, "insisted" that all prisoners be released.

Thus Mohammad Atta was freed and eventually thanked the US by flying an airplane into Tower One of the World Trade Center. This was reported by many of the American TV networks at the time that the terrorists were first identified.

It was censored in the US from all later reports.

The curiousity within me questions: How many will continue to refuse reality? How many will fight against the realization because they need that one person to blame, that one person in which to distribute all their fear and anger? When will they accept that there are many more to blame, many more shoulders to carry the burden?

"Run Like A Plantation" and "New Orleans Will Be Chocolate"

Am I hearing this right? Is America listening to this? What would you call the comment, and I quote, "The House "has been run like a plantation, and you know what I'm talking about," from the nationally televised mouth of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Also, comments by New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, "This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be. …. This city will be chocolate at the end of the day." And not only nationally televised, but throughout the world.

Everyone knows what Sen. Clinton is talking about! She is inferring Democratic "Slaves" to the Republican as "Master Plantation Owners", I am trying to be civil in the annotation with refrain from the more blatantly ugly inference realized. Are these the ideas that go through her mind? Does she have a deep-seeded racially bias negativity that allows for these ugly formations? The context may not seem to many as racially derrogative but in fact, it is. Many of us fight against the use of the term she is inferring and yet many of you do not realize that is exactly what she is saying, yet not with the vulgar terminology. Not only that but she turned a day of honor for a great American, Martin Luther King, Jr., into her own Political spotlight. Odd how she selected this day to present her speech to the world. Is this the type of President we want for our Nation?

Mayor Nagin is also doing his share of dividing the people of his city as well as America. He is a city leader, his job is to help heal division among the people, not ignite it. How is this honoring a man that gave his life to bring all of America together as one?

When Political leaders begin forging wedges of discrimination with derrogatory remarks of this magnitude, it begins to break open conflicts in the healing process. Although the intent was political for Sen. Clinton, it bleds through to our American family creating division.

Many in America have fought hard against the racial conflicts within our own country. Martin Luther King, Jr., give him the respect he deserves for the life he gave. Give him what he fought for, let him rest in peace knowing he made a difference. Underneath our skin we are all the same, there is no race or color.

My lack of Attendance

Hi Everyone,

I just want to let you all know that I am alive and well. I have been extremely busy and have not taken the time I should to care for my blog. I am working on a piece that I think many will recognize, although I am adding my opinion. Between everything I am trying to accomplish, this is taking a little time. Though few, I appreciate the comments I have received, a couple are from people I admire and enjoy reading their from their blogs as well. Have some catching up on that also.

I added a few additional links to the site, hope you will check them out!

Catch up soon. Leave me a message and I will definitely get back with YOU!

Cheryl

War

No better way of defining other than "War is hell"

"You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it ...''" -- Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman

I have observed much over the years and how fickle Americans can be when it comes to the U.S involvement with War, even more so when it concerns our country directly. Americans scream and yell for justice, for protection. But what happens when our government reacts to America's petition? They recoil! How many times have we watched this happen within our own country? The criticism of our Government becomes insanely omnipotent.

What does Americans want in war? They do not want the ugly reality. They are looking for a pristine -- swift, mistake-free, clean war. Therefore, the U.S. news media decline to show us images of our own dead and wounded. And the Pentagon helpfully distorts or manipulates or conceals facts to cover up unfortunate truths and create romanticized legends.

First, there was Jessica Lynch -- re-created as the brave blond heroine who emptied her rifle firing at the enemy. It turned out she never fired a shot.

Later, there was Pat Tillman, who walked away from a lucrative professional football career to join the U.S. Army Rangers. Tillman's death in 2004 was reinvented as a breathtaking tale of a soldier gunned down by enemy fire while leading a charge to protect his men. In fact, he was killed in an episode of friendly fire, mistakenly shot by members of his own platoon. In a recent interview with The Washington Post, his mother, Mary, revealed her frustration with the web of deceit that initially surrounded her son's death. "The military let him down," she said. "The administration let him down. It was a sign of-disrespect." She's right. Tillman served honorably and died bravely. He didn't need the Army's lies.

But the Pentagon and many civilian hawks seemed to have learned the wrong lessons from Vietnam and also the voices within our own Nation. They've conveniently placed the blame for that humiliating loss on the press, which undermined the war effort, they claim, by showing photos of U.S. casualties, scrutinizing U.S. military atrocities and examining too closely the duplicitous claims made by the U.S. government. So, this time around, the hawks have worked assiduously to conceal any inconvenient facts from a public they believe has no stomach for war's grim realities. The result has been manufactured tales of heroism, concealment of soldiers' caskets and a relentless drumbeat against the news media for an alleged refusal to portray "all the good things going on in Iraq."

Let me pause to point out that this is no anti-war rant, I'm no pacifist. I believe the president was absolutely justified in invading Afghanistan to root out the Taliban, there was simply no other choice. Although I firmly believe that President Bush unleashed a cascade of distortions and deceptions to win support for toppling Saddam Hussein (and there is a mountain of evidence to support that view).

I've studied enough history and heard enough stories to know there are no "good'' wars -- only justified wars and unjustified ones. All wars are hideous -- full of fratricide (both unintentional and intentional), grievous wounds, thousands of corpses, the screams of the dying and every element of human nature, from heroism and sacrifice to meanness and cowardice.

While my generation may not have the mettle that our parents and grandparents did, we have learned a bitter lesson as to when war is necessary and when it is not. We have seen both kinds. So, our leaders must always level with us. Don't try to deny war's horrors. Don't tell us winning will be easy. Tell us the truth: Victory will require great sacrifices, but there is no choice but to fight. (First, make sure that's true.) Here's the lesson from Vietnam: Don't lie. So, let's not use our brave men and women in uniform as props in made-up bedtime stories. And, for heaven's sake, let's not hide our dead and wounded. That dishonors their sacrifice.

Slippery, Slimey, Slithering

Imagine hiking through the beautiful wilderness of a park or forest. Along side the trail lies a cool, clear stream. You stop to gently slash the refreshing water on your face.
Looking around at the surrounding beauty, inhaling in the clean air, taking a deep breath....

(sniff...sniff... cough...sputter)...oh no...my nostril is clogged!

Well, I don't think it would take me two weeks to realize that something had either swam, splashed, or slithered up my nostril.

That is exactly what happened to a hiker in Hong Kong. She washed her face in a stream and two weeks later discovered that a leech was lodged in her nostril.

I think my reaction would be totally different. Image yourself at the stream, how would you wash your face? For myself, the first scenario: I would dip my hands in the water and splash it onto my face. The first dip into the water I am pretty sure I would have my eyes open, but I think I would have my eyes open with each dip so I am sure that I would see if I were about to push something, that I would prefer not, up my nostril.

Second scenario: Dipping your face into the stream. I can see how it is possible that something could swim up the nostril, but to slither up? I think I would feel something slithering its way up into the deeper cavity of my nostril and then attaching itself...unless of course nature has provided the creature with a secretion of anesthetic solution as it slithers.

By any means, the leech had to be surgically removed. I think I would have known that something was not as it should before two weeks passed...especially when I couldn't blow it out....hahaha! Hangin in there!

With Age comes Humor

Have you ever thought about the aging process and harboring depressive thoughts? If you look at the older people around you, most have a great sense of humor, with the exception of my mother, sure hope I don't take after her (ha...just kidding). Although, there are those that tend to have a crabby nature, or at least it seems so with my mother, (which sets me off on my own crabby adventure). It is not good to be continuously around crabby people...it rubs off on you.

I really do love my mother. My dad passed away almost 9 years ago and now my mother has decided that she no longer wants to live alone, she very recently moved in with me. Have you ever heard the adage "The most admired is free of toil while the least is fully laden." Maybe I just made that one up due to the fact that I am least with my mother...my two brothers hold the highest honors, (why does she want to live with me?...some things are unexplainable). For now she is a source of humor for us...especially my youngest son. He likes to play with her mind, even during her crabby times.

Some of the amusements of senior citizens are the faces they make, you can always tell when they are displeased about something. It almost kills me to hold back...."Okay, what's brought the sour face this time...Who stirred your lemons...What do you have to be upset about?" I do this with anyone showing a displeasing emotion, not only senior citizens. I want them to speak up in front of everyone...don't hold back...I don't...Everyone knows I am going to speak out if I am not happy. If you don't want anyone to know you are upset, then bluff...don't let me see it, because I will make it known to everyone present. I guess I am too blatant, my husband says I need to control myself, (which he is referring to my mouth). He has got to understand, I have to do this! I cannot stand someone making faces without a known reason.

Another amusement is movement. A lot of older people will move extremely slow until it benefits them. A note of preparation; if you have an elderly person move into your home, have a restroom especially for them. In our home, we have too many people (friends and family) in and out all day, every day. And when you have one person taking up at least 10 minutes or more in one of the restrooms, even during the night, you definitely need more than two. What kills me is when they are just standing there looking at themselves in the mirror, trying to figure out what to do next! Am I impatient or what!!!! Maybe it's my nerves, or maybe I have to many traumatic experiences.

I hope with age, I can keep a sense of humor, I want people to look at me and smile, to laugh with me. I want people to see me as the person I am now. I want to move with grace, without slowing everyone around me down.

I want to age with funny stories to tell. The two most humorous stages in life are in childhood and senior years. These stages also make the best jokes.

An elderly couple, Ray and Bessie, are “snowbirds” in Texas. Ray has always wanted a pair of authentic cowboy boots.Seeing some on sale one day, he buys them and wears them home, walking proudly. He saunters into the house and says to his wife, “Notice anything different about me?”

Bessie looks him over and says, “Nope.”

Frustrated, Ray storms off into the bathroom, undresses, and walks back into the room, completely naked except for the boots. Again he asks, a little louder this time, “Notice anything DIFFERENT NOW?”

Bessie looks up and says, “Ray, what’s different?It’s hanging down today, it was hanging down yesterday, it’ll be hanging down again tomorrow.

Furious, Ray yells, “AND DO YOU KNOW WHY IT’S HANGING DOWN, BESSIE?? IT’S HANGING DOWN BECAUSE IT’S LOOKING AT MY NEW BOOTS!!!!!”

To which Bessie replies, “Shoulda bought a hat, Ray. Shoulda bought a hat.”

Struggle and Tumble

Okay...maybe I am alone in this, but I thought when someone is asked to perform a task or something like a simple request as to SING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM, one would rehearse and learn the lyrics before TAKING THE SPOTLIGHT in front of a live audience and the media. Of whom may I note has equipment sending live feed which is bouncing off satellites throughout space so the world and our entire majestic universe can share in this special event.

Think of the eyes that will witness this! Well...as myself...although I missed the initial film and news, (I miss so much of what goes on in the world, but I do try to catch up by reading some of the news when I have time), today I had the opportunity to see the video. (Don't you just love the internet...keeps one updated.)

Why would one take on a task as this without the confidence of knowing the lyrics? If I had to stop, not once, but twice and then go in to get the words to the song, I wouldn't have come back out...and then to fall down...oh sheessshhhh. It wasn't her night! If she had been properly prepared, she could have pulled it off.....and without a bruise!

I guess her flying in to sing on Good Morning America was her way of letting the world know that she studied the lyrics and had the confidence to sing it without a cheat sheet....or did she???

AMERICA...learn these lyrics so we can all be a proud nation...if it is too long and hard for you, don't embarrass yourself, move over and leave it to those that do.

Lyrics to 'The Star Spangled Banner'

Written by Lawyer Francis Scott Key During War of 1812

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say does that star spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?