Mommy, what did you do during the war?

I almost fell out of my seat when I saw Bill O'Reilly's name in my church newsletter.

My minister was talking about the War On Christmas, and how Wal-Mart, Target, Kohl's and Sears were officially endorsing Christmas. I thought that Christmas already had an endorsement deal. For at least the last 1500 years, give or take.

The whole War deal has really annoyed me. Christmas has never come under attack. I figure that other faiths, some of which have been around a lot longer than Christianity, decided they wanted to be of worth as well. I remember saying Merry Christmas until it made no sense when I worked in retail. Yet somehow, Christmas needs to be endorsed, and fought for. Hmmm.

You would think that time would be better spent on finishing up some of the other wars we have going. We seem to be waging a war on peace, a nice traditional Christmas value. If I recall correctly, Jesus is known as the Prince of Peace, not the Prince of Wal-Mart. Seems lately that all you have to do to be a terrorist is to have heard of them, and not have the proper bumper stickers on your car. Which reminds me of the war on poverty. We supposedly started that one in the Sixties. We were going to eliminate poverty, and hunger, and homelessness. Haven't seen any real progress on that one. And since love for fellow man, and charity, are biggies on Jesus's list, you'd figure more effort would be expended. And how about the war on drugs? That is another one we're still pouring money into. Grandma can't get a cheap prescription to save her life. But we can pour money and time into what has been a fruitless quest to get rid of drugs. Course, we don't help our fellow man by getting him off drugs, helping him solve the problems that started him off. That would be too easy. Instead we warehouse these guys in prison. At least they'll get Christmas dinner, right? That will fulfill our generosity clause...way to go!

The older I get, and the more things we declare war on, the more I lose hope. I have no problem celebrating all of the holidays of the season. On the up side, you add one more party! And maybe, if we open our minds, we can love one another in concrete ways all the time. That was the idea, after all, in Scrooge's keeping Christmas all year long. Not beating people over the head with the idea that their holiday is the only valid one. But giving, and loving, and taking care of one another. With or without Santa...or Bill O'Reilly.

so Merry, Happy, Joyous, Blessed, as I usually say during the holidays. Have a happy Thanksgiving. good night and good luck...stimp

what is it with kids today?

I sometimes wonder what in the hell is going on with this world. I watched people tear each other apart trying to get PS3's, trying to be first, not caring who got hurt in the process. We are uncivil sometimes to the point of real cruelty. This is a place sometimes that the Marquis de Sade would not only recognize, but approve of. And before anyone asks, I have read works of the Marquis in sufficient quantity to say.

But adult misbehavior and stupidity is not what troubles me. I was listening to the Lionel show tonight. (As an aside, Lionel is one of the best talk hosts on the air. He offers a podcast of his show free, and can be found at www.lionelonline.com .) There was a young man who called his show, and he entirely blew my mind. He was 15 years old, and had called to offer his opinion on one of the topics of the day. But he became the topic after listening to his opinions. Lionel questioned him briefly about himself. He was in a business program at school, and basically intended to go into international currency after college, because money was so important. The longer I listened to this budding Alex P. Keaton (Google it), the sadder I got. And I wondered...where had childhood gone?

Let me be clear, I am all for education. I am a big fan. I think schooling is one of the most important things we do. I hassle and help my own child as much as I can, sometimes too much, to do well in school. I understand its importance. But in expecting our children to plan their lives from kindergarten on, are we stealing something from them as well? When my son goes to school, I am not necesarily thinking entirely about what he will be when he grows up. I have told him that school will be important in helping him decide his future, that it is not optional. But what I want for him, this child on the radio seemed to have lost. I don't want a child programmed to perform at the highest levels without thought. A monkey can be tought to do that. What I want for my child, for all children, is the opportunity to search. I wish for them curiosity, exploration, critical thinking, and the joy that discovery brings. If I had merely wanted to program something for maximum efficiency, I would have bought a fancy VCR. I want my boy to see farther, look deeper. Money and materials are all well and good. But they mean nothing if you give your heart and soul away to get them.

I am sad for this boy on the radio. He was so certain, so set. No one should be set at 15. There are too many variables left to encounter. And eventually, even Alex P. Keaton found his heart and soul. good night and good luck...stimp

Thank you

We did it. After all the nastiness, confusion, hard work, wishes and prayers. I think we have a chance now. At last report, the House and the Senate have both gone Democrat. Not by a ton, but by enough. Our state has cleaned house. We have a new governor, secretary of state, attorney general, all Democrats. Ohio is, for the most part, blue, as she has almost always been. The minimum wage bill passed, so some folks can get closer to a living wage.

I am speechless in a way, breathless, from the good news.

But it is only a beginning. Now comes the hard work. We must end this murderous, unjust war in a civilized way. Which is a contradiction in terms, I know. Just sit down, make a plan, and find a way to exit with the most dignity and least bloodshed possible. Then, let's make sure that the people we sent over there have all the medical care they need, for both physical and emotional needs. No skimping. Heal their wounds, inside and out.

A part of me wants to take the newfound power of investigations we'll have in January, ram it up the White House's ass, and break it off ragged. But I hope cooler heads than mine will prevail. There are some things which must be looked at, investigated. Take care of those, and pin blame where it is due. Besides that, We can't afford to do anything else but try to fix our broken constitution, carefully restore the civil liberties we have had taken from us. We must not let these people scare us anymore. Tell us when it is a real, and important, threat. Make sure of what we have. No more telling us something that might or might not be, depending on the polls.

There is so much more, I am sure, that we will tackle in January. But for now, it is enough to take a moment and breathe. And again, to all who made a difference, who VOTED, my most sincere and humble thanks.

It looks like it might be all good from here. good night and good luck...stimp

Did ya do it? Well, did ya?

I voted.

I hate the electronic voting machines. I know they are easier to work and all. But there was always something satisfying in punching out my butterfly ballot. For all the supposed problems with them.

So did you vote yet?

It is too important not to go. All opportunities to exercise your right are important. But this time, there is a great deal more at stake. We need to inject some sanity into the government we are currently saddled with. We have allowed fear and anger to lead us into a war under false pretenses. We have given away some of our basic, fundamental rights, or let them be eroded beyond recognition. We have allowed our country, which once stood for what was right and decent, to embrace endless imprisonment and torture as a matter of course. Just good policy. The catch phrases have been endless, turning all the death and destruction into bite size pieces to swallow. Stay the course. Fight them there so we don't have to fight them here. The war on terror. Mission accomplished.

But the mission is not accomplished, because we were never clear on what that mission was. The target kept changing. We have lost the war on "terror", because good people are made terrified everyday by this administration. And staying the course is not a strategy, it is not knowing how to fix what you broke.

So, please, go vote today. And when you do, think about what we have given away. Our freedom. Our government's basic setup of checks and balances. Thousands of lives in a distant land, and right here in ours. The freedom to feel safe. And then vote your conscience the best you can. In the meantime, I'll be praying that we can fix all of this, that it is not too late. good night and good luck...stimp

Do it. It doesn't hurt unless you don't.

I love politics, but I sometimes hate election season. The arguing, bickering, namecalling of it all. And with the 24 hour news cycle, it is almost as if nothing else in the world exists. I have gotten so many "Vote for me" phone calls I shut the ringer off. My mail is 2 to 1 political flyers over regular mail. It can be enough to make you want to lock the doors, stay home, and wait for it to be over.

But don't. VOTE.

People have fought, argued, marched, been hurt, and died for the privledge. They had to fight to make it a right for all of us. And yet many of us toss away this right through laziness, apathy, or despair. Don't give up. Vote.

I heard someone today say that the founding fathers didn't die to give someone like him the vote. That voting would be a compromise of balance, of integrity. I've got news for you, newsboy. A lot of people, from the founding fathers to today have died to give you the right to vote. You, and I, and everyone else who is able, must take responsibility for the country we call home. This is the place we live, we work or not, we learn or not, we succeed or not. We make it what it is. If we ignore participation in our political process, we are giving our voice away. And we don't get to decide who we give that voice to. We are soundless, surrounded by the noise of the process that we have let pass us by.

And the decisions that those who represent us, whether we vote for them or not, make everyday will define the world we live in. We are bound by their decisions, for good or ill. Why would we want to give that power away? Do we really want someone else to choose what is important for us?

So Tuesday, I will wade through the "Vote for me" folks outside the polling place, show my ID, punch the little buttons on the touchscreen, and sound my voice. I am only one vote, true. But better one vote than none at all. So go vote. Feel the force of democracy flowing through you. It won't hurt a bit. good night and good luck...stimp