Getting on my soapbox. . .

I'll be honest: I generally try to stay away from politics on the internet, and here's why.
1) Things get easily misconstrued.
2) The internet is great for many things, but a political debate - where body language, tone, and physical gestures are very important - is not one of those things.
3) People don't forget, but even if they do, your name is there along with your thoughts forever. Facebook comments are never really deleted.
That being said, I'm going to stand up on my little soapbox and put my name next to my thoughts and opinions.
Okay, now that being said, I am not here to make anyone mad.
I am not here to make enemies.
I am not here to step on anyone's digital digits.
I am here to try to persuade you to come around to my way of thinking, which - to be fair - is what every one does.
That's how people respectfully agree to disagree.
Now.
I am going to give my opinion of what's going on in the government of the United States right now, which you and I have every right to do: we're paying for it.
To do this, I will be heavily referencing the Phantom of the Opera, so buckle up and grab your capes -- we're going for a ride.
This may read a bit like a literary interpretation essay, but I promise you it's not.
I'd never get a grade on this.

Now, let's start at the very beginning.

For those who may not be Phans, I shall give you the bare, bare bones of what's actually a somewhat convoluted plot.
The Phantom has long since seduced Christine Daae into thinking that he is heaven-sent. She performs for him, she adores him, and she'd do anything for him. The pinnacle of their success is when she's at the top of her game. He takes her to his home (not for the first time, curse you Webber -- mea culpa, but your score was fantastic, every pun intended) and she begins to see what he truly is: not the angel he claimed he was, for starters.
Her childhood love, Raoul, shows up as a foil (contrast) to the Phantom. He truly loves Christine, and is more than a little worried about her obsession with some 'angel', even though she swears he's really what he says he is.
The Phantom does not get his casting choices approved for the next opera. He decides to show his acute displeasure by dropping the giant, 7-ton chandelier on the audience, killing some random woman. A freak accident.
Christine begins to really see who he is, though part of her still loves him. Raoul takes steps against him, and plans a way to show everyone what he really is. Long story short, it works. He's exposed, and slinks away, and the opera house is freed of his terror.
There are stories he fled to New York, but that's another subject entirely.

Where am I going with this?
Here.
I'm gonna name names, so if this offends you, I'm sorry, but this is my honest, thought-through opinion.

Obama has ideologically seduced mainstream media to follow him blindly, just as the Phantom seduced Christine. The mainstream media - like Madame Giry - sheilds him, makes excuses for him, and gives out his instructions. The first chandelier crash? I'd say that was Benghazi, the first 'mistake' with consequences of lives lost. That's when people kinda started to wake up, but it wasn't enough. I think this whole healthcare thing is hitting close enough to home that people are beginning to really figure out what is really going on.
The make believe is at an end.

The real question is, though, what's next?

(Failed?) Attempts at Philosophy: Exile

I don't know how I got to thinking about this, but exile is a pretty stupid idea, isn't it?
Say somebody murders (not kills like in self-defense, but actually murders) somebody else.
Pick your method: poisoning, shooting, stabbing, strangulation, what have you -- the victim's dead either way.
So, the government is essentially saying this:

We should kill you because you killed someone else, but we're not going to kill you.
We're going to kick you out of our country, so now you're somebody else's problem.
But if you ever come back, we're going to kill you.

. . . Um . . . isn't that what you should have done in the first place?
Anyhoo . . . I guess this is what happens when you watch and listen to a lot of political stuff and have no school work to preoccupy your brain . . .

Chick-Fil-A Day!

This is Chick-Fil-A at noon.

I'm actually not a huge fan of chicken, so I'm not there a whole lot, but dang . . . I've never seen it this busy!!!

There were only four parking spaces available when we got there, and people were already parked up and down the residential street. I think a couple even parked all the way over at McDonald's across the highway! (Talk about awkward -- walking to your car at MickyD's with a bag of Chick-Fil-A . . .)

I was pretty sure it would be busy; I think a few people are eating lunch and dinner there!

I have to admit I'm a bit worried about Friday . . . the . . . um . . . "event" that's supposed to happen that day. I don't think it will be a big deal here, but I pray parents will be wise enough not to take their children there Friday in cities where it will be pretty bad.

Just seeing the support people were showing for Biblical family values . . . It was awesome. God has really blessed Chick-Fil-A for their obedience and willingness to close every store on Sundays because it's the Sabbath. It's just incredible.

Though I do have to say, there are few feelings quite like wanting a CFA milkshake after Sunday dinner and realizing that just ain't gonna happen . . .

 

HMESHB - Part I

How My Essay Should Have Been
Part I
Response to "Common Sense"

I'll spare you the somewhat boring details of what I really wrote, but here's what it almost said:

"Thomas Paine's Common Sense inspired Thomas Jefferson to pen the Declaration of Independence, which would later be stolen by Ben F. Gates with the assistance of Riley Poole and Dr. Abigail Chase, to thwart the efforts of Ian Howe."

Dear me . . .
But part of me wonders what would have happened had I actually turned it in like that . . . My professor has a wicked sense of humor; she probably would have loved it!
. . . Or failed me on it.
But still . . .

A Brief Overview of the Political Systems of the World

A friend of mine re-posted this and I thought I'd go ahead and share it too, because I nearly died laughing reading it.

(Obviously, this is meant for humor; I am not trying to offend anyone.)

DEMOCRAT

You have two cows.

Your neighbor has none. 

You feel guilty for being successful. 

You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone. 

REPUBLICAN

You have two cows. 

Your neighbor has none.

So? 

  

SOCIALIST

You have two cows. 

The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. 

You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow. 

COMMUNIST

 You have two cows. 

The government seizes both and provides you with milk. 

You wait in line for hours to get it.

It is expensive and sour. 

  

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows. 

You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows. 

  

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows. 

Under the new farm program, the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pour the milk down the drain. 

AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. 

You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. 

You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. 

You are surprised when one cow drops dead. 

You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. 

Your stock goes up. 

  

FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows. 

You go on strike because you want three cows. 

You go to lunch and drink wine.

Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows. 
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. 

They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.

Most are at the top of their class at cow school. 

GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. 
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. 
Unfortunately, they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year. 

  

ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows but you don't know where they are. 

You break for lunch. 

Life is good. 

RUSSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. 

You drink some vodka.

You count them and learn you have five cows. 

You drink some more vodka. 

You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. 

The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have. 

TALIBAN CORPORATION

You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two. 

You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. 

You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons. 

IRAQI CORPORATION

You have two cows. 

They go into hiding. 

They send radio tapes of their mooing. 

  

POLISH CORPORATION

You have two bulls. 

Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them. 

  

BELGIAN CORPORATION

You have one cow. 

The cow is schizophrenic.

Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. 

The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.

The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. 

The cow asks permission to be cut in half.

The cow dies happy. 

FLORIDA CORPORATION

You have a black cow and a brown cow. 
Everyone votes for the best looking one. 
Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one. 
Some people vote for both. 
Some people vote for neither. 
Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. 
Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the best looking cow. 

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION

You have millions of cows. 

They make real California cheese. 

Only five speak English. 

Most are illegal.