The Meaning of Memorial Day

Right now Sixty Minutes is running an hour's worth of material dedicated to the glories of war. The media loves war stories of our troops. And there is no question how bravely they fight. But I happened to think few people have two or perhaps three holidays during the year. We really don't have Memorial and Veteran's day and Armed Forces Day, what we have from the media is a celebration of "War Day". They say Mother's Day was originally entitled "Mothers for Peace" Day, but somewhere along the line the "Peace" angle was dropped. I don't believe those who survived the Civil War would take kindly to two US Presidents fighting two simotanious "wars of choice", which could be called Wars of Agression, and yes I did use that term. The simple goal was to honor the dead and perhaps be thankful we don't have to fight today. Although after the election of 1877 with Tilden losing to Rutherford B Hayse, the Republican party, which to date had been in office sixteen years- - lost their moral authority. They were the War party. And after the civil war, Presidents turned their sites on the American Indians such as the Cheyanne and the Dakota. Earlier this evening I was just listening to Bob Woodward talk about Watergate. Nixon was actually working to end a war, not start one or more. But clearly the sins of Watergate pale in significance when one ponders the attrocities of the George W Bush administration. Keep in mind that neither Bush nor Chaney served in the Military, but so called peacenicks like Carter and Mc Govern had served. Forty years ago the print media was healthy and vibrant, and Walter Cronkite was seem as a father figure who told us the truth. Nobody would place that much trust or hope in the media today, who are more like lap dogs to the lobbyests and war mongers. So what we need perhaps as a new designation entirely for this holiday and celebrate something more uplifting.

This is Sunday May 29, 2011, Sgt. Pepper day. I have discovered what life without cigarettes is like. I was out by lunch time and borrowed one from Francis. After that I had little luck. I went down for coffee before two and waited around but then left to look for someone to borrow a cigarette from and I came across Joe in the lobby and so had one on the patio before returning to the coffee line. The first cup from Laura was drowning in cream and sugar so I had black coffee the second time. There as usual are only the three white birds visible in the cage.

There was a crash into the wall by the lead driver at the Indy 500 just yards from the finish line. I only saw the last eighteen laps of the race because I forgot. I had Leo on he says that flash drives or anything that avoids a spinning disk is actually significantly faster even at lower chip speeds. I’ll keep that in mind. I wouldn’t mind one bit trading less storage space for other benefits, such as hard drives just “failing”. I have so much space on this drive wasted by Accronis.

This morning I got coffee from Dana. I complained to him that even this morning when I sit in this chair you don’t get KABC but any place else in the room I do. I have a different antenna configuration now. We had oatmeal and I had a pink sugar in my jacket. I was wearing a jacket because it was really cold out this morning for this time of year. A lot of places are experiencing sub normal temperatures. We had a fried egg and toast and finally butter and jelly, but breakfast was a gradated wait. I watched Meet the Press. The Democrats want “results oriented health care” and not a fee per service basis, which encourages doctors to pile on expenses. If Greenspan wants employees to have a general fear of losing their job, I don’t think it’s a bit unhealthy to worry about the fact that my health care is costing SOMEBODY if I’m on the government dole. But as that Jeffrey James guy says, we are so over-medicated because each doctor we see piles on new medications to deal with the side effects of previous drugs. Sarah Palin appears to seriously be getting into the race with a bus ride up the east coast to New Hampshire. The interviews appear to be slowly getting less intelligent.

It was Beatles at nine on all three stations. KLOS did a Beatle animals segment. One station had the May 1964 recordings at the B B C where the Beatles played “I Saw Her Standing There”, “Kansas City” and after a comical introduction, George sang “I Forgot to Remember to Forget”. Apparently the latest version of the Double Fantasy album takes off overdubs and cuts way down on reverb.

Jesus Christ was talking about “Hell” this morning and each time the subject comes around he gets worse. Now he’s being really silly. He says going to Hell is like someone who drinks only pop and juice, suddenly discovering that the human body needs water. His other example was of a disobedient kid threatening to leave home and when their parents let them, like God “allows us to choose to go to Hell” then we discover for ourselves what being “cut off” is like. In the first place this notion that Hell is not directly under God’s control is “Just nutty”. That preacher who answered the question about “What was God doing before he created the earth” and was told “He was creating Hell for the unbelievers” - - he was not wrong in the least. That’s just what God was doing and there is scripture to back it up. Of course Neil told us to think of the worst kind of music possible and picture listening to that for eternity. My third worst choice is German polka music, com;plete with Nazi troopers in formation goose-stepping. My second choice is Scandenavian folk music- - with yodeling. My all time worst pick is this Irish folk music, which hasn’t changed since the Middle Ages. Of course nobody would consider “Church” hell- - for all evernity. (He said sarcastically) But even Stewart agrees that it’s “just nutty” to suppose that these people depicted in Hell don’t have things like teeth to gnash and tongues to go dry and eyes to see those poorer sorts being consoled in Heaven afar off- - as it says in the Bible. Lawerence Welk music would almost be soothing if for nothing else to drown out the loud screams of those being siered by flames or jabbed with pitch forks. Where does Scandenavian folk music come from anyhow- -Scandenavia- - that’s on earth. God made the earth. Neil also has this idea that trying to bend someone’s will to love you by influencing them is somehow “Rape” and violates their “Free Will”. So now a diamond ring is an implement of rape.

The latest novelty news item is the baby whose gender will be kept a secret from friends and the curious till the child decides on his or her own what he or she wants to be. It looks like a boy baby because boy babies are cuter than girl babies. Some argue that the child has been “drafted” into some kind of a “sex experiment” which arguably is one of two many liberal “social experiments”, like busing, which was highly unpopular forty years ago.

June first will make ten years of my not having a bit of alcohol. I could relive the last day or so of “freedom” I had in my life, but I’m only get depressed. So soon I will be celebrating my tenth anniversary here. I have evolved a lot these past ten years and hopefully for the better. So the question is why don’t I use all that resolve now to get off cigarettes, like everybody has been advising me to?