Catching up
Well folks, you'll have to forgive me for the long delay in posting. We flew my mother-in-law into town last weekend for Kel's birthday and spent a few days away from the chaos of the mainstream media. But don't you worry a bit; I've got some good stuff to update you on and a slice of bad news from our neck of the woods.
I'll first start with the bad news. Friday was Kel's birthday and we celebrated in style by having dinner and drinks in the city with over 20 friends. The surprise party was perfect, the dinner was perfect and the drinks to cap the night were perfect. But the perfection ended when we returned to my truck to find a broken window and my digital camera and CDs gone with the wind.
We have insurance, so everything will be covered. But the crappy part is we lost the memory card in the camera holding all the great photos from the evening.
The other crappy element is I now feel naked without my camera. As most of you know, I'm an avid amateur photographer and carry my camera everywhere I go. I specialize in city/urban photos, but love having it near just in case something catches my eye. And boy, I wish I had it this morning. I've been putting together a compilation of protesters I've photographed over the last year and plan to publish a "lunatic" photo gallery at some point. (Hell, I could probably make a good book out of it)
Well there was a dozy today in downtown Oakland. Some nut job is camping out in front of the Federal Building with pink tarps with the words "Bring the troops home fast" painted everywhere. I contemplated confronting the lone individual while waiting for my Starbucks, but decided against deflating this poor hippy's ideology. Don't get me wrong, the opportunity was juicy enough to taste. I seriously just wanted to walk over and ask the dude why he's opposed to defending our nation.
With that said, I'll be getting my claim into my insurance and will hopefully have a replacement camera within the next few weeks. Hopefully this anti-war whacko will still be there having conversations with the pigeons about Stalin and why Berkeley should become a separate communist state.
Minor Digression...
I've decided I can't stand the term "anti-war." I hate it because it's used as such a direct term with very little gray in the definition. I also hate it because it suggests those who aren't anti-war are in fact pro-war. But in the real world - something they don't know much about in the Bay Area - there are wide ranges and beliefs in the definition of anti and pro-war.
I support the War on Terror, including our fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. I support Israel and their fight in the same war against Hamas and Hezbollah. And I would certainly support action against Syria, Iran and N. Korea. I'll basically support our nation and allies in the defense of global freedom. But that does not make me pro-war. So why do those opposed to defending our nation get to be called "anti-war?" Why not just call them anti-defense or better yet, weak?
I hate war. I wish the world would live in peace. I wish radical Muslims didn't believe it was their right - check that, their duty - to blow up all non-Muslims. I wish lil' Kim Jong Ill and supreme nut Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lost their Napoleon complex. I wish Chavez, Castro and Jintao believed in personal freedom for all mankind. But then there is that little imbroglio called reality. It's a reality where evil truly exists and war is the one tool to insure freedom and survival for all.
I know... it sucks when we have to think like Republicans. It sure would be easier to just hang out in front of federal buildings thinking all the problems in the world will go away if we sing kumbaya.
So from this point forward in this blog I've decided I won't use the term anti-war. To me, protesters don't deserve to be held in the same distinction as the patriots of our country who defend freedom for the pursuit of real peace. To me, to be truly anti-war one must support our administration and our allies as they fight to rid the world of oppressive regimes. To me, peace is only sustained through superior firepower.
War ends when the Islamo-facists, the socialist pigs, and the commie pukes of the world are removed from power and relegated to the curbs of nut job cities like Berkeley, Portland and downtown Oakland.
In the meantime, I'll get this blog fired up again with lots of funny liberal idiocy to report on from the belly of the beast. And don't worry; I'll let you know when the book of protests is released.