I was reading an article about the Fort Hood shootings today and this line made me pause:
"Other unarmed soldiers in the area also began to sprint toward the gunfire."
Most people would run away.
I am always humbled and awed by the bravery of our volunteer soldiers.
As Veteran's day comes up this week, do something-
Donate to a Wounded Warrior Charity, sign up to send a care package to a solider, go up to someone in uniform and say "Thank You", just do something to show these men and women some appreciation.
Here are some ideas:
http://www.soldiersangels.com/ - adopt a soldier and send a care package once a month. You can do this for less around $20 to $25 a package including postage. 1900 soldiers need adopting!
http://remind.org/ - The Bob Woodruff Foundation provides resources and support to service members, veterans and their families to successfully reintegrate into their communities so they may thrive physically, psychologically, socially and economically.
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=531 - A listing of other charities that help the troops
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Why I voted for a Democrat
At this point, I just wanted some mechanism to serve as a protest vote against the President and his perfect position of being able to pin everything that goes wrong on the last President yet take credit for anything that goes well (which is what exactly?). And this election provided that chance to me - I pretty much would have voted for anyone with an R next to their name - with one exception...
I did vote for Democrat David Englin for my State Delegate.
While I may not be in 100% support of his more progressive agenda - he is a great example of what our elected representatives are supposed to be - committed to their constituents. Though since he is a Southern Democrat and I am a Northern Republican we actually do agree on a lot of things.
His office made me feel like I was his biggest campaign donor, supporter, and volunteer even when I didn’t even vote for him or give him a penny.
See, I had a little issue with the State of VA - they mistakenly suspended my license.
I was under a time constraint because I was flying to Canada for work and needed my license to rent a car that night. I couldn’t get thru to the DMV in time and so I figured I’d call my elected representative and whine.
I called Englin’s Arlington, VA office at 9:30am. An assistant answered. I explained the situation and how this was affecting my ability to do my job. I hung up pretty much expecting nothing to happen.
I was driving to the airport still not sure what I was going to do when less than 90 minutes later I got this phone call:
"Hello, this is the Office of the VA State Commissioner of the DMV. I am his assistant. We got a call from Delegate Englin's office. Your problem has been cleared up - your license is no longer suspended. We are very sorry for the mix-up."
I almost crashed my car in disbelief. (Yes, I was driving with said suspended license...)
This is how local government is supposed to work. I live in the next neighborhood over from this guy. I could probably walk to his office.
See, when you get past all the inflammatory Glenn Becks and social conservative in the Republican Party you get to the core of what I truly think many Republicans believe but whose opinions are not covered by the media because “Federalism” and "States Rights" just aren't as interesting as big, fat, old white men screaming about guns, Bibles and gay marriage.
Here is the core of that belief - let's not grow a huge federal government and let’s leave more important issues to be decided and governed at the state and local level. I believe that’s what those smart guys who founded our country believed too. There has got to be a clearer line of what the Federal Government pokes its nosy, inefficient head into. And we are blurring that more than ever right now.
Obama and especially Reid, Pelosi and Frank scare me because they have put us on the path to a HUGE (well, Huge-er I mean) federal government intruding on almost all aspects of our daily lives. Once you put in these massive federal programs, you can never, ever, reverse them.
In the VA House of Delegates each Delegate represents 63,000 citizens. During the period that the current U.S. Constitution has been in effect, the number of citizens per US Congressional district has risen from an average of 33,000 in 1790 to almost 700,000 in 2008. I don't like being one of 700,000. I am pretty sure I couldn't just walk in and get an appointment with Senator Warner tomorrow if I tried.
So while I may not agree with Delegate Englin's entire agenda I do like how he treats his constituents. Technically, he works for me. And he showed he takes his constituents problems seriously, no matter what their party affiliation or voting or donor record is. And that’s why he got my vote.
And that's why state and local government works better than an out of touch Federal government sitting atop a hill in a swamp many miles removed from the people it's supposed to serve.
I did vote for Democrat David Englin for my State Delegate.
While I may not be in 100% support of his more progressive agenda - he is a great example of what our elected representatives are supposed to be - committed to their constituents. Though since he is a Southern Democrat and I am a Northern Republican we actually do agree on a lot of things.
His office made me feel like I was his biggest campaign donor, supporter, and volunteer even when I didn’t even vote for him or give him a penny.
See, I had a little issue with the State of VA - they mistakenly suspended my license.
I was under a time constraint because I was flying to Canada for work and needed my license to rent a car that night. I couldn’t get thru to the DMV in time and so I figured I’d call my elected representative and whine.
I called Englin’s Arlington, VA office at 9:30am. An assistant answered. I explained the situation and how this was affecting my ability to do my job. I hung up pretty much expecting nothing to happen.
I was driving to the airport still not sure what I was going to do when less than 90 minutes later I got this phone call:
"Hello, this is the Office of the VA State Commissioner of the DMV. I am his assistant. We got a call from Delegate Englin's office. Your problem has been cleared up - your license is no longer suspended. We are very sorry for the mix-up."
I almost crashed my car in disbelief. (Yes, I was driving with said suspended license...)
This is how local government is supposed to work. I live in the next neighborhood over from this guy. I could probably walk to his office.
See, when you get past all the inflammatory Glenn Becks and social conservative in the Republican Party you get to the core of what I truly think many Republicans believe but whose opinions are not covered by the media because “Federalism” and "States Rights" just aren't as interesting as big, fat, old white men screaming about guns, Bibles and gay marriage.
Here is the core of that belief - let's not grow a huge federal government and let’s leave more important issues to be decided and governed at the state and local level. I believe that’s what those smart guys who founded our country believed too. There has got to be a clearer line of what the Federal Government pokes its nosy, inefficient head into. And we are blurring that more than ever right now.
Obama and especially Reid, Pelosi and Frank scare me because they have put us on the path to a HUGE (well, Huge-er I mean) federal government intruding on almost all aspects of our daily lives. Once you put in these massive federal programs, you can never, ever, reverse them.
In the VA House of Delegates each Delegate represents 63,000 citizens. During the period that the current U.S. Constitution has been in effect, the number of citizens per US Congressional district has risen from an average of 33,000 in 1790 to almost 700,000 in 2008. I don't like being one of 700,000. I am pretty sure I couldn't just walk in and get an appointment with Senator Warner tomorrow if I tried.
So while I may not agree with Delegate Englin's entire agenda I do like how he treats his constituents. Technically, he works for me. And he showed he takes his constituents problems seriously, no matter what their party affiliation or voting or donor record is. And that’s why he got my vote.
And that's why state and local government works better than an out of touch Federal government sitting atop a hill in a swamp many miles removed from the people it's supposed to serve.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Ahh Memories
I took my car to get inspected today. (You are thinking - "What a boring post..." Remember this is ME...)
My sticker expires tomorrow so I am down to the wire. I had a momentary freak out when I remember last year’s inspection debacle.
Scene: Crisp October Morning, leaves falling lazily to the ground, smell of fall in the air.
Image of me at that exact moment - What a perfect day!
I walk out to my car. Where is my car? Hmm, lemme stroll around the parking lots to look...Still no car...A neighbor sees me standing there with my keys dangling and a confused look on my face and says "They were towing last night." Yea, well thanks, but I live here and have a resident sticker so why would they tow me?
I am about to call the police to report my car stolen but I decide to call the Condo Association (which resides somewhere in Dante’s 9th Circle of Hell)
"Um, my car is gone and I heard y'all were towing last night"
Evil Secretary - "Yes we towed all cars with an expired inspection sticker."
Image of what I felt like at that exact moment -
After much swearing in my head and asking "You mean to tell me I can’t park my own car in my own condo lot where pay you a condo fee of $250 a month to keep my car safe and happy without the threat of being towed!?"
Oh, before I go on I should explain why I was walking out to my car - I WAS TAKING IT TO BE INSPECTED! It was supposed to be inspected the prior week while I was getting some repairs (I ran over a boulder that fell off a landscaping truck in front of me on the highway and my wheels came out looking like PacMan - it never ends for me) but the mechanic forgot to do it so I was scheduled to bring it back that day.
Yes, I really did get my car towed for not being inspected the day I was bringing it to be inspected.
Anyway, once I calmed myself and convinced myself that calling the cops to report my car stolen wasn’t the right recourse nor would throwing rocks thru the Condo Association office window do much to get my car back, I sighed and went to sign posted outside the condo lot and called the tow truck number. Yes, they had my car. They are in fact legally allowed to enter private association property and tow your car if your stickers are expired.
Having been towed when first I moved in as a "Welcome to the Association" gesture (I misunderstood the confusing treasure map they gave me of where I was allowed to park when I first moved in), I knew where to go. I called a cab and paid my $20 and got out.
I approached the doorway and saw broken glass everywhere (is that a bullet hole?). I opened the unlocked door and the tow office was deserted...I went running after the cab driver but he was gone and this was in a scary warehouse area with not another visible soul anywhere.
I called the number on the scrawled sign that said they had moved and was told to walk down a deserted old highway for a mile and a half to get to the new location.
The new location was a little fenced in lot with a guy sitting in a tow truck. No office even. I didn’t see my car...Er? I ask the friendly, I mean surly, driver where my car is and he told me they didn’t have it...BUT I JUST CALLED YOU AND YOU SAID YOU HAD IT! I realized that this man surely had a weapon under the seat so I just backed away a tried to hitchhike a ride back to civilization from an elderly couple that had just picked up their car. They said no.
I called the condo association with a few choice words and was informed that they had changed tow truck companies. So the number on the sign in the lot that I had called was correct but it was different company and location from the one I went to last year. I suppose I should have asked for the address when I had initially called but since I had visited that same location at least twice in the last year, I just assumed it would be at the same place. (I also managed to get a friend's car towed by not understanding the archaic parking rules - a spot that doesn’t say reserved is, in fact, under our condo rules reserved, dummy.)
Since the old people thought I would kidnap them and refused me a ride (love thy neighbor? not in DC) I now have to walk back down the deserted old highway for about 45 minutes to get to the metro and then walk another mile and a half to the other tow truck place across town.
Me at this point:
I get there, slam $100 on the counter and get my little Chevy back.
The next day I noticed the Condo Association office sent all owners a flyer that read "Residents please note that a new Tow Truck company was hired 6 months ago". Thanks.
So that is why I got my car inspected today - one day before the deadline...
My sticker expires tomorrow so I am down to the wire. I had a momentary freak out when I remember last year’s inspection debacle.
Scene: Crisp October Morning, leaves falling lazily to the ground, smell of fall in the air.
Image of me at that exact moment - What a perfect day!
I am about to call the police to report my car stolen but I decide to call the Condo Association (which resides somewhere in Dante’s 9th Circle of Hell)
"Um, my car is gone and I heard y'all were towing last night"
Evil Secretary - "Yes we towed all cars with an expired inspection sticker."
Image of what I felt like at that exact moment -
Oh, before I go on I should explain why I was walking out to my car - I WAS TAKING IT TO BE INSPECTED! It was supposed to be inspected the prior week while I was getting some repairs (I ran over a boulder that fell off a landscaping truck in front of me on the highway and my wheels came out looking like PacMan - it never ends for me) but the mechanic forgot to do it so I was scheduled to bring it back that day.
Yes, I really did get my car towed for not being inspected the day I was bringing it to be inspected.
Anyway, once I calmed myself and convinced myself that calling the cops to report my car stolen wasn’t the right recourse nor would throwing rocks thru the Condo Association office window do much to get my car back, I sighed and went to sign posted outside the condo lot and called the tow truck number. Yes, they had my car. They are in fact legally allowed to enter private association property and tow your car if your stickers are expired.
Having been towed when first I moved in as a "Welcome to the Association" gesture (I misunderstood the confusing treasure map they gave me of where I was allowed to park when I first moved in), I knew where to go. I called a cab and paid my $20 and got out.
I approached the doorway and saw broken glass everywhere (is that a bullet hole?). I opened the unlocked door and the tow office was deserted...I went running after the cab driver but he was gone and this was in a scary warehouse area with not another visible soul anywhere.
I called the number on the scrawled sign that said they had moved and was told to walk down a deserted old highway for a mile and a half to get to the new location.
The new location was a little fenced in lot with a guy sitting in a tow truck. No office even. I didn’t see my car...Er? I ask the friendly, I mean surly, driver where my car is and he told me they didn’t have it...BUT I JUST CALLED YOU AND YOU SAID YOU HAD IT! I realized that this man surely had a weapon under the seat so I just backed away a tried to hitchhike a ride back to civilization from an elderly couple that had just picked up their car. They said no.
I called the condo association with a few choice words and was informed that they had changed tow truck companies. So the number on the sign in the lot that I had called was correct but it was different company and location from the one I went to last year. I suppose I should have asked for the address when I had initially called but since I had visited that same location at least twice in the last year, I just assumed it would be at the same place. (I also managed to get a friend's car towed by not understanding the archaic parking rules - a spot that doesn’t say reserved is, in fact, under our condo rules reserved, dummy.)
Since the old people thought I would kidnap them and refused me a ride (love thy neighbor? not in DC) I now have to walk back down the deserted old highway for about 45 minutes to get to the metro and then walk another mile and a half to the other tow truck place across town.
Me at this point:
I get there, slam $100 on the counter and get my little Chevy back.
The next day I noticed the Condo Association office sent all owners a flyer that read "Residents please note that a new Tow Truck company was hired 6 months ago". Thanks.
So that is why I got my car inspected today - one day before the deadline...
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