Solaris makes you sleepy

I've been away... Thoughts brimming over with things to blog about, but time... there is no time.

I've always been a linux-rules-and-windoze-sux campaigner. I prefer Linux and it's variants. However, an old friend has crept back into the light.. Sun Solaris. Back in the day, I've played with Solaris, on SPARC machines. Rock-solid, stable, fast, and closed, proprietary, expensive. No more. I've downloaded a free copy of Solaris 10 for x86, and have been installing it. Sure, there are some gotchas, and it's still Sun's own weird world. But, you talk about polished, stable, rock-solid, fast! I might be falling in like with Solaris all over again.

That's why I've not been posting. That, and spending some much-needed family time.

Fun's over, so back to the posts.

Here's a brief synopsis of what my brain is gurgling over -- I'll get to these posts. Real Soon Now.

1) Poisonous Pop (Culture). America destroys its own pop "stars" almost as fast as it creates them out of nothing. Why is pop culture so poisonous?

2) Political Suicide. Related to the above, politicians seem also well-suited to keeling over on their proverbial swords (or in the case of New York's "Love Potion #9" governor, his *own* sword).

3) Historical Revisionism run amok. One of the things that burns my buttocks is our cultural repugnance to even consider learning from history -- therefore, we are doomed to stay in a cycle of ignorance and ever-increasing stupidity. Argh!

And, I'll probably post some love-notes about Sun Solaris. What a long strange trip it is...

Obama, Somalia, and contempt

My last post was poking fun at politicians in general, for the folderal about the wearing of other culture's costumes and garb. I started with Barak Obama wearing the traditional garb of a Somali tribal elder or chief, went on through making light of George Bush and Vladimir Putin wearing Vietnamese robes, and ended up hating on Jane Fonda again.

But all through that post, there was a pain nagging at me, that started when I saw Barak Obama, the man who would be President, dressed in his fine Somali threads. I didn't want to talk about the issue behind this pain, so I ignored it then... but I cannot ignore it any longer.

Now, I realize in all probability, the photo of Obama wearing the turban was probably planted by Hillary's campaign. It's the kind of political trick the Clintons know how to do very well. It's dirty, politics is dirty, Hillary is dirty, so I'm not shocked or surprised. But seeing that photo really pisses me off, for personal reasons.


Here is another photo from Somalia. Where were you on October 3, 1993? I remember it very clearly. That's the day US Servicemen, soldiers, were shot down in their helicopter. This man was dragged through the streets. Do you remember all this? It wasn't that long ago.

Now, I compare this photo, the pain of this memory, with the photo of US Presidential Candidate Barak Hussain Obama appearing as a Somali Tribal chieftain... and I become enraged.

This man wants to become the commander-in-chief of all United States forces -- and he also wants to appear culturally linked to the people who willingly go beyond human depravity, who behave as not human at all, who commit unspeakable, dishonorable acts on those who Mr. Obama would lead?


Mr. Barak Hussain Obama, where is your sense of outrage? Or shame? Can you forget the US Soldiers who died in that cesspool called Somalia, can you set their sacrifice at naught, just for your sense of self-fulfillment? The president you admire so much, Bill Clinton, was the commander-in-chief who sent this soldier over there, after all, with orders they not have tanks or heavy equipment, remember? Forcing them to use helicopters down at street level to accomplish the mission they were given. You agreed with those orders, didn't you, Mr. Obama?

You've never spoken about this issue. Hell, you've never really spoken about any issue, have you? Who are are, Mr. Obama? What the hell do you represent? Why is the only uniform we've ever seen you wear is the uniform of those who desecrate the bodies of US Soldiers?

This issue cases me much personal pain, for several reasons. I cannot understand a man who would be President who can so cavalierly dismiss such an offense. I further cannot understand when that man sympathizes with those enemies who perpetrated such a deed. And identifies with them.

As for that soldier, Mr. Obama, you have forgotten him. You don't care. You want to look good in your robes and turban, or in your Brooks Brothers suits, but you don't have any degree of care or consideration for any US Soldier, much less one who "got what he had coming" at the hands of those you would call your brothers.

Well, Mr. Obama, that soldier, I knew him well. The music he liked, where he liked to fish, the motorcycle he rode. I knew him, and I've not forgotten. I've fished with him, camped with him, and served in the military during the same time period as him. And, I married his sister.

Who are you, Mr. Obama? An American, or a Somali chief? You look at that picture and tell me who you want to be, and why you think you are worthy of command and leadership. Based on your actions and inactions, Senator, you are not. You appear to hold the US Serviceman in contempt.

The feeling is very mutual.

Political Costume Scandal

Oh lawd! There is a new Obama scandal, involving him dressed in a certain type of costume. Much ballyhoo is being made of this photo from 2006, folks saying it proves Obama is one of "them". here is the photo, see for yourself:

Well, that says it all, don't you think? Clearly, Obama is indeed one of "them". As his costume clearly indicates, he is one of those who get their jollies wearing toilet paper. I suspect he once did this as a two-year-old, got his butt spanked, and has been repressing his TP-ism desires ever since. The game is up, Mr. Obama. You have been outed, you are a TP head, runnin' around, trying to get people to squeeze your Charmin. How can anyone take you seriously as a contender for President now? Instead of the power and majesty of the Office of President of the United States, the leader of the free world, everybody will be comparing you those dumb toilet-paper-bear commercials. Sick, dude.


Mr. Obama is not the only politician with a secret sanitary fetish, however. Here is a picture of President Bush and Vladimir Putin of Russia, out in public sharing their "thing" for wearing shower curtains.

I mean, it's bad enough they went to bloody Vietnam to wear these shower curtains. They have the same thing at any Holiday Inn, for crying out loud!

Actually, Mr. Bush, you would have been much better off had you avoided Vietnam yourself, and wrapped Jane "Hanoi" Fonda's reasty butt in a shower curtain and shipped her back to Ho Chi Minh City, where she was so loved for her skills and accuracy. You remember her, don't you Mr. Bush?




While you were flying Vietnam combat sorties over Texas, here's what Jane Fonda was doing:



Notice her costume? She sitting in the gunner's seat of an NVA (North Vietnamese Army) anti-aircraft gun. She's acting as a gunner. As well, of course, as a traitorous, venomous bitch. Oh, was that out loud?





One more picture, showing a politician in costume. Here's one you don't get to see enough, hardy at all, in fact.






This is a photo of John McCain, in Vietnam, 1965. He's the one in front, to the right. He wasn't wearing some ridiculous costume, he was wearing the uniform of a Naval Aviator. One who earned the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart while "over there" fighting for our country. In case you didn't know, of the top 3 awards for valor and heroism, Mr. McCain has two.


Take a look at Mr. McCain, and compare him to the clowns above. He ain't perfect, not by a long shot. But he's not a clown, a coward, or a traitor. He's an American Hero. Damn, how often do you hear that nowadays?

More on Enviro-Hypocrite-Idiots

While talking about the absurdity of cutting down trees in order to feel a solar panel (see previous port), I started recalling a few other things that strike me as absurd in the enviro-mental group.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not a slash-and-burn kind of guy, I do not advocate clear cutting, scorched earth, DDT, open pollution, or eating bald eagle eggs. I love the woods, and fishing, and the outdoors. I've cut down a few dead trees, and I've planted a bunch.

What I'm ranting about is the illogic of certain environmentalists -- the breakdown in their cognitive thinking. Let me provide a few examples by way of illustration.

Twenty or thirty some years ago, I was on a really great backpacking expedition in Colorado. We went to Durango, and climbed aboard the Silverton train. This old narrow-gauge coal-burning train takes you up the Animas River valley, into the heart of the Rocky Mountains, all the way to Silverton, which is a resurrected silver-mining town, turned tourist trap. Anyways, about halfway between Durango and Silverton is a place called Elk Park. Nothing there but a meadow, a creek, a trailhead, and **awesome** views of the Rockies. That's where we got off.

After hiking from Elk Park for a week, we made it to the Continental Divide, at about 13,000 feet. Snow piled up 50 foot deep, in June. Awesome. Then we hiked back.

We had to wait for a day back at Elk Park, for the train to come back. Of course, we had campfires -- it was chilly, and we were Boy Scouts, so we had campfires and cook fires. Here comes the train, so we hastened to get our stuff together, put out our fires, and remove evidence our fire had ever been there (it's called "leave no trace", we take that seriously). We had one small fire left, about to put it out, when here come a group of hippies getting off the train. They had backpacks, too, so they must be kindred spirits. As a nice gesture, I asked the Head Hippie if they would like to inherit our small campfire. The dude snarled at me, saying, "No! We don't believe in spoiling the natural world with smoke and pollution like that!". Ooo-kay, fine, no problem. Put the fire out, spread the ashes, all is well, get on then, tell the hippies hasta la vista.

As the train pulled out, the same train the hippies just climbed down from, it chugged and steamed and poofed, sending clouds of coal smoke billowing into the air, and putting tons of coal ash and cinder up that gently settled to the ground. It occurred to me then, "what was that dude smoking"? He was all bumming out on a small campfire, and preaching about not spoiling the natural world, when he and his commune just took a 40-mile trip in a smoke-spewing polluting fire-breathing fossil-fuel burning iron horse, which travels on iron tracks carved into the pristine rocks, leaving a scar on the land and soot wherever it goes!

That struck me then, back in the late seventies, as the thought process of a nutjob. And so it was.

Today, you can see the spirit children of this nutjob. They are the ones who drive their huge diesel-powered boats out to the oil rigs in the Gulf, to protest the pumping of oil in American waters. They'll burn 2000 gallons of diesel, doing 180's around the rig, waving their signs. Then they'll chug back to port, and climb into their personal cars, each of which burn gas, and go home, and cut the lights on and crank the heater up.

The amazing thing is, they don't even see how stupidly hypocritical they are. Now how hypocritically stupid.

My Solar Panel can beat up your Tree

Hubris. It means, basically, great greasy gobs of unjustified pride. And humanity has never had a problem with too little pride.

But this latest story takes snide pride to a new level. The place is Sunnyvale California, a high-tech area that predates and survived the .dot boom and bust. It's a place of expensive homes, expensive cars, expensive toys, and, until now, a true suburban bedroom community. Parks, green grass, and trees. Alas, in the battle between our toys and trees, the trees must go.

Picture this: Two homes, side by side, very nice houses. Both have hybrid vehicles in the driveways, recycle bins bigger than the trash cans, grass lawns, and towering redwood trees. A great place to find environmentalist "wackos", tree-huggers. But there's a new kid in town, and his name is "solar panel".

One of the neighbors has installed $75,000 worth of solar panels. He's proud of his treehugger street cred, by golly, and he wants to make sure that he's getting his money's worth. He wants his electric bill to to go down, he wants to be Captain Planet, single-handedly reducing the dreaded output of that deadly toxic poison, Carbon Dioxide. Yeah, buddy, this guy is so worked up about getting to see his nifty solar panels in action, that he's in a legal battle with his neighbor about it.

What did his neighbor do that was so horrible? Throw paint at his solar panels? Break them? Made it rain for 40 days and nights? Nope. The neighbor's crime was to allow beautiful, stately shade trees, redwoods in fact, to grow tall. You know what redwoods are. They are huge trees, with boughs that produce long tons of leaves, trees that inhale tons and tons of evil carbon dioxide, and produce good old oxygen. Those trees. Been converting CO2 to O2 for millions of years, and they are damn good at it.

Well, those trees piss our Captain Planet off. They are so efficient, absorb so much solar energy, that they block Captain Planet's solar panels, sometimes. For about an hour and a half, in the late afternoon, the shade produced by these wonderful trees dares to fall upon the Holy Solar Panels.

Accordingly, Captain Planet, our hero, has filed suit against the dastardly tree-owner. How dare he allow his trees to shadow the almighty solar panels? Does he not know that technological toys like solar panels are a good thing, because they reduce CO2? Dammit, Captain Planet and his high-tech toys will save the planet, and if a few trees get in the way, then to hell with them!

Proving the theory that appointees to judicial benches in California did and perhaps still do indulge in cannibis sativa on a regular basis, Captain Planet found a judge who agrees with him, and ordered the nefarious neighbor to cut down half his redwood trees.

Wow.

Trees, just by being trees, eliminate CO2 directly. Solar panels might, just might, help this one dude save a few bucks on his electric bill. At his million-dollar house. While he drives his $100K hybrid. While he looks like the high priest of pompous asshats, forcing trees to be sacrificed on his private altar.

This is what happens when old hippies get some money. They don't get smarter, they just cause more trouble on a bigger scale. Look at Willie Nelson.

An American Duty

Well, we are well into the party nomination battle season again. The pundits extol the differences between the Republicans and the Democrats, the differences between Hillary and Obama, between McCain and Huckabee, and on and on.

What never seems to get mentioned is what these candidates have in common. The one area in which they are all alike is their pursuit of position, pursuit of power. They are actively seeking power in their party, power in the nation, power for themselves. I admit, the pursuit of power is not the only motive, but it does factor in, to a greater or lesser degree, within the psyche of each candidate.

Was it always like this? In our lifetimes, yes, it has been. That's all we know, all we've ever seen. We, as Americans, are trained to accept the imposed limitations on our choices in the area of politics. Not since grade school have we so meekly accepted a limited multiple-choice, without opportunity for our own input. A-B-C or D? Why not F or Q? We meekly accept this limit, in this one area, and this one area only. We don't put up with these limits anywhere else, nor should we. By going along with it, we acquiesce to dereliction of our duty as Americans.

When we shop at the grocery store, we demand choice. If our grocer does not sell the proper tomato or can of beans, we'll either shop elsewhere or demand or favorite be placed on the shelves. And the grocer listens, too. He knows where the power is -- in our pocketbooks.

When we shop for a car, we have a list of demands. Engine specs, mileage, 0-60 performance, color, seats, sound system, safety, bling, accessories, and toys. And we demand the perception of a good deal, too. And the car dealers listen, because they know we'll shop elsewhere.

But in the area of choosing the one person who will wield supreme executive power for at least four years, the person who holds ultimate military command authority, the de jure leader of our entire nation and de facto leader of the free world, we meekly, sheepishly, dumbly, go along with being told we may choose only from these two or four. If an "outsider" should raise his ugly head, we are offended, for some reason. Ralph Nader, the Corsair Killer, is once again mumbling about running for president -- and the Democrats are up in arms. How dare he? Meanwhile, the Republicans are being smug, recalling Ross Perot's game spoiling activities of the past.


Folks, it is not our duty as Americans to blindly sit back and see who the Parties will try to shove down our throats. The Constitution does not recognize either the Democratic or Republican party as any kind of authority in the presidential selection process. Indeed, as each Party looks first to it's own self-preservation (and self-aggrandizement), before the welfare of the nation or adherence to the Constitution, they practice a mild form of sedition. We fought a war over sedition, remember.

The responsibility for choosing a President rests with all of us, the People. A long long time ago, we the People took that seriously. Rather than sitting back on our lazy arses, we met together, compared stellar citizens in our midst, and went to them, to encourage them to accept our nomination for office. We looked upon those who sought out such glory with suspicion, as if they were flawed, egotistical, or slightly nuts. And maybe they are.

Americans, if we are willing to be sheep, and go along with the fiction that we are only allowed to choose "one from column A or one from column B", and abdicate our responsibility as citizens of a free country... then we do not have the right to bitch about the stupidity of the political process. We give up that right. We also give up a lot of other rights, and give those rights over to the political parties, who do not have the welfare of the United States of America as their prime motivation.

If we willingly accept limited choices, then we deserve to live with a selection with limits. Our next president will not be the best person for the job, nor the person we really need to have. The person we really need isn't running. S/He isn't on a ballot, and doesn't want the job. But that person would probably do it if asked, out of a sense of duty to America. That's the person we need. That's the person we're not allowed to have. And that is our own fault.

The Future of Geekdom

Once upon a time, if you had a personal computer, you were by very definition a Geek. You had a pretty good idea why your computer worked, how it worked, what went where and why. But you didn't know all that for sure until you had your PC for a while. You might have built your PC yourself, but you didn't have a really decent idea of how it worked for a while.

Back then, PCs came with what I think was the best hands-on learning tool for emerging geeks, BASIC. One version or another came by default with at least an interpreter of BASIC code. This made perfect sense, as BASIC (Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was where Bill Gates got his own start on his path to inner Geek enlightenment.

Most all versions of DOS, and early Windows, had at least BASIC or BASICA interpreters. You could write programs, save them, debug them, play with them, read files, write files, control the screen and colors, and just have a ball! And, learn a lot along the way about how your PC "thinks".

Alas, Microsoft eventually got rid of good old BASIC, in favor of Visual Basic (VisBas). VisBas is cool and all, but, unlike good old BASIC, it wasn't free. Seems Big Bill realized the potential dollar value of all these nascent geeks writing their own code, and started charging even more for the "privilege". As a direct result, BASIC went the way of FORTRAN, disappearing into the mists of computer history.

What went away with BASIC was any easy way for beginning geeks to learn to program on their own, at their own pace, without shelling out more buckage. At least, such is the case in the Windows world. and more is the pity.

As a consequence, Windows users have become, well, users. People who have no clue about how a program works, calculates, stores information, anything. People who look at a computer just as they would any other appliance, like a stove or a dishwasher. Push this button, magic happens, what you want comes out the other end. Yipee.

But, when the inevitable happens, the magic smoke gets out, the tame demon does not to as commanded, what does a geek do? Roll up his/her sleeves, dig into it, figure it out, learn a lot, maybe even fix the problem. But fix it or no, the geek will lose a lot of fear about the inner workings of the computer, hardware and software.

The user will just stop. Sit back, cry for help, be confused, get angry, and feel helpless. Sadly, the percentage of non-geek users is rising rapidly. "Geek" is a household term, yet there are fewer and fewer of us. And, from a professional point of view, that's a good thing, at least as far as job security is concerned. But from a quality-of-life point of view, this situation really sucks.

But, hope exists. There are options. Curious windows users can still find all manner of programming languages available for download. If they overcome their fear of the mystical magical machine, they can download and install an environment where they can actually write some code.

Even better, there is a viable alternative to programming-free Windows. Almost any of the Linux variants come with all manner of compilers, the most prevalent being good old C. But, you can also write some great code right in the shell - like a DOS Batch file, but with loops, conditionals, file read-write, the works. Matter of fact, I myself once wrote a complete text-based email system, a replacement for Elm/Pine/Mail, for AIX, completely in KSH shell code. This program was used by Pelican Lumber for several years -- as far as I know, it's still in use.

Geeks will gravitate to where they can learn and grow and play, and even show off. More and more frequently, geeks are grabbing a Linux version like Ubuntu and running with it.

Yes, I know, there are uncounted millions of Windows users, compared to a mere few million Linux geeks. But if you look beyond the numbers, if you look at the migration of skill sets away from Windows (especially fleeing Vista in droves), you'll see the geeks are all going to Linux. When all these geeks grow up, get promoted into management or start their own businesses, which OS do you think they'll opt for?

Microsoft, you have written your own future, as you always have. This time, however, that future will be dictated by what you deliberately left out. That's what will bite you in the proverbial backside.

Obama: "I only inhaled a little..."

Now what? Democratic hopeful Barack Obama admitted in his pre-politics book "Dreams from my Father" that he regularly partook of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and perhaps some other things.

Now, let's see here. Alcohol has always been fuel for politicians. I mean, the only reason Ted Kennedy is alive today is due to the fact that alcohol floats on salt water... and he's still a Senator. So, Obama drinks/drank. He's a Democrat, so no one cares. If he was a Republican, this alone would be page-one news.

So, on to the weed. Barack Obama tokes/toked, eh? Well, hell, at least he admits to getting stoned. Bill Clinton insulted the intelligence of all America when he pulled the "ah didn't inhale, y'all" scam. The shameful part of that is, more than 50% of America did not have sufficient intelligence to insult, and voted for him anyways.

Now, on to the coke. Are we so desensitized by the moral bankruptcy of our "leaders" that, once again, we will be duped? In light of his "I'm a brother too" admissions in his book that he struggled with cocaine and feared addiction, shadowy unnamed "friends" of Obama's from college are now volunteering the story that he was a "model of moderation". Do what?

Since when is snuffling powdered coca up your nostrils any part of the definition of "moderation"? He only snorted three times a week, maybe? Or perhaps because he didn't have to steal car radios or mug old women to sustain his coke habit, he was considered a "model" cokehead?

American voters, you are being hoodwinked again. I admit, if you are a Democrat, in my humble opinion, you are just one brain cell shy of becoming a Scientologist anyways, so hoodwinking you further should not be difficult. But, c'mon, people! You are being offered the choice between an admitted cokehead and a Communist wench. Not too much of a choice there, eh?

Millions of Republicans probably will not vote in this general election, because they do not agree with Mr. McCain on enough issues. They will be voting their conscience.

Democrats, do you also have a conscience? If so, seriously consider using it for a change, and do not vote for either Hillary or Obama. Both have established themselves to be liars and drug users and/or drug enablers.

Barry Goldwater used to say, "extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice". To which I add, hedonism and falsehood in the pursuit of personal power is NOT moderation.

Predictions for the weekend

This Sunday is the Super Bowl, America's annual television orgy.  Hundreds of millions of people will tune in to see the game, and/or to see the commercials.  Unless the game is close, most people start to bail out after halftime.  This year, no one is going to bail out.  I predict this Super Bowl will be one of the most-watched events on television, from pre-game to wrap-up interviews.  Some of the commercials are going to suck.  Most of them will at least be amusing, and for 12 million dollars per minutes, they better be.  That's $200,000 per second, folks.

 

The Patriots are going to win.  Not by much, and it's going to be ugly.  There will be at least one *very* controversial call in the Pats' favor, a call which will keep Giants fans in deep denial for another year.

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On the political side of things, Hillary Clinton still has Zackery disease...  her face looks "zackery" like her ass.  But less intelligent.   I keep looking for the wires that control Obama's actions, I swear he looks and sounds like a wooden puppet.  He could be, as he doesn't say anything original, or act as if he has any ideas of his own.  Maybe puppet is the wrong term, perhaps Android would come closer.

 

Romney is thinking hard about how to stop the Mac-Is-Back Express, and he's not coming up with much.  Unless he has a deep pile of fresh stuff hidden somewhere, he's already thrown all the mud he has at John, and it ain't sticking.  I'm not going to call him the Teflon candidate, as that's been done already.  But, I wonder if the term "ScotchGuard McCain" has been used yet?

 

What Mitt needs to keep in mind, is John McCain knows exactly how to deal with him, ideologically and theologically.  John has dealt with Mitt's spiritual clone, back in Arizona, over 20 years ago.  Anyone ever heard of Ev Meacham?  Next time Mitt gets ready to throw a big wad of Keating-Five mud at John, somebody needs to remind him who was behind that scandal and where it started.  Good old Brother Meacham, then-Governor of Arizona, blessed and anointed by Salt Lake City to run the state, just as Mitt has been to run for President. 

 

John McCain is going to wrap up the delegate count Tuesday.  It'll all be over but the talking from then on.  Mitt won't give up until the nomination, hoping to hold on until he gets asked to be VP.  Mitt, it ain't going to be McCain/Romney, and I think you know that.  It's going to be McCain/Huckabee.  And you know that, too.

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The Giants need to play the game, even though, in all probability, they will lose.  Who knows, Brady could break the rest of his ankle in the 1st.  But the difference between the Giants and Mitt Romney is simple.  The Giants have a chance, and they know it.  Mitt does not, and he doesn't know it yet.

 

Comments are invited, click the blue "comments" button below.

 

The Politics of Hypocrisy

Well, the Democrats are beating the fluff out of every venue here in South Carolina that is available to them. If there is a TV spot, a radio ad, a newspaper column, a patch of dirt which can hold a sign, there is a political message plastered thereon.

The Big Two in the Democratic field, Hillary The Meek and Obama the Humble, have spent the last weeks trading punches and blows with each other. Sometimes they are downright nasty, but there was a stretch there when they were doing their best to pretend to be nice to each other. Just like two kids, hauled into the Principal's office for fighting in school, they have put on a false let's-be-friends facade... and then ignored it and went back to fighting.

When they are not saying what a horrible person the other is, they are telling everyone in the state how much better life would be for South Carolina is we would but wise up and install them in office. The term "patronizing" comes to mind...

The Other Guy in the Democrat field is good 'ol John Edwards. He is actually a nice guy, he's just being ignored by the Big Two and all the major media. It's a shame, too, as Edwards actually has some really good ideas and sound thoughts on how to actually lead the country. If I had to vote for a Democrat this year, I'd vote for Edwards. He's just getting ignored because he isn't as news-sexy as the Big Two. I mean, a white Southern guy? Boring... been done by Jimmy Carter already, so the media doesn't need or want him.

The hypocrisy comes in when you listen to the Big Two, about all they're gonna do for lil' 'ol South Carolina. They're going to bring us jobs and money and candy and free health care and no taxes and lower gas prices and everything! Where the heck were they when Marion County almost went bankrupt, losing thousands of jobs, factories, shops, and businesses? Or when the same thing happened in Dillon County? Or Andrews? Or Georgetown, when the steel mill shut down? Nowhere, because back then, this was an unimportant backwater, a place you fly over on your way to Florida.

At least Edwards knows how to pronounce the names of the places around here correctly, as he's the only one who has even been to any of them. Visiting Columbia, Charleston, and Myrtle Beach once or twice does not a Carolinian make.

When the primary is over, and the state's Democratic delegates have been committed to either Hillary or Obama (probably Obama, if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly), that's the last we'll hear of either of them again for four more years. They'll be busy making the same empty promises to people in other states, how they'll get everything for nothing and they are so very important. Then they will be forgotten too.

What we have all forgotten and continue to overlook, is the simple fact that selecting the nation's next CEO is not something you can do based on one or two attributes about the candidate. So Hillary is female, she was the First Lady. Big deal, what does that actually mean? What is she made of? Does she have the stuff it takes to be President? Please provide evidence if you think she does, as I don't see it.

What about Obama, what is he all about? Sure, he's a Senator and all. Big deal. He looks young, does not rant and rave like Ross Perot, and oh yeah, lest it not be mentioned every thirty seconds, he happens to be Black. So what? What is the nature of the person, who is he, what qualities does he exhibit that demonstrates supreme leadership capabilities? I don't see it there, either.

Voting requires thought, folks. It's not just making a statement, or joining a cause. What for too many people in the country are doing in the ballot booth is selecting someone who will do the thinking for them for the next four years. That's not inherently wrong, because in large part, it's true. But that does not relieve the voter of the responsibility and duty to THINK before pushing that button. Think hard. Study. Know what you are doing. This is not an issue that should be decided by the amount of melanin in a person's skin, or by which bathroom they prefer to use, nor by where they are from. These are the times that try men's souls, and it is into the soul and character of each candidate every voter must look, and look deeply. To do any less is to abdicate the stern duty and privilege which comes with being American, a privilege dearly purchased and hard-fought.

Go vote, but vote with your whole mind, and heart, and strength. Don't waste the sacrifice made for you which gave you that freedom.