Quote of the Day

I wish I knew more about political history... or really just history in general. Then again, there are so many things that I wish I knew that if I tried to leard 1/3 of it all, I'd have no time to drink beer and enjoy the outdoors. So I try to maintain a delicate balance.

Anyway... I learned a quote today that I really wish I'd heard years ago.

Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the
country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the
people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament,
or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought
to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them
they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and
exposing the country to greater danger.

-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials

It seems to hold so much truth to what we've seen over the past few years or so... Now, I know there are a lot of people who feel that the US Gov't had some hand in the 9/11 attacks... either causing them, or at a minimum, allowing them to happen. I'm not one of those people... but if you show me some proof, I wouldn't put it past them.

Honestly, though, I just wanted to put that quote out there for you to read... maybe you never heard it either... or maybe just not for a while. Regardless, it seems like a fairly intelligent statement... unfortunately.

Paper is GOOD!!

Check out this bill that was introduced in the House over a month and a half ago...

H.R. 811, The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007

Much props to Rep. Rush Holt (the first guy named Rush I've ever liked!).

Here's a summary of the bill and what it would do.

I urge you to call or write to your state's Representatives and ask them to vote for the paper trail. Otherwise, you may never know who, exactly, you voted for.

There's a similar bill in the Senate, too! Don't forget to call your State Senators and tell them to support this bill as well!!

S. 559, The Vote Integrity and Verification Act of 2007

Dammit... Springtime already?!?

This winter has been quite busy for me... so I apologize to those of you who have been coming to my blog daily or even weekly, just to be repeatedly disappointed that I haven't written anything.

Ok, I know that last statement is only relevant to 3 people at most... but the apology is still sincere.

In the past month, I've been all over the place, both nationally and locally.

I spent a weekend in my home town with my parents and girlfriend. She and I did some snowboarding at Ski Liberty, then hung out with my parents at the local social club and got in some good face time... It's always good to know that your parents are doing well and having a great time in life. And I must say, my girlfriend is becoming a much more confident snowboarder!

One weekend was my girlfriend's birthday, so we headed out for a great weekend at the bars with all of her friends. Saki bombs are a lot of fun, especially with 15 people at 7pm in a restaurant full of families eating dinner and dozens of high schoolers having their pre-formal dinner with their dates!!

One weekend was spent with the little lady and some friends in Vermont, hitting the slopes at Mount Snow. Next year, the girlfriend is coming with us out west to hit the "hills"... that's how good she's gotten!!

One weekend was full of exercise in anticipation of the half-marathon we're going to be running in Nashville in April. My better half and I strapped on the blades and skated about 13 miles on Saturday (racing through 2 states and the District of Columbia in less than 2 hours), then donned our running shoes for a half dozen miles on Sunday.

And I just got back from Tahoe, where two of my friends and I enjoyed 50 degree weather while hitting the slopes sans gloves, hats, and anything else we could shed while we shredded.

Now... it's back to the daily grind. I've got no great weekend plans coming up for a while...

But I do have something great to look forward to!!

This weekend marks the beginning of our spring kickball season. I've finally gotten my team roster finalized, and we have our first practice/meet and greet this Sunday. On Thursday we've got the Pre-Season Kickball party at our sponsor bar (props to Nolan's) and on April 12th, we take the field to squash our first opponents (I hope!!).

Kids... if you have a kickball league anywhere in your area, and you have a free weeknight, or weekend afternoon, to give up for a couple months... I highly recommend giving kickball a shot. It's a great way to meet some fun people and enjoy the spring weather after a long day's work. Plus, I dare you to come up with a better reason to head down to happy hour...

So here's to kickball, springtime, and warm weather (oh, and more frequent postings on this blog!!)...

CHEERS!!