3 yrs later

Here is a picture we took last week of me and the boys. Here is also a picture of me and the boys taken almost 3 yrs to the date.

Syd

Catch up time

I was reminded this morning at MADMEN that I needed to catch-up on my blogging. I replied that I had too much to write about and once I started it would not stop for a while. But here goes.
Observations from the campaign trail.
I had a chance to go and work a day in NC with the Obama campaign. I had worked in the phone bank and canvassed here in Greenville back during the primary but had not traveled. I spent a day in Hendersonville going house to house knocking on doors and reminding everyone to vote early. The neighborhoods we canvassed in were mostly low-income homes and some government housing. A very Obama friendly area. I was paired with a lady from Chattanooga who along with husband had driven their motorhome over in Auust and had been working with the campaign since. She was originally a Hillary supporter but was committed to electing Senator Obama. The most interesting thing I noticed throughout the campaign was the number of young people involved. The head of the Hendersonville office was a 19 yo young man from St.Louis who is a sophomore at Georgetown. Also working in the office were 2 students from the University of Iowa. These kids had taken a semister off to travel and work on something they believed in. Something else I found interesting was the response everyone had for anyone who showed interest in the campaign. They did not simply ask someone to vote, they ask them to make phone calls or canvass and if they couldn't do any of these things to simply bring food by the campaign headquarters. They were asking them to take ownership in the campaign.
Historians will write many books about this campaign. Mostly about the election of the 1st African-American president. What shouldn't be lost in this and should be a model for all campaigns in the future is how they were able to get so many people involved for the 1st time in their lives. We are going to need the same enthusisiam because it's going to take every single american to get us out of the mess we are in.

Syd

Did you notice?

Did anyone notice that John McCain did not have an american flag pin on his jacket lapel again last night and Barack Obama did? That's 2 debates in a row that McCain did not wear one and Obama did. Is something wrong with our country John? Let me guess, you have stopped placing your hand over your heart during the national anthem now. Also, who's to say that during his time in the Hanoi Hilton his mind was washed and he is the real "Manchurian Candidate"? Sounds silly when you say this crap about McCain, but people have no problem saying it about Obama.
You remember Vietnam right? The country where 58,196 american soldiers died. Now our 3rd largest trade partner. Remember we went there to fight communism. Communism? Oh yea, the other major communists country in the world, China, is our largest trade partner. Look, at our economy, nothing is built here, and our banks are owned by the government. How did the battle with communism work out? I think they won.
And you still don't think we need to change the way we do things?

Syd

And still the train rolls forward over history's rugged trail
Straightin' by the journey and the land beneath her rail
And you and I roll along and stroke the freedom fire
For we stand to all Americans hold old honor can't be hired
Merle Haggard, "Here comes freedom"

Opportunity Lost

Now it's GMC's turn. Their stock dropped below $5.00 per share for the first time since 1951. They are finding out its tough selling 30K vehicles without financing. So do we go ahead and stroke them a check to? I'm sure we will do something to bail them out. Boy, did we miss a great opportunity to turn things around in this country 7 years ago.
President Bush had it all. Right after 9/11 he had the congress, the people, and most of the free world behind him. With the right direction alot of these problems could have been avoided. If you remember President Bush in his speech told everyone to go out and spend money. WRONG!! He said that Iraq was responsible for the attack. WRONG!! He said we needed to attack them on their soil and take the fight to them. Partially WRONG!! What he failed to say was this. The people who attacked us were Saudi's, Egyptians, and Syrians all funded by us. Yep, everytime we import oil from the middle east we are funding their campaign. Instead of telling us to spend he should have told us to cut back. During WWII this country was asked to make sacrifices. What sacrifices were we asked to make after 9/11? During WWII the automakers converted over to building tanks and planes. Why weren't the automakers told to convert over to building vehicles that would get a minimum of 30mpg? Do you think he would have faced as much opposition to drilling and to nuclear power if he had explained it was for fighting our enemy? Of course not. And finally he should have made it clear we were coming for Al-Quida in Afghanistan and there would be no prisoners, no negotiations, no questions. The Taliban could turn them over or they all could die together.
No what happened was we invaded a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. We spent 100's of billions of dollars while giving tax breaks. We were encouraged to buy houses we couldn't afford. Detroit continued building oversized vehicles and we continued financing them up to 84 months. Now the chickens have come home to roost and unfortunately they are producing no eggs.

Syd

"In trouble where will we turn
And when you're losing the fight
Who's your white knight gonna be
Our worlds out of order and all I
see is missed opportunity" Hall & Oates "Missed Opportunity"

What have we become?

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus". Galatians 3:28.
This morning I read an account of a black journalist being told to "Sit Down Boy" at a rally for Sarah Palin yesterday in Clearwater Florida. At this same rally as she spewed her venom at Barack Obama someone shouted out "Kill Him". At a rally the day before, when John McCain asked "Who is Barack Obama?" Someone shouted Terrorists.
Is this where we are in our country? Is this who we have become? It's 2008. People are seeing their retirement dry up and go away. 150k people became unemployed in September alone. We are fighting 2 wars that we can't afford and the banks are hanging on by a shoelace and we are worrying about the color of a candidates skin? Of the number of people at the Palin rally, I wonder how many called themselves Christian? Has this election brought us to this? The good news is that this tactic is not working and the polls are showing it. People really don't want to talk about things that happened 40 yrs ago, they are worried about the next 40 days. They are worried about keeping a 40 hour work week. They are worried about it costing 40+ dollars to fill up their tanks.

I understand more than most how this election has separated people. Most people are fearful of the unknown of change,and what it could and couldn't bring. While others see it as a chance to correct the mistakes of the past and forge a new direction. But, I do believe most people can agree on one thing, Something has to give.

Syd

It's the singer not the song
The same old places and the same old songs
We've been going there for much too long
There's something wrong and it gives me that feeling
Inside that I know I must be right
It's the singer not the song" The Rolling Stones (1965)

More Pics (Clemson Basketball)

Last week it was Terrence Oglesby, this week it is Raymond Sykes and David Potter. The picture was taken as we were going into the game. Coach Purnell is doing a great job of recruiting really good kids. Both were really nice guys and seemed to enjoy having their picture made with Eddie and Logan.

Clemson Football Round 2

This week it was Logan's turn for Clemson Football. At first I didn't think I was going to the game but the wedding we had on Saturday night wasn't until 7:30 so that allowed us time to go. I can't remember the last time I left at 11:15am for a 1:00pm start. Actually it wasn't that bad, we were still in our spot by 12:15. The game went as expected but the highlight was the South Carolina State Marching Bank (The 101). Clemson's halftime concessions sells had to take a huge hit. No One left their seats and they were not disappointed. I had seen them several years ago at a Furman game and knew what to expect. The weather was perfect, Logan had a great time, Half-time show was great, and the football game was good. All in all a very nice afternoon.

Syd