Same trail different hiker

Nikki Haley has been called Mark Sanford in a skirt. For all of his good intentions the bottom line was Mark Sanford never got anything accomplished because of his refusal to work with the General Assembly. A general assembly made up of his party. With Nikki Haley I am afraid the same thing is going to happen.

She's been in the South Carolina General Assembly for six years, and hers is the party that's been in power the entire time. A woman with ideas about what needs to be done in our state, one who works hard and knows how to get things done... she's had ample time to accomplish things.

And yet she hasn't. I'm not badmouthing the woman. I'm talking about facts. She was the primary sponsor of five bills in the last two years. None of them passed.

In six years in the legislature, she's been the primary sponsor of exactly one bill that's passed. Just one. It allows people to wash hair in hair salons without having a cosmetology license.

Being governor is not like being a king in olden days. She doesn't get to do whatever she wants. She has to get laws passed by the legislature to do anything. Otherwise, nothing happens (ala Sanford and his inability to work with his own party).

She was at the Citadel this weekend talking to cadets and told them she would be giving out report cards to legislators who weren't working with her to pass legislation or weren't keeping their promises to voters.

I don't think that's going to make any lawmakers eager to work with her -- having her give them failing grades. They don't work for the governor. They work with the governor, if all parties are willing. She's already set the wrong tone.

Don't take my word for this. Look up information for yourself. Ask her. Ask her campaign. What has she accomplished in the legislature? She hasn't shown the initiative to come up with legislative proposals herself, get them through the House and Senate and signed into law. Simply has not done it. Not in 6 years.

She's campaigning on roll-call votes in the legislature, so we can hold lawmakers more accountable for their actions. Roll-call votes are part of the permanent record, so we can look back and see who voted yes and who voted no on particular issues, as opposed to passing legislation by lawmakers simply saying yeah or nay as a group.

I think that's a great idea. I support her completely on that.

But she couldn't get it passed, not with a Republican majority in the House and Senate.

Why couldn't she do this? Why couldn't she rally her party to pass something important? To pass anything?

What is she going to do differently as governor? I think a person's past actions are the best indicator of what they will do in the future. Nikki Haley simply hasn't gotten anything done.

"In God We Trust"?

I recently received another one of those annoying e-mails claiming how the Obama government wants to remove "In God We Trust" from our currency. I don't know how true these emails are but I think it should be removed. Should our trust in god really be associated with our money? Think about all the things people are willing to do to obtain money. Lie, cheat, steal, whatever it takes to obtain wealth. We now live in a society that it takes boths parents working, and the 60 hr work week is not unusual. All these things for money. I know it takes money to live but do we really need to associate our god with money? Matt. 6:24 tells us you cannot serve both God and Money. So do we need gods name on there? Think about all the evil that is caused by money. We fight wars over oil(money). We see the con's and swindles of Wall Street(money) even locally the collapse of Carolina Investors was a simple case of a few people wanting more and not worrying about who they hurt. Everyday a convenience store is being robbed, or home invasion, drug traffic, etc. All for the love of money. How true was Paul's letter to Timothy saying "for the love of money is the root of All Evil"? (Paul amazes me with his ability today to step on our toes).

Also, Do we really trust in God?

So, count me as one of those who does not want my God associated with money. Next thing you know he will expect me to give him a portion of it.

Syd

Is this who we are?

So it has come to this. The health care bill was passed and there have been threats to congressmen and vandalism to democratic hq's. Racial slurs to James Clyburn, homophobic shouts at Barney Franks, death threats to many and bemoaning by all of those who opposed the bill. Is this really who we are? Maybe we should remove "In God We Trust" from our currency. With the amount of hate that has been shown this week in our country are we really "One Nation Under God"? No I do not agree with everything in the bill. But I do agree that something had to be done. The republican response throughout has been "we need to take more time to discuss" which was BS. 14 months has been long enough. They only wanted to prolong the effort to tie things up. My question to all those who oppose this because we can not afford it is, Where were you when Bush & Cheney were financing 2 wars with borrowed money? Speaking of fiscal irresponsiblity, cutting taxes while staging 2 wars? That doesn't begin to make sense. During WWII Americans were encouraged to give more not less. How sad is it that we have an unlimited budget for killing and worry about the price of saving someones life.

Again I say, I don't agree with everything in the bill. But I do not think my healthcare should be limited to the amount of money in my checking acct. Or do I believe that someone should risk bankruptcy because they became ill. With Insurance or Without it's happening everyday. Aren't we a better Country than this?

"We are the people our parents warned us about" Jimmy Buffett

Deserving?

After reading and listening to everyone fussing about the health care bill a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. The general feeling is that people who don't deserve to be covered may be covered and it's going to cost to much. I read someone say "I might as well quit my job so I can be covered by the government". Or "these people don't pay their share of taxes so why should I pay for their health care". I'm so glad God doesn't think like this. If you think about it, Does any of us deserve God's Grace? We worry so much that someone else may receive something that they didn't earn, that I work hard for what I got and they didn't. How many times have you thought this? Or, That these welfare families have gotten to where they are by their own doing. They are getting what they deserve and I shouldn't have to pay for it. Thank you Jesus for not thinking this way.

With this line of thinking, you could say, "that person does not tithe so they should not recieve God's Grace" or 'they don't go to church so God shouldn't love them as much as he loves me", "I've Earned his grace". None of us could ever do anything to Earn such a gift. Romans says "ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Grace was paid for at the cross for everyone. Even the ones we may not think are deserving. Whether or not someone deserves health care is really not for us to say? When and if I meet my maker I don't want the lord to say "I was sick and you denied me healthcare for what you did not do for the least of these you did not do for me". Remember "For God So Loved THE ENTIRE WORLD he gave his only son."

Syd

Lenten Thought

As we finish the first week of lent I thought it would be a good time to continue a discussion we had this morning in our Madmen group. Reading the story of the transfiguration the question came up, how have you transfigured since becoming a christian? For those who don't remember the scripture, Jesus had taken Peter, James and John up the mountain and while there his face shown bright and his clothing turned to white. Then Moses and Elijah appeared and begin talking with him.

What a glorious sight this must have been. Especially for these 3 jews who had grown up with the stories of these two historical figures. And those words "this is my beloved son whom I am pleased, Hear Him" had to reconfirm their actions in dropping everything and following him.

The question is after you have "heard him" how have you transformed? I don't think we should expect our faces to shine bright with light but they should shine bright with a smile. Our faces should show the brightness of love and understanding, not the darkness of divisiveness and hate. If we really "hear him" we know we should love our god and love our neighbors as our selves.

As I begin the second week of lent my hope is that I will continue to hear him and not let other things interfere with the signal.

Syd

Facebook is not that new

It's been a very long time since I actually wrote anything of substance or of anything on here. Blame it on Facebook. I now know why they call it crackbook. It is very addictive because its too easy. It reminds me of the old party lines we had growing up. For those who are too young to remember, this was when people had to share phone lines. We had an aunt who loved listening in on our phone calls. You could find out all the personal information from other people by simply picking up your phone and catching them talking. Not saying it happened alot but it did happen at times. Also growing up the local papers would have different churches and communities write basically a newsletter in their papers. It would go something like this, "We had 13 visitors this week at church. Jesse Hightower's aunt from Atlanta was visiting Jesse and Louise this week and we all enjoyed a church dinner Sunday. Also Mary Jones is in the hospital and remember such and such in your prayers".

Reading the local newspaper (which came once or twice a week depending on the paper) was our facebook. We knew who was getting married, who was sick or dead, who visited who over the week-end, who needed our prayers and what the school menu was going to be. This was all we needed to know. Mr. Bill wrote on a board if our school was closed for snow. If we needed to buy or sell something we didn't need Craigslists or Ebay we had WGOG and the Pickens Flea Market. If they didn't have it, you didn't need it.

So you see all this new technology is not all that new. We had all the technology we needed. If you wanted to know more, you just picked up the phone and listened.

Veterans Day (Duty, Honor, Country)

Below is General Douglas MacArthur's farewell speech to the cadets at West Point. Please take time to read and reflect on its body.
General Douglas MacArthur's Farewell Speech

Given to the Corps of Cadets at West Point

May 12, 1962

General Westmoreland, General Groves, distinguished guests, and gentlemen of the Corps. As I was leaving the hotel this morning, a doorman asked me, "Where are you bound for, General?" and when I replied, "West Point," he remarked, "Beautiful place, have you ever been there before?"

No human being could fail to be deeply moved by such a tribute as this, coming from a profession I have served so long and a people I have loved so well. It fills me with an emotion I cannot express. But this award is not intended primarily for a personality, but to symbolize a great moral code - the code of conduct and chivalry of those who guard this beloved land of culture and ancient descent. That is the meaning of this medallion. For all eyes and for all time, it is an expression of the ethics of the American soldier. That I should be integrated in this way with so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride and yet of humility which will be with me always.

"Duty," "Honor," "Country" - those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you want to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean.

The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and, I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.

But these are some of the things they do. They build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense. They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid.

They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for action; not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

They give you a temperate will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. They teach you in this way to be an officer and a gentleman.

And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory?

Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man at arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefields many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I regard him now, as one of the world's noblest figures; not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless.

His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me, or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy's breast.

But when I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements.

In twenty campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people.

From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage. As I listened to those songs of the glee club, in memory's eye I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs on many a weary march, from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle deep through mire of shell-pocked roads; to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God.

I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death. They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for them: Duty, Honor, Country. Always their blood, and sweat, and tears, as they saw the way and the light.

And twenty years after, on the other side of the globe, against the filth of dirty foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts, those boiling suns of the relentless heat, those torrential rains of devastating storms, the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails, the bitterness of long separation of those they loved and cherished, the deadly pestilence of tropic disease, the horror of stricken areas of war.

Their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory - always victory, always through the bloody haze of their last reverberating shot, the vision of gaunt, ghastly men, reverently following your password of Duty, Honor, Country.

The code which those words perpetuate embraces the highest moral laws and will stand the test of any ethics or philosophies ever promulgated for the uplift of mankind. Its requirements are for the things that are right, and its restraints are from the things that are wrong. The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training - sacrifice. In battle and in the face of danger and death, he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when he created man in his own image. No physical courage and no brute instinct can take the place of the Divine help which alone can sustain him. However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country, is the noblest development of mankind.

You now face a new world, a world of change. The thrust into outer space of the satellite, spheres and missiles marked the beginning of another epoch in the long story of mankind - the chapter of the space age. In the five or more billions of years the scientists tell us it has taken to form the earth, in the three or more billion years of development of the human race, there has never been a greater, a more abrupt or staggering evolution. We deal now not with things of this world alone, but with the illimitable distances and as yet unfathomed mysteries of the universe. We are reaching out for a new and boundless frontier. We speak in strange terms: of harnessing the cosmic energy; of making winds and tides work for us; of creating unheard synthetic materials to supplement or even replace our old standard basics; of purifying sea water for our drink; of mining ocean floors for new fields of wealth and food; of disease preventatives to expand life into the hundred of years; of controlling the weather for a more equitable distribution of heat and cold, of rain and shine; of space ships to the moon; of the primary target in war, no longer limited to the armed forces of an enemy, but instead to include his civil populations; of ultimate conflict between a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy; of such dreams and fantasies as to make life the most exciting of all time.

And through all this welter of change and development your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable. It is to win our wars. Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purpose, all other public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishments; but you are the ones who are trained to fight.

Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the Nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country.

Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.

Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government. Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as firm and complete as they should be.

These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the Nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.

The long gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.

This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished - tone and tints. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen then, but with thirsty ear, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll.

In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country.

Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps.

I bid you farewell.