happy birthday to jarod, kerry, and me!

this coming friday, September 19th, is my son Jarod’s 16th birthday, saturday is my brother-in-law Kerry’s birthday and next monday, the 22nd, I’ll turn 47 years old. 

so, Happy Birthday to Jarod, Kerry, and me.

monday, on my birthday,  i start a new job at Alston & Bird.  A&B is a prestigous law firm with offices across the country.  Prestigous is an understatement as Senators Bob Dole and Tom Daschle are both Senior Partners working out of the D.C. office.

i’ll be working on the help desk of the 31st best employer in the country, per Fortune magazine.  i feel quite blessed and am very excited about this new opportunity.  y’all keep praying for me as i have to commute to mid-town again and must navigate through I-75 traffic.

i’m also thrilled because i finished the first draft of my novel.

crossing the finish line at 18 chapters and a little more than 107,000 words, Morning Calm Sonata will be approximately 440 pages once published in hardcover.  as a frame of reference, that is ten more pages than the novel Contact written by the late, great Carl Sagan.

i’m currently rewriting & polishing chapters 8 through 18.  i’m also writing an Epilogue.  i’ve started drafting letters to literary agents and publishers and hope to start sending them next week.  if any of you know an agent or publisher, now is the time to tell me.

since my birthday is around the corner, i thought i’d share with you my Amazon Wishlist.  from used books for .01¢ to a home designed by Bart Prince, you’ll find many of my grandest desires on this list. 

some of these items (especially some of the books and CDs) i’ve owned before and have either misplaced them or they’ve been damaged beyond repair.  other inclusions i’ve simply wanted for a long time.  if anyone out there feels especially generous, i’ll start making room for the Bösendorfer now.  the list is long, and i’ve shared it sorted per Title, but feel free to peruse it in different ways and enjoy ;~)

i’m writing another blog about the upcoming election, so be forewarned, the next entry here on FOAC will be political in nature.

peace and love always,

j. edward “jerry” goodwin

A week for Heroes and Villains

Last week, I put a notice on the site that my blog was on hiatus, but I feel I must write this blog entry, due to news I’ve seen over the past few days.

The 2008 Summer Olympics started in Bejing, China with opening ceremonies this past Friday, 08/08/08 - a special date for the Chinese hosts, btw.  Most of you already know about Michael Phelps and his quest to set a new total medal record in swimming.  You have probably heard of Shawn Johnson by now as well.  She’s the USA team’s powerhouse anchor in women’s gymnastics, but I wanted to write about a few other champions.

A couple of other names from swimming that you may recognize are Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin.  Dara Torres may be the most durable athlete of our lifetime.  At 41 years old, not only is she competing, but she has an excellent chance of taking gold again at this, her 4^th Olympic games.  What is Dara’s motivation this time around?  Her two year old daughter, Tessa.  “It is Tessa who I am doing this for. To show her when she is a little older that life has no boundaries if you commit to your dreams and never stop believing in yourself.”  Dara Torres will always be one of my heroes.

Natalie Coughlin was counted out by many people in the year 2000.  She suffered an injury to her shoulder that would stop most people in their tracks, but not Natalie.  She rehabilitated herself with a myriad of techniques including yoga, weight-training, and massage.  She then won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in the women’s 100 meter backstroke event and was a member of the silver medal women’s 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay with Kara Lynn Joyce, Amanda Weir, and Jenny Thompson.  She then broke a world record and won gold as a member of the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay.  Her lead-off split on the relay would have won gold in the individual 200 meter freestyle event.  A hero?  Indeed.

Raj Bhavsar could be considered an unlikely person for me to list in this entry.  After all, he did not make the men’s gymnastics team in 2004 and it was his best year as a gymnast, so far.  He seemingly fell short again earlier this year and was named as an alternate to the US Men’s Gymnastics Team.  Raj is a young man that I admire deeply, because, despite these setbacks, or perhaps, because of them, he has learned the most valuable lessons of all.  “Our career doesn’t have to define us.  There’s so much more to being human than all this.  Taking 100% responsibility, that’s probably the biggest life lesson that any of us could be taught.  Rather than feeling like a victim, I became the driver of the chariot.  I still don’t know what’s going to happen now, but I am going to put my best foot forward.  And with the perspective I have on life, I think I’ve already won in a way.”  Raj is competing in Bejing.  As an alternate, he replaced the injured Paul Hamm.  I am his newest and biggest fan.  Raj Bhavsar is a hero, big fucking time.

If you don’t know who the Lopez family is by now, you’re not paying attention.  They are the First Family of Tae Kwan Do .  Coached by their oldest sibling, Jean, the rest of the Lopez clan, Steven, Mark, and Diana will be kicking ass and taking names in Bejing.  How did they get there?  Amazing parents.  Everyone in this family is a hero, but none more so than the parents, Julio and Ondina Lopez.  Julio is an immigrant from Nicaragua who was always a big Bruce Lee fan.  When he moved to the states and started a family, Julio thought that getting his children involved in Martial Arts was a good way to teach them discipline and focus.  Boy, has that worked!  What makes this family shine, apart from the obvious athleticism, are their attitudes, personalities, and their commitment to one another.  These attributes are best reflected in a moment of true selflessness from Mark about his younger sister Diana, “I would rather her win than me.  She’s my little sister, and I want to see her happy.”  To the Lopez family, you are all heroes and I am proud to have you represent our country.

Mike Krzyzewski has been a legend in basketball for well over 28 years.  Currently the winningest active coach in college ball, he has led the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four nine times and to two back-to-back national championships.  I watched the first period of the USA men’s basketball team’s game against the host country China this morning.  It remained close until later in the game, when the US team pulled away.  What stood out to me immediately was a marked difference in the teamwork of the 5 players on the court from USA teams past.  Our players played as a team and not just 5 talented individuals.  To me, this all about Coach K and his influence on these young men.  Want proof of Coach Krzyzewski’s commitment to teamwork, check out what he tells his players. “To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.” “Confidence shared is better than confidence only in yourself.”  I have confidence in our team this year and it’s not just because of the great individual players on the court, it’s because of the man leading them from the bench.  Mike Krzyzewski is a gentleman, a teacher, a coach, a veteran, and a philanthropist.  He played basketball himself under Coach Bob Knight at West Point and served in the US Army from 1969-1974.  The Coach and his spouse are co-chairs of the Duke Children’s Miracle Network Telethon.  This man is a hero in every sense of the word.

Lopez Lomong was one of the “lost boys of the Sudan”.  As a child, Lopez was attending a church service in Darfur, when militants stormed the church and abducted the children.  He was taken with the intentions of the terrorists making a child soldier of him.  Instead of that happening, Lopez escaped his captors and then ran, ran and ran.  He ended up in a refugee camp across the border in Kenya.  After living in that camp for 10 years on one meal per day, he finally caught a break.  After an interview with a U.S. embassy official, he was selected for a rescue program and relocation to the United States.  He resettled with his new family in New York, finished school and earned a scholarship to Northern Arizona University as a track star.  Keep your eye on Lopez Lomong during these Olympic games.  He’s not finished running just yet.  While his story and athleticism are amazing, what’s makes him my hero, is his cause, Team Darfur.  “I’m worried about the kids who are dying in Darfur and South Sudan. The kids don’t have the dream they could be Olympic athletes or doctors. I want those kids to reach what their dreams are. It’s not just what’s going on between the Chinese government and the Sudanese. It’s what’s going on with the people. We hope those kids can pursue what their dreams are.”

Sarah Reinertsen is not participating in the Olympics, but rather in another important sporting event that follows those games, the Human Race.  Sarah is an above the knee amputee and has been since she was 7 years old.  It has not slowed her down.  She is the first female above the knee amputee to complete the Iron Man Triathlon.  She currently holds world records in five different events.  I just learned about Sarah, having stumbled over a story about her just this morning, but she’s my hero.  She lives her life as a testament to never give up.  Oh yeah, and because of her quote, “Fear less, live more.”

Villains

I wish I could say that the heroes listed above are all that prompted me to write this week’s blog, but other items I must mention are acts of cowardice, infamy, and downright atrocity.

Two stories detracted from what is supposed to be a peaceful celebration and competition in Bejing.  The first came on Friday, when Russian troops trampled across the border and on the rights of the people living in the South Ossetia province of Georgia.

The fact is, South Ossetians are an independent people that have not been allowed an independent existence, despite their quest and struggle for that since the late 19^th century.  They have their own culture, speak their own language, and are not of the same ethnic background of either Georgians or Russians.  So, what’s the problem?  They want to be independent.  Georgia doesn’t want them to be, and despite whatever Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev may say, neither does Russia.  What they both want is to control this region.

Here’s the breakdown:  North Ossetia is a province in southern Russia, Southern Ossetia is a province in northern Georgia.  What the Ossetians want is to reunite the two provinces into one independent state.  Georgia wants to control Southern Ossetia and Russia, in a veiled bid to “help” that province, has gained control of the South Ossetian government.

Southern Ossetia has no oil, few natural resources, and it’s area has been almost destroyed in terms of useful goods, due to so much fighting over the last 100 years or so.  So, where does the problem lie?  Geography and control of the border, specifically the Roki tunnel.  The Roki tunnel is one of the main passageways between Russia and Georgia.  South Ossetia obtains as much as a third of its annual budget by levying customs duties on freight traffic between the two countries.  So, can that be all this is about?

No!  There is also the question of Southern Ossetia’s neighboring province, Abkhazia.  Also an “unrecognized” independent region of Georgia, they are a prize for both countries.  So much so, that this squabble over Southern Ossetia is probably just a precursor to Russia’s actual goal of obtaining Abkhazia.  What makes Abkhazia so important is the fact that it, as opposed to its Ossetian neighbors, is abundant in natural resources, is economically sound, and borders the Black Sea, an important point in terms of oil exploration.

The thing that really pisses me off is the timing of it all.  One of the greatest events for peaceful competition and cooperation is taking place in Bejiing.  There are even talks of Chinese reform, which is long overdue and so friggin’ needed.  In spite of both Russia and Georgia having athletes at these Olympic Games, Putin and Medvedev have chosen this time to play bully over Southern Ossetia and have slaughtered thousands of innocent civlians.

This puts the United States and every other “civilized” country in the world in a tough spot.  Georgia is our ally, though, in my opinion, they are wrong for denying the Ossetians their independence.  However, their wrongdoing is far overshadowed by the powerplay of Russia.

As if that news isn’t bad enough, Todd Bachman, father-in-law to the US Men’s Volleyball team coach, was stabbed to death on opening day at Bejing’s historical Drum Tower.  A 13^th Century landmark and one of the most beautiful sites in Bejing, it was the last thing that Todd Bachman ever got to see.  When his wife Barbara turned to help him, the assailant stabbed her also.  She clings to life this very minute in a Bejing hospital.  This was a random act of violence and the asshole responsible killed himself right afterward by jumping from the tower to his death.  Too bad he didn’t just take himself out of society’s misery.

My point is this, the heroes in this world are people who have learned to overcome adversity and personal struggle by learning to evolve as human beings.  Like Lopez Lomong, they struggle to change horrible situations with positive individual achievement and action.

Villains are the people contaminating the human gene pool through their bullying ways.  They are only interested in power and avarice.  Peace is optional and all too often dispensable.

My prayer, as usual, is for peace, love, and hope that some day, we can all belong to the group called heroes.

peace and love always,

j. edward “jerry” goodwin

this blog is temporarily on hiatus

i’m spending all my time and energy searching for a job and finishing my novel.

thanks for stopping by!  feel free to explore, leave a comment or send me an e-mail to jegoodwin@gmail.com

peace and love always,

j. edward “jerry” goodwin

back to the basics of this blog

ME!

I have been a very busy, indeed inundated, camper lately and, as such, have not posted anything out here for a few weeks.

I hope y’all had a safe and festive 4th of July weekend … mine WAS the former, if only a smidgeon of the latter.

Lately, I am feeling as if I’ve been put through the wringer of one of those 1950s-60s style washing machines and have not been hung out to dry just yet.  So much stress, so few nerve/brain cells to handle said stress and that is why I’ve not been out here for a minute.

As an update, I have obtained a vehicle that is running (so far, and y’all pray about that one!) and am actively seeking employment.  If you know of something that is not too far from Woodstock, GA (this truck gets about 5 gallons to the mile), please check out my Corp Resume page and feel free to pass it on.  If you are reading this and are a hiring Manager with Siemens and have a position available, please know that I am willing to discuss coming back for a little less money than I was making when I left … a little less.

My novel writing has stalled just a bit, but I did pick up this cool free software called yWriter4 that is helping me with the structural flow of the thing.  I’m well past Chapter 6 of my first draft.  This book is going to be at least 12 chapters and, to date, I have written well over 50K words on it.  To put that into perspective for you, Nicholas Sparks has never published an entire novel that went much longer that 50K words. I have already written the 2nd draft for most of the first 3 chapters and am preparing to start sending them off to Literary Agents … again, y’all please pray.

BTW, I realized that no-one could actually see the excerpt from Morning Calm Sonata, due to my inexperience with WordPress, so I have fixed that page.  You no longer have to be signed in or even registered to read it.  You can check it out here.

During my hiatus from MCS, I turned my writerly attention once again to poetry and tackled something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time.  I wrote my very first Sestina<<<This link is just a page I found online to use as a guideline.

Here is the debut of my first stab at this challenging form >>> sestina primera.

I entered Instauration (the poem) in a contest recently and 1st prize is a traditional publishing contract for a book of poetry, and … well, y’all know the drill … prayers, mantras, crossed-fingers, et. al. 

If you just can’t get enough of my poetry, then click over to my Poetry page and download my chapbook entitled Tuesday and Other Poems … and yes, I did the cover artwork myself :~)

Well, that’s about the update for this week.  I’ll be posting something out here again soon, so check back often.  Please continue to pray for my family as well.  Shauna has had a very hard Spring and Summer so far.  She continues to struggle with Crohn’s Disease and her other illnesses as well … all I can ask is that you continue to pray for all 4 of us and I say Thankee Sai!

peace and love always!

Religion and Defecation

no big blog today y’all, just a linked reading assignment on the simple phrase “shit happens” … enjoy http://www.thejaywalker.com/pages/shit_happens.html

Heaven’s a little funnier today …

          And I’m a little sadder.  George Carlin died yesterday of heart failure at the St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.  He was 71 years old.  Those of you who’ve known me for a long time know that Carlin was one of my favorite people on the planet.

          At the age of 17, I memorized a bit that George wrote called “The Hairpiece”, thanks to an album that I borrowed from my oldest brother Jackie.  Besides my brothers and my own father, George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Cheech and Chong were the people most influential in my life in terms of comedy.

          I never got to see George perform live, but saw many of his performances that were taped and have listened to his albums for hours on end.  We all owe George Carlin a debt for pushing the boundaries, making us think outside our own pre-conceived notions and reminding us that censorship in all its forms is not only wrong, but can be downright hilarious.  We didn’t often line up with each other in terns of spiritual belief, George was an avowed atheist, but I loved the man deeply anyway and am praying for his family.

Rest In Peace big brother and knock ‘em dead up there in heaven.

George Carlin 1937 - 2008

The Slippery Slope in South Carolina

            Well, my home state is out to prove just how bold they can be at thumbing their noses at the proper boundaries of government.  They have recently announced that folks there can now purchase a license plate with a proclamation of “I Believe” and a graphic of a cross over a stained glass window. Here’s a sample pic.

            The problems with this action are multiple.  The Constitution makes it very clear that no government body should endorse any specific religious belief.  Now to SC’s government’s credit, there is already a Humanist license plate available to the citizens of my home state as well, but that does not make this problem any more palatable.  Why?  Because any state sponsored placard of religious belief or non-belief is not the same as putting a Clemson Tiger paw or a Carolina Gamecock on a license tag.  Though both represent fanatic thought processes, one is expressly forbidden by our constitution.  Also, the Humanist plate and all other graphic plates available to the residents of that state average in costs around $70, while the new “I Believe” plates will be sold for less than $10.  Also, the Lt. Governor has pledged to put up $4000 of his own money to make this happen.

            This is a very slippery slope for these folks and they are being more than just a little short sighted in passing this legislation.  I wonder, as I hope other folks from SC wonder, just what other concerns the officials there are ignoring or failing to address while passing legislation that smacks of political pandering.  Pandering, you ask?  Surely not.  Why would they do this in an election year in a state that is considered the buckle of the Bible belt?  Sarcasm most definitely intended.

            I am just embarrassed that in my home state where over 14% of the residents live below the national poverty income level, this is what is on the legislators’ minds.  Don’t worry though, these folks aren’t going anywhere as the folks from my home state are bound to re-elect these folks because they’re just “good Christian people”.

            What I really hope is that all the residents in SC that hold to beliefs other than Christian demand a plate for their religions at the same costs of these plates, but I don’t believe it’s going to happen.  The ACLU and the American Jewish Congress have already pledged lawsuits and I don’t believe these plates will stand as constitutional.  If so, we should all be worried.

            Most of you that read my blogs know that I was once a Christian minister myself.  Licensed three times by two different denominations, I was once pursuing the “calling of God” on my life.  I still am by the way, just not through the organized church any more.  Why?  For exactly these kinds of stunts where people have forgotten that this country was founded by people pursuing liberty in the areas of religion, fleeing a government and church that had become so entangled that one could not tell the difference.  For reference, just read up on The Church of England in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries.

            I’m not even sure I’m a Christian any more by this modern church’s standards, but I also don’t care.  I believe in God, but am seriously concerned about his followers that call themselves Christian these days.  They seemed to have forgotten the scriptures, which they hold so dear, and I will address this specifically in an upcoming blog.  Until then, I just want to end this blog with a couple of quotes from one of my favorite Christians and one of the deepest thinkers of all time, Soren Kierkegaard, who said, “Christendom has done away with Christianity without being quite aware of it.”  That quote is appropriate still today over 150 years after Kierkegaard’s death, but maybe this one is more appropos to this specific situation, “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

            Peace and Love Always folks, and watch those slippery slopes!

Election 2008 - Continued

          So, I’m sure you all know by now that Barack Obama has won the Democratic nomination.  I wish to go on record to say that this will still not keep the Democrats from imploding during this election season.  I believe their only chance is for Mr. Obama to choose Hillary Clinton as his running mate, because those two have polarized and divided that party’s supporters so deeply.  Hillary has said that she will consider it, but that decision now rests on the shoulders of Barack and most experts do not believe that he will choose Hillary.

            We’ll see what happens during the Democratic convention, but I believe firmly that the only way Barack will sway enough voters in the red states is to choose the former first lady as the V.P. candidate.   Many Clinton supporters have said in public forums over the past couple of weeks that they will vote for McCain before they vote for Barack, so how can Barack swing enough of the votes, popular or electoral, without Hillary on the ticket?  The other question to ask right now is, if not Hillary, then who?  John Edwards, Al Gore, Howard Dean, John Kerry?  All of them except Gore are proven national losers, but if Barack has a chance outside of Hillary, Gore may be the only one who can give him that shot.  Just who will Barack choose?  This may be the choice for a running mate that impacts the Presidential race greater than any V.P. choice ever, certainly in my lifetime.

            It won’t make a difference to me personally, as I’m already pretty certain that I’m not voting for the Dems this year.  I can’t stand the idea of another 4 years of anyone trying to expand the role of the federal government in any way, fashion, or form.

          Of course, the question still remains as to who John McCain will choose as a running mate also.  I think the best choice would be either Condoleeza Rice or Elizabeth Dole.  Besides the glaringly obvious reason that they are both women, they are both also more moderate than most Republicans and are proven great leaders.  Condi has been an incredible feather in Bush’s hat, and Elizabeth Dole almost single-handedly saved The American Red Cross.  Both of them appeal to people like me that are stranded in political limbo.  While they have both declared that they will not run for president, we haven’t heard too much from either in regards to the nation’s second highest office.  Personally, I would love to see Condi run with John McCain. She’s smart, she’s dedicated, she’s a strong, intelligent woman with her finger on the current international pulse.  And, she, like Dole is not as strong a right winger as the rest of her Bush administration compadres.  I’m not sure either one of these people are likely to be chosen, but I would love to see it be Condi or Libby to put another woman in the contest.  Other than those two, who does John McCain choose?  Mitt Romney,  Mike Huckabee, Charlie Crist?  Romney and Huckabee are further to the right than McCain historically and that may actually help him win the more conservative Republican base, but that is not something that I personally want to see.  While Crist appears to be a little more moderate than even McCain himself, he is wrong on certain issues like making the DEA an even stronger and more intrusive organization than it already is.

          Bob Barr has secured the nomination for the Libertarian party and may be our strongest candidate ever.  I may have spoken too soon a couple of days ago when I called Mr. Barr a Republican-In-Disguise.  I’ve been reading over his platform and it seems the man has had an honest conversion to the right way of looking at things, the Libertarian way.  I believe at this point, he is the choice that lines up with my own beliefs the closest and barring any horrible misstep, I will probably be voting for Bob Barr.  Nice pun, huh?  Click here to see how Bob Barr stands on the issues and why I will probably be voting for him.

          Whoever wins, what I really wish is that he will at least plug the hole that has developed in the bucket that holds the federal spending dollars and put an end to all the pork that’s been stampeding out of D. C. for the last eight years.  Maybe, just maybe he will use the veto stamp for something other than that which favors big brother and big business.

            Don’t get me wrong here, I love capitalism and business just as much as my hard right wing brothers and sisters, but the last few times, what am I saying, the ONLY few times George Bush has used or threaten to use the veto stamp it’s been for things like bills that would bring consumers gas price relief, or bills that would limit how much the feds can intrude on the privacy of the every day citizen.

            I promised that I would not just complain in this blog, but would offer solutions. Here’s my first offering for fixing the broken system.  The place to start is to put an end to any and all political contributions from CAP programs, special interest groups, and lobbyists.  Why?  We need to level the playing field to allow the common ordinary man or woman to run for the highest office in the land once again.  With the current system, only someone with access to multiple millions of dollars can even stand a chance.  If a person wishes to run and they don’t have the money, the current system promotes cronyism by allowing CAPs, special interest groups, and lobbyist firms to fund the race for them.  They then owe a debt to those groups for getting them elected in the first place.  So, my first solution is the immediate dissolution of these programs, as I for one, would like to see the common middle-class every day citizen have the same opportunity to run and be elected as is currently afforded those who “play” politics.

Election 2008

          Well, the Democratic primary is almost upon us and, as has been the case in so many elections during my lifetime, the Dems appear once again about to implode.  John McCain has stated that he’s not going to withdraw the troops from Iraq any sooner than the current administration would, and I’m left, like a lot of you out there, to wonder who the hell am I going to vote for this year.

            The challenge I have with politicians is the same challenge I face with most places of worship.  No one available to me shares my exact viewpoints.  We’ll save the church and religious discussion for another day, but the political one is something that has to be addressed right now.  I’m a Libertarian, but I’m not very happy with the way my party is currently being run and I’m certainly not overjoyed to see a Republican-in-disguise named Barr trying to win the nomination of it.

            This year, as has been the temptation to me in so many years past, I’m seriously considering penciling in Al Bundy, Homer Simpson, or Herman Munster for President.  I figure any one of them will be just about as effective as the choices I see before me.  I can’t vote for either Barack or Hillary, as both of them have vowed a National Healthcare Plan, and even though I myself am facing a personal healthcare coverage crisis right now, I can’t fathom anything as idiotic as this idea.  Just look at the droves of people from Canada that cross the border every day to see doctors here in the states, because the waiting lists are so long and the quality of care not as good.  Look at the sub-par quality of care in Great Britain, and again the lines of patients waiting for surgeries.  It’s the same in every country that has adopted socialized medicine.  That doesn’t even take into account that taxes would have to be raised in order to pay for the new system and that is something that raises my ire, big fucking time.

            I certainly don’t think I can bring myself to vote for McCain either, as I am for the immediate withdrawal of our men and women from this fucking religious and civil war in Iraq.  I’m also for some type of immediate action regarding the gas crisis, which shouldn’t even be that hard to correct, but again, McCain seems content to stay the course with those assholes from OPEC holding us over so many billions of barrels.

            So, like so many elections I’ve seen before in my lifetime, I’m left to choose a choice of lesser evils.  Not that it matters that much in terms of the Presidential race, as ultimately, my vote will not really count.  It’s the electoral college that’s going to elect the President, not me, and that is just one more broken cog in a system clogged with broken parts.

            If there were a candidate that I could vote for, they probably wouldn’t be electable.  I would vote for someone who wants to change radically the system itself.  Someone who would do away with all special interest groups, lobbyists, and CAP programs, so our leaders could make autonomous decisions without undue influence.  I would vote for someone who would cut out the permanent benefits and annual pay raises of Congress and the Senate in order to establish better benefits for our veterans.  I would vote for someone who would bring our people home from Iraq to a hero’s welcome and shower them with not just verbal praise, but whatever they needed to get their lives back in order.  I would vote for someone who would show just as much outrage and action about the situations in Darfur and Burma as they do in oil-rich Iraq.  I would vote for someone who would ease our overcrowded prison population by legalizing marijuana and freeing those prisoners that are incarcerated for possession of a God-given natural herb.  I would vote for someone who is aghast at the pittance of monies that are paid to go for research in finding a cure for AIDS, Cancer, and other diseases that can no longer wait.  I would vote for someone who would fix our current healthcare system by making the problem industries, namely Insurance and Pharmaceuticals, step up and do the right thing by holding their feet to the fire instead of coddling them.  I would vote for someone who would usher in real competition and incentives for self-sufficiency in the areas of public utilities, instead of allowing the current monopolistic companies to hike their fucking rates any time they want.  I would vote for someone who would move the EPA and other environmental alarmists out of the way and pass legislation to tap every oil reserve we have on our coasts, as well as building new refineries.  I would vote for someone who would put the power of education back in the hands of the states so they could again focus on learning and not trying to pass stupid tests in order to secure federal funding.  I would vote for someone who would shrink the size of the Federal government while at the same time restoring our individual civil liberties.  I would vote for someone who would fix our broken and unfair tax-code, maybe do away with income tax and usher in The Fair Tax.  I would vote for someone who would fix our broken judicial system, where some hardcore criminals get off too easily, while at the same time, some innocent people go to prison.  I would vote for someone who wants to make things better and is not satisfied with the status fucking quo.

            However, the person I would vote for doesn’t exist this election year, and for the first time in my adult life, I’m considering not voting for the office of President at all.  One thing I can tell you for sure, I will not vote for any incumbent in any office, because I for one am sick of business as usual.  I don’t want any more stimulus checks or money back from the government at all, I want change!

Memorial Day

            I started to write today of how proud I am that my son and my niece are both graduating from high school this year and my nephew is graduating from college, but today is Memorial Day and I can’t let this day pass without blogging about it.  I’ll just take this moment once again to congratulate my son Joseph, my niece Bernadette, and my nephew Jon for their accomplishments of finishing another chapter in their young lives.  I also wish to admonish all of them that they have a long way to go to true adulthood and a good start would be them gaining a true understanding of what this holiday is all about.

            When I think about Memorial Day, my first thoughts are usually centered on the price my own family has paid in service defending this great country of ours.  In my immediate family of origin alone, we have given over 55 years of service.  My late great father, Jack M. Goodwin, Sr., retired from the Air Force after a 21-year career, my brother Jim from the Navy after 30 years, and I myself was medically retired from the Army after 4.5 years.  If I stop to consider Uncles, Aunts, Cousins on both sides of my family, and also my Nephew Jody, there is over 200 years total service from just a couple of generations of two families.  Not one of us lost his or her life performing that duty, though none of us came through it unscathed.

            The fact is, serving in the military changes an individual.  I like to think it made me a better man than I had been before I joined.  Many of my relatives have seen combat, including my father and my brother.  Many of us have been honored for our service with awards, ribbons, medals, and commendations.  Most of us left the military service with some type of disability, but today is a special day set aside not just for those who have served, but for those who have paid the ultimate price in service.

            This year, this day is going to be one not soon forgotten in the town of Barnesville, GA for the mortal wounds of one of their native sons is still fresh.  Sergeant Davy Nathaniel Weaver was just killed in Afghanistan.  His body is currently enroute to Barnesville and his funeral is scheduled for May 31^st.  Sgt. Weaver had already served in Bosnia and Iraq and recently had the opportunity to retire from the Georgia National Guard, but reenlisted and asked for the assignment to Afghanistan.  Only a veteran can truly understand this choice.  This man, a husband and a father to three young children, served his country proudly and paid the ultimate price.

            I’m going on the record here in favor of pulling our troops out of Iraq, as I believe our mission there was complete the day Sadaam Hussein was executed.  That being said, I still know our troops in all locales around the world are following orders and fulfilling their duties as they swore to do when they joined.  It is an oath that I took earnestly and I know it’s one that every man and woman serving right now takes that way as well.  Just like you and I, each of them has their own opinion of the politics, but that is not the point.  The point is each individual that is serving is obeying the orders that he or she has been given and they are all defending the liberties and freedoms that you and I enjoy daily.  These people take their jobs more seriously than anyone who hasn’t served can ever understand.

            So, today when you fire up that grill, or travel to that lake, when you’re sitting there with your family relaxing in the sun or just doing whatever it is you’re doing, remember what this day is truly about.  It’s about those people, men and women, who have served and those who are still serving, so stop and say a prayer for them.  Remember to pray for those families back home who wonder when they will see their loved ones again.  Remember to pray for those families, like the Weavers, who will never see their loved ones again in this physical world.  Remember to offer up a prayer in thanksgiving for the people, like Sgt. Weaver, who gave their lives to that sacred duty.  Remember that freedom has a price and that there have been many brave, courageous people who have paid that price for you and that’s why this day is set aside.