A word (or few) on service

This is a weekend dedicated to military service. Memorial Day is a melancholy holiday for me. I think of my many family members and friends who served in the military. Aunts and uncles from the WW II age are almost all gone now. Nephews and cousins have served from Vietnam to the Gulf War. Friends and sons and daughters of friends are on active duty right now.

My generation of high school graduates faced Vietnam. My draft number was 36. Flunked the physical at the induction center. While I went home on one bus, another bus headed in another direction carrying more than one of my high school cohorts toward military service.

That day I was relieved to tears. And I was remorseful with guilt. The direction my bus traveled opened completely different doors than what were opening for that other bus full of people with draft numbers like mine.

Eventually, I joined the Peace Corps serving in South and Central America. It's not the military. Yet, I've always hoped that in some measure small or grand that I had represented my nation as best as I could.

You see, I really love this country.

Ghoulish

Spoke with a mortician today. Thought of Scott Walker

Leave Bratfest Alone

The following is probably easy for me since I've never been to a Bratfest in my entire life. But as protest/boycott efforts go, targeting Bratfest is the all-wrong choice of all-time. Indeed, the guy who runs Johnsonville is a republican asshole contributing to the Walker campaign. And contributions are one thing but he had to then run his mouth off about it. We've established his assholishness.

Then there's your other major event sponsor - Metcalf's. They, too, donated to the Walker campaign. In fact, a lot of people and organizations donated to the Walker campaign. I don't like that but it's hardly a foul and besides campaign donations are how the process is greased. Metcalf's is as solid a local citizen business as you can have in a community. Its charities are widely felt and appreciated. Want good corporate citizenship? Look to Metcalf's as an example.

Finally, there's Bratfest itself. The event is a community fund raiser, fergawdsakes. And a generous charity at that. World's Largest Bratfest has a whole page of benefactors for the proceeds. Sweet.

The object of a boycott/protest is to hurt the other guy. Oh, and I'd love to hurt Walker and his minions. But a boycott of Bratfest won't have any affect what so ever on Johnsonville Brats or Metcalf's. It will however, take money out of the charitable pool. Sure, your alternate fests can raise some money but my guess is not as much as what might be lost at the main event.

One possible silver lining to the alternate fests, and I think there's now about four, is that they don't affect Bratfest in the slightest but do manage to bring whole new audiences out for charitable causes.

Such a turn of events would be a net gain. Meanwhile, go to Bratfest, eat, drink, listen to music and be happy. There are better ways to hurt republicans than to threaten a solid local charity event
 

Wutz that in your pants?

Concealed carry law? Really? I've always assumed the guy next to me had a loaded gun in his pants. But I'm funny that way. Thinking about what girls conceal in their pants.

Is that a gun in your pants or are you having a breakdown?

Concealed guns? Hell, yeah! I'd throw public education off the boat any day to have a gun hidden in my pants.

Ghoul fest

Never satisfied, the Ghoul-in-Chief signed the hateful, odious voter suppression law today licking his lips greedily at the shrieking death scream of democracy. Surprising he could take the Koch out of his mouth long enough to hold a pen.

Voter suppression

Sprayed yard for weeds. Thought about voter suppression.