The widening political divide

as we saw last year with healthcare on the heels of the 2008 election and with the budget bills on the heels of the 2010 election, each party feels that it has to go on a power grab and make sure that the other side is beat down and humbled in the process. Of course, according to the followers of FOX and MSNBC, winning an election regardless of how wide or narrow the margin means that a politician is justified in imposing an ideology because he/she has “the mandate of the people” or so they say…. -Matt




I totally agree with this but where did this winner take all attitude come from?  I always thought that the two party system worked because compromises could be negotiated. But it seems like it seems Republicans and Democrats would rather argue and name call rather than discuss issues and find solutions.


And is it just me or have things actually gotten worse since President Obama called for more civility between parties last month.


As much as I liked the job that President George W Bush did; I believe that his administration is at the root of the problem we have now. I believe that for whatever reason President Bush getting us into the Iraq War seems to have angered liberals enough that we are still dealing with the backlash.


What I think happened is that in their hatred for the war liberals allowed themselves to believe they weren't listened to and that festered and grew enough that it led to a extreme liberal, President Obama, get elected.  Since President Obama took office I believe that Democrats have gotten, essentially, power drunk.


I had hoped that the loss of Democrat seats in Congress during mid term elections would help. But, I think just the opposite has happened. Why?


I believe we are in the midst of a political storm.  On one side we have Republican governors  who are doing what they think best to balance their budgets. On the other side we have unions and Democrats who don't want to give up their power.


We have MSNBC (liberals) and Fox (conservatives) egging things on; I believe essentially because ratings equals money.


And considering that the federal budget is basically next on the agenda, I don't see a peaceful, unified country any time soon.


What will it take to remove some of the acrimony on the situation?  I have a coupe of thoughts on that for next time.

James Madison was considered "The Father of the Constitution". He realized that one branch could not have complete control. Mr. Madison said, "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elected, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."

Therefore, the Constitution establishes a system of checks and balances to maintain balance within the US Government!http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110221/

I am beginning to wonder how well the system of checks and balances is really working. Especially in regards to the legislative branch of government. Maybe I misunderstood, but I always thought that elections were supposed to be a part of the checks and balances for the legislature. If that was the way it was supposed  work, something went wrong.

I strongly suspect that if we could bring one of the founding fathers back they would disapprove of how things are done now. I seem to recall that one of our founding fathers (I'm thinking  Washington) said that serving in government was an honor, not a privilege and that it wasn't supposed to  be a lifetime job.


Unfortunately, for many in Congress, and probably on  the state level as well, it has become a lifetime job.  I wonder how many Wisconsin and Indiana democrats fear that they may lose elections next time. I would guess by there actions that they aren't too worried about that.


And I wonder if once a candidate wins an elections do they become complacent? 


This brings me to another point that I was planning on doing another post. It is something I was already preparing to write about when I read Matt's comment the other day. That will be my posting tomorrow.


And I have been asking a number of questions and posting about problems. After tomorrows posting I will try  to throw a few possible solutions out there. 

What the heck is going on?

 Wisconsin Democrats flee to Illinois last Thursday; I am not sure when Indiana Democrats fled to Illinois and the doors to the Ohio State Capitol are locked?

 What are these things supposed to accomplish? Seems to me these actions are like a little kid trying to hold their  breath until they get what they want. And it will probably end up being as effective.  Is this the kind of leadership you want?

How can things get accomplished went politicians are running away from debates? How can compromise and understanding happen if doors are being locked?

And I have just found out tonight that some of the Wisconsin protesters were comparing (R)Scott Walker to Hitler and Mubarak. I wonder if any of those protester's were also calling the Tea Party racists?

It seems to me name calling is a bit childish and accomplishes nothing. In all these actions I don't  see people who want to fix problems. I see people  who don't want changes despite what the economy is doing.

I also wonder why all this is happening a little over a month after the Wisconsin and Ohio Governor's took over.  Shouldn't there be a lot more agreeing this soon after elections?

I have too many questions and I don't like where things are going.

Unions and problems.

I got a comment yesterday which was in response to my Wisconsin or Cairo post.

After reading the comment I got ideas for three different postings. This is a big part of what I was hoping for when I began this blog.  I really think it is time for honest , open and, as much as possible, non judgmental conversation in this country. And my postings in this blog is the best way I know of to contribute to that.

I am not going to respond to everything within the comment. But I do want to discuss the main points of it. I urge everyone to read the whole comment (the thing that looks like a envelope to me) at the bottom of the Wisconsin post. And please free to add a comment.

Since I was already considering a post about unions I will start there. I want to make it perfectly clear that the following is strictly my opinion. I would have written them eventually but this is also in response to Matt's comment.

I am sure that back in the late 1800's through the 1930-40's  that forming unions was necessary to protect workers rights. But I think the  unions have gotten too powerful and are bad for production.

During the late 1980's I lived in Michigan with family for a little while. I remember several times when cousins and even an aunt would spend a lot of time at bars or partying somewhere but were never worried about being late to work or not going to work a lot. I remember a specific conversation when I  asked a cousin why he was never concerned about loosing his job; he looked at me and laughed, "Rob, you pretty much have to kill someone too loose a union job." Now I'm sure he was exaggerating  a bit but I'm sure he wasn't totally wrong either.

I doubt that things are that much different today. And if that is true from a production viewpoint how is that attitude good? If companies can move their factories to places where unions are not so strong and the cost of labor is less I can't blame them.

I believe teachers have the most important jobs in the world and from everything I have heard they are vastly underpaid.   But at the same time, I have concerns and I can't help but wonder if those concerns stem from teachers being unionized.  It would take some work to convince me that kids don't have many more days off than we used to. It at least seems like there  is  a teachers in service work day every other week now.  Doesn't educating kids work better when teacher's are actually around kids and teaching?

And it seems as though every time I turn on the news either another school is getting a bad grade for the job it's doing; or another teacher is being arrested for having child pornography  or sex with students. And it makes me wonder if teacher unions are resisting attempts to improve teaching methods and tougher hiring practices.

Isn't it past the time where state leaders, business leaders and  union leaders should come together in a common bond of solving financial, labor and educational problems? And shouldn't people's focus be on solutions that are better for all rather than focusing on being right?

All I know for sure is that recent events in Wisconsin and other unions situations that I am now becoming aware of, convinces me that communication is not just a problem in Washington.  Its spreading.

Enjoying life

Wrestling is on my mind tonight folks. Cue the groans. he he

Don't worry I'm not going into details about it. I am bringing it up because the fact that I still watch it at 45 is a kind of metaphor for life.

But first: It seems to me that every time I tell someone I like Pro Wrestling I get the same reaction, "It's fake". For a lot of years I tried to find an appropriate response to that. Sometime in the last couple of years I found a  wrestling website where people can post responses to whatever has been written. One article was specifically about people  who don't like wrestling because it's fake. And in people responses to that I found my reply.

How many TV shows that you watch aren't scripted? On shows like CSI or Law and Order are they really dealing with actual dead body and real crimes? On hospital dramas do they operate on real bodies?

Yes, wrestling is scripted. Yes, they know who will win the match before it begins. But they are athletes who do things most of us can't. And if the moves are done improperly they can be seriously injured.

I have been given a hard time for being an older man who likes wrestling. They say only kids should like wrestling.  I say why? If you enjoy something age should have nothing to do with it.

We are only here on planet Earth for a relatively short period of time.  I believe there are times to learn the spiritual lessons we are here to learn. There are times to live and enjoy life as much as possible. And there are a lot of times where both the spiritual lessons and life enjoyment are one in the same.

And as long as whatever you enjoy is not spiritually corrupt, you shouldn't be judged for what you do.

Wisconsin or Cairo?

Am I the only person who is disturbed by the scenes of people storming the Wisconsin legislature and taking the place over on Thursday?

As I was watching visions of Tiananmen Square in 1989 or Cairo, Egypt a couple weeks ago or even The Who concert in Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum in 1979. As far as I know, no one was injured on Thursday; but from  what I saw there looked to be an element of danger to it all.

To be honest I watch both Fox News and MSNBC for about two hours yesterday and I still feel like I don't really understand what the problem  is. The only understanding I feel I have is that the Republican governor is trying to balance the budget and the unions and the Wisconsin Democrats don't like it. In fact the Democrats fled to Illinois to not have to vote on things.  Again, maybe it's just me, but is leaving the state really the adult way to deal with things?

Is this were we are headed in this country?  Are we definitely going from not listening to each other and  name calling to storming Government buildings?  What is happening?

I always thought that one of the differences between being a child and an adult was that adults could act reasonably; talk about differences and find solutions.

Protesting and stating opinions  are good and appropriate. Storming buildings and fleeing problems is just childish.

Why do I feel like brushing up on the beginnings of the fall of the Roman Empire?

Randomness

Let me just start off with the disclaimer that I am just writing whatever comes to mind. Yes, believe or not I usually have an idea about what I am going to write. I know that its probably hard to tell that when you're reading what I write but I promise there is normally some kind of a cohesive thought process into what I write.

Once again I really would like some feedback in the hopes that I will get some  topic ideas. If I got on my knees and said "pretty please" would it help?

This makes me wonder how did Paul Harvey did "The Rest of the Story" for all those years? Or Andy Rooney at the end of "60 Minutes".  I am guessing they had editors or other people who suggested topics. I wish I could be as good as they were and are at making observations about the world around them. I don't think I will ever be nearly as good as them; but it is my  hope that by doing this on pretty much a daily basis I hope to get a lot better.

So the talks between Albert Pujols are stopping for now. The debate on ESPN as been whether or not this will be a distraction to the St Louis Cardinals.  I'm not sure why there is a debate. Every time the Cardinals go on the road, reporters while be asking  Albert and his teammates all kinds of  questions about his lack of a contract after this season. And you know one of the most constant questions will be "Is Albert's situation a distraction?". To which the answer should always  "Yes, as long as you media hounds keep asking the same questions it's a distraction. Now go away.".

I think that's all for now. I hope it wasn't too painful for you.

Technology and the human touch

In July it will be thirty years since Harry Chapin died in a car accident. Some of you who may be reading this may not know who he is. If I mention the songs "Cats in  the Cradle", "Taxi" or "Sequel" others may then remember him. To me, Billy Joel is the only singer/songwriter I prefer more than Harry. Although, the older I get the less I am sure who I like more, but I digress.

Technology and the internet can be wonderful things. Through the wonders of sites like youtube and iTunes; Harry and other artists who have moved on from this world, in a sense, remain alive. And I think that is a good thing.

Through Facebook, I can keep in touch with family; get back in touch with old high school friends; and I am hopefully slowly beginning a new friendship with in California. With sites like blogger.com or others like it. I and who knows how many people can get their views out there on any subject at all. And I think that is good.

Even with my cell phone even if I don't want to talk  family and friends, but, still keep in touch I can text them. And that can be a good thing. ....but ....

Then I see the commercial (I really can't think of the company its for) where even though the Dr is right next to the football player he texts the player that he is out for the season. Or the mother texting her family while they are sitting around the dinner table.  I know the point is that the calling plans are so low that you can afford to do that.

But I hope that there aren't families who live in the same house or area who only talk through internet or texting.  I hope that most friends and families get some human time together.  I hope that  technology is not taking away our humanness. That would not be such a good thing.

Someday might not come

I think Garth Brooks had it right  in his song If Tomorrow Never Comes  with the final verse: "So tell that someone that you love, Just what you're thinking of, If tomorrow never comes.


I have had an interesting day. I am happy to know that I am not the only one who dislikes Valentines day.  I don't think we should "need" special holiday to show our friends and family that we care for them.


Personally I think card companies, florists and candy makers are the main reasons for Valentines day and Mothers day specifically.


Ad if you are only showing how much you care about someone on those holidays how much do you really care about them?


I know that is one area I need to be better at. I am not particularly close with my Mom but I should be calling her a lot more often  then I do.


For Matt and Tara, if your reading this Thank you for kind of letting me back in your lives.


For  Melinda even though things didn't work out between us I am proud of you for raising your son on your own. I am sure  you are as good of a Mom as I thought you would be.


Lynnette you are a good sister. 


Michelle, I say Thank you every time I write you because any contact gives me hope. I now you don't consider me a friend but I hope that will come in time.


If there is anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis and  I don't know you Thank you. I know I am not  great writer but the idea that anyone, friend or not, reads anything I write means the world to me.


If I don't know you please leave a comment, who  knows we could be friends.


Thank you who ever you are.

We have forgotten

In Clinton's 1998 State of the Union Address, he warned Congress of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's possible pursuit of nuclear weapons:

Together we must also confront the new hazards of chemical and biological weapons, and the outlaw states, terrorists and organized criminals seeking to acquire them. Saddam Hussein has spent the better part of this decade, and much of his nation's wealth, not on providing for the Iraqi people, but on developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the missiles to deliver them. The United Nations weapons inspectors have done a truly remarkable job, finding and destroying more of Iraq's arsenal than was destroyed during the entire gulf war. Now, Saddam Hussein wants to stop them from completing their mission. I know I speak for everyone in this chamber, Republicans and Democrats, when I say to Saddam Hussein, "You cannot defy the will of the world", and when I say to him, "You have used weapons of mass destruction before; we are determined to deny you the capacity to use them again.^{[93] (source: wikipedia)}

I am happy I stumbled onto this quote, it effectively does for me what my weak research skills probably could not do.

I have heard too much criticism of President George H. W. Bush over the Iraq War. I have heard far too often that we had no reason for being there.

Does everyone forget that Saddam Hussein was killing his own people? I know that people do forget that it was the U.N Inspectors who found Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. I know that people have forgotten there were several U.N. Security resolutions against Iraq and Hussein ignored every one of them. In my opinion President Bush did what he should have done. In fact, I wish he had done more.

I honestly have no clue as to why public sentiment went against President Bush. But I suspect that its related to the growing strength of liberalism. And it is in that growing strength that something very important has been forgotten:


Where are the Weapons of Mass destruction?  They did not just vanish in thin air.


But the even more important question  for me is: Why have people just forgotten that they exist? Those are two questions that scare me.

I accept that for whatever reason we did not find WMD's in Iraq. My guess is that Saddam Hussein shipped them off to Afghanistan or Saudia Arabia or some country that was friendly to him.


But I am not OK with the fact that we have not aggressively tried to find out what happened to the chemical weapons. And I am not OK that this country has forgotten that the existed.


I just hope that people remember the WMD and look for them before more America pay the ultimate for our collective memory lapse.

The Presidents since Reagan

I truly believe that President Reagan was the last great President America has had. I also strongly believe that the Presidency has lost some of its stature. What happened? The following are my thoughts on that.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of President George H. Bush is, "Read my lips, no new taxes." I think that those words and his subsequent going back on those words doomed his bid for a second term. I don't think having Dan Quayle Vice President helped President Bush at all. When the Vice President is portrayed as young boy on Saturday Night Live; that's not good. When the  Vice President can't spell potato and spends time in a war of words with fictional character Murphy Brown that's even worse.

As I look back at the first President Bush, I think of a man who was too indecisive and who really didn't have the heart or determination for the Gulf War. And knowing what I know now I wonder how much different things would  have been for President  Bush II if his father had effectively dealt with Iraq and Saddam Hussein.

When I think of President Clinton I think of Monica Lewinsky, Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones and saxophones; oh, even though I try not too I think of Al Gore. I honestly believe that if President Clinton had concentrated on being President rather than the perks of being President he could have been very good.

President Clinton was the last President without a deficit and the economy, I believe, was much stronger than it is now. I believe that if President if it weren't for scandals and I believe a lack of dedication to his job  President Clinton could have been a better leader than he was.

While doing research for this posting I found a quote from President Clinton that is perfect for what I want to write about next. And it will help led into a couple of  things that I have not heard talked about and I think are extremely important for this country.

I will write about that tomorrow.

I wonder about people sometimes

Can someone please explain the big fuss over Cameron Diaz feeding Alex Rodriguez popcorn? I have heard a number of different views about it and I don't understand any of it. I even heard one guy complain about it being unsanitary. I think some are trying to say its unmanly to have a woman feed them. Let me tell you, if Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Aniston or just about any woman (I have been single waaaay too long) want to feed me anything; they can go right ahead.

And I heard that ARod got real angry about that video shot. Why? He has done worse things and has been talked in much more negative terms his whole career. He's mad about this?

Speaking of men with huge egos:  31 year old Albert Pujols wants $30 million dollars for 10 years to play first base or the St Louis Cardinals.When are these crazy salaries going to end? I think that contracts are now more about feeding egos than real player value.

And it really bugs me. For me, the hardest thing about being disabled is that I never really got the chance to play baseball. I had a Johnny Bench batters up that I spent a lot of time swinging the bat at in the back yard. And I spent time throwing a ball at the garage door. And I even did a little pitching in gym class. But I never had the chance to play Little League ball or even play on a real field.

The truth is the only thing I have ever been consistently passionate about since around 1974 is baseball. And on the Major League level they only seem to be playing for the money.  ARod is making $250 million, Cliff Lee $120 million, C C Sabathia $161 million and now Pujos wants $300 million?  When is enough   enough?

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the man who suspended Micheal Vick and Ben Roethisberger basically for conduct deterimental  to the league.  I would guess that he had knowledge of tickets being sold for seats that in reality did not exist.  Shouldn't he have stopped those sales? This was nothing but pure greed by the NFL. Anybody think Mr Goodell will be held accountable for his actions?

Superbowl related thoughts

I hope someone noticed that I was only 3 points off with my prediction. See, even I can be close to right every now and then.

Congratulations Aaron Rodgers, that was one of the best Superbowl performances I have ever seen. I personally think we are seeing the beginnings of the next best quarterback in the league. I can't wait to see where he goes from here.

Good bye Brett Farve. Sorry but I think you stayed two seasons too long. I lost respect for Farve during his last season in Green Bay when he wouldn't mentor Aaron Rogers. If he had the love and passion for the game that I thought he had Farve should have been willing to share his knowledge with Rodgers.

Is it another sign that your getting older when you realize that the Superbowl's Halftime show is intended for a younger  audience? By the way, the Blackeyed  Pea's Fergie looks way better without the eyebrow and lip rings. I don't get how piercing anywhere other than ears looks good. It's a huge turn off for me.

I understand why people are upset at Christina Aguilera's rendition of the National Anthem but I think some of the criticism is a little to harsh. It took me a few minutes to figure out what the right line was. I have also heard negative comments about her interpretation of the song I think it should be sung as written without embellishment but, the fault lies more with whoever hired her to sing that song. If you have heard Ms Aguilera sing before you should know she improvises.  I like the suggestion I saw that military band should be the only ones to pay the National Anthem.

Hey, it could have been worse, someone hired Roseanne Barr to sing the National Anthem     once.

Odds and ends

First off, my Superbowl prediction:  Green Bay 31 Pittsburgh 28.  Aaron Rodgers is fairly hot right now and I think that will basically be the difference.  I think it will hurt Pittsburgh that C Maurice Pouncey is out with an ankle injury. I know that Ben Roethlisberger has been practicing with Pouncey's  backup, Bruce Legursky; but it has been in practice and not real game situations. Also, this will be Legursky's first start ever and he will no doubt be incredibly nervous.

I do have a little reason to root for the Packers Linebacker A J Hawk is a fellow Centerville High School graduate. It's good to see someone from my hometown do good. There is only one other well known person from C-ville that I know of and I like watching Kirk Herbstreit every fall.

The only bad thing about the Superbowl is that after it's over I will be bored until I can see spring training baseball in March. The only thing I don't like about where I live is tat none of the MLB teams train here. I think I will spend some of my time writing my division and playoff and World series predictions. You have been warned.  ;)

One of the any things I don't get (I can hear the wisecracks already) is why some people feel the need to go out of their way to tell people they don't like. I don't mean other bloggers. Everyday I view sport sites and read articles and columns. Most of the times people can post comments about the subject.  For some reason on occasion someone will leave a comment that basically says, "I hate baseball/football" and explain why.

For example today I read an article that talked about steelworkers in Pittsburgh who have to work tomorrow and Monday. If the workers don't show up or have valid excuses they will be fired. Most of the comments were reasonable and the majority seemed to be that jobs are more important than football. Even I agree with that.

But one wrote that she didn't understand how people could like a violent thing like football. And that football promotes beer drinking and she doesn't like people who drink beer. She is more than entitled to her opinion and more power to her. But why go to a site that specifically talks about football and say you don't like it?

I don't go to MSNBC and write about how I don't like them and ask an inappropriate question I want to ask.  That just wouldn't be right.

Remembrances of President Ronald Reagan's America pt 2

I look back to the early to mid 80's as being a good and positive time. Do I do so because of  President Reagan and what was going in this country? Or do I remember it positively because I was coming of age and I think most of us look back at that time of our lives fondly? I'm really not sure.

I do know that the hostages coming home; the Miracle on Ice; and the 1984 Olympics were events which unified the country. The level of Patriotism was at its strongest back then and except for a brief time after 9/11 we as a nation may never be that united ever again.

Am I saying everything was perfect then? No. Even f I look beyond the fact that I couldn't get a date no matter what I did things weren't perfect.

Unfortunately, AIDES was just beginning to be known about back then. And I think the country did not handle that very  well early on.

On of the complaints I read yesterday was that President Reagan's trickle down economics didn't work. As I have  written before I don't really understand economics so I can't really talk about it from that angle. I can say I never understood how giving tax breaks to the rich helped the middle and lower classes.

And the best example I can give for that is Major League Baseball's revenue sharing. Any team that spends $100 million (I think that's the amount) pays a Luxury Tax. That money is then divided up between the teams that spent under a certain  amount. The problem with that is the owners of the other teams don't have to put that money back into operating their teams,  By the same token, if you give tax breaks to the rich how do you know they will put that money back into their businesses or in any way help the economy?

Another criticism of President Reagan I read was that he raised our national debt. I believe  he did it because our military needed to be strengthened. The Soviet Union was a real threat and the USA needed to do at we could to lessen the threat.

Unlike the current President who is rapidly increasing our national debt to fun his social agenda.

In conclusion, was President Regan perfect? No. But I do think he was the best President we have had so far in my life. . And he was the kind of President others should aspire to be like.

Remembrances of President Ronald Reagan's America pt 1

During this week of what would have been President Reagan's 100th birthday many stories will be written and I am sure that there will be plenty discussions about him on the cable news channels.

Earlier today I read a good article on CNN.com by Ed Rollins entitled, "Ronald Reagan restored faith in America''  The article was pretty much what I would expect for someone who worked  for President Reagan.

The majority of comments about the article I  saw were negative. Although, I did not totally disagree with some of negative comment about  President  Reagan. I will write about that later.

There was part of one comment that got my attention: Seenan wrote "...Reagan is sort of a mythical person at this point some people remember him the way they want to remember and not the way he was". That is an interesting thought although I wander  if anybody really remembers how things really were after 30 years?

I don't know about anyone else but I wonder how accurately I remember what actually happened in the early 80's. Seems to me I have more impressions of what happened back then. And this led me to mentally go back.

I was a freshmen at Centerville {Oh) High School in 1980. My freshman year I was the only disabled person in a school of about 2,000 students. I would like to take a moment to thank any classmates who were there at the time. Over the years, I have heard terrible stories of how other disabled  or "different'' people have been poorly treated and bullied  in high school. In my experience I always felt like I fit in and I never was made to feel "less than". And I am very grateful for that.

At the time that President Reagan took office the Iran Hostage crisis was still going on. That was the first "worldly issue" I remember really being aware of. Up until that time anything outside of the Dayton area that didn't involve MLB or the NFL or music was not worthy of my attention.

This is about the time I remember beginning to understand the Cold War with Russia. I remember talk of President Reagan having his finger on the "red button" and the underlying possibility of nuclear war. But as a kid really just starting to grasp a world concept, the possibility of nuclear war was the only negative about the President.

For the most part I remember a feeling of prosperity and of unity as a country. And I seem to recall debates between Republicans and Democrats but it was nothing like the guttural, juvenile name calling that goes on on cable TV and online today.  But maybe if we had as many cable news channels and the internet back then it would be similar;  but I would like to think not.

To be continued....

Airport security

As I begin  post I must disclose I have only flown only once in my life. So I have very little experience with airports and security.

I do not understand, at all, why people are so upset at pat downs and full body scans as a part of airport security. I know that as a collective country we seem to have short memories; but, are our memories so bad that we can' remember ten years ago?

It's February 2011 people, in 17 days Dale Earnhardt will have been gone ten years. In 213 days the World Trade Center's Twin Towers collapsed. The Pentagon was flown into and the White House was targeted.

How did  these things happen? Nineteen hijacker with knives and chemical agents commandeered four commercial airplanes from Boston, Newark and Washington D.C..  Let me put it another way: 19 men who hated American ideals and principles used carry on luggage, pockets and whatever else they could to smuggle weapons onto the planes with the full intention of flying those planes into buildings and kill as many Americans as possible.

And people are upset that they are being touched and scanned to make sure they get to wherever they are going safely? I don't get that, people would rather take the chance of something getting through security than to do everything possible to minimize the risk?

I believe secrets are hurtful no matter what or where they are. Secrets at airports can kill.

As I begin  post I must disclose I have only flown only once in my life. So I have very little experience with airports and security.

I do not understand, at all, why people are so upset at pat downs and full body scans as a part of airport security. I know that as a collective country we seem to have short memories; but, are our memories so bad that we can' remember ten years ago?

It's February 2011 people, in 17 days Dale Earnhardt will have been gone ten years. In 213 days the World Trade Center's Twin Towers collapsed. The Pentagon was flown into and the White House was targeted.

How did  these things happen? Nineteen hijacker with knives and chemical agents commandeered four commercial airplanes from Boston, Newark and Washington D.C..  Let me put it another way: 19 men who hated American ideals and principles used carry on luggage, pockets and whatever else they could to smuggle weapons onto the planes with the full intention of flying those planes into buildings and kill as many Americans as possible.

And people are upset that they are being touched and scanned to make sure they get to wherever they are going safely? I don't get that, people would rather take the chance of something getting through security than to do everything possible to minimize the risk?

I believe secrets are hurtful no matter what or where they are. Secrets at airports can kill.