Question to Senator McCain

Quote from Cnn article, quoting Senator McCain on repeal of DADT, "'The most fundamental thing we could do to honor the sacrifice of our troops is to take the time to hear their views,' McCain said Tuesday."
I cannot claim to understand soldiers or their minds, I thank them for their service, I know I could not do what they are asked to do, but I have two questions for the Senator:
1. Since when have soldiers views been important. "[Gen. James] Amos made clear that he would oversee a repeal if ordered to do so. 'The Marine Corps is probably one of the most faithful services you have in our country,' Amos said. 'And if the law is changed by Congress and signed by the president of the United States, the Marine Corps will get in step and do it smartly.'" Soldiers take orders from the President and Congress, their views have nothing to do with others' rights.
2. Aren't these complaints the same made when Truman integrated blacks into the Armed Services, weren't the surveys predominantly negative about that? How about when women were allowed to fight?
Given, again, I have no idea what a soldier has to deal with, but most of the rest of the world is ahead of us on recognizing homosexuals rights to fight to protect our rights and way of life.

Url: http://m.cnn.com/primary/_xKrMcZ-iaymbY1mxQY

Posted from blogger-droid, laying in bed, typed with thumbs and no revising.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.9

Tea party candidates

I have a simple question. Are the tea party wackos, sorry, candidates Paul, Angle, Miller and O'Donnell, and might as well toss in Bruer, going to be able to get elected without having to face an mildly neutral press? Is that the lowest democracy can get? The press is at a low point, but they are supposed to weed out the wackos before they get this far. And it would not be difficult, let these people talk for more than a few minutes, with a real follow up question, and they should melt like Margaret Mitchell getting off the plane in Seattle. So the press has been stymied by the mama gizzly press pattern, and meaningless most of the rest of the time, but will voters, actual voters, not polls or lamestream media (not used ironically, and it hurts a little) memes, vote for someone they don't know, who won't allow themselves to be vetted by sanity? Will the country survive until the object lesson is learned that you need to pay attention, at least a little bit? I was hoping the election of Barack Obama would bring a respect for intelligence back into American life, but with news rooms run by program execs who go for the shiniest objects, I have been proven wrong.

I forgot, who was I complaining about in this?

Written with androblogger, lying in bed, typed with thumbs and not edited.

Movie and test

Went to see Kids Are All Right, enjoyed it a great deal, very interesting story and characters I cared about and wanted to see what happened.
also a test of blogger-droid app.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.4

Post Jazzfest Random thoughts

On the City of New Orleans headed to Chicago, listening to Justin Verlander dominate the Angels, (thanks to MLB atbat for android), reading about oil spill and its potential effect on the wetlands that protect this region while they go rolling by my window (thanks to free NYT from hotel). The freshwater wetlands have been decimated by the actions of man and nature over the last decades; man has diverted the critical silt from the Mississippi that used to replenish what nature would take away via ocean and storm erosion, and oil companies have cut channels through them that allow saltwater to infiltrate the marshes. This and the work still required to rebuild from Katrina got me thinking of a goal for next year.
I want to do some research and find an organization that could use unskilled labor, like myself, for a week to clean/rebuild wetlands or work on rebuilding neighborhoods in New Orleans. I am sure the organizations exist, I hope I am strong enough to help out. I would want something where I arrive on mid-day Sunday, start working early Monday, sleep at group house or something until friday or saturday. Then maybe head to biloxi for a few days of golf, beach and gambling, to NOLA on Wednesday for second weekend of Jazzfest, sounds like a good two weeks. I wonder if I could do something that all of that time is not charged as vacation.
One thing I feel really good about is taking the train this weekend. Been a good experience, except for the shower, not recommended, and about same cost as flight would have been, plus free meals. Would like to see wifi and more power plugs in sleeper cabins, hopefully that is coming.
I am all in for Jazzfest next year, that is for sure. And I need to be in better shape to handle the day and go out at night, couldn't do it this time. Missed a couple great shows at Tipitinas last night apparently, but so tired and sore, and either getting cold or sinus infection, and couldn't do it. Met fun people, heard great music, had great food, even tried alligator pie, crawfish bread, shrimp and sausage crawe mache (spelling way off). Also had two glorious orders of Cafe du Monde beignets.
Only disappointment, other than me, was what Bourbon Street has become. I hadn't been there for ten years, but, except for the seafood or other fine restaurants, it seems like more a charactature of itself, a drinking olympics, an overly exaggerated movie frat house. I had no desire to be there after dark. Plus there seemed to be very little live music that was not rock/pop/dance cover bands, seemed like there were more good, unique live music locales in previous trips. Maybe I am too old, but how many Big Ass Beer stands and strip clubs are needed; I think there were 5 times as many strip clubs as ten years ago. They must be working though, or they would be shutting down.
Another note about jazzfest, you can go to noJazzfestlive.com and download selected shows, this is a great idea and I hope they can expand the show selection in the future, but most of it is probably rights issues.
I plan to be back in 2011, NOLA.

Post Jazzfest Random thoughts

On the City of New Orleans headed to Chicago, listening to Justin Verlander dominate the Angels, (thanks to MLB atbat for android), reading about oil spill and its potential effect on the wetlands that protect this region while they go rolling by my window (thanks to free NYT from hotel). The freshwater wetlands have been decimated by the actions of man and nature over the last decades; man has diverted the critical silt from the Mississippi that used to replenish what nature would take away via ocean and storm erosion, and oil companies have cut channels through them that allow saltwater to infiltrate the marshes. This and the work still required to rebuild from Katrina got me thinking of a goal for next year.
I want to do some research and find an organization that could use unskilled labor, like myself, for a week to clean/rebuild wetlands or work on rebuilding neighborhoods in New Orleans. I am sure the organizations exist, I hope I am strong enough to help out. I would want something where I arrive on mid-day Sunday, start working early Monday, sleep at group house or something until friday or saturday. Then maybe head to biloxi for a few days of golf, beach and gambling, to NOLA on Wednesday for second weekend of Jazzfest, sounds like a good two weeks. I wonder if I could do something that all of that time is not charged as vacation.
One thing I feel really good about is taking the train this weekend. Been a good experience, except for the shower, not recommended, and about same cost as flight would have been, plus free meals. Would like to see wifi and more power plugs in sleeper cabins, hopefully that is coming.
I am all in for Jazzfest next year, that is for sure. And I need to be in better shape to handle the day and go out at night, couldn't do it this time. Missed a couple great shows at Tipitinas last night apparently, but so tired and sore, and either getting cold or sinus infection, and couldn't do it. Met fun people, heard great music, had great food, even tried alligator pie, crawfish bread, shrimp and sausage crawe mache (spelling way off). Also had two glorious orders of Cafe du Monde beignets.
Only disappointment, other than me, was what Bourbon Street has become. I hadn't been there for ten years, but, except for the seafood or other fine restaurants, it seems like more a charactature of itself, a drinking olympics, an overly exaggerated movie frat house. I had no desire to be there after dark. Plus there seemed to be very little live music that was not rock/pop/dance cover bands, seemed like there were more good, unique live music locales in previous trips. Maybe I am too old, but how many Big Ass Beer stands and strip clubs are needed; I think there were 5 times as many strip clubs as ten years ago. They must be working though, or they would be shutting down.
Another note about jazzfest, you can go to noJazzfestlive.com and download selected shows, this is a great idea and I hope they can expand the show selection in the future, but most of it is probably rights issues.
I plan to be back in 2011, NOLA.

Post about droid from droid 4 months later.

I am feeling some pretty heavy buyers remorse about the Droid (© Lucasfilm)
I wrote the above sentence about two weeks after I bought the Droid, in late December. While a few things are better, still not overly happy with the product, 4 months later.
I don't understand why it is so difficult to integrate more google products onto my droid, i figured it would be a walking version of google.com, including docs, reader, calendar, mail. some of these things are there, but for example, i spent a lot of time creating a calendar on google.com with my favorite sports team schedules, because i thought i would be able to see that on my phone, no such luck, very frustrating.

My overall impression of the operating system is that it should have been farther along by now, it seems like it should have been a leapfrog to iphone, where it just feels like some things are better and some worse, and a lot the same. Hasn't this OS been out for a while?

Also on the OS front, why is google allowing so many versions to exist at once? There are devices being sold with versions 1.5, 1.6, 2.0 and 2.1. I thought developers learned not to do this long ago.

Lastly, for the moment, I am shocked that the largest search company in the world would allow their phone application delivery program, Android Market to have such a momumentally bad search feature. I get the impression they are saying, "Stop saying we are becoming evil, see what we could do to the world?"

So google, do something with the Android OS to make it great or stop, please. This isn't something that can grow over time if it doesn't seem that innovative. I will say I like google maps navigation, except when I am told my destination is in the middle of I-75, but I can't move my stuff from itunes onto my phone? Car mode should allow a new link so I can record voice memos, or use text to speech while driving, why is my droid speaker so pathetic? Thats on Motorola, but this phone doesn't feel like it matches the Droid Does hype.

Great quote

"There are two kinds of people, those that allow reality and experience to define and constantly modify their ideas and those who insist that their ideas define reality. The first kind make things work. The second type (be they right wing creationists, or progressive purists) stand on the sidelines wringing their hands and criticizing the doers for their "heresy," because doing anything in the real world always equals compromise, learning and change. " Frank Schaeffer http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/obamas-critics-from-the-l_b_147173.html