Gettin Bit

"Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday blamed the global economic crisis on 'white people with blue eyes' and said it was wrong that black and indigenous people should pay for white people’s mistakes."

This is a fairly ignorant accusation by the president of Brazil. Is he indigenous or did he come from Portuguese decent? All of us carry around biases about people. It might be race, but it also might be language, religion or a whole host of other reasons. So I'm not going to hold Prez Silva's ignorance against him. I know I say stupid and ignorant things sometimes.

But the thing that really bothers me about Prez Silva's statement is his lack of responsibility. Non-white people are just as much a part of the problem as white people. The current economic problem is due to a wide range of mistakes; i.e. greed. Greed has a tendency to affect whites, blacks, browns, half breeds, etc.

Since Prez Silva wants to lump me in with the term "white" I wonder if he would appreciate being called a derogatory term based on his skin color. I mean what's the difference? He calls me white, but what the heck does that mean? I come from at the very least five different nationalities. I'm not exactly a purebred.

If people do not want to take responsibility for their own predicament then I have little sympathy for them.

On a side note:
Sometimes the past has a habit of coming back and biting us.

Since the late 1400s the white man has been treating other races like crap. Things started to change with the European whites in the 1800s and then the US in the 1960s, but it wasn't soon enough apparently.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ae4957e8-1a5f-11de-9f91-0000779fd2ac.html

My World is Coming to an End

I often wonder if I am headed in the right direction. Have I made the right decisions? I know I've made mistakes, but have I made the right "Big" decisions?

I have always been taught that if we believe in God and listen to his word, the Bible, then we will be okay. I sort of believe that and I definitely believe there is a higher power out there, but the Bible doesn't give me a full perspective on life. Maybe it's the time difference; the fact that the great book was written 2000+ years ago.

We visited Yorktown, VA. The last major battle of the US revolutionary war against the English. The Americans were outnumbered, out gunned, and running. Washington thought that the battle of New York City was the endgame. Then the French showed up and said, "hey, we'll help you out but we are only going to go to Virginia. We will not help you in New York." Four days later Washington scrapped his attack plans for New York and had plans to move the troops 400 miles south to Virginia.

The French and Americans laid siege to Yorktown and captured 5000 British troops. 1/3 of their army in the colonies. Game over for the British. Six months prior to this battle General George Washington wrote in letters to those closest to him that he didn't see any hope for the revolution.

We also visited the Wright Brothers memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC. Orville and Wilbur Wright were the first people to fly an airplane with an engine in 1903. In 1901-1902 their testing had failed. Wilbur turned to his brother and said something like this, "Not in 1000 years will man learn to fly." A year later they were flying.

These two examples in modern US history have taught me that sometimes things are not what they seem. Sometimes we give up too early. Sometimes I've been tempted to give up and these examples have given me a reason to rethink some of the doubts and worries I have been having over the last few weeks.

Lighthouses in OBX, NC

Drink'n and Cuss'n

On the last night of our vacation I can't sleep. Christa flies home tomorrow morning at 530 and I'm off to South Carolina and New York this week. In all honesty it was hard to stay focused on relaxing with all the crap going on in the 'real' world.



While on vacation we met John Gaskill. He is 93 years old, a WW2 Vet and his father was the last full-time care taker of this lighthouse in the Outer Banks, NC.

John is one cool guy. His stories are too many to tell here, but he wrote an autobiography which I hope to read real soon.



While taking the above picture he said, "I like getting me picture taken with young ladies like you. It's when I get my hugs."

Another quote from him:
"People often ask me how I've lived this long and I tell them there are two reasons. Drink'n and cuss'n."

To which my wife replied while pointing her finger at me, "Well that's great. That means this one is going to live a long time."

John was one of the great memories we will have while vacationing in the OBX, NC.

Oh Canada

This Jeep is located in an exhibit at the Ottawa Civilizations Museum on the history of the Canadian postal service. I snapped the quick pic mainly because I like Jeeps. We own one and I just thought it was cool.

This is a photo taken from the Civilizations Museum looking across the river at Parliament Hill. For those of you that don't know, Ottawa is the national capitol of Canada.

I find it interesting how little we (US citizens) know about Canada and their history. Fact: Canada is our largest trading partner. There is a lot in the news about China, but Canada is our #1 economic friend.

As I drove around Ottawa I noticed the English influences. From the narrow roads to their form of government to their road signs.

The drive from Ottawa to the western edge of Montreal was like a drive on rural interstates in the U.S. (The only difference were the Moose crossing road signs.)

The main thing I noticed while driving into Montreal was that the English disappeared. If my Canadian friend hadn't told me about the Montreal road rules I'm sure I would have broken a few. We met at a bookstore, grabbed a bite at a sports bar, and walked around a mall. It was almost like being at home. Except...the French.

Overall, I was reminded that we (world citizens) have a lot in common. We may be separated by boundaries and language but we all have some of the same issues and concerns. It makes the world seem a little bit smaller to me. This realization is one of the things I enjoy about traveling.

Wow

I just heard Bill Maher and his black homie say that Rush Limbaugh was a racist. You know, I voted for Obama, but the B.S. from the extremist left really infuriates me.

I find it humorous (and stupid) when black people and their white homies yell, "You're a racist because you don't agree with Obama's policies."

Here's what makes me angry:
1. The Above.
2. Republicans that tow the party line on social issues like abortion and gay rights.

I'm not going to say they are idio*s, but I think they're ignoran*.

Ayn Rand Rocks!

One Weekend

Prior to our arrival we were informed that we were in store for an exciting weekend in Sioux City, Iowa.

a birthday party for our nephew

our sister-in-law was inducted into the Hall of Fame at her alma mater (track and field)

to be capped by a Monster Truck Show

I was so excited about the Monster Trucks that I attempted to get ill in order to have an excuse to go to mom and dad's to "rest".