One weekend a month, Two weeks a year my ass

I was saddened, nay, sickened, to read a story on Antiwar.com, which is my homepage. I usually check up each morning on the stories going around. That story, of twenty soldiers from one town in Ohio all dying within two days over in Iraq, is daunting. Something I noticed in the story was that fourteen of the twenty were reservists. These are men and women whom are only supposed to be used as a last-ditch resort, in the direst of circumstances.

This brought my thoughts to another arm of our military - The National Guard. These people are only supposed to be serving within the united states, guarding our nation at home. It was determined in 1889 that the President had no right to send the National Guard outside of the United States to fight in a war; in this case the Spanish-American War. Of course, we all know that they have done so througought our history since then; three quarters of the first troops to fight in the Phillipines were National Guards, and they also played an important role in World War One, to name a couple of instances.

But if one were to review the advertising machinery that is the main recruiting force for the National Guard, one sees that the image presented is not one of a branch that travels all over the globe, fighting insurgencies in foreign countries. No, if one were to watch the advertisements, you get the idea that the National Guard has little to do with the actual fighting. I remember, during my time as a member of the U.S. Air Force, being in Germany and seeing the picture of the C-130 cargo/transport plane that the Guardsmen in Iraq had written on. It said, in bright paint on the side, "Two Weeks a Year Our Asses!"

I always wondered what happened to them as far as disciplinary action went, but I'm sure it was worth it.

America, FUCK YEAH!

I saw the movie SICKO a couple weeks ago. It was great, and basically just more information that I already knew. It was just driven in more by the movie. I've said since about 2005 that I've wanted to move to Canada (specifically, Vancouver) when I graduated from college in 2007 or a while after establishing my career as a teacher say in 2009 or 2010. Now, it's about time to graduate, but moving is not legally possible for me. I got seperated in 2005 and the divorce was finalized in 2006. I have fifty percent custody now, and would not leave my son for anything. So now my plans are on hold until he's at least eighteen.

I really am so sick of this country. I'm so sick of hearing people saying that we are the best country in the world. What is the criteria?

Health care? The U.S. (I refuse to say "we") is #37. (source)

Education? I can't find the specific stats but we are like 33% lower than the mean of developed countries. I think we are like #52 in the world or something. The best source I could find in a quick google search was wikipedia which I know isn't the best "academic" source.

Beyond those, people will say that we offer democracy and freedoms on an unprecedented scale. Well, unprecedented is probably a word beyond the capacity of most people that still consider this country a great place. Well, for one, I know for a fact that England, Canada, and France offer just as much, if not more, freedom for individuals than the U.S. does. And what about The Netherlands? This country offers as much freedom as America, plus the ability to decide what one does with one's own consciousness. What a concept!

We could say that just about every other developed country in the world offers more opportunities than the U.S. because they offer more chances to learn and be healthy, two key stipulations in pursuing happiness, life, and liberty.

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Was there a Jesus? Is the Bible true?

You should go here and buy there DVD. It is fascinating. It deals with our modern mythology, Christ, the Bible, and drug use and drug history. It's very interesting and a fun watch. I've followed these guys since about 2002 and they really have their stuff together.

http://gnosticmedia.com/

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I am so tired of not learning anything in my University classes

I spent a year at a Glendale Community College, and the caliber of teachers was much higher than it is here at Arizona State University. I have no idea why the teachers were better there. Perhaps it is because these ones have a sort of hubris due to PhDs and having a "I'm a University Professor" attitude?

For example, today in class we talked about:

- collapsible runways that can save lives in plane crashes
- how English is the major language of the world
- how to use google documents
- whether or not independents can vote in the primary elections
- what country the teacher is from and how she doesn't want to get full citizenship

What is the class about? How to write persuasively. Now, it's not as if I am just starting college and not understanding that some professors use unrelated subjects to get at the main point. I am a senior who will graduate with my B.A. in December. I understand that, but after 3 weeks of a 5 week class, I am well aware that this instructor is not using this method. It has been this way with every instructor here; we ramble and discuss and debate various things for the class period, all of which are unrelated to the thing I am paying $1,200 to learn about.

I learned far more at GCC. Here at ASU, at one of the most accredited teacher-prep programs in the nation, I spend 75% of my class time on my laptop playing games and blogging.

Another thing is how scary it is that most of these people in my classes will be teachers soon. I mean, really. They are so uneducated and unintelligent. Classes drag on for so long and go into so many unrelated topics because of people asking these off-the-wall questions. Right now, as we speak, I am half-listening to someone talk about how to use "sophisticated" words such as "binary" in everyday conversation. Wait, no, now they're talking about doing crossword puzzles in the New York Times. Oh wait, no, they're talking about yahoo games and how it helps you solve the puzzles with hints.

Anyways...

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Interesting Blog...

This blog is one of a friend that I ran into. It's pretty witty and is mostly about travel, politics, and Malaysia. The blog is by someone that I had met online a few years ago, and just got caught up with after not having spoken in a while. If you get time, swing by and check it out.

http://areureadingthis.blogspot.com/