Okay so one can read all that Wikipedia as available to say about leadership and you'll find that people have different ideas and versions of what leadership is or should be. We all speak about leadership in different terms and definitions but I think most Americans are "on the same street" , in general , about what true leadership should really be. Being the President of the United States is a leadership position; does President Barrack Obama understand this?

I become very frustrated and mad at having to put up with the attacks upon the President and his "Americanism". My "Americanism" is primarily associated with the fact that I was born here in Minnesota. And my family , going back to the 19th century , were all born in America. I do not look at my American citizenship as something that was given to me by somebody or something. I imbibed of the great American idea on my own decision. At this point I simply feel that I don't require the 13th , 14th , and 15th Amendments to the Constitution anymore because I was fucking born in America and I am American. I speak and walk and do everything else American , just like Barrack , and I don't need no fucking birth certificate anymore; either.

My opinion is that being an American means that you better be ready to fight for it. I feel that many of my ancestors came to understand this and accept it in real terms. Many real sacrifices were made to arrive at were America is today. So I wonder how would those early Americans feel about today? How would they feel about having the American President's "Americanism" questioned? Would they think it legitimate , fair , or acceptable behavior to actually ask is the President of the United States not an American?

We'll any Americans that are historically nuanced would know that many millions of Americans would readily accept this behavior. But , just like then in America , many millions of other Americans would consider this unacceptable behavior. I'm on the side of the Americans that would consider the behavior as unacceptable. So whose side is President Barrack Obama going to be on? And what kind of leader is he going to decide to be?

Actual battles were fought for Civil Rights in America. Yes they were principally fought by minority Americans but not always. I believe that , as Black Americans , we were fighting for our rights so that all Americans could have them. We fought so all Americans could have their "Americanism" respected. Regardless of were you lived or what color you were or what political party you decided to be a part of or how much fucking money you made. I believe I understand what being an American is and what the American way of life should be; does President Barrack Obama?

When I was young and fighting the Civil Rights wars I always thought in terms of what I would do as the leader. In other words what would I do if I was the President of the United States. I'm retired military and really see most things through a military prism so what would I do if I was the Admiral; Navy all the way? The point is that leadership as always been fundamental in my life. And the principal reason as to why stuff either works or does not. So what did President Barrack Obama fight for when he was young and what kind of leader does he plan to be now?

These attacks upon the President's "Americanism" are unacceptable and they are crossing the line. These attacks are Un-American. The President needs to exert influence and show leadership and deal with these attacks. It's acceptable to be against the President of the United States because he's Black. It's not acceptable to direct public oratory against the President's "Americanism" in the fashion that it as recently been.

President Barrack Obama needs to stop worrying about being the first Black American President and just be the President. He's the leader now. He can't sit by and allow this type of reproach to the Office of the President of the United States. Did Bush?

Look it's not as though I can't perceive the very tenuous reality of President Obamas unique historical position. Any real American leadership position held by a Black man is going to be tough. And I think Barrack feels he's going to violate the "Mad Black Man" syndrome. Samuel Jackson in "A Time To Kill" we all no that once the Black man got mad he lost. Bullshit. Barrack needs to be the President , exert some leadership and address these Americans who are attacking his "Americanism" illegitimately and under unfair terms.

The Americans attacking our President's "Americanism" are against him because he's a Black American. My opinion is that these same Americans are never going to "come forward" like other free thinking and fair minded Americans. These same Americans should realize that it's them who are the true "Un-Americans" and are violating some of our most intimate American credo by behaving and speaking in the fashions that they are choosing to do. If I were the President of the United States I wouldn't be as nice and "retiring" about this issue as it appears President Barrack Obama is choosing to be. President Barrack Obama needs to quit worrying about being the first Black President and just be the President.

<blockquote>The path of least resistance describes the physical or metaphorical pathway that provides the least resistance to forward motion by a given object or entity, among a set of alternative paths. The concept is often used to describe why an object or entity takes a given path.

In physics, the path of least resistance is always taken by objects moving through a system. For example, water flowing downhill follows the path of least resistance as it is pulled downward by gravity. Electricity flowing through a circuit behaves similarly; while every available path has some current flowing through it, the amount of current through each path is inversely proportional to its electrical resistance. Atmospheric disturbances (storms) flow on the path of least resistance by flowing toward zones of low barometric pressure, where lower air density offers less impedance to the storm system than higher pressure zones.

One exception to this rule is in the realm of quantum physics, where particles behave in a probabilistic rather than deterministic manner.

The path of least resistance is also used to describe certain human behaviors, although with much less specificity than in the strict physical sense. In these cases, resistance is often used as a metaphor for personal effort or confrontation; a person taking the path of least resistance avoids these. In library science and technical writing, information is ideally arranged for users according to the Principle of least effort, or the path of least resistance. Recursive navigation systems are an example of this. Wikepedia.</blockquote>

The principle , path of least resistance, has much to do with why the American people are in the trouble we are today. The American people are suffering consequences which are very much outside their ability to influence and control. The current calamity that the American people are suffering was brokered by a smaller group of people who are the real power brokers in the game. And the consequences brought on by this calamity are like water going down hill; it will seek the path of least resistance. So in reality the American people are suffering consequences literally because of the path of least resistance ; the American people are least able to defend themselves from suffering the consequences of this financial calamity.

Now I don't presume to be an expert of economics or of high level financing. But I'm not stupid all of the time; only part time and I can allow for that. Matt Taibii said in the recent Rolling Stone article that "normal people can't understand the lingo". Credit default swaps and such. But the common American person can still understand the behaviors of scoundrels. So when one reduces the current financial calamity of the world to it's common denominator; isn't what we're really talking about is the behavior of scoundrels.

The American people have been robbed in effect. It's our credit card that the brokers of this calamity are using to spread the money around. The people most responsible for the problem are doing just fine. So the folks at that "very small table" that were fundamentally responsible for causing the current world financial calamity , and they made money doing it , are now turning around making money solving it. God Dogged when are we going to be able to just hang a couple of these people. It would be justice for those we hang and a severe lesson to those remaining that might even think about pulling this type of financial mischief in the future.

Not only have the American people been robbed but we have been blamed. That's where the myth associated with the housing bubble comes in. Let's be clear. I do not accept that it was people buying homes that they arguably couldn't afford that caused the world financial calamity. When have Americans let not "being able to pay for anything" stop us from buying anything and paying for it to. You know what I mean. As a matter of fact the American art form of ongoing procurement is what , we were told , is the chief contributing factor that made the American economy successful. The argument of the people buying homes they couldn't afford is being used to point blame unfairly. One could even argue that it's being used to divert attention from where it should be when considering real causal effects of our current financial problems. So the American people have had their money stole in a scheme and then we were double-schemed in being blamed. Forget Bin Laden; I want to hang a couple of the guys or gals at that "very small table". We have to reverse the path of least resistance. We have to make this current financial calamity consequential to those that did it.

So I have hope and expectations for President Obama. I expect him to be on the side of the American people when considering his decisions and how to deal with this problem. The American government should work at the behest of the American people and consider what is best for them and their futures and not for the powerbrokers who are more interested in selfish power and short term gain for themselves. Until then lest make the effort to reverse the path of least resistance. At least a little bit.

What if it were possible to take every single American out of America and put them all in a big room. Just imagine a room that big. And these Americans would be able to maintain all of the life experiences and such that they have had to the point of being taken to this room. That would be everything except the color of their skin. We would somehow be left colorless. And then one of the worlds Gods came into the room. You know one of them that is all powerful and knows everything and everybody; you've heard the stories. And this God let everybody know that he would allow everybody to pick the color that they would want to be before coming back to America. Now with all of your American knowledge and experiences intact WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU TELL GOD YOU WANTED TO BE.

This is the crux of a editorial I wrote years back to try to give perspective to being "Black in America"? We Americans know the truth about our country and who we are and how we behave and who we've been. The truth is many millions of Americans would jump at the chance to get rid of the burden of "Being Black In America". Many millions of Americans would not want to be a Black American even if they were rich. Let's tell the truth; under the circumstances that I've listed in the above story we know that God would not be surprised to find out that Black would not be the most popular pick of skin color when given the chance to pick. Just a little perspective about what "Being Black In America" is about.

Now I'm not complaining; my Grandpa raised me to stand up for myself and to respect who I am and where I came from. He also taught me reality and how to deal with it. My Grandpa typifies many Black people and would use the metaphor to teach. That's why many Black people will answer a question with a story instead of a direct answer; it's cultural. And to describe the typical life of a American Black man he would use the baseball metaphor. Grandpa would say "Boy just remember when your in the batters box the count is always going to be 3 and 2 and you're only going to get one pitch". It was Grandpa's way of preparing me for what I had to deal with. Thanks Grandpa.

I'm not complaining at all. On the other hand I wouldn't have had it any other way. Being "Black In America" sets you up for a special challenge in one of the worlds most unique countries. When you're "Black In America" it's hard to escape it. Your Blackness follows you into any venue you exist in. Job, community , education , traveling , love relationships , friendships , military service , business , and you get the point. There is no part of live that is not effected by "Being Black In America". In many cases "Being Black In America" is a burden because you just can't just be a man or a regular person like others are allowed to be. "Being Black In America". You can replace Black with Indian, Mexican, Puerto Rican , or any other non white minority person. And you definitely can replace Black with Women of any color and my contention would still apply.

I whish that it didn't have to be like this. It would be nice if we all could just be people together and except the reality of the fact that we are more family then not. That the true group is one of all people together and that the color is not the principal factor that differentiates us.

America was taken from the indigenous people that were here; most to many of the American Indians were killed. From the first ambush of the Pequot people of Massachusetts to the last ambush at Wounded Knee of the Sioux; Indian people paid a stiff price while attempting to stand up for their freedooms and their lands. To know of the past greatnest of the Indian nations and to consider their current pliight is an abysmal thought. The stories of any non-white peoples of American history are similar. The stories of any woman are also similar in the same way.

Muhammad Ali took part in the 1960 Olympics in Italy. And on a vidieo of the time Ali is shown talking to two Italian men. And they are confronting him about why he fights for a country that does not respect him or want him. Ali pondered the point for a moment and looked at the camera and said "we're working on it". And we are. Black Americans made the decisions to be a part of the American experience long ago. And we are not going back.

I do not comment on Americas past to be abrasive or argumentative in any way. And I'm not asking for any slack or help in any way. Fussing with my fellow Americans is not going to solve anything per se. But to ignore the true history of our country and who we really are is a problem. And you must give way to the true past if you're to live in the present time effectively. The problems of color in America and the associated issues that come with it must be acknowledged and dealt with in true terms; and in all of it's reality. And until that time America and it's reality will always be problematic; we should strive more for the great American idea and move away from it's reality.

So doesn't the Chris Dodd revelation just about surmise it all? You could just see the guilt all over Senator Chris Dodd's face when the revelation came out that it was himself that allowed for the bonuses to be paid to the AIG folks. When you add in the revelation of who did receive "donations" from AIG it's clear on how the move to garner influence over our elected leaders was done. You can even look at the situation as now being beyond AIG garnering influence over our elected leaders. One can look at this situation as Senator Dodd willing to just do the work of AIG. And to simply ignore the reality that this decision works against his own constituents and the rest of the American people. AIG bought and paid for Senator Chris Dodd.

There is an upside to this. And that would be that the American people see our elected leadership for who they really are and who they really work for. I'm from an American community that typically as gotten a more truthful look for who our leadership is prepared to be. American elected leadership has historically never felt the need to pretend good and fair treatment to the American Black community in general. Hence the American Black community as had the opportunity to see these folks for who they really are and what they're really prepared to do. The American Indian community would also have had reason to share the same experience. Also the American women , of all backgrounds , would probably agree with this contention applying to them. So the truth is that our American elected leadership have shown more representation for the people that have paid for them over those of us who have elected them. Chris "I'll Compromise Myself For Money" Dodd and what he did is a great metaphor for what's wrong with our America currently.

So what do we do now? How do we expect to help our America when we have lying liars and malicious criminals who seem to lack discretion and ethical behavior in the elected leadership positions of our country? It's almost like being a vulnerable child and finding out that your own parents are malicious towards caring for you and have no intentions of caring for you under honorable conditions. I know that our elected leadership does not maintain the special place our parents do; for those of you that were lucky enough to have them. But I believe that the American people expected our elected leaders to be in it for what would be better for us; the people that elected them. We should now look at our elected leadership for the mercenary politicians that they really are.

I like and follow Bill Maher and I think that he had a great idea two weeks ago on his show. Bill Maher came right out and said that we should hang a couple of the people that caused this latest calamity in America. I agree with Bill Maher. When is it going to be consequential to those , at the top , that cause historical problems like what America is experiencing now. We have citizens in prisons all over America for what many Americans would refer to as "bullshit" charges. Yet these "mercenary leaders" can totally screw up our current American reality , spend most of our fiduciary future under dishonest circumstances , and bastardize the delivery of our American form of governing; and they are still allowed to remain in their well paying jobs ready to do more damage to the American people. Why should anybody like Bin Laden worry about attacking America when they have our own leadership to do it instead. Senator Chris Dodd and other American leaders like him are no more then "Trojan Horses" to the effective running of our righteous American way of governance. We should find a way to "get rid" of them.

I was ten years old and playing Midget baseball. My position was in center field and the ball was hit to me. I positioned myself to make the catch and taped the glove like I had saw the pros do before they caught the ball. I prepared to catch the "can of corn". Boom I missed the catch and the ball went right past my glove and hit me right in the forehead. I was down and crying and the coach came to my rescue. He got me together and the game was restarted. The very next hit was to me , again , in center field; a beautiful fly ball and another "can of corn". Bam the same thing; the ball went right by my glove and cracked me right in the forehead. This time when the coach came out and got me back together he moved me to third base. He told me that you're not an outfielder and that you will be an infielder. I played third base for my entire baseball and softball playing career. I'm sixty and I still play and love the game. I still play third base and Brooks Robinson, third base for the Baltimore Orioles , is still my all time baseball hero. I love and respect the game still. 

Does Alex Rodriquez respect the game? My believe is that Alex Rodriquez is a lying piece of Yankee shit. Now I will admit to my anti Yankee feelings. I was raised in 1950's and 1960's America. Most kids outside of New York were "Yankee haters". The Yankees have always represented the aristocracy of baseball. They were the pampered , and the upper crust of baseball and they acted like their "shit didn't stink". The Yankees were the team we most wanted to see pounded into the ground. Alex Rodriquez epitomizes this historical Yankee hate that I have for good reason and represent much of what is bad about baseball today.

Alex represents what is wrong in America. Much of our American business community as proven themselves to be the lying , cheaters that they are. Alex is a lying , cheating Yankee baseball player. I saw the entire press conference that he held. I didn't have any problem seeing Alex for the liar that he is. And I do not believe all the malarkey about "I was just young and ignorant". Bullshit. Alex as been a premiere player for all of his baseball playing career. For him to plea that he was unaware of norms and practices in baseball that most to all players become familiar with in high school and college is simply a lie in my opinion. Fuck Alex "Steroid King" Rodriquez. It's people like him that fuck up our great American game.

Now look I have no real issue with steroid taking; it's fine as far as I'm really concerned. The problem is that these baseball "drug addicts" want to be accepted as though they were not taking anything. So they want it both ways. They want to be perceived as though they were natural athletes. And they all said that Canseco was full of shit. Canseco had it right all the time.

So here's my suggestion to the "chemical baseball players". Why don't you guys start your own steroid league. We need to separate the natural and true athletes from the "chemical kings". The "chemical kings' need to play with themselves. They can have their own game and play it and shoot the fuck up as much as they want. So then they would all be on the steroids together playing in the steroid league. They would then loose the steroid edge because everybody would be on them. So you see some would have to then seek the next level of drugs or whatever was available to cheat and attempt to raise the level of their game in unnatural ways.

Alex cheated and then he lied. And he's not the only one. We know what the "Rocket" had in his tank and we heard him lie to Congress about steroid taking. And their were others. And their are other areas of sport were this kind of behavior is becoming more prevalent. And I feel that the athletes that look for the advantage through unfair means and get caught and then lie about it represent all that is wrong with our country. Alex is not the only lying cheater in the American continuum. From the White House to the Outhouse we have a lot of lying pieces of shit in our America. My Grandpa would say take them all to the "Woodshed". When you went to the "Woodshed" with my Grandpa you came out of there holding your ass and you would cry yourself to sleep. You figure it out.

So I don't believe the drama and the fake crying by Alex Rodriquez. He got caught and that's his problem; he didn't fess up until he had to. And Alex and the others just need to accept the fact that they are liars and cheaters. And they no longer deserve to have the respect of the American fans they play in front. They no longer deserve the respect of the  players who they play with who choose to play the game under honorable conditions. Alex is just a lying , cheating piece of Yankee shit.

Global Warming seems to be the popularly excepted term to use when discussing the current problem that our environment is experiencing. I believe the term is inappropriate in it's effort to clearly describe the problem. The term Global Warming seems to suggest that the world and it's environment is , in some way , in trouble. It's not real because the world is in no trouble at all; but we human beings are.

I was born in 1949 in Minnesota. I have vivid memories of the winters of my childhood. In Minnesota we played baseball , football , and hockey. Yes even the Black guys played hockey. I did not play basketball until I was in the Navy and over the age of eighteen. I do not ever remember a winter where we were not able to skate. Yes I played hockey at Oxford playground in St. Paul , Minnesota and we skated and played outside; their where no inside hockey rinks in my day. I can remember many a day when the cold would bring tears to your eyes. In more then a general sense outside hockey is no longer played in Minnesota because of the warmer weather. I don't need to be told by any expert that we have a change in our environment. You don't have to be a so called expert to except that our environment is changing for the worse.

I don't know what Rick Warren and his "saddlebacks" would think of this in the grand scheme of things. My opinion is that they feel no matter what their "rapture" is going to save them in the end. My opinion is that we are going to have to suffer the consequences for the poisoning of the air , land , and water that we need to live and thrive in this environment. We are only killing ourselves; the world will just be fine in whatever state it's in after were gone. The rapture is not going to happen in the magical form that some people think it will.

You can set off all of the atomic devices in the world and the world would still go on. If we could multiply the releasing of Greenhouse Gases by a thousand the world would still be fine. We could poison all of the water , land , and air in our whole environment and the world would still be fine and go on. It's just a revelation of our human vanity when we actually talk in terms that we could even come near , in any way , of possibly being able to destroy the world. We only have the power to destroy ourselves and that's it.

So I'm confident because I would rather our world go on without us. We have been the problem and not our beautiful world. And I would rather we be gone and the world can prepare itself for the next effort at life that would surely follow our departure. It doesn't take a space scientist to except that we are not the first and only form of life on earth. We now know that life forms were here long before us; we have their bones.

People are the only species on the face of the earth who can say one thing and do another! People are the only species on earth who can say one thing and do another! And because of that we tend to re-create reality. We tend to morph the truth and make the situation work for just us , in our minds , no matter what the truth really is or what the consequences really are. Because of this people actually have the ability to lie and to ultimately believe these same lies.

As people it is also my believe that we are the only species that have the habit of fouling wherever we live. We seem to have the DNA makeup in us that drives us to destroy our own environment. And because of our proclivity to be able to lie to ourselves we recreate this problem and talk about it in terms like we aren't the problem. If we met the problem and it was us would we really do anything about it?

Roseanne Barr said on a recent TV appearance that she is glad she is the age she is. She went on to talk about how she truly can see how bad things are getting in the world and how many problems we have truly caused for ourselves. Roseanne said that she was at an age whereby she realized she wouldn't be here much longer. And she went on to talk about how she wouldn't want to be here under the current and depressing world circumstances. It was clear that Roseanne felt that it was us , as people , that have caused our current environmental calamity. So like Roseanne I too am happy that I won't be here but I'm saddened and concerned about my children and their children and their children and their children and you get the point.

It just seems that we do not posses the will to save ourselves. And I believe the world is going to treat us like the plague we have truly been to it. And it will simply make us disappear and just move on. And we will be just a footnote in the ongoing history of our world. Nature and the natural way are the true and most powerful element in this equation. Now if you want to call that God I don't care. As long as you realize what the ultimate power is. It is not us.

I support Compulsory Voting or CV. Most to every American is held responsible for paying taxes which then pay the bills of the United States. Well not all of them; the governments "credit card" bill never seems to get paid. But these bills and the national debt of the United States are directly influenced by the decisions of our elected Leadership. And those decisions effect all of the American people and beyond. Voting should be a civic duty that every eligible American voter is held responsible for doing in the same sense that we are held responsible for paying taxes. That's my opinion.

Now I'm not saying that I wouldn't admit to strategic and political possibilities for supporting CV. In my Democratic world I see Republicans as Superman. CV would then become their Kryponite; would it not? The historical platform of the Republican Party has not been populist in the era of unrestricted franchise and it can be argued that they have depended on a depressed voter turnout to win elections. On the other hand the historical platform of the Democratic Party has been all but populist and it has suffered with the reality of a depressed voter turnout. I believe that CV would have the effect to raise the levels of voter turnout in America. In my opinion the Republican Party would gain unremarkable to minimal additional support under CV and the Democratic Party would gain strong to overwhelming support. But I also feel that CV would then set the stage for legitimate third party efforts to be made. But the fundamental reason I support CV is because it should be our civic duty.

In most countries that have CV the level of voter participation has typically went up regardless of the sanctions for not voting. Exceptions to this would be countries like The Netherlands and Venezuela. Both countries saw voter participation depressed after CV was no longer required. But then you have cases like Italy. Sanctions for not voting in Italy are almost inconsequential. But Italian voter participation rates under CV have been higher then previous and are at or around 92% now of eligible voters. I believe that the case can be made that CV consistently elevates the levels of voter turnout. And I personally feel that's good. Voting and paying taxes should be held at the same level of civic duty.

There are numerous arguments against CV. Some Americans feel that CV would be a violation of 1^st Amendment rights. Well some Americans feel that paying taxes is a violation of their constitutional rights too. I feel that the 1^st Amendment argument is the most legitimate against CV in America. Their's also the issue that CV would bring in voters who are not smart or intellectual enough to asses the issues and such. For those that feel that way this is adopting the intellectual high ground under unfair terms. Perceived or real intellectual prowess has never been the standard for being President and it shouldn't be the standard to vote for President. But I also feel that these are just two arguments amongst many that are simply being used to maintain the status quo. The status quo I'm referring to would be , what I call , representation by the few or the not enough. I think you get my point. American elections have been historically won or loss with a minority of eligible voters showing up to the polls. I feel that those that argue against CV really want the current depressed voter reality and would never support any alternative to it anyway. On the other hand I'm not a fool either. I can see that the Democratic and the Republican parties would look at CV as a threat to the historical power they have enjoyed and would do anything to kill any CV effort.

The American people are suffering current consequences much because of the decisions of our elected Leadership. And all of the American taxpayers are paying for it. Compelling eligible Americans to vote in the same sense they are to compelled to pay taxes is not problematic in my way of thinking. I think that it should be the legally excepted standard. CV would make the people running for office have to pay attention to getting us to vote for them and not just getting the usual voter base out and asking for money to do it. And finally CV would mark our government as popularly elected and reflect the preferences of a majority of eligible American voters. That's it.

George Bush wrote a 'War On Terrorism Check" on the asses of the American people that bounced; we can't cash it. Now Barack wants to come along and write a 'Bailout Check' upon the asses of the American people; we can't cash that one either. So where's the sense in bouncing checks to just benefit our entitled and elite. We already got a Eric Prince and the like and we don't need to create anymore.

The modus operandi of our American leadership usually dictates that they will benefit themselves. So when we are presented with another plan to help us , as American people , it usually comes with a big bill. So we usually end up getting billed and used and the solutions that were promised us are just that; promises. So to those folks I would like to say "promise this motherfucker".

We are being hustled and we are being tricked by our leadership. The Terrorism efforts made by Bush and the Bailout effort now being made by Barack are nothing but versions of ponzi schemes like Madoffs' in my opinion. They are costing us too much money and they are not helping us in any way. Anybody that dis-agrees with me then bring it on and let me know if you imbibe of the bullshit.

So our American leadership is enriching themselves at the expense of the American people and then turning around and just bullshitting us; it's clear to me. I have always figured that a Black President should simply have the power to fuck up as much shit as the White Presidents have always had. After all isn't that all that Baracks' really just doing?

In conversations with my wife she would constantly hear me make this statement; "If I were in a leadership position I would pull the trigger". She asked me what did I mean by this. "Pulling the trigger" simply means doing the right thing in my lexicon.

Doing the right thing in life involves paying a price. In most cases it's harder and cost much more consequences to do the right thing. It's always easier to do the wrong thing and it gets you much more stuff.

My wife is at that time of life that she is suffering under the effects of Menopause. Menopause is a "bitch"; I can tell. And I whish that their was a way to help women and to give them relief from this physical problem. And menopause is just one medical problem of thousands that we have to deal with as human beings. We are not perfect; but what if we could move closer to being more perfect and more consistently and formidably healthy as human beings.

Stem cell research really sounds like a possibility. I believe that if we handled stem cell research in the right way it offers the possibility of actually making us more healthy and more resistance to the things that have usually made us sick and killed us. We have clearly realized the possibility of rebuilding body parts like injured spines. And we should be able to think of stem cell as going further in helping our general health situation as humans. Stem cell deals with the cells and it's in the cells that makes us who we are. We could even find ways of helping women deal with the condition of menopause. I look at stem cell as a way to go beyond helping and to cure. What if we did have the chance to cure ourselves in a more all encompassing positive physical fashion.

So I would ask the Doctors and the other folks in the various medical fields "would you pull the trigger" if you had the chance. You see where I'm going with this.

I've faced the fact for a long time that "pulling the trigger" and keeping people healthy in a consistently and ongoing fashion means HMO's and then the Doctors make way less money. One could almost argue the contention that sickness is something the medical pros rely on to make the money from us. One could also make the contention that these same medical pros would look at the chance of us being more consistently healthy , in a formidable way , as a  threat to that same profit. I believe this is exactly the way they would look at this more healthy potential for us. I love my wife and I know what I would do. But to those numerous and very expensive medical professionals I would like to ask would you "pull the trigger".

I was born in 1949 so I came of age in the turbulent 60s. And I've come to be very proud of my generation of Americans for many reasons. But one of the principal reasons would be that we were a movement. By that I mean that we took strong positions on many issues. We stood up to our leadership all over the board. In all the various areas of American life we threw our weight around; we protested. And we forced our leadership to listen to us and we forced them to make fair and decent changes to the American way of life.

My picture icon depicts just one of the powerful figures of our time. Muhammad Ali was a movement that the American government found no successful way to keep down; but they tried. Ali was very helpful in highlighting the true wrong of the Viet Nam war. We had many musical groups that had power to influence politics at the upper levels to. Just go back and listen to the many songs that were made that spoke to the political situation of the day and in word form they stood up for us and against the unfairness of the current American government policies. While in the Navy in 1968 , and when returning from Viet Nam , we arrived in Pearl Harbor Hawaii. And we were told that the Admiral had restricted all Naval personnel from going on liberty. We couldn't believe it when we found out the reason was that Credence Clearwater Band was in town and so many thousands of people showed up from all over the world to see them. Credence was no different then other bands of the time who chose to stand against the system with their music. So what do we have today to match the real significance of people like Muhammad Ali and musical groups like Credence Clearwater; Rush Limbaugh , P. Diddy and Britney Spears. Give me a break. I mean no dis-respect to my children's generation but I tell them constantly that this generation can't hold a candle to ours. We had real power and we stood up to the bullshit leadership of our country.

American leaders are no different then leaders of any other time in history; they take care of themselves. And they will do this until convinced or forced to do otherwise. This is reality. Very few leaders of the people are going to be fair and caring with the oversight of the people. The few leaders that stood up for the American people in the 60s were killed. That's reality too. But we continued to stand against our leaders even after the deaths of great Americans like President John Kennedy and his brother Robert. Even after the killing of a great American leader like Martin Luther King. And we lost less notable leaders throughout America but who also were no less important to the cause , to the movement.

We had movements in our generation and we need movements for the American people today. We have quietly relied on our leaders to do right by us and we have been disappointed. We need to find a way for the American people to exert ourselves in a way that we force our leaders to pay attention to us and do the right thing. And we are going to have to just tell them what we expect of them and be clear about it. And we definitely need to send a clear message to our leaders that we know who and what the problem in America is. It's our leadership and their bullshit policies! It's our leadership and their bullshit policies!

Life is a war that you can never win or lose. But you must show up everyday to fight it's battles. And at 60 that's what I'm still trying to do. I'm still trying to be part of that movement that I learned about all that many years ago; I'm still trying to show up and fight the battles. I'm still trying to fight like my Grandpa taught me to do. My Grandpa fought Jim Crow in the early 20th century Texas and is the reason our family is in Minnesota today. Thanks Grandpa for what you did for me. Thanks for teaching me to be part of a movement that fights the battles for normal American people.