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Friday, November 11, 2011

Veteran's Day Rant

WARNING:  STRONG LANGUAGE.
Veteran's Day.  A day when we pause for a moment and thank all who have served this great nation by raising their right hands, taking an oath like this:
I, Ron Black, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. I swear that I am fully aware and fully understand the conditions under which I am enlisting.
It's the oath I took, the oath Mike McCarville took, the oath Bob Dani took, the oath my brother-in-law Nathan Murphy took, the oath my father and uncles took and it is the same oath that men and women who right now stand a post to protect our freedom.

Men and women are, right now, laying down their lives overseas and some have given the same in service to our country and while we're the greatest nation on the planet, we have a long way to go.

We have elected officials, attorneys and judges who work their asses off to twist, redefine and hide from the very Constitution we veterans have sworn an oath to defend.  They use it as toilet paper, wiping their collective asses with it, forgetting that without the sacrifices made by those who raised their right hand in service to this country they wouldn't be driving those new sports cars, plopping their asses down court side at a Thunder game, playing footsie with one another behind closed doors as they craft legislation that takes away our freedom rather than expands it.

It isn't the Tea Party that is the guardian of freedom.  It isn't the Occupy Wall Street crowd that is the guardian of freedom.  It isn't the mainstream media that is the guardian of freedom.  It isn't Bob Stoops, Mike Gundy or any of the ball players who protect our freedom.  It is the member of the United States Armed Forces.

I am a veteran and will say that my service to this magnificent country was an eight-year period of my life filled with joy and excitement.  It wasn't perfect, but I fulfilled my service obligation with pride and honor.  Today, I see and hear so many talk about their dedication to our veterans, but can't find the time to do anything about it because the Sooners are playing ball on television that day.  I hear elected officials give long-winded speeches about military service in one breath, but in the next they are authoring legislation that precludes a pay raise for service members.  It's sickening, and yes, it pisses me off to no end.

We have a ridiculous number of veterans who are unemployed, homeless, sick and whose home is a place like City Rescue Mission.  It's easy for people to sweep this reality under the carpet because it's not "sexy."  Helping veterans in need, helping men and women who have served or are currently serving is nowhere near as fun and entertaining as having cocktails at the boathouse - but it's because of these men and women that we even have a boathouse to begin with.

It's a problem that I pontificate about every year on Veteran's Day, but usually with little response.  The problem continues and will continue as long as the ruling class elites want it to be so.  They would never desire their offspring to lay their lives down or even pretend to stand a post because to do so would force them to sacrifice their time on the lacrosse field and heaven knows we can't have that, can we?  We'll let the poor and the middle class make the sacrifices so the oligarchies can continue their reign. 

If you want to do something for veterans today, I mean REALLY do something, thank a veteran for their service.  Hire a veteran looking for work.  Send a check to City Rescue Mission and tell them to dedicate it to one of the veterans under their roof.  Then, when you've done that, send a letter to your elected officials telling them that you're watching them, that you will fight them tooth and nail if they author any legislation or support any legislation that hurts veterans or their families.  And for some of you, this would be a huge sacrifice:  Give your college football tickets to a veteran and his/her family and tell them that you realize that without men and women willing to put their asses on the line for freedom, your ass wouldn't have freedom.

We now return you to your daily programming of sanitized for your protection, syndicated hyperbole.

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Axis Entertainment Taking Submissions for Rocklahoma 2012

There's the main stage, the Hard Rock stage and then, there's the Axis Entertainment stage at Rocklahoma.  And to be perfectly candid, the Axis stage was nothing short of incredible, showcasing Oklahoma talent you're bound to hear about at any moment. 

Rocklahoma promoters have asked Axis Entertainment to feature their stage once again in 2012 and they are currently taking submissions for bands right now.  In 2011, they featured bands such as Blackwood, Rocker Lips, David Castro Band and many more.  In short, they rocked the house.

If you're a member of a band and would like to enter a submission, check them out here.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Movie Classic: "Falling Down"

Michael Douglas is one of the greatest actors to grace the screen.  He is intense, comedic when the part calls for it, but deeply passionate.  One of my favorite movies of all time and my favorite Michael Douglas movie is "Falling Down."

Douglas plays William Foster, an unemployed engineer whose day begins tied up in a traffic jam as he is traveling to see his daughter on her birthday.  His ex-wife, portrayed by Barbara Hershey, plays a more pivotal role than most realize and film buffs have overlooked.  What was once a happy and joyous marriage that produced a wonderful little girl, things went south - and in this movie, she is less than thrilled to have the father of her child visit, even on her birthday.

The movie follows Foster from the traffic jam on a Los Angeles freeway, to a convenience store where everything is over-priced, to an altercation with gang members, to a run-in with a bigot at a surplus store.  There's a run-in with wealthy golf course patrons, and more.  As the movie progresses, we see more closely the inner struggle and turmoil of a man who has lost everything, is forced to live with his mother and whose ex-wife is painfully reluctant to interact with the father of her daughter in any shape or form.

Foster is a deeply troubled character whose heart is in the right place, but circumstances create the perfect storm for meltdown.  And meltdown, he does.

At the end of the movie, if you have no soul, you'll fee no sympathy for Douglas' character.  You'll simply see him as a law-breaker, someone who is mentally unstable.  For the rest of us, it's an "a-ha" moment where we see another human being reaching a breaking point.  The "system" fails and on his mission to do the right thing, some bad guys face their demise.

It's a classic movie, and I highly recommend you see it.  Available on Netflix.