Michael Jackson is dead! An American hero! NOT

I thought the following was better than I could have written myself. This is written by a young man serving his third tour of duty in Iraq. Thought you might find his take on the Michael Jackson news interesting. Thanks for your service to our country Isaac!

Subject: SOLDIER RESPONDS TO MJ'S DEATH.....

Okay, I need to rant. I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to hold a "moment of silence" for his passing? Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war, still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the United States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over them because they made the ultimate sacrifice?

Why is it when a Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddance," and "thank God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop Icon?" I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to PUBLICLY recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE, those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for them.

But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit songs that the world will listen to. We only shed our blood, sweat and tears so that people can enjoy what they have. Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it. Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military; "So that others may live..." Isaac

Dick Cheney

A little off of my normal blog subject!

I just wish that I had the opportunity to appear before the entire Congress of the United States. No visitors in the gallery, no congressional aides, nobody else but Congressional men and women. I would tell them that I am going to tell them a piece of classified information that if leaked, will change the course of the world. The example I am going to use is: The moon is made of green cheese!

I guarantee you that within 48 hours after my disclosure, the word would have been spread by some of our honorable congress people and the whole world would have this information. That is why the folks that deal in the deep recesses of the intelligence community cannot trust that congress can keep their mouth shut and that there are things the American people do not need to know let alone the rest of the world.

I spent twenty years of my life in the military defending the wonderful freedoms we have in this great country and by golly, I want to continue to have those freedoms. It won't happen if we blab every single intel item to congress and basically to the entire world.

Let VP Cheney alone! As far as I am concerned, he is a loyal American and he did what he thought was the right thing for America.

Getting started to write a book!

When I moved to Colorado nearly four years ago, I joined the Douglas County Writers Group. I had always had a yen to write a book, but I didn't have a clue how to start. Keep in mind that my professional career after my military career was Technical Writing.

Several people in the group said that I should just start writing short stories no longer than 500 words. I had told lots of stories of my navy career, but had never put any of them down on paper. The idea was that as I accumulated short stories on the same subject, I would soon discover that I had enough short stories to create a book. Bingo, that is I what I did! It can work for you too.

Writing a book!

Haven't we all had that aspiraton one time or another to write a book? It not an easy undertaking. If you are a journel person, you probably have some pretty good notes to get you started, but if not, you just can't seem to make a go of it. I'll tell you tomorrow how I got started.

After the first 4!

How do you decide after the first hitch to stay in the military? It is not an easy decision, but I have no regrets. I think for me, it was the feeling of camaraderie I had with my shipmates that gave me such a sense of belonging. That is also why I wanted to share my experiences with others by writing my book, Thank You America! My target audience was fellow veterans who have had similar experiences; however, my publisher convinced me that there was a wider market. Veterans will buy the book, but they will give it to their children and grandchildren so they can read and identify with the sense of camaraderie that each of us felt in the military service. I would like to hear what you think of this!

Twenty Years

Twenty years is a fairly good chunk of an adults life! Why would a person choose to use that chunk of their life to serve their country in the military? Good question and I hope in the coming months, I can answer that question. I'll be anxious to hear from some of you that choose to do that as I did in the United States Navy.