Honoring those who protect us

This Memorial Day, remember all that America's troops have done (and are doing) for us. They can never be thanked enough.

An Early Congratulations to UVa Grads

The University of Virginia writes her highest degree on the souls of her sons. The parchment page of scholarship-the colored ribbon of a society-the jeweled emblem of a fraternity-the orange symbol of athletic prowess-all these, a year hence, will be at the best mementos of happy hours-like the withered flower a woman presses between the pages of a book for sentiment's sake.

But...

If you live a long, long time, and hold honesty of conscience above honesty of purse:

And turn aside without ostentation to aid the weak;

And treasure ideals more than raw ambition;

And track no man to his undeserved hurt;

And pursue no woman to her tears;

And love the beauty of noble music and mist-veiled mountains and blossoming valleys and great monuments-

If you live a long time and, keeping the faith in all these things hour by hour, still see that the sun gilds your path with real gold and that the moon floats in dream silver;

Then...

Remembering the purple shadows of the lawn, the majesty of the colonnades, and the dream of your youth, you may say in reverence and thankfulness:

"I have worn the honors of Honor, I graduated from Virginia"

-- The Honor Men, James Hay Jr.

Congratulations to the Class of 2007! You all worked very hard to get to this very important day, your graduation tomorrow. Do not forget where you have come from, because the University of Virginia is a very special place. Again, congratulations to the University of Virginia's Class of 2007!

I love Bodo's...

And apparently, Bodo's loves my photos. Mr. Bodos himself, John Kokola, recently asked me if he could use photos that I had taken from my graduation last year on his website, and I gave him permission to do so. Now, one of the photos is on the front page there. I am certainly no professional photographer, so it is pretty cool to see one of my pictures being used by Bodo's, one of my favorite places to eat in Charlottesville. Thank you Mr. Kokola for a few of my best memories down in C'ville.

Baltimore Orioles versus Washington Nationals

This three-game series starts tonight. I know a lot of people here got excited about a new team moving in, but I am staying loyal. Go O's!

Iraq is Vietnam?

Not if you look at the numbers.

It is interesting to note that, more or less, U.S. deaths in Iraq have been consistent from month-to-month. Vietnam peaked at this point, and at are far higher number than Iraq has. In fact, the two bloodies months in Vietnam produced more deaths than all of Iraq. While I in no way mean to lessen the losses we have suffered, this is at least one more piece of evidence that shows that Iraq is far from a quagmire. Iraq will take time, but so did Germany and Japan, countries where we still retain troops. If we had devoted that time to Vietnam, perhaps they would be on their way out right now too.

However, my real concern with this graph is if we someday find ourselves embroiled in another war on the scale of the World Wars. The military is clearly ready to engage in their duties, but the American people are not ready to get behind them. If we find ourselves having to deal with China in a couple decades, what will happen? Clearly, it is time to stand with the troops and let them finish their job; we can only call Iraq Vietnam when the people, not the soldiers or the government, give up.

Do as I say, not as I do

This seems to be the mantra of the Democratic party these days. A year ago, Democrats were in the middle of a big hissy fit when Republicans were getting in the way of filibusters. So it comes as no surprise that Democrats attempted to do the same sort of thing.

The change has since been withdrawn it appears, but Congressional Democrats should be ashamed. They first appear as hypocrites. Then, they appear weak giving up on this proposal, which they should have never offered in the first place. And most of all, their approval rating is in freefall, now reaching levels that are even lower than that of the President (this could make the 2008 elections something of a peaceful coup with many incumbents competing in danger of losing their seats).

But I guess it should be no surprise that Democrats in Congress would stoop to this. They are clearly learning from their constituents.

Happy Mother's Day All!

Taking their ball and going home.

Richmond Democrat, Not Larry Sabato, and Raising Kaine are all tired of not being ranked the most influential blog in Virginia by BNN, so they are whining about it. What I want to know is which is more important; being influential or having it reaffirmed for you? Seems to me that these three blogs will only serve to hinder their efforts; they will be less influential having fewer links their way.

Then again, who am I to complain? I now have a better shot of being in the top twenty!