Wednesday Hero - Sgt. 1st Class Gregory A. Rodriguez & Jacko

Sgt. 1st Class Gregory A. Rodriguez & Jacko 35 years old from Weidman, Michigan K-9 unit of the 527th Military Police Company, 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th MP Brigade September 2, 2008 "I asked Greg if anything ever happened to him where he'd prefer to be buried," Sgt. Rodriguez's wife, Laura, told the Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant, "and he told me Arlington, as he wanted to be among the best and the brave." "Rod," as he was known to his Army buddies, was a Red Wings fan who loved to hassle fans of other hockey teams he met during his military career, said Laura. "Greg loved to push everyone's buttons and get people going with his rare, unique sense of sarcasm," she said. At the same time, her husband, a military police dog handler whose dog, Jacko, survived the fatal ambush, was "a very committed, loyal individual and could be counted on whenever needed." Sgt. 1st Class Gregory A. Rodriguez died of wounds suffered in Ana Kalay, Afghanistan, when his mounted patrol came under small-arms fire. "My brother liked to be the law," said Lisa Dombrowski. "He liked justice. If it wasn't right, he made it right." He is survived by his sister, wife and three children. All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero. We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Politics Seems to be BULLSHIT!

I only got involved in politics about 2 years ago. But what I've learned so far climbing "up the ranks" and that's not saying much to where I am...but it all still seems to be BULLSHIT! From local, to state, and then to national politics, all I see so far is one against another, and what will benefit whom? What MY FOLKS taught me 46 years ago was who COULD benefit whom - and THAT meant helping one another - it meant FAIRNESS - it meant FISCAL responsibility, and it MEANT that ANYBODY that GOT elected could at least add 2 + 2! It meant that when we elected or appointed an official, THEY would ACTUALLY REPRESENT the PEOPLE! TODAY - NOTHING - NOW who can benefit who means who gets pay back on what someone donated to them, or which STUPID law benefits MONEY that brought the elected official to office. It's NO LONGER about WE THE PEOPLE! NOT how it was when I WAS LEARNING ABOUT American History - NOT WHAT MY FOUNDING FATHERS DID! Republicans argue with Democrats...Gays argue among Straights...Hispanics / Asians / Muslims / Jews / Christians / and ANYBODY I left out still seem to ARGUE in 2009! It's ALL BULLSHIT! The CONSTITUTION of America is what made this Country GREAT! Many don't even KNOW what the constitution EVEN SAYS! AMERICA made America the MELTING POT, and I guess TODAY, I'm questioning WHY we allowed the ones that wanted to melt with the rest of us TODAY QUESTION our ORIGINAL intentions? The ORIGINAL intention of our Founding Fathers (and YES they were men...and for the WOMEN that take fault to that should RECONSIDER their position...accepting the amendments to the Constitution thereof that have made it OK)...There was NEVER anything WRONG with STRONG women making a home, having a job, and supporting what AMERICA was all about :) IF YOU came here from somewhere else, you OBVIOUSLY came here because YOU thought it was BETTER, and YOU wanted to be an AMERICAN! So, to come here and force YOUR laws, and YOUR culture ON US - means YOU REALLY LIKED where you WERE! So...WHY come here and try to CHANGE AMERICA? After all, you CAME here, and WE let you in...so WHY try to CHANGE the WHOLE AMERICA??? YES, we welcomed you, and YES we welcomed some of your culture...your food, your religious beliefs, you are FREE to hold them...BUT YOU ARE NOT FREE TO MANDATE THEM TO ALL OF US THAT WERE ALREADY HERE! It's cool to bring your culture here, but it's NOT COOL to CHANGE AMERICA to BE whatever YOU WERE! If you LOVED what you WERE, then WHY did you come HERE in the FIRST PLACE! To THOSE people that came here - you are welcomed to participate in OUR BELIEFS,...and might I say WELCOMED to your OWN beliefs, but you ARE NOT WELCOME to CHANGE the way America...AMERICA believes; since what AMERICA believed is WHAT formed this country! If you risked your very LIFE to get HERE - then WHY do YOU want to CHANGE US to be LIKE what you risked your LIFE to LEAVE? I just don't get that - therefore I don't accept what's going on today! I was going to post ALL the political parties that have existed to this day, but Wikepedia is too bore some, because IT ISN'T accurate! BUT THERE WERE SO MANY! AND it didn't EVEN mention the parties of LONG ago like the Whig party (I neither agree or disagree...just saying they exist - ALL parties existed!), and there were other parties never mentioned - I don't take favor to any particularly except the COMMON SENSE party that has NEVER been formed - and I WOULD call that party Conservative! I don't care WHO you are, or WHO you screw, WHO you raise your MONEY from - if you cannot see that Conservatism and Capitalism WORKS - then too bad, so sad, I'll leave you dangling in your entitlement mentality and you can see just how Socialist hope and change works out for you in the end! I'm about DONE with the WHOLE LOT OF YOU, and what it brings to be active. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE will reign in the end - and I don't HAVE to go to meetings, be campaign managers, campaign on my time, nor DONATE to KNOW what the AMERICAN PEOPLE CAN DO! I'm still involved today, but we ARE in a different time today, and things are strange. I will NO LONGER vote nor support a candidate that WON'T carry him/her self as to the BEST INTEREST OF WE THE PEOPLE! I consider myself a staunch Republican, but if MY CANDIDATES WON'T take the best interest of the PEOPLE to heart - and THEY worry about "moderation" - perhaps I'll give UP politics in general and just FIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE... Oh Yeah...there's a cute chick in Alaska named Sarah Palin that just did that - we'll see yet if she's for REAL - but I'm hopin' SHE'S starting the next mannerly revolution :)

Wednesday Hero - Cpl. Reynold Armand

Cpl. Reynold Armand 21 years old from Rochester, New York 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force August 7, 2007 Reynold Armand didn’t want to wait until he turned 18 to join the Marines. He persuaded his adoptive mother to sign papers allowing him to sign up a year early. "I'm very proud of him," said his father, Carl Armand. "When he was home, he gave no sign of being afraid." Armand didn’t speak much about his experiences in Iraq, according to family members, saying only that most Iraqi civilians he encountered were very nice. "We used to send him a lot of candy," said his mother, Alma Armand. "He would pass it out." Manny Rodriguez, 21, of Rochester met Armand five years ago at New Day Church in Rochester, where both young men were members of the youth group. "He was such an amazing all-around person. He was so easy and comfortable to be around. He liked people for who they are." No definitive report could be found on how Cpl. Armand died. Some report that he was killed when shot and others report that he was killed by an IED that exploded near his vehicle in Balad, Iraq. All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com with help from Kathi These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero. We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Health Care Excessive Costs

I just recently went to the doctor for numbness in my hand. Thought I had carpal tunnel syndrome - NO - I have cubital tunnel syndrome, from the tunnel in the elbow instead. Yes it was a "specialist" I went to, not the average doctor. Just got a bill today for what I owe the doctor - not too bad at $53. I paid a $40 copay at the door. THEN - I looked at the REST of the statement. I spent just over an hour with this doctor, and the bill was about $3800 dollars!!! Yep it's nice that I only had to cover $93 dollars of that - but WTF? I figured out the numbers - if a doctor can see 5 patients a day at $3800 per hour or so given lunch hour - note time - in and out time - etc...that's $19,000 per day income. Given an average 20 day work month allowing for off time, holidays, etc...that's $380,000 per month income to an office. Yep there's rent, there's paying the salaries of say 5 people (2 nurses for a large office, 2 office staff, and 1 dedicated to filing insurance claims). How much do you figure a doctor's office employee makes - obviously the nurses more, but office staff...how much? I'm a business owner and I employ 22 people - OURSELVES included as owners. Our insurance premiums are HUGE because of a small group. I feel BADLY that I went to a specialist to fix my elbow problem - and I know for every dollar spent at a doctor's office, our premiums go up or down reflecting who uses the policy. Just IMAGINE when someone has to have a surgery or a catastrophic event befalls them...what that does to our premiums - and we all split the costs evenly. We as employers pay half and HALF of all dependents - it's STILL INSANE! A guy with a wife and a couple of kids is looking toward $800-$1000 per month! I manage to draw a nice salary, I employ 22 people - NOBODY in our companies makes less than $14 per hour, and the producers make over $20 - some up toward $30 per hour. WE NEVER HAVE $380,000 PER MONTH IN GROSS INCOME!!! Between 3 companies employing 22 people and 14 of those 22 are PRODUCERS, not like ONE doctor in an office that produces alone - we're lucky to maybe have between us all even close to that kind of gross income. Health care is INSANELY EXPENSIVE! Do the math! Large companies can employ hundreds of people. Back in my gaming days I worked for a company with 2800 employees - MY ENTIRE FAMILY was covered with lower co-pays and a premium of about $200 per month. WTF? Our current health care system is SCREWED UP! The government is certainly no answer - they can't even read a bill before they vote on one! I'd love to hear your thoughts...give me YOUR opinions on how we can stop the madness before the Government attempts to do it for us!