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  • A Birth, a Marriage, Family, and a Death

A Birth, a Marriage, Family, and a Death

Posted on May 7, 2011 By Tom 3 Comments on A Birth, a Marriage, Family, and a Death
Miscellaneous

This has been one of those weeks when momentous occasions have come so fast a furious that I haven’t had time to blog about them. Each deserved its own post, but before I could put thoughts to ether, something else huge would come along. There was everything from national to international events, local and family events, the chance to slow down for a minute or two, and the chance to drive really, really fast around a track in expensive cars. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to short-change all of these and just give each a few blurb sentences, if for no other reason than to mark their passing.

A Birth

So, Obama finally released his long form birth certificate. Big deal. This issue was already over when the short form was released, as was legally required. As expected, some have already started denouncing this certificate as fake. My response? These people have brought serious charges, and now the burden of proof is on them. If you think it’s fake, then you’re more than welcome to visit Hawaii (at your expense) to prove your case.

This “birther” issue is nonsense. It’s a distraction. If you disagree with Obama’s policies, that’s one thing. But to continue this conspiracy makes you an idiot, plain and simple – no argument allowed. (And, no, I won’t allow any blog comments in argument.) Funny thing, though. These same “birthers” are probably the same ones that wanted to revoke that requirement so that Arnold Schwarzenegger could run a few years ago. This argument would be for naught if that had passed.

A Marriage

The Brits really know how to put on a spectacle. The royal wedding of William and Kate was quite a show, with excellent music, stellar precision, and jaw-dropping hats. I confess to having watched it that Friday morning, then again in the evening with Laura and her mother. In addition to the music, I enjoyed seeing places I’d been on previous visits to London. I just hope this marriage lasts longer than the last several Windsor marriages.

Family

Laura’s cousins from California, Dave and Fran, paid us a visit. We had visited them a couple of years ago, and now they were in our neck of the woods. Fran had a conference in Atlanta and Dave tagged along. Amy came up from Florida, and we had a family reunion at our house over the weekend.

Fran returned to Atlanta for her conference, but Dave stayed in Greenville. I took a couple of vacation days, and spent the time trying to prove to him that, despite having started the Civil War and giving rise to politicians like Strom Thurmond and Jim Demented, we’re not all like Dukes of Hazzard.

We visited Falls Park and toured Greenville.

Wrights at Reedy Falls

We visited the Upcountry History Museum and visited some of the local lakes. We took a drive across the border into North Carolina where Dave could taste a true southern delicacy and see some waterfalls and mountains.

Boiled Peanuts TrailerPisgah ForestLooking Glass RedynamixBRP Overlook Redynamix

We forced Dave to eat grits, and we celebrated a frenetic Cinco de Mayo. It was loads of fun, and I think Dave came away with a very different view of the South, or, at least, of Greenville.

A Death

So, Osama bin Laden finally bit the big one. I’m glad he’s gone, and I think the US handled it perfectly by not displaying the body and by the quick burial at sea. It tells the rest of the world that we will respect your culture, but we’ll still kill you if you mess with us.

Unfortunately, some of the same “birthers” have now become “deathers”, and are demanding proof that this wasn’t some staged event to raise Obama’s ratings. Failing that, some, like Palin, seem loathe to give Obama any credit. He would have been given all sorts of blame had the mission gone sideways. (Remember Jimmy Carter’s ill-fated mission to rescue the Iran hostages?) Therefore he should be given credit for taking advantage of the intelligence about the location and authorizing the action.

Others are trying to give Bush credit for the kill. Bullshit. Bush probably could have zeroed in on bin Ladin about as quickly, had he not involved the US in a costly, unnecessary war in Iraq that squandered any goodwill the Middle East had for us after 9/11. Again, if you want to argue with me, forget it. I’m tired of this nonsense. Any comments will be handled accordingly.

And finally, I did squeeze in a paddling trip, but more on that later….

Tags: Barack Obama Osama bin Laden Politics Royal Wedding

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3 thoughts on “A Birth, a Marriage, Family, and a Death”

  1. Keith Dover says:
    May 7, 2011 at 9:04 pm

    BRAVO! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Dwight says:
    May 8, 2011 at 7:52 am

    I don’t believe Barak Obama really has only two arms. If you look carefully at his left shoulder it’s a bit higher than his right. That’s where the extra arm emerges. He has special shirts and suits made for him that hide the extra arm. The photos of him swimming in Hawaii are retouched.
    The extra arm proves that he’s really an alien.

    Reply
  3. Bonnie Holliday says:
    February 23, 2013 at 12:19 pm

    Are you on drugs!

    Reply

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