Posts Tagged ‘Hawaii’
10 Things to Say to an Obama Voter Who Just Got Laid Off
1. “Hey, at least that successful Mormon businessman didn’t win.”
2. “Didn’t your lady parts warn you this would happen?”
3. “Look at the Bright Side, Gay marriage passed in four states.”
4. “Hey, Big Bird still has a job. Isn’t that the important thing?”
5. “I am sure Obama cares deeply about your situation. Maybe he’ll send you a postcard from Hawaii.”
6. “Well, look at the bright side, Rush Limbaugh is getting a massive tax increase.”
7. “Hey! Now you’ll have more time to play with your unicorn.”
8. “Isn’t it worth losing your job to know that religious organizations now have to pay for abortions and contraceptives?”
9. “Well, now you and Keith Olbermann have something else in common.”
10. “Forward!”
h/t Suzanne
December 7, 1941 – The Original Day of Infamy
71 years separate us from that day in December at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. 2,402 Americans were killed that day, most in the service of our country’s military. America mobilized, engaged, and eventually defeated it’s enemies.
We’ve seen our own horrific attack, another date that lives in infamy, one where many thousands of American civilians were massacred on our home continent.
The difference between now and then? Military members and their families largely suffer and sacrifice alone. America isn’t mobilized, engaged, and may never defeat its enemies completely.
Americans 71 years ago knew hardship, knew what it was to do without. Being attacked by another country was an outrage.
Today, when merely being inconvenienced is an outrage, we can learn a lot from those men and women who brought the United States through those awful years. Many are still alive, but their numbers are dwindling.
This year will be the first year since 1958 that the Pearl Harbor survivors won’t gather to remember December 7th:
Their failing health and dwindling numbers — only a few thousand still live — prompted the organization to disband as the 70th anniversary was observed last year.
Of course, the national day of remembrance goes on today at Pearl Harbor and in ceremonies across the United States. But the change does mark another chapter in the fading presence of the generation that fought — and supported those fighting — World War II.
Just as it has with the passing of the veterans of the Revolution, the Civil War and World War I, the nature of the remembering changes. No one can recount history quite like someone who’s lived through it and made it. But then, too, the voices and images of many of those heroes and average Joes and Janes have been recorded and archived in more ways than any earlier conflict.
Pearl Harbor and the mammoth war effort that followed will remain a milestone in our national story, no matter how it’s repeated.
Lessons of sacrifice, vigilance and courage will endure. But most important, perhaps, is the legacy of national resilience in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. The attack that Sunday left more than 2,400 Americans dead, most of the U.S. Pacific fleet damaged or sunk, most military aircraft destroyed and Hawaii nearly defenseless.
That Monday, the country came together, rolled up its sleeves and turned to the grim business of war.
Today, our threats and dangers are more and more complex than hostile fleets over the horizon. The next attack may come from a rogue nuclear power, a cargo container, homegrown terrorists or cyber attacks launched against a single key computer or millions of smartphones.
America may find it hard to achieve the unity of Dec. 8, 1941, or Sept. 12, 2001, in a world of threats in shades of gray. But Americans should never forget the power of our nation when we rally together.
If we as a country are going to say “thank you” to these men and women, we’d better make a special point to do it soon.
Via Gilbert Padilla
h/t The Blacksphere
Crossposted to Unified Patriots
Related articles
- ” A Date Which Will Live In Infamy ” Pearl Harbor , December 7 , 1941 (youviewedblog.wordpress.com)
- As number of survivors dwindles, will Pearl Harbor attack fade from memory? (amarillo.com)
- December 7, 1941 – Never Forget (gadabout-blogalot.com)
- Photos: Attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 (photos.denverpost.com)
- With heavy heart, sailor recalls Pearl Harbor attack – Boston Herald (news.bostonherald.com)
- A Pearl Harbor veteran remembers the horror (miamiherald.com)
Welcome to hell, California
Why are our gas prices so high? Electricity rates climbing? Californians, meet mirror:
For years, California’s gasoline supply chain has been tighter than just about every state except Hawaii, leaving motorists vulnerable to even minor crimps in the supply chain. That, along with the second-highest gasoline tax in the country, is why it costs more to fill up in California than it does elsewhere in the U.S.
And the reasons are almost entirely the result of policies and regulations enacted at the behest of California’s voters.
Unlike past nationwide gas price spikes, Golden State drivers can’t blame their pain at the pump on crude oil prices — which account for about two-thirds of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. After peaking in May at $105 a barrel, the domestic benchmark price has fallen to $92 as of last week.
Oil prices have fallen because there’s plenty of crude to go around, thanks to a slowing global economy and new drilling technologies that have dramatically increased U.S. production. After two decades of decline, domestic oil output began rising in 2009 and is expected to continue to grow through 2014, according to the Department of Energy. Crude oil stocks are above the high end of the five-year average for this time of year.
The kicker?
But that discount doesn’t get passed along to California drivers because supplies are so tight in the Golden State.
One reason is that state regulators insist refiners produce a specific blend of gas to meet tough state air quality standards. That means refiners and wholesalers can’t make up temporary shortages with gas that can be sold elsewhere in the U.S.
And while refiners in other states have gradually expanded output over the years to keep up with demand, no California politician would dream of campaigning on a platform of building new oil refineries. The result is that supplies in California have gradually tightened as refiners have been unable to win approval to expand production, said Tom Kloza, publisher of the Oil Price Information Service.
Our “chickens are coming home to roost” as Obama’s pastor likes to say.
As to the rest of the country, don’t laugh too loud at our predicament. What you see happening here is what Obama and his gang wants for you too. Why? To force you at virtual gunpoint to live their way.
Related articles
- California voters only have themselves to blame for soaring pump prices (economywatch.nbcnews.com)
- Why California’s gas prices are going haywire (washingtonpost.com)
