With Veterans Day approaching us, this poem is worth reading.

A POEM WORTH READING

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Joe has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Veteran died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Veteran died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a Veteran
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Veteran,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever-waffling stand?

Or would you want a Veteran
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Veteran,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Veteran,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his likes again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Veteran's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A VETERAN DIED TODAY."

The link for this post is at the The Vietnam Veterans Organiization Chapter 310 http://www.vva310.org/a-poem-worth-reading

Can't agree with you. Leave the E*******l College as it is. It was a genius design to even the playing field out between areas of the country. If there was no E*******l College in this past e******n, then California and New York would have control of the country because of the dense population concentrated in those two areas. That's exactly why the founders designed it. Plus, the E*******l College makes every state important to win - not just the heavily populated states like California, New York, Florida, et el. Take a look at these two videos for very good explanations of the E*******l College. https://www.prageru.com/5-minute-videos

When I tried to access the link above, I received the following message: 
This site is not secure. This might mean that someone’s trying to fool you or steal any info you send to the server. You should close this site immediately.

In addition to the link provided above, here's a link to two five minute videos that do a great job of explaining the E*******l College. https://www.prageru.com/5-minute-videos

With apps like google, it would seem any i***t who makes outrageous claims like yours needs to provide your sources of information. Otherwise, it's all claptrap, horse hockey - bulls**t. The burden of proof of source is on you. You blogged it. You're the one who looks the fool. See - YOU MADE THE FREAKIN OUTRAGEOUS CLAIM. Provide the proof or at least provide the source of your reason for the what you've said is only reasonable. It's like, I'm pregnant and it's your baby. Where's the proof of your pregnancy and where's the proof that I'm the father. Or, you're drunk. Judges ask, Mr. Officer, where's the proof? What's the blood alcohol count? Simple logic. If you make a claim, provide the proof.

Hardwork1: This is well written. You've cogently taken us through what the political status of the country is today. Thanks for taking the time to write and share this. Yesterday, I answered my doorbell to find a young lady who said, "Hello sir! I'm so-and-so and I'm running for City Commissioner. I hope you'll v**e for me." Then she attempted to hand me some literature. I said, "Before I accept your literature, my question to you is: I know this office is not supposed to have a political party associated with it, however, I want to know what political party do you closely align yourself with?". She took a long deep pause and I said, "Well a Republican would not hesitate so you have to be a Democrat. That's okay. Do you support Kavanaugh for Supreme Court Justice?" Again, a long pregnant pause. I said, "So you don't. So I won't v**e for you." She said, "You don't even know what I want to do as commissioner. How can you so quickly decide that?" I said, "Young lady, I've been v****g for over 50 years and I recognize a c*******t in training when I see one. You're a democrat and the majority of you democrats end up like Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer." And she started with "But, But, But". And I said, "I'm sorry. You're wasting both our time." And shut the door. As I was shutting the door, my wife in back of me said, "And don't come back either." That is what ALL Republicans have to do. SHUT THE DAMN DOOR ON DEMOCRAT PARTY ideas and notions. Don't even give them a listen because since I was eligible to v**e in 1968, Democrats have NEVER listened with respect to ANY Republican idea. It is time Republicans take the same tactic. Ignore them and ram our policies - just like they do. And that is exactly what Trump does. He tells everyone he's a negotiator. But he doesn't. He takes a stand and sticks to it while always telling the t***h no matter how ugly it is or how ugly he delivers it. I’m sorry to say it, but that’s the only way we Republicans are going to save our country in the next e******n.

Where is your proof of the secret deal that Trump had with Justice Kennedy? Unless you can provide the evidence - your full of horse hockey. Makes you look like an idjit dem - who make unfounded allegations all the time. This sounds like fiction to me.

President Trump is not going to change. AND, if the 3 undecided's can't stand what is right - and can't SEE what is right - we are gonna be controlled by the Democrats anyway. They either are with the Republican Party or they are not. Trump calls it like he see's it - AND THAT'S WHAT THE DEMS AND MSM DON'T LIKE ABOUT HIM. He tells the t***h - something the Dems and MSM bend to fit their narrative. But with Trump - No matter how ugly and controversial - If the t***h fits, wear it.

Right on. Those who think about their perceived "judicial temperament" or any kind of non-assertive temperament as the "NORM" are themselves NOT NORMAL. How can Flake be worried about The Judges attitude when all of us Republicans are looking at "The Flake" temperament with total "double D" temperament (disdain and disgust). Flake is a sorry excuse for a conservative. Also, all anyone has to do when considering what is NOT A PROPER attitude is to look at the one displayed by the female Senator from Hawaii who SHOUTS OUT telling all men to "shut up" - which is a real "senatorial" attitude.

You bring out some very salient points. So the real answer is that these will always be political appointments and therefore always controversial. Looking back at the history of the Supremes, the country never has had to deal with the kind of controversy that exists today. Maybe we should chalk it up to American politics. The one thing the left has done is sully one judge, Judge Thomas, and is doing the same thing to the Kavanaugh confirmation. He'll be confirmed.

I personally don't know how Kavanaugh and his family have been able to live through all this. The lefties always write the narrative and righties like Kavanaugh always have to scramble to "defend". Maybe some woman will come forward and say, "You know, I remember the night at a drunken party that she took on the - one by one - every guy in the room. And then, she asked me never to say anything about it. I don't remember their names, what they looked like, nor do I remember the exact date - but otherwise I remember it as clearly as I'm standing here today. I didn't want to come forward until now because I didn't want to ruin her reputation, but now I feel it is my duty to the American public that I come forward and be heard. I demand to be heard before the Judiciary Committee." Won't happen because nothing like that happenned. I believe however, that someone attempted to rape her as she described. But, it will come down to a "she said, he said". If Kavanaugh did it - as a teenager - it just shows that that a males reputation can never be saved. Yet, a females reputation (the class s**t type) can be reabilitated and forgotten. What happens if at 8am Wednesday morning, Chuck Grassley where to say, "I have a letter here signed by 12 gentlemen who are willing to come forward and describe their sexual encounters with The Dean who says The Judge attemtpted to rape her." How does Grassly handle it? Interesting topic I believe. It would be nice to see only to watch the lefties come unglued.

NO! Could not DISAGREE more. There should not be term limits on the Supreme Court Justice's because it truly would be political mess if there were. How about instead, a mandatory retirement age of say 80.

I agree. I never thought I would see anything like what is happening in my lifetime. I’ve seen a lot of disagreement along party lines in the past – but at least there was always room for compromise. That is impossible today.

It’s all due to the hatred of Donald Trump - an outsider, someone who is not a career politician who does things HIS way - not like the ways of what our President has labeled The Swamp. When Donald Trump first announced his candidacy (one of 16) I looked at my wife laughingly and said, "That guy will never get the nomination. He’s just a rich boy TV personality".

I was a Ted Cruz backer. But then Trump went through the primaries - kicking ass of the 15 "professional politicians" one by one, knocking them off like ducks in a shooting gallery. He had flare. He showed guts. He had moxie. He was smart. He knew the issues and knew how to express what he’d was going to do. He was - then and still is today – BELIEVABLE! Once he made lay waste to the other 15 candidates, then he began to hammer at his opponent – never allowing her to gain traction. And, like it or not, he always led the narrative (and the Dems and the MSM are befuddled as to how he can always end up on the right side of the narrative – even when he doesn’t define it).

Donald Trump is not a platoon player. He is not only good on the defense, but his offense rolls along like a freight train. In spite of the lack of support – there are these Republican folks called Never Trumpers and also those who play lip service to their support of The Donald. He is the definition of - The Popeye like character - a spinach eating one man wrecking crew. He’s like Spartacus – leading a bunch of rag-tag, crumb snatchers who follow him because he is saying what they want to say – and is doing what they want to do, which is unapologetically to kick ass and take names leaving bodies buried along the way – arrogantly bragging and laugh about it as he sticks their collective noses it the dirt along the way. THE CAREER POLITICIANS CAN’T STOMACH THE WAY HE DOES IT, even though they sit around doing the same thing themselves. See, they want part of the pie, but for Donald Trump there is no pie. He owes to nobody but himself – and the ideas and notions of his family. He is a leader of leaders. If you don’t follow him, he’ll kick you off and find someone else who does. Again, career politicians do the same thing, only they do it in a more ladylike and gentlemanly way. Donald Trump studies, assess, plans and executes. WHAM! Career politicians study, discuss, study some more, then discuss some more; asses and re-assess, then re-asses again; plan and plan – and then plan some more. When they finally execute – they fail because, unlike Trump who owes nobody, trying to satisfy everybody they owe.

I supported Bush II and Romney, but both those guys rolled over meekly like defeated school boys at the slight bark back by the Dems and MSM. 1) Bush II never fought back the MSM like The Donald did and as he does so well today, with Mr. Bush always saying he was above the fray. Yeah he was above the fray – he actually did not have the guts enough to get down in the dirt with the Dems and MSM - and therefore let down the American public; and 2) Romney rolled over like a whipped puppy after the "47%" remark. People said it was a mistake to say it, but what he said was true - and he should have been unapologetic and driven that home fighting like a mad dog to prove it point. Instead, he whimpered back to his dog bed, again letting down the American public just like Bush II. So any hope he had of being elected was thrown away when Romney showed he didn't have the stomach for a good fight. Ask yourself, do you think Romney would have stared down Kim Jung-Un like President Trump did. We already know that no President dating back to Bush I has had the ability to make the No. Koreans (and the Chinese by proxy) come to any type of terms regarding dismantling nuclear weapons. Unlike Trump, all the rest ARE - and you guessed it - CAREER POLITICIANS who can't get the job done!

The commonality between the two is astonishing. Bush and Romney are wealthy – and both are CAREER POLITICIANS - and neither can/could get the job done. The wealthy Donald Trump on the other hand - as rude and crude as he may be at times - struck me like he did millions of others. To me it was - "Here's a guy who can get the job done - and IS NOT A CAREER POLITICIAN who always fail; who always let you down.” Now the career politicians are in an uproar because politics will never be the same again because of Donald Trump - not only will we begin to see more Donald Trump types, but we will begin to see more extreme lefty politicians, which both types go against the grain of the current career (swamp) politicians. The “swamp things” are beginning to feel the heat.

Now the wars will really begin. The Right is the side of less government, less taxes, strong military, closed borders, anti-a******n; The Left the side of more government, higher taxes, a weak military, open borders and lastly pro-a******n. The Right will continue to have ideas, while the Left will be more concerned about where people go to the bathroom. The Left will always be defined as those elite few who assign people to nasty/distasteful and ignorant labels, and being ahead of and defining the narrative; The Right will always have to scramble to catch up with the narrative and fight against being labeled as anything. The Right will be for democracy and free enterprise, free speech along with the right to bear arms; while the left will come disguised in sheep’s clothing while free speech and the right to bear arms will be guarded with a twist of C*******m thrown in. The two ideologies couldn’t be more opposite and polarizing. To quote a now famous fictional detective – The Game is On.

I was with you all the way in your response until “One thing we can do is work to eliminate the segregation laws and practices that are used to separate us.” What specific laws are you speaking about? I don’t know of any, so I would welcome an enlightening. Somewhere along the line, I’ve missed something and that disturbs me as I am usually quite informed.

Now for “practices that separate us”, I assume you mean practices such as pay based on sex or sexual orientation. Practices that discriminate based on race are definitely something that will always be a work in progress because – well – America is America. I don’t have much faith in ALL Americans suddenly having an epiphany and deciding they won’t h**e a race (i.e., white hating black as well as black hating white). It’s like saying the sky is not blue; it ain’t happening. It’s a fabulous goal, but realistically, it will never happen. AND, that is when racial snobbery raises its ugly head. I.E., It ain’t me who has the problem – it’s you!

I was bewildered by your statement, “We also want the criminals among us to be treated fairly by law enforcement people and the by the court system. We need to eliminate the disparities in our legal system and apply our laws equally to all citizens regardless of outer differences” Obviously we live in different worlds. You seem to have the firsthand experience on this subject that I have not. There are no disparities in our legal system – there are disparities in APPLICATION. The laws themselves aren’t the problem, people applying them are. It’s not the gun who does the shooting, it’s the person holding the gun.

I agree wholeheartedly that acknowledging and understanding outer differences would go a long way toward bringing citizens together. But again, this is America. ALL of America coming to this understanding is just not going to happen in my life time. But then again, that’s what makes us so great – we keep working toward that goal – never wavering from it. Our country is not a perfect union, but we keep striving for it. Luckily, we have people like yourself who can so cogently keep us on our toes and remind us.

If your facts are straight and clear - provide the reference so I can understand where and how arrive at your view. What are you scared to show the references? Or is it that you don't have any and you just made all this junk up.

Civilians cannot and never have that same code of honor for one reason only - everything done in the military is done placing your life at stake. That causes people to automatically bond because you never know - you may be next one in needlkk. Civilians NEVER have to place their life on the line. As I said - the comradery we feel for each other cannot be explained - it's just there; it's a special feeling. It is not like the love you have for your spouse or children - but that feeling remains with me to this day. The feeling never goes away for your brothers and sisters.