how do you feel

When I came out to my two older sisters (coming out just seems so demeaning anymore, coming out from what?) some 25 years ago, there was very little hoopla or discern. However, there was one question both of my older sisters wanted to ask, but neither knew how to express.

The strange thing was that when I had announced to my sisters, each separately from one another, that among other attributes in my life I was now recognizing that I was Gay, openly expressing my acceptance of it, they both had said to me, so how are you feeling? At first, the how was I feeling question made sense. I assumed they were asking me how was I feeling emotionally, or how was I feeling now that I had shared a secret of my life. When the first sister I told, Maxine asked me that question I said great. I said Maxine I am feeling great, how are you feeling? I was asking the how are you feeling question to her in regards to how are you feeling now that I have told you a deep dark secret I was so afraid of sharing.

Maxine said in all earnest, but its your health I am worried about. This bit of repartee went on for about three minutes. She asked me and I asked her how are you feeling how am I feeling it was like watching an exciting tennis match with no one hitting the ball fowl. Then it dawned on me that the how was I feeling question had nothing to do with my mental health, but it was more of an indirect direct question as to how was my physical health.

Maxine, I said, now holding her hand. Why are you asking me about my physical health when I am proclaiming my independence from the closet and sounding proud to be admitting one more fact about my life. Maxine looked at me and said but if you are Gay doesn’t that mean, she paused looked away from me, doesn’t that mean and then she stopped.

Sometimes like a lightening bolt out of nowhere we all have a recognition of nonsense making some sense. As my sister dropped her eyes from my eyes as she lowered her voice as if she was expressing her condolences for some awful moment in my life, I realized my sister Maxine, who knew nothing about my sex life when I was dating or married or now as newly outed Gay man, was worried as a Gay man I must surely have AIDS.

Rumor runs rampant in my family and feelings get hurt very quickly if one sibling knows something and the rest do not. (I always have to manage to speed dial all of my siblings when wishing them a happy holiday for fear of one of saying have you heard from your brother). So after telling Maxine my news, I quickly drove the car and went to my second sister Bonnie. My timing was perfect as Bonnie had not yet received the have you heard from your brother phone call from Maxine yet.

Still burning a bit from Maxine’s question about my health and her assumption, I was a bit more direct with Bonnie, saying I am Gay, its still me and nothing else has changed except I am more open about something I was embarrassed to share.

Bonnie’s reaction was as I had anticipated with her saying I don’t care about that Gerry you are my brother and I loved you before you said you are Gay and I love you just the same now. And then she said to me in a quiet voice, the kind of voice you hear in the movies when it is three o’clock in the morning and someone is knocking at your door, the kind of voice that almost cracks and wishes it did not have to ask the question of who is there, how do you feel?

Not this sister I thought, how do I feel, Bonnie I retorted, I feel great, how do you feel. I mean how do YOU feel she said with a sense of urgency in her voice. How should I feel I decided to answer I just told you something I had been hiding from myself for along time, I feel great. Well that is great she replied but how else do you feel?

Like with my sister Maxine I played the how do you feel game for another three minutes. Like my sister Maxine, my sister Bonnie assumed that being Gay meant I have AIDS.

I was and am HIV negative. My lifestyle never included any risky sexual or social activity which might have may have made me vulnerable. And none of that even counted as my sisters asked me how do I feel, as they never knowing anyone personally who was Gay or perhaps out of the closet, had garnered their homosexual information from bigoted, biased, bogus people who had slandered and run rough shod on all homosexuals and had never taken the time to understand any or all facts on HIV/AIDS.

Twenty five years ago, Gay for many meant AIDS. It was a curse for being something other then straight. It was assumed by many who had no idea, along with dressing in drag, able to decorate a home, style hair that being Gay meant you had AIDS.

When I finally answered my two sisters questions about how I felt and said no, indeed I did not have HIV or AIDS, they sighed. And then I sat down with each of them and said I need to explain to you all the things you assume and then provide real facts. We had quite a conversation, the first time I had mentioned anything about sex with them in my entire life.

This is World AIDS Day. It is day to reflect, review and respond to the people who have died of AIDS, currently live with AIDS and to consider how we can educate others to never have to deal with this disease in the future. It is a day for me that reminds me how not knowing how to ask a question, not understanding why the question is asked, or just assuming the question needs to be asked is so important.

Prejudice is a disease, ignorance is the foundation for prejudice, learning the truth seems to be the only vaccine to cure the illness. My sisters meant no harm. Rather, I am sure they were scared and concerned for their baby brother. I am sad we have to hold World AIDS Day, but the benefits for me seem to be medicine for the soul.

I wish those who have lost loved ones from AIDS a moment of remembrance for the joy and value those who have deceased brought them and still provide them via memories. For those living with AIDS I wish you promise and encouragement and hope. For those who have little idea of the wrath of AIDS I wish for you knowledge and will and the ability to ask any and all questions but not settling until you receive correct answers.

some 'spalining Lucy

Ricky Ricardo always seemed so frustrated with his wife Lucy during her many madcap meanderings. In almost every TV show, somewhere along the way Ricky, exasperated, would say "...you need some 'splaining Lucy..."

Today after hearing about a supposed affair between Herman Cain and his on going 13 year affair with girlfriend Ginger, the self proclaimed spokesperson for what truly is Christian and Christ like, Mike Huckabee, came forward to pronounce his God like revelations.

It seemed to Mr. (holier than thou) Huckabee that a supposed consensual relationship between two adults is more evil and worth dropping out of the race then a non consensual sexual abuse from one aggressive man to another submissive woman. Somehow in Mr. (closer to God then thee) Huckabee a woman experiencing abuse of any kind is no big deal, but a woman embracing the sexual advances of a man is a sin.

I as a man am confused, if I was a woman I would be furious. Mr. Huckabee, you need some ‘splaining.

Today, we hear that the Republicans are furious that they are being kept to their promises. It seems when the Super Duper, we will will fix the ills of this nation special committee was formed, the promise made was that if the brightest bulbs selected to sit on this extra special committee to deal with deficit reduction could not find consensus then some triggers would take place to begin the process of lowering our deficit. The triggers would include cut backs of the social net programs such as social security, medicare and military spending.

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone the deadline for the extra special, we will cure the common cold committee and now the triggers are expected to commence.

But wait, the Republican politicians want to renege on cutting anything that has to do with the military. They are happy to stop providing with adequate retirement money, they are pleased as punch to avoid paying for any medical needs of the public, and they sure as hell think its fine and dandy to stop feeding the hungry. The Republicans insist we must be able to protect this country from any foreign invasion. But I ask if we have poor, hungry, sick Americans what the hell use is saving our country from the enemy from afar when the enemy within will cause the downfall and destruction?

Republican lawmakers you have some ‘splaining to do insisting a bloated military budget takes priority from the bloated stomachs, bloated debt, and bloated future of the citizens of this nation.

The Republican/Tea Party voters, the anti Romney gang, the ones who once loved Michelle, then Rick and then Herman are now embracing Newt. These self proclaimed “values” voters want a true Conservative as their president, and look for the candidate who can hate better, fabricate more, and double talk like the best snake salesman around. (They somehow make a distinction between double talk being good but flip flopping being bad).

Now it seems that Newtie is the MAN... despite his two adulterous affairs while married,... despite his wheeling and dealing with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, making at least three million dollars off of the tax payer,... despite his linty of ethics charges as Speaker of the House,... despite his commercial with Nancy Pelosi stating climate change is mad made.

It seems Newtie is now mister popular with a block of voters who seem to lay claim to Christian values, Conservative ethics, and conclude that both the New Testament and the Constitution are the same document. All of Newties indiscretions are washed away as if he was baptized once again. All of Newties immoral, unethical mean and tempestuous behaviors are okay.

Well core Republicans you have some ‘splaining to do as to just how hypocritical and ignorant you must be to make Newt your first choice. Do you all really hate the rest of us that much that you now support this vile,lying, arrogant self serving individual?

At least when Ricky asked Lucy to ‘splain what just happened, the comedy writers on the show provided a few laugh lines for Lucy’s retort, and the director told Lucy to showcase her wide beautiful smile. The audience laughed and looked forward to the next episode knowing the trouble that would ensue, but somehow Ricky would save the day and it all would end happily ever after.

Somehow with each new episode of some ‘splaining to do in our current day life there are no laugh lines or happily ever after. Wouldn’t it be nice if the voters could begin to provide some of their own ‘spalining and change the dialogue to include less ‘splaining and more sense?

telling a story

Today, hoping I would find something newsworthy that would not “piss” me off and maybe find some good news for the 99%, I found two stories. Both stories have the “piss” me off factor in common, each had a different purpose, but both had a common theme.

STORY ONE:

While the nation's largest banks were publicly reassuring nervous investors of their stability during the height of the financial crisis, they were also quietly approaching the Federal Reserve, hat in hand. The total price tag: $7.77 trillion, many times the amount of the better-known TARP bailout.

The magnitude of the government's assistance to struggling banks allowed them to grow even bigger and continue paying executives billions in compensation, a report in Bloomberg Markets January issue said Monday.

Fed defended its actions back then by contending that the biggest financial institutions in the country were too big to fail — a phrase that has become a bone of contention among lawmakers, some of whom argue that a "too big to fail" bank is one that's too big to exist. (msnbc.com)

STORY TWO:

Carol Johnston, Walmart’s senior vice president of store development, said that store managers have seen an “enormous spike” in the number of consumers shopping at midnight on the first of the month. That’s typically when those receiving federal food assistance have their accounts refilled each month.

Becca Reeder and her husband, T.J. Fowler, are one of the families shopping before the sun rises.

When NBC News visited their home six days before the first of the month, they had no milk in their refrigerator. Among the few things left were water, bacon grease for the dog’s food, a little bit of apple juice, cheese and tortillas.

The newlyweds are both certified nursing assistants but have been unable to find work in their field. Fowler is commuting an hour and a half round trip to a part-time job flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant and Reeder is not working.

They never imagined they would need food stamps to get by. (msnbc.com)

Somehow, whether it be by secret vote, fabrication or out and out arrogance, the politicians of both parties have decided that if you are big you are better. They have decided if you are small you are both too minute to count or actually too invisible to be of importance.

Somehow too big too fail is a good thing and making you even bigger so your failure can really never take place is like American pie, motherhood and the bald eagle. Somehow corporate welfare is a good thing. Somehow too little to be noticed is the fault of the too small people hiding in the shadows. Somehow too small to count is unPatriotic, UnAmerican, socialism.Somehow welfare for the poor, the underemployed, the elderly, the unemployed is anti Capitalism. Somehow if you are not a Lobbyist, able to place dollars in a PAC, or a campaign, you have very little clout with our current crop of criminals calling themselves politicians. Somehow small is bad and big is good. Somehow once again as talk filters out of both sides of the mouths of Presidents, Legislators and Senators, and hypocrisy runs rampant, and truth is replaced with fiction and fabrication, the rich stay rich, powerful and greedy.

We hear the harangue from many Republican/ Tea Party and Blue Dog Democrats that the unemployed are lazy, the poor are selfish, and the elderly asking for more of their fair share then they deserve and any kind of welfare will be the ruination of this nation. We hear that corporations should be the rulers of their turf and any intervention by the government would tear down the pearly gates of democracy and be replaced by the fiery gates of socialism, communism and fascism. That is except when it comes to feeding the bottom line of those corporations with tax payer dollars, in that case welfare has its merits.

One story talks about greed and gluttony a cover up and government secrets. The other story talks about survival on a meager salary, fighting to feed your family and looking for the American dreams as tarnished as it currently seems. Both stories talk about an America that seems to be without morals, ethics and value.

All I want is a story with a happy ending for not just the 1% but the rest of the 99%. Isn’t it about time?

paying close attention

US Senate To Vote On Bill That Will Allow The Military To Arrest Americans On American Soil And Hold them indefinitely (addicting info.com)

We were told that weapons of mass destruction were going to rid America of our red, white and blue, then we were told that the Patriot Act would keep our bald eagle flying, then we were told that the Occupy Movement was a bunch of anarchists, lazy folk and if they were not arrested or peppered sprayed by police we would no longer have apple pie. Now it seems that the military must arrest and detain our citizens as if this country was a dictatorship keeping the bad guys in power or else we will no longer have motherhood or baseball. Are the red, white and blue, the bald eagle, apple pie and motherhood worth anything at all without the one true identity of America...Freedom?

We are told that now is not the time to spend any additional government money on alternative fuels: (various and sundry news papers and news outlets especially conservative communication organizations)

During the the 1973 oil embargo by the Arab states, this country came to find out that dependence on foreign governments to supply us our unsustainable quench for oil, had more dips in the road and very little smooth sailing. We found out that as powerful of a player as the US was in the world, we were brought to our red, white and blue knees and had to beg borrow and steal just to feed our engines, fuel our houses, and light our nights.

We were told by the president, the Congress the auto makers that being beholden to any other nation to keep our economy pumped and primed would end here and now. We saw the rockets red glare, we were the land of the fruited plane, we were all Uncle Sam’s kids and he would lead us to alternative energy. And for about 36 months, leading into 1976, our bicentennial, we forged together, we tightened our belts. We were promised the sun, moon and earth and sworn to that this was like Custer’s Last Stand, the first shot at Fort Sumpter, the Blockade of Cuba, and we would never look back.

And the sad thing is we never did look back. In 2011 we are told that drill baby drill is what will keep America strong. We are told that the Progressives who want solar, water, wind energy are really anti Capitalists and in turn anti American. We are told today is not the time to begin to end our reliance on oil, that we need to drill more and some time down the line we can act like Hippies and rely less on oil.

We are played the National Anthem, recite the Lords Prayer, sing America the Beautiful as the lobbyists who run this government demand that their puppets in Congress, fool the people of this nation into thinking anything but OIL, OIL, OIL is evil, evil, evil. And we all as a nation pledge allegiance to their snake oil.

American’s are treated as if we are ignoramuses, unable to understand how our government is run, the healthy priorities of our lives, and that someone other than us is more capable of making decisions about freedom, health, environment, and personal choice. We are given rules and regulations as to what makes a GOOD AMERICAN. We are told just what our founding fathers really meant ( as if any of the current mavens was alive at the time) when they established this nation, and that anyone who questions, petitions for answers, or does not readily stand to attention and cow tow to corporations is a socialist, communist, anarchist. We are lectured to by hypocrites, liars, the greedy and the gluttonous.

Everything is based on words, terms, phrases all like a big marketing plan. If it is good it is red, white and blue, if it is right it is apple pie, motherhood, baseball. If you doubt you must not understand the roots of this nation and you are an enemy of the state.

I often wonder just how much freedom must be lost before it can never ever be found again. I often wonder just how gullible one can get before reason and rational never return. I often wonder how we define being American as being sedentary, senile, subdued?

Most countries run by dictators give the army a whole of freedom while restricting freedom for anyone else! We say it can not happen here, but have we paying close enough attention?

love, not war

In the past many years I have heard complaints by some that there is a war on Christmas. The blame many times was heralded against the agnostic, the atheist, the non Christian American who still believed in a separation between church and state. Many conservative talk radio jerks blamed it on the fact that since Obama came into power it was a socialist plot to eliminate ALL Americans from celebrating the holiday. For some the mere insistence that government buildings should remain neutral and not showcase any religious icon was reason to scream war. And for some it was very simple, Christmas was and is both an American holiday as well as a religious celebration so don't mess with it.

In my own opinion I felt that Christmas decorations displayed on city streets the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas music being played in store after store, commercial radio stations making it a 24 hour parade of Christmas music, houses displaying Christmas lights, some right after Halloween, and commercials extolling the Christmas season proved that if there was a war on Christmas it must be those in favor of Christmas who are winning.

But that was then and this is now, and NOW I actually believe there is a war going on and it is giving Christmas a BAD name. For two weeks prior to BLACK FRIDAY we were warned that SALES, SALES, SALES, DISCOUNTS, DISCOUNTS, DISCOUNTS would take place and if you didn't BUY, BUY, BUY you did not understand what Christmas was about and more so you were rather unAmerican.

And to lull you into doing the correct thing, stores were going to be open Thanksgiving night. The hell with family values like eating turkey together, sitting around the table communicating with one another, having quality family time, actually giving thanks, none of that indeed. Nope the stores, you know the all American Christian value stores, like Walmart. Target, were going to be open at 9 pm. And if you really had to spend that time with your family, what would Jesus do, you could abandon your family and BUY, BUY, BUY at midnight (realizing that the juicy discounts would be over).

And in the midst of making Christmas bright, the shoppers stomped upon one another, pepper sprayed one another, shot one another in the parking lot, grabbed gifts out of the hands of one another, or ignored dead bodies on the ground to get that perfect Christmas gift. And as they did all of this Noel, Noel, White Christmas, What Child Is This played like hypnotic melodies through countless loud speakers.

So the corporations, knowing just how poor many Americans are decided to play a game called mouse in a maze. Place the cheese at the end of some confusing maze make the mice either eat their fellow mice, starve or fight to the finish and get the cheese, the cheese being a dozen flat screen TV's half a dozen XBOX games, a few video cameras and whole lot of crap in between. Make the desperate feel that pushing, shoving, leaving their family behind was a good thing and you the CEO, just think about the bottom line of your own corporation. And somehow all of that resonated in the minds and bodies of those who decided pushing, shoving, greed and gluttony was what this Christmas season was all about.

I am not a Christian, but I enjoy hearing about the beauty of Christmas, the birth of Jesus and the hope and promise his birth provided for humans on Earth. I am not Christian and being a religious minority I never questioned the need to celebrate this holiday or questioned the amount of space, momentum and energy in anticipation of this holiday. I am not a Christian but I enjoy participating with others as they celebrate this holiday with pious, joyful and emotional meaning.

But this year it seems to me the holiday season so far looks nothing like the spirit of Christmas at all. I believe, greedy corporations, needy people, selfish people, big business have declared a war on Christmas. I believe any hint of the birth of Jesus and his purpose and message are missing. And if this trend keeps up they will never be found again. It is not the agnostic, the atheist, the non Christian who have delivered a bloody blow to Christmas, but those who somehow think chaos, selfish, greed is a sign from God.

If we don't stop this newest trend it will be one more occasion that is nothing more than a Hallmark Card, a reason to shop, and just one more day to act like a lemming.

Make love, not war!

the day after Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving the day after... What makes this day best in not necessarily the left over turkey, the thank goodness I have the day off, the football games or The Sex in the City or Twilight Zone marathons but the ability to suddenly be infused with memories. There is a whole lot of planning for Thanksgiving, and during the hubris, hubbub and hurry the hours go astray, minutes wash away, and moments seemed blurred with a to do list sometimes longer then we wish. We seem to be caught up in the moment, or getting ready, getting there and getting settled. It is after all of that, that many of us suddenly remember how much fun, food, foolishness we just had and we weave those new memories into a tapestry titled my many Thanksgivings!

Thanksgiving when I was a kid was always at my parents home. There was some unwritten rule or maybe it was the 11th or 12th commandment, that surely stated, Rena Buncher would ALWAYS have Thanksgiving dinner. My mother would cook a turkey, make a brisket, prepare the salad, bake a kugel, prepare a green bean casserole, make a vegetable soup, and always a homemade cake, brownies, and pie.

She permitted jello molds to be brought in by her sisters, dips and chips by neighbors and perhaps bottles of pop (soda for those not from Pittsburgh), but everything else was prepared, cooked, or baked by my mother.

The memories I have include, at least one trip to the emergency room to stitch some deep cut to my mothers hand, a trip to the pharmacy to buy aloe for the burns on her hands from not using pot holders, kvetching from my mother that this would be the last Thanksgiving, and weird orders by my mother to clean parts of our house we were sure no one ever noticed like the baseboards, the shelves on which her holiday plates and glasses wee stored, and to remove all of our coats (four kids and two parents) from the living room closet so company could hang their coats when they arrived.

I remember going to the neighbors houses for card chairs and card tables, collecting extra silverware from the neighbor's for the 20 people sitting around the table, and finally going to the neighbors homes and providing them with left overs, probably enough to feed them for the next week.

I remember thinking that being a male was terrific, since only the women were stuck clearing the table doing the dishes and then placing them back in the various cabinets. I remember my three sisters complaining how unfair it was that they had to do this work and my mother saying your brother got all the card chairs and tables he deserves to rest now.

I remember dinner being finished the dishes done and everyone somehow fitting into our living room. I remember stories being shared of life in the old country, life when my relatives arrived in this country, and life of my aunts and uncles when they were not even parents. I remember the sweet smell of perfume , the stale odor of cigars, the pungent aroma of kosher dill pickles and green tomatoes, the amazing almost dizzying delights of chocolate cake, apple strudel, coconut icing, strawberries and banana. And I can still sniff the deep, rich fragrance of Romanian coffee, smelling so good but tasting so bitter.

Thanksgivings have changed for me as I moved away from Pittsburgh, as my relatives got older as my kids became young adults. I remember the old, and am grateful for the new. But no matter when or where or how much older I get, it is the day after Thanksgiving that I look back and reflect, remember and reminisce reminding myself of the moments and minutes that make me who I am.

I hope this day after Thanksgiving finds all my friends and family recalling one more memory, one more milestone. Happy day after Thanksgiving!

literature and life

After Chicken Little causes widespread panic--when he mistakes a falling acorn for a piece of the sky--the young chicken is determined to restore his reputation. But just as things are starting to go his way, a real piece of the sky lands on his head. Chicken Little and his band of misfit friends, Abby Mallard (aka Ugly Duckling), Runt of the Litter and Fish Out of Water, attempt to save the world without sending the town into a whole new panic.(“Henny Penny” by Joseph Jacobs)

At The Family Leader's Thanksgiving Family Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, Newt Gingrich used his platform to once again attack Occupy Wall Street and dismiss concerns about economic inequality and corporate power in America. Gingrich said that the Occupy Wall Street movement proves "how much the left has collapsed as a moral system in this country, telling demonstrators "go get a job right after you take a bath."(right wing watch.)

And as Bill Clinton was being lectured to by Newt Gingrich on (Clinton’s) infidelity, Newtie was practicing his own adulterous affair. While Newtie was promising the taxpayers a stronger government on the side of the American taxpayers and that he was a champion of taxes, he took those same tax dollars to pay for his partisan PACS. Newtie swore as he he usually does when caught, they made me do it. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are evil he said. If president he (Newtie) will immediately 100% privatize both agencies. This while he recently has received 1.6 to 1.8 million dollars doing consulting work for the agencies.

Newt has the sky falling over everyone else’s head thinking his lies, hypocrisy and double talk will shelter him from any falling objects he may have thrown in the air in the first place. And Newt is still embraced by Christian Conservative, Family Values first, Republican/Tea Bag Party Americans. It makes you wonder the morals, values and ethics of those supporters!

Christine Penmark seems to have it all: a lovely home, a loving husband and the most "perfect" daughter in the world. But since childhood, Christine has suffered from the most terrible recurring nightmare. And her "perfect" daughter's accomplishments include lying, theft and possibly much, much worse. Only Christine knows the truth about her daughter and only Christine's father knows the truth about her nightmare.(“The Bad Seed”, by A. L. Beneteau)

Michelle Bachmann, Minnesota congresswoman charged that Obama's beliefs run counter to a basic tenet of Christianity. "The 10th Commandment teaches those shall not covet thy neighbor's goods," she said. "It's time to act on this self-evident truth." (first read) And Michelle is outraged at the subsidies provided to people, communities demographics in tis nation by the current administration calling them “the worst kind of socialism”.

It seems that the Bachmann family owns farmland in Minnesota, and they receive farm subsidies to help balance their bottom line. It seems Michelle and her “we can cure the Gays” hubby, Marcus indulge in receiving government subsidies for their farmland because among other things it benefits their budget. Mr. Bachmann also runs a clinic and receives government money to offset some of the cost the patients might have to pay for among other things kick the gay out of his/her psyche. The subsidies the Bachmann clan receive is Capitalism at its best but anyone else wanting health care, social security unemployment checks is Socialism at its worst.

And Mrs. Bachmann is still sought after to speak at such venom and vitriol groups as Focus on the Family, Family Forum, Americans for Prosperity. It seems if you address your hate toward others, avoiding your own shortfalls, never owning up to your own infallibilities you become a hero. And Michelle is still in the running for president by those if she hates like I do I will pardon her on everything else wrong with her Republican/Tea Party, God discovered Americans.

Michelle seems to have it all at least seems to have all the answers and like most bad seeds once the fruit ripens the taste is not as good as it looks.

The Danger of Blindly Following Tradition

The village lottery culminates in a violent murder each year, a bizarre ritual that suggests how dangerous tradition can be when people follow it blindly. (“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson)

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden's wife, were booed by some NASCAR fans as they served as the grand marshals for the racing circuit's final event Sunday.

Obama and Biden were at the Homestead-Miami Speedway to promote Joining Forces an organization that promotes the hiring and training of veterans. (political hotsheet)

The House has voted to let the Pentagon continue using taxpayer dollars to sponsor NASCAR race teams.

By a 281-148 vote, lawmakers rejected an effort by Minnesota Democratic Rep. Betty McCollum that would have ended the practice. McCollum aides said the Army is spending $7 million on a sponsorship this year, and the Air Force and National Guard are spending additional money.(courant.com)

One of the most Americana culture icons of tis nation we are told is NASCAR. It is a sport, if you will, made from sweat, masculinity, the colors of both the confederacy and union, the blessing by God to America, and as red white and blue as baseball and apple pie. It is a place where rednecks and closets blue collared rednecks can coalesce and show off the power of the automobile,dependence on oil and the mechanics who in a matter of five minutes can patch, repair and set a race car in motion.

What better place then to herald the triumph of returning Veterans and to remind the nation of a key program chaired by the First Lady and the wife of the Vice president , Joining Forces.

We salute the flag, we know our rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, helped our flag still be there because of the dedication of the Troops, many of whom are now Veterans, and many of whom like the millions of other Americans, need employment.

And so this First Lady and the Vice President’s wife have joined forces with the military to encourage support for our Vets. But despite all of that, some in the crowd of NASCAR, a sport subsidized by our government, (when we are pulling back money from the Arts, education and health care) found it necessary to boo and to instead display their ignorance and tolerance. Somehow many of these FOX TV viewers, Rush Limbaugh lemmings, I like God because he hates the same as I do Americans had to boo instead of applauding the efforts and energy of these two public figures. There are traditions handed down from family to family, generation to generation it can be as simple as buying a ticket to NASCAR to as complex as believing the bigots, bastards and bogus who incite distrust, animosity and hate. For the people who found the red white and blue in cars racing around a track but failed to find it in a First Lady celebrating our Vets I have to wonder just how patriotic they are and how the tradition of being a patriot seemed to go asunder. Makes you wonder just what kind of information about America has been shared from generation to generation?