First of all, i appoligize for not writing more frequently.  As some of you know we are currently in Iraq, and we are getting ready to go home.  Things are a bit crazy.

I used to read the Helena Independent Record on a daily basis in Iraq via their website, helenair.com.  Recently i’ve noticed some things that i really don’t like about them.

First of all after their last web master left, some of the pages don’t update.  I don’t know if it’s my fault, but pages from days ago will load up and not show the current news.  And naturally if you email the web master now you get no response.  Plus the buttons don’t work the way they are supposed to.  Whenever a “professional” website looks like ass, i lose some respect for the organization.

Secondly Lee Enterprises is a very liberal organization.  The IR did a mediocre job before of having some even reporting.  However recently even the tonality of the reporters has been slanted to left.  Journalist are supposed to act as impartial watchdogs for government and society, not as cheerleaders.  It’s been exceedingly horrible the last few years, and the IR has bought into it.

Third they are now censoring conservative opinions on their website.  Several members on there have informed me they are banned from posting.  I have noticed that the last several comments i have left on their website have not be “approved” by the moderator to be posted.  I really hate hypocrites that choose to allow only some people post, and not others.

Needless to say, i will no longer support Lee Enterprises or the Helena IR.  And as long as other people begin to see this, they’ll notice their subscriptions falling off.  Then they’ll go the way of the other great liberal newspapers and fail as a business.

Good riddance.

As of late i have been finding myself doing a reality check on how my life is in America.  The thing that really set that off was seeing that Congress has decided that they need to investigate if restrooms are REALLY equal between the genders.  My first thought was: “Really?  Who cares?  They are wasting my tax dollars on if women have a nicer crapper than men?”

But then it hit me.

In America, we have it SO good that it is a priority for our national leaders to study Toilet Equality.  Other countries, not so much.  In Iraq, the government can’t even decide how to seat itself.  The Iraqi government even has a Department of Corruption, which “investigates” alleged cases of corrupt officials.  There still isnt power to everyone in the country, fresh water is still an issue, national infrastructure is still budding.  Add to this the whole problem of terrorist actually carrying out attacks and killing people, and maybe just maybe you can grasp the situation.

To borrow a quote from Gladiator: “The mob is fickle brother.  He will be forgotten in a month.”  This quote wholly rings true with the average American.  If it doesn’t directly affect the individual, they don’t care.  It really saddens me that 95% of Americans (yeah i made that up) will never even visit another country to see what other countries are like.  You really fail to appreciate what you have until you see what its like without it.

People who feel they are entitled money from the government, government housing, health care, government food subisidies etc, really are just incredibly selfish people.  In America, all the barriers to your success have been removed.  You even have literally millions and millions of organizations out there to help you out to succeed.  No other place in the world do you have a greater opportunity make something of yourself.

Just think, you could be in Iraq, a christian, just minding your own business going to mass, and someone could detonate a suicide vest (yes it happens ALL the time) and end your life, period.  Or you could have a child with chicken pox, who subsequently develops an infection and dies from staph, because there is no health care available for you to have for free.

Check please?