Oh, Those Unintended Consequences...

It's another nice morning to wake up to in the Heartland of America.
('cause the "neighbors" don't rise until 1100 hiurs...lol)
Highs today expected to be in the low 80s, but this weekend, we'll be feeling the remnants of (now) tropical storm Isaac, after it makes landfall this Wednesday and heads inland through the Midwest.
Might be a rainy weekend...
And that brings us to the first story of today's post.
*** Fort Wayne Air Show to take place this weekend from Friday through Sunday.

Here's the official site:
https://www.fwairshow.com/
Now, most all of you should know by now that I DO plan to attend...as to whether it will be Saturday or Sunday is yet to be decided.
But if you go there, and see a 60-yr old acting like a kid, wearing camos, and taking pictures of damn near anything and everything...yeah, that would be me...LOL.

My late father, who would have turned NINETY-ONE TODAY (Happy Birthday, Dad - still miss 'ya!), would always go to any and all air shows that came close to Philly, with me in tow, naturally.
We went to Johnsville NAS, Willow Grove, and even NE Philadelphia Airport (which we often stopped at anyway to watch the civvie pilots), and it was usually an ALL-DAY affair, so Mom knew we'd be home for dinner...eventually.
We saw the Army Golden Knights, Blue Angels (several times - when they flew the F-11 Tiger, the A-4 Skyhawk, and even the F-4 Phantom - never got old), assorted WW2 warbirds, aerobatic displays, and the like.
THIS show in Ft. Wayne is one of those "about damn time" venues, considering it's been since 1999 when we last had ANY such event happen here.
And it's one of the (few) BEST things to happen to the SOUTH side of the city since...I moved here...lol

What I really want to go see is the F-22 Raptor demonstration team in action...and maybe get a closeup "walk-around" of that bird.
Should be a nice time for folks of all ages...depending on the weather.
I don't mind getting rained on, but that will impact on the aerial events big time.
Moving on...
*** I usually don't do requests, but CWM (Tilting At Windmills blog) planted a seed, and being the gardener I am, I couldn't allow it to go unattended, so here goes.

I remember GEICO when they were primarily a small outfit, tailored solely for government employees, hence the acronym GEICO:
Government Employee Insurance COmpany (simple, huh?)

And I've enjoyed their commercials since they went "public" and have grown over time.
("So easy, a caveman could do it")

But one commercial I always got a hoot out of was the one with R. Lee Ermey as (of all things) a "therapist", advising a patient, and calling him a JACKWAGON...and a cry-baby...that was funny as hell.

Now, I've also been a huge fan of "Gunney" since seeing FULL METAL JACKET (a damn good flick about the 'Nam) where he plays a no-nonsense D.I. (weren't they ALL pretty much that way?), and his rapid-fire dress down of the young boots is only meant to get them ready for combat and realize that several types of sh*t can come their way at the drop of a helmet.
But Gunney went and did the "unthinkable"...he had the audacity to dress down the current "regime" (considering it's record over the last three years, that's NOT all that hard to do), and THAT was enough to get him FIRED as a spokesperson for GEICO...(shame on them for not growing a pair).
Here's the lowdown:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/famous-drill-instructor-says-geico-fired-him-for-criticizing-obama-admin/
Imagine that...!

Now, the first thing that came to MY mind was..."Land of the FREE?"
This flap happened last December, and Ermey actually apologized in January...BUT, apparently that's never enough.
So, when exactly did calling someone out for being everything that fills the "incompetent" hopper to the brim become nothing short of criminal?
Isn't the FIRST AMENDMENT still in play (according to the DEMS, everything is permitted there, but don't DARE allow a conservative to voice THEIR opinion), and that brings me again to the center of our shrubbery maze...
*** I am getting DAMN sick and tired of ALL this DOUBLE-STANDARD , PC BS...period!

One group can say whatever the hell they want, and "if" they get called on it...well, it was "in jest", but if the OTHER side even says word one contrary to the regime (or any progressive mantra), THEY get hung out to dry several times over.
And it's not JUST on the national level...it permeates all the way down to our very own communities...we see it every damn day.
Doesn't even matter if it's political in nature...can also be race-related...or educational...or socio-economic.

What amazes me, is that people will still roll over and play dead when confronted by the progressives on this...
There DOES come a time, when even the most pacifistic among us RUNS OUT OF CHEEKS TO TURN (I only have FOUR at last count...lol)
If the left is so willing to defend their LIES, then by God, the least WE can do is be AS willing (if not MORE SO) to defend the TRUTH.
And the good part about THAT, is that WE...ARE...RIGHT...and they aren't.
That's why I'm always saying to QUESTION EVERYTHING...get the answers that NEED getting, and chase after the truth like a bloodhound on an escaped felon's trail...

There are those occassions when it's fine to "go into the temple and overturn some tables", and the eradication of all these double-standards in America would be the BEST example of where to begin.
Whenever free speech comes with some sort of "price", it ceases to be free any longer.
That especially holds true to this notion that you can get "something for nothing", as too many people have settled upon in this nation, creating generational-dependency upon big government, which the progressives love to see.
Trouble with THAT, is that it DOES cost something to a lot of someones, and maybe all those someones are getting sick and tired of paying to (and for) the lazy.
*** Lastly today - Freedom is never free!
That is probably one of the oldest (and truest) maxims that have come down (in some manner) through history.
We seriously need to remember that.

We need to step away from all the "entertainment" crap that's drilled into our skulls 24/7/365, shut off all the damn technology that has gotten under our skin like some blood-sucking tick that's found the ultimate buffet, and back it up a few steps.
We need to know that freedom is not comprised of hitting that "cruise-control" knob, kicking back, and letting someone else take the wheel.
That's OUR job...as AMERICANS...always has been, and always should be.
Any REAL American is never content to "...let the next person do it", for if that were the case, this nation could have NEVER made the achievements she has over her short history.
As I always say...it's about the PEOPLE...and the PEOPLE will determine their capacity to live free.

Our Founders left this nation to US, that WE might be able to carry on with the security of OUR freedom, and if that means we sacrifice...so be it.
But we should NEVER grow that comfortable in our complacency to imagine for a moment that having freedom for some means freedom for all, and that especially carries over into that CONSTITUTION we have (and live by).
When government (those civil SERVANTS who WE choose) begins telling WE, the people (the owners and caretakers of the MANOR) how we should live our lives, what to eat, say, think, or do...we begin a walk down a very dark path.
That is NOT what this country is about....never was...never shall be.

And that, you can take to the bank.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...

Stay SAFE out there, America.