Well don't expect mourning, when he and his ilk fill people's heads with nonsense like "the Nazis were left wing," and "Thanksgiving celebrates the failure of socialism and the triumph of free enterprise for the Pilgrims," and they turn around and post it here, and insist that it's the truth after repeatedly being shown facts that demonstrate that is not. I'll say it again, I'm not glad he's dead-I'M AWFULLY GLAD THAT HE WON'T BE TALKING ANYMORE, THOUGH! So, something interesting I was going to post yesterday, along with the announcement of the retirement Olympia Snowe, a moderate Republican senator, tired of the polarization and divisiveness that grip American politics. In 1995, the Hubble Space Telescope captured dramatic images of gas formations in the Eagle nebula, about 7,00 light years from Earth. One of them became known as "The Pillars of Creation," an awe-inspiring demonstration of star formation, of literal creation in the vastness of the universe. View attachment $skyimage_2195_409738.jpg More recently, scientist have patiently explained that the pillars ceased to exist around 6000 years ago-the shockwave from a supernova destroyed them. We can see their images from 7,000 years ago, and we can see the shockwave from 7,000 years ago, but what we can't see is the shockwave actually hitting them 6000 years ago, and we won't be able to for another 1000 years or so. Our human sense of time and generally self-indulgent perspective makes understanding the big picture hard for some of our generally ego-centric brains. We struggle with similarly myopic perception when it comes to viewing our own culture, our own government, our own sense of place and potential, even when dealing with something as theoretically tangible as civil discourse, or birth-control, or energy policy, or death. We can't see that the policies, priorities and strategies we rely on today-even those we may view as new-may have ceased to be effective and applicable years or decades ago. This is the point in my post where I flesh out my grand metaphor with some hard-hitting analyses of how we're stuck in unproductive, argumentative cyclic debates about taxation, budget management, and valuing stasis over progress. Where I convince you that, together, Republican and Democrat, Conservative and Liberal, need to join forces to combat the ills that face us: a lagging economy, a real energy crisis, and a variety of social issues to long to get into here, but I can't. People like Andrew Breitbart are the reason I can't, as they fill people's heads with virulent idiocy like it's some sort of contagious disease. As for "not speaking ill of the dead," well, my perspective is obviously a little different. I spent the better part of my childhood expecting to die-being told by my parents and my doctors that I would not live to 9, then 11, then 15- simply not expect to live more years than I had already-really, in the end, what I learned was to not expect one more minute, and that's not a bad way to live at all. I have lived 51 years, nearly 52, and can truly say that I won't likely live as many more years as I already have.In that time, though,I killed countless rabbits, squirrels, and fish, around 30 deer, five elk, two bison, and countless chickens, rabbits, turkeys, goats and pigs that I raised myself. My grandparents all died, I watched my father wither away from cancer, I floated helplessly downstream watching my wife drown, I prayed at my sister's bedside as she died, and went home to tell my nephews they were coming to live with me. I watched a young man-a boy, really-bleed to death from where I stabbed him with my pen. People have died from diseases, murders, and disasters, both natural and man-made. People die every day, even stars die, though we may not live to see it.All of those people have loved ones, but those who receive renown are known afterwards for their acts. If, by virtue of what they put out into the world, I could say on Tuesday that they were an *** and exemplified all that was wrong with political discourse in this day and age, and that I wished they'd just shut up, I see no reason whatsoever not to say on this Friday, that they were an *** and exemplified all that was wrong with political discourse in this day and age, and that I'm glad that they've been shut up, simply because they've stopped breathing. Now, yesterday was, as I suspected it would be, a good day:I got two hours in at the gym at lunch time, had some good training , cooked a wonderful dinner for Rita-that's the wife-and raised a glass to Andrew Breitbart, which is about the most I could offer. I included his wife and kids in my prayers-they'll surely miss him, but I don't know their names. Fact is, when just about anyone dies, they leave behind loved ones to mourn them, and a legacy of acts by which the rest of us knew them. He was undoubtedly talented, and driven, but what he did with that talent and drive was sickening, and often dishonest-and contributed nothing of value to the direction our country is taking.billcihak said:
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