The National Guard, American Idol & Other Stuff

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has fired off a letter of protest to the White House because 2,300 member of the state's 37th Infantry Brigade may be heading to Iraq this year rather than in 2009 as scheduled. "A breach of faith," is what the governor calls it.
The 37th was my outfit when we were federalized for the Korean War. Back then it was a division, which is much larger than a brigade. But call it what you may, there are some very unhappy members of the Guard in Ohio. These men have jobs and many have families and other obligations that have to be taken into consideration. Plans have been made for a callup but now the time for it apparently will be moved up a year and a half. Those matters aren't taken into consideration by the people at the White House and Pentagon.
Having served in two wars, including time spent as an infantry rifleman in combat, I can only repeat that this is a helluva way to run a war. A war based on a lie from the very start.
# A year ago I watched American Idol for the first time and found it interesting. The young contestants were both talented and interesting. A number have gone on to success as recording artists.
I've been tuning in again this year and it isn't the same. Aside from two black females the talent seems a bit thin and the people themselves are of less interest. The theme last night was Latin music and the result was horrendous, absolutely pathetic.
I'm not convinced - and I'm not alone in this - that the "voting" to decide who is booted off each week is legitimate. It often seems that it rotates between male and female. To convince viewers that it is on the up and up the producers need to hire an independent tallying firm that announces the number of votes cast for each contestant. Or better yet, allow the three judges to make the decision so it is something more than a popularity contest.
I imagine more females than males take part in the voting. This year it seems to be a contest to select the cutest performers. Sad to say, I'm referring to cute boys, not girls.
# I believe I may have heard the name Don Imus before the current fuss about him. I couldn't have begun to say who he is, or was. Calling the Rutgers female basketball players "nappy headed hos" was inexcusable. If you don't already know, a ho is a whore. The man shouldn't be given a two week suspension, he should be fired. I'm as far from a blue-nose as you can get, but there should be some standard of decency and today one is woefully lacking in America.
# What kind of people actually care who the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby happened to be? What exactly did this woman ever do to gain such notoriety? Of greater import: when will the flood of publicity end, if ever?

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