State of the Union!

 Last night was the State of the Union address. I've been watching the SOTU address every year since the middle of W.'s 8 year term. I didn't think I'd get to see the whole thing because I was sitting on the train and the feed on my phone kept cutting out. But in the end, I was able to watch it (thanks to PBS).
 There were a lot of things that struck me about it. I gained a lot of information I previously was not aware of and I realized that our country is building momentum to a brighter future...too bad Congress won't get out of the way and let it happen. But I'm not going spout off about the relationship between the President and Congress. No, instead I want to talk about heartbreak.

  This is Army Ranger Sgt.1st Class Cory Remsburg. He was invited to sit in the box with the first lady during the address. He's known the President for awhile, in fact, they met in 2009 on the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings in France. The President told his story...how he was injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, he was found by other members of his unit, face down in water with shrapnel in his brain. After months in a coma, he met the President again and was unable to speak or move. The thing that got me about this story was the fact that this brave man was on his 10th deployment to the Middle East! 10TH! 10TH!...That's all that kept running through my head when I was watching the rest of the speech. Not only should he not have been there at all, but he was there for the 10th time. This to me is absolutely heartbreaking...but it also shows the spirit of the brave people who enlisted (they all enlist...no one is being draft, these are all volunteers). Not only are they willing to go in the first place, but they are willing to go again and again and again...never knowing if they'll come back whole or at all.
  Cory is just a glaring example of what's happening everyday. Our military hospitals are full of men and women who gave so much of themselves for the rest of us. And it's heartbreaking because it's so unnecessary. Now, we have some members of Congress trying to pick another unnecessary fight...it's like now that we're out of one country and making strides to get out of another they wanted to pick a fight just to send our troops back. I'm glad the President said NO, I'm glad he's standing up to the war machine the US is funding and telling the Congress people to back down and shut up. We don't need to send anymore troops out to die or be severely injured over nothing.
  My heart is broken for our troops...the the injured and the whole...for the families of those who aren't coming back and for those who will have to go out with the unknown lingering over their heads.

  Until Next Time.
  ~m

Left a Bad Taste

   My favorite television shows of all time are A.L.I.A.S., Star Trek: The Next Generation and Sons of Anarchy. Only one of these is still airing new episodes...Sons

   I wait patiently all Spring and Summer for my Fall full of Outlaw Bikers, Guns, Good Music and moments that make me say WOW with excitement. I've been obsessed with the show since the Summer before its second season aired (missed the first season due to weird cable seasons, but caught it via Internet and reruns). I love the all the characters, even the ones I can't stand and I re-watch each episode at least twice before the next one airs...but not this time.
  For the first time in 5 seasons I thought I may have to love this show up. Last nights premiere episode was disturbing on many levels. I won't go into specific details but 2 rapes (shown), 1 implied and a mass school shooting by a child. I understand upping the ante, its done every year, but I wasn't prepared for any of what I saw.
  Yes the show is violent. Yes the show is brutal. Yes the show is offensive, sexual and over the top...but those things never bothered me before. I was emotionally venerable from the start and by the end I just didn't know if I could deal. I was live tweeting under the #SonsofAnarchy hashtag and at the end of the episode I was surprised at how many people (women) were upset about the main character cheating on his wife rather than a child (of about 11) walking into his school with a semi automatic riffle and opening fire! I was disgusted...I put the pieces together and understand how this act fits in with the overarching story, but the writers jumped WAY over the line.
  My WOW at the scene wasn't one of excitement, it was one of disbelief. I am usually one of those people who says if you don't like it don't watch it. And if I wasn't so invested I would turn my back...its not that I don't like the show or where this story may go...it that I'm disappointed in the writers choosing to use this as a means to further their story. Called me a hypocrite, say I should keep my opinion to myself that's fine...but I think Sutter (the shows Creator/Executive Producer) used this situation to prove a point to the media and country about gun violence and television as a direct response to the blame for Newtown being placed on shows like SOA. Its his point and message...but in my opinion its a cheap way to do it.
  I have a full week before I really have to decide whether or not I'm going to continue with this show I love or move on to something else. But at this point, I'm not sure I have a choice...