New GI Education Bill

Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, himself a veteran of Vietnam, has sponsored a new GI Education Bill to increase the educational assistance for our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Basically, the bill would cover the entire cost of tuition and books as well as room and board. It would also offer a monthly stipend of $1,000 over and above the costs associate with school to ensure that the veterans would not have to work and could concentrate on their studies.

The bill has large bi-partisan support in both houses of Congress. But guess who isn't supporting the GI Bill for the 21st Century. Neither President Bush nor Republican Presidential hopeful (and Vietnam POW) Senator John McCain. They say it would cost too much. They contend that it would hurt retention efforts. Well Mr. President and Honorable Senator, this bill can't possibly cost as much as the wars we are currently fighting. And I imagine that recruitment numbers just might increase as a result of knowing that education benefits would actually cover the cost of higher education.

We made benefits like this available to veterans of WWII. It is the least we can do for this generation of veterans.

Time to Go

I love Hillary.  I think she'd be the best president, given our choices.  But after last night, she needs to recognize reality and step down gracefully.  At this point, a graceful exit, followed by an endorsement of Obama, would gain respect.  If she stays in, she will be seen as a sore loser.  I love you Hillary - but it's time to go.

The Last Lecture

Almost all of us have childhood dreams; for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams." - Randy Pausch

If you knew you had only a few months to live, how would you spend those months? Who would you talk to to? What would you say to them? Would you take the chance to give a final lecture? Carnegie Mellon a has lecture series in which professors give their Final Lecture. It is supposed to represent what they would say if the lecture they were giving was their final one.

Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon actually got the chance. Several months ago, Randy was diagnosed with terminal cancer. A month later he delivered his final lecture. It was on realizing your childhood dreams. Carnegie Mellon has made the lecture available for all of us who didn't get to see it.



The Wall Street Journal also published an article, A Final Farewell, that gives some insight into the man, his family, and his beliefs. Randy has also written a book called The Last Lecture. Check out the video and the article. Randy is an inspiration to us all.

Small Group of Citizens

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

As a nation we should remember this. What smaller group of citizens has the authority to make changes to our world than the Supreme Court. The fight between Obama and Clinton, the two leading contenders for the Democratic nomination, has started to look like a school yard brawl. Both candidates are throwing barbs and trading punches. Whatever the outcome though, we need to remember that they are both Democrats. Either of them would make an excellent president. And either of them would guard against a continued shift of the Supreme Court to the right.

After the convention, when one or the other has been chosen, we Democrats must come together and ensure that a Democrat wins the presidency. If we are Obama supporters and Clinton wins or if we are Clinton supporters and Obama wins, we have to stop insisting that our candidate would have been better. We've got to rally around the cause and make sure that a Democrat is seated in the White House. Otherwise, we could find ourselves facing a Supreme Court that becomes untenably tilted to the right. And with it, we would see many of our hard won freedoms, and freedoms yet to come, left on the pages of the history books.

Balding Penguin!

Pierre, a 25 year old penguin, found himself with a problem facing many men in their twilight years. Pierre was going bald. But unlike balding men, losing his feathers meant that Pierre couldn't stay warm enough to swim with his penguin buddies. The solution - a wetsuit to keep him warm. And as an added bonus, he started to grow his feathers back!