First Thoughts

I have never done anything like this before and am not sure just what to expect. If you are looking for profound thoughts this is not the place for you. My ramblings are more of a puddle of consciousness thing. My world view is shaped by the life I have lead. I'm 55 the father of 2 grown sons and the the grandfather of three girls and one boy. I have been a fireman, a warehouse worker in the electronics industry, I have worked in construction and have been a pastry chef/baker in restaurants and hotels. I have been a 911 dispatcher for the last 24 years dispatching Fire and EMS. All this has shaped my view of the world and while I may sound like a liberal on occasion I have always thought I was a conservative. Well, at least until the Bush's came along with compassionate conservatism now I'm not so sure I want to be a conservative anymore.
I have always been a news junkie and have loved to follow politics. Over the years though things have changed and politics has become more polarized and the total adherance to the party line has sucked much of my enjoyment out of the process. It has not helped that the last two presidents are such polarizing personalities either. I was looking forward to this election cycle but as of now it doesn't look as if we the people are going to get any better choices than we have in the past.
My oldest son is in the Idaho Air National Guard and has been deployed to the Middle East twice since September 11 2001. He is going again in January 2008, so I have a selfish reason to see the war and tensions in the Middle East resolved. I'm not sure what the answers are but I don't see our presence there as being all that helpful in easing the tensions. I do believe that there needs to be a more political answer rather than a military only solution.