Unwelcome Guests

So Gisele Bundchen has stated that she wants to be paid, a lot, just not in American Dollars. It must be nice to be able to make such demands. After all, a good portion of her revenue comes from the unwanted American Dollars. She has deigned to date an American, and she lives in the country whose currency she doesn’t want to be paid in. Is it me or is there something terribly wrong with this picture.

America has been good to her its citizenry has paid handsomely for her to live here. Men have paid for the privilege to ogle her. Women have paid for the privilege of wear the lingerie she is paid to sell, in the hopes to look like her. Why would she spit in the face of those who worship her? Because she has absolutely nothing invested here. She will take and take and take then leave.

I can guarantee if I were some famous wealthy international figure who was living in Ms. Bundchen’s native country of Brazil, enjoying the hospitality of the country and made a fuss over what currency I was being paid in, I’d be vilified in the press, escorted to the bordered and tossed out of the country with numerous boot treads imprinted on my derriere.

The reality is that won’t happen to Ms. Bundchen, mainly because her target market (males 14 to dead) are all lining up to change their dollars into whatever currency she is demanding at the moment. But like a sweet looking apple that is rotten at the core, the packaging might be attractive but the first bite will tell all. Ms. Bundchen thinks that she is more important than she is. She is only as hot as the next pretty sweet thing, and will be forgotten in time.

Fie on her! Fie on her and everyone like her. She has abused my hospitality in this country. If she doesn’t like the currency, thereby the things she can get with it (i.e. shelter, food, cars, clothes, etc.) as she lives in this country, then she can trot her derriere out of the United States of America and go live in a country that has the currency she wants to spend.

I’m tired of guests of my country crapping all over us. She may have money but she has no couth, and like all ungrateful and tiresome guests, when their welcome is worn they are shown the door.

Remembering the year 2001

Today is the sixth anniversary of September 11th. For Americans, this date is associated with so many emotions. For those whose birthdays fall on this day, for those who have other celebratory occasions a shadow mars marking of their rites of passage a pall now falls over a day that should be a day of celebration. But for every one who lost a person, whether it was a father, mother, brother, sister, daughter, son, lover, spouse, or friend, and their lives were irrevocably scarred, the way that a soldier is when wounded, a hole torn in their psyche, always there. For me it was one more thing to mark a terrible year. My father’s passing marked the beginning of the year; then six months to the day the terrorist attack of September 11th added heartbreak of the year. September 11, 2001 is a day that is now linked with infamy, like December 7, 1941, or April 19, 1995. The date cannot be said without people thinking about where they were or what they were doing.

But here is what I take away from the year 2001. The human heart and mind are resilient and amazing organs. Because, despite the devastation and personal loss suffered by so many that year. People are still filled with hope. People’s hearts still have holes where loved ones lost should be, but their hearts continue to function and their capacities to love and learn have not been diminished. Those lost are remembered through the great and small works that are being done in their memories to honor them.

To dwell on the events are not productive. To protect ourselves from events repeating themselves again is prudent. To remember is human. To live our lives is to show those who would harm us that they may not control us through fear. I will not live in fear, but I will do what I can to make this world a better place.

Tragedy will always happen, but how we respond to its aftermath will show us who is touched by grace. We have enough knee-jerk reaction in the world, it is time to see the world by the heart that has been broken and still beats for it’s brother. It is time to see our brothers and sisters through the eyes of divinity.

Life, Liberty & Missile Misfires

The Fourth of July holiday has come and gone. Watermelon has been consumed, bottle rockets set off, sparklers lit, and food consumed. The outward appearance can tend to be frivolous, but with each sparkler lit and every bottle rocket set off, we celebrate all those who have sacrifice for this country. The men and women who have served and serve us are honored for the sacrifice of their time and lives for our personal liberties.

We are so blessed to live in country were we can express our opinions openly and with out fear of a door being kicked-in in the middle of the night and disappearing without a trace. It is each of our personal responsibilities to know of our freedoms and defend them. Our liberties and freedoms are what separate us from the rest of the world and we have to live up to that responsibility. However we chose to defend these rights, our whole hearts must be engaged.

On July 4, 2006, Kim Jong-Il thought it would be a good idea to test fire seven missiles into the Sea of Japan. After pouring millions of dollars into the program while his people suffer economic poverty and famine, little Kim Jong-Il has decided that the world was not paying enough attention to him. So, like any other toddler bully, he decides to test his failure of missiles on a day guaranteed to garner press and world attention.

Now the world must decide how to punish a supposed leader who would continue to beggar his people while he utilizes the ill-gotten wealth he has accumulated off of the broken backs of his people. I believe that the world has no desire to reek more havoc on the average North Korean. They’ve done nothing to deserve the hardships that they are suffering. But something must be done with the little monster that has been created.

China and Russia, the two ‘super’ powers that brought him into power and fed his manic neurosis, are now seeking a way to control and subdue the monster they helped created. Because they have done nothing to date to curtail their monster, Kim Jong-Il now feels that he can do anything he wants. What is the world going to do? Talk him to death?

The way I see it, is that China, the closest neighbor, needs to show their little monster that their behavior is unacceptable. China needs to take responsibility and get their hands dirty. The North Korean people would at least have regular food shipments. Japan and the US really need to let China and Russia take care of the problem and keep the economic aid coming for the people. It is better to be viewed as a savior than a subjugator.

The world is a mess. Instead of pointing fingers, we need to build it up and work at creating a better place where you don’t have to worry about children starving or disease spreading. We are all responsible for making this world a better place.