Look Left, SCAM, Look Right, SCAM

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Has the world turned into a giant scam?  It seems that everywhere we go we encounter something that ends up being a scam.

Recently, today, in fact, I was researching scholarships and over half were a scam, or required a lot of personal information just to access the website.  Whats up with that?

We’re bombarded by “get rich quick” schemes and “screw the little guy” speeches throughout the day, but I have a feeling most of us reject them almost immediately.  What’s sad is that when it comes down to something we need, we’re being scammed just as often!

The Fate of a Fair Weather Fan

My Team

Hi, my name is Dan and I’m a Carolina Panthers fan.  Firstly, though, I must admit I haven’t always been a Panthers fan, but I have been one for the last four or five years.  I was never a big football fan growing up, partly because my team should have been the Cleveland Browns but, well, they were sold.  That being said, I’m a Panthers fan and proud of it.

These last few seasons (not including the present season) have been a let down, but I stood by the team and cheered them on every weekend.  The last few seasons have also let the light shine on the true fans.  Friends, family and strangers have been seen as what the really are; fair weather fans.  

The War on Terror=The War on an Ideology

As the campaigning for 2012 ramps up (soon they’ll be campaigning the day after inauguration) there has been more talk about the War on Terror.  The candidates are divided about the outcome of the war and how it is being, and should be, handled.

Some say that we’ve won, other say we’re losing and others are undecided.  I take a different approach to this matter.

Is it possible to actually WIN the War on Terror?  Is it possible to LOSE the War on Terror?

This is where my skepticism comes into play.

This war is unlike any other in history.  In World War I we were fighting against a country, against a recognizable military.  In World War II we were fighting against a country, against a recognizable military.  Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War we were fighting a country, whose military was uniformed and recognizable (Vietnam did, however, have its outliers of guerilla warfare). 

Big or Small? What Side Are You On?

In the words of… someone – I’M BACK!

It has been quite a while (almost three months, actually) since I’ve last posted anything insightful (or not so insightful) and, for that, I apologize.  Shockingly enough, there are some people out there who were wondering where I went.  Well, let me tell you, I went nowhere.  I simply got lazy and my mind went dormant.  A lack of intelligent stimulation had left me pretty much useless – but school is now back in session and I have a lot of useful (again, or not so useful) information flowing into my brain.  Information that must be shared!

I have a fairly concentrated grouping of classes this semester (mostly politically for my international PR concentration).  One class in particular has really had me riled up.  Politics.  Comparative politics. 

From Bad to Good… How? I Honestly Don’t Know

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Ok, as most of you know I try to avoid writing about “what I did yesterday” or “like, you just have to, like, know every little step I took and, like, everything.”  However!  Yesterday was a day that will go down in the books as an odd, yet extremely productive, day.

A little background information:

Where to start… Well, I haven’t been able to find a job and I’ve been looking for about a year (on and off).  In fact, I told a friend that I’m “the world’s most unemployable man.”  Everyone I interviewed with refused to work with my school schedule and one of them even tried the old bait-and-switch with their job advertisement.  Until yesterday, that is (more on this later)!

Money usually isn’t a big deal because I get a monthly allowance from the U.S. Government when I’m in school.  Yep, in school.  Unfortunately, I’m not taking any classes this summer session and that means that I get zip, zero, zilch, notta.  We have bills to pay and now money is tight; hence the job finding.

Words (and Images) Change Lives

Classic

One, late night, years ago, I stumbled across something that literally changed the course of my life.  I was young, still in high school, and as soon as I made this grand discovery I knew what I wanted to do.  Now, while I had before been focusing on something similar, I knew that THIS is what I wanted to do.

I always knew I wanted to join the military and serve my country.  It’s true, I did.  I grew up reading Stephen Ambrose, watching the History Channel (when it actually aired programs on, well, history) and knowing about my family’s own past in the military.

I, because of my grandfather, wanted to join the Air Force and become a pilot.  That late night introduced me to an aspect of the military I had not yet  known.  I stumbled across the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers.”  Before that time I didn’t know about the Airborne and I somehow managed to miss Ambrose’s book, “Band of Brothers.”

Later that week I went to the local recruiting station and spoke with a recruiter about my options.  I learned about the only job (other than infantry) in the U.S. Army that required Airborne school.  I was hooked.  I talked to my mom and waited and talked some more.  The day came and I was able to have that job and I swore into the U.S. Army.  (Read here for a blog on jumping)

Thinking of Yesterday and Dreaming of Tomorrow…

I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with myself lately that seems to be never-ending.  This isn’t the first time I’ve had this thought and I’ve often tried to make sense of it.  unfortunately, however, the more time I spend reflecting only leads to further examination of the past.

What is that?  Oh, yes, this thought, er, conversation.

I have a difficult time remembering things from my past.  I’m sure it sounds silly to some, but these are key events in my life that I can barely scare up a scene from.  Actually, let me clarify what I mean.  I spent six years in the Army and I feel like it was only a day or two.  Basic, AIT, airborne, language school, deployments and I have to think, I mean really think, to get an image in my head.