Saturday, October 23, 2010

Just My Opinion



This is not an insignificant thing. A military officer addresses his SUPERIORS as Sir and Ma’am….his subordinates are addressed by their rank. The higher an officer succeeds to in the military, the less people he will be calling Sir and Ma’am. So the officer in this case, a Brigadier General, was actually affording Senator Boxer an elevated position. Add to that the fact that military personnel are SPECIFICALLY taught to call members of congress by the more respectful term and you have a Senator that doesn’t understand the most rudimentary of military traditions. She shouldn’t be allowed to determine their fates.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

A neighbor and I were just discussing this recently.

I know we're on opposite sides of the political fence most of the time, and I don't want to turn this into a us/them pseudo debate, but this was just some trumped up B.S. from the Fiorna campaign. It's manufactured offense.

Boxer has given 28 years of service--whether you care for those years of service or not-- and simply wanted her title, as anyone who worked hard and long for the public would, acknowledged in a formal setting. Sir or ma'am isn't simply used by the military, it's used by polite children everywhere. Somehow extrapolating that because she wants her title properly acknowledged in a formal setting she has no concept of our men and women in uniform is "false dilemma" aka logical fallacy.

We could say the same of the soldier--anyone who has dealt with political figures knows that you refer to them by their title (I had to call a 90+ year old man who hasn't been in service for over 30 years "Ambassador" recently). So, does that then mean that this man who serves our country is somehow clueless because he doesn't know the basics of how to properly address folks in the government of the country which he defends? Of course not. False dilemma.

I find it hard to believe that the Fiorna campaign hasn't been able to come up with concrete, logical issues upon which to base negative ad campaigns. (I am so tired of the negative campaigns. It's so disrespectful to voters.)

As I said, Senator Boxer has been in public service for 28 years. Yet everything I've seen out of Fiorna's camp has been utter fluff, which leads me to believe that A. Boxer has done nothing worth genuine criticism (I know for a fact that's not true) or B. Fiorna's campaign leaders have little respect for the knowledge and political savvy of their voter base. Obviously, I think it's the later. Granted, that's probably a logical fallacy as well, but seriously. Seriously? Ug.

myrtle groggins said...

still, that's a hilarious video.

Maureen said...

I agree with you on all the negative campaigning; I’m pretty sick of it too. But I think in this case the criticism is spot on. Sen. Boxer was admonishing a Brigadier General in a way that was both arrogant and patronizing. How many times a day does she need to be called Senator? This gentleman meant no disrespect and her response was childish. She made her ‘title’ an issue and I believe that if she had a true understanding of military decorum she would have just let it go.

As far as her voting record not being soundly criticized by the Fiorina campaign, I heartily agree. They SHOULD be going after her on more substantial issues like her support of the stimulus bill, the bailout of the major car companies and passing the health care bill. Boxer’s own campaign has distanced itself from her voting record because the majority of Californians disagree with what she has done in Washington for the past few years and she knows it. I may not be a big Fiorina fan....but Boxer needs to go...NOW.

And just so you know, I vote as an Independent:)

Anonymous said...

Independent! Why I never! ;P

And this is totally petty of me to say--but I deal with wealthy political types all the time in my line of work. Patronizing is kind of how they function in the world. I'm sure I've met some really down-to-earth, kind political folks (yes! two local city council guys...but that's all I can remember), but for the most part, I just think they're tools. All of 'em.

Maureen said...

Lol! :)

The sad thing is, ultimately I think politicians are all about the same....and it seems to be trickling down. Just last month, our local school board voted to give our superintendent (already making $167k) a 7% pay raise, after telling the teachers and staff for the THIRD straight year that there was no money in the budget for raises. Talk about TOOLS!!!