Yesterday or so, I received a FB invitation to join the group “Petition To Remove Group ‘Soldiers Are Not Heroes’".  As much as I would love to sign such a petition and am in complete sympathy with those who are disgusted by the group that inspired this, I can not join.

The sacrifice of our military heroes throughout our history purchased, among other things, freedom for the American people.  That includes freedom to be a clueless jackass.  So there is the irony.  The very thing the “Soldiers are not” group is speaking out against is what provided the liberty to speak in the first place.

Thomas Jefferson had it right:  “"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."  Our nation decided this even before it was a nation, and has re-affirmed throughout the centuries since.  I believe this is true, and I believe it is important.

So, I can’t set that aside because I’m suddenly faced with an issue about which I feel personally.  As important as freedom is each person having a code of beliefs that they hold to and act on consistently.

All of that said, the other side of this coin is that those who disagree are also free to speak out with passion.  So, I hope everyone flames the crap out of the “Solders are not” group.

More media madness and another disappointing fall from grace.  Actually I’m pretty fortunate not to have had the time to sit down and weigh in on this one sooner.  I’d have wound up taking back a lot of what I would have said a week ago.

Tiger – the Real Surprise:  You know, what is / was really out of joint isn’t what’s happening now.  It was the perception of Tiger prior to now.  I’ve previously contended that we don’t really know famous people.  This was especially true of Woods.  Has there ever been a less forthcoming superstar athlete?  You can’t get the guy to say anything substantial about golf, yet somehow he was made out to be a straight arrow.  And this isn’t a mystery either.  In a world where a new scandal seems to break every week, the absence of dirt is all the proof most people need.

On Infidelity:  I don’t endorse it.  It’s very disappointing.  But this is the world we have to live in.  I’ve long since reconciled myself to the fact that a lot of the athletes and entertainers that I see, and for that matter probably some of the people I encounter when I’m out and about are cheaters.  If that’s going to be a deal-breaker, if I were to try to steer completely clear of these folks, then I might as well go live in a cave.

Silence:  So, I guess that’s why I’m all for Tiger keeping quiet on this.  I don’t need to know the details.  I don’t want to know them.  Just shut up and golf.  Besides, what would Tiger gain by an open confessional in front of the media?  Especially now that we see the true scope of this thing.  An isolated affair, a few instances of bad judgment, sure.  Again, I don’t condone it, but in this media-saturated world, you can get out in front of that and head off the idle chatter with some humble talk and apparent contrition.  But this dude is a hound.  There is nothing you can say to gloss over that.  Batten down the hatches and let the tongues wag.

The Rumor Mill:  So, I had to laugh at the early media pleas for Tiger to call a presser and come clean.  This was the only way, it was said, to head off the rumor mill.  Only one problem.  It was the operators of said rumor mill who were saying this.  So in essence the deal is … give us something juicy or we’re going to make it up.

Tiger – the Real Disappointment:  As I said, I understand that infidelity is pervasive in our world, especially among the famous.  What really disappoints me is that this whole thing refutes some things that we have seen in Tiger, the awesome golfer, over the years.  The judgment.  The care.  The commitment.  The absolute mastery that he applies to his craft, it turns out, is 180 degrees out of phase with his reckless, chaotic, ill-advised approach to his personal life.

One question:  The one thing I wonder is why all these women didn’t come forward sooner.  I mean, if they were willing to dime Tiger out … and really, if you can’t trust someone who is willing to carry on an affair with a married person, who can you trust?  I digress.  If they had this in them, why the wait?  It’s not like the scandal industry suddenly sprang up after Tiger crashed his Escalade into that tree.  Naughty texts, and damning voice mails will always be in demand.

All that said, this thing is dead by the time Tiger takes to the links again.  This has all sprang up within two weeks time.  One side effect of that is that we’ve quickly become de-sensitized.  If another woman comes forward tomorrow, already the reaction will be “ho hum, another one?”  It’ll get a little play because there is always more air time than there is legitimate news to fill it.  But unless we discover that Woods is also a heroin addict, the shock has already peaked.

I’m sure some will try to bring it up the first few times Woods is back out in the public domain.  But as I’ve already mentioned, Tiger has been dodging attempts to pry substance out of him for better than a decade.  He’ll manage.

This isn’t to suggest that damage hasn’t been done.  He has gone from “great guy” to great golfer, and well, that’s really where the perception should have been in the first place.  At the end of the day this is just another example of the universe sorting itself out.

In Bowling Green for a conference.  I always enjoy seeing and spending time in new towns, so this is kind of nice.  Some highs and lows …

Odd.  The area I’m staying in is a business / convention center yet the wireless absolutely sucks!  There is no 3G, and any WiFi’s are spotty at best.  And the hotel itself has the bare minimum of infrastructure needed to claim to have wireless service.  C’mon guys, people are going to expect these things when coming to this area now.

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How is it that people who show up late for conference sessions all have these magic cell phones whose ringers can’t be turned off without first setting off said ringer 5 times at full volume?

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Bowling Green, at least parts of it, must have some serious restrictions on business signage.  There aren’t a lot of free-standing custom signs out on the main thoroughfares in this area.  Instead you have the single list of businesses at the entrance to a complex.  Nice for the residents I guess.  Less cluttered, more tasteful.  It’s not very traveler-friendly though.  When I’m driving congested, unfamiliar streets in the rain, I’m not just looking for the name, I’m watching for the familiar logo and colors.

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This town seems to have more drivers with their heads up their a__ per capita than the average Kentucky town.  Not necessarily violations in progress.  Just slow on the decision-making, rolling along at 20 while trying to remember where they were going again.

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Visited our Bowling Green foster care office this afternoon.  Again I always like doing this when I have the chance.  It’s a good opportunity to put faces with names, and as a support staff member, it’s great to see first hand the front-line folks working hard at our organization’s mission.

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Before I left the weatherman was talking of harsh cold, so I grabbed my winter jacket.  Turns out what I really needed was a tarp of some sort.

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Man, I love Holiday Inn’s Priority Club.  The ease of reservations and check-in alone is a total bonus.