Well, this is one way to get my vote:
U.S. Sen. John McCain will speak at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington next week as part of a buildup to officially announcing his presidential candidacy later this month.McCain, a Republican from Arizona who lost the GOP presidential nomination to George W. Bush in 2000, will speak at VMI on Wednesday, according to a press release from his campaign office. No time or location was provided.
While at VMI, McCain is expected to address his commitment to winning the war in Iraq as part of a series of policy speeches he plans to give this month. The speeches will culminate with a campaign tour beginning April 25 in New Hampshire and concluding April 27 in Arizona, with stops in South Carolina and Iowa.
The last time Senator McCain was at VMI, he was speaking at Lightning Slab’s commencement in 2001. He had this to say:
In America our rights come before our duties, as well they should. We are a free people, and among our freedoms is the liberty to care or not care for our birthright. But you know, as well I, that those who claim their liberty but not their duty to the civilization that ensures it live a half-life, having indulged their vanity and self-interest at the cost of their self-respect. The richest man or woman, the most successful and celebrated of our citizens possess nothing of any real value if their lives have no greater object than themselves. They may be masters of their fate, but what a poor destiny it is that claims no higher cause than wealth and fame.
Service guarantees citizenship!
I kid. Hey, the guy understood his audience. Duty, honor, and sacrifice will always resonate with the VMI crowd. Mainly because we spend four years there wondering why the hell we didn’t go to a beer drinking college like Tech or UVA. Being reminded that VMI men fit a role, served a purpose, contributed to a cause….well, it numbed the pain. Even if the message came from a fancy-pants Academy aristocrat.
No, seriously. I kid.
I’ll agree that the “students” at Jefferson’s Greatest Mistake are drunken sots….but if you think that those of us who went to Virginia Tech are, I’d like to run you through the College of Engineering.
I spent five years in Blacksburg (AKA McMurdo North) and never drank a drop. Never had the time.
Service Guarantees Citizenship
Personally, I’ve always thought you could do a lot worse then Heinlein’s vision of democracy. National Service in exchange for Citizenship could do a lot to improve this country, though practically speaking I’d include some other options besides military.
Mike – in my time at VMI I did not have time to drink.
I made time for it.
(Even though I was working towards my Mechanical Engineering degree…)
John, this is only half-joking, but please do not defile Heinlein’s excellent novel and treatise on citizenship with that pathetically-done and ridiculous B-movie spin-off.
Although the thought of showering with hot chicks in the Infantry would be enough to make me leave PSYOP.
Hell, showering with hot chicks might even be enough to get me to go through the Ratline again.
Hmmm, actually no.
Will you be at the memorial dedication on the 21st?
Joel, naw. But I will be hitting the I after the milblogging conference, probably around final exams time. Need to sneak into my shit-eating Third of a brother’s room to flip his rack over.
Just like the old days!
Speaking of the ratline…remember when you were working for the Institute, came into my rat room (where I was sneaking in a nap on the floor, out of view) and woke me up by stomping your feet about six inches from my head?
I’m still pissed at you for that!
It’s funny, John, how little things like that which are significant events in certain people’s lives are not even a memory in others.
For the record, I do apologize. I hope you were not too tired in class that day. ;)
Y’know, the guys from UVA and Tech might have had more beer drinking opportunities, but they will never fully appreciate how comfortable that space underneath your desk can be.
But, the important question is WILL HE DECLARE AMNESTY?
(or can only the Governor or the President do that? – I seem to recall others being permitted to declare an amnesty over the years…but that was before Buddy Shell ’31′s time as Sup)
Thanks for the informations they are too helpful for this subject..