Welcome to another edition of The Friday Files. The best part of this Friday is that it's a holiday. For our Canadian and UK members it is Remembrance Day but for us here in America it's Veterans Day. If any of you have been watching hockey and seen the coaches of Canadian teams wearing a red poppy pin on their lapels, that's a great tradition of wearing the poppy to remember those who have died in war. The poppy is from Flanders Field where many of those killed in WWI are buried and where poppies abound. There's your piece of Canadian trivia.

So why do we have Friday off? Here in The States it's Veterans Day but it wasn't always called that. It was originally called Armistice Day in recognition of those who died in WWI. It wasn't until 1953 that the change was made. In any event, it's a day to remember those who served and sacrificed in war. Personally, I don't necessarily think of the greater cause that these men and women served or that they were part of fighting tyranny and oppression. Instead, I think of the fact that these men and women were called to duty and out of service to country, gave all. When it comes right down to it, whether fighting the evil Nazi regime or fighting a cold war, there are people with lives and families they leave behind. To me, this day is about recognizing and remembering the service of veterans as individuals rather than simply as cogs in a big war fighting machine. It is a day to put aside philosophical, political, moral, ethical, and whatever personal issues about war and the military and remember and honor the people who serve. This is also how I feel about Iraq. The politics are of less importance to me than the individual soldiers. I definitely have my opinions of the war but it makes me so mad when people treat the troops as commodities and forgetting them as people. It is particularly infuriating to me when people who protest the war forget the soldiers who serving.

This leads me to being really, really glad that the mid-term elections are over. The politicians on both sides were disgusting. The Iraq war was exploited for political advantage, lip service was paid to caring about the troops but I think it was all for show, as most things were. The attack adds were out of control this year. The counter attack adds were even worse. Election after election, the ads are getting worse and worse. Dirty tricks were tried. A Republican running for Congress in Orange County, California allegedly sent out letters to Latinos that threatened arrest and prosecution for voting, presumably to keep potential Democratic voters from voting. Such tactics are not the exclusive province of Republicans because Democrats have been convicted of slashing the tires of vehicles rented by Republicans to help people get out to vote. Well, we know the outcome of the election. It seems to me that outcome is very much the product of people voting "not Republican" rather than basing votes on policies, records, and the mettle of the candidate. I hope that this apparent knee jerk reaction doesn't cause a whole new set of problems. A rhetorical question: If Rumsfeld had resigned before the election, would the results be any different?

On the issue of politics, I heard a story about the proposed virtual fence that is to be built to protect America's borders. The legislation was signed by President Bush but the funding has not yet been sorted out. I had heard about it a while back when the Mexican government was upset at this proposal. I recently heard some grumblings that a similar virtual border was to be built on the Canadian border and that the response by Canadians was not good. I do not at all understand why either the Mexican or the Canadian governments would be upset by the construction of a fence, actual or virtual. Some think it is anti-American to build a new "Berlin Wall" and some immigrant groups think it is unfair. I don't think that anyone outside of America has a say about building such a fence to protect the territorial intergrity of the United States. (Whether it will be effective is not something I will discuss.) Why would the Mexican government be so upset? Why would some of them even call it an embarrassment to the United States? Perhaps it's an embarrassment to them that they cannot create an economy where they can retain their own citizens. Perhaps they should be embarrassed that tens of thousands of their own citizens choose to risk life and limb to escape their own country. Hey, I'm just thinking out loud here. I think it's quite simple: If you want to put locks on your doors, an alarm on your car, and a fence around your yard you should be able to do so. Would you fault someone for wanting to protect the security and intergrity of their own home? Would you support those who would want to breach the intregrity of your home in their protests that it is now more difficult to break into your house, that you have made it more difficult for those not authorized to be in your house to get into your house? Of course not. That's how I see this issue but then again, without the funding it is all sound and fury amounting to nothing.

I had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch today so this story hits close to home. Apprently this stuff does happen and it ain't just meatballs. This dude was bugging women; stupid ones at that. Fresh from the International Darwin Award contestants, Contestant 1: The Dumbass, literally. He must have been copying Buttrocket Boy. This is one hilarious video. If the tax collector in India comes to collect from you, tell him that he doesn't have the balls to collect from you... literally. Frivilous lawsuit time and another potential Darwin Award winner: Hips Don't Lie But She Does! So Tiger has Nike, Beckham has Adidas, and now Yao Ming could endorse tampons. Well I have to get going. I have to train for a rigorous competition. Forget triathlons, marathons, or extreme sports. This is the real deal.

Have a great long weekend everyone!

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