Bless Their Hearts (and a warning)

Warning. This blog contains:

• IP Intense Political Views
  
• GN Gratuitous Name-calling
  
• BR Borderline Ranting
• AH Attempted Humor
  
• ESUBEOWSKBBD Exposure of Self-serving, Unconstitutional Behavior by Elected Officials Who Should Know Better But Don't
  

Readers beware.

Bless their hearts. An expression from our Southern brothers and sisters packing marvelous power and unparalleled innuendo. An expression that honors the commitment, honesty, unswerving devotion of others. As in:

Bless his heart for all he's done for this organization. Bless her heart for the effort she's devoted to our team. Bless their hearts for the time they've given, for the money they've raised.

Ah, but that's only the half of it. For this same expression also isolates and calls out the frailties, inabilities, the absolute stupidity of others. As in:

He'd miss the point if it ran up, spun around, screamed 'You're an idiot!' and hit him between the eyes, bless his heart. She's got less sense than my dog -- and he's been dead for three years, bless her heart. They couldn't find a right answer to save their lives, bless their hearts.

Best yet is the subtle usage of this terrific expression, as in He certainly tries hard, bless his heart. Honoring the effort while bemoaning the failure. An elegant, polite, civilized way of calling someone a stupid f*****g idiot. But in a nice way. The epitome of passive-aggressive.

A fabulous expression, no? Use it a few times. It will grow on you.

Speaking of John McCain, bless his heart, let's take a moment to consider his inane and obstructionist position on the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. Earlier this month, Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Robert Gates, the Secretary of Defense, both stated before Congress that this 1993 law had outlived its usefulness and urged its repeal. Backed by a comprehensive study that demonstrated overwhelming majorities of men and women serving in the armed forces are prepared to serve with openly gay or lesbian soldiers, they called for the end of the unfair, discriminatory, unconstitutional practice.

Was that enough for McCain? Did he heed the strong advice of those with the duty and responsibility to oversee the military? Did he allow the Secretary of Defense and the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to do their jobs? No, bless his heart. Why? Because John knows better.

Their interchange is a good one:



Let's step back for a moment to take stock of this amazing situation. Here we have the Secretary of Defense and the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stating with conviction before a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capital Hill that all should have the opportunity to fight and die for their country without having to hide their sexual orientation. Gays and lesbians should have the right, the honor, they both testified, to serve their country openly with pride. Who would have thought we'd see this day? We have, without doubt, come a long way, baby.

And then there's John McCain, leading the Republican opposition to the repeal of a law that was wrong and illegal from the get go. As we're constantly reminded, the man's a war hero, so give him some credit. We can also be sure that he speaks from his heart. That said, McCain's supporting a position that is both discriminatory and unconstitutional -- two rather important failings, bless his heart.

The military is a place of work. Those who volunteer for the right to defend our way of life, our Constitution, by putting their life on the line should have the same protection under the law as people who work anywhere else in this country. Here, it's illegal to discriminate in the workplace due to, among other things: gender, age, ethnicity, religious affiliation and sexual preference. The only thing eligible for discrimination at work? Performance. That's it, John.

So, Senator McCain, we suggest the following:

• Let military leadership lead. Get out of the way of the Secretary of Defense and the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Don't you have anything else to do?
  

• Wake up, Dude. The vast majority of military was born after 1985. Being gay or lesbian isn't a big deal to them.

• You swore to uphold the Constitution, John. Time to start, no?

• You're from Arizona. The sun can be fierce. Wear a hat.
  

Bless his heart.

Now to our warning: Stay away from E! network's Bridalplasty, a reality game show in which, according to E!, "Brides-to-be compete in challenges to earn plastic surgery procedures in a quest to win their ultimate dream wedding." E! goes on to say that this show is "the only one where the winner gets cut".

I'm not making this up. I couldn't. I'm not that sick.

Have a great week.