09.17.06
Posted in General at 11:51 pm by brmeyer
There are seven deadly sins, but from my observations, greed is by far the worst one. In a move lacking creativity and thoughtfulness, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell signed legislation in July 2004 to allow slot machines in the state. The goal was to help reduce property taxes throughout the commonwealth. As part of this plan, licenses will be allocated so that several standalone casinos can be built. One such group applying for a license is Chance Enterprises headed by Gettysburg businessman David LeVan. He happens to have previously been the head of the Board of Trustees at my alma mater, Gettysburg College. LeVan’s group plans to build the Crossroads Gaming Resort and Spa just one mile from hallowed ground in Gettysburg.
Despite fierce opposition from many businesses and citizens of Gettysburg, including history buffs from around the world, Chance Enterprises has continued fueling the push for their gaming license. They claim it will bring employment opportunities and revenue to Gettysburg and the surrounding area. The group went so far as to offer the Gettysburg Borough Council a million dollars per year to support the plan. Though the council has no influence on the awarding of the licenses, the members forgot their duty to support the wishes of the constituents and voted 7-3 in favor of the plan in April. How disgraceful.
Why should anyone oppose a business that would bring such jobs and revenue to the Gettysburg area? For the simple answer that it is morally wrong. Gettysburg certainly doesn’t need revenue. The town gets a million tourists every year. Tourists who pay for lodging, patronize restaurants, and buy their Civil War trinkets at any one of the interesting stores along Steinwehr Avenue. There is no need to ruin the sanctity of a place where American boys fought each other savagely and suffered horribly in those three hot, summer days in July 1863. Though the casino is not to be built on ground where soldiers fought, the ground is sacred in that Confederate soldiers gathered there before marching off to make history. More importantly, do parents want their children to remember Gettysburg for a casino rather than the historical lessons that can be carried away from the area? Will parents even bother to take their kids to the battlefield since they will get addicted to hearing the clanking sound of quarters being inserted in the slots? No one can answer these questions, but clearly, greed on the part of Chance Enterprises is the motive for such an ignorant proposal.
The group No Casino Gettysburg was formed by concerned citizens of Gettysburg who oppose the casino plan. Be sure to visit their website for more information. A great cartoon appeared in the April 19, 2006, edition of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette regarding the casino plan. I’ve displayed it below. Hopefully, greed will not be rewarded by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. It is for the future generations of Americans that we preserve such historic places. After all, as Confederate General Robert E. Lee once said, “It is history that teaches us to hope.”
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09.13.06
Posted in General at 8:05 pm by brmeyer
It’s amazing to think that it’s been more than five years since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. What does that date mean to me? Before that horrific day, it was the date of my Grandma Miller’s birthday. She would have been 87 that day. I wonder how she would have viewed that day. After all, it was the people of her generation - which is now coined the “Greatest Generation” - that led this country through the Great Depression and World War II. I was listening to a morning talk show two days ago - on the fifth anniversary of the attacks - that mentioned how it was said in 2001 that our lives would be radically changed by that day, but it’s been observed that for most of us, life isn’t too different.
It’s tough to agree with that statement. If we look all around us, there are tighter security measures at airports and sporting events. When we hear of a mysterious package found in some alley on the six o’clock news, we immediately are reminded of the potential of terrorism. The assault on the Taliban in Afghanistan in October 2001 was President Bush’s immediate response to the attack followed by the War in Iraq that began in 2003. Think of all those who were lost in this War on Terrorism and the ones left behind. To say that the attacks of September 11th have not changed our lives is absurd. The results of that day - and the actions that it precipitated by the Federal government - are proof that those attacks styled our living differently.
People have spent countless hours writing and speaking billions of words to try to understand that day. It cannot be explained because it is difficult for us to comprehend the rationale of those who hate the United States. September 11th has been compared to battles fought in the past. In those conflicts, it was generally understood why they occurred. The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, was part of the continuing Civil War struggle about states rights. About 3,600 Americans lost their lives that day, more than any other single day in our history. At Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese anticipated our entry into World War II - and hastened it - by attempting to eliminate our Pacific Fleet. They did so to protect their precious oil resource on which we placed an embargo to hamper that country’s increasingly aggressive stance against countries in the Pacific. Over 2,300 men of the armed services lost their lives that day. On September 11, 2001, approximately 3,000 innocent civilians were killed. To this day, we don’t know the reason. Is it religious fanaticism? Or just a plain hatred of Westerners? In either case, there will be no decisive battle like Gettysburg or Midway that will turn the tide of this current war. Only steadfast determination and commitment to win will see us through to victory.
September 11th is another date which will live in infamy.
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09.07.06
Posted in General at 11:30 pm by brmeyer
There is really no other way to describe this day other than to say it was very emotional. Though the city of Pittsburgh was thrilled in anticipation of tonight’s opening football game with the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers hosting the Miami Dolphins, the tone was somewhat subdued by the burial mass and funeral procession of Mayor Bob O’Connor who died on Friday, September 1st, from brain cancer. Though I did not personally know him, I have felt a sense of loss since he passed away. It’s difficult to explain. But after twelve years of ineptitude under the previous mayor administration, it seemed that Mr. O’Connor was finally going to clean up the city. He started a program that he called Redd Up Pittsburgh to clean the neighborhoods by picking up litter, towing abandoned cars, and tearing down dilapidated housing. In the six months prior to the beginning of his illness, he instilled optimism in the residents of the city and did more for the city than in twelve years by the previous mayor. He was going to bring pride back to Pittsburgh. You could see it by the numbers of people that lined the route as his casket was taken from St. Paul’s Cathedral in Oakland to the City-County Building downtown to his church and home in Greenfield and finally to his resting place in Calvary Cemetery.
It seems all too often that those who are good are taken from us too soon. I suppose God has his own purposes. They do say, after all, that God works in mysterious ways. Two days after the mayor died, Jess and I paid our respects to the mayor when he was laid in state at the City-County Building on Grant Street. We went at 12:30am on that early Monday morning and said a kind word to Mrs. O’Connor and her daughter who were keeping vigil. It felt good to pay tribute to someone who had the respect of so many and who would have done anything for you even though he did not know you. That’s why he would have continued his legacy as a great mayor had he fulfilled his term. He seemed to love all people no matter the differences between you and him whether physical, spiritual, or political. He was truly the mayor for everybody, and he cannot be replaced.
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09.06.06
Posted in General at 9:31 pm by brmeyer
Welcome! If you happen to be reading this, then you stumbled onto the first entry in my journal. I guess the proper contemporary term for this would be a blog, but this isn’t the forum to conform. I decided to create a blog because this really great girl that I know named Jess - and you’ll read her name lots I’m sure - has her own and encouraged me start one as well. As a courtesy to her, I’m posting the link to her blog which is called Coffeebration. Jess always has some interesting and funny stories to share so I hope you’ll check out her site too.
The name of my blog might be peculiar to those who don’t know me. For those that do, it probably makes a bit more sense. Since late 1994, when I first watched the major motion film Gettysburg, I’ve been an avid Civil War nut. What exactly does a Civil War buff do? He or she might read many history books or attend reenactments of battles throughout the spring and summer. Others take it as far as dressing up as soldiers from the 1860s! For me, it’s been about much more than that. More on that some other time. Ulysses S. Grant - yes, the President - was the commander of all Union armies toward the end of the Civil War. When he was appointed to that position with the rank of Lieutenant General of the Army, it was expected he that he would remain in Washington, D.C., to direct all of the armies of the United States. Grant was never conventional. He made his headquarters in the field and traveled with the Army of the Potomac, the army assigned for the defense of Washington. Grant often signed his correspondence with “Headquarters in the Field” because he was constantly on the move as the army pursued the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee.
It seemed appropriate to me to name my blog as “Headquarters in the Field”. Despite its reference to the Civil War and Grant’s own military philosophy, it can be viewed as a metaphor for life. Life is always changing. The unexpected can always happen. Nothing is constant. As Grant was always moving in his pursuit of Lee, his headquarters varied from one place to another. It was not constant either. I hope this will be a great place to share my ideas, musings, and events. Life will be different each day, so I will make my “Headquarters in the Field”.
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