Easter - He Has Risen

In this day and age, it seems that a growing portion of our society wants to either minimize or completely eradicate God from each of our daily lives. He is being removed from work, home, school, business and politics. All around us we watch as the moral fabric of our society is being torn apart and yet we cannot understand why.

Matthew 10: "Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.”

As Christians around the world celebrate this most blessed day I am proud to proclaim my faith and take comfort in knowing that he has risen and conquered death.

Luke 24:  “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

Happy Easter and God Bless.

Good Friday, Don’t Eat Red Meat.

Today, Christians around the world celebrate Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ willingly went to the cross to pay for the sins of man.

It is an incredible story. But have we lost the message?

I’m often reminded of how little effort some Christians are willing to put in. We often get caught up too much in the theological dogma, and then fail to see what God has tried desperately to teach us. I honestly don’t think he cares whether we are abstaining from red meat, if after our fish filet sandwich we go out and screw someone over.

The other day I was reading a religious twitter war and someone made the comment accusing religion of “killing more people than………”  Well, to be honest I forgot the point because I was too caught up in the poster’s initial statement.

The topic has been on my mind a lot lately. In fact I was astounded at how much God was vilified during the recent election of the newest Catholic Pope. I am in the initial stages of writing a book titled “Where was God?”  At the heart of the story is man’s penchant for blaming God for all the things that man does wrong.

As I thought about the twitter post I again asked myself the question, why is it that God continues to be blamed for the actions of mankind? It’s not like he hasn’t tried to guide us.

Ten Commandments? Our answer, nah, too restrictive.

Seven Deadly Sins? Nope, I don’t think so Lord. Everyone likes to splurge every once in awhile.

Man has systematically thwarted God’s attempts to have us become a moral people.

I mean let’s face it, poor Moses hadn’t even come down from the mount with the commandments before the good old Israelites were out pounding their gold into new idols to worship. We as a people simply suck at following any kind of laws.

In fact, as a society we continue to manipulate and even makeup new laws in order to minimize our culpability. We take no responsibility for our actions. How long has this been going on? Oh I don’t know…….. How about thirty seconds after Adam and Eve ate from the tree.

The first official blaming of God comes in Genesis 3: “The man said, "The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

Geez, what a guy that Adam was.

For a moment, consider this. How bad do you have to be to go from ten commandments, to seven deadly sins, until God finally throws his hands up and says ok folks, here you go two, really simple laws.

Love God, Love One Another.

I just get this mental image of a well intentioned parent staring down at their little incorrigible two year old who looks up at them with their adorable baby blues and simply goes “No.”

But the worst thing is that when the child goes on the latest rampage, ripping up the house, toppling over plants, and washing the cat, some how good old God gets slapped with the blame.

Think of that one moment in Matthew 5, when Jesus says” Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Most of us would risk our lives for a spouse or child. Maybe we would even consider it for someone we love. Contrast that with Christ going to the cross for those who did not even like him.

There are a lot of people who flat out reject religion. I’m really not sure why. Sometimes I think it’s just an in-thing to do. Someone once asked me why I believed in God, inferring that religion was for the weak minded. Funny I had never thought of myself as being weak minded.

I thought a moment and asked them if science had the answer to every question. They said no. 

This was my reply:

“I believe in God, because I truly believe he loves me unconditionally. It didn’t matter what I did, but when I did act outside of the life he called me to live I felt bad and wanted his forgiveness which I knew he gave me. Like a parent and a child. By feeling this way I believed that I earnestly tried to live my life in a better way and to share that with others. My faith was not based on what I could see, but what I could feel in my heart.”

“On the other hand, you believe in science. The world was not and then it was. Given that there is no God, you live your life and then die. The only ramifications to breaking the law are whether you will get caught and punished, but in the end whether you lived a good or bad life nothing changes. You simply die.”

“If I am wrong, I join you in the blackness of death. But what if you’re wrong?”

In 2008 renowned atheist Richard Dawkins took part in an advertising campaign in the United Kingdom which put atheist advertising on buses. I remember an image of him standing with an attractive young woman with a bus behind him and the slogan “There’s Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life.”

The first thought that crossed my mind was, you’re betting an awful lot on “Probably” my friend.

Galatians 6: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

For Christians, Good Friday should represent God’s loving pact with us. It’s a gift we don’t deserve and requires nothing more on our part than to accept it.

So how about this, let’s stop trying to blame God and run around like a bunch of hypocritical jerks and just try to follow those two simply tenants: Love God, Love One Another.

You have nothing to lose, and eternity to gain.

Follow me on twitter @HuntzmanBlog

NYS Gun Law - Revisited

I previously wrote about the newly enacted gun control measure in New York State.

At the time I told you that NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo was wrong and that it amounted to nothing more than political grandstanding on the heels of a tragedy.

Now comes this little gem from the dear governor.

"There is no such thing as a seven bullet magazine. That doesn't exist. So you really have no practical option."

WOW, you think maybe this would have been something they thought of "before" they rushed in to enact legislation?

Of course the answer is no, simply because this isn't about addressing a problem as much as it is about pushing an agenda.

It's tantamount to bringing your car into the mechanic because the engine is making a funny noise and him turning up the volume on your car radio because it would be to hard to figure out how to solve the problem.

Cuomo has no interest in fixing things. He along with others like NYC "Nanny" Mike Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, and a host of gun haters in D.C. simply abhor firearms and want them gone. This isn't about addressing crime, this is about their personal agenda of getting rid of guns.

They sell their story under the guise of protecting our children, but the one question they will not answer is how they think that implementing this law will actually stop a criminal.

Call me crazy, but I think that someone who has made up his mind to kill someone is not going to let something like a magazine ban slow him down. I don't envision this conversation occuring anytime in the near future: "Ya know, I was going to wipe out that classroom, but there are ten kids and my magazine only holds seven rounds. So I went out and volunteered my time in a soup kitchen instead."

What happens when they take away the guns and crime doesn't go away? Ask Australia and England how their grand plan worked out. But I promise you this, once they are gone you will never get them back.

And in case you missed the point, that is exactly what they want.

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Bloody Fookin Irish

Well, with St. Patrick’s Day 2013 fading into memories I thought I would mention something that gnaws at me.

“Irish” Restaurants, Bars, Pubs, etc…………..

Simply slapping Irish into your name doesn’t make it so. It’s a pet peeve that I am willing to let it go so long as the beer is cold and the food is reasonably good. But fer fook’s sake, try not to be ignorant will you.

Being Irish will drive you damn near mad, politics in Northern Ireland will provide you the car and the chauffer for your trip. My maternal side comes from county Fermanagh. I have learned enough about the history and politics to know that it makes the U.S. House of Representatives look like it is staffed by geniuses.

So imagine by chagrin when I walked into the local establishment that claims the “Irish” moniker for itself and found the following drink on the menu:

“Black and Tan”

Are you for real?

When you were slappin’ those Dublin road signs on the wall alongside the Guinness advertisements and the tri-color did you think it might be a good idea to open a damn history book and make sure you weren’t insulting half the damn population?

Ignorance, it’s what makes the world livable for fools.

Oh wait, the barmaid just made a pretty shamrock in my pint……… all is forgiven.

Political Parties Explained

As I look around at what is becoming of the United States I am saddened and dismayed. I think everyone should feel this way to be honest, if you don’t I question whether or not you are able to see things clearly.

To be honest, it doesn’t come as a big surprise. The issues plaguing our country have not come over the last four years or the last forty. The problem is more insidious than that. It is that politics have gone from a “service to ones country” to being “serviced by one country.”

I’ve often cited sports when trying to explain politics, especially the party system. Basically it goes something like this:

The republicans and democrats are like two old school baseball rivalries, think Yankees / Red Sox. The constituents are the fans. We like to root for them, we like to bash them, but at the end of the day we still follow them. The extremes of the party are like the resident bleacher creatures. Now the individual politicians are like the star players and somehow the fans thing that these players are like kindred spirits to them. They honestly believe that they feel the same way they do. Now the team owners foster this spirit, because honestly without the fans, they’d be broke with a miserable team and they do not want this.

But what happens when the fans start really believing the hype and lose sight of reality? When do you wake up and think to yourself “my team sucks and I seem more stressed about it then they do.” 

I remember back in the early 2000’s when Johnny Damon played for the Red Sox. If you showed up for ones of the games with the Yankees you’d think he was the anti Christ by the way the fans hated him. Likewise, he was adored in Boston. In 2004 when he hit a grand slam to beat the Yankees I thought they’d elevate him to Pope. But what happened in 2005 when he………..signed with the Yankees?

Surprisingly, Armageddon DID NOT take place, although it was close. Let’s just say that the fans in Boston were less than thrilled, and the Yankee fans seemed to have all been issued a pair of rose colored glasses by which to view the new crowned prince of the Bronx.

You see, despite what the “fans” believed, Damon did what was best for him. That amounted to a four year deal worth fifty-two million dollars. You see what the fans don’t want to believe is that money is really the foundation of everything.

I don’t begrudge Damon, I laugh at the fools that don’t see the truth when it is standing before them.

Enter politics.

Both sides have convinced the “fans” that it is the other sides fault. Sadly, they buy into it because they don’t want to have to face the fact that they are being hosed. If they did, they might have to actually begin to take a long hard look at the candidates and make a choice based on where they stand as opposed to what letter is after their name. 

But sadly, most bury their heads and think like……..“fans”

We are having elections here for a number of city and township positions.  In my local paper they just ran a listing showing all the people running for office, what shocked me is the incredible number of people that are running as “independent”. It seems as if a lot of people are worried about getting affiliated with a particular party, so they are choosing to move away. It appears to be a trend that affects both the D’s and the R’s.

Now I don’t think it affects their world view, but I’m all for anything that makes individual voters “think” as it seems to be an ability we surrendered a very long time ago.

No matter what side you are on, I want you to ask yourself this fundamental question: “Why when my party does (fill in the blank) is it okay, and when the other side does (fill in the blank) it is an aberration?”

The answer is, it’s not. 

Until you are honest with yourself about that, nothing is going to change in this country because you will not have the moral courage to confront your “elected” representative and call them out.

If you are honest, you might realize that you have a lot more in common with those fans from the other team then you think. You also might begin to understand that you are just being taken to the bank to fund the salaries and perks of those two “teams” you send to Washington DC.

You and I will never agree about things 100% of the time. That’s not how God designed us.

For my friends in the scientific community:  that’s not how nothing exploded, and made something, that crawled from the ocean, and evolved into us, do things.

Come on, that was funny………….

If you are not willing to take a long hard look at your politician, don’t spend a moment talking about mine. It’s disingenuous.

Be passionate about the things that are important to YOU, and be willing to judge candidates, not by the party, but by which one more closely relates to the issues that matter to you.

Don’t make every discussion about the “talking points” supplied to you by the party. Most of the time they are filled with minutia, data and statistics for the sole purpose of turning otherwise well meaning individuals into talking zombie-eyed drones.

In fact, statistics have shown that in 99.9% of the time, statistics are just another form of lying……. (That’s another joke).

Seriously, think about it for a moment. If I tell you that 100% of the time the sun comes out, that doesn’t mean that it stays out 100% of the time!! They are only giving you one side of a coin.

Political parties and the media tell you what they want you to hear, they don’t tell you everything you need to know. That’s where doing your own thinking and research comes in.

There is a growing problem in Washington, D.C., and if you are voting by party alone, you are a big part of that problem.

Follow me on twitter @Andrew_G_Nelson to get notices of all new posts.

Buy Ammo = Anger Management

Florida State Sen. Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville) has drafted legislation that would require anyone purchasing ammunition to complete an anger management program first.

Politicians,……….. I’d laugh but it really is just becoming sad.

Seriously, the pain starts on the left side of my brain, creeps over to the right and seems to paralyze me. I’d say it’s a bad thing, but the pain itself keeps me from screaming when I read stories like this. I’ve found that crawling up into a fetal position helps a lot.

I’m begging someone to please tell me how this is “reasonable.”

For those of you still participating in the official D.C. Buzz Word Drinking Game, cheers.

At some point someone has to say enough. When do we, the decent, law abiding, citizens of this country stop being the subject of foolishness on the part of our “elected” officials.

I’m all for addressing the crime problem, especially in those liberal utopias known as Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Washington, D.C., New York City, etc….

But the problem is nothing is being done to address the actual problem. They know it; they understand that when it comes to actually doing something constructive they are all talk and no action.

The issue of violence in this country is like a Rubik’s Cube. If you are only focused on one color, it is easy and looks good up on a shelf. But at the end of the day you utterly failed on five other sides!

If you don’t believe that you are naïve and there is no point in you reading any further.

Experience has shown me that there are only two things that politicians love, the camera and getting re-elected. Aside from that tackling an issue doesn’t seem to be very high. Truth is fixing the problem is hard work, lip service and stupid laws are easy.

Here is the proposed legislation:

“It is unlawful to: A) Sell ammunition to another person who does not present certification that he or she has successfully completed an anger-management program consisting of at least 2 hours of online or face-to-face instruction in anger-management techniques. The certification must be renewed every 10 years. B) Purchase or otherwise obtain ammunition by fraud, false pretense, or false representation.”

I just wanted to make sure I get this right, when the Department of Homeland Security puts out a bid for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition, who goes to the anger management session, DHS Secretary Napolitano or the local agency head in Florida?

Oh that’s right, this isn’t about “them” it’s about you………… how silly of me.

I do have one question that is nagging at me. If this passes and you are required to attend anger management, would this type of “counseling” be seen as mental health treatment?

Most people who attend are looking for some type of coping mechanism because of anger issues which are often indicative of mental health issues. Could this attendance then be used to preclude you from having guns in the future, or do you get some sort of “nope, he is not angry and has no mental health issues” certificate?

Sounds like another well thought out piece of legislation.

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New York State Gun Magazine Ban & Child Molesters

There are times when I am really not sure if it is just me.

Maybe I am hopelessly confused and the politicians, pundits and those on the far left end of the spectrum are actually right.

I’m trying to wrap my head around this whole revived assault weapons ban and, most specifically, the issue as it related to magazines. I am really having a difficult time and maybe some of my more enlightened readers can explain to me how this makes perfect sense.

Back in January I wrote about the political hand wringing and rending of garments that was going on in New York regarding the tragedy in Sandy Hook.

I’m a firm believer that there is an incredible amount of truth in the statement once made by Rahm Emanuel that "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.”

The NYS Governor seized on the Sandy Hook tragedy to force a draconian law down the throats of every decent law abiding gun owner in New York with the same aplomb former President Gerald Ford used back in the 1970’s when he told New York City to “drop dead.”

Governor Cuomo is one of those individuals that firmly believes that he knows better than you, ala NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and therefore you just have to accept his edicts. Truth is both the Governor and Mayor suffer from hoplophobia.  It’s a term coined by the late Colonel Jeff Cooper, USMC, which describes "mental aberration consisting of an unreasoning terror of gadgetry, specifically, weapons."

So here we have the Governor and the New York State Legislature engaging in your typical political knee-jerk reaction and reaching the conclusion that they need to ban legally large capacity magazines. What they produced was the following:

It is a class D felony to manufacture, transport, dispose of, or possess a large capacity ammunition feeding device, which N.Y. Penal Law Tit. P, § 265.00(23) defines as "a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device, manufactured after September 13^th, 1994, that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds of ammunition."

So you may be thinking to yourself “Ok, thanks for the Penal Law lesson, but seriously what are you trying to tell me?”

Here’s my point, in NYS it is now illegal for me, as a retired law enforcement officer, to possess the magazines I carried for 20 years. Mere possession of them, loaded or unloaded, is a crime. More specifically, possession of these magazines in NYS now constitutes a Class D Felony. This means, that I would be engaging in a crime that is actually more serious then all of the following:

120.70 - Luring a child | E Felony
121.11 - Criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation | A Misdemeanor
125.10 - Criminally negligent homicide | E Felony
130.20 - Sexual misconduct | A Misdemeanor
130.25 - Rape 3rd degree | E Felony
130.40 - Criminal sexual act 3rd degree | E Felony
130.52 - Forcible touching | A Misdemeanor
130.53 - Persistent sexual abuse | E Felony (repeat child molester, must be caught and convicted in two separate cases before the charges even reach this level)
130.65A - Aggravated sexual abuse 4th degree | E Felony
130.85 - Female genital mutilation | E Felony
135.05 - Unlawful imprisonment 2nd degree | A Misdemeanor
135.10 - Unlawful imprisonment 1st degree | E Felony
135.45 - Custodial interference 2nd degree | A Misdemeanor
135.50 - Custodial interference 1st degree | E Felony
135.55 - Substitution of children | E Felony (switched at birth type of thing)
135.60 - Coercion 2nd degree | A Misdemeanor
150.01 - 5th degree Arson | A Misdemeanor
150.05 - 4th degree Arson | E Felony
178.10 - 4th degree Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions | A Misdemeanor
178.15 - 3rd degree Criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions | E Felony
220.28 - Use of a child to commit a controlled substance offense | E Felony
240.05 - Riot 2nd degree | A Misdemeanor
240.06 - Riot 1st degree | E Felony
240.08 - Inciting to riot | A Misdemeanor
240.10 - Unlawful assembly | B Misdemeanor
240.15 - Criminal anarchy | E Felony
240.20 - Disorderly conduct | Violation
240.61 - Placing a false bomb or hazardous substance 2nd degree | E Felony
250.45 - Unlawful surveillance 2nd degree | E felony (Hidden cams for sexual gratification)
255.25 - Incest 3rd degree | E Felony
263.11 - Possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child | E Felony
263.16 - Possessing a sexual performance by a child | E Felony

Seriously, in New York State possession of an unloaded magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds is taken more seriously than certain charges pertaining to child molesters, child porn, rapists and criminally negligent homicide…………..

Are you freaking kidding me?

Additionally, the state now says that the mere possession of these magazines is now equal to these crimes:

120.02 - Reckless assault of a child | D Felony
120.04 - Vehicular assault 1st degree | D Felony
120.05 - Assault 2nd degree | D Felony
120.18 - Menacing police officer or peace officer | D Felony
120.25 - Reckless endangerment 1st degree | D Felony
120.60 - Stalking 1st degree | D Felony
121.12 - Strangulation 2nd degree | D Felony
125.12 - Vehicular manslaughter 2nd degree | D Felony
130.30 - Rape 2nd degree | D Felony
130.45 - Criminal sexual act 2nd degree | D Felony
130.65 - Sexual abuse 1st degree | D Felony
130.66 - Aggravated sexual abuse 3rd degree | D Felony
130.80 - Course of sexual conduct against a child 2nd degree | D Felony
130.90 - Facilitating a sex offense with a controlled substance | D Felony
135.35 - Labor trafficking | D Felony
140.17 - Criminal trespass 1st degree | D Felony
140.20 - Burglary 3rd degree | D Felony
145.20 - Criminal tampering in the first degree.
155.35 - Grand larceny in the third degree.
160.05 - 3rd degree Robbery | D Felony
165.11 - Auto stripping 1st degree | D Felony
205.15 - Escape 1st degree | D Felony (Prison break)
220.31 - Criminal sale of a controlled substance 5th degree | D Felony
220.73 - Unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine 3rd degree | D Felony
221.25 - Criminal possession of marihuana 2nd degree | D Felony (More than a pound of pot)
221.50 - Criminal sale of marihuana 2nd degree | D Felony (Selling drugs to kids or more than a quarter pound to an adult)
235.22 - Disseminating indecent material to minors 1st degree | D Felony
255.26 - Incest 2nd degree | D Felony
263.10 - Promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child | D Felony

Question: What is the difference between a retired law enforcement officer in New York State, possessing the same magazine that he carried in his department issued weapon, while protecting the people of the state, and a person who over a period of time, not less than three months, engages in two or more acts of sexual conduct with a child less than eleven years old………..

Answer:  according to Governor Cuomo, NOTHING !!!!!!!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying retired cops are better than Joe Citizen, in fact we are Joe Citizen, the point I am making is that when they are enacting these laws it is just another feeble attempt to show they are doing something, when in fact all they are doing is passing another law, on top of all the other laws they have passed, that won’t work. 

Addressing the root causes is a tricky issue and one that is not easily fixed. So rather they go after the real bad guys, they go after the law abiding citizens. Why? Because the bottom line is that they just don’t like guns and they will not stop until they managed to ban them all. 

Maybe, instead of asking politicians to protect us, we should find a way to protect ourselves against politicians!!

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Distinguished Warfare Medal

I’m coming to this issue a little bit late but I’ve actually been discussing this matter with some friends since the medal was first announced two weeks ago. I just haven’t had a chance to sit down and write about it until till now.

For those of you who may not have heard about this, the Distinguished Warfare Medal is a newly proposed United States military decoration. It was first announced by outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on February 13, 2013. It would be the first American combat related award to be created since the Bronze Star Medal in 1944.

The only problem, the combat it is designed to recognize is related to Drone and Cyber Warfare.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think there is certainly a place for this type of recognition, but the part that has got me and many others riled up is the fact that when they were dreaming up this new medal, someone thought it would be a great idea to elevate its status above both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Think about that for a moment. Imagine you’re a young Gung-Ho Marine or Army Infantry Grunt deployed over in the sandbox and you come under enemy fire. Your unit is taking rounds and you’re actively engaged in a hostile firefight with the enemy.  Not only do you display tenacity in bringing the battle to the enemy, but you also receive wounds as a result of the engagement.

For your heroism, and wounds received in action, you are awarded the Bronze Star with Valor Device and the Purple Heart.

In another country, a drone operator sits in an air conditioned operations room and flies a drone into another country that delivers a strike against insurgents in some remote mountain range. You are awarded the Distinguished Warfare Medal.

In order of precedence, that Distinguished Warfare Medal places higher than the Bronze Star or the Purple Heart……HUH ????

What world am I living in?

My friends, this is the madness of the “everyone’s a winner” and “everyone gets a medal” mentality that is currently eating away at this country like a cancer.

Again, I don’t have any problem with recognizing the efforts of drone or cyber warfare operators. But who in their right mind actually believes that sitting behind a terminal screen is more dangerous than getting friggen shot at?

I’ll tell you who. People who have never been shot at or served in harms way!!

One has to look no further then the current parade of Generals who strut the halls of the Pentagon looking like peacocks. The sad thing is we used to laugh at the Russian, Chinese and North Korean generals who had so many medals they needed assistants to help get them into a standing position. Now ours look exactly the same. Unfortunately, the majority of the medals they wear have zero to do with actual warfare.

It’s the latest rage, run up a rack of medals to make yourself seem important. Look at what we give medals away for: Training, Professional Development, Graduate Ribbon, Security Guard, Instructor, Long Tour, Short Tour, Volunteer……….

I’m sorry if this is coming across as a little angry, but it hits home to me. My uncle, Major General Martin Foery was decorated for heroism in World War II. He was a recipient of the Silver Star for action on Saipan and the Bronze Star on Makin. He was also awarded the Combat Infantry Badge. Like many of the countless others who have gone into harms way, he was a true warrior.

It is bad enough that the Bronze Star has been watered down since its inception in 1941. I have no problem with recognizing people, who do “other” things, but when it comes to warriors, who have earned their medals through blood, sweat and tears, don’t try to justify how someone who grew up playing “Gears of War” earns a medal higher than a person who has actually fought the war.

Can you see the difference between the General from the "Greatest Generation" and the "Look at Me Generation"

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