In March of 2001, I read the CNN version of this story. I was sitting in my den, in Lawton, OK, reading the story from the CNN website. My wife was in the kitchen, I read the story to her, and told that "these guys" (the Taliban) were crazy. I told her that I had an awful feeling in my gut that we would be at war with them within a year, because they would start it.

Like I said, that was March 2001. A few months after the attack on the USS Cole. About 6 months before 9/11.

So, about 2 weeks ago, our esteemed Secretary of State attempted to reach out to the Taliban. After all, the premise is the reason they attacked us is that George Bush was President, right? If we just talk to them, we can work out any differences, right? ... Especially, now that Obama is President.

Apparently, the head of the Taliban on the Pakistani border didn't get the memo that the Obama administration wanted to "make nice". On the same day, Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Taliban in the Pakistani border, (a man with a 5 million dollar bounty on his head from the US government) told the AP, by phone, and I quote:

Soon we will launch an attack in Washington that will amaze everyone in the world.

Now, it could be the case that Mehsud just didn't "get the memo". Maybe he didn't get that the Obama administration was going to attempt to set a new tone, if you will.

Or maybe not.

The next day, the UK Daily Mail reported the following:

Crushing an olive branch offered by President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Taliban leaders rejected a U.S. appeal to moderate militants as ‘a lunatic idea.’


So, according to the people that we are trying to find "common ground" with, the idea that we and they have any common ground is "a lunatic idea".

Imagine that.

We are a western civilization. Actually, we are, not only, "a" western civilization, at this point in history, we are "THE" western civilization.

They are fundamentalist Islamists. One of the most fundamental principles of their existence is the eradication of any culture not ruled by the strictest interpretation of Sharia law. Western civilization, as we know it, is the furthest possible thing from any interpretation of Sharia law in existence, at this point in time.

So, where is the common ground?

Given my experience, the common ground is here. If you have eaten recently, or if you have any weakness for gore, then I would not click the link.

My three Iraqi friends that were executed by al Quaeda did not die as cleanly as this. They were REALLY tortured.

There was a March 23rd article on the Reuters news wire. It was written by Maggie Fox, Reuter's Health and Science Editor.

The basic premise of the article is, to quote the second paragraph:

The National Cancer Institute study is one of the largest to look at the highly controversial and emotive issue of whether eating meat is indeed bad for health.

Given what we hear in the media, and some of the trends in our culture, this seems like a reasonable line of inquiry.

Their conclusion, contained in the first paragraph, is rather startling:

People who eat the most red meat and the most processed meat have the highest overall risk of death from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

That's a pretty amazing conclusion. As a confirmed carnivore, I'm kind of scared.

The risk from heart disease, cancer, stroke, I can understand. It's the phrase "all causes" that caught my eye.

I want to know what methods this study used to ascertain that the eating of red meat, and other processed meat could lead to higher death risk from, among others, the following causes:

• traffic accidents
• shark attack
• snake bite
• lightning strikes
• road-side IED's
• natural disasters
• home invasion
• drive-by shootings
• the worst paper cuts of all time
  

...

You get the idea.

They did say ALL.

I found this really interesting article in Men's Health. It gives the pro's and con's of male circumcision. The author did some real serious research. He tries to objectively present both sides, and draw some reasonable conclusions.

The article is told within the hypothetical circumstance of parents of a newborn boy thinking over whether or not to have him circumcised. The couple has several conversations with the doctor that would perform the circumcision, if they choose to have it done.

That's the right part.

The wrong part is the hypothetical doctor's name.

Dr. Wang.

A joke I found a few minutes ago:


Tom had been in police work for 25 years.

Finally, sick of the stress, he quits his job and buys 50 acres of land in Alaska as far from humanity as possible. He sees the postman once a week and gets groceries once a month. Otherwise, it's total peace and quiet.

After six months or so of almost total isolation, someone knocks on his door. He opens it and a huge bearded man is standing there.

"Name's Cliff, your neighbor from forty miles up the road. Having a party Friday night. Thought you might like to come at about 5 p.m."

"Great!" says Tom, 'After six months out here I'm ready to meet some local folks. Thank you."

As Cliff is leaving, he stops. "Gotta warn you. Be some drinkin'."

"Not a problem," says Tom. "After 25 years in the business, I can drink with the best of 'em."

Again, the big man starts to leave and stops. "More 'n likely gonna be some fightin', too."

"Well, I get along with people, I'll be all right. I'll be there. Thanks again," says Tom.

"More 'n likely be some wild sex, too," says Cliff.

"Now that's not really a problem," says Tom, warming to the idea. "I've been all alone for six months; I'll definitely be there. By the way, what should I wear?"

"Doesn't much matter," says Cliff. "Just gonna be the two of us."

Labels: Alaska, joke, retirement

Earlier tonight, I was working on getting the smoker going (I am smoking a whole chicken), and my wife was channel surfing. She stopped on the opening of "The Sound of Music".

As I was heading out to the deck, I stopped to watch the beautiful scenery of that opening. (Amy and I loved living in Bavaria, where some of the film was shot.) Then, the camera zoomed in on Julie Andrews on top of a mountain, in the middle of this gorgeous shot, and she sang: "The hills are alive ..." ...

And, immediately, both of us, from different parts of the house, sang, in time, and in key: "and their eating children."

I think the term is synchronicity. No matter, it was kind of bizarre.

Labels: children, marriage, synchronicity, The Sound of Music

This one just makes my head want to spin around like Linda Blair in "The Exorcist".

Let's start simple.

I am a soldier. My job is to fight and win my country's wars. No matter what part I, individually, have in that mission. That is my job. I've been to war, as a "soldier-musician". Even as a soldier whose job it was to play music in a war zone, I had to qualify (prove that I could use to a certain level of competence) on my assigned weapon (the M-16 rifle). I was briefed, multiple times on the "Rules of Engagement", when I could shoot, who I could shoot, how I could shoot, what I could shoot, and the opposite of all of those things. AND, I was required to carry with me, at all times, a little card reminding me of the Rules of Engagement. That was considered to be a fundamental part of the job for EVERY soldier entering the Iraq theater (to include Kuwait). It was a working knowledge of the fundamentals.

Then there is our Congress.

(Remember "con-" is the opposite of "pro-" ... especially, in terms of the root word: "gress".)

This article points out that the AIG bonuses that everyone, especially several high ranking members of Congress (the leaders of the House and Senate committees in charge of the banking industry immediately come to mind), was up in arms about late last month were SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED BY THE STIMULUS BILL that Congress had passed only a few weeks earlier. In particular, the heads of the Senate and House banking committees were outraged by the bonuses. (These two people would be Senator Chris Dodd, and Representative Barney Frank, BTW.)

I find this very interesting.

Both of those gentlemen voted FOR the stimulus package. The sections of the legislation that covered those bonuses originated in the committees that THEY CHAIR.

I could go further into the "nuts and bolts" of how legislation becomes law ... and how this was either purposely included in the bill, or a case of willful ignorance.

But that, as a former First Sergeant of mine once said, would be "beating a dead horse ... to death."

Now, going back to the simple definition of one's job. What is the job of a member of Congress?

Simply, their job is to write, consider and debate proposed laws, and then, vote their opinion on whether they should be be enacted.

So, why didn't Senator Dodd, and Representative Frank, et al, not know those bonuses were PROTECTED by the legislation that they voted for?

You think, maybe, they didn't read the bill? Or have a staffer brief them (after the staffer had read it) on some of the potential problems in the bill? Maybe, just maybe, they were power drunk on the fact that their party has unstoppable majorities in both houses of Congress, and that the President, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate Majority Leader all wanted this bill passed as quickly as possible, no matter what was actually in it?

Read the article.

I want to highlight parts of two paragraphs:

The Read the Bills Act is as simple to describe as it will be difficult for Babka and his allies to enact. A draft they've prepared says that each bill must be read aloud before a quorum in the Senate and House of Representatives; that each legislator voting "aye" must file an affidavit saying they're familiar with the contents; and that laws that don't meet these requirements can be challenged in court.

The only hitch is that no members of the House or Senate have been willing to sponsor this legislation, which would, after all, curb their own power and result in additional duties. Babka says to check back with him in a few weeks for more news.

Think about that for a second.

Mr. Declan McCullagh, the author of this piece, implies that for a member of Congress to have a working knowledge of ANY piece of legislation that they are voting on is an onerous additional duty that they do not have, at the moment.

Here is the dilemma: What to be mad or frightened about?

A) That the people who create the laws of our land feel that it would be punishment, if you will, to be informed about the laws that they are creating?

OR

B) In the 221 years since the creation of our current government, no one has seen fit to make knowing about the laws they are voting on a job requirement for Congressman? Wouldn't that be a reasonable "working knowledge of the fundamentals" concerning their job?

Labels: AIG, Barney Frank, bonuses, Chris Dodd, Congress, incompetence, job description, Read the Bills Act, stimulus

Maybe I was wrong.

In the previous post, I implied, in the previous post, that maybe the President was not the most polite person in politics today.

He, apparently, goes out of his way to make sure that thanks goes where thanks is due.

Here are the first 5 paragraphs from the linked article in this post (the bold face is my little addition):

WASHINGTON -- Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given.

Cowen was set to speak twice at the White House on Tuesday night because there were two different parties going on at the executive mansion. No matter -- he would give the same speech to the two different audiences.

But Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that he was giving word for word the speech that Obama had just read from the same teleprompter.

Cowen stopped and looked back at the president to say, "That's your speech."

Obama laughed and returned to the podium to offer what might have been Cowen's remarks. In doing so, President Obama thanked President Obama for inviting everyone over.

What a guy! I am sure this, among other things, is changing the way the world perceives the US after the "dreadful" Bush administration.

Labels: idiot, Irish, manners, St. Patrick's Day, teleprompter

During the last campaign, one of the four individuals on the two tickets was characterized as "suave, debonair, elegant, and articulate". An individual on the other ticket was characterized as being ignorant, vulgar, and unable to communicate well.

Do you remember who those individuals were? Do you have those images, and soundbites firmly in your head?

Take a look at these two video clips:




Now, who was who, again? You think, maybe, the talking heads got that one wrong?

Labels: bowling, Obama, Sarah Palin, Special Olympics, vulgar

This link is one of the best ...

Let me back up.

If you don't understand individualism, then there is no way you can grasp the meaning of freedom as envisioned by our country's founders. There can be no "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" without the underlying philosophy of the individual.

Take 16 minutes, and listen to the file on this link. It is one of the best explanations I have ever heard of individualism.

Labels: freedom, rugged individualism

I haven't hit the blog in a while. But, I have found some stuff, and come up with some stuff to share. Today is the start of a three-day weekend for me, so buckle up and let's go.

The first bit is an article I found. The link in the title of the post will send you to the original. It features a picture of a 1908 Ford. It's a little piece entitled "100 Years Ago" (the piece is from 2008).


The YEAR 1908


Show this to your children and grandchildren


This will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!
The year is 1908.
One hundred years ago.
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some statistics for the Year 1908 :
************ ********* ********* ******

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles
Of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
A dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which
Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used
Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from
Entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea
Hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health.' ( Shocking? DUH! )

Eighteen percent of households had at least
One full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE ! U.S.A. !

Now I forwarded this from someone else without typing It myself, and sent it to you and others all over Canada & U.S.A
Possibly the world, in a matter of seconds!

Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

IT STAGGERS THE MIND, EH?

Submitted by Brian J - Thanks to Rae Ann...

Once again, the preceding section in yellow was not of my creation, and no animals were harmed in the posting of this piece.

Labels: average wages, cars, cost of living, crime rate, health care, history, life expectancy, technology