Fixing A Hole

A "Redneck" Parable

2011-08-11T01:38:00.000-07:00

Recent events reminded me of a story, or parable, I read when I was young. It goes something like this:

A swallow is flying through a wintery day, until, finally, it is frozen. It can fly no more, and drops to the ground in a cow pasture. A cow walks by and craps. The steaming turd, coating the swallow. The swallow, rejuvenated by the heat of the manure, sticks it's head out of the pile, and begins to sing. The barnyard cat, upon hearing the bird's song, pounces on the pile; uncovers the bird; and eats it.

There are THREE morals to this story:

1) The person who drops a steaming pile of crap on your head is not, necessarily, your enemy.
2) The person who digs you out of a steaming pile of crap is not, necessarily, your friend.
3) When you are warm, and happy, in a steaming pile of crap, FOR GOD'S SAKE, DO NOT OPEN YOUR MOUTH!

Interesting Question(s)

2010-11-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I were discussing things for his AP Government class tonight. In our ramblings (talking and looking for resources on the Internet), we found this speech.

We found it quite interesting.

(I am going to blur the obivous references to date and time.)

Brandon and I were curious about something.

Read the speech and guess:

a) the political party affiliation of the person giving the speech;
b) the person giving the speech
c) (bonus) decade the speech was given
(I will re-post the question at the end.)

Here is the speech:

I feel somewhat like I felt when I addressed in XXXX the Houston Ministerial Conference on separation of church and state. But I'm glad to have a chance to talk to you about the advantages of the free enterprise system.

This nation possesses both the will and the weapons to meet any threat. The gains we have made will not be given up, and the course we have pursued will not be abandoned. But in the long run, that security will not be determined by military or diplomatic moves alone. It will be affected by the deployment of fiscal and monetary weapons as well as by military weapons, and above all by the strength of this nation's economy, as well as by the strength of our defenses.

You recall that "Y" said he believed that the hinge of world history would begin to move when the Soviet Union out produced the United States.

America's rise to world leadership in the century since the Civil War has reflected more than anything else our unprecedented economic growth. Interrupted during the decade of the thirties, the vigorous expansion of our economy was resumed in XXXX. It demonstrated for all to see the power of freedom and the efficiency of free institutions.

The economic health of this nation has been and is now fundamentally sound. On our strength and growth depends the strength of others, the spread of free world trade and unity, and continued confidence in our leadership and our currency. The underdeveloped countries are dependent upon us for the sale of their primary commodities and for aid to their struggling economies. A growing and prosperous America is important not only to Americans - it is of vital importance to the whole Western world.

This economy is capable of producing without strain billions more than we are producing today. Business earnings could be billions higher than they are today. Utilization of existing plant and equipment could be much higher and, if it were, development would rise. We need not accept this unemployment rate. There is no need for us to be satisfied with a rate of growth that keeps good men out of work and good capacity out of use.

New York is of course familiar with problems. For in this state the rate of insured unemployment has been persistently higher than the national average, and the increases in personal income and employment have been slower here than the nation as a whole.

You have seen the tragedy of chronically depressed areas, unemployed young people. I think this might be one of our most serious national problems: Unemployed young people, particularly those of the minority groups, roaming the streets of other great cities, and others on relief at an early age. The prospect is that in this decade we will have millions of dropouts coming into the labor market at a time when the need for unskilled labor is steadily diminishing. So you share my conviction that, proud as we are of its progress, this nation's economy can and must do even better.

Our choice boils down to one of doing nothing and thereby risking a widening gap between our actual and potential growth in output, profits, and employment - or taking action at the federal level to raise our entire economy to a new and higher level of business activity.

There are a number of ways by which the federal government can meet it's responsibilities to aid economic growth. We can and must improve education and technical training.

One of the great bottlenecks for this country's economic growth in this decade will be the undersupply of highly trained manpower. We can and must step up the development of our natural resources: But the most direct and significant kind of federal action aiding economic growth is to make possible an increase in private consumption and investment demand to cut the fetters which hold back private spending.

In the past this could be done in part by the increased use of credit and monetary tools, but our balance of payments situation today places limits on our use of those tools for expansion. It could also be done by increasing federal expenditures more rapidly than necessary, but such a course would soon demoralize both the government and our economy. If government is to retain the confidence of the people, it must not spend more than can be justified on grounds of national need or spent with maximum efficiency.

The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and business is to reduce the burden on private income and the deterrence to private initiative which are imposed by our present tax system: And this administration pledged itself last summer to an across the board top to bottom cut in personal and corporate income taxes to be enacted and become effective in XXXX.

I'm not talking about a quickie or a temporary tax cut, which would be more appropriate if a recession were imminent; nor am I talking about giving the economy a mere shot in the arm to ease some temporary complaint. I am talking about the accumulated evidence of the last five years that our present tax system, developed as it was in good part during "Q" to restrain growth, exerts too heavy a drag on growth in peace time: That it siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power: That it reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment, and risk-taking.

In short to increase demand and lift the economy, the federal government's most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures. Under these circumstances, any new tax legislation enacted next year should meet the three following tests: First, it should reduce the net taxes by a sufficiently early date and a sufficiently large amount to do the job required.

Early action could give us extra leverage, added results, and important insurance against recession. Too large a tax cut, of course, could result in inflation and insufficient future revenues - but the greater danger is a tax cut too little or too late to be effective. Second, the new tax bill must increase private consumption as well as investment. After-tax income could and should be greater, providing stronger markets for the products of American industry.

When consumers purchase more goods, plants use more of their capacity, men are hired instead of laid off, investment increases and profits are high. Corporate tax rates must also be cut to increase incentives and the availability of investment capital. The government has already taken major steps this year to reduce business tax liability and to stimulate the modernization, replacement, and expansion of our productive plant and equipment.

We have done this through the investment tax credit and through the liberalization of depreciation allowances - two essential parts of our first step in tax revision which amounted to a ten percent reduction in corporate income taxes. Now we need to increase consumer demand to make these measures fully effective - demand which will make more use of existing capacity and thus increase both profits and the incentive to invest. In fact, profits after taxes would be at least fifteen percent higher today if we were operating at full employment.

Next year's tax bill must reduce personal as well as corporate income taxes - for those in the lower brackets, who are certain to spend their additional take-home pay: And for those in the middle and upper brackets, who can thereby be encouraged to undertake additional efforts and enabled to invest more capital. Third, the new tax bill should improve both the equity and the simplicity of our tax system.

This means the enactment of long-needed tax reforms, a broadening of the tax base and the elimination or modification of many special tax privileges. These steps are not only needed to recover lost revenue and thus make possible a larger cut in present rates.

They are also tied directly to our goal of greater growth. For the present patchwork of special provisions and preferences - light was the tax loads of some only at the cost of placing a heavier burden on others. It distorts economic judgments and channels undue amounts of energy into efforts to avoid tax liability. It makes certain types of less productive activity more profitable than other more valuable undertakings.

All this inhibits our growth and efficiency as well as considerably complicating the work of both the taxpayer and the Internal Revenue Service. These various exclusions and concessions have been justified in the past as a means of overcoming the oppressively high rates in the upper brackets-and a sharp reduction in those rates, accompanied by base-broadening, loophole-closing measures, would properly make the new rates not only lower but also more widely applicable. Those are the three tests that the right kind of bill must meet.

And I am confident that the enactment of the right bill next year will in due course increase our Gross National Product by several times the amount of taxes actually cut. Profit margins will be improved and both the incentive to invest and the supply of internal funds for investment will be increased. There will be new interest in taking risks, in increasing productivity, in creating new jobs and new products for long-term economic growth. Other national problems, moreover, will be aided by full employment.

It will encourage the location of new plants in areas of labor surplus, provide new jobs, and reduce a number of government expenditures. It will not, I am confident, revive an inflationary spiral or adversely affect our balance of payments.

If the economy today were operating close to capacity levels with little unemployment, or if a sudden change in our military requirements should cause a scramble for men and resources, then I would oppose tax reductions as irresponsible and inflationary and I would not hesitate to recommend a tax increase - if that were necessary. Our resources and manpower are not being fully utilized; the general level of prices has been remarkably stable; and increased competition, both at home and abroad, along with increased productivity will help keep both prices and wages within appropriate limits.

The same is true of our balance of payments. While rising demand will expand imports, new investment in more efficient, productive facilities will aid exports and a new economic climate will both draw capital from abroad and keep capital at home. Most importantly, confidence in the dollar in the long run rests on confidence in America, in our ability to meet our economic commitments and reach our economic goals.

In a worldwide conviction that we are not drifting from recession to recession with no answer, the substantial improvement in our balance of payments position makes it clear that nothing could be more foolish than to restrict our growth merely to minimize that particular problem because a slowdown in our economy will feed that problem rather than diminish it. European governmental and financial authorities have urged us to cut taxes in order to expand our economy, attract more capital and increase confidence.

What concerns most Americans about a tax cut, I know, is not the deficit in our balance of payments but the deficit in our federal budget. When I announced that this kind of comprehensive tax reform would follow the bill enacted this year, I had hoped to present it in an atmosphere of a balanced budget.

But it has been necessary to augment sharply our nuclear and conventional forces, to step up our efforts in space, to meet the increased cost of servicing the national debt and meeting our obligations, established by law , to veterans. We shall neither postpone our tax cut plans nor cut into essential national security programs. This administration is determined to protect America's security and survival; we are also determined to step up its growth. We must do both.

Our true choice is not between tax reduction, on the one hand, and the avoidance of large federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.

Surely the lesson of the last decade is that budget deficits are not caused by wild-eyed spenders but by slow economic growth and periodic recessions, and any new recession would break all deficit records.

It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise revenues in the long run is to cut rates now. The experience of a number of European countries has borne this out. This country's own experience with tax reduction has borne this out. The reason is that only full employment can balance the budget and tax reduction can pave the way to full employment. The purpose of cutting taxes is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which will bring a budget surplus.

I repeat: Our practical choice is not between a tax-cut deficit and a budgetary surplus. It is between two kinds of deficits; a chronic deficit of inertia, as the unwanted result of inadequate revenues and a restricted economy, or a temporary deficit of transition, resulting from a tax cut designed to boost the economy, increase tax revenue and achieve - and I believe this can be done - a future budget surplus.

The first type of deficit is a sign of waste and weakness; the second reflects an investment in the future. As the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee pointed out, the size of the deficit is to be regarded with concern and tax reduction must be accompanied, by "increased control of the rises in expenditures." That is precisely the course we intend to follow.

At the same time as our tax program is presented to the Congress, the federal budget will also be presented. Defense and space expenditures will necessarily rise in order to carry out programs which are demanded and are necessary for our own security. But I can tell you now that the total of all other expenditures combined will be held approximately at its current level.

This is not an easy task. During the past nine years, domestic civilian expenditures in the national government have risen at an average rate of more than seven and one half percent. State and local government expenditures have risen at an annual rate of nine percent.

Expenditures by the New York State government have risen in recent years at the rate of roughly ten percent a year. At a time when government pay scales have necessarily risen, when the demand for services is thus increasing, next year's federal budget, which will hold domestic outlays at their present level, will represent a genuine effort in expenditure control. The federal debt, as a proportion of our GNP, has been steadily reduced since this administration took office.

Last year the total increase in the federal debt was only two percent-compared to an eight percent increase in the gross debt of state and local governments. This setting makes federal tax reduction both possible and appropriate next year. I do not underestimate the obstacles which the Congress will face in enacting such legislation.

A high order of statesmanship and determination will be required if the possible is not to wait on the perfect. But a nation capable of marshalling these capabilities to meet a sudden and dramatic threat to its security is surely equally capable of meeting a creeping and complex threat to our economic vitality.

This nation can afford to reduce taxes - we can afford a temporary deficit - but we cannot afford to do nothing. For on the strength of our free economy rests the hope of all free men. We shall not fail their faith - and God willing, free men and free nations shall prosper and prevail.

I know it was a long read.

So, can you guess the following?

a) the political party affiliation of the person giving the speech;
b) the person giving the speech
c) (bonus) decade the speech was given

Veterans (Part One)

2010-11-15T23:04:00.000-08:00

On my "End of My Veteran's Day" post on Facebook, I posted a list of Vet's that I have known and wanted to honor. It's been my privilege to have Veterans who served from WWI to the present impact my life. A lot of people near the tail end of that list are familiar to my FB friends. I know the first few are not.

To keep the list from growing too cumbersome, I have limited it to those who actually served, and deployed in war time. Otherwise, it would be UNBELIEVABLY long.

So, let's start with the first one.

Frederick Valentine Kallenbach. "Val".

I moved to Eldon, MO in October of 1980. The year Val turned 84. Most of Val's extended family attended the church my family became members of. By this time, Val was in poor enough health that he rarely came to church, and was, more or less, a permanent member of the "Shut Ins/Prayer List" in the weekly bulletin. Though, he was able to attend a few of the services where I led worship/singing.

Early in 1982, the son of family friends came home from his stint in the Navy, Russell Parr. Russ and I became good friends very quickly. We had similar tastes in music. We loved cars. In hindsight, I guess I was one of the few people that didn't see a "druggie" or an alcoholic (Russ had gotten clean and sober, by this time.), just a fun guy who was willing to hang out with a 16 year old kid.

During the summer of 1982, if I didn't have to work at the local grocery store, or work on the yard at home, I headed over to Russ' parent's place and we hung out. Normally, we worked on his truck, or my car, or ran errands.

One day, I showed up at his house, and he was cooking fish. (At the time, I HATED all sea food, except for shrimp.) He had gone fishing early that morning, and had caught a pretty large number of perch. Russ put some on a plate for me. I told him I didn't care for fish. He insisted. So, I had one.

To this day, it is still the best piece of fried fish I have had IN MY LIFE. It was buttery. It seemed to just melt in my mouth. It was great! I was about to ask for seconds, when he told me we had to go, and he picked up a bag of perch fillets. We piled in his truck, and headed out. He started to drive to Tuscumbia (a nearby town, but outside of the area we normally roamed). We pulled up to this immaculately kept, but very small house.

We went inside, and it was the home of Val, and his wife, Letty ... whose real name I didn't learn until tonight (Marcia Alma).

Russ made his way through the house like it was a familiar place. He went back to the bedroom where Val lay, bed-ridden, and announced to Val that he had brought a "mess" of Perch for him.

When we walked in, Val looked like someone waiting to die. He saw Russ, the fish, and the light came back on in his eyes. Though he could not get out of bed, he became animated. Apparently, Russ and him had gone fishing quite a bit when Russ was a kid. They talked fishing for a bit. Then, Russ and Letty went off to cook the perch for Val. Leaving me alone with Val. He remained animated. He only wanted to talk about two things: fishing, and his time in the Navy.

At the time, I had no idea that Val was a veteran, much less a Navy veteran of WWI. The rest of the conversation is something of a blur, now. I wish I had something to take notes with me at the time. I remember being spellbound by the stories. (Even then, I had been a military history buff for several years.)

After the fish was cooked, Letty took me on a tour of the house, but the thing she MOST wanted me to see was the picture of Val's ship from WWI. It was hung in a place of honor in their house.
If I remember right, Val was a Navy Corpsman (medic) on a hospital ship off the coast of France in WWI. I think he made it all the way to Petty Officer, Third Class (E-4, for those of you not familiar with Navy rank titles).

During Letty's tour of the house, Russ went in and served Val the perch. While Val was eating, the two of them talked "Navy". At the time, I didn't understand the lingo. But, I remember the two of them talking as if they had served together.

So, what did I take away from that experience?

1) I walked into a room where I saw an old person laying on a bed waiting to die.
2) A friend, and a veteran of the SAME SERVICE, walked in with a gift that the "old person" would appreciate, and the "light" came back on in his eyes.
3) 64 years after Val's service ended, it was still one of the most exciting things, to him, in his life.

Val didn't talk about his kids, his grandkids, his great-grandkids, his career after the military ... etc. Letty was proud to show me the things about his military career, and didn't show me family pictures, or ... whatever.

One of my four grandparents was not born until after Val's military career ended!

Yet, the Navy, his service, and "his ship" was what he wanted to talk about.

That day was over 28 years ago. Val left us in 1989.

I can't explain it, but that day, and that experience has come to mean more and more to me, almost daily, since then.

Maybe it was Russ and Val talking "the Navy" ... two veterans with experiences decades apart, yet, having a close connection because of service.

Maybe it was the pride Letty had in her husband's service.

Maybe it was the way Val went from being a bed-ridden old man to an enthusiastic storyteller of his time in the Navy, when confronted with me ... a 16 year old, who was, really, incapable of understanding ALL that he was talking about, but I showed an interest.

No matter.

More and more, when I think about things like Veteran's Day, Val is the first person that comes to mind.

...

I think I would have enjoyed fishing with Val. However, I am more interested in the action of "fishing", than, actually, catching fish.

I've Been Wanting to Write this for Days ...

2010-06-25T01:21:00.000-07:00

While we didn't take the cruise to Alaska that Amy has been talking about for years, we had a great 25th wedding anniversary. The day was this last Tuesday, the 22nd, but, we, really, started celebrating shortly after I got off work on Sunday.

We head to a little bar and grill near our house, Fire Creek. A nice little place that we have enjoyed, regularly, ever since we moved here. We hadn't been in a while, and decided to go eat there.

I walked in, ordered beers we would like, and found us a table.

(The following is integral to the story.)

I ordered Amy an amber ale by a local brewery named "Mac and Jack's". Now, normally, when we go out around here, I order her the amber ale made by the Alaska Brewery. It's a fairly clear ale about the color of red brick. Mac and Jack's amber is unfiltered. So, in the glass, it is cloudy, not clear, but about the same color and taste as the Alaskan beer of the same style.

Anyway, ... I sit down at our table. Amy is out in the truck, still. A young man is seated, by himself, at the table closest to us. (I find out later that he is a young Sergeant in a Recon Platoon for one of Fort Lewis's Ranger Battalions.) He and I do the "guy thing" for this situation, you know, make eye contact and nod, without smiling, and I start reading the menu, which has changed since the last time we were in.

After I have been there for a while, Amy comes in. She looks at the menu for a second, then picks up her beer. She looks at it briefly, tips it slightly, and starts to ask me what is in her glass, because it is not what I, normally, order for her.

Well, she tips it a bit too far for the amount of beer in the glass, and pours some of it onto her menu.

Without even thinking, the following words come out of my mouth: "The top of the glass is open."

The young man across the way guffaws, and grabs his beer glass. Amy and I find out later that he ended up spitting part of his "chaw" into the glass, he is laughing so hard.

The best part is that he ended up drinking part of that beer to slow down the belly laugh from my comment.

He came over to the table later to introduce himself, and relate that story. Even though he was there to see his girlfriend (one of the waitresses), that episode was the most entertaining part of his evening, apparently. And our "banter", as an old married couple, was more entertaining than visiting with his girlfriend.

For All "Dedicated Howserites" Out There

2010-06-16T02:21:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, I have had an interesting email exchange with Mr. H over the last few days. I am sure part of it has to do with the excruciating pain he has had from that root canal, and the pain meds. He has been a bit down in the dumps, lately ... about us, and the Music Fest.

He was talking about cancelling. I think he has been talked out of it. But, the low number of commitments from people (whether you register or not), is a bit disconcerting. I will be registering shortly. I had made a commitment to attend, but could not register until my vacation was approved, and my wife and I figured out if both of us were attending. We will be registering shortly.

COME ON, PEOPLE! Just a few months ago, the Howser Music Fest FB page was abuzz with excitement for this! Mr. H has affected the lives of each and every one of us, in one way or another. We owe this to him and each other to do this, now, ... not at some funeral or memorial service. Let's celebrate our common bond with the man that created it.

And for added incentive, the way things appear, now, I will be making a cross-country drive, from Washington state to Missouri, for this thing ... and, if I have to collect you, along the way, to get you there, I will. ... and those of you that live in the Lake area, my vacation starts on June 10th, I have time to come find you. ...

Don't make me get all "Sergeant Robertson" on you, you won't like it. I make soldiers cry, and scare combat veterans, when I'm in "Sergeant Robertson" mode. ... Hee! Hee! ... It's fun!

"Down & Dirty" Grilled Pizza

2010-05-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

"Grilled pizza" sounds pretty exotic, and maybe bizarre. But, it's not, really. If you have been to any of the "wood-fired" or "stone-cooked" pizza places that are popular now, you have had "grilled pizza."

(I am, probably, going to go on more than you want, but hold on, I promise that I am getting there.)

It is, actually, one of the quickest and easiest things to do on the grill ... that doesn't taste that way.

For instance, steaks (beef or seafood) need to marinate for several hours before going on the grill, if you don't want them to be dry and tough.

Pizza, like my recipes for shrimp and asparagus, are things you can pick up on your way home from work, and have them ready to grill, once the grill is hot enough.

First, let me define the term "Down & Dirty."

A friend of mine runs a semi-pro live theater. She does big shows, and most of the rest are, what she calls, "Down & Dirty." That means minimal preparation, minimal cost, minimal hassle, BIG return.

This is how I did my "Down & Dirty" grilled pizza tonight:

EQUIPMENT

First, you have to have a grill big enough to fit two pizzas. I would HIGHLY suggest you make "personal pizzas," about the size of store-bought tortillas works well.

Second, get a "pizza stone." I know, I know, ... I said "Down & Dirty," and then defined it. This would seem to contradict what I am saying. You can go buy a 'Pampered Chef-type pizza stone' for $30 (or more), if you want. OR, you can go to your local Lowe's, Home Depot, or whatever, and buy an unglazed terracotta floor tile for less than you will pay for a Coke at your favorite convenience store ... SAME *@#% THING. AND, the floor tile is the perfect size for a personal pizza.

SETTING UP THE GRILL

Get your grill "screaming hot." Best way to gauge this is hold your hand 3-5 inches above the cooking surface, and start counting "1 Mississipi, 2 Mississippi" ... etc. Less than "2 Mississippi" is too hot, and you, probably have flames rising through the grate (flames BAD). More than "5 Mississippi" is too cold.

Put your tile down, on one side, to warm up. Go through your cleaning routine, for the other side of the grill. (I can go through mine later, if you want.) I will just say that eating re-cooked, decomposing food is not good.

After things are clean and warm (this is much easier on a gas grill than charcoal ... and I am a "charcoal purist"), pull down the heat under your tile. On a charcoal grill, pull up the cooking surface, and rake most of the coals to the other side. On a gas grill, turn down the heat under the tile. On a charcoal grill, you want 3-5 "Mississippi" on the hot side. On a gas grill, the overall heat in your grill should be about 400, with the tile side being on the much lower fire.

(This sounds complicated, but, it's really not. On my gas grill, I leave the "hot side" on full, and turn down the "tile side" to just above half way.)

So, you have your grill set up to cook.

The procedure from here is easy.

GRILLING PIZZA

OVERVIEW

It consists of 4 components:
1) the dough
2) the paste
3) the toppings
4) the cheese

AND you handle these 4 parts in 3 moves:
1) cook the dough
2) add toppings, paste, and cheese
3) cook the pizza

Let's talk about the components first.

INGREDIENTS

THE DOUGH

You can go as simplistic or "foodie" on this as you want.

I watched Chef Anne Burrell on the "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" make her pizza dough. Starting with activating the yeast, and letting it set.

You can go that route, or something like it, if you want. Do you remember me mentioning tortillas earlier?

I have had my best luck with packaged flour tortillas bought at the grocery store. (We use Mission Tortillas, because we have a friend with a yeast allergy, and Mission doesn't use yeast.)

THE PASTE

Pick whatever you want. I prefer a tomato base, myself. I have seen alfredo sauce and pesto sauce used, among other things.

The primary concern for "grilled pizza" is that you want to have a "thick" sauce. As little fluid as possible, or the pizza will be soggy.

THE TOPPINGS

Whatever you want. Your imagination is the limit.

Tonight I used: (cooked) "Hot" Jimmy Dean sausage; packaged, pre-sliced pepperoni; canned, sliced mushrooms; sliced tomatoes; sliced green olives; sliced, fresh bell pepper; bleu cheese; and oriental hot sauce ... among other things. (I cooked 7 different pizzas tonight.)

THE CHEESE

Your cheese for "The Cheese" portion should be grated. The cheese will be used to "glue" the toppings together, and to "glue" it to the crust.

The 3 "moves"

COOK THE CRUST

So, tonight, I took a tortilla, sprayed one side of it with non-stick cooking spray (Crisco Butter Flavor), and threw it on the hot side of the grill. I scooted it around, as it began to "bubble". So, it would "bubble" evenly. You don't want it too bubble much.

As you are doing this, spray the top side with you cooking spray.

Flip it.

Let it cook, but not much. You don't want the dough to cook too much. Only "mostly" done.

Take it off the grill, onto a plate.

ADD PASTE, TOPPINGS, AND CHEESE

1) Lay down a THIN layer of paste. If it is very thick your pizza will be soggy.

2) Add anything, and everything else you want.

3) Sprinkle, liberally, with your "glue" cheese.

COOK THE PIZZA

Put your pizza on the tile on the warm of your grill. Rotate, and cook your pizza, with the lid closed, mostly, until your dough is crispy, and the cheese is all melted.

Take it off the grill. Let it cool off ... don't want to burn your mouth, and eat.

SO, to recap:

1) Cook your crust, mostly
2) Top it
3) Cook your pizza
4) Eat your pizza

Now, my grill-disciples, go forth, amaze your family and friends with your grill expertise, and GRILL!

Latest Bad Joke ...

2010-05-14T01:16:00.000-07:00

Found this on one of the sites I frequent.

One evening last week, my wife and I were getting into bed.

Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says "I don't feel like it, I just want you to hold me."

I said "WHAT????!!! What was that?!"

So she says the words that every husband on the planet dreads to hear..."You're just not in touch with my emotional needs as a woman enough for me to satisfy your physical needs as a man."

She responded to my puzzled look by saying, "Can't you just love me for who I am and not what I do for you in the bedroom?"

Realizing that nothing was going to happen that night I went to sleep.

The very next day I opted to take the day off of work to spend time with her.

We went out to a nice lunch and then went shopping at a big, big unnamed dept store.

I walked around with her while she tried on several different very expensive outfits. She couldn't decide which one to take so I told her we'll just buy them all.

She wanted new shoes to compliment her new clothes, so I said lets get a pair for each outfit.

We went on to the jewelery dept where she picked out a pair of diamond earrings.

Let me tell you...she was so excited.

She must have thought I was one wave short of a shipwreck.

I started to think she was testing me because she asked for a tennis bracelet when she doesn't even know how to play tennis.

I think I threw her for a loop when I said, "That's fine, honey."

She was almost nearing sexual satisfaction from all of the excitement. Smiling with excited anticipation she finally said, "I think this is all dear, let's go to the cashier".

I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, "No honey, I don't feel like it."

Her face just went completely blank as her jaw dropped with a baffled WHAT???!!!"

I then said, "Really honey! I just want you to HOLD this stuff for awhile. ... You're just not in touch with my financial needs as a man enough for me to satisfy your shopping needs as a woman."

And just when she had this look like she was going to kill me I added, "Why can't you just love me for who I am and not for the things I buy you?"

Apparently I'm not having sex tonight either.

Answer to my Poll

2010-04-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

Let's Do a Poll

2010-04-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

This blog has been in existence since 2004.

I have never done a poll.

Let's do something new. Let's try a poll.

Who do you think said the following: "I am sick and tired of people who say that if you debate and you disagree with this administration somehow you're not patriotic. We should stand up and say, we are Americans and we have a right to debate and disagree with any administration."

Let's go through all the fun options!

A) Rush Limbaugh, sometime after the inauguration of President Obama
B) Glen Beck, sometime after the inauguration of President Obama
C) Sean Hannity, sometime after the inauguration of President Obama
D) some random Tea Party person
E) Secretary of State (now), Senator (then) Hillary Clinton, circa April 2003
F) Sarah Palin, sometime after the inauguration of President Obama

Something New and Incredible I Found ...

2010-04-12T01:07:00.000-07:00

I was doing some "techno-geek" surfing, and came across this:

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade-named BOOK.

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it.

Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.

Here's how it works: BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.

Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.

BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting, though, like other devices, it can become damaged if coffee is spilled on it.

The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pin-points the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session -- even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers.

Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. BOOK's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to invest. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

Imagine that! It's amazing what they can do, now!

Welcome to my Thoughts ...

2010-04-11T03:52:00.000-07:00

Most of what I have put up on this blog, in the 6 years it has existed, is the fruit of intuition/inspiration/"gut-feeling".

Either: a)I have posted a link, with a short blurb, on inspiration; or b) had some inspiration, and let the thought "roll around in my head" for a while, before sitting down to write.

With this post, I am going to invite you into my "process".

I've been listening to the "Dropkick Murphys", some, lately. Mainly, because, Amy and I heard their version of "Amazing Grace", some time ago, and enjoyed it.

In the middle of doing something else, ENTIRELY, it HIT me that I have something to say, in response to these 3 songs, in this SPECIFIC order.

The three songs are, in order:

1

2

3

Now, my "gut" says that these three songs, in THIS order, give me impetus for something meaningful to say.

I have no idea what it is, at this point.

One way of viewing the last 20+ years

2010-03-27T23:47:00.000-07:00

Left shoulder, from April 1990-April 1995.

Left shoulder, from May of 1995 to June of 1998.

Left shoulder, from July of 1998 to June of 2002.

Left shoulder, from July of 2002 to July of 2003.

Left shoulder, from August of 2003 to July of 2006, and on the right shoulder, for the rest of my life.

On the left shoulder, since August 2006.

Odd little story ...

2010-03-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Today, thanks to some things that I will relate later, I was reminded of an odd little, off-color, humorous thing that happened at work, in 2008.

The men's bathroom, in my place of work, is one of the few rooms in the entire building that does not have, at least, one outside wall as one of it's walls. Therefore, it is completely dependent upon the exhaust fan in the ceiling to deal with any noxious fumes that might be a side-effect of that room's purpose. (Wasn't that rather diplomatically stated?)

Sometime in 2008, that exhaust fan failed.

A kind soul at work ... or, maybe, he had some kind of sense of "self-defense" ... anyway, he brought in a can of aerosol air freshener. He, also, put a sign, encouraging others to use the air freshener, right above where the can was placed.

However, his choice of verbage, and syntax was not quite up to the task, with some humorous results.

First, the sign contained the word "poop".

While the word is not vulgar, there is more adult verbage for the same action. If something more adult had been used, then, maybe, the juvenile reactions that resulted from the sign, would not have happened.

Secondly, "If - then" statements are an accepted part of the American version of English. The second sentence in the above paragraph is one. These types of sentences are such a part of our culture, that often the "then" can be left off, and the reader, or listener will, still, have perfect understanding of what is being communicated. The ONE thing that must occur, either written, or implied by a verbal pause, is a comma between the "IF" portion, and the "Then" portion.

My well-meaning co-worker left out the "then" ... and the comma.

So, there was this piece of cardboard, mounted on the wall with tape, in an "odiferous"(to quote Sir Charles Barkley) bathroom, with writing, in black Sharpie, that read:

"If you poop spray."

You can imagine the discussions that this sign inspired.

Some of you know that the oldest of my three dachshunds, Tasselhof, or Tas (pronounce "Tass") had a devastating back injury in 2003. He was in a "doggy-wheel chair", full time, for about 2 years. Things are better, now. The little, old fart is over 14 years now, and my wife and I like to say he is full of "piss and vinegar". (He is curled up, next to me, on the couch, as I write this.)

While the back legs work, sort of, now, the bladder and bowel control has not returned.

Which leads us to today's unfortunate happening.

Something upset Tas' stomach today.

As I put it to Amy, on the phone, Tas had "cross-country diarrhea", today. It started in the middle of the kitchen, through the office area, the den, and into the guest bathroom. Nothing was solid.

It was while I was in the middle of cleaning up the mess (Resolve is my friend), that I realized, with or without the comma, I was dealing with the TRUE results of the words on the sign:

"If you poop spray."

Been thinking ...

2010-03-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

Let me just state, up front, that all I am relating is some of my personal experiences from my military career. Any conclusions you draw from what I have to say are your own. Any inferences you make, or implications you see from what I say, are, once again, your own.

As a lot of you know, I was stationed in Germany from 2003-2006, after spending a year in Korea.

While there Amy and I became good friends with a family that run a very successful tax advisor business in norther Bavaria, in particular, the oldest daughter of the family, Isa. Isa holds, roughly, the American equivalent of an MBA, and is very fluent in English. Through her, her family, and a few other sources, we learned some very interesting things about Germany. ... But, I am getting ahead of myself.

In February of '06, Amy noticed that the color vision in her left eye was noticeably less than that of her right eye. We consulted some Army doctors all over Germany, and, as a result, she was sent to see German doctors at the eye clinic in Ehrlangen. We were told that this is one of the best eye clinics in all of Europe.

Now, everyone in this clinic is, primarily, a German speaker. They know some English, but it is, by no means, their primary language. The discussions we were going to have in this place were highly technical, and the grasp of the German language that Amy and I had just wasn't going to cut it. So, we asked our friend, Isa, to go with us to translate ... and drive, because she knew where it was.

So, we tool down the Autobahn in Isa's VW Golf ... and Isa knew how to make that thing ... it didn't "fly" like a Porsche, or an upper-end BMW or Mercedes, but it spent a lot of time in the fast lane.

We get off the Autobahn, enter this lovely, old German town, and drive through it to this very modern looking building. She stops, and we go in. It's gorgeous.

We leave the main lobby, and head into, by the German I can read, the eye clinic. There is a large waiting area, filled with people. We go up to the desk to check in, and Isa does all the talking. I look around at all the people waiting, and wonder if we will see a doctor, or a nurse that day. I hear Isa explain who we are, and that we are here under the US military program. She answers a few more questions, and ... we are sent right in. That's right! Sent in ahead of all of these people who are waiting, and, by appearances, have been waiting for some time.

We go and sit down outside of the initial screening area, and I ask Isa what just happened?

She explained that the people in the waiting area were the ones on the government health plan.

Which prompted me to ask about us, and all the other people I saw in the area we were in.

She explained that everyone in our area were on private medical insurance programs, and the German medical system treats the US military medical program as a private insurance program, because of the way it reimburses the caregiver fully.

I told her that I thought that Germany had a totally socialized system of medical care.

She, then, enlightened me that Germany, once, had a totally socialized system, but the service was so slow, and the tax burden so great ... that the resulting public outcry had caused the government to reinstitute private health insurance.

She was quick to state several things:

a) those that could afford it, were quick to acquire private health insurance, because the public plan sucked, in terms of timeliness, and quality of care;

b) the government did not pay enough to reimburse the medical facilities costs for any given procedure;

c) even though a person was paying for a private plan, and, therefore, no burden to the government, they still had to pay taxes as if they were receiving government health care.

By the time she had finished her explanation, we were in to see the doctor. We were in and out of there by noon ... and many of the faces I remembered in the lobby of the eye clinic were, still, there, when we left.

The end result was that Amy had optic neuritis. If your read all of the Wikipedia article, then you know that 20-30% of the people that contract optic neuritis, have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). That was a concern of several of the doctors we saw. They used everything in their resources, to include, what was to them, our "private insurance", to diagnose Amy thoroughly ... and not leave her in that waiting room in Ehrlangen.

Amy was diagnosed with MS on June 22, 2006, by the chief neurologist of the Bamberg Klinkum. Our 21st anniversary.

Some other interesting things I learned about Germany:

Their median (average) income tax rate is 54%. (Meaning a person only gets to keep 46%, less than half, of what they earn)

The German federal government has imposed, at the time I left Germany, a 16% "Value Added Tax". Meaning a German pays a 16% sales tax to the federal govenment, above and beyond any local tax, on EVERYTHING they purchase.

Think about that for a moment.

As a German, the government takes over half of what you work hard to earn, BEFORE YOU EVEN SEE IT, and, then, takes even more in a sales tax on what you have left ....

Meaning, in those percentages, then, that for every ... let's say dollar, you earn, you, actually, have 38 cents of buying power!

Or to flip it around, the government gets 62 cents for every dollar you earn ... and this is after the Germans have "fixed" things to allow private insurance to be "allowed" again.

Go to Germany, or look their papers up on the web, the bulk of their government funds go to health care, and their equivalent of welfare, because they had, about, a 30% unemployment rate when I was there.

To be fair, joing the European Union, and adopting the "euro", really screwed Germany, economically. (This happened shortly before I was stationed there.)

By the agreement in which Germany joined the EU, anything sold had to be equivalent, meaning if a product sold cost a Deutsche Mark before, it, now, cost one Euro. However, the same agreement stipulated that to "buy" a single Euro, it cost 2 Deutsche Marks. So, effectively, the price of EVERYTHING doubled.

****

So, as I said before, draw your own conclusions about my personal story, and experiences.

I am happy to serve my nation, and follow the orders of my, duly-elected, Commander in Chief.

It's a happy "Obama-nation"! Don't you think?

Talking Linguistics ...

2010-03-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

As some of us learned in reading class, during elementary school, "pro" and "con" are prefixes that modify a "root word". At the same time, we learned that the two prefixes are the EXACT opposite of each other.

We, also, learned that there are suffixes, attached to the end of a "root word" that modify the root, as well.

Currently, the two houses of Congress (The Senate, and the House of Representatives) have an overwhelming majority of people from the Democrat Party. In the Senate the count is 59-41, and in the House it is 255-178.

So, the Democrat "Congress"men enjoy a 314-219 majority, in the two houses. These people fought long, and hard campaigns to have the honor of being named "Congress"men. They are proud to be "Congress"men.

Yet, most of the 314 campaigned as "Progress"ives. Took millions of dollars of other people's money to win their political office, in total. With the promise that they will be "Progress"ive "Congress"men.

Am I the only one to see the oxymoron in this?

To Cara and Allen ...

2010-03-13T01:02:00.000-08:00

There is an "upside" in this.

After knowing each other for 25 years, you figured it out. You figured out that you belonged together. Too many people don't. In fact, TVLand channel has an entire reality series about that, now.

Allen, my "little brother", you said a very wise thing to me, on the phone, a few weeks ago. You said: "We are going to live, and love, as long as we can."

That is EXACTLY right.

Whether it is my parents (who had their cancer episode in the 70's, and are approaching their 50th wedding anniversary), your parents, Amy and I (with her health issues, and approaching our 25th anniversary), or you and Cara, that is all we have: "to live and love, as long as we can."

Sadly, those of us that don't have a definite "suspense date" for that, tend to do a lot of stupid stuff, to include taking our spouse for granted. When the truth is that every moment with your spouse is precious, whether you have a month, or over 50 years with them.

The OTHER part of this is ... What if? ...

What if, you two had not made this connection, at last, a few months ago?

Allen would be alone, miserable, and, possibly, still on the East Coast.

Cara ... well, would she have survived, what was it? January 29th? When she collapsed in her apartment, in Las Cruces, alone?

The current situation is not one that anyone would wish for. On the other hand, figuring out that you were supposed to be together last year, has been better for both of you, and, in a meaningful way, prolonged Cara's life, and improved the quality of it.

Lastly, Ecclesiastes 3 says:
Eccl 3:1-4

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
NIV

Solomon makes a good point.

While you have this time together, dance, even if it is the "Holcy Dance".

It's not time to mourn.

It's February 12th, 2010 ...

2010-02-12T01:44:00.000-08:00

According to the link at the top of this blog post, my Commander-In-Chief said the terrorist prison at Guantánamo was going to be closed 3 weeks ago, at the latest. ... According to an Executive Order by the President.

Guess what?

It's still open.

AND, the person who crafted this Executive Order has been fired by the White House.

You know what else, all the wiretaps on international calls to terrorists, the so-called "domestic spying" efforts of the government are, still, in place, too.

Let's all recite from the President's acceptance speech: "Yes, We Can." ... do all the same political crap over and over again.

"Hope and Change"

Let's all "Hope" that my Commander-in-Chief, finally, understands that "Change" does not refer to what your kid has in a piggy bank.

Scott Brown Won the "Kennedy" Senate seat: Thoughts

2010-02-11T23:16:00.000-08:00

A Republican won the "Kennedy" Senate seat. After all these years, it makes you think.

I thought about the three guns I own, the various firearms I have used in over 20 years in the military, and, in that regards, my year in Iraq, with an M-16 within arm's reach, most of the time. ... the ratio of deaths those firearms and I have caused vs. Ted Kennedy and his car.

After lots of thought and research, I decided that the only thing appropriate to share with you all is the following:

"Mary Jo Kopechene was not available for comment."

Going to Korea

2010-02-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

Before anyone gets up in arms, I am NOT going to Korea, again.

It's the unifying idea for this post.

Just bear with me. I am going to do things the way I like. Lay out all the "puzzle pieces", and, then, put them together.

I have three people in my life, that I care about, deeply, that are facing some serious health issues.

One has brain cancer. ... Don't know how severe, yet.

One has stage IVb cervical cancer, that has migrated elsewhere. The doctors have given her a year to live.

The other ... well, I am concerned for her well being, emotionally, and physically, but, it appears, she is doing okay, for the moment.

On one hand, I am scared for all three of my friends.

On the other ... well, let me tell you my first story of this post.

In the middle of the 80's, my mother's only sibling, my Aunt Melba, developed bone cancer. The prognosis was not good. In fact, it was awful. She was given about a year to live. She fought it for 4 years. The doctor's only explanation for why she died at that moment was that she had fought as long as she could, and there was no more fight left in her. It was only when she was too tired, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, that she died ... on an operating table, during an operation she had asked for. When she made the decision to have the operation, she still had a "fight" left in her. It was just too much, given everything else.

So, I am not giving up on any of my three friends. I believe that all of them will be here with us as long as they choose to be. When the fight to be here with us becomes too much for them, then ...

Well, that leads me to the next story.

It was April of 2002, I forget the exact day.

I was in the standard Army gathering of all the personnel in my unit that starts each work day (the "morning formation", for you Army people).

My First Sergeant tells the unit that he has just gotten off the phone with the person responsible for assigning personnel to the various Army Bands around the world, takes a breath, and then says: "Sergeant Robertson, I need to talk to you, in my office, after this formation."

I turn to the person next to me, and say: "I'm going to Korea." She looks at me like I am crazy.

So, after formation is over, I walk up to the First Sergeant's office. I knock on the door. He tells me to come in and shut the door. I shut the door behind me, and ask: "So, when am I going to Korea?"

He does a double-take ... thinks for a second, and says: "June." He and I discuss my assignment after Korea, and I leave. I tell the person that I had stood next to in formation that I was going to Korea, and she was amazed. It was like I was "The Amazing Kreskin" to her.

I go home, and tell Amy. (At this point, we did not have cell phones.)

Fast forward to near the end of May of that year. (About 30 days out from me going to Korea, without Amy, for a 12 month tour.)

Everything that happened that night was, according to her, "The Last Time We Would": have dinner together, pet the dogs, watch TV, or a DVD together ... or ... whatever. And each of those things brought on tears.

This was about the fifth night, in a row, that this was going on, and I was not going to leave for another 30 days.

So, being the reasonable person I am, I blew up.

My yelling, stomping fit ended with: "I am not leaving for Korea for 30 days! Can we not act like EVERY night we have left together is the LAST night we have together? ... I can't live this way for another month! ... Don't send me to Korea, before I get sent there."

Amy, being her, thought about that for a bit, and said, basically, "Yeah, okay."

So, (to bring the puzzle pieces together), until there is an obituary in the paper, a funeral notice from a funeral home, or whatever, my friends are fighting the good fight ... and I am going to be a "cheerleader" for them.

It's appropriate to mourn for the dead.

It's kind of sick to mourn for the living.

To complete the metaphor, they haven't "gone to Korea", yet. So, don't push them out the door, before their assigned report date.

How I Met Cara

2010-02-03T00:14:00.000-08:00

The year is 1984.

I am back at Abilene Christian University (ACU).

I had spent the summer of 1983 there, between my Junior and Senior years of High School, as a college freshman. ACU had a "Junior Scholar" program, where someone takes summer classes as a new freshman, between their last two years of High School. I had racked up 15 semester hours between that summer, and advanced academic credits from test scores.

I lived in Edwards dorm. Yes, I lived in "The Zoo". I had a roommate that drove me nuts. On a good day, I could have a coherent single thought in my room. On a bad day, the noise was enough to drive me up a wall.

For instance, one Sunday morning, I had been up until 5 studying. I was trying to sleep at 8 AM. (The floor had communal bathrooms, with single shower stalls. Two per floor, on that wing.) At 8:30, the guy in the room next to the door to the bathroom started blasting Bon Jovi's "Little Runaway" as loud as his 5 watt stereo could play. It woke me up, and I was not happy about it.

I had a 20 watt stereo, with speakers that had a 50 watt limit, meaning, I could crank my stereo to "11" with no distortion.

So, after 3 and a half hours of sleep on a Sunday, I was awake, and not happy about it. I "returned fire". I put Judas Priest's "Screaming for Vengeance" in the stereo, and cranked it up to 9. I had never turned it above 7 before, and that was DEAFENING, in my room. I walked to the bathroom, the room next to the Bon Jovi fan, and got in the shower. I could make out the lyrics and the guitar solos over the shower.

I finished my shower, walked back to my room, and shut down my stereo. It was quiet on the hall for the rest of the morning. It was nice.

So, I had to get away from where I lived, on a regular basis.

I went to the Student Center, just like I had the summer of '83. Hung out on those weird kind of couch things near the post office ... in front of that bulletin board.

It was one of "those" days, early in the fall of 1984.

I had checked my mail, and read everything of interest on the bulletin board. So, I laid back on one of those semi-couch things.

I wasn't there to get away from people. I was in the "Student Center"! I was there to get away from the insanity. Interaction was great, but sane interaction was what I was looking for.

So, there I am.

Most of the friends I had made the year before were either graduates, or they lived off campus, and I didn't know where. It was 1984, there was no Internet, and no cell phones.

So, there I am.

A person plops down on the couch-thing a few feet away, and starts talking to me. It's a girl.

I have a high school cheerleader girl-friend, 800 miles away. The girl talking to me is not "my type", at all, but she is sweet, and she is fun. Like me, she is a long way away from home, she is not from Texas. She is fun to talk to. It's the kind of interaction that I am looking for.

Over the next few months, serendipitiously, we did this again, and again. We talked about nothing, and everything. We helped maintain each other's sanity.

Her name was Cara.

At a time where I had no family around, Cara became the sister I always wanted.

A lot happened to deepen this relationship over the next few years, but that is the foundation.

There are some Sick Puppies out there ...

2009-12-16T03:22:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year for me, once again. Being a military musician, the two craziest times of the year are around 4th of July, and Christmas.

I am way behind on stuff, and I am trying to catch up.

The link for the title of this post tells a story that is just unconscionable.

I am rendered speechless, but I had to share.

If I Have PTSD, It's Not Because of My Time In Iraq ... #1

2009-12-05T04:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, there is a good chance that I have PTSD.

The Army has done a good job of letting those of us that have gone "there" know what the warning signs are.

HOWEVER, given everything I have been told, it is, at worst, a fairly light case of it.

I can understand that.

There have, only, been three times in my life where I, TRULY, thought my life was in danger in a fight/at gunpoint situation ... and ALL OF THOSE happened WELL BEFORE I joined the Army ... in 1989.

Two of those times happened in the same night.

I'm not telling that story, now.

This is the story of the first time a man pointed a gun at me, and I thought I would be shot.

It was late 1983. I was a senior in high school. I lived in a town of about 3,000 people. My father was the manager of the local Wal-Mart. We lived about 10 miles outside of the town where his store was. ... and, yes, the directions to our house included the phrase "turn off the paved road".

I was very involved in the high school music program, band and choir. This was the most active time of the year for our school. I was going to school an hour, or so, early every day for rehearsals, and having night rehearsals almost every day. Besides the 30+ hours I was working at the local grocery store as a bag boy.

I'm not looking for sympathy, or anything. I'm just trying to tell you, that with an active social life, I was busy.

So, on one of those nights that I had gotten home from work at 10 PM, and had to leave for school at 5, my Mom wakes me up about 1 AM.

The alarm at my father's store (which is open from 9 AM to 9 PM) has gone off. The local police have checked out the store. There is no break in. They need Dad to go turn off the alarm.

Here, let's start a time line. At this point the alarm was set off, at least, 10 minutes earlier. (It was set off. The police had to realize it. Send a squad car. They had to check it out. They had to radio back in. The police station had to call my house. Someone had to wake up to answer the phone. Then, after that, Mom came and got me.)

So, I dressed, got in the car, and Dad, and I, started the 15 minute drive into town.

We get to the store, and walk into the foyer. At which point my Dad, almost, unlocks the door. He looks up, shoves me back out the foyer, and yells: "Get in the car!"

At this point, I know nothing other than Dad has seen evidence that the store has, actually, been broken into. I get in the car and we speed off to the police station.

We get to the police station, and go in. At this point, things get surreal. My Dad (the Vice President of the local Chamber of Commerce, the President of the local Kiwannis Club, and the head of the business that is the second largest employer of people in town) says to the desk Sergeant: "Wal-Mart has been broken in to!"

The desk sergeant replies: "We know, sir. We have checked it out. Everything is okay. We have called the manager, and he is coming to turn off the alarm."

My Dad replies: "No, you are wrong. I AM THE MANAGER, AND WAL-MART HAS BEEN BROKEN INTO!"

At this point, the police turn into the "Keystone Cops".

Now, keep in mind, for time line purposes, the alarm has been going off for about 45 minutes to an hour, now.

After calling in the ENTIRE Eldon, MO Police Department, the cops on duty give me and my Dad a police escort back to the store. We thunder into the parking lot. The police cars set up a perimeter around the store, and Dad parks out battleship grey, 1978 Mercury Marquis across the ramp leading into the store.

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

Dad leads a 4-man contingent of police into the store after telling me to stay in the car.

It is now, about 2:30 AM, and I have to be ready to leave my house for school at 5. I was awoken from a dead sleep for all of this. So, I lay, on my back, across the front seat of the car, with both windows open, hang my head out the window away from the store, and try to get some sleep.

I nod off, and wake up, in turn, as each off-duty member of the Eldon Police force makes his way into the store.

About 3 AM, the last member of the Eldon Police force, finally, shows up. I hear his car shut off, open my eyes, and watch, upside-down, as he walks up to the entrance of the store where my Dad's "landbarge" of a car and I are sitting.

He does a double-take when he sees my head hanging out of the window of the car. He charges up, pulls his service revolver, puts the muzzle of this .38 revolver about an inch from the spot directly between my eyes, and yells: "What are you doing here?"

Now, keep in mind, at this point, the alarm has been going off for about 2 hours, the robber had triggered the alarm exiting the building, AND EVERY OTHER member of the Eldon Police force had to walk by this car to get in the store.

I look him dead in the eye, upside down, and calmly say: "I am trying to get some sleep, because I have to be in a band rehearsal with your oldest daughter in about 3 hours."

At this point, he looks around a bit.

There are only two cars in town that looks like this: my Dad's, and the other belonged to one of his employees.

After a second, or two, he seemed to recognize the car, and me ... and, after a second or two more, he, finally, put his gun back in his holster, said something that to this day I don't remember, and ran into the store.

The reason I didn't hear and don't remember what the cop had to say was: it was at that moment I realized he was ready to put a bullet in my head from the time he pulled the gun. The only things that saved my life were my calm attitude, and glib answer.

Finally, Dad shut off the alarm (about 3 hours after it had been set off), and the police left the building. I had no problem staying awake to make sure Dad didn't doze off on the drive home.

I have no idea where the cop ended up that pointed the gun at my head. I know, however, that during most of the 90's he was Chief of Police for Eldon.

I do know, however, that there have only been two people that I have seen point a gun at me that I knew had intent to kill, and he is one of them. ... the other ... well, that is a story for another time.

The point is that it is good to be alive, especially, given the alternative.

"There is No More Hope"

2009-11-25T22:36:00.000-08:00

according to my mother, circa 1981.

Let me tell you the story.

In October of 1980, my family moved from Broken Arrow, OK to Eldon, MO.

Actually, we moved to a 40 acre farm about 10 miles outside of Eldon. (Yes, directions to my house included the phrase "turn off the paved road".) The place included a cattle barn, a chicken pen, and a hog barn.

At this point, my father started collecting animals for my mother and I to take care of. He said that he was "hobby-farming". He was working 80-100 hours a week. So, he had a hobby, and mom and I were farming.

Among the various animals he collected were three sows that were, supposedly, already impregnated.

My mother named them: Faith, Hope and Charity.

My father's logic was that I would tend the sows, raise the piglets, and sell them to get the money for my first car.

After, approximately, 3 times the gestation period of a normal domesticated pig had passed, and no piglets had been born, my father had an epiphany: The sows had never been bred!

My father, then, made a decision. We would sell two of the sows, and have the third slaughtered.

Now, I could never tell the difference between any of the pigs. My mother, on the other hand, swore that she could. She maintained that Faith and Charity were the sows that we had sent to the sale barn.

A few days later, we went to the butcher and came back with a huge pile of packages wrapped in white butcher paper.

For weeks, we had chops, ham, bacon, sausage, and ribs.

Finally, one night, over a meal of pork chops, my mother pronounced: "There is no more Hope."

...

The worst part of it all is that, within a short time, the Robertson family had crapped away all Hope, for anyone, forever.

Interesting Stuff

2009-11-21T00:48:00.000-08:00

I've been listening, for while now, about "Global Warming"/"Climate Change", the harm it will do our planet, and how we, mankind, in general, and us, the US, in particular are causing it.

Michael Crichton wrote the following in the prologue to the book, "Jurassic Park":

You think man can destroy the planet? What intoxicating vanity. Let me tell you about our planet. Earth is four-and-a-half-billion-years-old. There's been life on it for nearly that long, 3.8 billion years. Bacteria first; later the first multicellular life, then the first complex creatures in the sea, on the land. Then finally the great sweeping ages of animals, the amphibians, the dinosaurs, at last the mammals, each one enduring millions on millions of years, great dynasties of creatures rising, flourishing, dying away -- all this against a background of continuous and violent upheaval. Mountain ranges thrust up, eroded away, cometary impacts, volcano eruptions, oceans rising and falling, whole continents moving, an endless, constant, violent change, colliding, buckling to make mountains over millions of years. Earth has survived everything in its time.

It will certainly survive us. If all the nuclear weapons in the world went off at once and all the plants, all the animals died and the earth was sizzling hot for a hundred thousand years, life would survive, somewhere: under the soil, frozen in arctic ice. Sooner or later, when the planet was no longer inhospitable, life would spread again. The evolutionary process would begin again. Might take a few billion years for life to regain its present variety. Of course, it would be very different from what it is now, but the earth would survive our folly, only we would not. If the ozone layer gets thinner, ultraviolet radiation sears earth, so what? Ultraviolet radiation is good for life. It's powerful energy. It promotes mutation, change. Many forms of life will thrive with more UV radiation. Many others will die out. You think this is the first time that's happened? Think about oxygen. Necessary for life now, but oxygen is actually a metabolic poison, a corrosive glass, like fluorine.

When oxygen was first produced as a waste product by certain plant cells some three billion years ago, it created a crisis for all other life on earth. Those plants were polluting the environment, exhaling a lethal gas. Earth eventually had an atmosphere incompatible with life. Nevertheless, life on earth took care of itself. In the thinking of the human being a hundred years is a long time. Hundred years ago we didn't have cars, airplanes, computers or vaccines. It was a whole different world, but to the earth, a hundred years is nothing. A million years is nothing. This planet lives and breathes on a much vaster scale. We can't imagine its slow and powerful rhythms, and we haven't got the humility to try. We've been residents here for the blink of an eye. If we're gone tomorrow, the earth will not miss us.

Think about it.

According to the geological record, climate change is normal. The way things are supposed to be.

Climate staying as it is for any protracted period of time, geologically speaking, is an aberration.

According to recent geological history, we are due for another Ice Age ... meaning in about 1,000 years, or so.

I remember something I heard once. I am sure I will not get the quote exactly right, so, let me paraphrase:

We have a word for when things stop changing: death.

Domestic Violence Goes Both Ways

2009-11-09T03:19:00.000-08:00

I just watched "Private Sessions" with Martina McBride. There was an involved conversation about her song "Independence Day" that is about domestic violence.

The conversation brought up a memory that had not come up in a while.

When I was stationed in Panama, I was in charge of a soldier, let's call him "Roger". (For the record, to the best of my recollection, I have never been stationed anywhere with a person named Roger.")

Also, keep in mind that I was in Panama from 1995-1998. The events I am about to relate happened in 1997. President Clinton was in his second term. OJ was old news. The internet had, finally, made it to Panama. Hezbollah had bombed the Khobar Towers the year before.

"Roger" was about 6' tall, and about 190 lbs., a former high school football player. He was married to this little Venzuelan girl that was about 5' nothing. Not only short, but she could have been a model. So, she she weighed next to nothing.

Not too long after they were married and moved into housing on post, "Roger" started showing up to work with "muscle soreness" that our Physical Training sessions couldn't explain.

Then, there was the mysterious intruder on his patio with a machete that he fended off. He showed me the cut on the lower end of his deltoid, supposedly, from the fight.

I knew of some troubles that the couple were having. "Roger" told me that they were going into counseling with a Catholic chaplain. (They were, both, Catholic.)

Then, my commander and First Sergeant were asked to sit in on a counseling session, by the chaplain. In that session, the spouse, the little slip of a girl, came out and said, blatantly, that the way she worked out her stress in life was to beat the crap out of "Roger" whenever she felt like it.

The commander's answer was: " Sergeant 'Smith', you need to work harder on your relationship with your wife."

The First Sergeant's answer was that the soldier (not the spouse) needed to come to church with him (a Protestant), and quit going to Mass.

When I talked to my soldier, he responded: "What can I do?" ... and he broke it down into every possible scenario:

a) He takes her beating, and calls the MP's. Once upon arriving on the scene, the MP's would laugh and leave. The incident get reported to the chain of command, and he, either, becomes a laughingstock at work, or an unconfirmed "wife beater" to his coworkers and chain of command.

b) He defends himself, without hitting her. Just blocking the blows, and trying to stop her. She or the neighbors call the MP's. The MP's take a look at him and her. Draw their own conclusions, he goes to jail, and his career is over.

c) He hits back. She or the neighbors call the MP's. They take him to jail, and his career is over.

d) He takes it, and tries to keep it as quiet as possible. No MP's are involved. He keeps his reputation, and his career.

So, "Roger" chose "d". He didn't have any other choice. And when his chain of command should have backed him up, they blamed him for the problem.

After all, guys abuse women. Not the other way around. No matter what kind of edged weapon the woman has.

Right?

Observations from a Baseball Game

2009-08-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week. I haven't been able to watch much baseball, and two of my favorite teams (the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals) are in the running for spots in the playoffs. ... and I have DVR. So, I have most of their games from this week on my DVR.

I'm watching Tuesday night's Rangers-Yankees game in New York, tonight.

I thought I would share some of the things I have noticed, as the game goes along.

*****

In the top of the first, Rangers up to bat, Josh Hamilton comes up to bat. Josh came in second during last year's Home Run Derby, in New York. It was awesome.

So, the commentator starts talking about that, while Josh is at the plate.

He says: "Since that performance during last year's Home Run Derby, it's been 13 months, for Josh."

My immediate reaction was that it has been 13 months for the rest of us, as well.

*****

In the bottom of the first, the Yankees score 4 runs. In the top of the second, the Rangers score two. Making it 2-4 Yankees.

The cameras show a close up of the Ranger's manager, Ron Washington. Ron, normally, doesn't exactly have a sunny disposition.

So, I am looking at the TV screen, and think: "Ron looks like he is so mad, he could spit."

Well, it turns out that Ron was working a mouthful of sunflower seeds at the time, and, as I finished that thought, he did, indeed, spit.

*****

So, the top of the fourth is over. The Rangers, now, lead 7-4. It looks like it is going to be an EXCELLENT night.

Which deserves some explanation.

I "follow" 6 teams: Both Missouri teams (Kansas City, and St. Louis), the two Texas teams (Texas and Houston), and the two teams that the minor league team in El Paso fed into when I lived there (Milwaukee and Arizona). I won't say I am a fan, because my relationship with several of these is more of a sado-masochistic nature. ... they just treat me wrong.

The other important fact is ... how to explain it?

Well, take how most people view the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Most people that I have known either LOVE the Cowboys with an, almost, irrational passion ... or they hate the Cowboys the same way.

For a lot of die hard baseball fans, we fall into similar categories regarding the Yankees.

So, for me, all of "my teams" could have the worst single day in the history of their clubs, simultaneously, BUT, IF the Yankees lose, it's still a good baseball day.

Don't get me wrong.

I wouldn't go as far as the character "Joe" in the musical "Damn Yankees", but I can relate to his feelings.

So, it looks like one of "my teams" ... one of my favorites, in fact, is going to beat the ... Yankees.

I am proud of myself. I'm getting to the point where I can control the urge to use the "D" word when I refer to ... that team.

*****

So, pitching, in this game for ... that team the Rangers are playing ... is a guy named Joba Chamberlain.

Now for a long time, I had only read this pitchers name. I figured it was some variant of the name of the Biblical figure "Job", and I thought that was pretty cool.

I was wrong, on both counts: pronunciation and derivation.

Here is the story of the derivation of the name, according to Wikipedia:

When Joba (then Justin) was a little boy, his two-year-old cousin was unable to pronounce her brother (Joba's other cousin) Joshua's name correctly, pronouncing it as Joba instead. Harlan Chamberlain heard this and liked the nickname, so he began referring to Justin (instead of cousin Joshua) as Joba. Harlan said the name was "dynamic." Joba agreed, and eventually had his name legally changed.

So, my first instinct, upon hearing the actual pronunciation of this guy's name is to refer to him as "the Hut". Daddy, apparently, had never seen Star Wars.

*****

If Derek Jeter wasn't a Yankee, he would be one of my all-time favorite baseball players.

*****

My DVR stopped in the bottom of the 7th. However, the Rangers (I found out from other sources) won 10-9.

It was a good night.

Vote Early, Vote Often!

2009-07-06T21:38:00.001-07:00

It's perfectly legal, this time.

Cognitive Dissonance II

2009-05-12T00:17:00.000-07:00

My second favorite cognitive dissonance story ever goes something like this (forgive me if I embellish, I heard the story second hand. I am sure I will be corrected as both of the people involved are friends of mine):

It's the mid-80's. Two young men are about to be the male leads in a high school play. One, a junior, is the star of his high school's drama department. The other is a talented freshman. He will, eventually, become the star of the department. This is his first production.

The freshman had been brilliant in rehearsal. The junior notices, as the show is about to open, the freshman is having terrible stage fright. The show opens and the freshman is horrible. His nerves completely debilitated him.

After the show, the junior pulls the freshman aside. He tells the freshman something along these lines:

I noticed that you had some stage fright problems tonight. I want to share with you this old, and honored technique to deal with stage fright. It's a classic technique used by many great actors throughout the years.

I want you to go out and buy the nicest crystal wine glass you can find. It has to be crystal.

Bring it to the theater.

As part of your show prep, you have to fill the glass with water. Stare at the glass of water. Make your mind as clear as the water. Become the water.

Once you are the water. Once your mind is that clear. Drink the water.

The freshman does this for the next show, and the subsequent run of the show. His stage fright disappears. He is brilliant on stage and steals the show.

At the end of the run, the freshman thanks the junior for the help, and for showing him this great acting technique.

At this point, the junior comes clean. He tells the freshman that he had made it all up. He was just trying to get the freshman out of his head.

The kicker for this is that the junior was my closest friend my senior year in high school, Byron ... who was, not much later, a groomsman in my wedding.

The freshman was my little brother, Craig.

Cognitive Dissonance or "Messing with Someone Else's Head for Fun"

2009-05-10T01:37:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia says this about cognitive dissonance:

Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The "ideas" or "cognitions" in question may include attitudes and beliefs, and also the awareness of one's behavior. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, or by justifying or rationalizing their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.[1] Cognitive dissonance theory is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology.

Dissonance normally occurs when a person perceives a logical inconsistency among his or her cognitions. This happens when one idea implies the opposite of another. For example, a belief in animal rights could be interpreted as inconsistent with eating meat or wearing fur. Noticing the contradiction would lead to dissonance, which could be experienced as anxiety, guilt, shame, anger, embarrassment, stress, and other negative emotional states. When people's ideas are consistent with each other, they are in a state of harmony, or consonance. If cognitions are unrelated, they are categorized as irrelevant to each other and do not lead to dissonance.

A powerful cause of dissonance is when an idea conflicts with a fundamental element of the self-concept, such as "I am a good person" or "I made the right decision." The anxiety that comes with the possibility of having made a bad decision can lead to rationalization, the tendency to create additional reasons or justifications to support one's choices. A person who just spent too much money on a new car might decide that the new vehicle is much less likely to break down than his or her old car. This belief may or may not be true, but it would likely reduce dissonance and make the person feel better. Dissonance can also lead to confirmation bias, the denial of disconfirming evidence, and other ego defense mechanisms.

Now, cognitive dissonance as a source of amusement:

About 8 years ago, or so, I was visiting my parents in Missouri. During the course of the visit, the birth mother of my brother's son let him visit with us for a day.

Brandon was 8, and, therefore, quite a bit shorter than I am.

He walked up real close to me. He had to look almost straight up to see my face, and said: "Hi, Uncle Kevin!"

I smiled down at him, and said: "Hi, Brandon. How old are you, now?"

He beamed up at me, and said: "I'm 8, Uncle Kevin."

I kind of crinkled up my face, put my hands in my pockets, and said: "Humph, ... when I was your age, I was 9."

It was hilarious!

Imagine, if you will, driving a car with a standard transmission down the interstate at about 70 miles an hour. Now, attempt to shift that car into reverse, and slam in back into the top gear.

That is what I saw play out on this young kid's face.

And once he had slammed his brain back into the "top gear", he looked up me, grinned, and said: "Kev!"

The tone of his voice was, at once, chiding, for messing with him, and that tone that said I had met his expectations ... I accepted him. I was "me". The "me" he expected.

I scooped him up in my arms, and we hugged. ... and had a great day, together.

I Don't Want to Be Right, Again

2009-04-17T00:23:00.000-07:00

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.

You Need to Watch How You Make Your Point.

2009-04-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

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.

Right, but, Oh So Wrong

2009-04-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

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.

I Will NOT Be Retiring in Alaska

2009-04-12T01:13:00.000-07:00

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."

I Think My Wife and I Have Hit a Weird Place ...

2009-04-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

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.

What's "My job"?

2009-04-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

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?

Then, again, I could be wrong ...

2009-04-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Compare and Contrast

2009-04-09T19:36:00.000-07:00

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?

Wow!

2009-04-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Time for Some Intense Blogging

2009-04-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

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).

100 YEARS AGO! - COMPARE 1908 to 2008 - (1907 FORD - MODEL R)

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.

Living the Dream

2009-03-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, a retired Army Bandsman visited work, Diana Appler. I thought I was the only one that had served with her previously, but I was mistaken. It turns out that three of us had served with her. I was surprised to find that she knew one of the newest members of our unit, Matt Buehler. When she asked Matt how he was doing, Matt's answer was: "Living the Dream.", in kind of a sarcastic manner. We all laughed, appreciably.

Tonight, my brother (Craig), his son, his girlfriend, and her daughter came over for a "family night". It was enjoyable. Good music, good conversation, pizzas on the grill, Craig and I did a "beer tasting" of various seasonal brews from the Samuel Adams brewery (5 beers; Craig, Amy and I split a bottle of each). The kids played with our youngest dog. They exhausted each other. It was a good night.

(The two instances do go together. Just give me a minute to explain.)

In the course of discussion, with my brother and his girlfriend, family stories came up. Craig and I told some of the more memorable ones: the cousin who was hit by an airplane (he was standing on the ground at the time), the cousin who ran over himself with his own truck, and my personal favorite, the cousin who fell off the bridge over the White River, in Newport, AR, and missed the river.

Craig and I pointed out how, functionally, many of our extended family treat Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck If ..." material the way most people treat "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People".

Then, I took the conversation to a serious place, because Matt's phrase "Living the Dream" came to mind. I didn't say all that follows, but it came to mind.

None of my four grandparents, now deceased, ever graduated from high school. My maternal grandmother, the most educated of the bunch, was forced to quit school as a freshman in high school, to work on the family farm. The grandfather that I consider a "hero" had a 3rd grade education.

My parents were born in 1941.

My Dad was born in a one-room, dirt floor shack, without running water, or electricity, in the Coffeyville area, outside of Possum Grape, AR. One of his earliest memories is of his parents taking "shifts" holding the "baby" (the father of my cousin that missed the river) over the wood stove, at night. So, the baby would not freeze to death.

My mother talks about doing her high school homework by oil lamp, and how her parents bought their first vehicles in the 1960's.

I was in late elementary school when my maternal grandparents got running water in the house. Now, this was just the kitchen sink. They would not have water for a bathroom, or washing machine until I was in high school. I remember, as a child, getting water from the well for EVERYTHING in the house: drinking, cooking, bathing. I remember going with grandma to the laundromat to wash the clothes up until I was in high school, because the electricity in their house did not have the amperage to run a washer.

My dad, in his family, was the overachiever, in many ways. He completed most of one semester of college.

Mom was the first Alexander to graduate high school. Eventually, all of her generation did. She was just the oldest.

My maternal grandmother (who hated to travel) made a trip to our home to see me graduate from high school. I am sure, to this day, that she was the proudest person there. Her oldest grandchild was graduating high school. Her daughters were not a fluke. All three of the grandkids, on that side, graduated from high school, and went on to undergraduate work. Two of us finished undergrad work, and Craig almost finished it.

On the other side, I am one of 22 grandchildren. Of the 9 grandsons, I am, chronologically, in the center. I was the third grandchild of 4 to earn an undergraduate degree. I hope to join my cousins, Lynn (grandson) and Terry (granddaughter), in the next year or two, as the only ones to have graduate degrees.

So, I sit here in my house (indoor plumbing; central heat; electric stove, and water heater; washer and dryer; digital cable; high speed internet; digital phone, dishwasher, garbage disposal, two-car garage (with a vintage VW in it, my project car) with electric garage door opener; fireplace (because it is a LUXURY, not a necessity). My two older pedigree dogs are crashed out (BTW, they were born in Panama, and their sire was a Panamanian show champ). My young pedigree dog (Gimli) is a rarity in the US. A standard sized, wire-haired dachshund, of German breeding. (To put it in perspective, Gimli is the dachshund equivalent of custom ordering your Porsche to German (Autobahn) specifications, picking it up at the plant, traveling with it on the boat to the US, and, then, taking it for a spin on the Interstate.) My Palm Treo (smartphone/PDA) is within arm's reach. My wife's PDA is charging. The desktop computer is sitting unused, because, even though the 24 inch flat screen monitor is nice, it is not as fast as the laptop I am using through the wireless router.

Oh, and I forgot, we are contemplating buying a new car for my wife, as a college graduation gift. The car in question will, probably, cost more than the first house my father bought.

This is not bragging.

This is the sharing of the results of my introspection.

Tonight, it hit me ... "Living the Dream" ... am I?

I could only arrive at one answer.

YES, I AM.

Just a Quick Thought ...

2009-03-19T01:49:00.000-07:00

I keep on hearing how President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid want to "inject stimulus" into the economy.

Is it just me, or couldn't you, accurately, say that, according to some, President Clinton "injected stimulus" to multiple women, including Monica Lewinsky, that weren't his wife?

My latest IRA statements lead me to believe that is true.

Something I found on the 'Net

2009-03-08T04:05:00.000-07:00

Great Truths That Children Have Learned

1. No matter how hard you try, you can't baptise cats.
2. When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3. If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4. Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5. You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6. Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7. Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8. You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9. Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10. The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.

In my experience, all of the above are right, #10, especially.

My last surviving grandparent died this last summer.

My wife and I performed the music, and I gave the eulogy for the only person I considered "Grandpa" in 1999.

I am not looking for sympathy, empathy, or closure. That's not what I need, or want.

I am just looking for the second best place to be sad.

So far, the answer is alone, with a dog in my lap. Which has turned out to be a pretty decent place to be, most of the time.

Things that Piss Me Off (1)

2009-02-20T01:10:00.000-08:00

Someone presuming that they have the right to demand an apology from ME for something I had no control over.

Case in point: Slavery in America.

It happened. It was awful. ... There are no adequate words to describe the hypocrisy in the words of the Declaration of Independence, and the fact that it took our country almost 100 years from the writing of those words to abolish that horrible institution.

To DEMAND a personal apology from me, as a person who's skin is white, on the other hand, is ludicrous, and racist.

The last (of the two) Emancipation Proclamations was issued 103 years, 11 months, and 4 days before I was BORN. The Civil War (over slavery) ended 100 years, 7 months, and 26 days before I was BORN. The Amendment to the US Constitution that eradicated slavery in the US was made law 99 years, and 364 days before I was BORN.

To bring things to the present, I made my best efforts to persuade, cajole, ... whatever, to get my folks to not vote the way they did in the previous election, and it didn't work.

With that in mind, if I can't effect my parents current behavior (and, therefore, have some responsibility for it), how in the world can I be responsible for something that ENDED 100 YEARS BEFORE I WAS BORN?

If I cannot have had any effect on it's cause or it's existence, then I CANNOT be held responsible for it having happened! That's just simple stupid STUFF!

Holding me responsible, or demanding an apology of me, for something in history because I share the same skin color of the people that did it is, by definition (by Federal Law), a racist act.

Yet, if I don't offer the apology, I am(in some people's perception), somehow, the racist?

That is ludicrous, and it pisses me off.

I love this!

2008-12-13T18:23:00.000-08:00

I found this in the "Daily Joke" section of one the websites I hit on a regular basis.

When the local church found out their small town was going to get a new tavern, they started a petition campaign and regular prayers to block the bar from opening.
Work progressed uneventfully until the night before the bar was set to open, when a huge storm blew through and a lightning bolt struck the bar and it burned to the ground.
The church folks were quite "smug" until the bar owner sued them on the grounds that they were responsible for his building's demise, either through direct or indirect actions or means.
In court, the church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's demise.
As the case concluded, the judge looked over the paperwork and commented, "I'm not sure how I'm going to decide this, but it appears from the paperwork that we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and an entire church congregation that doesn't!"

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T23:49:00.000-08:00

It's a special day. I have about 10 minutes of it left here. I want to try to get this posted before the calendar is done here in the Pacific Northwest.

I have a couple of things to share. First, even though the official holiday we know, now, as "Thanksgiving" did not become a Federal holiday until the late 1800's, several earlier Presidents tried to get the ball rolling, or did "one-off" Thanksgiving's.

The first was ... George Washington. Hard to get earlier than that, in Presidential history.

Here is the text of his 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor -- and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be -- That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks -- for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation -- for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility [sic], union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed -- for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted -- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions -- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually -- to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed -- to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn [sic] kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord -- To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease [sic] of science among them and us -- and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York
the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

George Washington

I am a fan of Rush Limbaugh, if you haven't guessed.

Some little known information about Rush:

First, his name is Rush Limbaugh III.

He is the "black sheep" of the family, sort of. Not because he is a big conservative commentator. Nope, that is the on reason they accepted him, early in the life of the show.

The reason he is the "black sheep" is that he is not a lawyer, like most of the rest of his family. His grandfather, apparently, was a judge of some renown in Missouri. The Federal Government named one of their newest court buildings after him, in Missouri.

It was the "original" Rush that was the family's first BIG conservative. He introduced his grandson to, among other things, the writings of William F. Buckley.

And the following historical account. Here is part of a transcript from Rush's November 23, 2005 show:

From my second bestseller, "See, I Told You So, ""Chapter 6, "Dead White guys, or What the History Books Never Told You: The True Story of Thanksgiving." The story of the Pilgrims begins in the early part of the seventeenth century (that's the 1600s for those of you in Rio Linda, California). The Church of England under King James I was persecuting anyone and everyone who did not recognize its absolute civil and spiritual authority. Those who challenged ecclesiastical authority and those who believed strongly in freedom of worship were hunted down, imprisoned, and sometimes executed for their beliefs.

A group of separatists first fled to Holland and established a community. After eleven years, about forty of them agreed to make a perilous journey to the New World, where they would certainly face hardships, but could live and worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences.

On August 1, 1620, the Mayflower set sail. It carried a total of 102 passengers, including forty Pilgrims led by William Bradford. On the journey, Bradford set up an agreement, a contract, that established just and equal laws for all members of the new community, irrespective of their religious beliefs. Where did the revolutionary ideas expressed in the Mayflower Compact come from? From the Bible.

The Pilgrims were a people completely steeped in the lessons of the Old and New Testaments. They looked to the ancient Israelites for their example. And, because of the biblical precedents set forth in Scripture, they never doubted that their experiment would work.

But this was no pleasure cruise, friends. The journey to the New World was a long and arduous one. And when the Pilgrims landed in New England in November, they found, according to Bradford's detailed journal, a cold, barren, desolate wilderness. There were no friends to greet them, he wrote. There were no houses to shelter them. There were no inns where they could refresh themselves.

And the sacrifice they had made for freedom was just beginning. During the first winter, half the Pilgrims – including Bradford's own wife – died of either starvation, sickness or exposure. When spring finally came, Indians taught the settlers how to plant corn, fish for cod and skin beavers for coats. Life improved for the Pilgrims, but they did not yet prosper!

This is important to understand because this is where modern American history lessons often end. Thanksgiving is actually explained in some textbooks as a holiday for which the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Indians for saving their lives, rather than as a devout expression of gratitude grounded in the tradition of both the Old and New Testaments.

Here is the part that has been omitted: The original contract the Pilgrims had entered into with their merchant-sponsors in London called for everything they produced to go into a common store, and each member of the community was entitled to one common share. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belong to the community as well.

They were going to distribute it equally. All of the land they cleared and the houses they built belonged to the community as well. Nobody owned anything. They just had a share in it. It was a commune, folks. It was the forerunner to the communes we saw in the '60s and '70s out in California – and it was complete with organic vegetables, by the way.

Bradford, who had become the new governor of the colony, recognized that this form of collectivism was as costly and destructive to the Pilgrims as that first harsh winter, which had taken so many lives. He decided to take bold action. Bradford assigned a plot of land to each family to work and manage, thus turning loose the power of the marketplace.

That's right. Long before Karl Marx was even born, the Pilgrims had discovered and experimented with what could only be described as socialism. And what happened? It didn't work! Surprise, surprise, huh? What Bradford and his community found was that the most creative and industrious people had no incentive to work any harder than anyone else, unless they could utilize the power of personal motivation!

But while most of the rest of the world has been experimenting with socialism for well over a hundred years – trying to refine it, perfect it, and re-invent it – the Pilgrims decided early on to scrap it permanently. What Bradford wrote about this social experiment should be in every schoolchild's history lesson If it were, we might prevent much needless suffering in the future.

"The experience that we had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years...that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing – as if they were wiser than God," Bradford wrote. "For this community [so far as it was] was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without any recompense...that was thought injustice."

Why should you work for other people when you can't work for yourself? What's the point?

Do you hear what he was saying, ladies and gentlemen? The Pilgrims found that people could not be expected to do their best work without incentive. So what did Bradford's community try next? They unharnessed the power of good old free enterprise by invoking the undergirding capitalistic principle of private property. Every family was assigned its own plot of land to work and permitted to market its own crops and products. And what was the result?

"This had very good success," wrote Bradford, "for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been." Bradford doesn't sound like much of a Clintonite, does he? Is it possible that supply-side economics could have existed before the 1980s? Yes. Read the story of Joseph and Pharaoh in Genesis 41. Following Joseph's suggestion (Gen 41:34), Pharaoh reduced the tax on Egyptians to 20% during the "seven years of plenty" and the "Earth brought forth in heaps." (Gen. 41:47)

In no time, the Pilgrims found they had more food than they could eat themselves.

Now, this is where it gets really good, folks, if you're laboring under the misconception that I was, as I was taught in school.

So they set up trading posts and exchanged goods with the Indians. The profits allowed them to pay off their debts to the merchants in London. And the success and prosperity of the Plymouth settlement attracted more Europeans and began what came to be known as the "Great Puritan Migration."
Now, you probably haven't read this. You might have heard me read it to you over the previous years on this program, but I don't think this lesson is still being taught to children -- and if not, why not? I mean, is there a more important lesson one could derive from the Pilgrim experience than this? Thanksgiving, in other words, is not thanks to the Indians, and it's not thanks to William Bradford. It's not thanks to the merchants of London. Thanksgiving is thanks to God, pure and simple. Go read the first Thanksgiving proclamation from George Washington and you'll get the point. The word "God" is mentioned in that first Thanksgiving proclamation more times... If you read it aloud to an ACLU member, you'll get thrown in jail, but that's what the first Thanksgiving was all about. Get it. I'm telling you, read it. Maybe we can find it and link to it: George Washington's first Thanksgiving Proclamation. Folks, if you haven't read that, you need to read it. It will tell you the true story of Thanksgiving. I'm happy to share it with you each and every year as a tradition on this program.

I hope you and yours had a Happy Thanksgiving.

I AM my Grandfather's Son

2008-11-25T01:06:00.000-08:00

NO! NO! NO!

It's not what you think!

I have talked, at length, on this blog, about my Grandpa.

I NEVER heard him refer to me as a "grandson", "my daughter's son", "Louise's boy" ... or whatever. When he talked about me, to other people, I was, according to him, "my boy". I don't think he ever called me by my name ... to me. It was always "son".

Make no mistake, there was no incestuous thing going on, and my Dad is my father.

My grandfather had no male children, and I was the first grandchild.

So ...

On the other hand, genetics works!

I know this because I laughed, HARD, about the following ... and I thought of all the stories I have ever heard Grandpa tell ... and some of the ones I told as part of his eulogy.

Where Do We Go From Here? 2

2008-11-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

In the first post of this series, I lined out how I wanted to tackle this subject. A thoughtful analysis of the last Presidential election using the format of an Army After Action Review (AAR). I thought it would be quick and easy. Four separate, relatively short posts following the 4 steps of an AAR.

Then, I started formulating the post that would be the first step in an AAR; "What was supposed to happen?" As I stated in my first post, I was going to use the military format of "Task, Conditions, and Standards." It quickly became apparent that, to do the subject justice, I was going to have to have three separate posts for the first step, alone. So, we will see how long this series ends up being.

Anyway, here we go ...

TASK

To review, anything that the US Army requires a soldier to execute has a corresponding manual. These manuals follow a very uniform style. For instance, the following is an excerpt from the old "Soldier's Manual of Common Tasks", a manual that delineates basic skills in which every soldier has to maintain proficiency. This excerpt is from a First Aid skill:

Task: Evaluate a Casualty (Tactical Combat Casualty Care)

Conditions: You have a casualty who has signs/symptoms of an injury. Your unit may be under fire.

Standards: Evaluate the casualty following the correct sequence. Identify all life-threatening conditions and other serious wounds.

Pretty simple, straightforward stuff. What to do, where it is to be done, and what is the measure of success.

However, this is a task that EVERY soldier, from the dumbest, greenest Private that has graduated from Basic Training to anyone that might end up on a battlefield. (Currently, a 3-star General is our highest ranking officer in Iraq.) As you move to more complex tasks, this section gets more involved.

Which brings us to our originally intended conversation.

This task was:

Elect a government that will act according to our (conservative) viewpoint and ideology.

This is where things get sticky. The above sounds all well, and good. However, given the current environment, that sentence can mean a lot of different things to different people. So much so, that it could be interpreted to be a pretty meaningless statement. That runs counter to the "Task, Conditions, Standards" convention.

S0, let me delineate what I understand to be "conservative ideology".

Let's start with an overarching statement to tie everything together:

Government should be big enough to guarantee freedoms, but not large enough to impinge upon them.

I think a good place to start is with the Declaration of Independence. The most famous portion of which is:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

I like to think of this portion of the Declaration as a kind of "mission statement", to borrow from corporate-speak, for our nation. Who we want to be, in other words. Who we are trying to become. Not that we have arrived, but that is the goal.

Now, pay attention to the fact that I said "nation", and not government.

For instance, in his 1961 inaugural speech, President John F. Kennedy (a Democrat, BTW) said:

And so, my fellow americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

JFK talked about "country", in that quote, not government. I said nation, not government. In conservative thought, they are not the exact same thing. (For a first point.) We ... you and I ... all 300 million of us, are the country. The government is a social structure that exists to insure an environment where we can have life, liberty, and be free to pursue our own happiness.

Which brings us to the next, crucial, historical document: the Constitution.

I have made a differentiation between the nation/country, and the government. So, let's look at government. This thing that is supposed to provide all of us an environment where we can pursue the American "mission statement." The Founders were very thoughtful ... and I mean that both ways: 1) kind; 2) full of thought, literally. Before they went into the "nuts and bolts" of how this government they were creating was supposed to work, they gave us another mission statement. This time, it was a mission statement for the government.

In the Constitution, it is called the Preamble.

If you haven't ever, I would suggest that, sometime, you read the Constitution. In general, it is not hard to follow.

Keep in mind, it was written before "legalese" was created in this country.

Anyway, the Preamble, written in 1787, goes like this:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

For those of you who voted for Obama, let me translate:

For about 12 years now, the former 13 colonies of Britain, in America, have had a form of government that just didn't work. This Constitution you are about to read is the structure of a new government and here is what we want it to do: establish rule of law, provide a safe environment to live, defend us from outside military invasions, PROMOTE economic well being for everybody; and give freedom to us, and our children.

Now, this is a logical place to discuss the ideology of the modern conservative movement.

Modern conservatism, as promoted by William F. Buckley, et al., can be summed up in the Three Pillars of Conservatism:

1) National Security
2) Fiscal Conservatism
3) Social Conservatism

Let's tackle each one of these at a time:

First:

National Security

To me, this should be a "no-brainer", but, given what has come from the Democrat party over the last 7 years, I can only say: "Apparently not."

Very simply, there is no "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", if you live in fear of attack. I don't care if we are talking Pearl Harbor, 9/11, or Timothy McVeigh and the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City.

People that live in fear are not free.

To return to "modern conservative ideology", if we don't have this, FIRST, then EVERY other function of government is POINTLESS! Government CANNOT achieve any of it's goals, or, even exist, in the long term, unless, it provides for safety from military-style attack for it's citizens.

FISCAL CONSERVATISM

This one is bit more difficult.

It has everything to do with the Right to Private Property. Basically, "What is mine is mine, not yours.", to put it in kindegarten terms.

It is a fundamental refusal of the idea that everything belongs to the government. That we, you and I, all 300 million of us, can have ... stuff ... whether that is real estate, cars, or, even, our paychecks.

Conservative thought acknowledges that it is, individually, our civic responsibility to pay our "fair share" for the government that we need, but no more than that.

That means that there are certain areas that government, no matter how large (federal/national), or how small (city/county/school district), has no business legislating or taxing.

Hold that thought ... I was beginning to go somewhere, but I will save that for the end.

But, for now, you and I work hard to do, pretty much, whatever we want with what we earn. Right?

Government didn't give it to us. We earned it. I don't know about you, but I EARN my pay.

It might be cliche, but here is my view of a job: (from the John Wayne film: McLintock)

George Washington McLintock (GW): I've been punched many a time in my life but never for hirin' anyone.

Devlin Warren: I don't know what to say. Never begged before. Turned my stomach. I suppose I should have been grateful that you gave me the job.

George Washington McLintock: Gave? Boy, you've got it all wrong. I don't give jobs I hire men.

Drago: You intend to give this man a full day's work, don'tcha boy?

Devlin Warren: You mean you're still hirin' me? Well, yes, sir, I certainly deliver a fair day's work.
George Washington McLintock: And for that I'll pay you a fair day's wage. You won't "give" me anything and I won't "give" you anything. We both hold up our heads.

3) Social Conservatism

In some ways this area is both the easiest, and the most difficult to discuss.

The best place to start in this discussion is what, actually, happens when government, especially federal/national government, makes a decision on an issue that relates to "social conservatism". The latest hot topics are gay marriage, and abortion.

Whether we are talking Roe v. Wade, or Proposition 8 from the last election in California (my rebuttal to the idea of "Right Wing Rage" from the media), it doesn't matter.

The government comes up with a "one size fits all" answer, everytime.

Tell me, truthfully, have you ever had any garment that was "one size fits all" that fit you, at all?

The truth is that "one size fits all" answers NEVER work for ANYBODY EVER!. I don't care if it is clothes, or governmental policy ... IT JUST DOESN'T WORK!

WORSE!

It's not who we are, supposedly. It's not what we are supposed to be about, supposedly.

We read it, together, earlier ... Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness ... what makes me "happy", will, in ALL likelihoods, NOT make you happy ... you might enjoy it, but it won't make you HAPPY.

FINALLY

It all comes down to what you think government should do.

For instance, I think that government has no business in what I think of as "charity work".

Specifically, I don't think that government, especially the federal government, should be giving health care to ANYBODY, except the military, and veterans.

However, I have CHOSEN to spend my time, paid vacation, and money to go on medical "missions" trips on my overseas tours. I have spent more hours than I can count dealing with/helping the homeless at my first duty station. (I forgot to mention that a significant number of the homeless and poor of El Paso were in either my house, or those of my friends.)

That was my CHOICE.

Get the point?

I CHOSE to spend MY time, MY money, MY paid vacation on those things.

As opposed to some schmuck on Capitol Hill that voted for a bill to TAKE money from MY paycheck, and give it to someone else. ... no matter what I thought, or wanted.

There are a lot of things that need to be fixed in the world. I know, I have been there. I have lived on, at one point or the other, most of the continents of the world.

I have beat this point to death.

I leave you with the words of the first President I voted for ... Ronald Reagan ... I cast my first vote, ever, to re-elect him to his second term ... and, during his first inaugural adress he said:

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.

One political commentator has called him "Ronaldus Magnus", for the greatness of his ideas.

28 years after those words were spoken, I find myself in a position where I am hard pressed to find a viable argument with the President or the commentator.

The new "Camelot"

2008-11-17T22:21:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you remember, but, shortly after JFK's assassination, they started referring to his administration as Camelot. In many ways, he was a better President than he is remembered. The foreign policy/national security issues, and the creation of our space program of his day overshadow the rest of his domestic policy achievements. (Trivia question: name the last Democrat in the White House to deliver on a campaign promise for a tax cut to the middle class. ... Hint: It wasn't Clinton, Carter, or LBJ.)

And now, the press is talking about Obama ushering a new era of "Camelot".

I am reminded of the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", a comedy.

In the first part of the movie, King Arthur goes about the English countryside recruiting new knights. Once he has his crew assembled, he takes them to Camelot. The knights are all elated at seeing their new home, from a distance. Before they can reach the castle, a song and dance number ensues in the castle. At the end of the song, Arthur turns to his knights and says:

"No, on second thought, let's not go to Camelot. ... It is a silly place."

Infer what you wish. I just thought I would share this mental association I had with you all.

A Little Known Fact

2008-11-15T00:50:00.000-08:00

The election four days ago was the FIRST time in 32 years that a Democrat running for President has won a majority.

And what kind of majority was that?

Well, according to the people that you will hear comment on the news, they will tell you that Proposition 8 (the No Gay marriage proposal) won by a "slim majority", and they will tell you that Obama won by a landslide.

In truth, Prop 8 passed with voting percentage just under 52%, and Obama won the Presidency with a voting percentage just under 53%. Less than one percentage point difference between the two.

My challenge to the mainstream media is for them to make up their minds. Pick one, either one, I don't really care.

Even better yet, guess who was the last Democrat to win a popular vote majority?

Do you know?

Let's list all the popular vote losers in reverse chronological order: (going back in time)

Kerry
Gore
Clinton
Clinton
Dukakis
Mondale
Carter (vs. Reagan)

So, the last Democrat to win the popular vote in Presidential election would be ...

Carter, in 1976, when he ran against President Ford.

Good times.

Yeah, right.

(By the way, there is some really good stuff in the Ann Coulter article that I referenced in the title to this post.)

Back to the Subject At Hand, Sort Of

2008-11-14T23:50:00.000-08:00

If you have been paying attention, you have noticed that for about a week now former members of the McCain campaign have been attacking Governor Palin.

This is reprehensible.

What did Gov. Palin do?

She agreed to be the running mate of a man that she, obviously, disagreed with ideologically. She brought the base of the Republican Party to the McCain campaign.

The base (conservatives), in general, were less than pleased with McCain, and he was not bringing them on board.

The Battleground Poll has been the most consistently correct poll of all the major polls. When the Battleground Poll consistently shows that between 55% and 65% of America identifies itself as "conservative" (57% in the October 29th poll), and you are a Republican candidate, you are not going to win without their support.

Senator McCain shunned the conservatives for 8 years, and fought for the identified moderate and undecided vote. Which, according to the last Battleground Poll, the moderate/undecided vote was less than 10% of the electorate.

The best illustration I can come up with is that I was a delegate to the Thurston County Republican Convention. It was cool. I met several of our state level Republican officials. There was a lot of excitement about the election, and what we could accomplish. The attitude about McCain was tepid. At the point this happened, the Republicans were down to just McCain and Ron Paul. If you had to write a campaign slogan for McCain, given what I saw at the convention, it would have been: "MCain: Not as Bad as Hillary or Obama".

Not exactly exciting stuff.

I, even, heard one person say, "Which of the three Democrats running do you support?" (Meaning Obama, Hilary, and McCain.) Don't forget, 4 years ago this guy was thinking about changing parties, because he thought he had a shot at being Kerry's Vice President.

So, his campaign staffers want to lay McCain's defeat on Governor Palin.

Give me a break! The point in the campaign where it became a "no-brainer" that I would vote for McCain was when he selected the good Governor. I was, seriously, thinking third party.

So, anyway, here is some video that I found that I thought I might share about my second favorite elected conservative in the country:

One of the things the Dems have CONSISTENTLY complained about President Bush is that he does not sound intelligent when he speaks. So, their solution was THIS GUY?!?!?! And the ad left out the clip where he suggests that the Federal government should be handing out breathalyzers to asthmatic childern!

Back to the point of this post.

So, McCain staffers want to point to Governor Palin as the reason they lost?

My answer to that is they might be right.

They hid her away, too often. They saddled her with McCain's moderate/undecided agenda. They didn't let Governor Palin be Governor Palin.

That might be what lost it for McCain.

Don't you forget it, or her.

Breaking the Mood, II

2008-11-13T22:53:00.000-08:00

Give me some lattitude, for a moment. The "funny" is coming.

That's my "Grandpa".

He died in 1999. He wasn't "redneck". He was a "hillbilly", in the truest sense of the word.

When he was a kid, his family believed in self-reliance.

In his house, that meant you could only smoke once you learned how to roll your own cigarettes, and picked your own tobacco ... you could only drink once you could pick up the jug of "moonshine" that was a doorstop in the family shack without spilling any. So, Grandpa started smoking at 6, and drinking at 8. He quit school in the third grade to work on the "family place".

In 1940, Grandpa moved his new wife into the house of her dreams. A four-room house with no plumbing or electricity, but it had a real floor, not dirt.

Grandpa "married up". Grandma had an 8th grade education.

He gave me my first taste of beer. He was the first fatherly figure in my life to show pride in me ... even when I couldn't live up to it. He was the first to attempt to teach me to drive.

He "held court".

He would take me to this country "general store" ... sit around the wood stove with the other local farmers. Most of the time he just sat and listened. ... smiled and nodded. ... wave "Hi" and "Bye", as people came and went. When Grandpa spoke, the entire store would go quiet. Everyone stopped to hear what "Sam" had to say.

When he finished, it was one of two things: 1) they reacted like it was the "wisdom of the ages"; 2) they laughed like they were going to hurt themselves.

He wasn't a "comedian". There were very few one-liners. Those were reserved for kids, like me.

He told stories.

He was a "humorist", I guess.

The best way I can explain it is that Garrison Keillor, on his best day, is a pale shadow of what I saw and heard my Grandpa do.

That's all well, and good.

However.

Both of my grandfathers, and my father lived it, but the first man to say to me: "A Man is only as good as his word." was my Grandpa.

All of this was triggered by the following story.

I have seen this story many times over the last few years. Everytime I read it, I am transported back in time to the point where I am the "kid"; my "Grandpa" is one of my heroes; and I love him.

Here is the story:

I was at the Mall with my 5-year-old grandson last week and we got separated.

He approached a uniformed policeman and said, "I've lost my Grandpa!"

"What's he like?" asked the policeman.

"Beer and women with big boobs," replied my grandson.

I've never been more proud of him.

The bad part, for me, is everytime I hear or read this, I begin to tear up, thinking about my Grandpa.

I miss him.

Breaking the Mood, For a Moment

2008-11-13T21:20:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

I was just looking back over the blog. All of my posts since the one on the Olympics (August 22nd) have been pretty intense.

I can be pretty intense, but the truth of the matter is I am one of the "class clowns" in my unit's break area.

Between that, and the fact that I am still working out how I am going to tackle the "Task, Conditions and Standards" post that should follow after yesterday's post, I thought this would be a good time to do something a bit lighter.

To do this, I am going to borrow Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine.

(There should be some cool, time travel visual at this point, but I am on a budget here.)

It's August 2003. I have, recently, arrived in Germany. I was stationed at Warner Barracks, in the German town of Bamberg.

Now, as a soldier, everytime you go to a new post, you have to go through some initial processing. You do things like acquire a place to live, make sure the Army knows where to send your pay, inform the Army's personnel system that you arrived where they sent you, etc.

Part of this is a seemingly barrage of briefings by numerous agencies on post that are designed to scare the young soldiers from doing anything stupid.

Germany is unique, in that, at the end of that "Death by Powerpoint briefings" you go through a 2 week course that is a basic primer on German/European culture, mass transit, phone system, money, language, traffic laws, etc. It's kind of cool.

All-in-all, I spent about a month in Bamberg before I was ever able to go to work at the band there. But, it was a good time.

Anyway, as I am going through this, I am in a group of about 30 or so soldiers. Most of the group are soldiers that are either going to their first duty station, or their second. To me, it feels, after getting to know them, like they have about 5 minutes in the Army, and the maturity level of college freshman.

Except for one guy. He is Staff Sergeant Robinson.

He is the same rank as me. We are about the same age. He has been in the Army about the same amount of time as me. We have been to about the same number of duty stations. About the same number of overseas assignments. Been married about the same amount of time. First time in Germany for both of us. Have similar attitudes about the "kids" we are stuck with. He is something of a "computer geek". He knows some stuff that I don't, and vice versa. He helps me with some problems I am having with my computers, and vice versa.

So, naturally, we become pretty good friends.

About the only thing we DON'T have in common is that I am white, and he is black.

An important point to know, at this point, is that the Army has a wonderful program. Every time you move to a new station, you are assigned a "sponsor". Your sponsor is, supposed to be, a person in your new unit that is similar to you: close to your rank, same marital status, etc. This person's job is to help you do everyting from choose appropriate housing for you and your family; to where to buy gas; whether to shop on the economy for certain items, or buy them at the PX or commissary. You name it.

So, anyway, the next to last day of all this "in-processing" in Germany, I am in the PX looking for ... something. I look over to my right, and there is SSG Robinson. So, I say "Hi!", and ask about his computers (we were in the electronics section). We start to talk, and he introduces his sponsor to me, another noncommissioned officer from his new unit ... who just happens to be black.

I shake his hand.

He jokes, "You guys aren't related, are you?"

Robinson shakes his head, and starts to answer, when I cut him off ...

I look his sponsor in the eye, and say, "Yes." (At which point, Robinson's eyes get as big as dinner plates!)

I hang and shake my head, and say, "We are cousins. But, HIS side of the family won't admit that my side of the family exists."

Robinson's sponsor gets this look of horror on his face, thinking he has just stepped into some big, bad, ugly, family thing that he could not have imagined.

At which point, Robinson begins to smile. (He and I have talked, before, how, given our last names, we get called ALL kind of things: Robertson, Robinson, Roberson, Roberts, Robbins, etc.)

I was able to hold that for about 2 seconds before Robinson and I both bust up laughing, and Robinson follows suit.

His sponsor looked really perplexed for a second. Then, he read the name tags on the front of our uniforms, realized that we did not have the same last name, and joined in the laughter.

I guess, the moral to the story, if there is one, for the most part, the Army is a pretty cool place to be. For the most part, it doesn't matter who or what you are, when you put on that uniform, most of us see "Army green" when we deal with each other. Earned rank and competence means more than color, national origin, gender, or ... whatever.

It was fun playing with that, though.

As for the Mr. Peabody reference, earlier, if you didn't get it, here is a sample of the cartoons that I grew up with:

Where Do We Go From Here? 1

2008-11-12T23:49:00.000-08:00

All Righty Then,

Here we are. I have talked quite a bit, lately. In fact, I have posted more on my blog this month than I have in all of 2008, before November.

For those of us that consider ourselves conservatives ... and, maybe, libertarians, or, if you don't know what you are, politically, but what you have seen isn't right, then you, also, are not happy with what has happened.

The logical question that we have ... and, I fear, most of our fellow citizens will have in the next 4 years is: "Where do we go from here? ... or, more appropriately,: "How do we fix this?"

Now, as you might know, I've been a military man for over 19 years, now. So, I suggest we use some military techniques. I think this approach will be helpful.

These "Where Do We Go From Here?" posts will be, what we call in the Army, an "AAR", or After Action Review.

An "AAR" has, basically, 4 parts:

1) What was supposed to happen?

2) What did happen?

3) What happened right?

4) What can we do better?

The first step, in proper Army fashion, requires some explanation to those of you that are civilians.

Everything that is done in the Army, from the wear of the uniform, to clearing an insurgent cell meeting place, has, in regulation, a "way" to do it. The Army has a standard that boils everything to 3 elements:

1) Task (what is to be accomplished)

2) Conditions (the setting in which you have to accomplish your goal)

3) Standards (the yardstick by which you measure your relative measure of success)

Let us talk about "Standards" for a moment. It is possible to achieve different levels of success, whether you win or lose. In some cases, given a specific task, failing to accomplish a task, you might be in a better situation to be successful.

It is the reverse of the idea behind the concept of the "Pyrrhic Victory", which is tactically, and strategically sound. No matter what the task at hand is there are multiple levels of success.

This last election would appear to be a dismal failure. We (conservatives/libertarians) lost, and, supposedly, lost "Big Time".

If those of us that are conservative ... or, with libertarian, leanings, consider the "Conditions", we DID NOT lose.

Think about that for a bit.

I have some answers to that question.

Tell me yours.

Note to Readers

2008-11-12T23:39:00.000-08:00

Just to let you know, this blog has some features that aren't being used too often.

1) Each post can be viewed (linked to, emailed ... etc.) as separate web page. Just hit the # at the bottom of the post, and you will see that individual post as a separate web page.

2) After my name, and the time date stamp, you will find the number of comments to that post. Hit that link, and you can turn any post into an individual message board for discussion. I moderate the comments, but, pretty much, as long as you don't spam or get vulgar, I will let your comment stand.

3) The little envelope icon next to the number of comments allows you to email that post to whoever you want.

I don't expect to become the next Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, or Ann Coulter. But, I know that there are people who check this blog on a fairly regular basis. This blog, for me, is something of a labor of love/compulsion. I don't know that I can articulate things as well as some, but I believe that I can provoke comment and interaction.

Let me tinker with the "bells and whistles" of the site, as well as "throw gasoline on the fire".

I just ask that you be part of the fire.

Some Upbeat News About the Election

2008-11-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, for those of you who haven't guessed, I am a fan of Rush Limbaugh. I don't get to listen during the actual show too often. But, I am a member of his website.

For those of you that are kind of downhearted after the election, there are some things to keep in mind:

Despite what you are hearing in the mainstream media, Obama did not win by some kind of overwhelming majority. He, only, received 52% of the vote.

Today, on Rush's site, his web people posted the following graphic. It is a map of the US divided into counties or parishes. These areas are tinted according to who they went for in last week's election. The red is for McCain, and the blue is for Obama.

Shot at 2008-11-12

Now, because of how our population is distributed, and the fact that we elect Presidents by state, as apportioned by population, and not a strict popular vote, or, even, a strict popular vote by state, it appears Obama won some kind of landslide. The truth of the matter is that it was a much closer thing than it immediately appears. Obama did an excellent job of winning in EXACTLY the places he had to win. In four years, if we can take one or two key counties per state that he won in, this time around, then numbers would be reversed ... actually, we would have a real landslide in the electoral college that would dwarf Obama's win this time around.

It can be done, but that is where the true challenge is.

Right-Wing Rage

2008-11-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

I've been hearing a lot about there being "right wing rage" out there across America, over the lost election.

First:

It is amazing to me how Senator McCain was the left's favorite Republican from the time he lost the 2000 nomination right up until he gained the 2008 nomination. He "reached across the aisle". He was a "maverick", because he SLAMMED his party at every opprotunity. He wrote/sponsored legislation with the most liberal of the Democrats in the Senate. He created and led a group 14 liberal/moderate Republican Senators that joined the Democrats in blocking the judicial nominations of the President (who was of his party). He co-wrote and sponsored a piece of immigration legislation that was so radically left that even most liberal Democrats voted against it, as a matter of political survival.

Then, he won the Republican nomination for President. At this point, the media, and every Democrat that could be quoted in print, or stand in front of a microphone, would tell you how he was the furthest right nutjob on the planet since Adolph Hitler.

However, within 12 hours of the election being decided, those same people were being quoted, or in front a microphone telling us the "old" John McCain was back, and that the Presiden-elect was thinking about selecting him to be a special liason between the White House and the Senate.

Did this really happen?

I don't think so.

I am something of a political junkie.

Desert Storm taught me, as a soldier, that what I see on tonights news can have a PROFOUND effect on my life, tomorrow.

I sat in an apartment in Seoul, Korea, watching the US news channels broadcast the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003, and in about a year, I was in the "Sunni Triangle".

So, I have a keen interest in the news.

Back to Senator McCain.

Did he REALLY change, like the news said he did?

If you ACTUALLY listened to what he said during the campaign, then your only answer can be "No".

He was the same milquetoast, moderate that he had alwars been.

Second:

What "right wing rage"?

Are we denouncing the President-elect?

Rush Limbaugh, the one person that is supposed to be the voice of our movement, has spent more time, since the election, laughing than ANY time since I first heard him. (I first heard him in 91 when I was an avowed Democrat!)

I have not seen anything on the news to say that conservatives or Republicans are demonstrating or rioting.

I am not demonstrating or rioting.

I have no rage.

I have seen rage, however.

So, let's see here.

California.

The most radically left State of our 50 States.

The Land of "Fruits and Nuts" is what we are talking about.

They had Proposition 8 on their ballot last week.

Prop 8 was such a "hot potato" that neither their state's legislature or their judiciary would touch the issue. So, given what their state's Constitution allowed, they put it to a popular vote.

Meaning that this is REAL democracy ... as in Pericles, Aristotle ... Greek style ... democracy, NOT the representative suff ... you know a "classic" republic. One person, one vote ... here is a piece of legislation ... loddy-doddy, everybody, let's vote.

If you voted FOR Prop 8, then "marriage" was defined as a man and a woman, no same sex marriages, at all.

If you voted AGAINST Prop 8, then marriage is ... whatever.

The most radically left state of our 50 voted for Prop 8.

The "nutburgers" of our electoral system were not willing to go that far.

After all of that discussion, WHO IS PROTESTING IN THE STREET? WHO IS SHOWING RAGE?

I've blathered on a bit. Okay, more than a bit in this post.

Have I been "angry" or "mean" in their presentation?

The simple fact is, that if there was REAL "right wing rage" in this country, anywhere, the media would have BLASTED it on every TV show, and print media that they could. THEY HAVE NOT. For ONE simple reason, it is not there.

The only rage is on the Left.

Which is sad, because they, overwhelmingly, won.

Being a "sore loser" is one thing.

Being a "sore 'winner'", is an entirely different realm of "poor sportsmanship".

What a Difference a Week Makes!

2008-11-11T23:52:00.000-08:00

The last time I posted was the night before the election. Senator McCain was a nominee. Governor Palin was the sweetheart of the conservative movement. Vice President-elect Biden was a Senator whose foot was perpetually in his mouth. (He was supposed to bring maturity, especially on foreign policy, to the ticket.)

Here, the Vice President-elect asks a man in a wheelchair to stand up:

Here, the Vice President-elect shows he hasn't mastered Sesame Street-level math:

AND here is a collage of the Vice President-elect being ... himself:

As a sidenote, if any of you were missing former Vice President Quayle (whom Dennis Miller referred to as the "Rosetta Stone of modern comedy), it looks like the next administration will have similar comic releif.

And, then, Senator Obama is now President-elect.

boy. do I feel great.

The first line of Article II, Section 2 of our Constitution states:

The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States;

So, in a few short weeks, President-elect Obama will have the responsibility of making life or death decisions about ... me, my friends, and co-workers. That gives me a feeling deep, down inside ... and I wouldn't describe it as "warm and fuzzy".

The President-elect ran on a platform that was a carbon copy of Jimmy Carter's.

Let's look back, through the rose-tinted glasses of remembrance, at the golden years of the Carter Administration, and the wonderful things of that era: double digit interest rates, gasoline rationing, the highest inflation that I remember in my life, the highest unemployment rates I remember in my life, "malaise", the "Misery Index", the Iran Hostage Crisis, and, my personal favorite, "Desert One".

IT GETS BETTER!

His staff is full of Clinton-era retreads!

The first and foremonst of this bunch is Rahm Immanuel. He was a Clinton "West Wing" staff member. He, like the President-elect, is from Chicago. Rahm, as you might not know, was the person that the writers for the TV show West Wing used a model for the character Josh Lyman.

This guy (Immanuel, not the TV character) stood up at a celebration dinner after Clinton was reelected in 1996, with a steak knife in one hand, and recited a list of Clinton "betrayors" ... after each name was recited, he shouted "DEAD!", and stabbed the table with his steak knife. Is it just me, or does this sound more like a scene from a bad gangster movie set in the 20's, than Presidential politics?

Which brings me to how, lately, the media has been up in arms about Rush Limbaugh calling the President-elect, and Rahm Immanuel "thugs".

This is nothing new. Rush has been doing this since mid-August. There is a reason.

During his August 27th broadcast, Rush talked about an article that he had read on the site, Politico.

In the 26 August article by John F. Harris, there is this paragraph (you might have to look a bit, it is near the bottom of the thrid page):

Bill Clinton believes the Democratic nominee, far from practicing a unifying, transformational brand of politics, has the political instincts of “a Chicago thug,” one longtime associate said. Clinton has told people that Obama allowed surrogates to try to suppress Hispanic turnout in the Nevada caucuses, and played “the race card” in reverse against the Clintons in South Carolina and other states.

By calling the President-elect a politcal "Chicago thug", he was just quoting a former President ... former DEMOCRAT President, let me correct myself.

Here is what I find funny.

The accusations being leveled against Rush is that his comments were "racist". As in "racist" against the President-elect. Which, of course, just confirms the stereotupe that all conservatives are "racist, bigotted, homophobes".

The funny thing is that IF there is an American politician who should be offended by this "racist slur" it CAN'T be the President-elect. It HAS to be Bobby Jindal, the conservative Repblican governor of Louisiana.

The word "thug" comes to the English language from Britain's involvement with India! The Thuggee were, basically, a bunch of highway robbers in India during 17th to 19th centuries.

It is a SPECIFIC racial/ethnic slur. IT IS NOT AIMED AT BLACKS/AFRICAN AMERICANS, AT ALL!

Unless, of course, the President elect is, now, claiming Indian descent, to go along with his African, and American/European descent.

Who knows? He might be.

Think back to the number of states that the first President Bush called home.

Best Reason to Vote for McCain

2008-11-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

I am no fan of Barak H. Obama. (I know that he and his campaign would like us to forget his middle name, but that would make him BO.) AND, I will only call him by the name he went by in college if they let me put an apostrophe in his last name ... making him Barry O'Bama. (I have no idea why his campaign has not pushed this. It would tie up the vote of IRA supporters.)

Anyway, enough foolishness.

And for the record, I am a stereotype.

White, lower-middle class, working male of Southern upbringing serving as an enlisted soldier in the US Army. I have a Bachelors Degree from a private, fundamentalist church-sponsored university. While not a fan of NASCAR (Look! They're making a left turn! ... Look! Another left turn!(The entire linked video is funny, but, the "Left turn" part is from about 5 minutes into this bit.)),

I do enjoy motorsports, and have a classic car that I am restoring. I am a member of Rush Limbaugh's website, and my mp3 player is full of his radio shows, and daily updates. The first vote I ever cast was to reelect Ronald Reagan in 1984.

According to the stereotype, I should be a racist, sexist, homophobic bigot.

Let's address that list:

It was my sincere hope that Senator McCain would pick as his running mate, Piyush "Bobby" Jindal. Bobby is the current governor of Louisiana. Given what I have heard about his work in Louisiana, and read in his interviews, he is one of the most exciting ideological conservatives in US politics today. Also, he is the first "non-White" to be elected governor of Louisiana since the end of Reconstruction (1877). Bobby is of Punjabi Indian descent. I look forward to volunteering in his future Presidential campaign.

If you followed NFL football in the 1970's, especially if you consistently cheered against the Cowboys, then I don't need to tell you anything about this man. What you might not remember is that in 2006, Lynn Swann ran for governor of his adopted state of Pennsylvania as a conservative Republican. I was truly sad that he lost, on a number of levels. The only time in my life I have ever had any kind of inkling of an urge to live in Pennsylvania was to allow me to vote for Lynn.

I got over my disappointment over Senator McCain not picking Bobby Jindal, when I learned about Sarah Palin. I found her story inspiring. I know these kind of people. SHOOT! I AM "these kind" of people. Her political ideology, and the action she has taken, as governor, is EXACTLY the kind of person I have looked for on the national scene since ... since ... Reagan. She is "Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington".

Next, let's address the "homophobe" part. Let's just say the stereotype of students at fundamentlist christian universities all being "cookie cutter" people is wrong. Everything that you can find on the campus of any other type of university can be found there ... it's just hidden better. As a music major, I hung out with music majors, art majors, theater majors, etc. ... the same groups that, stereotypically, are on the fringe of respectable society. To think that all of this group, even at my university, was straight would be a mistake. As for the Army, I know the Army has a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. That means just that. I know that there are people that aren't being asked, and they are not telling, either. I know both of the above, because some of them fall in the list I entitle: "close friends".

And, just for giggles, let's address religion.

I grew up in a fundamentalist church. We pride ourselves on being "people of the book".

There is a little talked about passage in the Bible that goes like this:
1 John 3:9-10
9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
NIV

I know that sounds kind of rough, at a first glance. However, the easiest way to interpret the passage in context is: a) Not everyone is going to believe what you believe; and b) You should not expect people that do not believe the way you believe to behave the way that you do/are trying to behave. I believe that.

So, according to the strictures of Federal Law, in terms of discrimination, I have addressed: gender/sexual orientation, religion, skin color, race, and national origin. (BTW, I am serve as the primary advisor to my military commander for matters of discrimination in my unit.(This would be discrimination as defined by Federal Law ... the Army IS part of the Federal Government.)) Any questions?

Back to the title of this post.

Let's start by looking at the current Congress, and what the polls, pundits, and conventional wisdom has to say about the outcome of the Congressional elections that will take place tomorrow, as well.

The House of Representatives:
Currently, Democrats outnumber Republicans 235-199. That puts them in a clear majority. This allows them commanding majorities in each of the committees (the place where the bills the entire House votes upon are generated). This, also, gives them the Speaker of the House position. In other words, they control the agenda of the House. What the House will and won't discuss, and vote on.

However, their current majority puts the Democrats 57 Congressman short of the number it takes to override a Presidential veto. So, at this point, even if the House and Senate pass a bill that Republicans disagree with, or, at least, the President does, they can't make it a law anyway.

The polls, pundits, and conventional wisdom are saying that Democrats will pick up those 57 seats in the election tomorrow (all 435 Congressman are up for reelection). If that is true, it doesn't matter who the President is, the only thing that can stop the Democrats in the House of Representatives from doing whatever they want, anytime they want will be The Senate.

The Senate
The Senate has 100 members. Currently, technically, the 2 parties are split at 49 Senators a piece with 2 "Independents" thrown into the mix. Which doesn't sound too bad, until you realize that the "Independents" tend to vote more consistently with the Democrat party line than some of the Democrats do. Making the Senate, in reality, more of 51-49 split. That still doesn't sound too bad on the surface. As you might remember from your civics classes in school, to override a Presidential veto BOTH houses of Congress must vote to override the veto with a 2/3rds majority. However, as with the House of Representatives, the Democrats control the leadership of all the Senate committees. Effectively, they control what will make it to a vote for the whole Senate.

Most polls, pundits, and conventional wisdom says that there is a possibility that the Democrats could pick up the 16 extra seats that they need, but that is by no means a sure thing. On the other hand, those same sources are pretty sure that after all the votes are counted there will be, at least, 60 Democrats in the Senate.

This is a bad thing. You ask: "Why?"

The Senate has some quirky rules.

One of them is the filibuster. Basically, once a Senator gets up to speak, he doesn't have to stop until he wants. Meaning one Senator can bring the workings of the Senate to a dead stop for as long as he/she is able. There are, also, some quirky rules (that I don't know all the ins and outs of) that can make this a "team sport". So, the minority can, in effect, indefinitely delay action on a piece of legislation that it is opposed to, even if they don't have the votes to defeat it. A filibuster, also, keeps any succeeding legislation on the agenda from coming to the floor. I have heard of Senators reading whole works of Shakespeare, cookbooks, etc.

One of the other quirky rules is called cloture. Basically, if 60 Senators all agree, a filibustering Senator can be told to sit down and shut up.

So, if the Democrats can pick up 9 more seats, they will have, theoretically, automatic cloture. Republican Senators will have been effectively been shut up and rendered spectators to the legislative process.

If that happens, the only recourse is for it to be brought before the courts.

The Supreme Court
Currently, no matter what you read/hear/see in the press, we have one of the most balanced Supreme Courts in history. Four justices are conservative/"strict constructionist" (meaning the words in the Constitution mean what they appear to mean, more or less). Three are liberal/"Living Constitution" ("The Constitution means what I 'feel' it should mean"), and the other two are moderate (they kind of swing back and forth ... I think the prevailing wind on any given day is a determining factor, and I am not being metaphorical).

One of the worst kept secrets about Washington is that it appears at least two justices are waiting until after the election to retire. Meaning the new President will be confronted with selecting two justices soon after the Inauguration. The new Senate, then, will have to confirm, with a 2/3rds majority, these new selections.

Before we get any further into that thought line, let's explore some of the products, in history, of a Supreme Court that leaned, heavily, one way or another: The Supreme Court decision that took the question of abortion out of the hands of the people, and their elected representatives, Roe v. Wade, was the product of a liberal Supreme Court. The ban on prayer in schools, with all of it's ridiculous permutations, was the product of a liberal court. The Dred Scott Decision, which concluded that, according to Wikipedia, "people of African descent imported into the United States and held as slaves, or their descendants — whether or not they were slaves — could never be citizens of the United States, and that the United States Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. The Court also ruled that slaves could not sue in court, and that slaves — as chattel or private property — could not be taken away from their owners without due process." was the product of, what was for it's day, an overwhelmingly conservative Supreme Court. (In my personal defense, at the time, the conservative end of the political spectrum in this country was OWNED by the Democrats, and the Republican party did not exist, yet.)

So, if Obama is President, with a 2/3rds Democrat majority in the Senate, any nominees that he selects for the Supreme Court sail through with, at best, minimal questioning.

So, where does that leave us?

Well, if Obama is elected: a) we will have the most liberal Democrat President of our history; b) as de facto head of the Democrat party, he could, potentially, have a Congress that is owned by his (very liberal) party; c) with the imminent retirement of, at least, 2 Supreme Court Justices (and a Senate that will rubber stamp any selection he might make), we could have one of the most liberal Supreme Courts in the history of our nation.

Do you see what I think is the MOST scary thing about an Obama Presidency, yet?

Let me give you a clue:

The First Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights ... the same Bill of Rights that many of the Founding Fathers REFUSED to consent to this Constitution, unless it was included, says:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Read that for a moment. Think back to your American history classes. That amendment is not about "protected sources" for journalists. It is not about an artist's right to put statues of Mary in urinal, and take photos of it.

What is it about?

Discussion.

Thoughtful, heated, ideology-driven, partisan, political discussion. Whether that is in your local barber shop, or on the floor of the Senate ... or between Capitol Hill, and White House. It is the heart of this idea we call the United States of America.

If Obama is elected, from a historical perspective, the three branches of OUR Federal government will be in lockstep, ideologically, as never before!

A viable "loyal opposition" is a good thing. It invites discussion, which provokes thought. That thought can help clarify why the proposal at hand is a good idea, it can lead to improvements to the proposal at hand, or, it can lead to dismissal of the idea at hand, because "we can do better".

In one of my wife's and I favorite movies, The American President, the domestic policy advisor to the President (Lewis) has this exchange with the White House Chief of Staff (AJ):

A. J. MacInerney: The President doesn't answer to you Louis!
Lewis Rothschild: Oh, yes he does A.J. I'm a citizen, this is my President. And in this country it is not only permissible to question our leaders it's our responsibility!

Given the diplomatic, economic, and national security issues that face this country today, we need, as much as ever, careful deliberation before we tackle any of those issues. We don't need 545 people (435 in the House (by default), 100 in the Senate (by default), 9 on the Supreme Court (by default), and 1 in the White House) all thinking the exact same way, and not considering any other options.

If we elect a Democrat-dominated Congress, with Obama as President, then that is what we will get, and one of the primary functions of the three branches of our government will be catastrophically undermined.

The worst part of it all is that we will have no one to blame but ourselves.

May God help us all, tomorrow.

A Request

2008-10-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Like I said before, I have received some great responses (most of them were not in the form of comments posted to the blog).

A person giving their name as "M.Cook" posted a comment to the post below. Given the name that they gave, and the contents of their comments, I can only assume that they are related to SPC Joe Cook, and the brother mentioned in the comments. If that is the case, I would LOVE IT if "M.Cook" would email me.

I am not going to put my email in this post. However, my email address can be found in my "Blogger" profile. The link to my profile is just below my picture, and personal information in the right sidebar.

I would love to have the chance to meet SPC Cook's brother, shake his hand, and ... I don't know, buy him a cup of coffee at the "Battle Bean", and BS for a bit.

Important Anniversary

2008-09-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

I meant to write this last night.

Yesterday was the anniversary of two important events in my life.

8 years ago, yesterday, I raised my right hand, for the last time, and swore an oath. An oath that I had sworn several times before, but on that day, it was the last time I would swear that oath. On September 19, 2000, I reenlisted in the Army on "indefinite status". That means that I was going to be in the Army, basically, for as long as they would have me.

11 years before that, or 19 years ago, yesterday, I took that same oath for the first time, as I started my time as a Soldier in the active duty Army.

That oath goes like this:

I, Kevin James Robertson, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Over the last 19 years, I have been a lot of places, seen a lot of things, made more friends than I could ever have imagined, ... and endured the loss of more things and friends than I could have imagined in 1989, before I took that oath.

I've been to Panama (several years after our invasion), Korea, Germany, Costa Rica, Honduras, Guatemala, Austria, France, and ... yes, Iraq. The "Sunni Triangle", in fact ... just a few short months after Saddam was captured. He was captured in a small town near his home town, Tikrit. Tikrit is where I was stationed.

While there, I made friends ... US soldiers, contractors, and Iraqis. Most came home safe, but some were maimed, and some were killed.

The Army says that I can stay until I have 22 years in service, at my current rank. However, they will allow me to retire as early as when I hit 20 years in service (next September). The Army will allow me to request my retirement date up to 12 months out from my retirement date. So, I am, as of yesterday, in that window when I can request that retirement.

I am proud of my service. I am proud to be a noncommissioned officer in the Army. I am proud to say that I served with people like Command Sergeant Major Steven Faulkenberg, Private First Class Markus Johnson, Specialist Ross McGinnis, and PFC Darrell Lyle (he survived earning his Purple Heart). I am not a hero. I just signed on to do a job, and did it. The guys I listed before, among many others that I have been associated with, are heroes.

As for the elected politicians that have called me, and my brothers/sisters in service "stupid", "thugs", "murderers", "rapists", and compared us to the killers, and torturers of the Nazi regime, and the murderers of Pol Pot's regime, well ...

SPC Joe Cook puts it much more gracefully than I could ever think it, much less, say it:

September 27th Update:

I have had some really great responses to this post. The only problem with it is that I embedded the YouTube video by Specialist Joe Cook. I think his words are worth being able to read. So ...

Thanks to the "Adopt-a-Soldier" program at Rush Limbaugh's site, I have had full access to Rush Limbaugh's site, and full recordings of his show since shortly after the program's inception. A lovely lady named Theresa Beard in Ohio was my first sponsor. Rush featured the audio of SPC Cook's video on his September 11th show. Because it was considered by his staff as one of the highlights of his show, the full transcript of that segment is available on his site.

Without further eloquence, or shameless plugging, here is the transcript of Specialist Joe Cook's video:

Dear Mr. Obama: Having spent 12 months in the Iraq theater I can promise you, this was not a mistake. I witnessed firsthand the many sacrifices made by the people of Iraq. Those sacrifices were not mistakes. Iraqi people are just like us. They want a chance to live in a secure world, free from tyranny, free from terrorism, free to prosper, free to raise their children and pass on a future. Are they better off today than they were in 2002? You bet. I've seen many men sacrifice their lives for the Iraqi people. They died for a purpose, not a mistake. They died giving hope. They died promoting freedom. Do you rescue a fireman just as he's about to save a child? When you call the Iraqi war a mistake, you disrespect the service and the sacrifice of everyone who has died promoting freedom. Freedom carries with it a price. Because you do not understand nor appreciate these principles, sir, I am supporting Senator John McCain for president. He, too, made a huge sacrifice promoting freedom, because he understands the fundamental truth, freedom is always worth the price.

All I can add to that is "Hooah, brother."

My Heroes

2008-09-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

In my heart and in my soul, I am a Texan.

I will, probably, never live there, again. But, that is a part of me that will never die. I consider El Paso, TX, to be the place ... that is "My" Texas.

On the other hand, I have spoken out against illegal immigration. Some people will say that makes me anti-hispanic/Mexican.

That makes no sense to me.

One of the best examples of this is that there is a place in downtown El Paso called San Jacinto Plaza. This plaza celebrates the victory of the Texans over the Mexicans in the Texas War of Independence (1835-1836).

When I lived in El Paso, some of the local liberal politicians advocated changing the name of the plaza, because they felt it was anti-hispanic.

This is ludicrous. At the point that Texas decided to secede from Mexico (Texas, at the time, was a state within the United Mexican States), ALL of it's citizens were, technically, Mexican ... that includes Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis, Sam Houston, and Stephen Austin.

I, as all true Texans, find the story of the Alamo both inspirational, and tragic.

However, I agree with Lieutenant General George Patton. He said, "Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

In terms of the Texas War for Independence, the person who did this best would not be anyone at the Alamo, Goliad, or any "Anglo" at the Battle of San Jacinto.

It was Juan Seguin.

If you read the history correctly, there would have never been an independent country of Texas, and, therefore, no state of Texas in the US, without Juan Seguin.

So, San Jacinto Plaza, in downtown El Paso, is "Anglo" centric how?

Favorite Olympic Moments

2008-08-22T03:06:00.000-07:00

I love the Olympics.

Especially, the Summer Olympics.

It's kind of cool to, once every four years, get kind of obsessed with sports that you, either: a) have never heard of, or b) haven't paid any attention to since the last Olympics. ... Like women's beach volleyball, women's field hockey, two-man sculls (I cheered for the Iraqi team in that one), ... track and field events.

I'm sure that is just has to do with where I have been, what I have done, ... what I signed up, and swore to do for my country, ... but my two favorite Olympic moments from the last Summer Games made this old crusty, Sergeant cry.

They are, in reverse order of "tear factor":

First, there was Kobe Bryant, standing on the medal podium with the rest of the "Redeem Team", telling them ... like a Drill Sergeant, to put their hands over their hearts, when the National Anthem was played ... AND THEY DID IT!

Second:

Okay, I admit that there were certain events that I enjoyed on more than the athletic level. Women's beach volleyball comes to mind, first. May and Walsh are incredible athletes, and, probably, the best their sport has ever seen. However, for the happily heterosexual male, like myself, there is another aspect to the sport. It doesn't matter which team you were watching play, those uniforms were not exactly burkhas.

Then, there was Stephanie Brown-Trafton.

I'm sure that her husband, and her parents think she is beautiful.

For me: given her face, and size, she reminds me of the stereotypical female weight lifter from the Warsaw Pact, during the Cold War-era. She is an incredibly gifted athlete, but she isn't pretty.

For those of you that don't know, she took the Gold Medal for America in Discus for the American Track and Field team.

It was her on the Gold Medal podium that made me cry like a baby.

After hearing she won Gold, she takes a victory lap around the stadium with a VERY special US Flag (as you know, if you read the link at the start of this post).

Then she mounts the podium, to receive her medal. She does this with an incredible quiet dignity.

Then, the flags start to rise, and our National Anthem starts to play.

At first, she is just smiles. Shock at winning. But, she puts her hand over her heart, she thinks. Then, her hand drifts, as if she is trying to find her heart. Then, the anthem sinks in, and she tries to blink back tears. Then, she begins to sing along, blinking back more tears. ... then my DVR kicks out.

I was pretty irritated that the DVR did not capture all the moment, but, on the other hand, I had seen enough. It took me a while to regain my composure from what I had seen.

In those moments, with the National Anthem playing, and her reaction, Stephanie Brown-Trafton had become the most amazingly beautiful Gold Medal winner of this last Olympics, for me.

As a post-script: Stephanie, if for some reason, you might see this: Thank you for giving this "crusty, old" Sergeant yet another reason to be proud for being an American.

Guilt By Association?

2008-05-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting little cartoon I saw from Slate.com, today:

All right, I admit I know next to nothing about the preacher they are talking about being connected to Senator McCain. However, given the article about this in the Columbia Journalism Review, it would appear that McCain, while seeking the endorsement of this particular televangelist, was never a member of the man's church, or, even, very aware of what he regularly taught. He was just looking for a Fundamentalist preacher with a big audience for an endorsement. It's not even clear if the two had ever met before their first public appearance together.

Hillary had nothing to do with the defense of Black Panther, Bobby Seale. I'm willing to give Hillary the benefit of the doubt about the law firm she worked for when I was in kindergarten. Let's chalk it up to being young, dumb, and from the 60's. No real connection with those guys in decades. As for the Marc Rich pardon, hey, the documents released from the National Archives about the Clinton administration clearly show that after Hillary bombed on her health care, she was persona non grata in the West Wing of the White House.

Even for Obama, his connection with 60's counterculture terrorist, Bill Ayers, I have not seen anything really credible on him having a serious connection with Obama. Nothing more than some loose association.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., on the other hand ... that's a little harder to dismiss as nonexistent, or, at best, some casual relationship.

Reverend Wright took the helm of Trinity United Church of Christ in 1972. Obama placed membership in 1992, or in the 1980's, depending on which source you choose. By the time that Obama placed membership, Reverend Wright had been in that pulpit for 20 years.

Reverend Wright's entry in Wikipedia states this about his relationship with Obama:

"Barack Obama, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President, first met Wright and joined his church in the 1980s, while he was working as a community organizer in Chicago before attending Harvard Law School. Wright officiated at the wedding ceremony of Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as their children's baptism. The title of Obama's memoir, The Audacity of Hope, was inspired by one of Wright's sermons.

Wright was scheduled to give the public invocation before Obama's presidential announcement, but Obama withdrew the invitation the night before the event. Wright wrote a rebuttal letter to the editor disputing the characterization of the account as reported in an article in The New York Times.

In 2007 Wright was appointed to Barack Obama's African American Religious Leadership Committee, a group of over 170 national black religious leaders who supported Obama's bid for the Democratic nomination; however, it was announced in March 2008 that Wright was no longer serving as a member of this group."

Uh-huh. Okay.

On February 22, 2007, Rolling Stone (not exactly part of the "vast Right Wing conspiracy") posted an article entitled "The Radical Roots of Barack Obama". Here is the pertinent part about Reverend Wright:

Wright is not an incidental figure in Obama's life, or his politics. The senator "affirmed" his Christian faith in this church; he uses Wright as a "sounding board" to "make sure I'm not losing myself in the hype and hoopla." Both the title of Obama's second book, The Audacity of Hope, and the theme for his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 come from Wright's sermons. "If you want to understand where Barack gets his feeling and rhetoric from," says the Rev. Jim Wallis, a leader of the religious left, "just look at Jeremiah Wright."

Obama wasn't born into Wright's world. His parents were atheists, an African bureaucrat and a white grad student, Jerry Falwell's nightmare vision of secular liberals come to life. Obama could have picked any church — the spare, spiritual places in Hyde Park, the awesome pomp and procession of the cathedrals downtown. He could have picked a mosque, for that matter, or even a synagogue. Obama chose Trinity United. He picked Jeremiah Wright. Obama writes in his autobiography that on the day he chose this church, he felt the spirit of black memory and history moving through Wright, and "felt for the first time how that spirit carried within it, nascent, incomplete, the possibility of moving beyond our narrow dreams."

Then, there is the old dictate: "Follow the money".

So, where did Barack and Michelle's money go?

Well, according to a March 25, 2008 article on the Bloomberg site, between 2000 and 2004, the Obama's donated less than $11,000 TOTAL to the various charities that they supported. In 2005, Reverend Wright's church received $5,000.

Did you catch that? In one year, the Obama's donated half as much to ONE charity that they support as all of their charitable donations for the previous FOUR years, COMBINED.

It gets better.

In 2006, they gave $22,500 to Reverend Wright's church, or more than twice all of their 2000-2004 charitable contributions combined!

I could go on a rant comparing my salary to those figures, but that would be crass.

Let's look at the ratios of those numbers that I mentioned above.

Over a five year period, the Obama's claimed $10,772 total in charitable donations, total. If you divide that figure evenly, for that period, that would mean that the total donations made to charities that were big enough to claim on income tax forms came to $2,154.40 ... total.

The year after that period, they donated $5,000 to Reverend Wright's church, alone. More than twice the previous year's assumed donations to ALL charities, combined.

The following year, 2006, they donated $22,500 to Reverend Wright's church. In other words, in 2006, the Obama's donated, to one charitable organization, more than TWICE the total of ALL of their charitable donations from 2000 to 2004 COMBINED.

Now, think about yourself for a minute.

Would you make those kind of changes to your charitable donations without being real confident about the receiving organization? Is it reasonable to assume that you would make those kind of changes without knowing the mission and message of such an organization? OR, is it more reasonable to assume that you were VERY familiar with the mission and message of the organization, and, in fact, endorsed it?

HHHHHMMMmmmmm.

Newsmax says that the latter is what happened.

Of course, I could be the anal retentive, or touchy one, here. My sense of propriety too severe. Maybe, I'm too sensitive about some things, like: God, church, America, to name a few.

I think I should let the Right Reverend speak for himself: (WARNING!!! While these videos are of a preacher in his pulpit delivering a sermon, this guy is NOT Billy Graham, ...or, even, Billy Swaggart, or Jim Baker.)

I don't mean to offend. I just watched that last video. I'm a bit nauseous.

Mark Steyn is a Canadian-born, British-raised author.

I think he wraps this up best.

Is Obama "Smarter Than a 5th Grader"?

2008-05-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! Barak Obama is something else! According to his Wikipedia bio, he is a graduate of Columbia Univeristy and Harvard Law School. He has done a pretty good job of hiding that!

In a Question and Answer session with Charlie Savage for the Boston Globe, on December 20, 2007, Obama demonstrated gross ignorance of the Constitution. In particular, the Constitutional duties of Senator, and the President. Now, keep in mind, he IS a Senator, and wants to be President. But, in this Q&A, his knowledge of the Constitutional mandates, and limits of both of those jobs is just laughable. That is, if he wasn't a Senator, who is trying to become President.

When I was in Junior High, back in the 70's, in podunk Missouri, you know the area of the country that Obama says is full of bitter people that cling to guns, religion, and bigotry, it was a requirement that all 7th Graders pass a 100 question test on the content of the Constitution. Obama proves in the above linked interview that he could not pass that test.

You would think that someone who swears the following: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." ; should have a knowledge of the Constitution equal to the pubescent in "Red Neck Country"?

So, now the big question, is Obama Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

In the embedded video below, Obama states that in the 15 months of his campaign, he has visted 57 of the 50 US States, and has one more to go. He won't be visiting Hawaii, and Alaska. So, he won't be hitting them all.

Given my viewing of "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?", my guess is that "How Many States Are In the United States?" would be a 1st Grade U.S. Geography question. Unless his 10 year old partner on the show could "Save", Senator Obama would have had to look into the camera and state, on national television, that he was not smarter than a 5th grader.

Next question:
On May 4, 2006, CNN reported on a study that showed 2/3rds of US citizens between the ages of 18 and 24 COULD NOT find Iraq on a map. Given that he doesn't know how many States are in the United States, can he find Iraq on a map? According to his knowledge of the country he lives, and has spent 15 months canvassing, the chances aren't good.

Last question:
He has a gross ignorance of the highest law in the land, the law that governs his current job, and the one he is running for. He doesn't know how many States are in the United States. With this fundamental lack of knowledge, can he competently execute the duties of the President ... or, even, his current elected position?

Political Zinger

2008-04-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

I was watching Fox News' morning show today, while working out. Mitt Romney was on, discussing the presidential campaign. At one point, the anchor asked Romney what he thought of Obama and Clinton.

His response was: "They are both out there trying to convince the American people that the other one is unfit to be President. I agree with both of them."

I thought it was priceless.

"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."

2008-03-25T01:35:00.000-07:00

I first heard the above phrase in 1984, and, frankly, it pissed me off. 24 years down the road, and it still pisses me off.

I can relate my personal story, and history, on this later. I would rather tell you a story.

When I was in college (the late 1980's), the persons playing in the top few seats of the military bands in Washington, D.C., were regarded as the best euphonium (my instrument) players on the planet. A man named Brian Bowman was the top euph player for the Air Force band in DC. At the time, Brian Bowman was considered the best living euph player on the planet. There were more than a few people (most of my college professors with a knowledge of brass playing included) that built a reasonable case for Brian Bowman being the best euph player in history.

I heard Brian Bowman play, live, in concert, in January. His playing was ... imagine the most scrumptious meal you have ever eaten ... the taste, the smell, the textures ... Now, imagine all of that for your ears. He played that sensation for an hour. Music that was written for cello, not euph. Everyone there that knew him (and there were more than a few), said that he had lost some in his playing ability. But, it was, still, musical "ambrosia".

With that said, he is no longer Chief Master Sergeant Bowman of the Air Force Band in DC. He is, now, Dr. Brian Bowman of the University of North Texas.

He is a teacher, who, occasionally, gets a chance to play.

He might have lost a "step" or two from his best day, but he can, still, captivate, and render silent, a crowd of almost 500, to include most of the euph players that were his peers when he "could" play.

Not bad for a guy that "can't", and, therefore, has to teach.

So, Here We Are Again ...

2008-03-17T03:35:00.000-07:00

It's interesting, to me, at least. This blog is coming up on it's 4th anniversary. I started it as a way of keeping family informed of what was going on with me. It grew to be much more than that, then if dwindled, as my posts dwindled.

A lot of my posts in the first year, had to do with Presidential campaign, and here we are in another one.

The previous Democrat nominee was out of the race before it began, because he talked about being "Stuck in Iraq". During his last Presidential run, I was "stuck in Iraq".

Now what are we looking at?

There is John McCain ... former POW, acted honorably in the 1970's, and has betrayed his party, and espoused principals for most of this decade.

There is Senator Clinton ... whose chief recommendation for office is that she has not divorced her husband.

Then, there is "Barry" (that is the name he went by in college) Hussein Obama ... who says nothing, donates thousands of dollars to a racist(the preacher at his church ... that he has been a member of for, what, 20 years?), and espouses the same socialist/communist crap that Senator Clinton spews every chance that she gets?

Case in point, I am not rich. I am a Staff Sergeant in the US Army. If my wife and I had a kid right now (we have none), we would qualify for WIC, but, somehow, both Obama, and Clinton voted against renewing the tax cuts for the "rich" in the last week. So, now I am "rich". Because both of these Presidential candidates have both voted to take $600 dollars a year from my paycheck.

On the one hand, according to them, I am too uneducated, unskilled, etc. ... to do anything else, but serve in the Army.

On the other, because I am "rich" and "privileged", they are going to vote to take even MORE money from my paycheck.

That's right folks, military personnel pay federal income tax, unless you are serving in a combat zone, for the moment.

It has never made sense to me, either.

But it must make sense to Senators Obama, and Clinton, because they both voted to have me pay even more federal income tax, because, as an enlisted person in the military, I am "rich".

They, both, voted to rescind the Bush Tax Cuts ... for the "rich" ... like me.

I am so "rich" that I can't afford to buy the "rent to own" house that military housing allownace pays for ... even with a VA loan ... which will not cover the cost of this house.

Which brings us back to the original point of this post, our three crappy choices. By being stuck with these three ... Senators ... (not the first choice I would make for words starting with "S"), we are beyond SNAFU (Situation Normal, All F'bombed Up). We are well into TARFU (Things Are Really F'bombed Up). At this point, in my estimation, we just have to keep things at TARFU, and not go into FUBAR (F'bombed Beyond All Recognition). I'm not sure that is possible, at this point.

I do know, however, that I am going to retire from the military the first chance that I can. No matter who wins.

I mean, really? Obama, Clinton, or McCain ... if I don't retire, one of those three are going to get to make, literally, "life or death" decisions about me.

Imagine this ...

2008-03-17T02:43:00.000-07:00

I was just reading an aritcle in one of the various historical journals that I read on a regular basis. The article was about the Presidential election of 1824.

Back then, according to the way the Constitution worked, the #2 vote getter in the electoral college was the Vice President. The Presidential ticket of Presidential nominee, and running mate, did not exist back then.

I had forgotten about that.

Spring forward to today ... imagine our current President with the haughty "Horseface" Kerry, who got shot in the butt in Viet Nam, as his Vice President for the last 4 years.

Which reminds me of something that I would like to reitierate here, to soldiers, Purple Hearts are not a point of pride.

I have several friends with Purple Hearts. In my heart (not meaning to belabor a metaphor), they hold a special place of respect.

Only one of those is kind of proud of his Purple Heart. The rest consider their Purple Hearts as a kind of consolation prize.

Let me remind you of the George Patton quote: "Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

As a soldier, and a noncommissioned officer (sergeant), I am proud of my friend Sergeant First Class (retired) Rolando Zamora. SFC Zamora did two tours in Iraq.

His first tour in Iraq was as a Platoon Sergeant for a Stryker Platoon. This means that he was the senior enlisted person for about 27 infantrymen, and 4 Strykers. He co-led this group with a Second Lieutenant. These guys saw "the shit", pardon my language.

SFC Zamora's point of pride was that he brought his ENTIRE platoon home safe, AND the only people to win a Purple Heart in the platoon were himself, and the Second Lieutenant.

This platoon was hip-deep in the worst part of the war. Their leaders led from the front, and took care of their troops. So much so, that if someone was going to have "Taps" played over their bodies, these leaders decided to make sure it was them, and not the kids they were in charge of.

It was one of the great honors of my military career to take part in the retirement ceremony of SFC Zamora late last year.

He, to his credit, has not thrown his medals over any fences, or testified against his troops, wrongfully, in front of the Senate. Bringing this post full circle back to the Senator from Massachusetts ... that got shot in the butt in Viet Nam.

First interesting question, if you are engaging the enemy with your rifle, and covering the retreat of your men ... how did you get shot in the butt, Senator?

In closing, is it just me, I have heard people (Democrats, and Kerry supporters) say how unfair the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were, but I have never heard those same people accuse the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of lying ... or attempt to refute their claims?

So, when former President Clinton mentions that people are trying to "Swift Boat" her current Presidential run, does that mean that Senator Clinton's detractors are trying to harpoon her with the TRUTH?

To quote Arsenio Hall: "Things that make you go .... HHHHhmmmmmm"

I Owe You

2007-11-10T00:26:00.000-08:00

BTW, this site is overdue for an "Amy Update".

Things have happened, both in day-to-day life, and in terms of doctor's pronouncements.

I will make that the first priority for the next time I have to write at length.

Blog Changes

2007-11-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

A few days ago, I took the "Listening" area out of the right hand side. Tonight, I took the "Reading" part out.

Frankly, I haven't been listening to any music for weeks, maybe months. No time. I listen to talk radio to and from work. My life, recently, has precluded listening to music any other time.

As for reading, the only reading I have been doing in the last few months is on "the can". Mainly, it has been magazines that I have built up. I'm, still, working on finishing military history journals that I purchased in the spring of this year.

I've spent the last year + trying to simplify, and prioritize my life.

It hasn't been easy.

Actually, it would be more honest to say that the more I try to cut the extraneous out of my life the more "extraneous" piles up. It has gotten to a point where the reading of books has ceased, the regular listening of music has ceased, ... regularly accessing my most creative outlet has ceased.

Look at how often I have posted to my blog over the last year.

(This is my main creative outlet. ... The blog design, it's content.)

I sat down today about 1:45 PM at the computer.

My wife and I agreed that, for me, it was going to be a day for me that was all about reading the source material I, normally, write from, and blogging.

It was almost 10 PM tonight before I began to, seriously, read the material. Look at the time stamps for my posts.

It's kind of frustrating.

But, I need more of this. After work tomorrow, I don't have to go to work again until Wednesday. I'm going to try to get through more of this.

We'll see.

How Long Before the A.D.L. Kicks Out All its Jews? - HUMAN EVENTS

2007-11-09T23:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, I admit that Ann Coulter is easy to dislike. On the other hand, so is George Carlin.

Carlin is a comic with leftist/libertarian views. If you watch or listen to any of his comedy specials/CD's from the last few years, then you can't help note the political rants he ends each of the them with.

Coulter, on the other hand, is a conservative apologist with comic pretensions. It's sometimes easy to miss in her columns, because her brand of comedy is best spoken, not written. Case in point, I have never read "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter". I own a copy, though. The reason is that I listened to the book on CD. Ann Coulter read her own book for the CD. I have tell you that she was hilarious!

This column is worth a read.

BUT! Keep in mind that you are reading the words of someone who has taken the art of sarcasm to heights that aren't matched by much of anyone in either the comedy or political commentary realms in America today.

What better way to illustrate the absurd than be absurd in doing so?

This Crap Kind of Infuriates Me!

2007-11-09T22:15:00.000-08:00

I am talking about the first section in the page that the title of this post links to. It's the part entitled "Appeals Court Considers Enemy Combatant Case".

It quotes a question from the Christian Science Monitor:

"But does he (the President) have the authority to whisk a civilian in the US suspected of being an Al Qaeda sleeper agent into indefinite military detention without charge?"

To give you my perspective, I am a soldier. The US Army requires that I receive regular instruction in the "Law of War", to include the Geneva Conventions.

According to what I have learned, the answer is a qualified "yes".

What do I mean by "qualified 'yes'"?

Well, according to what I have learned, the President, and, by extension, the various agencies of the Executive Branch of the Government (like the military), are within their rights to summarily take a person that fits this definition and execute them, at their whim and/or leisure.

This is the definition of the term "spy", under the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Conventions allow for the execution of spies, or any lesser penalties, that the offended government choose.

So, by incarcerating them indefinitely, under the Geneva Conventions, is letting them off light.

Think about it.

During WWII, POW's and enemy spies that we captured were jailed (if not executed) for the duration of the war. No one looking back at history thinks of this as extreme or unjust. The attitude is more of "You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred."

Did I miss something? Did we capture bin Laden? Did any part of al Quaeda anywhere surrender to the US?

I haven't been able to keep as close an eye on the news as I would like lately, but did I miss where we defeated all the Islamic extremists that have devoted their lives to destroying the Western way of life? I figure that there, at least, would have been a memo at work about that.

I haven't seen it.

Shot at 2005-09-25

What's in the 'Middle'

2007-11-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is a great article that discusses the various definitions used, primarily, by politicians to define what is meant by the term "Middle Class".

By the way, the article is by Alan Reynolds. He is a contributor to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

Some interesting quotes from the article:

Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign bus is called "The Middle Class Express." She says, "America's middle-class families have been invisible" to President Bush. "For middle-class Americans," she pledges to "extend the tax cuts including the child tax credit, the marriage penalty relief, and lower income tax rates that they currently pay." Ironically, all of those tax cuts were enacted in 2003 by a president accused of forgetting the middle class.

---

A recent CBS polls defined middle class as those with incomes of $30,000 to $75,000. Yet that amounted to only 44 percent of those who described themselves as middle class to CBS pollsters. In reality, we can't know tell if $75,000 buys a lot or a little unless we ask whether that refers to single-person households or large families and whether they live in Honolulu or Little Rock.

Polls tell us that nearly everyone with incomes from $30,000 to $200,000 think of themselves as middle class. That encompasses 73 percent of all families, with fewer than 5 percent earning more.

---
In a sense, politicians are nonetheless correct to depict the middle class as struggling to make ends meet, because that has always been true. If people had no budgets to worry about and no trouble buying whatever they want, then they wouldn't be middle class, would they?

The article goes on, sometimes at dizzying lengths, to show how the press and politicians have manipulated numbers to prove how great or bad things are for the middle class at various times, to the benefit of the agenda they are pushing.

FINALLY!

2007-11-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

As always, I encourage you to follow the link embedded in the title to this post, so you can understand what I am talking about.

The article in question is about the Westboro Baptist Church. I am sure you have heard about them. They are the group that goes around protesting at funerals for fallen service members.

To give you an idea of what they are like, I will post a quote from the AP article that I linked to:

Members promised to picket future funerals with placards bearing such slogans as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags."

...

The group believes that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. They say they are entitled to protest at funerals under the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and religion.

They were recently ordered to pay $11 million to the family of a Marine, after protesting at his funeral.

As someone raised as a Christian, and is currently a soldier, I find their behavior to be the exact opposite of what they claim to stand for.

I'm not saying that they are wrong, as Christians to be against the war, or homosexuality. That they choose to express this at the funerals of fallen soldiers, and the verbage they choose is what I find to be contradictory to the book that they claim guides their beliefs.

Let me illustrate:

Jesus said:
Matt 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn ,
for they will be comforted.
NIV

The apostle Paul told the Christians in Rome to:
Rom 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn .
NIV

Given their behavior, I have a real difficult seeing how they are "blessing" those that are mourning, or mourning with them!

Given the fact that the first quote was from the mouth Jesus (the Christ in the word Christianity), I have a hard time seeing where they can be truthfully claim to be attempting to follow this person.

I hope the father of this poor Marine takes them for all they are worth.

A song II

2007-09-12T02:42:00.001-07:00

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

The greatest is love
The greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

A Song

2007-09-12T02:41:00.000-07:00

I hear people saying we don't need this war
But I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground
We didn't get to keep 'em by backin down
They say that we don't realize the mess we're gettin in
Before you start your preachin let me ask you this my friend

Have You Forgotten
How it felt that day

To see your homeland under fire and her people blown away

Have you forgotten
When those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry about Bin Laden
Have you forgotten

They took all the footage off my TV
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger, that’s what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it everyday
Some say this country's just out lookin for a fight
But after 9/11 man I'd have to say that’s right

Have You Forgotten
How it felt that day

To see your homeland under fire and her people blown away

Have you forgotten
When those towers fell, we had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And we vowed to get the ones behind bin Laden
Have you forgotten

I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember, just what they're fighting for

Have you forgotten
All the people killed
Yeah, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten
About our Pentagon
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on
Don't you tell me not to worry about Bin Laden
Have you forgotten

my 9/11 tribute

2007-09-12T00:22:00.000-07:00

It's been a rough day.

I'm a musician for the Army. I'm an Iraq war vet. I don't know how my day could have been good.

It was 9/11 when I started this blog project. No matter what thet time and date stamp is on this post ... or the few that precede it.

I would have done this earlier in the night, but I had to work. There was an Army Stryker unit ... you know, the guys that have been in the news, a lot, the last few months because the insurgents have figured out how to blow the crap out of our wheeled, armored vehicles (Strykers). They came home tonight. Their brigade (3,000-4,000 troops) lost 49 during their time in Iraq. I got home at, almost, 10 tonight, after playing for their welcome home.

---

We, the US of A, were given notice on September 11, 2001, that the radical elements of Islam were serious about the war that they had declared on us ... dating back to the Iranian hostage crisis or 1979.

It took the events of September 11, 2001 for us to take them seriously. 3,000 civilians, and 93 uniformed service people had to die, on OUR ground.

This is a religious war. The enemy has said that their aim is for us to convert, or die ... and they don't really care about our choice ... they, mostly, prefer die.

That is, specifically:
you, your spouse, your children,your family, your friends should die, now, because you have not converted, already; because, notice was served years ago.

Do you find that acceptable?
If you do, then why haven't you, already, converted to Islam?

So, anyway, here we are 6 years down the road from that awful day ...

I admire the people on Flight 93 that said "Let's roll."

They were heroes.

The mainstream press in the US has, mostly, ignored stories of heroism, on our side, in the war that 9/11 started.

Screw them.

I've been to Iraq. I am a member of my local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars(VFW). I'm not a "hero". I served, yes. I did my part, yes. I'm no hero, but I served with several ... to include CSM Faulkenberg, Command Sergeant Major of the 2-2 Infantry.

Some of those stories are below this post.

Read those stories, please.

I believe that the war we are fighting is just. I believe that it can be won.

More than that:
I believe it is a war that we have to fight.
I believe that we have to fight it to win.

My brain, my heart, my gut says that this is a war that we cannot to afford to lose, if we, as the "America" of the Declaration of Independence, or the preamble of the Constitution, want to continue to be who and what we are.

If you agree, then, please, follow the button link, at the end of these stories and sign the petition.

Staff Sergeant Michael Dickinson

2007-09-12T00:15:00.000-07:00

After three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army Staff Sgt. Michael A. Dickinson II of Battle Creek was preparing to leave the war.

"He told me he was on his last mission and he would be home," Dickinson's mother, Vicki Dickinson said Tuesday, a day after her son was killed by a sniper in Ramadi, Iraq. "But he's not supposed to come home like this."

Dickinson was with a Marine Corps patrol when the sniper killed him and wounded another soldier, his family was told. He was one of three American soldiers killed in separate attacks on Monday. The other two died in Baghdad.

A member of the 4th Psychological Operations Group from Fort Bragg, N.C., Dickinson was scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of the month. He was packing and training his replacement. He wanted to continue his studies to be a physician's assistant and work in a clinic in his wife's native home of Puerto Rico.

Now his mother and other members of his family in Battle Creek are preparing to travel to Fort Bragg to join Dickinson's wife, Glorygrace, their daughter, Abigail, 2, and his wife's four children for a memorial service Thursday. Local services are not yet scheduled.

A 1998 graduate of Harper Creek High School, Dickinson and his adopted brother, Darrell Morris, decided in the 11th grade they wanted to join the Army, following his late father and both grandfathers, who were in the military.

"He came from a long line of fighters," his mother said, "and he believed in his country. He left for the service one month after graduation."

Even as youngsters, the brothers awoke at 3 a.m. for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk so they would grow and be ready for the Army.

Dickinson had been working in the relatively safe area of Fallujah, his family said, but was concerned about some members of his unit in Ramadi and volunteered two or three months ago to transfer there.

Ramadi, which has more than 400,000 residents and is described as one of Iraq's most violent cities, has roadside bombings and gunbattles every day. U.S. patrols have been confined to small sections of the city, and tribal leaders who have cooperated with U.S. forces have been assassinated or forced to flee the country, according to the Associated Press.

"He was safe but he felt they needed him and he was going to be with them," his sister, Carmen, 27, said.

"He volunteered because he was confident he could bring those boys home," his mother said.

Michael Dickinson felt it was his job to make sure everyone returned from the mission and that was true even on the mission where he died, family members said.

"The Marines really respected Michael," his mother said. "The men cared about him and they said they will find the sniper who shot him. He died a hero."

Carmen Dickinson said she watched her brother mature while in the military even as she remembers wrestling with her brother when they were children growing up on Vale Street, where Vicki Dickinson still lives.

"I used to kick his butt," she said. "I would pulverize him and then I would run."

Later, she saw him developing principles.

When she snuck out of the house late at night, Michael informed their mother.

"He felt obligated to tell," she said, "because he was worried about me being on the streets and he felt what he was doing was right."

In school, Dickinson wasn't the best student.

"He was smart but he didn't like school," Carmen Dickinson said. "His life was social, he slid by."

"He believed in doing his homework," his mother said, "but not in turning it in."

Active in football and basketball and in the band, Dickinson is pictured in his high school yearbook wearing a football jersey, a gold chain and his signature smile.

Al Miller, principal of Harper Creek High School during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years, remembers Dickinson's grin.

"He was always friendly and outgoing," said Miller, who currently serves on Harper Creek's school board. "He had a positive attitude and always dealt with people in a mature and positive way. He was admired and respected by both staff and students."

In another yearbook photo, Dickinson is featured with fellow student Shannon Hill while participating in the school's annual holiday project, in which students donated their time, food, money, clothes and toys to help 25 Harper Creek families during the holidays.

Miller said Dickinson would come back to the school and visit after graduation. The two would engage in casual conversation.

Michael Nauss, assistant superintendent of Harper Creek Community Schools, said Tuesday he spoke with Vicki Dickinson and offered condolences on behalf of the Harper Creek educational community.

"As a district, we work to develop responsible citizens of a global society," Nauss said. "Michael's service to our country is an honorable example of what it truly means to be a responsible citizen."

It was in high school that Dickinson began spending time with his best friend, Jason Feasel.

"I considered him my brother," Feasel said Tuesday at his Springfield business. "I have known him since seventh grade but we started hanging out our freshman year. We did everything together. When you click with someone you just click with them. He was easy to get along with and he was a great guy.

"He would do anything for anyone just like he did for his country."

Feasel was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in July 2003 and, when Dickinson returned from Iraq that month, the first stop was Feasel's hospital room.

"It meant a lot to see him coming through he door," Feasel said.

"He had just bought a DVD player and he said, 'Hey man, you got a better use for this.' And I watched a ton of DVDs. He would give you the shirt off his back."

Feasel talked to Dickinson on Thursday. "He was telling me the place he was at was crazy and he was so happy to come back home. He was talking about his daughter and he had pictures to send me but he I didn't get those pictures."

Feasel also watched his friend mature and become a family man.

"I lost my best friend. It's a killer. But I am glad I got to be part of his life and I am glad he got to be part of mine."

Dickinson didn't tell his family much about the war or his job.

"We didn't understand how much danger he was in," Carmen Dickinson said. "He didn't talk about things over there."

"But he supported the military," Vicki Dickinson said. "What they asked of him was what he was going to do. It was his job and he was going to do his job."

She said people should remember her son as someone who was caring and "who took his responsibility in life seriously and wanted to do nothing but good."

"And what is more patriotic than giving your life for your country — willingly. He thought he was needed so he answered the call. I am very proud of my son."

Sgt. Anthony Viggiani, USMC

2007-09-12T00:10:00.000-07:00

FORWARD OPERATING BASE RIPLEY, Afghanistan, June 14, 2004 — To many of his fellow Marines in Company C, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, Sgt. Anthony Viggiani is the ideal Marine.

In the eyes of subordinates and seniors alike, the Strongsville, Ohio, native embodies those qualities that make Marines special: dedication, professionalism, strength, commitment, strong morals, and bravery. Now they have an additional quality to add to that list -- tough as nails.

During a recent firefight with anti-coalition militia in south-central Afghanistan, Viggiani's actions further elevated him in the eyes of the rest of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable).

When a pair of Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters spotted approximately 20 heavily-armed militia fighters fleeing into the hills during a cordon-and-knock operation in a nearby village, Co. C immediately pursued on foot. Leading his squad over a steep, rock-strewn mountain, Viggiani was at the head of the advance when they came under heavy enemy rifle fire.

"The rounds just started pouring in," he said later that day, "and we weren't really sure where they were coming from."

On the slope opposite the valley below him, approximately 100 meters away, Viggiani and his Marines watched as two other Marines, Cpl. Randy Wood and Lance Cpl. James Gould, were wounded by enemy rifle fire.

Aware that the fire was coming from the slope in front of him, Viggiani pressed forward cautiously when he and 1st Sgt. Ernest Hoopii came under concentrated fire themselves.

The 24-year-old Viggiani then found he was mere feet from the cave housing the enemy sniper still firing at Wood and Gould, who had since taken cover behind a too-small rock.

"I was able to look down a break in the rocks and saw a bit of cloth move, so I got off three or four shots and then dropped the [fragmentation grenade]," said Viggiani.

Combined with rifle and machine-gun fire from Wood and Gould's squad, the grenade explosion silenced the enemy position, which was later found to have housed three militia fighters.

Sometime during the fight, Viggiani was struck in the lower left leg by an enemy bullet, fired by fighters further up the valley. Seemingly unmindful of the wound, Viggiani continued to engage the enemy with rifle fire until the area was cleared and a total of four dead and one wounded enemy fighters were found.

Mere minutes after the fight, with typical Marine élan, Viggiani dismissed the wound that stained the front of his trouser leg a deep crimson.

"It stings a bit, but it's nothing," he said as he paused for a photograph in front of the cave he helped clear mere minutes after the fight.

Despite recommendations from his fellow Marines, Viggiani refused to leave his platoon and seek aid at the battalion landing team's mobile command post. With a small dressing and a few aspirin, Viggiani shouldered his rifle and trudged further into the rugged mountains in pursuit of Taliban and militia fighters.

By U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Keith A. Milks
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit

Nathan and Jared Hubbard

2007-09-12T00:06:00.000-07:00

Jared Hubbard died along with his best friend, Jeremiah Baro, who joined with him, in an IED explosion in Iraq. Jared was survived by his brothers Jason and Nathan, Jason's wife Linnae Hubbard, his sister Heidi and his parents, Jeff (a retired Clovis, CA police officer) and Peggy Hubbard.

Jeff Hubbard, the boys' father, said after the Jared was killed, "I don't care about the politics. Jared is a hero, he fought for freedom, he fought for us."

Nathan, 21, and Jason, 31, joined the Army two years ago in response to their middle brother Jared, a Marine sharpshooter, being killed in Iraq.

They said they were, "going to finish the job Jared started." Together they enlisted, knowing they would be immediately deployed to Iraq.Nathan Hubbard, 21 (pictured right), was killed in a helicopter crash in Iraq on Tuesday, August 21, 2007.

In the longest flight of his life, Jason will fly back, his hand on Nathan's coffin, from Iraq later this week.

These men are both patriots, they are heroes, they are the essence of the courage and honor that can be seen throughout our military men and women.

Thank you Nathan. Thank you Jared. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Leigh Ann Hester

2007-09-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

According to United States military policy, Leigh Ann Hester should not be in direct combat. The long debated issue of whether women should have a front line role in battle is often blurred in this assemetrical 360 degree battlefield that has become our nation’s newest World War.

Regardless of how one feels about a woman’s participation on the battlefield, Hester displayed fidelity and valor that trancends gender, and when that small aspect of this story is removed, she maintains a place in the hero roll call of Iraq. As with all other professional soldiers in the military, when given the austere conditions of battle, she was able to focus and hone her craft at the highest levels.

Outside Salman Pak, Iraq on March 20, 2005, as a member of the 617th Military Police Company, an Army National Guard unit out of Kentucky, Hester’s squad was pulling security for a supply convoy on a Main Supply Route when anti-Iraqi forces ambushed the column. SGT Hester’s squad leader, Staff Sergeant Timothy Nein, hastily enveloped possible enemy egress routes. When his squad flanked from the side of the road, insurgents were cut off from any possible escape. At that point, SGT Leigh Ann Hester brilliantly led her fire team through the “kill sac” and into a doctrinaly sound position to engage and destroy fleeing insurgents. When she personally led her team into a trench line, she tossed fragmentation grenades and fired 40 mm M203 high explosive rounds that quickly overwhelmed the enemy and allowed her fire team to achieve and maintain fire superiority. Hester and SSG Nein then cleared two other trenches, at that time she engaged and destroyed three insurgents with her M4 rifle.

When the smoke cleared, her unit was responsible for 27 dead insurgents, six wounded and one insurgent detainee. For these actions, SGT Hester became the first female soldier to receive the Silver Star (the third highest award for combat valor) since World War Two. SSG Nein was also awarded a Silver Star.

Hester, 23, is another glowing example of the quality of warrior this generation provides its nation throughout this Global War on Terror. Her actions that day in March 2005 were directly responsible for saving lives and represent the finest traditions of the United States military.

Whether women should be in the front lines of combat is a moot point when aggressed by this fantical Islamist enemy today in Iraq. When bullets and rockets are slamming into peers and subordinates, valor and selfless service are called upon. As long as this nation has defenders of freedom like SGT Leigh Ann Hester who can expertly excute their duties in such an overwhelming manner, we realize more fully all the contributions that are needed for victory in this fight against those who plot to destroy our American way of life.

You can read more about Sgt. Hester here.

LCpl Ben Gonzalez

2007-09-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

Lance Cpl. Benjamin Gonzalez said he wants to start wearing shorts in public this summer, something he won’t do until he’s tattooed.

So what does he want to write on his leg?“Freedom isn’t free.” Perhaps even a picture of the Silver Star he was awarded March 25 during a ceremony in his hometown of El Paso, Texas.

“I don’t like to show off so much, but that’s something I would like people to see,” Gonzalez said.

This way, he said, he won’t have to explain his disfigured, scarred legs to anyone or worry about being mistaken for the victim of a simple motorcycle wreck when the truth is so much more extraordinary.

Gonzalez and the rest of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, had been moving through Fallujah, Iraq, the night before taking up a position on a bridge at the northern edge of the city the morning of June 18, 2004.

From the position he shared with three other Marines along the road, Gonzalez kept watch over pedestrians until around 9:30 a.m.

“I got off post and I was actually going to go to rest and check on all my gear, and that’s pretty much when it happened,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez remembers the sound of the insurgent releasing the spoon of the old, pineapple-style grenade and the “clink” the grenade made when it hit the ground in his fighting hole.

“Unhesitatingly and with total disregard for his own personal safety, Lance Corporal Gonzalez threw himself on his fellow Marine, shielding him from the blast,” according to his award citation. But that’s not exactly how Gonzalez describes it.

Gonzalez said he was actually about to jump away from the grenade when he saw his fire team leader “sitting there without a clue.” He said he didn’t exactly “throw himself” on his team leader.

“I can’t really remember much of those details, but I guess I hugged him,” Gonzalez said.

When the grenade detonated, the team leader was unharmed, but Gonzalez, who absorbed the blast, was riddled with shrapnel.

“I got burned. It broke both of my legs and broke and fractured other parts. It messed up my nerves really bad. I have permanent trauma. I can’t feel my feet or move my ankles. I have shrapnel in my stomach, too,” Gonzalez said.

“This must have been the crappiest grenade ever made because we were all really close. The detonation was one to two feet away from my legs. If it was one of ours, it would have taken us all out.”

Gonzalez was still conscious after the blast. A corpsman gave him general anesthetic, and he was medically evacuated.

“I was told I had gone through Germany for a day and a half, but I woke up in Bethesda and thought I was still in Iraq,” said Gonzalez, referring to the National Naval Medical Center north of Washington, D.C.

Gonzalez, who is on temporary retirement and can rejoin the Corps after he heals, has not regained full mobility or feeling in his feet and legs.

But he was able to stand in formation as his Silver Star was pinned to his suit jacket by Capt. William Zirkle, who, as a first lieutenant, was Gonzalez’s commanding officer at the time of the attack.

April 10, 2006
Marine caught in grenade blast gets Silver Star
By John Hoellwarth
Times staff writer

Juanita Wilson

2007-09-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

Sergeant First Class Juanita Wilson is already a patriot for what happened to her and her unit while serving in Iraq. What happened after is what makes SFC Wilson a remarkable inspiration. SPC Wilson, serving with the Army Reserve 411th Engineering Battalion based out of Hilo, Hawaii, was seriously wounded when her convoy was ambushed by a roadside bomb and rocket propelled grenade attacked in August of 2004. After losing her left arm in the attack, SFC Wilson repeatedly focused her concern and efforts on other injured members of her convoy and unit until help finally arrived.

That selfless dedication to others and her commitment to her nation didn’t end on that Iraqi road in August 2004. After returning to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, she went through extensive rehabilitation and had time to reflect on her many options. Throughout continued painful surgeries and long hours of intense rehabilitation, Wilson persevered with the same Warrior ethos she showed in the summer of 2004. Not only has she started a new chapter in life through her recovery, she continued another by reenlisting on the steps at the Capitol Building on April 6, 2006.

SPC Wilson’s complete dedication to duty in the face of devastating injuries and personal hardships make her an inspiration to the tens of thousands of service members who choose to reenlist every year to serve their country in the Global War on Terror. The Army states that two out every three eligible soldiers continue to reenlist. Going into the 3rd Quarter of the fiscal year 2006, the Army was 15% ahead of its re-enlistment goal of 34,668. And approaching May 2006 their numbers have topped 40,000.

At the start of the article, the writer calls Juanita Wilson "Sergeant First Class", the rank higher than I, currently, am. It is abbreviated as "SFC". At several points in the article, she is referred to as a "SPC". That is the official Army abbreviation for the rank of Specialist. That is the rank I held from April of 1990 to March of 1992. It is equivalent to Corporal.

I don't know rank she was/is. It doesn't matter. She is a hero.

The writer, on the other hand, needs to get his abbreviations straight.

Juan Rubio

2007-09-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

The citation accompanying his Silver Star Medal detailed how a well-emplaced and determined enemy ambushed Rubio and members of his team along the Euphrates River in a complex attack. As Rubio and an assault element swept through the ambush site, insurgents detonated an improvised explosive device. Rocket-propelled grenades and machine gun and small-arms fire followed immediately after the explosion, wounding three Marines.

Realizing the severity of the Marines’ wounds, and bleeding profusely from his own, Rubio low-crawled across open terrain, exposing himself to enemy fire to provide triage. Simultaneously taking care of three urgent surgical casualties, Rubio coached his fellow Marines who were assisting other casualties as incoming enemy fire intensified.

After stabilizing the wounded for casualty evacuation, Rubio directed the platoon to provide covering fire as he and several Marines began moving the casualties towards safety.
Without regard for his own life, he once again exposed himself to the heavy and accurate enemy fire, moving the
Marines from the ambush site to the shoreline.

Rubio’s Silver Star Medal elevates him to a distinctively exceptional category of valor among Navy corpsmen since the commencement of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Only two others have been awarded the Silver Star, none have received the Medal of Honor, and only one hero has been presented the Navy Cross.
Rubio does not consider himself a hero, though.

While addressing the audience, he revealed who he believes are the true heroes, mentioning his two sons by name and that of the mortally wounded Marine lance corporal who shielded Rubio from 90 percent of the IED's
shrapnel during the engagement.

“When people ask me what it is like to be looked upon as a hero, I don’t see myself as such, because Joshua and Mathew and every son and daughter who’s out there and who has family members in Iraq, they’re the heroes,” he acknowledged while fighting back emotion. “They’re the ones who sacrifice their fathers and their mothers. That takes honor, courage and bravery to go home every night and pray that their fathers and mothers come home safe.
"And Brian Parrillo, this is for you, brother," he said. "Thank you for bringing me home.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, May 1, 2006 —U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Juan M. Rubio, 32, of San Angelo, Texas, was awarded the Silver Star Medal April 27 for conspicuous gallantry against the enemy Jan. 1, 2005, while serving as a Marine platoon corpsman in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Silver Star Medal is the U.S. Navy’s third highest award for gallantry in combat, following the Navy Cross and the nation’s highest award, the Medal of Honor.

Rear Adm. Thomas R. Cullison, commander, Navy Medicine East and commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Va., made the presentation in front of the Naval Hospital located aboard Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.

During the ceremony, Cullison spoke about the bond that Navy Medicine, particularly Navy corpsmen, share with Marines.

“When we serve with the Marines and the Marines are with us, it’s a relationship that you can find nowhere else,” said Cullison. “The acceptance between these two groups is like no other. The responsibility that we put on our young corpsmen in battle to perform and to save lives is incredible.”

Clarifying that point, Cullison compared the controlled environment that he and other surgeons work in with the help of many others.

“Young corpsmen who go to Field Medical Service School - usually straight out of high school - perform to save lives in combat, just as Petty Officer Rubio did, and they are amazing!” he said.

Representing the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division, Marine Maj. Gen. R. F. Natonski and Command Master Chief Kelvin Carter hand-carried the award to Texas from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and assisted Cullison with the presentation. He also brought a personal message with him for Rubio.

“I talked to all the Marines and sailors in Iraq before I left, and those back in Camp Pendleton, and they want me to tell you, ‘good job, and outstanding job!’ They are damned proud of you," he said. "Please continue what you have done for our great nation, the Marine Corps and Navy team, and also for the hospital corps community.”

Rubio had already earned the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the Jan. 1, 2005, engagement while serving with 4th Platoon, Small Craft Company, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, U.S. Marine Forces Central Command.

Josh Glover

2007-09-11T23:30:00.000-07:00

MARINE BARRACKS WASHINGTON, Washington D.C.(Oct. 28, 2005) -- The annals of Marine Corps history are filled with stories of men and women who have sacrificed their all in service to their country. Puller, Basilone, Lejeune, Butler, Daley—names that are synonymous with valor in combat and Marine Corps lore.

"There is a fellowship of valor that links all U.S. Marines, past, present, and future," said Joseph Alexander, retired Marine Colonel in his book The Battle History of the U.S. Marines: A Fellowship of Valor.

Now, another story of valor can be added to the Marine history books and for one Marine officer assigned to the Corps' "Oldest Post," that story is one of modesty and simply taking care of his Marines.

Dallas native, Capt Joshua L. Glover was presented the nation's third highest award for valor in combat—the Silver Star medal.

Glover, a 2001 United States Naval Academy graduate, received his award during a chilly early morning ceremony held aboard the Post Oct 28, 2005 from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Michael W. Hagee.

The 26-year-old received the award for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy while serving as 81mm Mortar Platoon Commander with Weapons Company and Quick Reaction Force Platoon Commander, 1st Marine Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on April 13, 2004 in Al Fallujah.

When asked about the award, Glover humbly diverts attention away from himself.

"I received this award because of something we did as a platoon, and I am really proud of what we accomplished that day," he said.

Occurring during the second of his three deployments to Iraq, Glover led and directed his platoon through enemy lines to recover classified material from a downed CH-53 helicopter. The platoon was attacked by Iraqi forces employing machinegun, small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Glover skillfully maneuvered his force and assaulted through the ambush to friendly lines, inflicting numerous enemy casualties.

After successfully completing the mission, Glover was ordered that same evening to recover a destroyed Assault Amphibious Vehicle and assist in the rescue of a besieged rifle platoon deep behind enemy lines. Glover and his Marines found themselves up against a company-sized Iraqi force along the enemy's main line of resistance where as stated in Glover’s Silver Star citation, "...he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire as he engaged enemy targets at point-blank range while directing the rifle platoon's relief and coordinating recovery operations."

Glover attributes the battle as a success because of the hard work of the Marines in his charge, and his common sense approach to leadership.

"When you train Marines you have to get them to focus on the basics. In a chaotic situation such as combat, the basics will get them through," said Glover.

According to Glover, it's more than just training that makes a platoon of Marines successful in combat. Strong leadership in your Non-Commissioned Officers is vital. In order to be successful, with the dispersion between elements in today's combat environments, your NCOs have to be equipped and empowered to make decisions, he said.

And through something very challenging, Glover has earned a new outlook on his life.

"I have learned to appreciate what we have here in the U.S., both the general safety we enjoy and the quality of our lives," said Glover.

And while the battle for which Glover was awarded was a success, he feels the enormity of the price that was paid.

"I lost a Marine that day, as did another unit in the battalion. We can not separate [the victory from the loss], and I think we need to do our best to make them and their families proud," he said.

For those Marines who have been called upon to defend freedom in far off lands, sacrifice is the common thread that binds them together. The desire to join their brethren in combat keeps them ready to go. And, at the Corps' "Oldest Post," another story can be added to the history books—-one of sacrifice, humility and valor.

Source: http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...E?opendocument

Joe Dan "Doc" Worley

2007-09-11T23:23:00.000-07:00

On September 17, 2004, while on patrol with Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, in Fallujah, Iraq, an IED exploded into a humvee killing a Marine and an Iraqi Interpreter. Not even 10 days prior, his former platoon had seven Marines killed in action when a vehicle borne IED drove into their patrol. The attrition from the blast was so severe that the platoon, known as Pale Rider Three, would be disbanded and the surviving Marines sent to other platoons in Fox Company.

Immediately reacting to the explosion, Doc Worley went into automatic pilot. No one needed to explain to this Corpsman the importance of his job after an enemy attack. Worley grabbed his aid bag and took off toward the thick smoke, preparing himself for the worst-case scenario of this close quarters explosion.

As Worley sprinted across a bridge, a secondary IED exploded only a few feet away from him, ripping off his left leg instantly. Experiencing mind-numbing pain throughout his entire body, Worley began to assess his own condition, something he had done countless times for others. He put himself through the life saving aid procedures as he had so many other times to others, when there were too many injured for one Corpsman to handle. Worley applied a tourniquet just above his own left knee, an extremely painful procedure that was vital in saving his own life.

Focusing on getting to his injured Marines who lay ahead of him, Worley refused to succumb to the overwhelming odds that were presented to him with little cover and in excruciating pain. As enemy AK-47 rounds impacted all around his position, he attempted to crawl forward toward the vehicle when again his movement was stopped, this time by the sharp twinge of five 7.62mm rounds tearing into his right leg.

What makes men like Doc Worley perform acts of uncommon valor is a steadfast dedication for the mission and undying selfless dedication to his comrades.

Having every reason to make his way to safety, Worley opted to continue his movement forward toward other wounded Marines to help them.

When his Marines were able to achieve fire superiority and control the battle space around the vehicle, and extract the injured, Worley continued to give first aid instruction in attempts to treat his buddies who were gravely wounded.

Doc Worley recently returned home to Paulding County, Georgia, after 19 months of surgeries and rehabilitation at Bethesda and Walter Reed Hospitals. Doc Worley is a passionate and articulate supporter of the mission today in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is a founding member of Vets for Freedom and is currently medically retired from the Navy. For his brave actions, he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for Valor.

Read more about Doc Worley's story here on CBS News

JC Matteson

2007-09-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

(James Matteson, father of fallen hero JC Matteson, is a proud member of Vets for Freedom)

Staff Sergeant James “JC” Matteson
United States Army
2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry “Ramrods”3
rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division “Big Red One”

Before becoming a scout in the Army’s famed First Infantry Division, known widely as “The Big Red One”, JC Matteson grew accustomed to standing apart from his peers. A gifted athlete attending South Western high school outside of his hometown of Celorn, New York, Matteson was a star football player, but more notably known for his gregarious personality, steadfast loyalty and infectious sense of humor. While joining Task Force 2-2 Infantry out of Vilseck, Germany, Matteson became part of a second family of scouts, tankers and infantrymen that all grew close together through two consecutive foreign deployments in less than 24 months. His 2-2 Infantry spent nine months in Kosovo as they readied for their year long deployment to Iraq’s Diyala province in the winter of 2004.

Preparing themselves for the massive takedown of the Zarqawi held fortress that the city of Al Fallujah had become in November of 2004, SSG JC Matteson, the son of former Army tanker and Vets for Freedom member, James Matteson, would be the tip of the spear of the Army’s ever growing responsibilities in the assault.

Minutes into the fighting, SSG Matteson was only meters away when his TF 2-2 IN lost its Command Sergeant Major Steven Faulkenberg to an enemy sniper. As a gunner for his platoon sergeants humvee, SSG Matteson had volunteered to maintain this duty as to allow others to take advantage of their two week Rest and Relaxation leave.

On the night of November 11, 2004 three of his scouts entered, in an attempt to clear, an insurgent occupied structure at OBJ Lion. All three scouts were shot immediately upon entering the barricaded structure. Without hesitation, SSG Matteson tossed a smoke grenade allowing concealment as he personally helped ensure the scouts were evacuated for treatment. In the melee and only feet away, he exchanged gunfire and his continuous area suppression allowed needed time for his peers to establish a deliberate counter attack on the structure, ultimately ending with the building’s collapse and all insurgents inside pacified.

SSG Matteson had ample time to get down from his turret and allow the Bradley Fighting Vehicles and M1A2 Abram tanks to take the lead in the fight to repel the ambush. Soldiering as he did the day previous, SSG Matteson stood firm and returned fire under withering enemy machine gun suppression. His weapon system was heard firing accurately and consistently, until a lone rocket launched from close quarters took this young American patriots life. Many on the ground confirmed that SSG Matteson engaged the insurgent before and after the RPG was launched, further demonstrating this NCO’s dedication and passion for his scouts and comrades. The courage demonstrated that early morning on November 12, 2004 earned SSG Matteson a nomination for the Silver Star, a Bronze Star and a purple heart for outstanding valor in the face of imminent danger.

Recently in his hometown of Celorn, New York, his father James Matteson took his own money to construct a memorial in the small villages’s Memorial park. A fight ensued that would later prove to show how partisan politics can attempt to tarnish the legacy of a true hero. Against the wishes of the citizens of Celoron and all who knew him, the town’s leadership decided that they would rather pay tribute to Celoron’s famous daughter Lucille Ball, rather than allow Mr. Matteson to honor his hero son. Over a period of six agonizing months, backpedaling under petty excuses while causing unnecessary pain to JC’s family and friends, the town refused to allow a war memorial to be constructed in the memory of JC Matteson. Instead, they worked feverishly to use the grounds of the Memorial park to begin construction of a bandstand in the memory of Desi Arnez the late husband of the comedian Lucille Ball.

Finally finding a home in neighboring Jamestown, New York, Mr. Matteson has not only shared his son’s memorial with his community, but has also paid tribute to other Task Force 2-2 soldiers killed in action in Iraq as well as using his son’s memorial to honor other fallen veterans from Celoron who died in previous wars.

Mr. James Matteson is member and supporter of Vets For Freedom. We honor his commitment to our troops and the memory of his son, SSG JC Matteson.

I had several friends in 2-2. It was never my honor to meet JC. But I knew, in passing, CSM Faulkenberg. His death is a loss to all that knew him. Duty First!

Cpl. Carlos Gomez-Perez

2007-09-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

Second Battalion, First Marine Regiment (2/1), First Marine Divison

Echo Company: WARHAMMER

(From MICHAEL CORONADO of The Orange County Register)

CAMP PENDLETON Ca – The armor-piercing round ripped through the right shoulder of then-Lance Cpl. Carlos Gomez-Perez, leaving a fist-sized hole.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but the stocky, young Marine felt no pain during the April 2004 firefight.

One floor below him, as Iraqi insurgents fired relentlessly, Gomez-Perez could hear his fellow Marines shouting.

The El Cajon resident propped up his M-16 and pulled the trigger despite his bloodied chest, his thick, wide frame keeping his shoulder intact. He lobbed a grenade with his good arm.
Beside him, Marine Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin, 21, wounded by gunfire, was losing his fight for life. Below him, the shouting continued.

"All I heard was screaming and screaming," Gomez-Perez said.

Gomez-Perez decided he would die before he would be taken prisoner and made a bold move to lead his fellow Marines, several wounded, against their attackers.

His actions that day would earn him the Silver Star for heroism in battle, awarded at a ceremony Wednesday.

Gomez-Perez was challenged in life at an early age.

When he was 9, he ran across the I-805 Freeway in San Diego County with his mother and two sisters in tow, crossing illegally into the country – a journey that started in Mexico City. By 12 he started working to earn money for the family.

His mother, Blanca Gomez, a custodian, said that on their journey north the family waded across a channel filled with water using plastic trash bags to stay dry.

"That was a very sad day because we were uncertain of what would happen," she said.

That was 15 years ago.

On Wednesday, Gomez watched a formation of Marines pay honor to her son, a fire team leader for Company E with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and listened to a general describe how a country is thankful for her boy.

"We have a true hero here," Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski told Blanca Gomez – now a legal resident – and the rest of his family. Gomez-Perez became a U.S. citizen in 2004.

Now, discharged from the Marines, he says his shoulder still hurts and finding work is difficult.

At the ceremony Wednesday at the seaside base, Gomez-Perez wore a Texas flag in his coat pocket, a tribute to Austin, who died that day from his wounds despite being revived twice, Gomez-Perez said.

"It runs through my head every day," said Gomez-Perez, who is indifferent about receiving the award. "I really don't know what it means."

Instead, he remembers the day, the fighting, the wounded and his actions.

"What could I have done differently?" he said he asks himself. "Austin - he's the one who died because I couldn't save him."

Chris Neidziocha

2007-09-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

FORWARD OPERATING BASE RIPLEY, Afghanistan (June 4, 2004 ) -- When the lead elements of a large 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) and Afghan Militia Force (AMF) convoy recently entered a village in central Afghanistan, nothing seemed out of place and it looked as if another quiet day would soon draw to a close.

However, in a flash, all that changed when the specter of Taliban insurgency reared its ugly head.

As four machine gun and anti-tank missile-toting Humvees of Battalion Landing Team 1st Bn., 6th Marines' Combined Anti-Armor Team pushed through the village and spread out to assume blocking positions on its far side, the lead vehicle noticed three Afghan men attempting to nonchalantly walk out of the village and into the surrounding mountains.

"I saw them walking away from the village and up a hill," said 1st Lt. Chris Niedziocha, who hails from Montgomery County, Penn. and serves as the CAAT platoon leader. "We immediately went after them and when we got closer they started running.

"Meanwhile, the other three CAAT vehicles had been converging on Niedziocha's position, fighting through the difficult terrain and confusing village layout to reach their platoon leader.

As Niedziocha's vehicle (dubbed Light Horse 1-1) pulled up to a stop behind the three men, Niedziocha and his driver, Lance Cpl. Ray Colvin, got out to order them to stop when one of the three stopped, turned, drew a Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle from under his clothes and opened fire on the Marines. The vehicle's gunner, Cpl. Curtis Spivey, of Vidalia, Georgia, was the first to respond to the threat.

"Spivey let go a few bursts with the 240 [M240G machine gun mounted atop the Humvee] and all three of the bad guys jumped into a trench and began firing on us," Niedziocha said.

In a span of only a few minutes, Niedziocha and his crew had accomplished the first two edicts of their battalion commander's instructions to 'find, fix, and finish' the enemy and set out to accomplish the third as well. Carrying their M16A2 assault rifles and with grenades bulging in their pockets, Niedziocha and Colvin began pushing forward while Spivey jumped from the vehicle and grabbed the rifle from CAAT's forward air controller, Capt. James 'Big Jim' McBride who was busy radioing for air support.

"Beaver [Capt. James Hunt] was controlling some helos for Charlie Company so when we broadcast that we were in contact, they switched over to support us," said McBride, an EA-6B Prowler crewman from Butte, Montana. McBride and his radioman, Lance Cpl. Jason Heighland, of Eaton Rapids, Mich. stayed on the vehicle to provide security as their comrades advanced.

The helicopters weren't the only ones to hear the announcement of troops in contact. Driving Light Horse 1-6, Sgt. Dan Trackwell, a machine gunner from Klamath Falls, Oregon was already speeding toward Niedziocha's and the call spurred him on. Sitting beside Trackwell was his assistant driver, Cpl. Nicholas Marrone of Saranac, New York, and riding on top was his MK-19 heavy machine gunner, Lance Cpl. Jonathan Freeze of Naples, Florida.

"As soon as I heard them say 'contact' all bets were off," said Trackwell, who 'stood' on the gas pedal and plowed over the rough, uneven terrain as the sound of firing began to fill the air.

On the hill, Niedziocha, Colvin, and Spivey moved forward firing their weapons as the enemy fighters would pop up, fire a few rounds, and then move right or left inside the trench to repeat the process. When Spivey ran out of ammunition in McBride's rifle, he tossed it aside, pulled his 9mm pistol, and began tossing hand grenades into the trench, as did Niedziocha. Colvin, carrying a M203 40mm grenade launcher underneath his M16A2, began accurately lobbing rounds into the trench as well.

"When one of the grenades went off," Niedziocha explained, "all I saw was turban and equipment flying, so I knew we had gotten at least one of them."

By the time the grenades starting flying, Light Horse 1-1 had pulled up and Trackwell and another Marine began moving forward and firing at the enemy while Marrone and Freeze stayed on the vehicle. Manning the 40mm 'up gun,' Freeze opened fire on Trackwell's command and lobbed 25 40mm grenades onto the hillside directly over the trench where the Taliban had taken refuge.

At almost this same instant, spotting the yellow smoke billowing from the signal grenade tossed by McBride, one of the UH-1N Huey helicopters overhead banked sharply and the door gunner, Cpl. Samair Alyassini of San Jose, Calif., let loose a sustained burst of around 100 7.62mm rounds into the trench.

Between the barrage of grenades, and rifle and machine gun from both the air and ground, the enemy fire ceased as all three Taliban fighters died where they chose to make their last stand.

"That was the closest fighting we've seen," said Colvin after the brief, yet intense firefight. "Usually we use our weapons to create a stand-off, but we weren't more than five or ten meters from these guys."

"It was the hottest fight yet," reflected Niedziocha, who had led his platoon through at least eight sharp engagements last month.

A thorough search of the slain enemy fighters revealed, in addition to their personal weapons, a wide array of explosives and bomb-making materials that are commonly used in constructed improvised explosive devices.

Discussing the wide range of armament and fighters brought to bear in the fight, Freeze summed up their collective feelings.

"It doesn't matter who got them, just that they aren't around to hurt us or anyone else ever again."

In addition to BLT 1/6 and HMM-266 (Rein), the 22nd MEU (SOC) consists of its Command Element and MEU Service Support Group 22. The MEU is in Afghanistan conducting combat and civil military operations as Task Force Linebacker.

For more information on the 22d MEU (SOC)'s role in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, visit the unit's web site at www.22meu.usmc.mil.

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/863AE5855BA4173B85256EC700550361?opendocument

1SG Brad Kasal

2007-09-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

From Tony Perry, LA Times
CAMP PENDLETON — It has become one of the iconic pictures of the war in Iraq: blood-soaked Marine 1st Sgt. Brad Kasal, grim-faced and still clutching his service pistol, being helped from a firefight by two younger Marines.

Although wounded by seven AK-47 rounds and hit by more than 40 pieces of hot shrapnel from a grenade, Kasal refused to quit fighting and is credited with saving the lives of several Marines during the U.S. assault on insurgent strongholds in Fallouja in November 2004.

"He was hurt bad, but for the most part, he was more worried about his Marines than himself," said then-Cpl. R.J. Mitchell, one of the Marines involved in the firefight in a two-story stucco house.

Kasal has undergone 21 surgeries and months of painful rehabilitation to repair his injuries and attempt to save his right leg.

Today, the 39-year-old Iowa native will be promoted to sergeant major, the highest enlisted rank in the Marine Corps, and receive the Navy Cross for combat bravery, second only to the Medal of Honor. Only nine others have received the Navy Cross for service in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Maj. Gen. Richard Natonski, commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, said Kasal "set an example for future generations of combat leaders to emulate."

The picture, taken by Lucian Read, a photographer for World Picture News who was embedded with the Marines, has been widely reprinted. It was used on the back cover of "No True Glory," an account of the fight for Fallouja by Bing West, the premier historian of Marines in combat in Iraq.

Kasal, in his second tour in Iraq, was with the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, during the assault. At the height of the fighting Nov. 13, Marines were going door to door. Insurgents were often waiting upstairs to rain down AK-47 fire and grenades.

When Kasal learned that three Marines were pinned down in one house, he and other Marines went to their aid.

Once inside the house, Kasal barked orders to younger Marines to cover vantage spots where insurgents might be hiding. He turned into one room and immediately ran into an insurgent who cried out in Arabic. The two exchanged gunfire; the insurgent missed and Kasal killed him.

Other insurgents fired at the Marines from upstairs, hitting Kasal and others. Kasal fought his way to a wounded Marine and used a tourniquet on his leg to keep him from bleeding to death. When he spotted an insurgent's grenade, he sheltered the wounded Marine with his body to protect him from the blast.

Kasal refused medical attention until other Marines were helped and made sure Marines in the street knew there were Marines inside so none would be hit by so-called friendly fire.

"Although severely wounded himself, he shouted encouragement to his fellow Marines," the Navy Cross citation states. By the time he was evacuated, Kasal had lost about 60% of his blood and was barely conscious.

Marines who knew Kasal before the fight were not surprised at his actions. "He led by example — always," said Mitchell, 26, who was wounded for the fourth time during the fight and is now medically retired from the Marine Corps and studying to be a motorcycle mechanic in Phoenix.

Kasal said the picture and the acclaim it has brought him should not overshadow the actions of other Marines in the same fight. "That house was full of heroes," he said.

Doctors initially told Kasal that his right leg below the knee was so badly mangled it might not be saved, and that subjecting himself to surgeries and rehabilitation could prove futile. Four inches of bone had been shot away.

Kasal opted against amputation, knowing that it would mean the end of his career in the Marines. "I decided to gut it out and work through the pain," he said. "I wanted to do whatever was needed to keep it going."

Six days a week, he does two to four hours of rehabilitation. Recently, the onetime high school wrestler and football player was able to run for the first time since Fallouja. "It wasn't pretty, but I was able to do it," he said.

Kasal, who is single, has been assigned to a recruiting station in Des Moines. He did three years as a recruiter in the 1990s in Minnesota, the only stretch in his 21 years in the Marine Corps in which he has not been assigned to an infantry company.

His goal is to get strong enough to return to the infantry and go back to Iraq. "We started it; we need to finish it," he said. "I believe in what we're doing. I'd go back in a heartbeat."

Brian Chontosh

2007-09-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

What is more outrageous than what Capt Brian Chontosh did on March 25, 2003 on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah while a platoon commander with the Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, is that some of you are hearing about this here for the first time.

At any other time in our nation’s brilliant military history, Brian Chontosh would not be serving in anonymity somewhere in a state side duty position. Rather he would be telling his story and selling war bonds, while Hollywood executives fought over the honor of telling his story. Some may have recognized Captain Chontosh from Greg Palkot’s feature story on Fox News’ coverage of the November 2004 battle of Fallujah. There Chontosh prowled the deadly streets with his rifle company, crushing the terrorists who had –until then- laid siege to the city.

However, Chontosh’s first battlefield heroics occurred in his first deployment to Iraq during the invasion and liberation of the country. On March 25, 2003, then First Lieutenant Chontosh, recognized his unit was caught in a “kill zone” on Highway One leading to Ad Diwaniyah in the initial campaign to Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After punching his vehicle through a breech, he was immediately taken under withering machine gun fire from a crew served weapon in a trench. Chontosh plowed toward the machine gunner, trusting his .50 caliber gunner to silence the enemy, which was done almost immediately.

Chontosh then dismounted his vehicle and armed with only his M16A2 and a M9 pistol began to systematically clear the trench that his vehicle was now inside. With a complete disregard for his own personal safety, Chontosh twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack.

When one of his Marines following behind found an RPG, Chontosh decided to personally use it to destroy another unlucky clump of enemy soldiers thinking they could overpower the brazen Marine. Essentially any Saddam loyalist in the way of Brian Chontosh that day was extremely unlucky.

When his dedicated and bold personal attack had ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench and lying behind him and at his feet were the remains of over 20 enemy fighters. For these actions, Brian Chontosh was awarded the second highest award given for combat valor, The Navy Cross.

...

2007-09-11T22:36:00.000-07:00

Some Things I Learned A Long Time Ago ...

2007-08-25T00:22:00.000-07:00

Over the years, it has been my privilege to learn certain things about human nature.

The thing I am about to describe is something I learned in my mid-20's. I identified with this truth, initially, because, in hindsight, I saw it in myself. Everything I have experienced since then has confirmed it. Both in my behavior, and in the behavior of others.

Recently, thanks to several different things happening around me, I have been reminded of these truths.

What is this deep understanding of humankind that I am going on about?

First, there is a "time lag" between something happening, and a cognitive, or reasoned, response to it. In that interval, instinct, genetics, training, etc. ... in other words, the subconscious, responds first to cover this "time lag".

Secondly, it has to do with "inner truth", or "self-image", and accusations or "name-calling".

Think back for a moment to any ... every ... time that you have been accused of being something, or doing something negative. Let's broaden the "search parameters" ... any time you have witnessed someone else accused of being/doing something negative. Think about the reactions that have taken place, whether in your own head and heart, or you have seen in others during the "time lag" that I have described.

I have learned that there are two basic human reactions to this type of incident:
a) anger
b) humor ... sometimes, even, laughter

The "anger" response occurs when one is confronted with an accusation that somehow is part of your "subconscious" "self-image".

What does that mean?

On some level, you believe that the accusation being made is true. It might be an incorrect notion held in the deepest, darkest recesses of your soul. Something that your subconscious hopes is not true, but holds the fear that it might ... but, it is still there. On the other hand, it might be something that, even in your conscious mind, you know without a doubt to be true. ... and anywhere in between ... but you hoped others would not find out about.

The "humor" response is the opposite.

Whatever you are being accused of is in no way, shape or form, part of who you think you are, no matter how deep your head or heart digs. So, the only reasonable emotional response is humor.

Let me cite some instances from my life:

In 2001, I was tasked to attend a 2 week school about Equal Employment Opportunity. It covered a wide range of things. Most of these were tied up around the concept of discrimination. We, also, were taught, in terms of Federal Law, the Big Five: national origin, skin color, gender, religion, ethnic identity. These are the things it is illegal to discriminate against.

So, given what I have just said, is all "discrimination" illegal ... or even "bad"?

Save that answer for a moment. Can you tell the difference between a pencil and a pen? Do you choose one or the other writing implement for whatever reason in different circumstances?

If you answered "yes" to either or both of those questions, then, by definition, you discriminate. So, are you "bad" or a criminal for doing so? ... No. You are capable of "Sesame Street" ... you know ... "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong ..."

On the other hand, during this course, an instructor, an African-American, as part of an exercise, got in my face and called me "cracker", "racist", and "bigot".

I laughed. No, that's not true, ... I guffawed in his face like he was the best stand-up comic I had ever heard, before I had a chance to think about what I was doing. I had interrupted his monologue. While I was laughing in his face, he asked me, "How does that make you feel?"

He didn't know what to do. He got out of my face and looked at me like I was a space alien. He just stood there.

My only answer was, "Sergeant (he outranked me), I know that none of those things are true."

He was stumped. Here I was, sitting in his class, fulfilling all the prerequisites for being the most blatant redneck present ... and when accused of it, I laughed. I couldn't help it.

He had to make his point elsewhere.

As for the "anger" point ... do I really have to make it? Or do you think you have that one figured out?

A Different Kind of Post

2007-08-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

Lately, all of my posts have been fairly serious. I've decided to post something a bit lighter in nature.

Teriyaki restaurants are pretty popular around here. Most are "mom and pop" establishments. They tend to have names that, obviously, are literal, "word for word" translations of oriental names. (In the phrase, the best possible English word is substituted for an oriental word. ... The downside is that sometimes the meaning of the phrase is obscured by the choice of words.)

Let me illustrate what I mean: Asahi beer is, to the Japanese, what Bud or Miller Genuine Draft is to our culture. In the early '90s, I had found a restaurant in El Paso, TX that had fairly close ties to Japan. The labels on their Asahi were some of the first types exported to the US. The slogan under the trademark symbol was, according to the hostess, a literal, "word for word" translation. The slogan was: "Real beer for live people". Which, of course, knowing me, launched an entire discourse that started with the question: "Does this mean that there is fake beer for dead people?"

So, back to my recent past, here in the Pacific Northwest: My nephew, Brandon, has spent a considerable amount of time with my wife and I, recently. While driving around, looking at the places we see, several conversations have been sparked by the names of the local Teriyaki restaurants. The one that sparked the most conversation was called: "Happy Teriyaki". Given my experience with Asahi beer, you can imagine what path those conversations took. ("Does this mean there is a 'Sad Teriyaki' nearby?" ... "How about a 'So-so Teriyaki'?" ... etc.)

This all led to me sharing some observations I made while I was stationed at Fort Sill, OK, right outside of Lawton, OK. ...

Lawton and Fort Sill, both, have obvious feral cat populations. So much so that I was part of a conversation with the Garrison Commander of Fort Sill (the guy that is in charge of the administration of the post ... everything from building maintenance, to running the museums, to trash pickup, etc.) about how most of his hours at work, at the time, were spent dealing with problems caused by the large feral cat population on post.

Lawton, also, has several all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets. There was one that was the largest (in terms of food selection), the best (in terms of food quality), and the best price. We ate there on a regular basis. It was nice.

It was interesting, though. There were large, open fields near the restaurant, and a couple of housing subdivisions. I never noticed any feral cats in the fields. AND, when I asked people that I knew that lived there, I found that the area around the restaurant did not seem to suffer from the feral cat infestation that most of the rest of the Lawton/Fort Sill area suffered.

About this same time, I noticed that what were labeled "Chicken Wings" on the buffet seemed awful small for normal chickens.

I'm not saying ... well, anything, ... However, you put 2 and 2 together often enough, and even the dumbest redneck will, eventually, get 4.

So, after relating this to my nephew, he started the entire "feral cat" discussion EVERY time we drove by a Chinese buffet. This went on ... and on ... (and on, and on ... you get the idea).

Then, we drove by a place called "Toto Teriyaki".

(There's no place like home. ... There's no place like home. ...)

Saudi religious police face backlash

2007-07-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Okay.

The Saudis are the supposed "moderates". The reasonable Islamists in the region. Our allies in envisioning a brighter, new, and modern day in the region.

In our society, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and the "Religious Right" are seen as equivalents of these people.

Look at the most extreme things that the "Religious Right" in our country has been accused of wanting to bring about, and compare it to what the Saudi government has done ... FOR THE LAST 60 YEARS!

The Saudis ... the "moderate" Islamic government ... acts out daily things that only White supremacist groups want to do in our country.

These guys are our "friends". They scare the crap out of me. Given power in our nation, they would enact daily atrocities that make the behavior of the Gestapo and the SS look like a day at Six Flags.

Who would they go after first?

The "borders" of our society. On one end of the spectrum: the gays, the lesbians, the musicians, the artists, the filmmakers, the writers ... anyone who attempts to expand the bounds of what is acceptable to see, hear, watch, think about and discuss. On the other: the rabbis, the priests, the preachers, the pastors, the lay-leaders ... anyone who advocates any religious or moral code that is not Islam.

Quickly, and inexorably working their way to the center of our society ... until secret police can snatch women off the street because their dress allowed so much as their eyes to be uncovered.

"When questioned, the commission members claimed we were indecently covered," because her daughter's veil didn't cover her eyes, she said.

HHHhhhmmmmm ....

So, working in, going to, ... etc. a Hooters would be a capital crime.

Imagine if the "Religion of Peace" makes some, as we consider them today, average American say, "Give me Hot Wings, or Give Me Death!"

Patrick Leahy ready to fight White House

2007-07-01T21:30:00.000-07:00

This is insane.

The quote from this bit of tripe that has got me going is:

At issue is whether the White House exerted undue political influence in the Justice Department's firing of prosecutors. Leahy's hardening stance is pushing the Democratic-led investigation ever closer to a constitutional showdown over executive power and Congress' right to oversight.

Okay, for starters, the Justice Department, like the Department of Defense, for instance, is part of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. It is one of the Cabinet-level agencies. Meaning, the Department is headed by a person selected by the President, and, according to the Constitution, answers to the President. So, the Attorney General, and the various Cabinet Secretaries head major departments of the Federal Government. They are selected by the President. After selection, the Senate has to approve the selection. After approval by the Senate, those people work directly for the President. Certain key officials in each Department are, by law, hired and fired by the President. It is his Constitutional duty to do so. Congress only has the duty to approve the selections. They have, under the Constitution, no power whatsoever to be involved in the selection process that the President uses to select the persons hired, and, also, no input whatsoever on who is fired, and why. This is part of the Separation of Powers delineated by the Constitution.

Keep in mind that the Constitution is the highest law in the land. Congress, except when they follow the procedures in the Constitution to amend the Constitution, cannot pass a law that supersedes the Constitution. In the case of the people that I have described above, no such amendment to the Constitution has been passed. In fact, no such amendment has been suggested.

Cabinet secretaries, Chiefs of Staff of the various military services, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, US attorneys, and various other high government officials are said to "serve at the pleasure of the President". That is, in fact, the legal term for it.

So, to make a long story short, (too late) it is, in fact, impossible for the White House to "exert undue political influence" in the hiring and firing of these officials. Because, it is the Constitutional duty of the President to hire and fire these people. An integral part of the job description of the President.

This is a load of organic fertilizer. If, let's say, that Clinton was still in office, and the Republicans in Congress were assaulting the Constitutional duties of the Presidency in such a way, every Democrat in Congress would be on EVERY news show possible screaming their heads off about the un-Constitutionality of Republican behavior. However, since it is Bush versus a Democratic Congress, not a peep of protest is being heard anywhere in the mainstream media about it. They are just swallowing the Democrat Party's talking points hook line and sinker.

It wouldn't be so bad, but, the Republican party, once upon a time, attempted to impeach a Democrat President for very similar reasons, and failed.

It's ironic. ... or just pathetic, I'm not sure.

What can you expect? Remember your US history, and keep in mind that this is the same political party that brought about such successful ventures as:
1) Secession
2) The firing on Fort Sumter (and, thus, the start of a Civil War they were to lose)
3) Jim Crow laws

Democrat Clinton want talks with Iran

2007-06-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

The linked, Reuters article cites:

Democratic presidential contenders Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday the United States should keep talking to Iran as part of an international diplomatic effort to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

...

In a separate speech, Clinton said the Bush administration, which has had minimal direct dealings with Iran, seems reluctant to continue engaging Tehran. She faulted the administration for giving Iran "six years of the silent treatment."

"I think we should keep talking," the New York senator said at the Center for a New American Security, a new think tank.

That's understandable, given the behavior of EVERY administration since the beginning of the Iran Hostage Crisis on November 4, 1979. Iran has been one of our best allies since then!

WAIT A SECOND!

I forgot a second that this is the reality where the Earth revolves around the sun. (see the following post)

In THIS reality, NO administration since the beginning of the Iran Hostage Crisis has had direct contact with the government of Iran.

President Carter (Democrat) broke off all direct diplomatic relations with Iran at the start of the crisis.

President-elect Reagan, supposedly, had indirect contact with their government. Basically, according to the rumor mill, he told them that he would nuke every square inch of their country until it glowed in the dark, unless they released the hostages.

They released them, shortly before his inauguration.

His administration, supposedly, had indirect contact with the Iranians during the Iran-Contra fiasco.

President Bush, the first one, had no contact with them.

President Clinton had no contact with them. (We'll come back to that.)

President Bush, for the first time in almost 28 YEARS!, had direct diplomatic contact with the government of Iran about Iraq and Afghanistan, earlier this year.

---

Now, think back, if you will, to President Bill Clinton's two campaigns, and how his wife and marriage were touted. The campaign said they were "equal partners". They said this enough, and after the actions of the Clinton administration on health care, pundits on the right started referring to Senator Clinton as "co-President".

Now, if Hillary was Bill's "equal partner" or "co-President", why is she giving the current Bush administration for "six years of the silent treatment."?

Is she, somehow, implying that the EIGHT years of the silent treatment that her husband's administration gave the same country was better? Or would be better in this instance?

House passes bill affirming global warming exists

2007-06-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

It's now official. Global warming is a reality.

Do you know how I know?

The US House of Representatives said so in a bill they passed 272-155. That august body of qualified scientific experts in the subject have made it official by a majority vote. (The last sentence would be a sarcastic remark, for those of you that don't know.)

It reminds me of something I read once.

Do any of you remember the name Galileo?

He was put on trial by the Catholic church because he was heretical enough to proclaim that the Earth revolved around the sun, instead of the entire universe revolving around the Earth.

The church's justification?

Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and 1 Chronicles 16:30 state that "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved." Psalm 104:5 says, "the Lord set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." Ecclesiastes 1:5 states that "the sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises." - from the Wikipedia article on the trial.

A majority of theologians, at the time, found the view to be heretical, and false. Therefore, they banned further research into the idea, under threat of excommunication. Galileo was let off with a light sentence, considering it was the Inquisition he faced. He, just, received house arrest FOR LIFE!

It took 300 years for science to prove to the satisfaction of the Catholic Church that Galileo was, indeed, correct.

Let's look at a few facts closely:

1) Galileo, based on the research of Copernicus, and his own observations, came to the conclusion that the Earth revolved around the sun in 1610.

2) The Catholic Church decided, because he could not provide irrefutable evidence of his theory as fact, that he was completely wrong, by a majority of leading theologians ... not scientist in 1633.

3) In 1992, Pope John Paul II vindicated Galileo, after his theories had been satisfactorily proved to be fact to a majority of Catholic theologians.

The questions are:

Was Galileo any less right in 1610 than he was in 1992?

Was there some incredible shift in the way the universe operates in those 300 years?

How many majority votes of unqualified, unknowledgeble bureaucrats does it take to make a treasured, unproven idea truth?