2006 Draws to a Close

I noticed something unusual as I looked out my window yesterday afternoon around 1430 hrs or so. Southbound traffic on US 70 (towards Roswell: technically westbound, as US 70 is an east-west numbered highway even though it runs north-south in this neck of the woods) was stopped dead. Not moving, not even at a crawl. And there didn’t appear to be much, if any, northbound traffic. I assumed there must have been an accident, and it must have been one helluva accident, at that, because traffic still hadn’t moved an inch an hour and a half later. Further investigation reveals the following (from the Portales News-Tribune):

Travel throughout eastern New Mexico slowed to a crawl Saturday as a major winter storm dropped snow across the region.

Numerous roads in Curry, DeBaca and Roosevelt counties were closed Friday and Saturday due to low visibility, drifting snow and accidents. The closures and treacherous road conditions jammed motels in Portales, Clovis and Fort Sumner as the storm continued into Saturday night.

U.S. 70 west of Portales was closed mid-afternoon Saturday and U.S. 60 from Clovis to Vaughn was closed as well. Accidents and slick conditions Friday night forced the closure of N.M. 206 south of Portales as well as N.M. 268 north of Melrose and N.M. 209 from Clovis to Tucumcari.

State police and state highway officials were unsure Saturday afternoon when roads might be reopened.

US 70 appears to be open this morning…traffic is moving, albeit slowly, and the 18-wheelers are trailing huge billowing clouds of blowing ice/snow. The parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express across the highway is full-up, doubtlessly fall-out from the closure of US 70 yesterday. It appears to be a holiday windfall for P-Town’s businesses.

I’m glad I don’t have to go out today. As I’ve mentioned before: the Green Hornet just hates snow and ice.

So…I continued reading about Saddam’s hanging most of the day yesterday, and there was a lot to be read, if one was so inclined. Josh Trevino, writing a guest post at Townhall.com (Trevino: Tears for the Devil) noticed the same thing I did: the Loony-Left fringe just can’t stop ranting and raving. And whereas I simply linked to one such rant, Trevino provided numerous quotes from the leading Lefty blogs to substantiate the point. Here are three quotes Trevino found in various dKos diaries:

· [P]lease tell me what f------ moral standing does the US (or any other country for that matter) have to go into another country and do what we just did to Saddam? The fact that it is the US - that "shining beacon of freedom" is even worse. What does that say? What message does that send? And who made us World Police anyway? This is a mockery of justice.

· Why would I write an obituary for Saddam Hussein? Because he was a human being. He did some horrible things while he was alive, but he was still human. By murdering him we have become no better than he was.

· The administration will, in due course, stand to account for a war crime committed in Iraq by executing the Iraqi dictator.

Trevino provides many more such examples; these are just a taste of the madness. “Mockery of justice.” “War crime.” We’re “no better than he was.” Sheesh. Do those people really believe this crap? I mean…really? I just have to laugh whenever I hear one of these people describe themselves as members of “the reality-based community.” I’m tempted to rant about the self-evident dangers of consuming too many illegal drugs here, but that can’t be the sole reason. YrHmblScrb consumed his fair share of those same drugs in the way-back and it doesn’t seem to have affected his sense of reality. Or maybe they did. Depends on your point of view (and the amount of said drugs taken), I suppose.

On the other hand, Scott Ott made me chuckle with this bit:

Woodward Releases Embargoed Chat with Saddam

(2006-12-30) — Reporter Bob Woodward said today he would soon allow his Washington Post editors to publish a secret interview he did in 2005 with former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in which the dictator questioned U.S. President George Bush’s rationale for invading Iraq.

Mr. Woodward, who recently permitted his employer to publish a similar covert interview with the late former President Gerald Ford, said Mr. Hussein agreed to the no-holds-barred chat on the condition that the transcript be embargoed until after he “retired from public life,” which he did earlier today.

“I have always thought that President Bush did the right thing when he ordered the invasion,” Mr. Hussein told the star reporter. “However, I never understood why he made WMD such a big deal. Those canisters are so easy to hide and ship, and the lab just looks like any other lab after we scrub it.”

An alternate reality, to be sure, but one that’s a helluva lot more plausible than that on display in the diaries at dKos.

I took time out from yesterday’s Insignificant Bowls to watch President Ford’s state funeral in real time. And I was impressed. While the Brits have the pomp and circumstance thing pretty well nailed (no one does it better), we Americans aren’t exactly slouches in this department. The rituals were executed with solemnity and precision, the backdrops of the US capitol were awe-inspiring, and the speeches were suitably impressive. Vice-President Cheney’s speech was particularly good. An excerpt:

Jerry Ford was always a striver -- never working an angle, just working. He was a believer in the saying that in life you make your own luck. That's how the Boy Scout became an Eagle Scout; and the football center, a college all-star; and the sailor in war, a lieutenant commander. That's how the student who waited tables and washed dishes earned a law degree, and how the young lawyer became a member of the United States Congress, class of 1948. The achievements added up all his life, yet he was known to boast only about one. I heard it once or twice myself -- he said he was never luckier than when he stepped out of Grace Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids with a beautiful girl named Betty as his bride.

The whole speech is worth a read, and is one of the best speeches I’ve seen the Veep deliver.

Betty Ford was a model of strength and composure, like Nancy Reagan before her. Where these women obtain their strength in such sad times remains a mystery to me. And an inspiration.

About those Insignificant Bowls…there was quite a bit of good football on display yesterday. Navy lost a heartbreaker to Boston College in the final three seconds of the game, Texas came back to beat Iowa (most of which I missed because I watched the funeral, instead), and in (arguably) the best of the three games, unranked Georgia mounted a second-half comeback win over Virginia Tech that was one for the books. I hope the Significant Bowls turn out to be as good.

Today’s Pic: A view of a valley on State Route 66 between the towns of Keno and Medford, Oregon. Kermie always held his breath (as well he should have) whenever I took pics like this one. Something about two-lane mountain roads and paying sufficient attention to the task at hand… May, 2000.

If you're going out this evening: Party-Hardy, but please...Be Safe.

Watch That First Step...It's a Doozy

I’ve spent the better part of the morning reading about Saddam’s final moments and commentary thereto. Hot Air has a comprehensive round-up of media comment, articles and witness reactions. Plus video of the SOB’s final moments, minus the actual drop.

It seems the Loony Fringe can’t look upon the act of rendering justice simply for what it is: justice. No, they absolutely must rant and rave. Bush Derangement Syndrome: the most debilitating psychological affliction of the 21^st century, bar none. Sometimes I feel sorry for these people, but most of the time I wish they’d just STFU. We received (and rejected) their message a long, long time ago.

Confederate Yankee takes the time to fisk the post I linked above. The fisking is well-done, to be sure, but dang, CY, was it worth the trouble you went to?

The Insignificant Bowls are just about over and the Real Deal begins Monday. The one Insignificant Bowl I’ve watched (so far) was a blow-out…Cal simply dominated the Aggies, to my chagrin. It looks like I missed a good game here, though. A record comeback, and all that. Dang!

I might watch Navy and BC today, just out of boredom lack of anything better to do…

Another milblogger will arrive on the scene shortly. SN2 e-mails me with a link to his nascent blog, which looks like it will be a good one. (Full-disclosure: I’m biased, of course.) I’ll give all y’all the link when he lets me know he’s “ready for prime time.”

Today’s Pic: That’s No Way to Treat a Lady! The Green Hornet and El Casa Móvil De Pennington, looking all forlorn and out of their elements. Or in the elements, as the case may be. There’s about three inches of snow on the ground and we’ve been having flurries all morning. It’s cold, too. I thought we had a deal, Laurie? Why haven’t you come and collected your miserable weather yet?

Today, about an hour ago.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow...

Add to shopping list: candles. I went to bed early last evening, so I got up early, too…0400 hrs, to be exact. I lit off the coffee and sat down to do a bit of early morning surfing. The coffee finished at 0410 or thereabouts. I poured the first cup and was checking out this site I’d seen advertised on the Tee Vee last evening and boom…out go the lights. At 0430 hrs. Dark. Really dark. I opened the southwest facing shades and the whole park is dark; I open the northeast facing shades and see the whole frickin’ town is dark. Not good, as it’s around 36 degrees outside and without power I have no heat.

Well, to make a long story short, the power came back on the east side of Hiway 70 at 0515 hrs and on our side at 0545. I now have heat and Tee Vee, but no internet as of yet. That’ll probably take another hour or so. It’s interesting how long a full pot of coffee will retain heat, and conversely, it’s amazing how quickly an RV loses heat!

All that said, I will buy a couple of candles when I go out to Wally-World later today. It ain’t fun stumbling around the house with a flashlight.

The net’s back up at 0625 hrs…and what’s the first thing I see?

/O.EXB.KABQ.WS.W.0007.061230T0000Z- 061231T0000Z/ CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS- ROOSEVELT COUNTY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ROSWELL...PORTALES 434 AM MST FRI DEC 29 2006

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM MST SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 PM MST SATURDAY.

SNOW DEVELOPING THIS AFTERNOON WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY...WITH 2 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON. EXPECT UP TO 8 INCHES LOCALLY OVER HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

IN ADDITION TO HEAVY SNOWFALLS...NORTH AND NORTHWEST WINDS WITH GUSTS 40 MPH WILL DROP VISIBILITIES TO NEAR ZERO IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW THROUGH SATURDAY.

DRIVERS SHOULD CONSIDER DELAYING TRAVEL IF POSSIBLE. IF YOU MUST DRIVE...PLAN FOR EXTREME WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS. EXPECT BLOCKED AND CLOSED ROADS DUE TO BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...ALONG WITH SNOW PACKED AND ICY ROADS WHERE PASSABLE. CARRY ALL NEEDED SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND LET OTHERS KNOW YOUR TRAVEL INTENTIONS PRIOR TO STARTING OUT.

Oh, Goody.

Never let it be said my offspring* can’t take a hint. DHL delivered not one, but three tee shirts from Think Geek yesterday. Very cool!

* The adult offspring. My nine year old went into the “everything YOU know is wrong” stage (where I’m concerned, anyway) much, much earlier than most kids… like at age seven. But I suspect he had a lot of help.

So…about that site I saw advertised last evening and was surfing before I was so rudely interrupted. It’s called “Eons,” and it’s a site dedicated to Boomers, or “50-plus,” as their advertising copy sez. Here’s the mission statement:

Eons is a 50+ media company inspiring a generation of boomers and seniors to live the biggest life possible. Founded by Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, Eons was launched in July 2006.

Well, OK. I joined (it’s free) and am now one of eight Eons members in Portales. Interestingly, the gender split is dead even: four each males/females.

I wonder about the viability of a site dedicated to geezers, a community that is generally technology-averse. I’ll explore a bit and let all y’all know what happens…if anything happens at all.

So…the NYT sez we’re (or they: the Iraqis) in “a rush” to hang Hussein. Captain Ed has an answer to that train of thought:

So let's get this straight. What is really important isn't the hundreds of thousands of people that Saddam had killed on his whim. It isn't lengthy public record of his "vile atrocities". It isn't the long string of living victims that had to bear witness under difficult circumstances to those who could not appear in court. What really matters, the Times insists, is that the process did not "nurture hope".

Well, the purpose of trials is not to nurture hope -- it's to determine the truth regarding guilt or innocence of the accused. In this, the tribunal succeeded, although as the Times notes, the issue was not in much doubt. The trial also succeeded in giving voice to many of Saddam's victims, something the Times must have missed in its zeal to find hope-nurturing elements in a genocide trial. The tribunal also established solid legal precedents for a fledgeling (sic) judiciary that has to establish itself mostly from scratch.

[…]

In any case, the Times proves itself laughable once again by proclaiming a three-year process towards Saddam's execution as a "rush" and complaining about a verdict and sentence that even they admit were completely justified by the evidence at hand. Perhaps next time, the editorial board should not be in such a "rush" to opine.

I sure as Hell don’t even begin to understand the editorial page of the NYT. They truly baffle me.

The Captain gives us a link to Jules Crittenden’s thoughts on this subject. Don’t miss it.

Dang! It’s snowing hard outside as I bang this out. We just might see some serious snow today…

Today’s Pic: A dirt road “short-cut” somewhere between here and Albuquerque. The ex-girlfriend and I took her Jeep Cherokee down this road for about 30 miles or so. She had something she wanted to show me, but I forget exactly what. The scenery, however, was certainly worth the detour. January, 2004.

The New Year Approaches at Flank Speed

Curt at Flopping Aces asks “Can Cindy Sheehan get anymore nuttier?” You need to read Curt’s post before you follow the link to Moonbat-Central. I assume Curt is posing a rhetorical question, but I think you and I both know the answer is “yes.” Yes, indeed. Her nuttiness has no boundaries at all. But blaming President Ford for creating what she calls “Bloody George” is so far over the top it boggles the mind.

Sheesh.

But wait! There’s more… Kim Priestap at Wizbang adds “…Cindy's logic is so idiotic and void of any rational thought what so ever, that we're all dumber for just having read it.” And John Hinderaker says “We haven't said anything about Cindy Sheehan for a long time. What's interesting is that neither, for the most part, have the Democrats. Mainstream liberals have dropped her like a hot potato as her nuttiness has increasingly been revealed.”

Mainstream Libs may have dropped her, but the Serious Moonbats haven’t. Mother Sheehan is still an icon to some. As Mom used to say… “You’re known by the company you keep.”

No doubt you’ve heard: Edwards Launches White House Bid for ‘08, ‘12 and ‘16

(2006-12-28) — With just 23 months before the next presidential election, former Sen. John Edwards, D-NC, announced today that he would seek the Democrat nomination for president in 2008, 2012 and 2016, but refused to comment on his plans for 2020.

“Americans are looking for a candidate with experience running for president,” said an unnamed campaign spokesman. “In 2018, when John Edwards is 65, he’ll have spent 16 years seeking the office and have four campaigns under his belt. We think that will position him well for victory in 2020.”

Heh. Double-heh. Read the whole thing!

It should be a quiet New Year’s Eve in P-Town and vicinity, what with New Year’s Eve falling on a Sunday this year. Longtime readers will understand why I say this. In the past I’ve railed against our Blue Laws, i.e., you cannot even buy a glass of wine with your dinner on Sunday, let alone anything else alcoholic. What cruel twist of fate for the younger crowd! I assume the Club out at the base will have a party, but I don’t really know for sure. Besides that, it’s not a safe assumption that the military will Party-Hardy in this day and age. Witness the "Culture of Responsible Choices." (Hat tip to Mike for that.)

Excuse me, but I’m going to be sick now.

Ah. Better. Back to the subject at hand… I’m not at all disconcerted with the fact the bars won’t be open on New Year’s Eve, being as how I’m “of a certain age.” Truth be told, I rarely ventured out onto the bar circuit on New Year’s Eve even when I was younger. The Ol’ Man used to call New year’s Eve “Amateur Night,” and he had it right. Best just to stay in and party with a few close friends. And with that, I give you…

Today’s Pics: A couple of shots from New Year’s Eve, 1998. This was the last time I threw a party of any sort, and it was a good one. My house, 12/31/1998, Rochester, NY.

Once again, I apologize for the poor quality of the pics. First-generation digital camera, and all that.

Another Passing

RIP, President Ford. The New York Times has a lengthy and very well-done obituary (they get some things right). If you’re too young to remember President Ford and the terrible times we went through under his leadership, brief as it was, then there’s no better place to start than this obit. Ford was pretty much the right guy at the right time. And Chevy Chase made a freakin’ career out of imitating him, to the great delight of most folks, Dems and Repubs alike.

The Financial Times (UK) has a good obit, as well. And it’s a lot shorter.

I used to think President Ford was the root of most evil, especially after he pardoned my own personal bugaboo-in-chief, Richard Nixon. But that was back in my moonbat days, when I was much younger and a lot more stupid (like Twain, I repeat myself). Captain Ed raises the subject of the pardon, as have many other folks on both sides of the ‘sphere. Ed makes some good points, but I disagree with his conclusion. Unlike Ed, I think Ford did the right thing. We’ll see and hear a lot about this subject in the coming days.

I haven’t been keeping up with James Taranto’s “Best of the Web” feature in the WSJ’s Opinion Journal of late. And I’ve missed some good stuff…like Taranto’s nine-part (as of yesterday) series Responding to Rangel. Taranto is printing letters from WSJ readers, mostly military folks, who beg to differ with Charlie Rangel’s meme about the military only containing the poor and the stupid. Some Hella good reading there.

The guys at Powerline post a reader-submitted picture of Jon Kary in Irak. What a lonely, lonely man. Deservedly so.

The WSJ has an excellent primer on the unfolding war in Somalia, if you’re interested. The situation is way beyond “Blackhawk Down,” and threatens to become a major regional conflict.

Today’s Pic: A collage of things Ol’ Kermie and I saw through the windshield of El Casa Móvil De Pennington in May, 2000. Mostly in and around northwest Wyoming. As always, click for larger.

Transitions

James Brown died yesterday. “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business” was also known as “The Godfather of Soul.” And both sobriquets were well-deserved, at the very least. James Brown delivered the funk long before Berry Gordy made Motown into a household word. And James Brown rocked my world by opening up new musical horizons for me around 1958 or so. That was the year I first heard “Please, Please, Please” on an all-black radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. That song (released in 1956) simply wowed me with its sheer musical power, end-of-the-world vocals, and doo-wop backup singing. I’d never heard anything like it, and come to think on it, I don’t believe there’s another song that evokes heartbreak like that song does. James’ “The Cape” routine is simply classic, and was his signature performance in concert. You can see an all-too-brief, early version of The Cape performance (I’d say somewhere in the late 50s) in this 31-second clip. Wow.

RIP, James. And thank you.

Here’s a bit of good news: Court Upholds Saddam’s Death Sentence.

BAGHDAD, Dec. 26 -- An Iraqi appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling to execute deposed leader Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity and said he could hang within 30 days.

"From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation," chief judge Aref Abdul-Razzaq al-Shahin said at a news conference in Baghdad.

Rumor has it Iraqis are lining up for the privilege of being Saddam’s hangman. The story is behind the NYT’s TimesSelect wall, but Hey!...I believe it. Maybe there will be a lottery…

And here’s Good News and Bad News…British Soldiers Storm Iraqi Jail, Citing Torture.

BAGHDAD, Dec. 25 — Hundreds of British and Iraqi soldiers assaulted a police station in the southern city of Basra on Monday, killing seven gunmen, rescuing 127 prisoners from what the British said was almost certain execution and ultimately reducing the facility to rubble.

[…]

When the combined British and Iraqi force of 1,400 troops gained control of the station, it found the prisoners being held in conditions that a British military spokesman, Maj. Charlie Burbridge, described as “appalling.” More than 100 men were crowded into a single cell, 30 feet by 40 feet, he said, with two open toilets, two sinks and just a few blankets spread over the concrete floor.

A significant number showed signs of torture. Some had crushed hands and feet, Major Burbridge said, while others had cigarette and electrical burns and a significant number had gunshot wounds to their legs and knees.

The fetid dungeon was another example of abuses by the Iraqi security forces. The discovery highlighted the continuing struggle to combat the infiltration of the police and army by militias and criminal elements — even in a Shiite city like Basra, where there has been no sectarian violence.

[…]

Residents said that people were afraid to challenge the officers because they were backed by powerful militia groups, including the Mahdi Army, which is led by the rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr, though the extent of his control is unclear.

The good news, of course, is the effectiveness of al-Sadr’s murderous militia and accompanying death squads have been reduced, if not eliminated. The bad news is that al-Sadr himself still holds significant power. If ever anyone needed killin’…it’s that SOB al-Sadr.

I’ve been playing with the format of the blog over the last couple of days, moving to a new template (“Minima-stretched”) and fine-tuning a few other thingies. The objective is to make the blog more readable and user-friendly. Have I succeeded, or are the changes a step backwards? Enquiring minds wanna know…

Late Start, Part VII

Another late start today…but Hey! It’s the holidays, right? And today is Boxing Day. The help is authorized to lollygag about before getting down to business, especially today.

Today’s Pic: Apropos of nothing, here’s the USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) about five months prior to her commissioning. She’s docked at the Bath Iron Works on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, where she was undergoing the final stages of her construction and testing. June 23, 2005.

Back in a few…

Rejoice

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born, this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

T'was the day before Christmas...

Because it’s Christmas Eve, here’s your reminder: don’t forget to track Santa!!

What do IT consultants do at home in their spare time? Why…they decorate for the holidays, of course! 20,000 lights, synchronized to music. Pretty cool, it is!

There was an interesting article in the NYT yesterday about the openness of the U.S. House of Representatives. Titled “The Way to Keep House,” and written by Scot M. Faulkner, the chief administrative officer of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1997, the article opens with a brief history of some of the sleazy practices that were wide-spread the last time Democrats controlled the House. But, past sleaze isn’t the thrust of the article. Mr. Faulkner hopes the incoming House leadership will take action to make the House more open to the eyes of the American public.

In addition, Democrats should make all House meetings viewable online. The House should install two digital cameras in every committee and subcommittee room, with one facing the rostrum and another facing the witness table. The Republicans rejected an earlier version of this proposal in 1995, saying, in effect, “Not that public!”

This expansion of public access would erode the power of K Street lobbyists who use “insider” information gleaned from committee meetings to justify their fees. If everyone can see the same thing at the same time, much of the lobbyists’ cachet will evaporate. And if Democrats truly want to exercise oversight of the executive branch, something we haven’t seen for a while, Web- and pod-casting will make sure Americans can watch oversight hearings in their entirety without news producers mediating the proceedings.

C-SPAN was way ahead of Mr. Faulkner in at least one regard. On December 14^th, Brian Lamb wrote Speaker-Designate Pelosi a one and a half page letter that contained only two requests, and here are a few excerpts from that letter (pdf):

After your party's November 16th leadership elections, you held a news conference in which you pledged to lead a congress committed to openness. In that spirit and as you and lour leadership team work through the many organizational decisions needed for the 110 Congress, we'd like to make two requests of you which we were unsuccessful in pursuing with the incoming Republican majority twelve years ago:

Allow House floor proceedings to be covered by C-SPAN cameras.
Release individual House votes electronically immediately after voting periods have closed.

Independent media cameras have long been permitted in congressional committees, yet for nearly 30 years, television cameras in the House chamber have operated under the control of the Speaker. This compromise was crafted long ago to convince wary members to allow congressional sessions to be televised, and in the ensuing years it has become an anachronism that does a disservice to the institution and to the public. During debate, congressional technicians are limited to taking static, head-on shots of the representative who's speaking at the podium. Rules and established practices prevent congressional cameras from taking individual reaction shots or from panning the chamber, leaving viewers with an incomplete picture of what's happening in the House of Representatives.

[…]

On March 19, 1979, when the House was televised for the first time, Representative Al Gore made a speech on the floor that welcomed Congress to the television age. He predicted that members would become so comfortable with the presence of television that they would soon move to open the floor proceedings to coverage by the independent media.

Under your leadership, Speaker-designate Pelosi, we hope that Al Gore's long ago prediction will finally become reality. Please let us know what we can do to advance your consideration of these two important requests.

And here’s Madame Speaker-Designate’s response, in its entirety (once again, a pdf file; emphasis mine):

Dear Mr. Lamb:

Thank you for your thoughtful letter in which you ask that C-SPAN be permitted to cover House floor proceedings with its own cameras and that the House release individual House votes electronically immediately after voting periods have closed. I have asked the Clerk of the House to consider the latter request and report to the House Leadership on whether such a release is technically feasible and, if so, whether it can be accomplished in a manner that preserves the accuracy of the vote tally.

As to your first request, I believe that the dignity and decorum of the United States House of Representatives are best preserved by maintaining the current system of televised proceedings. Under the current practice, every word spoken in an exchange between Members or between the Chair and a Member is broadcast live. This programming informs the American people and ensures an accurate historical record. It has served the American people and the House and Senate well since the advent of televised proceedings nearly 30 years ago.

C-SPAN provides a valuable service in our democracy. I applaud you and the entire C-SPAN cable network for your efforts to inform the American people on the critical issues and challenges that face our great country.

Best regards,

Hmmm. When it comes to openness, it appears Madame Pelosi agrees with her Republican predecessors of 1995: “Not that public!” At least she left the door open for one of Mr. Lamb’s proposals.

You’ll note Mr. Lamb didn’t request the capability to televise every hearing held by House committees and sub-committees. I assume there are simple logistic reasons behind this, after all, the House lists 25 separate committees on its web site…and that doesn’t include sub-committees, ad hoc committees, and leaves out the Senate altogether. C-SPAN couldn’t possibly cover all hearings, even it expanded from its current line-up of three discrete channels to the 40+ required to broadcast all committee hearings. And cable companies simply wouldn’t carry the coverage were it available, anyway. Hell, I can’t even get C-SPAN3 on my system today, let alone C-SPAN17, the House Armed Services Committee Channel, were it to exist.

Enter web-casting. If the Muffys of the world can set up web cams in their bedrooms, the House (and Senate) can surely set up two digital cameras in each hearing room as Mr. Faulkner suggests and webcast all proceedings, live. It wouldn’t be all that difficult to make the proceedings permanently available on-line, either. If YouTube and Google can archive petabytes of video, why can’t the US government?

Unless, of course, the answer is “not that public!”

Today’s Pic: Another brrrr-invoking view of the neighborhood from this past Wednesday. The fifth-wheel in the foreground is the residence of one of the Eastern NMU student cowgirls, who’s back home on Christmas break. 12/20/2006.

Two More Shopping Days...

“You can do smoky burn-outs in these cars. It’s fun!” So sayeth my good friend and GM engineer Greg Prior, speaking about the Cadillac STS-V in a short video clip. You can see Greg in the 51-second video here; look on the right side-bar for the video titled “Michigan.” Greg knows from whence he speaks: he was the chief engineer and program manager for the Northstar SC, a 469 hp supercharged version of GM’s 4.4 liter Northstar V-8. If you’re an automotive techno-geek, you can read all about the Northstar SC here. That article also features a few quotes from Greg.

{sigh} If I still lived in Detroit I would have driven one of those STS-Vs by now. It wasn’t unusual at all for Greg to show up at my house in the dead of night (unannounced) and say “Hey! Are you busy? Wanna go for a ride?” We’d then proceed out to my driveway and get into one spiffy car or another…whatever Greg happened to be working on at the moment…and jet off into the night. “Former Happy Days,” indeed.

Not a Frickin’ word…not ONE…about this from the Leftie blogs. And “this” would be: Al Qaeda Sends a Message to Democrats. You didn’t see it on the news yesterday, either. I wonder why? Jules Crittenden has a round-up of right-side blog comment on the subject…

Talk to Iran? Here’s another good reason (in today’s Telegraph [UK]) to answer an emphatic “No!” to that ridiculous suggestion…

As in Iraq, the history of Iran's involvement in Afghanistan has been complex, but rarely benign. During the Soviet occupation of the 1980s, the Iranians supported one of the fiercest Mujahideen groups. More recently, the Iranians helped hundreds of al-Qa'eda fighters to escape from Afghanistan following the coalition's military campaign to remove the Taliban from power in 2001. Recent intelligence reports have indicated that many senior al-Qa'eda leaders — including two of Osama bin Laden's sons — are still living in Teheran under the protection of the Revolutionary Guards, where they are being groomed for a possible takeover of the al-Qa'eda leadership.

Nor is Iran's involvement in the region confined to Afghanistan. The Iranians also have close links with Pakistan, where they have been identified as one of the countries that bought blueprints for making nuclear weapons from A. Q. Khan, the so-called "father" of Pakistan's nuclear bomb.

The thrust of this Telegraph op-ed is that Iran is seriously involved in Afghanistan, and its Revolutionary Guards are playing a significant role in the attempt to destabilize the country. As it’s so often said: read the whole thing.

There’s GOOD News from Afghanistan, too.

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani was killed Tuesday by a U.S. airstrike while traveling by vehicle in a deserted area in the southern province of Helmand, the U.S. military said.

Osmani was the Taliban’s chief military commander in southern Afghanistan and played a “central role in facilitating terrorist operations” including roadside bombs, suicide attacks and kidnappings, the U.S. said.

Osmani reportedly was just below Mullah Omar in the Taliban hierarchy. Good riddance.

Today’s Pic(s): Two shots of rafters on the Rio Grande, just outside of Taos, NM. May, 2004. As always, click for larger.

A Re-Run

I’m just totally devoid of anything to say today, be it trivial or meaningful. So…just to fill space, here’s a re-run from last year, posted on 12/26/2005. And for what it’s worth: I still don’t remember a danged thing about Christmas, 1997.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

I had to pop out to do a little grocery shopping. All the way to Wally-World and back I was thinking about Christmas' Past and the strangest thing struck me. I cannot, for the life of me, remember a single thing about the last Christmas The Second Mrs. Pennington and I spent together (1997). Nothing. Zip. Nada. I think it’s because the cataclysmic events that unfolded over the eight months following that Christmas completely obliterated all memories of times immediately preceding. It was, after all, the Winter of Her Discontent, and I was completely oblivious. Quite another story.

It is more than passing strange, however. That Christmas was my youngest son’s First Christmas. Even though he was only ten months old at the time I’m sure he had a great old time tearing into boxes and playing with the wrapping paper, as very young children do. But I don’t remember any of it. I don’t remember the tree. I don’t remember taking any pictures. I don’t remember what I gave or received that Christmas. I don’t remember a damned thing, except for the fact we were in Rochester. That’s the sum total!

I did recall, in great detail, the year we spent Christmas night on a British Airways flight from Detroit to London. Our flight left sometime around six or seven in the evening on Christmas Day, and we were at the airport a good three hours before that. There were three of us: TSMP, our great good friend Kim, and myself. It was Kim’s first trip outside the US, and she was as excited as is humanly possible. The flight was nearly empty because, who, after all, travels on Christmas Day? Just us bargain hunters. TSMP and Kim stayed awake most of the flight. I, on the other hand, found an empty row and slept. Don’t you just love empty airplanes on transatlantic flights? It doesn’t happen a lot these days, from what I read.

We arrived at Heathrow around 0700 and were completely through customs and baggage claim in about an hour. The Captain, although he was either a Buck Sergeant or a Staff Sergeant stationed at RAF Lakenheath at the time, met us at Arrivals. We loaded up the luggage and piled into his ratty old British Ford Cortina with the broken heater and leaky floor and did the patented B&P nickel tour of London for Kim’s benefit.

Sidebar: I use the term “B&P nickel tour” in a very personal sense. TSMP and I lived in London from 1980 - 1983 and we had a LOT of visitors. After the first wave of visitors had come and gone we developed our own little two-hour driving tour of London that hit all the high spots: Buckingham Palace, Westminster, Piccadilly Circus, Tower Bridge, et al. We also threw in a few of our favorite places. It was great fun reliving that tour!

So. After the tour we grabbed lunch and went to the hotel for a little nap before our evening out. And thus began the ten-day England Christmas Tour of 1990-something. I don’t remember the exact year, actually. But I sure remember that trip…one of my BEST Christmases (and New Year’s), ever.

The Best Thing about our arrival in London on Boxing Day was the heretofore unmentioned party we went to that evening. TSMP, SN1, Good Friend Kim, and I went to my Brit Buddy Rob’s place, where we partied into the wee small hours. The most interesting thing about that party was that Rob and I picked up exactly where we’d left off more than ten years earlier. It was as if we’d seen each other only yesterday. It’s like that with great, good friends.

In Yesterday's Mail

Today’s Pic: This year’s BEST Christmas Card, from blog-friend Lou. You may have seen this painting before…as a “Painting of the Week” over at Lou’s place. What a wonderful sunny scene! Thanks, Lou!! As always, click the pic for the larger version; sorry about the parallax distortion.

"Blog me now, blog me hard!"

My lead item in today’s earlier post was that dumb-ass provocative op-ed in the WSJ by one Mr. Joseph Rago, an assistant editorial features editor (how does he get all that on a business card, I wonder? Or does he just use “assistant editor?). I quoted this paragraph, which, by the way, may not be The Mother of All Run-On Sentences, but is certainly the Great Aunt:

Every conceivable belief is on the scene, but the collective prose, by and large, is homogeneous: A tone of careless informality prevails; posts oscillate between the uselessly brief and the uselessly logorrheic; complexity and complication are eschewed; the humor is cringe-making, with irony present only in its conspicuous absence; arguments are solipsistic; writers traffic more in pronouncement than persuasion...

Well, here’s the first draft of that paragraph, courtesy of Iowahawk:

Every conceivable -- and inconceivable -- belief is on the scene, but the collective prose, by and large, is homogeneous: A tone of careless informality prevails; a cacaphonous miasma of perfunctory langorous bellicosity; posts oscillate between the uselessly brief and the uselessly logorrheic; cascading, tremulous arpeggios of useless prosaicity; complexity and complication are eschewed; directivity and candor and perspicacity belied; the humor is cringe-making, with irony present only in its conspicuous absence, which, when one thinks about it, is in itself ironic, creating an infinite, unintended laff-riot loop of ironic non-irony; arguments are totally solipsistic; their obviously drunk and/or crack-addled writers traffic only in pronouncement, and are loathe to employ professional-grade opinion tools like Roget's Thesaurus, or the dramatic sentence-ending ellipsis . . .

But wait! There’s more!

The way we write affects both style and substance.

The loquacious formulations of late Henry James, for instance, e.g., owe in part to his arthritis, which made longhand impossible, and instead he dictated his writing to a secretary. This is why we remember him fondly as journalism's "Great Dictator." We can also learn much from the effluvient garrolous pronunciamentos of my biggest journalistic influence, the opinion giant Irwin Corey. In this aspect, journalism as practiced via, and vis-a-vis, blog, appears, per se, to be a change for the worse, ad nauseum. Res ipsa loquitir: that is, i.e., the inferiority of the medium is rooted in its new, distinctive literary form, viz., et al. Its closest analogue might be the (poorly kept) diary, or the "honey do" chore list of a (harridan) housewife, or the note scrawled to oneself on the back of an envelope, or bathroom stall; e.g., "for a good heh, read the whole thing," or somesuch, though these things are not meant for public consumption. The reason for a blog's being is: Here's my opinion, right now.

The right now is partially a function of technology, which makes instantaneity possible, and also a function of a culture that valorizes the up-to-the-minute above all else. Ooh baby, I've been a bad topic. Blog me now, blog me hard! But there is no inherent virtue to instantaneity. Good opinion, like good wine, takes time to ferment and develop a rich, full bodied flavor with hints of oak and apricot; and, like a virtuous maiden, a good opinion waits for the right time and the right reader, and will not just throw herself like a cheap dimestore slut at the first lothario who adds her to his "little black blog book" of RSS feeds.

The “first draft” of the entire op-ed is available at the link, and it would really help if you read the original first (if you haven't already). But: put your coffee/tea/beer down before reading… you have been warned.

Careless Informality

So…yesterday I linked a Rich Lowry column on slagging the MSM and a couple of bloggers’ reactions to same. It turns out there was a column wherein the MSM slagged the blogs, and in the WSJ, at that. Mr. Joseph Rago, a WSJ assistant editorial features editor, says:

Every conceivable belief is on the scene, but the collective prose, by and large, is homogeneous: A tone of careless informality prevails; posts oscillate between the uselessly brief and the uselessly logorrheic; complexity and complication are eschewed; the humor is cringe-making, with irony present only in its conspicuous absence; arguments are solipsistic; writers traffic more in pronouncement than persuasion...

Well, OK, but other than that, what else is wrong? C’mon Mr. Rago…tell us how you really feel! There’s one thing about blogs, however…the prose may be “carelessly informal” but it rarely drives one to the dictionary twice in the space of one short paragraph. But Hey! I’m not a journalist…

When I went to the dictionary to look up “solipsistic” (see above) I found this: “Dictionary.com Words of the Year 2006.” Interesting list. It contains:

The top voted-on words for 2006 (196,848 total votes) (#1: truthiness)
The top 10 looked-up words on Dictionary.com for 2006 (#1: love)
The top 10 looked-up new words on Dictionary.com for 2006 (words only found in Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English) (#1: sequitur)

I never realized one could vote on a Word of the Year. I have to pay more attention… (Thanks, Rago! You’re contributing to my continuing ed-u-ma-kay-shun!)

If it’s Thursday, it must be Susan… O, unrequited love! (Hey Rago! Bloggers are self-referential, too. Ain’t that irritating!)

Slow news day…this is the second item on memeorandum’s line-up at 0610 hrs this morning: Trump to Rosie: You’re Sued! Just how is Trump/Rosie more important than Ayman al-Zawahiri’s Christmas video (which, btw, is not so much funny as sad-but-true)? (Note to Rago: you forgot to mention bloggers are so superficial!)

Make of this what you will:

There were 2,833 babies called Mohammed born in 2006 and 1,422 called Muhammad. The total exceeds the number of Georges (3,386) or Josephs (3,755).

That’s in England and Wales, not the US. Mohammed and/or Muhammad do not crack the US Top 100 baby names for 2005...they were numbers 622 and 652, respectively. “Jesus,” on the other hand, ranked as 2005’s 73^rd most popular name in the US. Nothing beats The Baby Name Wizard’s Name Voyager when it comes to naming baby, though. Nothing. (Ya gotta admit, Rago, bloggers give you more fun stuff than the MSM do.)

All that ice and snow we got here on the High Plains over the past two days remains on the ground. This morning’s sunrise was beautiful and somewhat ethereal, especially in conjunction with the patches of ice fog visible from my east-facing windows. We’re supposed to go into the high 40s today, so the snow will go…no White Christmas this year. (Yeah, I know, Rago. No one gives a dang about the weather in an obscure New Mexican town.)

Today’s Pic: I tried to post this pic night before last, but Blogger wouldn’t cooperate. I went outside after the second or third wave of freezing rain passed over P-Town and attempted to get some photos of ice forming on the tree branches. I was semi-successful. The result is above, and it’s…uh… “interesting.” 2030 hrs, 12/19/2006. (OK, Rago, it’s original, if nothing else.)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...Turn and Face the Strain...

Interesting. The President sits for an interview with the WaPo and acknowledges, for the first time, we aren’t winning in Iraq.

President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the United States is not winning the war in Iraq and said he plans to expand the overall size of the "stressed" U.S. armed forces to meet the challenges of a long-term global struggle against terrorists.

More interesting, to me, is Dubya’s acknowledgement that the military is “stressed” and needs to grow to meet current and future challenges.

A substantial military expansion will take years and would not immediately affect the war in Iraq. But it would begin to address the growing alarm among commanders about the state of the armed forces. Although the president offered no specifics, other U.S. officials said the administration is preparing plans to bolster the nation's permanent active-duty military with as many as 70,000 additional troops.

A force structure expansion would accelerate the already-rising costs of war.

There’s a lot in this article that’s speculation, but there’s more than a little bit of substance, as well. One of the issues the military establishment had with Rumsfeld was his insistence on transformation as he visualized it: “light and mobile,” as opposed to “strength in numbers,” or brute force. There is a middle ground, but apparently Rummy resisted any increase in permanent end-strength of the Army and Marines. That appears to be changing with Rumsfeld’s departure. It will take time to build up the Army, and it’s gonna take a lot of money, especially when one factors in the costs of replacing worn out or blown up equipment. And that’s not even considering the aging inventories of combat aircraft in the Air Force and Navy, a substantial problem in its own right.

The cost is the sticky bit. How do we pay for this expansion? I submit it’s past time to recognize war has costs above and beyond normal government expenditures. We’ve been doing this war on terror thing on the cheap for the past five years, and Dubya ain’t doing us any favors by prosecuting the war in this manner. It’s time for additional revenue, whether it’s in the form a ten cents per gallon “temporary” gas tax, war bonds, or an income tax surcharge. Pay as you go… Ya know?

Rich Lowry wrote a column yesterday at National Review that is getting a LOT of comment from the right side of the ‘sphere. Here are a couple of reasons why:

The mainstream media is biased, arrogant, prone to stultifying group-think and much more fallible than its exalted self-image allows it to admit. It also, however, can be right, and this is most confounding to conservatives.

In Iraq, the media’s biases happen to fit the circumstances. Being primed to consider any military conflict a quagmire and another Vietnam is a drawback when covering a successful U.S. military intervention, but not necessarily in Iraq. Most of the pessimistic warnings from the mainstream media have turned out to be right — that the initial invasion would be the easy part, that seeming turning points (the capture of Saddam, the elections, the killing of Zarqawi) were illusory, that the country was dissolving into a civil war.

Partly because he felt it necessary to counteract the pessimism of the media, President Bush accentuated the positive for far too long. Bush allowed himself to be cornered by his media critics. They wanted him to admit mistakes, so for the longest time, he would admit none. They wanted him to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, so for too long he kept him on. They wanted him to abandon “stay the course,” so he stuck to it. In so doing, he eroded his own credibility and delayed making the major strategic readjustment he needed to try to check the downward slide in Iraq.

Lowry makes some danged good points and I agree with his premise, for the most part. A couple of perceptive folks on the right provide some needed balance and perspective to Lowry’s comments, though, and Jules Crittenden is one of those guys:

He (ed: Lowry) is talking about trees, and a couple of thickets. What he misses is the forest. The pervasive underlying assumptions and perspective that taint many Associated Press reports and those in other major newspapers and broadcasts.

Chief among them is the notion that we remain a nation at peace, with a bit of a global crime problem, engaged in elective wars, and the notion that adversarial reporting should proceed full steam ahead regardless of any immediate or potential consequences (google New York Times treason).

Another example is the pervasion disinformation campaign that suggests Saddam Hussein was an manufactured threat, ignoring the actual history, what was believed by every major intelligence agency at the time, the image he was successfuly projecting, and the very real consequences of the collapse of sanctions. Another example is the fast and loose use of terms such as "torture," eagerness to amplify any U.S. misdeed, and the unequal standards of coverage applied to matters such as harsh U.S. interrogation techniques, as opposed the relative lack of horror and matter-of-fact coverage of true atrocities committed by Islamic terrorists.

All of that said, an important point Lowry makes is that you don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. Every one of the news organizations that are routinely bashed by me and others also provide important information.

Captain Ed adds: “I suspect that Lowry has it more right than many of us in the blogosphere would like to admit.” I agree.

All three articles are worth the read. And by the way…I agreed with Laurie when she said Jules Crittenden gets her vote for “Best New Blog” in the recently concluded 2006 Weblog Awards. The guy’s good.

Picked this link up from a commenter at Lex’s place. I think I’ll do a bit of shopping here… (Note to SNs 1&2: When it comes to Christmas gifts you could do much worse than selecting an item or two from this site.)

The weather has changed considerably since I put the photos up this morning. Those crystal-clear skies have been replaced by a wooly gray overcast and almost-howling winds…on the order of 28 mph or so, steady, with gusts in the 30+ mph range. It’s not warmed up a lot, but enough so that I’m being alternately entertained and startled by the tink-crack-THUNK sounds of ice falling on the roof of El Casa Móvil De Pennington. Looks like an entertaining sort of day, weather-wise.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Today’s Pics: Ice in the trees and snow on the ground! Pretty seasonal, eh? As much as I dislike snow I have to admit it is beautiful…especially early in the morning in bright sun after a dark and stormy night (ahem). Maybe a half-inch of snow on the grond, total. A south-southwest view of El Casa Móvil De Pennington, the Green Hornet, and a little piece of the neighborhood. 0730 hrs, 12/20/2006.

It Could Have Been Worse...

…and it still just might. Get worse, that is. As noted below we got our ice storm last evening, which is still in progress as I write and is supposed to continue all day and into the night. The roads are clear, judging from the speed of traffic on US 70, which is visible from my window. Still and even I’m glad I’ve got nowhere to go and I’m stocked up on every form of consumable known to man. I could sit here for three or four days if push came to shove. But it won’t.

I lost my ‘net connection last evening, coincidence or not, as the ice storm moved in. And I sat in fear for most of the evening, wondering if the forecasted one-quarter to one-half inch of ice was going to materialize. First there was the fear of a power outage and associated cold once my furnace quit working; second was the fear of crashing limbs and such. El Casa Móvil De Pennington sits in the shade of a very large tree with overarching limbs of significant girth. The very last thing I wanted to hear in the dead of night was the crash of a limb hitting my roof… Thankfully the forecasted amount of ice never happened and from all appearances, it won’t.

My fingers are crossed.

Today’s Pic: Just enough ice on the Green Hornet to make things unpleasant should I have to go somewhere. Today, 30 minutes ago.

Further...

The following is from the comments to my “Some People’s Kids” post, which you'll find somewhere below. I wanted to bring this comment up "front and center" because Cadet Z makes some good points…plus the fact I’m told this whole episode has drawn way more attention in the Air Force than it deserves.

Here’s Cadet Z:

I'm a prior-enlisted Academy cadet. I'm sitting in my room right now taking a break from studying for finals and missing my three stripes hard core (they definitely got me more respect than the shoulder boards I wear now). Being very close to the primary sources of the topic, I thought I would fill in some detail—along with my humble opinions of course. First of all, (ed: deleted) is a pretty solid kid. His only fault seems to be his enthusiasm in pursuing a ride in jet through the wrong channels. Apparently, no one told him how he was supposed to go about it, so he took it up directly with the unit. This is the email the major was replying to:

From: (Deleted)
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 7:01 PM
To: (Deleted)
Subject: RE: Cadet request for F-15 ride
Here's the guy who keeps calling up and bugging the scheduling shop about getting a flight.

-----Original Message-----
From: (Deleted)
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 4:59 PM
To: (Deleted)
Subject: Cadet request for F-15 ride

Lt. XXX,

I am a cadet at the Air Force Academy trying to arrange a flight with the 333rd Fighter Wing between 21 December and 5 January. I have my Secret Clearance and Physiological Training Card and can coordinate any AOC approval or necessary medical clearance (Form 1042). My presence does not impose any limitations on the mission; I'm just along for the ride. Any further guidance or authorization you can provide on this matter is much appreciated. Email is the best way to contact me (XXXX@usafa.af.mil), but my cell phone number is XXX.XXX.XXXX.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Very Respectfully,
C3C (Deleted),
(Deleted)
United States Air Force Academy

Misguided? Sure, but clearly respectful and not deserving the response he received. Of course, it is worth considering that nothing warrants such unprofessional conduct on the major’s part. He should be the one with the maturity to handle the situation properly regardless of the (nonexistent) provocation. Another cadet, far more “misguided” than XXX, elicited this infinitely more appropriate, thoughtful, educated and educational, response from a man with the power to end his career:

From: Roche James Dr SAF/OS
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 10:11 AM
To: Walsh Robert C4C CS21
Subject: Re: Removal of Academy Leaders

Bob, good to hear from you. Colonel Eskeridge is a highly regarded officer and I have no animus toward him. He will be reassigned without any adverse consequence. In fact, we are working to minimize the impact on his family. However, Gen Jumper and I want a new leadership team in place, and we will do so. Your comments about Colonel Gray are not only wrong, they don't reflect particularly well on you. Assignment of leaders in military organizations is not a popularity contest. Rather, it reflects the vision of the senior leadership of the Service. I know Colonel Gray, Gen Jumper knows Colonel Gray, and you don't. Now, say again all after who is and who is not qualified to make assignment decisions? While I admire your loyalty to Colonel Eskeridge, and I enjoy a challenge-up, or "briefing room rules" environment, one of us is responsible to the President, the Congress, and the American people for the Academy -- and, it's not you (at least not for a few years). Gen Jumper and I have made our decisions. We expect all concerned now to implement them cheerfully, as is the long-standing expectation for military professionals.

And, Bob, that includes you.

Respectfully,
JGR

Dr. James G. Roche
Secretary of The Air Force

By comparison, the major sounds like a five year-old throwing a temper tantrum. Okay I take that back. He sounds like a five year-old throwing a temper tantrum without the comparison. Do you think this contrast says anything about the character of people who are successful leaders? Granted, my mind may be full of useless idealistic classroom discussion, the writings of great generals, and limited personal experience, but I think it does.

That last one was of course the response to the cadet you mentioned earlier, here’s the original email along with the Chief’s response. General Jumper is a little harsher than the Secretary, but even he doesn’t stoop nearly as low as the major.

From: Walsh Robert C4C CS21
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 10:30 AM
To: Jumper John Gen AF/CC
Subject: Removal of Academy Leader

Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force,
General John P. Jumper,
Sir, I am a fourth Class Cadet at the United States Air Force Academy. I do not agree with your idea for removal of all top officials at the United States Air Force Academy. I do not believe it is necessary for all four of them to be removed, and replaced. I especially have a problem with the replacement of Col. Bob Eskeridge. The person who is supposed to replace Col. Eskeridge, is not qualified for the position. Her only qualifications are that she is a female, and an Academy Graduate. She has never been a group commander, while Col. Eskeridge has been a group commander twice. Furthermore, this woman has been working at the Academy during the same period as all these cases. She has been in the position of the 34th Training Group, serving as the Deputy Group Commander. By allowing her to take over Col. Eskeridge's position, it seems as though you are promoting her. Also, the person who will be filling the job she is moving from, will be her superior, having also served as a group commander, but because of the hierarchy at the Academy, she will instead be his superior. I would like to see Col. Eskeridge retain his current position. I do not believe he is a problem, in any way. He is a role model for all Cadets, as a military officer. I have not heard a single complaint or bad word spoken about Col. Eskeridge. Please reconsider your decision to remove Col. Eskeridge from his position.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Very Respectfully,
Cadet Fourth Class Robert M. Walsh
Cadet Squadron 21 "Blackjacks"
United States Air Force Academy

From: Jumper John Gen AF/CC
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 12:33 PM
To: Walsh Robert C4C CS21
Subject: RE: Removal of Academy Leader

Cadet Walsh, I sincerely hope that this is a hoax of some type because I would hate to think a Cadet Fourth Class would presume to instruct me on Air Force leaders I have known and served with for longer than you have been alive. I strongly suggest you devote your energy toward being the best possible 3-degree that you can be, to be a part of the solution that the new leadership is being sent there to oversee, and to keep yourself and your attitude off my radar scope.

JJ.

First of all, thanks for the well-written clarification, Cadet Z, and thanks for dredging up those old notes to/from Cadet W, SecAF, and the CoS. Secondly, I cannot and will not argue with the points you’ve made because they are irrefutable from both logical and moral points of view. Nor will I defend the manner and tone in which Major XXXX took your classmate XXX to task. Major XXXX violated a number of leadership tenets by sending that e-mail, not the least of which is “praise in public, criticize in private.” I’m sure the good major fervently wishes he had a “do over” button. Him and a lot of other mostly good folks I’ve known who fell victim to their tempers and let reason slide by hitting “send” before cooling off.

All of the above is written from a cold “just the facts, Ma’am” point of view. The “real” world, however, is not a leadership lab. People have bad days, missions get scrubbed, your wife rags on you about getting the dryer fixed, the Ol’ Man is on your ass about overdue check rides, your best eval guy PCSed last week, and then your new LT calls and tells you some kid from the Academy keeps calling up, asking for a ride. And keeps calling, despite the LT’s numerous fuggit-about-its (I quote: “Here's the guy who keeps calling up and bugging the scheduling shop about getting a flight.”). It’s the end of the day, and so…

No defense: Just sayin’

Finally…the major was wrong, no doubt. But I (and a helluva of other folks) laughed when we read the e-mail. No small part of the humor in the major’s message, at least for me, was a direct repudiation of the politically correct mindset that has permeated our society, extending even into the Air Force, fer gawd’s sake. It wasn’t always so, ya know. I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to imagine LeMay or Patton writing the same e-mail (if they had had it) when they were majors. And for the record: I received similar, and perhaps worse, dressing-downs on the rare occasions I screwed up during my AF career. But that was back in the day before we became so sensitive.

(Just a note: I wish you would have “sanitized” the quoted e-mails from the 333FS as you did with XXXX’s note, Cadet Z. Those guys’ names are now “in the clear,” and I wish it wasn’t so. I would have deleted your comment upon receipt last evening if I could have and republished it in sanitized form later. But…we had an ice storm last evening and my ‘net connection went south until this morning. Cat’s out of the bag…)

Update, 12/19/2006 1135 hrs: A long time reader e-mails me thusly:

"Just because Cadet Z. was too shortsighted or impulsive to scrub the names of the parties, doesn't mean you couldn't scrub them, even after a bit of time had elapsed.

Just my 2 cents :)"

Noted. And fixed. Thanks.

Cold, Gray, and Blustery

Coffee Break’s Over…Back on Your Heads! That’s the punch line from an old, old joke and it’s appropriate. We had beautiful weather this weekend, beginning with a mid-60s day on Friday, mid-70s on Saturday, and another mid-60s day yesterday. I was cruising around P-Town and vicinity with the top down all weekend. The weather, however, is fickle and can change in a heartbeat (or overnight), like every other place I’ve ever been. Here’s what we’re looking at today and tomorrow:

Coffee break’s over…

Speaking of coffee breaks… I was washing my coffee pot as the final act of doing the dishes last evening and was startled to see a chunk of glass about the size of a fifty-cent piece detach itself from the lower third of the carafe. Soapy water poured out of the bottom of the carafe into the sink as I looked on in disbelief. I’ve broken a few carafes before… mainly by dropping them or banging them into things, but I’ve never broken one by simply washing it! And, to top it all off, this coffee pot is only about two months old.

So. Get into the car and head off to Wally-World at 2000 hrs or thereabouts to see if they have a replacement carafe. I’m sure you can predict the answer, which is “Of course not.” I bought the broken pot, a Hamilton-Beach, at the Base Exchange. Wally-World doesn’t carry that brand. So, forty dollars later (reduced roll-back from $57.00!) I walk out with this spiffy lil Mr. Coffee item. Beautiful, ain’t it? The pic doesn’t do the analog clock justice…it’s a pale green, reminiscent of those neon clocks one saw everywhere in the 50s, particularly in diners. Very retro.

So…an unprogrammed purchase. And that’s OK, coz I hated that Hamilton-Beach coffee maker for its poor quality (the plastic parts warped almost immediately), its clunky cone-shaped filter basket (a b!tch to load), and its lukewarm, non-adjustable warming plate. Good riddance.

Today’s Pic: From the archives: a shot of the commissioning of the USS Mason (DDG 87). SN2 was the Chief Engineer (CHENG) on the Mason and was also part of the pre-commissioning (pre-comm) crew, living with her from the laying of her keel in Bath, Maine and onwards through shake-down cruises, commissioning, and her first operational deployment. Port Canaveral, Florida, April 12, 2003.

More later today…

A Sunny Sunday Morn...

Let’s hope he’s right…Fred Barnes, writing in the Weekly Standard, says Dubya has seen a “new” plan for victory in Iraq and intends to follow it. Not only that, but Mr. Barnes gives us a link to said plan: Choosing Victory, A Plan for Success in Iraq. The link is to an executive summary of the plan, where you will also find a link to a 52-page minimalist (meaning: lots of bullet points with few spiffy graphics) PowerPoint presentation (in pdf format). In the meantime, here’s an excerpt from Mr. Barnes' article on “the plan:”

It's not to be found among the 79 recommendations of Jim Baker's Iraq Study Group. The ISG report was tossed aside by the White House. Nor was the scheme leaked by the Pentagon last week ever close to being adopted. That plan would pull thousands of American troops out of a combat role and turn them into trainers of the Iraqi army. The result would be increased sectarian violence and an Iraqi army not yet equipped to quash the swelling insurgency-leading to a gap of time in which there would likely be a further--probably fatal--collapse of civic order in Baghdad, and then elsewhere in Iraq.

Last Monday Bush was, at last, briefed on an actual plan for victory in Iraq, one that is likely to be implemented. Retired General Jack Keane, the former vice chief of staff of the Army, gave him a thumbnail sketch of it during a meeting of five outside experts at the White House. The president's reaction, according to a senior adviser, was "very positive." Authored by Keane and military expert Frederick W. Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute, the plan is well thought-out and detailed, but fundamentally quite simple.

“Fundamentally quite simple” means, basically, operations to “clear and hold” mixed Sunni/Shiite areas in Baghdad. It means a surge in the number of troops on the ground, on the order of 50,000 additional Army and Marine combat troops. The plan anticipates an increase in the amount of violence being done to both Coalition Forces and Iraqi civilians as the plan is implemented and predicts casualties will increase.

There’s good news and bad news here. The good news is this plan seems a helluva lot more realistic than any alternative I’ve seen, including the (now) widely discredited ISG Report. The bad news is this plan is going to be a very hard sell to a Democratic congress, especially since (a) it will compete directly with the “bi-partisan” and heavily promoted ISG plan and (b) the incoming Speaker has indicated ending the war is her top priority. The Kagan plan also has its Pollyanna-ish elements, such as increasing the end-strength of the Army and Marines by 30,000 troops by the end of CY 2007, putting the military industry on a “war footing” to accelerate the replacement of worn out or destroyed equipment, and a direct appeal by the President to America’s youth to enlist and defend the country in a time of war and crisis. The issues here are money—this plan adds significant cost to a war that is already hideously expensive—and the President’s ability to deliver the crisis message, which he’s been unable to do consistently and effectively in the past. It’s gonna be a hard slog for Dubya and opposition will be fierce. Still…what’s the alternative, other than defeat?

If you missed it this past Friday, here’s the definitive comment on the Iraq Study Group’s report (What did the Iraq Study Group tell us?) from Charles Krauthammer. Excerpts:

The ISG has not just been attacked by left and right, Democrat and Republican. It has invited ridicule. Seventy-nine recommendations. Interdependent, insists Baker. They should be taken as a whole. "I hope we don't treat this like a fruit salad and say, 'I like this but I don't like that.'" On the basis of what grand unifying vision? On the authority of what superior wisdom? A 10-person commission including such Middle East experts as Sandra Day O'Connor, Alan Simpson and Vernon Jordan?

This kind of bipartisan elder-statesmen commission is perfectly appropriate as a consensus-building exercise for, say, a long-range problem such as Social Security. It is a ludicrous mechanism for devising strategic changes in the middle of a war.

[…]

He must do two things. First, as I've been agitating, establish a new governing coalition in Baghdad that excludes Moqtada al-Sadr, a cancer that undermines the Maliki government's ability to work with us. It is encouraging that the president has already begun such a maneuver by meeting with rival Shiite and Sunni parliamentary leaders. If we help produce a cross-sectarian government that would be an ally rather than a paralyzed semi-adversary of coalition forces, we should then undertake part two: "double down" our military effort. This means a surge in American troops with a specific mission: to secure Baghdad and (together with the support of the Baghdad government -- a sine qua non) suppress Sadr's Mahdi Army.

It is our last chance for success. Bush can thank the ISG and its instant irrelevance for making it possible.

Mr. Krauthammer must have read Mr. Kagan’s plan, because his (Krauthammer’s) prescription for victory is identical. Me, I liked his smack-down of Mssrs Baker and Hamilton.

Congratulations! You’re Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year!” Talk about a non-event media event. I remember when the whole frickin’ world anticipated the naming of Time’s Man of the Year (when did it become “person,” anyway?)…but that was back when Time was still respected and relevant. Doubtless there are those people who still believe Time is relevant, but you cannot count me in that number. I agree with Captain Ed:

Eh. So this is the year for the great huddled masses? Wouldn't that have been 1989, when the momentum of freedom and liberty felled an Evil Empire and tore down a wall in Berlin? Instead, Time selected Mikhail Gorbachev, and also named him its Man of the Decade for managing to take the Soviet Union into oblivion. The fact that they selected him over the two men responsible for forcing him into that position shows the problems Time has always had in seeing the long view of history.

At least, however, they made a decision and selected someone. The entire point of a Person of the Year is to acknowledge that some people play larger roles in history. Naming all of us may make us feel good about our anonymity, but in the end it's either pandering to millions of readers or a refusal to take a stand on anyone. Choosing everyone is an abdication on the entire purpose of the project.

What he said.

Here’s another lil something I was gonna blog this past Thursday, but forgot (of course): “Blogging ‘set to peak next year’.” The article contains a few ‘gee whiz’ facts that may or may not impress you. I was semi-impressed with these:

Gartner analyst Daryl Plummer said the reason for the levelling off in blogging was due to the fact that most people who would ever start a web blog had already done so.

He said those who loved blogging were committed to keeping it up, while others had become bored and moved on.

"A lot of people have been in and out of this thing," Mr Plummer said.

"Everyone thinks they have something to say, until they're put on stage and asked to say it."

Last month blog tracking firm Technorati reported that 100,000 new blogs were being created every day, and 1.3 million blog posts were written.

Technorati is tracking more than 57 million blogs, of which it believes around 55% are "active" and updated at least every three months.

100,000 new blogs every day? That IS amazing, ain’t it? YrHmblScrb thought long (over a year) and hard (ahem) before creating EIP. I questioned my commitment, to begin with, as in “Will I be able to keep doing it?” and was severely intimidated by the sheer abundance of high-quality writing in the blogs I was reading before I decided to take the plunge. The second point being that I really didn’t want to do something that didn’t “measure up.”

(Digression: There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t encounter another blog that’s thoughtful, articulate and well-written. But you can’t read ‘em all, can you?)

Well, I’ve answered Item One for the moment, what with going on for a year now. The chances are pretty good I’ll keep at it, with the occasional break for mental health reasons. As for Item Two, well…that’s for you to decide, Gentle Reader. It works for me.

Today’s Pic(s): Hangin’ out at the Drum Circle during Bob Marley Fest in Austin. Two days, 15 (or so) mostly local bands, all-day and into-the-night fun. Plus Weirdness! April, 2000.

Contrasts...

Taking the day off today. But…just for fun…here’s a study in contrasts. In the first two pics: friends Catherine, Amy and I in Santa Fe, May 2005.

First pic: On the Plaza in the morning, sober as three judges.

Second pic: (Much) Later that same day in a local cantina towards the end of the evening. Take your best guess as to our sobriety. Much fun had by all.

Pics one and two were taken by good friend Cory, who's on the right in pic three.

See all y'all tomorrow.

Some People's Kids...

This just in…an e-mail making the rounds in your Air Force today, courtesy of SN1. Names and other identifying data have been purged to protect both the innocent and the guilty. You can get the gist of what the major is saying simply by following along…

From: Maj XXXXX 333 FS/DOV
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 6:09 PM
To: C3C XXXXX USAFA/CS20
Cc:
Subject: RE: Cadet request for F-15 ride

You've got some brass balls on you, cadet fourth class XXXXX (seriously...is that your real name, lose that 'IV' crap, it just sounds stupid). Let's break down your message and maybe we can educate you on a thing or two.

"I'm a cadet at the Air Force Academy."

This message should be over right here. Period dot. Cadets don't troll for rides, they EARN them through the proper channels just like everybody else. We've got a long list of maintainers who have earned awards through this wing to get incentive rides. These guys bust their asses in the freezing cold and blistering heat and only the lucky few get the privilege of having a ride. Name me three things you think you've done to 'earn' a Strike Eagle ride. Seriously. And by the way, I've read about all the 'hard work' here - http://www.gdsalumni.blogspot.com/. And I quote "The learning curve was very steep this past year as I learned about military culture and doctrine in a pretty stressful environment." Brother, you have no idea what a stressful environment is.

"trying to arrange a flight with the 333^rd Fighter Wing"

Sweet mother of pearl, I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. We are the 333^rd Fighter Squadron, and we are a division of the 4^th Fighter Wing. If you want to snivel a ride from us, you ought to at least get your facts straight. This is the foreshadowing of your ignorance, let's continue....

"I have my Secret Clearance"

Your secret clearance doesn't mean f*** all to us. You think we're going to take you up on a tactical sortie? You think we're going to let you sit in on classified briefings? You think we're going to hang out and talk tactics with you? YGBFSM.

"and Physiological Training Card"

Your physiological training card doesn't mean f*** all to us. Remember all those hard working maintainers I mentioned earlier? Not one of them has a physiological training card - don't try to impress us with that crap.

"and can coordinate any AOC approval"

Last time I checked, the AOC didn't run the flying schedule of the 4^th FW or coordination of our incentive flights. Apparently you're not familiar with chain of command and proper channels. Let me tell you what this does NOT consist of; it does NOT consist of going VFR direct to the 333^rd Fighter Squadron scheduling shop and bothering our hard working schedulers. This consists of you talking to your commander, your commander talking to our commander, somebody in between giving the approval, and then in the middle of your pipe dream you will be denied your flight.

"My presence does not impose any limitations on the mission; I'm just along for the ride."

You couldn't be more wrong. What exactly is it you think we do here? Do you know anything about the F-15E? Do you know anything about Seymour Johnson? Do you know anything about the 333^rd? Since it would seem the answer to all of the above is a blatant 'No', I'll clue you in. In the F-15E, while we do have two seats, the second seat is not an empty seat that only gets occupied when goobs like yourself call up looking for a ride. It's a seat for qualified aircrew - we call them Weapon System Officers. He is an essential part of our mission and we don't give him the boot for guys who are looking to bum a ride. Also, the 333^rd is a Formal Training Unit. That means that we train young pilots and WSOs, so to give you a ride, we would either have to boot a student WSO in aforementioned formal course, or an instructor WSO trying to teach said student WSO. Get the picture?

"Any further guidance or authorization you can provide on this matter is much appreciated."

...and I'm spent - Hopefully this will serve as all the guidance you need. Gents, if there is something I have left out of this mentoring session with young cadet third class citizen XXXXX the IV, please feel free to chime in.

Maj XXXXX
Chief of Stan/Eval, 333rd FS

Like I said...some people’s kids…even those attending our service academies.

Update 12/19/2006: In response to all the googlers: "YGBFSM" means You Gotta Be Frickin' Sh**ing Me. Now you know.

Yesterday...

Yesterday was a mixed bag…the laundry got done, El Casa Móvil De Pennington got cleaned (well, the grittiest parts thereof, anyway), and the larder got its periodic minor re-stocking. There was one critical chore that wasn’t accomplished, however: replacing the Green Hornet’s battery. Replacing the battery isn’t an immediate matter of necessity as it still has a charge and still cranks the car over, albeit slowly now that cold weather is here. No… it’s just a case of prudent pre-emptive maintenance, given the Green Hornet’s battery is the original OEM item and is six years old. Or, near the end of its useful life. Better to replace it now than when it goes belly-up and I have to be somewhere, anywhere.

I was at the appointed place, at the appointed time, and after surrendering the Green Hornet’s keys to Mr. Goodwrench, I proceeded to the customer waiting area where I cooled my heels with a book. Fifteen minutes later the service manager walked up and apologized, profusely, that their supplier had sent the wrong battery and could I please come back tomorrow? Well, I guess so…after all, I don’t have much choice now, do I? “We’ll make it up to you, I promise,” said he, cryptically. Just how they’ll “make it up” remains to be seen…but I’m anticipating a ten percent discount, at the minimum, for their screw up.

So while I was at Mr. Goodwrench’s store I gazed longingly at a brand-new, bright red 2006 Corvette and actually opened the door and sat in the thing, where I immediately became awash in memories of Former Happy Days. Those memories aren’t nearly enough to justify paying the princely sum of $52,000.00 (and change: list price) for the thing, however. Even after applying my GM Employee discount, which is substantial on high-zoot models like the ‘Vette or most Cadillacs, I’d still have to part with over $40K of my (not-so-) hard earned money to drive it off the lot. Dang! That’s a chunk o’ change, ain’t it?

I also had two interesting encounters yesterday…the first being with a woman I dated over three years ago. I ran into her in Wally-World for the first time in three years, which is a minor miracle of sorts, considering P-Town only has 12,000 souls and one would expect to run into people you know quite frequently, nu? Such is not the case, however. We caught up a lil bit and then went on our respective ways. I spent the better part of the rest of the day congratulating myself on remembering her name... no small victory, that. I’m given to serious worry about the fact I have trouble with names, in general, and specifically with those folks I haven’t seen in quite a while. But yesterday’s encounter is evidence that Alzheimer’s is delayed, for the moment.

Encounter Number Two was in the laundromat with a rather pleasant lady around my age. We’d been chatting for about ten minutes when she asked “Well, what do you think of our Dear Leader…President Bush?” “Oh Shit, Oh Dear,” thought I, noting the way her mouth got all twisted up as she said “Dear Leader.” I measured my words carefully in reply, stating I supported the President but had issues with his inability to articulate the seriousness of the war we’re in. I got the usual moonbat talking points in response, “no WMDs,” “oil,” “war of choice,” and so on…ending with “it’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.” “I think you ARE wrong,” said I. She was literally taken aback, in the sense she physically jerked about six inches away from me after I spoke, and had an incredulous expression on her face. I was all prepared for a heated exchange but she changed the subject, thankfully.

I don’t know why I’m surprised at these sort of encounters, given that seven of ten Americans disapprove of Dubya’s “handling of the war,” if one believes the latest polls. Yet I am surprised, each and every time. There seems to be a LOT of lefty Kool-Aid drinkers running around in The Land of the Free. Yet I suppose they can be forgiven, what with the MSM’s incessant negative bleating. On the other hand, there are alternative media, right?

Today’s Pic(s): A sight seldom seen these days, outside of the Red States…two views of the Nativity scene outside of the Roosevelt County building. A group of kindergarten kids and their teachers arrived as I was shooting the Nativity scene, and I took a few pics of the group. After snapping the kids I walked over to one of the teachers and asked who they were and what the occasion was. I was told they were kindergartners and the group was going caroling in the County offices, and oh, by the way, are you from the paper? “Nope, I’m not…I thought you guys were a good looking group and just had to take your picture!” A Nativity scene and caroling... ain’t it GOOD? Taken yesterday...12/14/2006.

Briefly...

A short post this morning…I have stuff to do today and need to get started. All of the “stuff” is mundane and all of it is necessary to keep life on an even keel. Not the least of which is that much-hated task: laundry. Once again, I’ve let it go to the point where I’m out of clean clothes and just might have to call a moving company (or find a fork lift) to get my accumulated dirty clothes from here to the laundromat. But the laundry is just one thing out of two or three things I gotta do.

One of my Hot Buttons about the war has been my perception — I repeat: perception — that our rules of engagement (ROE) in Iraq (and elsewhere) are too restrictive and work to the enemy’s advantage. There are those folks that agree with me, and Herschel Smith is one of them. His essay, “The NCOs Speak on Rules of Engagement,” is an eloquent statement against the current ROE based upon first-person narratives from those who know: the non-commissioned officers on the line. Excerpt:

In the end, the most compelling witness to the success or failure of a strategy is the effect on the ground. Rules of engagement have a strategic import in that the lack of proper ROE will always cause doctrine to become mute and tactics to fail. The testimony of three respected NCOs is that the current ROE are not only not helpful, but that they are a hindrance and impediment to accomplishment of mission objectives. Thus, the strategic importance of ROE. ROE cannot cause us to win, but they can sure cause us to lose.

I’m waiting for the Powers That Be to acknowledge we’re in a war, not a “police action” or some other exercise in restraint. It’s way past time to pull the gloves off and “go hard.” I’m likely to remain waiting for a long, long time.

Today’s Pic: “Bad Skies,” one of a series of pics I took last summer as a severe thunderstorm moved through P-Town. Scary, yet beautiful. June, 2005.

On Music... which quickly turns into another paean to RP

I can usually count on my blogging friends for inspiration, and such is the case with this post. Lou has been reflecting on some of her favorite music over the course of the last day or two and unsurprisingly (or surprisingly, take your pick) I find we have several artists in common: Gary P. Nunn and Joe Ely, just to name two. Lou has a definite advantage over me in this area, as she has lived in places where it wasn’t out of the ordinary to see folks like Gary and/or Joe on a regular basis. Most college towns are like that, come to think on it. And Lou has another musical claim to fame that simply cannot be topped: Neil Young played at her wedding reception! Yowza!!

Music is (and has always been) very, very important to me. Less so these days than in the way-back when I subscribed to The Hippie Trinity of “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll,” the latter two being prime facilitators of the first, of course. But that tells you more than a little bit about the type of women I hung around with back in the day. Guys, too. The one thing we had one thing in common was a deep devotion to “our” music, and all the trappings…the de rigueur subscription to Rolling Stone (or Creem), the monthly trips here and there to concerts, the patched jeans, the whole nine yards. It was a culcha thang. And part of that culcha was looking down our collective noses at any musical genre that wasn’t “hip”…especially country.

But, ah…the greatest “good thing” about aging is your horizons broaden along with your waist line. Conventional wisdom, such as it is, goes by the boards and you are essentially free of peer pressure to enjoy what you will. I began to develop an appreciation for classical music around age 35 and country music around 40. The aforementioned Joe Ely piqued my interest in country when I saw him in London for the first time in ’81 or ’82 (The Grateful Dead and The Eagles aside. How we made allowances for these two group’s obvious country influences is beyond me, but we did.), Lyle Lovett sharpened it in the mid-80s, and SN1 exposed me to some really great country stuff a few years back. So, I’m a confirmed country fan, now. (SN1, by the way, has the most eclectic taste in music I’ve ever seen, including hip-hop, which I just cannot get into no matter how hard I try.)

Another of the greatest things about pop music is its constant evolution and the constant parade of new artists. “Keeping up” has been a bit of a problem these past few years, or ever since I landed in P-Town. I cancelled my subscription to RS years and years ago, and local radio…uh…sucks, to put it mildly. Long-time readers know I’ve found an answer to this problem: Radio Paradise. I’ve gone on (and on, and on) quite a bit about the wonderfulness of RP. The best thing is the wide variety of music on RP; here’s an example from this hour:

11:22 am - Stephen Stills - Treetop Flyer
11:17 am - Billy Bragg & Wilco - Airline to Heaven
11:12 am - Diana Krall - Fly Me to the Moon
11:06 am - Miles Davis - Blue In Green
11:01 am - Herbie Hancock - Stitched Up (w/ John Mayer)
10:56 am - Cracker - Something You Ain't Got

Two pure-jazz tunes, one jazz-pop fusion tune, one acoustic “Old Hippie” song, and two others. Great stuff. RP also plays a fair bit of country, too…including Johnny and Roseanne Cash, Lyle, Lucinda Williams, Hank Williams (senior), Joe Ely, and Steve Earle, just to name a few that come immediately to mind. And not much, if any, hip-hop. This is a good thing. Another “good thing” is the sense of community RP has. Bill, RP’s proprietor, has facilitated this community by allowing members (membership is free) to comment on each and every song played, and to rate each song on a scale from one to ten. The comments forums (fora?) are a hoot and can be educational to boot, what with song and artist trivia posted routinely. RP members’ song ratings are aggregated in one spot, so you can get a sense of what people like (and don’t like) simply by viewing their profile. As an example, here’s my complete list of “tens:”

10 - The Who - Quadrophenia
10 - Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
10 - Van Morrison - Saint Dominic's Preview
10 - Glenn Miller - A String of Pearls
10 - The Temptations - Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)
10 - Joni Mitchell - A Case of You
10 - Beatles - You Never Give Me/The End
10 - Kinks - Living On A Thin Line
10 - Blind Faith - Can't Find My Way Home
10 - Neil Young - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
10 - Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly
10 - Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pipeline
10 - Rolling Stones - Moonlight Mile

Entirely predictable for a guy my age, eh? That Beatles entry is the complete second side of Abbey Road, by the way. If you’re interested, my complete set of ratings is here. A quick perusal of my ratings list gives one a good feel for the eclectic nature of RP’s play list. And insight into my "taste," such as it is.

Radio Paradise: I’d be lost without it. Well, maybe not “lost,” but certainly a lot poorer. The soundtrack to my life these days. Assuming the ‘net connection is in serviceable order, of course.

Late Start, Part VI

Another slow start today, but it’s not (entirely) from a lack of motivation. So, as is my habit when I’m slow out of the gate, I’ll put up a lil sumthin/anything and be back later. When the coffee kicks in.

I spent the late morning and most all afternoon over in the Big(ger) City^TM yesterday, and when I got back I found this in my in-box:

From: (Name) SPC USA xxxxxx@centcom.mil
To: (me)@gmail.com
Date: Dec 12, 2006 11:25 AM
Subject: CENTCOM
mailed-by: centcom.mil

Good morning,

I found your blog this morning and spent some time reading.

As military public affairs it is our mission to report to the public what its military is doing. In the past this was done solely via the main stream media. Today, with the advent and growing popularity of blogs, we have been reaching out to those of you who operate and are involved in discussions involving the war and the military.

Would you like to be on our email list? We send out press releases and stories of breaking news as events warrant. Also, we are always looking to gain more exposure to our website and to invite people interested in the events in the Middle East to use our site as another source of information. With that said, I ask that you consider adding a link to www.centcom.mil.

You can also receive our press releases via an automated daily email feed via Feedburner by using the link below.

Subscribe to US CENTCOM Press Releases by Email

I appreciate your time and hope to hear back from you.

V/R

Spc. (Name)
U.S. Central Command
Public Affairs

Why, yes. Yes, I would like to be on your e-mail list, and I’m much more than slightly embarrassed that I’m not on it already. And I think it’s a Good Thing that CENTCOM is reaching out to bloggers, with the full-understanding that the note I received is a canned effort. It’s the thought that counts, never mind the thought should have occurred to the Powers-That-Be at least a couple of years ago. Better late than never, eh?

Today’s Pic: “Got Poop?” A vendor stand at the 2003 Roosevelt County Ag-Expo, an annual occurrence here in P-Town. I’d never been to an ag-expo before my 2003 excursion, and it was an enlightening experience for a city-boy, believe me. I had a great time, met a lot of friendly people and got more than a few smiles out of it…and this is one of those (smiles). February, 2003.

Untitled. Coz I Can't Think of One...

While we’re waiting for the other shoe(s) to drop—the ones worn by the Joint Chiefs—it’s instructive to read this comment on the ISG report, in today’s (WSJ) Opinion Journal. Excerpt:

The whole ISG report is a spectacular punt. It contains a few broad, vague goals for our policy--and a whole range of specific recommendations for actions that are not in the power of the American government to take. It recommends, for example, that the Iraqi government "accelerate assuming responsibility for Iraqi security by increasing the number and quality of Iraqi Army Brigades," that the Iranian government "use its influence over Iraqi Shiite groups to encourage national reconciliation" and that the Syrian government "stem the flow of funding, insurgents, and terrorists in and out of Iraq."

The members of the commission certainly hope that these governments will take those actions. But then again, they very well might not.

What the ISG offers us are mere aspirations, with no serious consideration of the concrete means required to fulfill those aspirations.

After listening/watching nearly a week’s worth of incessant babbling on the part of the ISG co-chairmen and media pundits, I’ve arrived at the same conclusion as Mr. Tracinski, the author of the piece linked above. The ISG report is worse than useless, it’s fundamentally counter-productive and doesn’t say a damned thing that hasn’t already been said before. Further, if the US attempts to “negotiate” with Syria and Iran, those regimes will see it for what it truly would be: an admission of weakness and failure. We haven’t failed yet, but we’re on the road to failure if the ISG’s recommendations are all we have.

I’m certain that most of what the Joint Chiefs will say will be classified. I’m also waiting with baited breath for the unclassified summary. And I’m hoping they’ll recommend a change in course to achieve victory. One of the first steps would be to kill Moqtada al-Sadr, which we should have done, oh, two years ago. Just sayin’…

Morgan and I had an off-line exchange about cars yesterday after he linked my Prius post below. I want to point out to all y’all that Morgan is quite the exception to the (general) American practice of replacing one’s automobile every two or three years, what with being the satisfied owner of an 18 year old Toyota with over 328,000 miles on the clock. That’s amazing, isn’t it?

I’m a “buy and hold” sort of guy when it comes to cars, providing I like the car. I love the Green Hornet, and I’ve owned her for over six years now. Previous automotive love-objects included a 3-series BMW I had for ten years and a Corvette I owned for seven years. But I don’t think I’ll ever come close to 18 years and 300K miles!

I was well and truly unmotivated yesterday and still am, to a certain extent. I did accomplish one thing: I completed my Christmas shopping, such as it is. I’m remarkably unimaginative yet expedient in this area. Unimaginative in the sense that Amazon gift certificates aren’t exactly creative. But they are expedient, nu? No wrapping, instantaneous delivery, and simply full of choice and possibilities. God, I love the ‘net…

T’is the season… Radio Paradise played one my favorite seasonal songs this morning…Joni Mitchell’s “River.” It’s a simple song, just Joni and her piano. But it’s just sooo beautiful. The lyrics:

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

But it don't snow here
It stays pretty green
I'm going to make a lot of money
Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene
Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
I wish I had a river I could skate away on
I made my baby cry

He tried hard to help me
You know, he put me at ease
And he loved me so naughty
Made me weak in the knees
Oh, I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I'm so hard to handle
I'm selfish and I'm sad
Now I've gone and lost the best baby
That I ever had
I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Oh, I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I made my baby say goodbye

It's coming on Christmas
They're cutting down trees
They're putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Jingle Bells it ain’t. But it’s been a favorite of mine for 35 years now…

Today’s Pic: Another one of those great New Mexico vistas…mile marker 223 on US 84, in the north central part of the state. A relatively clear day under an azure sky. June, 2004.

Unmotivated

We’re feeling just a tad unmotivated as the morning unwinds and approaches the noon hour. My usual rounds and a quick scan of memeorandum haven’t inspired me in the least. Thank God for my photo directories, because, when all else fails I can give you…

Today’s Pic: One of the last, if not the last, of the Prague pics. This time it’s another view of the Hus Monument in Old Town Square. June, 1999.

Pious. No, Excuse Me! I Meant Prius...

I fell asleep last evening as I usually do: watching the Tee Vee. I had never allowed a television in my sleeping quarters, ever, until I moved into El Casa Móvil De Pennington. As a matter of fact, there was an extended period in my life, from around 1973 until 1980, when I didn’t own a Tee Vee at all, let alone have one in the bedroom. But that was then, this is now. Now you know one of my more embarrassing little secrets. And I digress, of course.

The Tee Vee was tuned to C-SPAN2 last evening and I fell asleep watching some nerdy type give a dissertation on the brilliance of General Sherman’s Civil War strategy. A dose of Ambien or Lunesta couldn’t have put me to sleep faster. But there’s a downside to falling asleep with the Tee Vee on: you wake up with the damned thing on, too. And sometimes you wake up —this is especially true when watching C-SPAN2 on the weekends— to raving freakin’ moonbats. And such was the case this morning. A woman by the name of Eve Ensler was going on about the wonderfulness of her life-long journey of self-discovery and the most-important lessons that all the rest of us, especially if we happen to be womyn, should learn from her experience. I immediately changed the channel and set about making the coffee and doing all that other stuff I do upon awakening.

I sat down at my desk as the coffee was brewing and absentmindedly thought “Who is Eve Ensler, anyway? The name sounds familiar…I should know her.” So I googled her. Oh, yeah. That Eve Ensler, she of “Vagina Monologues” fame. Founder of V-Day, and blogger at HuffPo. Suspicions confirmed: Moonbat, First Degree. I followed one of the google links to her HuffPo blog and saw the little pic above. I clicked it, being as how it looked more interesting than Ensler’s ravings. And I laughed, coz here’s what I saw…

First, there’s Arianna herownself, going on about how it’s patriotic to drive a Japanese car, with no sense of irony at all.

Then there’s Nora Ephron and Bill (ptui!) Maher, the former who says she doesn’t really need a car (she lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side, after all) yet she bought one, anyway; and the latter who informs us in only 20 words that driving a Toyota is all about self-preservation.

And finally, Larry David makes the only honest statement on the page, although I’m certain it’s an attempt at humor:

Or a tip o’ the hat to that wonderful South Park episode on the subject: Smug Alert.

At any rate, it’s just all too, too precious, ain’t it? The whole “limousine liberal” meme is pretty tired, and most everything that should have been said on the subject has already been said at least a hundred times. Still and even, it just makes me laugh. If I were in the same financial boat as Arianna or Maher, I’d own one of these:

A rompin’, stompin’ 500-hp M5. Screw a whole bunch of Priuses Piouses.

Note: Sorry about the formatting on the original version of this post. I worked on the post for 30 freakin' minutes and just couldn't get it right. I went back and edited, again, removing the left and right justifications on the graphics and just placed 'em dead center. That works better. There are... uh ... certain limitations to Blogger's formatting ability. And my skills in accomplishing same, obviously.

Longer than Your Usual Saturday Post...

...you might want to get a cup. I went on longer than usual for a Saturday. But this is what you get when there's no football.

Uh, right. I’ll bet you say that to all the girls:

"It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters," he said.

Quoted in reaction to this report from the Beeb, which probably isn’t going down too well in Bangalore, Calcutta, and Mumbai. On the other hand, Maria Muldaur’s career might just experience a resurgence (30 second clips: real audio, win media player). Of sorts.

You probably already saw this, anyway. According to Yahoo, this lil item (ahem) was Friday’s second-most e-mailed story.

And, apropos of nothing, but while we’re on the subject of…uh… anatomy:

According to Islam, puberty is a stage when a child is ready to take on some adult responsibilities. As a part of this, while adolescent girls are expected to behave and dress as mature women, every male child should be circumcised before he reaches puberty as a step into manhood. In the traditional context, sünnet (circumcision) is usually performed by a “sünnetçi,” always a male, who has been trained and is experienced in circumcision but does not have a medical degree. During the operation, which usually takes place at home, the kirve (a close friend of the father or a male relative) holds the child, and the sünnetçi conducts the operation, usually without any anesthetics if performed in the traditional way.

Great importance is attached to this ritual in traditional Turkey, as it is accepted as a step into manhood. A special feast is prepared, and the child is dressed in a white gown and a cap adorned with decorations. Following the operation, he is laid down in a decorated bed while prayers are said and visitors bring in presents and are offered food and sherbet. Sünnet is a religious rule, although many people believe that it is also a requirement for healthy sexuality, both in the medical and functional sense. As a result of this, if the child is born in a hospital, many parents now prefer the operation to take place in the hospital setting, a few days after birth, out of hygienic as well as economic concerns.

—From a monograph on sexuality in Turkey

I’ve been to a sünnet ritual. I was 13 at the time (1958); my father and I were guests at a sünnet in the village of my father’s friend Yashar, about 40 miles outside of Ankara. The “honorees” were the village mayor’s son and another boy the mayor sponsored. It was customary for a well-to-do man to sponsor, i.e., pay for, the circumcision of a less-well-off man’s son and include the boy and his family in the subsequent festivities. The boys were 12 and 11 years old, respectively.

The ritual took place around 1000 hrs in the mayor’s home, in an upstairs room. There were about 12 witnesses, all male, family friends and guests, and all dressed in suits or the best clothes they owned, in the case of the poorer men. We all trooped upstairs for the ceremony. The boys were lying on a large brass double bed placed in the center of the room. There was no other furniture. Each boy was dressed in a white night-shirt type of garment and wore elaborately embroidered silk skull caps, one red, one blue. The sünnetçi arrived and was introduced with great formality to all the witnesses, including my father and me. Several of the men made speeches and said prayers and then we all gathered around the bed. The sünnetçi went to the bed, lifted up the boys nightshirts, and injected them with an anesthetic. The mayor’s son winced, the other boy cried a bit, and I cringed. The sünnetçi waited about three or four minutes for the anesthetic to take effect, making small talk with the boys, showing them the instruments, and then performed the operations deftly and quickly, first on one side of the bed, then the other. It was over in no more than two minutes, per boy, including the bandaging. After the operation the mayor and the sünnetçi came over to me, each one grabbing a wrist, and started pulling me towards the bed. And then they began laughing, to my great relief. I was all ready to rip my pants down and show ‘em I’d already been done, but it never came to that. My Ol’ Man almost pissed himself he was laughing so hard. Yeah, that was real funny, Dad…

After the ceremony the men all went downstairs for tea and baklava. It’s interesting that no one there spoke English except for Yashar, my father, and I, yet we communicated exceedingly well. After about an hour, all the men left except for the mayor, Yashar, Dad and I. We spent the better part of the afternoon just chatting with the mayor and drinking lots of tea. There were no women in view, none.

I’ll make what could be a long story short. The mayor threw a party for the whole village that evening. The village square was cleared out, tables were set up, and the entire village of about 500 (or so) people turned out for free food, music, and dancing. After everyone was seated, the boys were carried into the square by four real big guys, still in the same brass bed where they had been circumcised. The bed was carried up on to a raised dais, set down, and the village stood and cheered. And then we got down to some serious feasting, laughing and drinking (for the adults). There was a constant parade of well-wishers coming and going to the dais, bringing food and presents. The boys ate it up, and even though I’m certain they were sore, they were all smiles. The village women ate with us but seemed to disappear after the meal was over. The men and older boys remained and the party went on late into the night.

It was quite the experience.

Charles Krauthammer on That Murder in London:

Litvinenko knew more about his circumstances than anyone else. And on their deathbeds, people don't lie. As Machiavelli said (some attribute this to Voltaire), after thrice refusing the entreaties of a priest to repent his sins and renounce Satan, "At a time like this, Father, one tries not to make new enemies."

In science, there is a principle called Occam's razor. When presented with competing theories for explaining a natural phenomenon, one adopts the least elaborate. Nature prefers simplicity. Scientists do not indulge in grassy-knoll theories. You don't need a convoluted device to explain Litvinenko's demise.

[…]

Opponents of Putin have been falling like flies. Some jailed, some exiled, some killed. True, Litvinenko's murder will never be traced directly to Putin, no matter how dogged the British police investigation. State-sponsored assassinations are almost never traceable to the source. Too many cutouts. Too many layers of protection between the don and the hit man.

Mr. Krauthammer makes a danged good case, as usual. I particularly like his closing paragraph. But, aside from all that, one thing is crystal-clear: Ol’ Vlad learned his lessons well at the KGB. Former Happy Days appear to be right around the corner, if not already here. One has to feel bad for the Russians.

Fun with Site Meter, or More Bizarre Hits from this week…

It appears I’ve tapped into a sub-culture I never knew existed. Two more hits for petticoat punishment over the past couple of days, one for petticoat punished, and one for petticoat discipline december 2006. Who’d a thunk it?

Sorry, I’m fresh out: spells for traveling in portales.

No, I won’t help you with your homework: all quiet on the western front book report. I don’t speak Korean, anyway.

Your guess is as good as mine, but two folks may have found what they were looking for: qe%

Get away! She’s mine! c-span;s susan swain.

A few things come to mind here, but I’m pretty sure they’re not what this person was looking for: head movil discontinued elation. Let’s not get personal, OK?

This one is real “inside tee-ball” stuff, but Dan will get it. Uh, no…we never had one there: an/flr-9 moscow. (Here’s a description of the AN/FLR-9, if you’re curious, with additional info here, including some interesting war stories.)

I know why, after watching her for half an hour on C-SPAN: "melanie sloan" divorced. The mystery is how she ever got married. I suspect large quantities of alcohol and/or other drugs were involved, in Las Vegas.

And finally…Would this person please contact me? I want a reading, and you’re good: maria muldaur "love songs" dylan site:blogspot.com. Prescient, you are.

It amazes me EIP turns up when someone runs a strange (to me) query. I’m even more amazed these folks still click through. I suppose I’m easily amazed… and easily amused, too.

Today’s Pic: A street scene in Old Town, Prague. Prague is a city of spires, in its own unique way. I don’t know why, but the grouping of four smaller spires on the corners of a main spire is a recurring motif in the architecture. Medieval Czech architects must have known a thing or two about lightning…or at least how to ground buildings. I’d wager that Prague is one of the most lightning-struck cities in the world, what with all those pointy things sticking up in the sky. June, 1999.

Vote! And Other Mundane Ramblings...

Ah…so it’s come to this? Advertisements and testimonials on this blog? Well, sure! There have always been testimonials on this blog! If and when I find a good thing, be it an article, editorial, advertisements to like/avoid, or various and sundry other good things, don’t I tell you? So when I encourage you to get over to the 2006 Weblog Awards site and vote…it’s only natural. Two of my daily reads are finalists: Lex and Lileks. Lex needs your help, as you can see. Mr. Lileks, on the other hand, has a huge lead in his category, as of this hour. But only until the moonbats find out there’s an election going on, at which time they’ll mobilize the dead, bring out the absentee and provisional ballots, and whine about how the poor were disenfranchised by the “digital divide” when Greenwald loses. But as for now? They’re a little bit slow on the uptake, ya know.

Vote early, vote often daily!

I’m oh-so-tempted to weigh in on the Iraq Study Group’s report…but I won’t. Not yet, anyway. Mssrs Baker and Hamilton have been busy as all get out, making all the rounds. I saw them on C-SPAN testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, saw them on PBS’ The News Hour, saw them on Special Report w/Brit Hume…yadda, yadda. And that was just on Wednesday. Other ISG members are making the rounds, too, e.g., I saw Sandra O’Connor and Vernon Jordan on The News Hour last evening. This whole ISG thing is getting one of the hardest “pushes” I’ve seen in a long, long time. Talk about pressure on the administration! Poor Tony Snow is beginning to look a bit “aged,” doncha think? (video at the link)

Very few people seem to remember the Joint Chiefs have a similar report coming, as does the National Security establishment. I’m thinking reasonable and rational folks will wait until all the evidence is in before pontificating. Reason and rationality are in short supply these days, however.

Here’s another one of those spiffy quiz thingies, courtesy of Mike:

What American accent do you have?

Umm…I beg to differ, and I’m pretty sure SN1 and SN2 will back me up on this. Some of my usage is Suthern, ma’am, but accent? Not frickin’ hardly! The code provided by the quiz site to display your results is pretty useless (the bars don’t get filled), other than providing a link to the quiz. So I cut and pasted the graphic results from the quiz, just to show what they say are my linguistic characteristics. Which, I suppose, all goes to prove that determining an accent using questions about how one pronounces certain words is…uh…useless. YMMV, of course.

It was pretty danged cold here at El Casa Móvil De Pennington yesterday. Our high was only 39 vs an average high of 53 for the date. And it was windy, as usual, making it seem quite a bit cooler than it actually was. Today is supposed to be a bit better: the forecasted high is 52. We’re colder, earlier this year. So much for global warming climate change. But, as always…it could be worse, and it is worse in some of my old stomping grounds, like Detroit, Williston, ND, and Rochester. With snow!

Today’s Pic: Another Prague pic, but I doubt if Lou will paint this one! Just a billboard that caught my eye whilst I was strolling about the city. Those Euro-weenies certainly have a different sort of take on advertising, eh? And I like it… June, 1999.

Pearl Harbor Day

The USS Arizona - Then and Now (U.S. Navy photographs)

It’s said — quite often and by many, many people — that 9/11/2001 “changed everything.” And it is indeed true for the current generations of Americans. But I’ll submit that 12/07/1941 “changed everything” to a degree it is impossible for us who were not alive and going about our business on that Sunday in December, 1941 to realize. Those of us whose parents were members of The Greatest Generation understand my point. A smaller subset, those of us whose parents fought in World War II, understand the point a little bit better, perhaps. We have the benefit of hearing the first-person narratives of that day in December 1941, and stories from the long, long days that followed…from the dark and despair of the war’s first year to the signing of the Japanese surrender on the decks of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay not quite four years later. And a lot in between.

They are leaving us. The Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is holding their last meeting today.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii - With their number quickly dwindling, survivors of Pearl Harbor will gather Thursday one last time to honor those killed by the Japanese 65 years ago, and to mark a day that lives in infamy.

This will be their last visit to this watery grave to share stories, exchange smiles, find peace and salute their fallen friends. This, they say, will be their final farewell.

"This will be one to remember," said Mal Middlesworth, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. "It's going to be something that we'll cherish forever."

The survivors have met here every five years for four decades, but they're now in their 80s or 90s and are not counting on a 70th reunion. They have made every effort to report for one final roll call.

Their last meeting. I know All Things Must Pass, but it saddens me so. We owe them so much, and our thank-yous seem inadequate compared to the sacrifices they made.

But: We shall continue, we shall honor their sacrifices, we will remember, and we shall rededicate ourselves to the task that faces this generation…the one that began on 9/11/2001. The Greatest Generation expects it from us.

Where I've Been Today...

So…Becky puts up this link—Jackson Pollock—along with an “as if you didn’t spend enough time on the internet” statement. It IS cool, and I can see where it’s gonna be a serious time waster for me. That's a sample of my efforts on the right.

Thanks, Becky. I think.

On a much more serious note, Lou gives us a link to Kaziah Hancock, an artist who paints portraits of the fallen, gratis, for their families. Ms. Hancock has also enlisted other artists to participate in her project, and there is an extensive collection of portraits at the link. What a grand gesture, Ms. Hancock!

Even more serious…You’re a better man/woman than I if you can get to the end of this story about Navy Corpsman Chris Walsh with dry eyes. And be sure to read Lex’s post (from whence the link originates), and the comments. I’m gratified to see Corpsman Walsh’s story appeared in the San Diego paper. The MSM, or at least parts thereof, do notice and print some of the good that’s coming out of Iraq. But not nearly enough.

Oh…lest I forget…Lex is a finalist in the “Best Milblog” category of the 2006 Weblogs Awards. Deserved!!

The Iraq Study Group officially released their report about an hour ago, and the President made a statement about the report from the White House, flanked by ISG co-chairmen Hamilton and Baker. The WaPo has an extensive article on the subject, along with links to the Report’s Executive Summary, full text, and appendices (all in pdf format).

"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating," says the report's executive summary. "There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved."

"Our most important recommendations call for new and enhanced diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and the region, and a change in the primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq that will enable the United States to begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq responsibly," the summary says. If these recommendations are implemented and the Iraqi government moves ahead with national reconciliation, "terrorism will be dealt a blow," stability enhanced and U.S. credibility and interests protected, it says.

However, "If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences could be severe," the summary says. "A slide toward chaos could trigger the collapse of Iraq's government and a humanitarian catastrophe. Neighboring countries could intervene. Sunni-Shia clashes could spread. Al-Qaeda could win a propaganda victory and expand its base of operations. The global standing of the United States could be diminished. Americans could become more polarized."

All of the approaches the study group considered "have flaws," the summary says. "Our recommended course has shortcomings, but we firmly believe that it includes the best strategies and tactics to positively influence the outcome in Iraq and the region."

It will be interesting, to say the very least, to watch how all this unfolds in the coming weeks and months. All y’all have no doubt read, seen, and heard the same punditry as I have over the past week or two as information dribbled out about the report’s contents and recommendations. Well, we now have the “real deal.” It remains to be seen if the administration and its oh-so-vocal critics will take cooperative, substantive action to win this war or if it will be “business as usual.” I’m hopeful, but I’m sure as Hell not optimistic.

Today’s Pic: The follow-up to yesterday’s Prague photo. I told you I went over and had a couple of Budvars immediately after snapping yesterday’s pic…and here’s the view from under the umbrella. And, by the way…Budvar beats the Hell out of that “other” Budweiser. It just goes to show: the original is nearly always better than the copy. June, 1999.

Apolitical

Bill Roggio is back in Iraq and will embed with the Marines in Fallujah. You can read about his trip back to The Sandbox, and several impromptu conversations he had with soldiers, Marines, and contractors during his journey here. A common thread through the conversations he had is the military’s anger at MSM reporting from Iraq. Example:

In nearly every conversation, the soldiers, Marines and contractors expressed they were upset with the coverage of the war in Iraq in general, and the public perception of the daily situation on the ground. The felt the media was there to sensationalize the news, and several stated some reporters were only interested in “blood and guts.” They freely admitted the obstacles in front of them in Iraq. Most recognized that while we are winning the war on the battlefield, albeit with difficulties in some areas, we are losing the information war. They felt the media had abandoned them.

In this day and age the troops get the same news we do…Fox, CNN, MSNBC, et al… and they don’t like it. Come to think on it, more than a few of us don’t like it, either. I’m looking forward to reading Mr. Roggio’s reports from Fallujah.

So… It’s been more than a week since I last posted something political. I haven’t disengaged from politics completely; I’m still reading the stuff, but not nearly as obsessively or completely as in weeks past. Refraining from commenting is doing wonders for my attitude, I think. It’s hard to tell, of course, since I’m judge, jury, and…wait! Don’t finish that thought!

I am wondering, though, if my sudden disinterest in the subject is symptomatic of being on the losing side of last month’s elections. Could be. And then again, maybe not. I prefer to think it’s just a case of burn-out. The classic remedy for burn-out is time off, and once again, I prefer to think that’s what’s happening here.

Here’s a pretty cool video from a couple of guys who go by the name of Dos Gringos. Rumor has it these two guys are F-16 drivers just back from The Sandbox, but their web site is pretty thin on info. They have links to photo albums with pics taken in Iraq, and I’m surmising they are either (a) stationed at Cannon, (b) were once stationed at Cannon, or (c) flew jets assigned to Cannon…based on the “CC” fin-flash on the jets in the picture(s). A pretty cool vid, though…lots of stuff being blown up and an original soundtrack! I found these guys by following a link Lex posted to this video, which is just as good…if not better than “Gunz.”

The NYT has a pretty good, if brief, article on Turkey in today’s edition. There’s a soft spot in my heart for Turkey, and I believe the US has no better or more steadfast friend in the Middle East than Turkey. I lived in Ankara as a child from 1957 until 1959. I returned to Turkey in 1971, when I was privileged to be stationed in Beautiful Sinop by the Sea. It’s a beautiful country full of friendly people who are predisposed to like Americans. Istanbul is one of the most fascinating cities on the planet, bar none. And raki! OmiGawd…raki! A first cousin to ouzo, raki is deserving of a post unto itself. Or, perhaps the effects of drinking raki are deserving of a post…

Today’s Pic: A grey day in Prague, Part Deux, or alternately "Just Another Pic From The Great European Divorce Tour." I moseyed on over to those umbrellas immediately after snapping this pic and had a couple of Budvars while scoping out the passers-by. June, 1999.

Can't Trust That Day...

From today’s very brief Bleat:

Maybe that’s why I want to watch the movie; I want to see if they came up with a compelling reason for Superman to have a secret identity. It’s like the world’s longest-running metaphor for being in the closet, which I’m sure two thousand other bloggists have noted.

Bloggists? Where did that come from? I actually like it; better than blogger. Blogger sounds like someone carrying big wobbly Hefty bags of Jell-O; bloggist has a certain precision, as well as an old-world charm. It also lends itself to bloggista and bloggisto, which moves the emphasis from the dull O to the pert & vivacious i vowel.

Hmmm. I rather like the idea of being a bloggist, rather than a blogger. Dunno if I’m ready for bloggisto, though. Too close to Mephisto. Or Bluto. And I ain’t gonna touch that metaphor thing.

SN1 sent along a link to this video showing a new and highly effective means of traffic control being employed in Denmark. Warning: This link is NOT work-safe…there are bare Danish breasts being flaunted. Like I said…effective!

It’s not too early to bookmark this page for Christmas Eve…NORAD tracks Santa. Along about this time last year I posted a brief reminiscence about tracking Santa manually at the radar sites I was stationed at back in the day, quoted here just for grins and giggles:

Back when I was in the radar biz we used to do this sort of thing locally, for the families of the guys at the radar sites where I was stationed. Back in the day every radar site had a video mapping device that fed programmed exercise video to Operations; the normal output from the video mapper was "canned" and consisted of video blips simulating actual aircraft. On Christmas Eve we'd load up a special video overlay and route it to the intercept control scopes in Operations. While "exercise" video consisted of fake bogeys (simple blips) and tracks to train intercept controllers and technicians, the special Santa video showed a sleigh and reindeer on the scopes. Not nearly real, but real enough for the kids that saw it!

The kids always got a big thrill out of the radar displays. Doing the Santa video was one of the most fun things I ever did while I was a radar guy.

And we used to put green and/or red glass overlays on the floodlights inside the radomes, too, the object being to create huge red or green “ornaments” lit from within. Well, we did it at those sites that had translucent radomes; most of the radomes were opaque. The effect was pretty cool: the biggest damned Christmas ornaments you’ve ever seen!! And they could be seen for miles in most cases.

Life was sometimes hard on a radar site, even if said site was in close proximity to a major American city…witness this tale (the radome in the foreground is translucent, the other two are opaque. Just so you know the difference!). Mt. Lemmon is right outside Tucson, in fact the site was/is visible from just about any place in the city.

Today’s Pic: Feeling rather military today, thus: More Plane Pr0n. This time it’s an F4U Corsair (with a Wildcat in the background), taken at a Confederate Commemorative Air Force Air Show in Brownsville, Texas. March, 2000. (As always: click the pic for the larger version.)

Quiz: What's the obscure reference in the post title?

It's Florida

From ESPN:

Florida beat Michigan on Sunday in the only game that mattered.

The Gators, who lobbied hard for this victory, were picked to play No. 1 Ohio State for college football's Tostitos BCS Championship Game, ending any chance for the Wolverines to get the rematch they so desired and thought they deserved.

After the numbers were crunched, it was Florida -- barely. The Gators had a BCS average of .944, and the Wolverines were close behind at .934. The teams were tied in the computer rating, but Florida had a 38-point lead in the Harris poll and a 26-point advantage in the coaches' poll.

Well… that sucks, to use the vernacular. But I expected it.

The Armpit of America: Theirs and Mine

There are quite a few good reads in today’s WaPo, most of them celebrating the 20^th anniversary of the paper’s slick magazine, titled simply The Washington Post Magazine (strangely enough). The celebration is in the publishing of the magazine's "Greatest Hits" from the past 20 years, and more than a few are quite good reading. I've spent the last three hours or so reading them and can honestly say: recommended.

Here’s one of those greatest hits that caught my eye: “Why Not The Worst?” subtitled “We promised to find the armpit of America. Turns out it's only about five inches from the heart” An excerpt from near the end:

Having objectively examined the evidence, which is clear and convincing, and having reached its conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt, The Washington Post Magazine hereby confers upon the town of Battle Mountain, Nev., the title of Armpit of America, with all the privileges and responsibilities therein.

Ah, but it’s the journey, not the destination, that’s often the point, and so it is with this essay. An interesting read, and one that made me think about the worst place I ever lived. After much consideration, my personal candidate for the title of Armpit of America is…

Biloxi, Mississippi.

Except I usually say that if the USA ever needs an enema they’ll stick the nozzle in Biloxi, because…well...it’s just that much worse than the armpit of America. By far.

I lived in and around Biloxi for a sum total of two-plus years, spread out over four separate assignments to Keesler AFB, from 1963 to 1980. Always as a TDY (military shorthand for temporary duty) student and never, Thank God, as “permanent party.” It’s said you only get one chance to make a good first impression, and Biloxi failed in its attempt to impress me when I first encountered that benighted burg back in 1963. The root cause of that failure was Biloxi’s segregated municipal bus system with the ubiquitous “Colored to the Rear” signs in all the busses and the segregated “facilities” in the city bus terminal. The bus system was simply the most visible part of that odious way of life; there were myriad other aspects of segregation in Biloxi, some subtle, most others blatant. It may be unfair to single out Biloxi in this regard, because Biloxi was just one of innumerable southern towns clinging for dear life to its racist roots. But, my initial encounter with Biloxi deeply offended me and the memory remains, just or unjust.

It wasn’t just the blatant racism. There was the weather…oppressively hot and humid in the summer, oppressive beyond my ability to describe it. Sweat poured from every pore of my body non-stop from May until well into September during every minute outside of (the few) air conditioned buildings. Marching to and from school when I was a “boot” trainee was miserable beyond description. It was so bad during the summer that we usually carried an extra fatigue shirt in our ditty bags to change into once we arrived at school, about a mile and a half away from our barracks area. And our barracks weren’t air conditioned at the time, either, making sleep almost impossible in July and August.

Winter, on the other hand, was bearable, but only just. The humidity remained, and humidity amplifies cold. Trust me. I was also on-hand when Biloxi got one of its rare snowfalls, and the resulting carnage would have been amusing if it wasn’t so damned tragic, as it’s said. Well, it wasn’t exactly carnage…just a tremendous number of fender-benders. Southerners, as a class, can’t drive in snow. That’s a given. But Biloxi-ites take that cliché and amplify it to a dizzying intensity.

And then there are the bugs. Biloxi is home to world-class cockroaches and other assorted creepy-crawlies. I once was thrown out of a Biloxi bar because I was making sport out of killing the cockroaches that skittered across the bar in front of me, loudly announcing “Six! Seven! Eight!” and so on as I whacked the little bastards. The First Mrs. Pennington and I dropped hundreds of dollars on bug sprays, bug bombs, roach motels, and the like during my second tour at Keesler. We never did win the “war on bugs,” we simply held the line, giving as little ground as possible. And putting every bit of food, and anything else a bug would eat (a subject unto itself), in metal canisters, this being an age before the invention of the re-sealable Baggie.

I won’t delve into the people beyond what I’ve already said. My initial diatribe about the blatant racism should suffice. The racism was endemic, and it didn’t change a lot over the years, it just went underground.

I’m sure Biloxi has changed; at least I hope it has changed. The last time I lived there for any length of time was in 1980, and that was a long time ago. 1980 was also well before the influx of the gaming industry. I suspect the arrival of the casinos had a cultural as well as a financial impact on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Much of what I found wrong with Biloxi back in the day probably was a result of cultural in-breeding. The locals didn’t get out much and most of their contact with the outside world revolved around the military folks that came and went at Keesler. That’s a personal observation and is probably pure speculation, admittedly.

And I know it’s not nice to speak badly about folks under duress or those who have suffered terrible misfortune. Katrina destroyed most of Biloxi’s infrastructure, wrecking a large community and displacing thousands of people. That is a terrible thing, and I don’t wish that sort of adversity on anyone. But it’s apples and oranges...a case of “that was then, this is now.” For me, Biloxi remains The Armpit of America. Battle Mountain, NV, just couldn’t be worse. It’s not possible.

Just Another Quiet Sunday

Another Red – Blue Divide… This time it’s football, and it’s interesting stuff, eh? As in politics, the nation’s sports fans are split dead-even on the Question of the Week: “Who plays Ohio State?” My vote, predictably, goes to Michigan. Say what you want about the Wolverines having “had their chance,” being runner up to OSU in the Big Ten, playing a less-demanding schedule than Florida, yadda, yadda, yadda. Michigan was rated the nation’s second best team going into yesterday’s games and they didn’t get any worse simply by not playing yesterday. You can cast your vote on ESPN’s home page…the poll is off to the right-hand side of the page. If it suits ya. Viewing the results on a state-by-state basis is interesting, to say the least. As usual with ESPN’s polls, you can “mouse-over” the individual states to see how they voted.

We’ll know what the matchup for the title game is gonna be tonight at 2000 hrs EST. My guess is it will be Florida. Yes, I’m rooting for Michigan. But I think the folks that actually have a vote in the polls will fall prey to the “Michigan had their chance” meme. It will be a shame if that’s the way it works out.

Yesterday was a banner day for college ball, and ABC held all the cards (to mix a metaphor)…what with Army-Navy, USC-UCLA, and the Big Eight 12 championship game. I’m pretty sure all those games were on ABC, but I may have “misremembered.” Florida – Arkansas was a danged good game, as well. Yesterday was pretty much a football orgy at El Casa Móvil De Pennington…what a great way to end the season…and what a long wait until the Bowl games.

There is no joy in Mudville P-Ville… The mighty Rams have struck out (mixing yet another metaphor!):

BLACKWATER DRAW — A pair of sustained drives sandwiched a Portales miscue in the first half and the Las Vegas Robertson Cardinals went on to a 28-6 victory Saturday, earning their second consecutive Class 3A state football championship.

It wasn’t even close, what with Las Vegas leading 21 – 0 at the half. Oh well, State runners-up ain’t all THAT bad.

My Lil Reminder is still the leading google search term here at EIP…up to 47 hits now, and counting. Wondering what all the brouhaha is about, I followed one of the basic google queries and came up with…not a lot. A google blog search doesn’t reveal much, either. And, interestingly enough, aside from the “official” MyLilReminder site, EIP is the only result returned when using AOL search. (Resisting…resisting… Oh, Hell, I’ll just say it: AOL is SO lame.) Most of the blog entries I read have the same take I do: the product is stupid, stupid, stupid. And a very bad ad, to boot.

Have you been riding along with blogger-buddy Bec to Wyoming? You should…great pics and commentary. Maybe we’ll get an update today…

Oh, My! How DO I meet one of these creatures?

The ageing party girl (APG) is part of an elite sisterhood. She has forgone the cosy domesticity of family life in favour of living life on her own terms. Outside society’s rules, she is free to create her own behavioural template. Answerable to nobody, neither children nor husband, she can get drunk, behave badly and the only thing she has to contend with is a hangover in the morning. I should know, I am one: 38, unmarried, childless and having the time of my life.

I know, I know… move to London. Maybe I will renew my passport…

Today’s Pic: Another variation on a Trailer Park Sunset. I have 78 images of sunsets, taken on two separate days, in my December, 2004 photo directory. Yeah, I can be anal-retentive at times.

Trivia

An answer to a question we’ve all thought about at one time or another, I’m sure:

Dear Yahoo!: What's the deal with kids wearing their pants below their butts?
Kristin
Arcadia, California

The answer? Prison chic. My God. Personally, I think kids wear their pants in that manner simply to get a rise out of us Ol’ Geezers. That, and as a means of indicating they’re “with it,” or whatever term is au courant. Is there a person amongst us who’s never had the urge to walk up to one of these losers and say “Turn your frickin’ hat around, pull your frickin’ pants up, and get a frickin’ JOB!”? Or, as my Ol’ Man used to say: “It’s hard to be cool and smart at the same time…” I won't give you the context in which he used to say that. Let's leave well-enough alone.

Another Day, Another Bar

So…I’m glad it wasn’t too, too cold last evening (only 20-something for a low), because Albert The Propane Guy didn’t show up yesterday. His truck needed a “little bit of work” in order to pass inspection and he didn’t make it back from Roswell until late last night. He came by about 15 minutes ago and filled me up. El Casa Móvil De Pennington is now toasty-warm…and will stay that way until I have to fill up again. At the rate I’m burning propane, and assuming this cold snap hangs on, that will be about a week. Our high today will be 38 degrees, and we’re going down to 15 tonight. My new ceramic heater keeps things warm in here if the temp doesn’t drop any lower than, say, 25 or so. I was lucky last night. If it had gotten really cold, I’d have visited the Holiday Inn Express across the highway. And gotten a lil bit smarter in the process, doncha know.

Today’s Pic(s): A couple more “bar shots,” this time from the Plaza Hotel in beautiful Las Vegas, New Mexico. The second pic obviously requires explanation. The ex-girl friend and I had stopped into the Plaza on the way back from Taos one weekend and stumbled into a publicity video shoot for the Plaza Hotel bar, part of a re-work of their web site (the footage never made it to the web site, for one reason or another). That’s the proprietress on the bar, caught in a pose. She joined us for a couple of drinks after the shoot was done, and Boy Howdy! was she ever a hoot! A German by birth, and a naturalized American, she’d come to Las Vegas about 30 years ago with her husband, who was a career Army sergeant. He retired, they stayed. And she’s still there, but her husband has passed on. She tried to talk us into staying for the night and letting the party go on. We considered it, too. But, alas, there was no room at the inn…it was graduation weekend and the hotel was full-up. So we motored on back to Clovis after our second drink. May, 2004.

Self-Explanatory

From the “We get the occasional pervert” file… One visit today resulting from the following query:

“pics. of young boys undergoing petticoat punishment.”

Follow the link to see the context for the click-through. You'll need to scroll down just a wee bit. I'm the sixth cited link. (Work safe - all text, no images. Thank God.)

Once again: imagine the disappointment.

Hey! It's December!

I watched a re-run of Frontline’s Secret History of Credit Cards on PBS last evening, and absorbed some distressing facts on how Americans use credit cards, and much more distressingly, how banks exploit credit consumers. “Exploit” is a pretty loaded word, but it fits. I would say that, as a capitalist, I’m somewhat conflicted about this exploitation, but I’m not. The principal of Caveat Emptor should apply here, in other words, an intelligent individual would avoid the exploiters and do business with banks that are on the up and up. But they’re all in the consumer exploitation business. When it comes to credit cards, the contract language banks provide you is so opaque and so lengthy and so fraught with legalese that no one, and I mean NO one, short of a contract law attorney, can understand the damned things. And nearly no one reads ‘em, either. According to Frontline, anyway, and I tend to believe the assertion because, well, I’ve never read mine.

Some “fun facts:”

145 million Americans carry credit cards

55 million pay off their balance in full every month

90 million Americans carry a balance. These folks are known as “revolvers.”

35 million of the revolvers make only the minimum payment every month.

The average balance…average…is $8,000.00. Per card.

And worst of all, there is nearly NO limit on the interest banks can charge on credit card accounts. You may thank the Supreme Court’s Marquette Bank decision, which effectively eliminated usury laws, for that. (Details here.)

What allowed Wriston to make good on his threat to leave New York was a little-noticed December 1978 Supreme Court ruling. The Marquette Bank opinion permitted national banks to export interest rates on consumer loans from the state where credit decisions were made to borrowers nationwide.

So by early 1980, with New York refusing to go along, Citibank set out on a search for new place to base its credit card division. The pickings were slim. Usury laws were still on the books in the vast majority of the states. And federal banking rules required that before banks could set up operations outside their home state, a formal invitation had to be issued by the legislature of the state they wanted to enter. Local bankers had prevented any state legislature from ever extending such an invitation.

[…]

In an effort to stimulate the local economy, South Dakota was in the midst of eliminating its usury laws. Mr. Wriston told Mr. Janklow that if South Dakota would quickly pass a bill inviting Citibank into the state, he would bring 400 jobs. To preempt concerns from local banks about new competition, Citibank also promised to open only "a limited" bank. "We'll put the facility in an inconvenient place for customers and we'll pay different interest rates," Mr. Wriston recalled telling Mr. Janklow. "All we want to do is use it to issue cards.''

I learned my own personal credit card lesson back in the early ‘70s, before the Marquette decision. I’ll not point fingers or anything, but I cut up three or four cards at that point in time and paid off the balances, slowly but surely. It took me over five years to pay the bastards off, and that was at extremely modest interest rates, compared to today. I’ve not paid a penny in interest since. Well, not entirely true. I’ve paid interest once or twice. But it’s REALLY a rare occurrence. I know one thing, though. I’m awfully damned glad I’m not in the same credit card debt situation today as I was back in ’72.

I know another thing, too. The banks need to clean up their act when it comes to credit cards. It’s way past time. If they refuse, then it’s time for the government to step in. As I said in the beginning, as a good capitalist I should be conflicted on this issue. But I’m not. Wrong is wrong. Period.

This is The Weather Channel…and this is The Weather Channel On Drugs… So, I’m standing in the kitchen around 2030 hrs last evening, finishing up the dishes and just generally cleaning up. I have the Tee Vee tuned to the WX Channel, “Your Local on the 8s” comes on, and my head just whipped around. Nothing to see but the familiar blue screen with WX data, but what’s this? Pink Floyd’s “One of These Days?” Yes, it most certainly is! I’ll be damned…

You may have heard the song before, even if you’re not a Pink Floyd fan. For instance:

"One of These Days" is the song playing over the end credits of the Sopranos episode "The Fleshy Part of the Thigh".

"One of These Days" is featured in "The Lives of the Stars" episode of Carl Sagan's television documentary Cosmos.

And now The WX Channel. On drugs. A one time good deal, perhaps, or a momentary lapse of reason? Because the next and subsequent “Local on the 8s” had the usual innocuous, unidentifiable, guitar soft jazz background muzak music. I like Floyd better.

Speaking of weather…The storm that cut its teeth over the High Plains night before last through yesterday morning is kicking butt and taking names as it moves east and north. We only got a burst of bone-chilling cold and a dusting of snow, but the intersection of that cold front and moisture from the Gulf has dropped anywhere from eight to ten inches of snow on northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The St. Louis area was suffering from a pretty good ice storm, with the usual mass power outages ice storms bring. And it ain’t done yet. Not by a long shot. Look out, East Coast…here she comes!

It definitely could have been worse here on the High Plains.

When Terror Strikes… My propane tank went to “empty” overnight, as I strongly suspected it would. After all, our high yesterday was only 35 degrees and the low last night was in the mid-teens. In other words, maximum furnace run-time. The interior gauge LEDs indicate empty, but there’s probably a gallon or so left in the tank. So, at 0800 this morning I make the call to the propane company in order to get in at the front of today’s queue. The nice lady on the other end of the phone sez: “OK, I’ll tell Albert to stop by, but it’ll probably be late this afternoon or early tomorrow morning. He had to go to Roswell this morning to get the truck inspected.”

Aieee!

After I told her I was “on empty” she assured me Albert would be by this afternoon. Good thing we’re warming up today. My brand new little ceramic heater should be able to hold the heating front until the heavy artillery arrives.

Speaking of ceramic heaters... I bought a new one yesterday, the fourth such in six years time. The danged things seem to get less and less efficient as time goes on, until they reach the point where you generate more heat by passing gas than the heater does running on full-stroke. In other words, they wear out. Faster than I think is acceptable, but that’s just me. I switched brands this time, moving from a Holmes heater to one made by Honeywell. In China, of course. Don’t get me started on that subject.

Today’s Pic: The interior of one of our local watering holes: The bar in The Roosevelt Restaurant. This bar is a great example of those old mahogany bars one found throughout the US in the 19^th century. This particular example was found in an old abandoned bar near Roswell, disassembled and trucked to Portales, where it was lovingly and beautifully restored. The Roosevelt is the one place in P-town where you can get a good single-malt or small-batch (read: boutique) bourbon. January, 2003.