Taking a Break from Political Stuff...

Front page of the WaPo:

The Airwaves, They Are A-Changin'

Bob Dylan -- singer, songwriter, former counterculture figure and voice of a generation -- has added another line to his rsum: radio DJ.

The enigmatic troubadour has signed on to host a weekly show on XM Satellite Radio, the D.C.-based pay-radio provider. Dylan will select the music, offer commentary, interview guests and answer e-mail from listeners during the one-hour program, which will start in March, XM said yesterday.

Yet another reason to get down to Wally-World and buy that in-home XM receiver I've been thinking about for over six months. The Captain got XM in his Denali (it's actually my daughter-in-law's Denali, The Captain drives a GMC truck) last spring and we listened to XM almost exclusively during this summer's jaunt from Salt Lake City to Bath, Maine and back. XM is SO good that we listened to just one CD during the whole trip, and that one CD was because XM played a cut off the self-same John Hiatt album we had with us. And now Bob's on...

Pop Notes:

Jesse Helms is a U2 groupie. The uber-conservative former Republican senator from North Carolina dined with singer and activist Bono before the band's performance in Charlotte on Monday. The unlikely pair met several years ago and have since become close allies in the fight against the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

That's it, just what you see above. Nothing else. Has Bono lost street-cred? First the White House, now Jesse Helms? I mean, How could you! [ed: you said you were taking a break... I know, shaddup, already]

Tech:

CANNES, France -- On this rocky stretch of Mediterranean coast, playground for the glitterati, where the day begins with lunch and lunch gives way to a nap, cocktails and the discotheque, France is attacking its national unemployment crisis with a dream that seems positively un-French: It aims to cultivate a new Silicon Valley.
At a research-and-development park overlooking the sea, scientists in futuristic campuses develop a system that could allow doctors to monitor patients' vital signs and drug regimens at home. Others master technology allowing shipping companies to track inventory on rail, road and sea. Lunch is rushed. Coffee is carried to labs in paper cups. Talk is of wireless and satellite, of Internet protocol and the architecture of computer chips.

...

The notion of a notoriously bureaucratic French government stage-managing innovations in the high-tech sector -- typically known for fierce competition and a libertarian ethos -- seems paradoxical. But in France, business remains a risk-averse activity in which industry looks to the government for succor. Proponents say this is precisely what makes the initiative necessary: France has proven skilled at research but weak at transforming ideas into money -- a step requiring government orchestration.

Well, now. It starts out good, n'est ce pas? I mean, given the choice of working in Cannes or, say, Cupertino, Redwood City, or anywhere on Route 128, what would you choose? Then they go and screw it all up by bringing in the gub'mint. The French gub'mint! Zut, alors!

And finally...Crime in Clovis! (Clovis is 19 miles up the road from Portales. Thought you might wanna know.)

The British Ambassador to Poland, Unplugged

Once again, via OxBlog (with little comment)

I can't imagine, nor recall, anything like this ever happening in the US. If ever there was a classic example of the maxim "all e-mail is public," then this is it. From the Times of London, two paragraphs from a private note sent by Her Majesty's Ambassador Charles Crawford to two colleagues:

I am being asked to give more UK taxpayers money to an EU which for years can not produce properly audited accounts. Mon ami Jacques with the support of most of you is nagging me to give the EU more money while the refusing to surrender an inch or even a centimetre on the CAP - a programme which uses inefficient transfers of taxpayers money to bloat rich French landowners and so pump up food prices in Europe, thereby creating poverty in Africa, which we then fail to solve through inefficient but expensive aid programmes. The most stupid, immoral state-subsidised policy in human history, give or take Communism.

As for the new member states, we like you so much that we are proposing in the Budget a huge new transfer of funds to you on a scale which will give your people the greatest boost in 1000 years. I will be attacked by my scary new teenage Tory opposition for building roads and hospitals in Poland and Hungary, rather than in poor areas of the UK. We - unlike most other old EU MS sitting here – have opened our labour markets. HMG have created more jobs for Poles in the past year than the Polish Government. Yet not one of you nor a single newspaper in any of your capitals has expressed a single word of gratitude or appreciation for the UK position in all this. So much for solidarity.

There's little doubt every word in his note is true; bureaucracies everywhere are bad, European bureaucracies are diabolical. Not for nothing the term "Machiavellian" originated in Europe.

You really should read the whole thing. The sarcasm is brutal and beautiful.

One wonders what Tony Blair thinks. Or what he'll do. Wouldn't it be damned refreshing if Blair just came right out and said "Brilliant! I share the ambassador's views."? He'd be PM for Life.

Best Lawyer Joke I've Ever Heard

via OxBlog:

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. Descending a bit more he shouted, "Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago BUT I do not know where I am."

The woman replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40/41 degrees latitude, north, and 59/60 degrees west, longitude."

"You must be an Associate", said the balloonist.

"I am", replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well", answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct but I have no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all, if anything, you have delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be a Partner."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "But how did you know?"

"Well," replied the woman, "You don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problem. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it is my fault."

Sounds about right, speaking as a non-barrister, but one who is very familiar with corporate hierarchies.

Christmas Cards

Do you send out stacks of Christmas cards? If you do, you're definitely in the mainstream of American life. I was going to put up a post about a dying tradition, but my premise was torpedoed after about five minutes of googling. Consider:

In 1987, the average American household received 29 pieces of Christmas mail, said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Gerry McKiernan. By 1994, the number dropped to 23. In 2002 it bounced back to 27, but a year later fell to fewer than 20 cards per household. In 2004 it rose to 21.6 cards. And this year? It is expected to remain stable at about 21.5 cards, he said. (WaPo)

My parents had a huge Christmas card list, and they received like numbers in return. Our house was literally festooned with cards...on the mantle (if the current house had one) and on every table or any other reasonably clear flat surface. Mom dreaded writing the things because it literally took her hours, nay, days, to work through the list. But she did it faithfully...year in, year out... including a mimeographed "family year-end summary" for those folks she only communicated with at Christmas. I used to think the only reason one sent cards at Christmas was to catch up with those folks you never talked to but were still on "the list." That may be true for a lot of people.

Some folks have interesting card traditions, like my buddy Greg who personally designs a new card every year and has them professionally printed. He used a photo of my infant son, reworked as a depiction of the Christ-child, as the basis for his card in 1997. The second Mrs. Pennington and I felt immensely honored!

I haven't sent a card in years. I quit doing that sometime back in the '90s, probably around the time of my divorce. Nor do I receive cards, with the exception of the one from my broker, who is faithful to the tradition. I sorta miss them. Like my parents, I arranged the cards on the mantle and around the Christmas tree. Definitely made the home very Christmasy.

Hallmark has an interesting history of Christmas cards on their web site. Good period illustrations, by decade, going back to the 20s.

And then there's this. Thanks, Microsoft. We really need more instruction in political correctness. God save us, one and all.

You're not going to get a card from me, but I can still say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Smack Down!

He might well have said: "Just because I'm young, misinformed, and can't write worth a sh*t doesn't mean I can't express my opinion!"

Wrong. To see just how wrong the young man is, read Baldilocks. The closing paragraph:

You may think that I’m being rather hard on you, Jeremy, but there are young men your age that are at this very moment experiencing tougher things than being slapped down by women who are the age of their mothers. That’s not a slam on you for not being in the military (it’s a choice), however the duty of all good citizens is to use the weapons with which God has inclined us to pick up. Sometimes those weapons are physical; in other instances, the weapons are cerebral. Which ever weapon that God has endowed you with, don’t waste your ammo as you did here. Live, learn---and then tell.

Hopefully young Jeremy just received a much-needed wake up call. But I kinda doubt it.

Is Rummy COOL, or What?

Tim Blair, via (once again) Dr. Sanity:

Jim Lehrer interviews Donald Rumsfeld:

I looked at the public opinion polls the last, recent ones that mention you. And you don’t come out very well in terms of the public. I couldn’t find one where the public had approved of the job you were doing, less than 50 percent. Does that bother you?

And Donald Rumsfeld interviews Jim Lehrer:

If you look where the news media is, it’s down very low at the polls. If you want to get into public opinion polls, people in that business are right down near the bottom. You know that. Yeah, does it bother you?

No word on Lehrer's response.

The Penultimate Acceptable Bigotry

The Anchoress has a post up on one of my favorite topics: Liberal Intolerance. I've been going on about this subject for at least five years now, or about 20 minutes after I arrived in San Francisco back in the summer of 2000. My "Summer of Un-Love." It just seems SO strange to me that the same people who wave rainbow flags, speak lovingly of "inclusion" and multiculturalism, and go out of their way to demonstrate tolerance, are the very first to pillory (or worse) anyone who disagrees with their philosophy, even one of their own.

The Anchoress notes this phenomenon occurs on both sides of the wire, and she's right. But I'll submit it's a helluva lot more prevalent on the Left.

Inquiring minds probably want to know why I think this is the "penultimate" bigotry. Because it's OK for everyone to look down on these folks. Oops! Damn. Victimhood. But tis a 'nuther story.

via Dr. Sanity

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning...

Dr. Sanity explains how to achieve lasting victimhood, and the benefits thereof. Required reading for the oppressed and those who long to be. The article probably won't make things better for you, but that's not what you're looking for, is it? After all, you're a victim!

TV Hotties

This is not a new subject. A lot of bloggers have written on the various charms (heh) of female anchor-people, but I thought The Weather Channel might be a fresh take. Not so. I can't improve upon this. And he did it over a year ago, with good in-post pics and cool links to follow. Damn!

If you want to check out all the WX-Babes (OK...I'm not a sexist, the guys are there, too) the WX Channel has a bio page for most of their meterologists, and a gallery, too. They know what we're really watching.

The ultimate TV Hottie voyeur site is here. If you think another site is better, I'm all ears. Or eyes. Tell me! And by the way, all of this stuff is safe for work. I wouldn't want to see anyone get busted.

And I'm sure you've seen this. If you haven't seen it, you need to cut away and go look. I'll wait.

Tick, tick... Tick, tick...

Good, wasn't it?

My favorite TV Hottie? It changes. Right now it's Hillary Andrews. Or Maria Bartiromo. I'd have dinner with either of these ladies, any time. Just drop me a line.

Hockey Night in Portales!

Red Wings 3, Pittsburgh 1

Ozzie misses a shut-out with 28 seconds left in the game; Zetterberg scores 2, including a highlight-reel short-handed breakaway; and Lidstrom gets a PPG. Sidney Crosby was...uh...there. The kid is good! Most of the rest of the Penguins weren't. There. With the brilliant exception of Marc-Andre Fleury, their goalie. The score should have been more like 6-1 without Fleury's spectacular saves. The Wings outshot Pittsburgh 39-17. I feel sorry for Eddie Olczyk, although I hated him when he played for the Leafs. Rivals, ya know. Back in the day.

What a rare treat. Pop a couple of Fat Tires, sit back and enjoy. Get The Captain on the phone from time to time and actually be able to talk about the play, instead of just listen as he describes what's happening (Buck has the Center Ice package and always calls me during Wings games to give me real-time updates).

I liked it much better when ESPN had the TV contract...there were more games, better in-game and post-game commentary (by an order of magnitude), and I hate OLN's placement of the on-screen banner. I should just be thankful I get OLN; a lot of fans were left out in the cold when ESPN refused to match Comcast's offer.

But being thankful doesn't prevent me from criticizing OLN. They're lame. Bill Clement is border-line competent, but I miss Melrose. The rest of the analysts and announcers are totally forgettable, and I have. Forgotten their names, that is, assuming I ever knew them. And there's that banner, anchored in the lower left-hand side and stretching two-thirds of the way across the screen...which just happens to obscure a good part of the ice from any given camera angle. PUT IT UP TOP WHERE IT BELONGS!

Adding insult to injury is the fact SportsCenter is much less than interested in hockey these days. You're lucky to get a 15-second highlight of two games on SC these days, let alone something like NHL2Night.

OK, I'm done.

Good Game! GO WINGS!

That Nastiness in Sydney

I saw some pretty violent video last evening of police swinging batons and turning the dogs loose on beach rioters in Australia. Commentators described the recorded events as "race riots" or "drunken youth" exacting retribution on people of Middle Eastern origin or descent. After reading the AP reports I went and read the opinions of some actual Australians. Tim Blair has a great post on the subject; if you follow all or most the links you'll be there for a while. I was there for over an hour and it's very interesting reading.

Silent Running offers this:

The mob is the mob, there’s no “our” mob or “their” mob, it’s a single destructive, mindless, useless force and the cops are perfectly within their rights to baton them into submission and hurl them into the back of the paddy wagon with the rest of the local Brains Trust who thought it’d be patriotic to kick a passing girl in the head because she was different.

Now having said that, I would also be very strongly in favour of the selfsame police grabbing any “youth of a certain ethnic origin” who had just called a white Australia girl wearing a bikini a whore and a slut, or who had just bashed a guy trying to protect his girlfirend from being menaced by thugs saying they would rape her; dousing the little bastard with capsicum spray, and hauling him off for a guest appearence before the local beak alongside his equally brainless pals who’ve been doing pretty much whatever they feel like for a long time now.

A couple of American takes: one reasonable, one not. Ace has video and some good background links; the Anti-Idiotarians have creative and not-so-creative racial and religious slurs in the comments. The Nice Doggies are living proof the Right can be just as mean and nasty as the Left.

Apples and Oranges Dept.: I couldn't help but think of the last bit of civil disturbance that got international coverage, i.e., The Ritual Burning of Citroens. The scope is way different, as are the perps. But there are some commonalities: young muslim gangs, inadequate justice before the law, and assimilation (or the lack of it). I also thought it takes a helluva lot of provocation to turn the otherwise pragmatic and rational Australians into rioters.

Just sayin'.

Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine, II

Love Her Madly

Musashi-Koganei (Tokyo) December, 1975. Late, late at Night

At least I think it was December. It could have been November, but I don’t think so. November would be too early as we'd only met in August and began sharing a bed sometime after that.  So it had to be December.

The room is quiet. All I can really hear are the sounds of our breathing although I’m sure there are other sounds coming from outside the room, this is Tokyo, after all. At this time of night, however, the trains have stopped running and the buses too; traffic is very light. Tokyo, unlike New York and many other cities, actually sleeps. Life sorta stops when the trains do.

We’re snug in her futon, the covers pulled up tight around us, our bodies intertwined. It’s chilly in the room; there’s no central heat. But we’re oh-so-warm in afterglow, our faces touching. I kiss her forehead. And then…

I say (perhaps too quietly) “I think I love you.”

I wait for her response. Fearfully. This moment can mark either a beginning or an end. I so want it to be a beginning, because I mean what I’ve just said with all my heart. There it is. I’m exposed. Naked. Reciprocation or rejection. Joy or…pain.

“Me, too.”

And my heart literally leaps. It pounds. My eyes tear up. Can this be real? Is it really, really, true? I think it is.

We talk late into the night. I sense a beginning of incredible import. Life will never be the same, ever again.

In the morning I walk to the train station light-headed, full of hope, full of joy. I can’t wait for the day to end just to be with her once more.

And so it begins.

Fast-forward 23 years. Rochester, New York. November, 1998.

The moving van pulled away from the curb not five minutes ago, loaded with baby furniture, guest room furniture, her piano, a few odds and ends... those possessions she deemed worthy enough to retain. All in all, not much.

I slam the door behind her as she and her friend walk to her truck. I’m blinded by tears. A love that spanned three continents and nearly half my life is over.

And so it ends.

Images of New Mexico

(click for larger)

Somewhere on US 84 in northern New Mexico. I pulled off to the side of the road to take this picture because I was simply awed by the color of the landscape. As you can see, it was a brilliant day.

Cynicism in Action

The preacher preaches, the choir responds. Here. And here.

It never stops.

Yesterday's Other Notable Passing

Eugene McCarthy, former Democratic Senator from Minnesota. Best known as the earliest of voices against the Viet Nam war, McCarthy is generally credited as the man who brought down LBJ.

Senator McCarthy certainly influenced my political development. I was a liberal back in the day, and wholeheartedly bought into McCarthy's anti-war rhetoric. After all was said and done at the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention, Hubert Humphrey won the presidential nomination. Using thought processes remarkably similar to those I employed in casting my vote in the 2004 election, I wound up voting for Nixon that year. If McCarthy had won the nomination, I just might have voted differently. After all, I was an idealist at the time. But sometimes reality overcomes idealism.

I think the operative word in the Post's obituary headline is "gentle." McCarthy was of another time, a time when political rhetoric wasn't quite as divisive, quite as strident as it is today. Don't get me wrong, there were LOTS of bomb-throwers back then, too. And, unlike today (Thank God), too much actual violence. Google "1968 Chicago Convention" if you are too young to remember. McCarthy, like other reasonable people, abhored the violence.

RIP, Gene.

Madame Secretary Speaks

Dr. Rice, in today's WaPo:

The statecraft that America is called to practice in today's world is ambitious, even revolutionary, but it is not imprudent. A conservative temperament will rightly be skeptical of any policy that embraces change and rejects the status quo, but that is not an argument against the merits of such a policy. As Truman once said, "The world is not static, and the status quo is not sacred." In times of extraordinary change such as ours, when the costs of inaction outweigh the risks of action, doing nothing is not an option. If the school of thought called "realism" is to be truly realistic, it must recognize that stability without democracy will prove to be false stability, and that fear of change is not a positive prescription for policy.

This is the type of exposition that has been sorely lacking from the Administration in the past. I hope we see more thoughtful pieces like this in the future.

Read it!

Richard Pryor

Another passing. I won't attempt to eulogize the man, others have done it far better than I could. Suffice to say he was an important voice in America, besides the fact that he was make-you-cry funny. Go here for links to some great eulogies.

You'll note there's a link at memeorandum to a post by Armando over at dKos. Armando wrote with feeling, as is his wont. He was even restrained, for once, in his Bush-bashing. The only reference he made to the Right was the mild "Not in the way Republicans want to have a "real" discussion, but in an honest way." I can recommend Armando's post.

Now, that said, more than a few of the comments to Armando's post are the usual "take any opportunity, no matter how far removed from the subject at hand, to bash the Rethugs" type. Case in point:

Same here... I grew up in a diverse neighborhood my whole life. It is this reason that I have so much disdain and dislike for the KKK, white supremacy, eugenics, intelligent design, neocons, bush, sellout shills like miller (dennis and zell), lieberman, crony capitalism, corporate welfare, wage slavery, debt slavery, the diamond trade, regressive taxes, sweat shops, the confederate flag, and the fact that there are more slaves in existance right now on earth than at any other point in human history. And americans are bitching that 'christmas is under attack'. Does ANYBODY in this country actually have their head out of their ass?
by Ghur AtteH on Sun Dec 11, 2005 at 06:56:18 AM PDT

Well, Ghur, it's obvious where YOUR head is.

RIP, Richard.

The Strangest Thing Just Happened

I just finished an hour-long IM conversation with a 38 year old woman from India. Totally out of the blue. One is conditioned to reject unsolicited IMs; 99.99% of them are porn solicitations.

This one wasn't.

It was an hour's worth of comparative culture analysis.

Ain't technology grand?

In Full Unapologetic Ranting Cranky Old Man Mode

So, I read over at The Officers Club that the USAF has a new mission statement, to wit:

The Air Force changed its mission statement yesterday. The old MS reads:

The mission of the U.S. Air Force is to is to defend the United States through control and exploitation of air and space.

The new mission reads:

The mission of the United States Air Force is to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests -- to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace.

I'll begin with the only good thing about the new mission statement: at least The Management incorporated the old, unofficial mission statement: "To Fly and To Fight." So much for the good stuff.

Let's begin the rant.

Just what the HELL is a "sovereign option?" A military option that's exercised by the United States as a sovereign nation? Meaning we don't have to run it by the UN or France first? There's a good idea! Or options that are above all others, e.g., "superior" or "leading," as opposed to "ill-considered" or "secondary." I certainly HOPE we'd offer the country the best air and space defense options we have, to do less is dereliction of duty. Let's not quibble about words, however, let's just come right out and say it: It's STUPID and obfuscatory. Substituting "...deliver sovereign options for the defense of..." for the previous statement's "defend" makes the USAF sound like the freaking Chicago Board of Trade.

Let's pick a nit: how does one fly in "cyberspace?" Or, for that matter, how exactly do we fight in cyberspace? Networked video games? You can say we engage in space flight, but cyberspace-flight? Who are we trying to kid with this word? Including "cyberspace" in the mission statement isn't cutting edge, guys, it looks like what it is: a failed attempt at being cool. I can just hear it in the E-ring: "Air power is just SO passe on its own, we need something more au courant, something that sings! Let's work 21st century technology into the statement somewhere, OK? Get back to me." And so they did, by using a buzz word from the '90s. Shame on you.

And then there's this: Economy of Expression. Whenever you add 12 words to a sentence to express the same idea, you've taken a GIANT step backward. I personally think the old statement's 23 words was too verbose. Thirty-five freaking words is beyond verbose, it's language-crime.

My last point. Anyone want to hazard a guess how many colonels and generals were tasked with writing the new statement? How much time was spent "staffing" the language and briefing it to the boss? I've played in some of these exercises, albeit at a much lower level, and I can tell you with some certainty the answer is: A LOT.

I could think of lots of better ways to burn cycles. Most of 'em have to do with winning the freaking war. Another good use of time would be convincing the doubters (senior DoD guys, congress) we absolutely need the F/A-22, in the numbers we've asked for. I use "we" because it's still MY Air Force, too.

/rant

"Psychiatry Ponders Whether Extreme Bias Can Be an Illness"

In the WaPo. Well...Duh!

That noted psychologist Lyle Lovett once observed:

I told her redneckness has got to be a disease
You catch it on your fingers and it just crawls right up your sleeves

And on the other side of the coin, one can't help but note the catastrophic effects of BDS. I see it every day. It's all just so sad. Really.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I occasionally get frustrated with small-town life. Case in point: The recent cold snap awakened a strong desire in me to whip up a big batch of an old family favorite, Navy Bean Soup. Aside from being tasty as all get-out, the place just smells so good while that pot o' soup simmers on the stove for eight hours.

So I went shopping yesterday and picked up all the necessary ingredients except one: smoked ham hocks. Believe it or don't, there are no ham hocks in all of Portales, including the Cannon AFB commissary.

I'm pretty sure I could find ham hocks over in Clovis. But do I really want to drive 40 miles round-trip just to fix a pot of beans? Decisions, decisions...

Knickers in a Twist

{Sigh} I feel like I've wasted my morning. I began my day by reading "Lieberman's Iraq Stance Brings Widening Split With His Party." A quote:

"Senator Reid has a lot of respect for Senator Lieberman," said Jim Manley, a Reid spokesman. "But he feels that Senator Lieberman's position on Iraq is at odds with many Americans."

Yeah, Ol' Joe is out of step with the MoveOn crowd, Code Pink, Cindy Sheehan, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, John Kerry, and Jack Murtha. Gotta admit that. On the other hand, one is known by the company one keeps. Or doesn't.

I decided to go slumming and see what The Perpetually Offended thought about Joe. Here are two typical examples:

"At a time when the American people are turning against Bush's war for oil Lieberman is just as out of touch as those with an "R" after their names and even more so than some." (link)

"Just writing about Joe Lieberman makes me feel dirty. If you haven't been paying attention Joe has ratcheted up the administration ass kissing of late." (link)

Then I went and read a few diaries over at dKos (no link. I refuse. You know how to get there.) And it was all downhill from there.

No, wait. It wasn't all downhill. I did find this, written by an independent who is often critical of Bush:

And now, some in the party, incredibly including the Senate Minority Leader are making it inhospitable for their former Vice Presidential standard bearer, Joe Lieberman. Here's some news for them - they are not only telling Joe that the Democratic Party does not have room for his views, they are also communicating to millions of Americans who might support this war or not, but find defeat unacceptable, that they are not welcome in this exclusive political club. There are some progressive hawks in this country, but it is unlikely that they will pull the Democratic lever with the message that it is being sent by the leaders of the party.

Exactly. Or at least one hopes this is the case. It's hard to tell when the polls seem to indicate the public buys into the Dem's emerging anti-war policy. I know I wouldn't trust the defense of America to the party that essentially advocates surrender. Would you?

Weird Scenes Inside the Gold Mine

Love Street

Angeles City, Philippines. October, 1975 2:20 a.m.

The street below is dead quiet, even though it's the main drag just outside the gate of Clark AB. It’s long past curfew; the bars closed over two hours ago and there are no people in the street, none whatsoever. Curfew. Martial law.

The air is warm and humid, just under 80 degrees. My body has a light sheen of sweat, but it's a clean sweat with a faint odor of hotel-bathroom Ivory. There’s a half-moon overhead, obscured more often than not by fast moving low clouds. It will rain twice before I go back inside.

This is the second-story balcony of the Happy Chicks Bar, a small space with three chairs, a couple of low tables and room for four people, if you push it. The balcony’s enclosed by a low wooden railing that’s about waist-level, there’s a sloping roof overhead. There are lights out here, but they’re not on…moonlight is all we have. The woman and I are the only people on the balcony at this hour.

We’re also buck-naked.

I’m in a papa-san chair, the cotton-cushioned rattan chairs that are everywhere here. The chairs are large enough for close friends to sit comfortably together, and so we are. I’m semi-reclining, legs crossed, feet stretched out and resting on the balcony railing. She’s on her side, facing me, one leg underneath my legs, the other bent and lying over my upper legs. Her head is nestled on my shoulder, her arm lies on my chest. I adjust my position to nuzzle her hair momentarily, then drain the San Miguel I brought out with me. We've been out here for perhaps 20 minutes.

“You want another one beer?”

“Sure”

She disentangles herself, gets up, wraps a towel around her slight body, and disappears through the French doors into the dark hallway. Three minutes later she’s back with a tray holding my beer, a coke, an ashtray, and our smokes. I take my feet off the rail as she lights two cigarettes and hands one to me. I move over, turning on my side as she drops the towel on the side table and climbs back into the chair, placing the ashtray between us. She sits there, cross-legged, smoking, slowly looking me up and down. Every so often she reaches out and lightly, ever-so-lightly, touches my chest, my arm. Our eyes meet when she does that. We smile.

We’re mostly silent; her English isn’t too good, my Pilipino is non-existent. But we communicate... oh my, yes... we DO communicate. At least an hour goes by, punctuated by occasional smokes, light touches, and caresses.

“We go back my room?”

I smile and nod.

She puts the empties, the ashtray and our smokes on the tray, re-wraps herself in the towel, picks up the tray with one hand and takes my hand with the other. I follow her back inside and down the hallway to her room.

There’s light in the sky before we sleep.

(not her)

"The Only Fire Hydrant at the Westminster Dog Show"

That's how Democratic Strategist Bob Beckel described himself just now on Fox News. Beckel was appearing on John Gibson's show attempting to defend Howard Dean's remarks about that "unwinnable" war. Beckel said he's felt like this way for two days now, seeing as how he's made many appearances on the Talking Head shows this week.

Got a laugh out of me!

Inflation?

10 gallons of propane, November 30th: $19.35

10 gallons of propane, December 9th: $23.65

This could be a loooong winter.

That's Gonna Leave a Mark...

Over at The Officers' Club:

My answer: First, thanks for letting us know the counter-protest is working. We understand the enormous implications of the fight that we are in and that Code Pink's campaign to retreat is dangerous. If we "silence them" (which won't happen, they are in the business of making noise), we'll continue to show real, tangible support for the troops. Care packages, letters, patriotic displays, and most important: our allegiance to continuing the mission.

I'm a troop and I don't need Code Pink telling me that patriotism "confuses me." Code Pink does not support the military or speak for the military. They are a reactionary anti-American organization, and should be treated as such.

Do go. And click on ALL the links. AFTER you've had breakfast.

GOOD News

Peeved at Pelosi? Irritated at IEDs? Done with Dean? Well, there's LOTS of good news here!

via The Hotline's Blogometer.

Yeah, THAT UN

"They all rose."

via Lileks.

A Middie's Notes

From Notes From a Student at the Naval War College on Army Gen. Abizaid's Recent Speech:

We are winning but we have got to maintain constant pressure over time with the international community and across the US government agencies. No one is afraid that we can't defeat the enemy. Our troops have the confidence, the courage, and the competence. We need the will of the American people to be sustained for the long haul.

The first hour of call-ins to C-SPAN's Washington Journal program this morning was reserved for service members who served in Iraq. Unfortunately, I only saw the last ten minutes of the (first hour) show this morning. That will teach me to sleep in. C-SPAN usually re-runs WJ later in the day, and the entire program is available in streaming video, the day following the broadcast.

I want to see the whole thing...

On Hockey, Steve Yzerman, and Values

This week a small story went unnoticed outside of certain circles, those circles being (in descending order) the city of Detroit, most of Canada, and hockey fans. The story:

...the news that veteran Detroit captain Steve Yzerman had withdrawn his name from Olympic consideration. Yzerman, 40, not playing up to his high standards this season, told Gretzky by phone Sunday.

"It was the right thing to do," Yzerman said following Detroit's 5-2 win over New Jersey on Tuesday night. "I would've loved to play in the Olympics again, but I believe it's time for me to step aside.

"It's time to let other guys play."

Yzerman scored his fourth goal of the season in the victory, the 682nd of his illustrious NHL career. Yzerman was asked whether he would interested in a non-playing role with the Canadian team.

"I've offered my services as a sommelier," Yzerman joked.

What a class act! But one would expect no less of The Captain. Steve Yzerman has played with the Red Wings since the 1983-1984 season, and has been Captain since 1986, wearing the "C" longer than any other player in the NHL, ever. Yzerman pretty much stands alone as The Ultimate Sports Hero in a town where sports really matter. I say "ultimate" in terms of the modern era. The Detroit Tigers' Ty Cobb may have been bigger in his day, but there's no one around who could argue that point. Cobb's been dead for a long time. Isiah Thomas? His 13-year career with the Pistons falls short of Yzerman's career by eight years. Barry Sanders? Ditto for longevity. It's arguable that neither Sanders nor Thomas excelled in their sports to the extent Yzerman has. The only rivals The Captain has in the "Detroit Sports Heroes League" are the legendary Gordie Howe, another Red Wing, and Joe Louis. It remains to be seen if Detroit will erect a statue in Yzerman's honor, but I'd put money on it. But, to get to the point, Yzerman's withdrawal from Team Canada consideration, when he was all but guaranteed a place on the roster, is fairly representative of professional hockey players as a group.

It's a mystery to me why hockey isn't more popular in America. It's the fastest game on the planet. Basketball is lethargic by comparison, baseball is played at a glacial pace, and football has all those time-outs. Aside from the speed, there's the grace and beauty of the game. The precision passing when a team is setting up in the zone. Outlet passes leading to two-on-one breakaways. Defensive poke-checks, steals, and self-sacrificing shot blocking. Goalies facing a hard rubber biscuit shot at them at over 100 mph with nerves of steel. Amazing saves. And "He shoots... He SCOOORES!", made famous by CBC announcer Foster Hewitt.

There are 80 games in a hockey season, not counting the playoffs, and those games are hard. You have to be tough to play hockey, and don't tell me football is rougher. Football players don't routinely get slammed into wood and plexiglass while traveling 30 mph, night after night, after night. You want to talk about "playing through pain?" Talk to Ted Lindsay, a Red Wing Hall-of-Famer:

They call Ted Lindsay Scarface, and he’s earned the name: No athlete has ever taken more stitches—over 500 in his head alone, he claims. “You get some cocoa butter and vitamin E oil and you can rub a lot of those scars away,” Lindsay laughs. “In fact, I'm better-looking now than I was back then…which ain’t very good!”

If you followed the Lindsay link, scroll on down and read about Yzerman's knee.
Pro football players play a maximum of 21 regular season games, assuming they go all the way to the Super Bowl. In a worst-case scenario, a hockey team would play 28 games in the playoffs alone; a best-case scenario would win The Stanley Cup in "only" 16 games. (It wasn't always this way.) Speaking of The Cup...there isn't a more-storied trophy in all of sports. Period.

I could go on. You get the point, I'm sure. But there's one more thing.

Values.
You'll never see a Terrell Owens in hockey. There are no Dennis Rodmans. Yeah, there are NHL cheap-shot artist like Todd Bertuzzi or Claude Lemieux. There are also bona-fide heroes like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, and yes, Steve Yzerman. Men of honor and integrity. Role models for our kids. Have you ever seen a post-game hockey interview? The interviews are so squeaky clean they're almost boring. It's all about "the team," "we got some good breaks," "things are going our way, we're working hard" and so on. True humility. How refreshing, eh?
But...what about the fighting? How does that fit into values? The fights are real-world lessons. Lessons such as "actions have consequences" and "take care of your own." Fighting is a part of life, and it's an integral part of hockey. Exciting, too. Nothing brings a crowd to their feet faster than two players dropping the gloves and squaring off. Nothing. Well, maybe except a game-winning goal in the final 15 seconds of a play-off game.
Steve Yzerman's actions this past week say a lot about him and the game he loves. He's near the end of a brilliant career. He knows he's not playing up to his standards now, no one else's. That's what matters. Standards. Honor. Integrity. Yzerman will step aside with his head held high. True class. There's a lot of it in hockey.

Scott Adams on Polls

"The only polls I want to see are ones that exclusively includes the people in the top .01% of intelligence who are also highly informed on whatever topics the polls include. Let’s call those people the Well-Informed Super Geniuses. If most of the people in that group have the same opinion, and it’s different from mine, I’m willing to change my opinion. After all, I don’t tell my doctor where to find my appendix. Why would I tell a Well-Informed Super Genius what to think about the global socio-economic implications of a particular foreign policy or monetary decision or whatnot? (The exception would be if he had some financial or other interest in the outcome.)"

Read the whole thing.

Another Anniversary

John Lennon was shot dead 25 years ago today. Every generation has its moments in time where all is frozen in place; no matter how much time passes between these events and the present you can recall exactly where you were, what you were doing, and who you were with.

My generation's moments include JFK's assassination, the Challenger explosion, and, of course, 9/11. I'll also posit most of us remember all too vividly the day Lennon died.

I was in London, at RAF Uxbridge, sitting in Tech Control wearing a full chemical warfare suit when someone came in and announced Lennon had been shot and was DOA. We were in the midst of our semi-annual war game exercises, and for those of you who have never had the opportunity to discover how incredibly difficult even simple tasks can become when you're wearing an impermeable garment, huge rubber gloves and a gas mask...well, all I can say is you haven't lived!

But I digress. The day went on, we completed the exercise, attended the mandatory de-briefs and generally went on with life. Put it in a box and move on.

That evening The Second Mrs. Pennington and I sat on the floor of our living room watching the Beeb's tribute to Lennon and cried our eyes out. It was traumatic, emotional. Why? Because Lennon gave us things like this:

There are places I'll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
In my life I love you more

RIP, John.

via Althouse. Read her essay here. Moving beyond words.

Blogger Has Been Acting Strange Today

It's been slow; painfully so. And I've inadvertently published multiple copies of at least two posts that didn't show up for an hour or two. And then there was yesterday's outage with zero explanation from The Management.

Makes one wonder, eh?

Baby, It's COLD Outside!

Three degrees, -9 with wind chill. I have two small electric heaters running (one in front, one in back of the RV) and my furnace is still kicking on every 15 minutes or so. My local propane dealer is gonna LOVE me this month if this stuff keeps up.

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's 74 outside in Miami and 54 in LA. {Shut up, he said}

I'll Do the Math so You Don't Have To

I just nuked and ate a bag of popcorn. Being the curious sort I am, I wondered how many empty calories I'd just consumed. No problem, this is America, we have nutrition labels. Piece of cake. Or bag of popcorn, as it were. Just read the label, all will be revealed.

Not so. Let me explain.

Consulting the "Nutrition Facts" panel, printed in an absurdly small font, I see the serving size is "2 Tbsp unpopped," and there are 160 calories in said serving. But who the Hell eats unpopped popcorn? Further reading says there are 35 calories in "1 cup popped." Now I know I just consumed more than 35 calories!

Reading the top of the Nutrition Facts panel, I find "2 Tbsp unpopped" makes 4 cups popped. That's 140 calories. Still sounds low.

Further reading informs me "Servings per bag: about 3." So, if I have this right, I actually consumed 12 cups of popcorn, or about 420 calories. I can buy that.

So...why don't they just print "420 calories per bag?" Would that be so hard?

I'm gonna call Samuel Hirsch. There may be some money in this.

Images of New Mexico

(click for larger)

San Francisco de Asis Church, Ranchos de Taos, NM

What do Ansel Adams and I have in common? We've both photographed this church. I took my photo in May of 2004; Ansel was there a bit earlier.

Brouhaha

The Washington Post's front-page article today titled "Democrats Fear Backlash at Polls for Antiwar Remarks" has triggered a firestorm on the Left. What seems like a sensible reaction from Democratic moderates to outrageous, defeatist statements made by Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi (just to name two; there are others) is apostasy to the Left's pundits. Yellow Journalalmism (huh?) is one typical reaction, Oliver Willis has another. Basically, the message from the Howard Dean apologists is "capitalize on public opinion against the war;" go for the throat. More red meat! MORE!

The Right's pundits, on the other hand, are looking at all this gnashing and thrashing among the Dems with some amusement and not a little satisfaction. But not all. Carol Platt Liebau, writing on the WaPo article, has this to say:

How inadvertantly revealing. No, they aren't afraid of demoralizing the troops. No, they aren't afraid of losing the war on terror. They're afraid of a political backlash for having spoken from their hearts.

Cam Edwards, on the other hand, asks us to identify who said what:

Quote #1- “The idea that the Americans are going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong.”
Quote #2- “There is no doubt that the space in which the terrorists can move has begun to shrink and that the grip around the throats of the enemy has begun to tighten. With the deployment of soldiers and police, the future for the terrorists has become frightening.”

OK, you've got Quote #1. You may not be surprised when you learn who said #2.

And finally...I've been listening to Randi Rhodes on Air America for about the last hour and a half. [ed: why? why would you DO that? uh, I dunno...masochism?] She's done a pretty good job of promulgating the Dean/Pelosi talking points, in between describing the war as "Bush's personal Al Qaeda Training Program," calling the war a "failure," invoking the spirit of Walter Cronkite's comments after the Tet Offensive, and bashing the living HELL out of Joe Lieberman. And on that last point, anyone want to take a bet Joe will pull a Zell Miller in the near future? I think it's even money. One can only take so much.

Sixty-Four Years Ago

Today is the anniversary of the second-most deadly attack on US soil. Sunday, December 7th, 1941 began quietly; by the end of the day 2,409 Americans had died and 1,178 were wounded. Three years and a little over eight months later the Japanese surrendered unconditionally on the decks of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The United States had over 16 million men and women under arms in World War II; 291,557 of those service members were killed in action and another 369,267 were wounded.

My father was a corporal in the US Army Air Corps, stationed at Buckley Field, Colorado, on December 7, 1941. When the end of the war came he was a First Lieutenant on occupation duty somewhere in Germany. He died in 1989.

More and more WW II veterans slip away every day; soon the "Greatest Generation" will be gone. If you know a WW II vet, today would be a perfect day to thank him or her for their sacrifices...you won't have many more chances.

Today is also a good day to thank our current service members, if you know any...we are at war, after all. I'll start: Thanks, Buck. Thanks, Sam.

Update: Michelle Malkin has an interesting post about our collective fading memory. Lots of good links to Pearl Harbor related posts.

I'm Not Ready for This!

I suppose one is never ready for that first bone-chilling blast of winter. {Sigh} So winter arrives. The upper Mid-West has already had their blast of Arctic air, and there's some rather humorous discussion of same over at Ann Althouse's blog. Ann responds to a predictable comment about snow/cold from Florida:

As to the nah-nah-ing from Florida: You know, we don't do that to you when you have your hurricanes. Should we? If the answer isn't yes, then back off.

Scraping windows and shoveling snow isn't exactly like a hurricane, but I suppose one would get tired of having Floridians, and others from tropical climes, rubbing it in on you. I know I did when I was in Rochester and other too-cold places. The nice thing about our cold snap is just that: it's a snap. All will be well next week. Right? {crosses fingers}

Good Stuff

Lex put up some great posts today and yesterday. If you ever saw "The Bridges of Toko-Ri," then you need to get yourself over to Lex's place and read this. Even if you've never seen the movie, you still need to go. Great stuff. And browse a bit while you're there. You'll be better for it!

Wakkanai Air Station, Japan

I got to thinking today (a dangerous pursuit, for me) that what this blog needs is a few war stories to spice things up a bit. After all, I spent 22 years in the Air Force, so I should have some pretty good stories to tell, right? Not really. Or, to put a finer point on it, most of my war stories aren't suitable for publishing in a family-rated blog. And I do want to keep this blog rated PG-13, at the very most. And then there's the other problem: memory. Unlike a lot of folks my age I don't have a treasure-trove of memory-jogging photos, documents, pins, ball caps, and all that other good stuff one accumulates over the years. Most of the photos from my AF days are in the custody of The First Mrs. Pennington, the rest I boxed up and sent to Number Two Son for safe keeping when I downsized life to fit into the RV. So, no joy there! I have to rely on my diminishing supply of brain cells, nothing else. Scary thought.

Ah. But there's the web! I googled "Wakkanai Air Station" to begin my trip down the memory hole and hit pay dirt. Indulge me for a moment before I tell you about Wakkanai; I'm gonna go off on a tangent.

Tangent: All military careers could arguably be called "different," especially for my generation. Guys in my cohort got sent all over the world; the travel opportunities today, compared to what I experienced, are very limited. Most USAF people spend their careers going from AF base to AF base. And that's where my difference comes in. In 22 years I was "permanent party" on only two Air Force bases: Yokota AB, Japan ('75 - '77) and Tinker AFB, OK ('83 - '85). You can add Keesler AFB, MS if you like - I was in a school squadron there in '63 -'64. The rest of my career was spent on Air Force Stations, literally on mountain tops (or the highest ground around) in the case of my Air Defense Command radar assignments, and isolated overseas locations during my tours on surveillance and monitoring (read as: spook) sites. Which brings us to Wakkanai!

Wakkanai AS (WAS), Japan is on the northern tip of Hokkaido, as far north as you can go in Japan without getting your feet wet. The unit had various designations over its lifetime, but it was mostly the 6986th Security Group, a unit of the late, great, USAF Security Service. Wakkanai was a surveillance site, with a (then) state of the art system known as a FLR-12. The FLR-12 had a huge antenna farm. Wakkanai opened in the mid-1950s as an Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) radar site, it ceased operations in late 1971 and closed in 1972. I was there twice, from 1968 - 1970, and again in 1971. WAS was an "isolated" tour, dependents were authorized, but the tour length was short: 15 months unaccompanied and two years, accompanied.

The one thing people always remember about Wakkanai is the snow: we had an average annual snow fall of 275 inches. Do the math...that's a tick shy of 23 feet of snow. Every year. And it was cold. The snow began falling in late November and stayed on the ground until late March or early April. All bases are surrounded with at least eight-foot high chain link fences, usually topped with three strands of barbed wire. In mid-winter the the WAS fences were useless. Even though it was illegal to leave the base through anything but the main gate (and if you got caught you were in trouble!), we routinely scrambled up and down the snow banks that used to be a fence and went "across the street." "Across the street" was a euphemism for the three dive bars that were literally across the street from the base...the Club Seven, The Inferno, and The Shadow. And Man! - were they ever fun! "Hey Buck! Where ya goin'?" "Across the street!" That's all the further I'm gonna go: PG-13.

There wasn't a lot to do in the winter. POVs weren't allowed on the roads in the winter, so you became semi-isolated, except for busses or taxis into town. We worked, partied, worked. Rinse. Repeat. Summer was another story altogether. Summer was racing season! Wakkanai was where I learned how to ride motocross, and my buddies and I raced all over the island of Hokkaido, mostly on the sides of mountains that were used as ski slopes in the winter. We practiced on Saturday and raced on Sunday. After practice there was usually a formal dinner and serious partying with our hosts at the races, usually the local Motorcycle Federation of Japan (MFJ) affiliate club. Americans were a rarity in that part of Japan in the late 60s, so we were feted a lot. And those Nipponese racers were some sneaky guys...every single party I went to they tried (and sometimes succeeded) to get us falling-down drunk. Racing with a hangover isn't recommended. Don't try it at home.

It would be easy to go on and on. Wakkanai was certainly one of the best, if not THE best, assignments in my AF career. I traveled all over Hokkaido, learned to love sushi, banged handlebars with some very cool dudes, acquired a taste for Sapporo beer, and learned to stay away from all but the best Suntory whiskies. And I loved my work, too. I won't talk about what we did, but it was important. Nuff said.

Do go visit the Wakkanai Air Station web site. There's history, mementos, and literally hundreds of pictures, and you know what they say about pics and words... David Lynch, the Website Facilitator, has done a great job of putting together a site that captures the feel of the place and the people that were stationed there. Well done, David!

The Politics of Google

I wonder what they are? {smirk} {guffaw} You don't need a cluebat to understand. I use G-Mail and I like it, even though I'm subjected to "sponsored ads" in the sidebar. Small price to pay for free e-mail with two gigs of storage. I have the Google Toolbar in my browser; I like that, too. But when a friend sends me an e-mail discussing and expressing her support for Bush and I get these ads in the sidebar (a direct cut 'n' paste)...

Sponsored Links
George W. Bush Are You Happy Bush Won? Cast Your Vote and Get $250 at Starbucks
bush.peel.com
Support our troops Draft the Twins - ribbon ribbons bumper stickers shirts etc.
dontblamemeivoted4kerry.com
News from the White House Flying Blind: Team Bush in Turmoil What's Next?
www.newsweek.com
Noam Chomsky Book Summary Save time with the summary of "Hegemony or Survival"
CapitolReader.com

Yeah, right. There's a group of URLs I'll click on. I think I'll go read the Noam Chomsky Book Summary RIGHT NOW! I might be behind on the ol' Marxist's latest Commie apologia or Bushitler rant. Could be.

It's an uphill fight these days; the opposition are everywhere. One could become very paranoid if one were so disposed.

Cold (and Dumb)

Brrr! Ten degrees outside as I write, wind chill of six, on its way to a high of 48. I hope it gets there quick, because I'm still not in "winter mode," which means I did something stupid. RVs are much more susceptible to water line freeze-ups, what with a water supply that comes in via a hose, not buried pipes. I made the coffee at 4:30 this morning, and after filling the pot I turned off the water as usual, forgetting to leave a steady drip-drip-drip going. Result? Freeze up. No shower for a while, no water to flush, and so on. Self-inflicted wounds, a curse of old age.

Marxists are Alive and...

...not well. They're still convinced, still confused. And that's being polite. I watched a little of C-SPAN2's Book TV this morning. Michael McCaughan, author and columnist for The Guardian (UK), gave a little talk to an audience of about 12 in Robin's Bookstore in Philadelphia. Mr. McCaughan essentially hyped his new book, The Battle of Venezuela (review here). One Phoebe Jones, the U.S. Coordinator of Global Women's Strike, was on hand to augment Mr. McCaughan and contribute to the talk. To cut to the chase, Mr. McCaughan and Ms. Jones told us all about the wonderfulness of Hugo Chavez's Venezuela and the success of the socialist revolution in that country...not to mention details about the crimes, counter-revolutionary plots, and other nastiness the Bush Administration has committed on this peaceful country and its visionary leader.

I watch this stuff and I wonder "Who are these people? How can they still believe in a political system that has failed miserably, not to mention killed millions of people everywhere it has achieved power?" How can they write things like this...

As the many actions planned show, the Strike aims to bring women (and men) together across many divisions. As the statement says, "It begins with those of us who are invisible as workers: mothers and other caregivers, grassroots activists; subsistence, migrant and family farmers; those struggling on disability benefits, welfare, social security; child laborers; immigrants with or without papers; bonded laborers; domestic and homecare workers; sex workers; prisoners and ex-prisoners; refuseniks; students; rape survivors & others working for justice; community volunteers and more; whatever our sex, race, nationality, religion, age, sexual choice."
We salute the efforts of Global Women's Strike and all the many and valiant organizations coming forward to defend the rights of women and take their stand to change society. As the statement concludes, "Many of us are shocked that Bush and his genocidal henchmen are in charge of the largest military machine in the world for four more years. But as Joe Hill, a great working class fighter, said when he was framed for murder by the US police and got the death sentence, `Don't mourn. Organize!'

...with a straight face? And expect rational man-in-the-street Americans to believe?

Thank God for C-SPAN. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be poking around in the sewers of American political life. There's vermin down there.

Just Slightly Ahead of Our Time

On November 25th I wrote in a post titled "Good, Bad, and Ugly":

Ameriprise (We're the new financial consultants from American Express!). Oh-so-wrong, on so many levels. Blatant pandering to the overly-absorbed-with-themselves Boomers, what with the kitschy 60s video clips and "oh weren't you COOL" voice-overs. And they ripped off the Spencer Davis Groups great "Gimmee Some Lovin'," an unforgiveable sin.

I was talking about ads that irritate me. In Friday's WSJ, Melanie Wells writes:

...the tone of ads from Ameriprise Financial? The company--a financial-advice unit spun off from American Express--clearly buys into the idea of boomers' tireless obsession with youthful pursuits. Its print ads show these folks in their VW-bus-driving, cheerleading, do-the-twist past. The TV spots appeal to the boomers' inner child, juxtaposing images of them skateboarding and playing the guitar when they were young. There are shots of them doing the same now but with thinning hair and--in the case of the aging skateboarder--a broken arm. "Retirement is like a second childhood," one ad says.

You heard it here first. Remember that! Ms. Wells, however, isn't complaining solely about Ameriprise. She takes apart ad campaigns from the financial services industry, in general. Not a bad read, if you're so inclined.

Full Disclosure, Part 17: My secret fantasy-job has always been advertising copy writer, leading to Advertising Industry Icon. Now you know.

Make a deal with the devil and you're the junior partner.

So says Dick Armey in a WSJ editorial dated today. Like a lot of other folks, I voted for Dubya for two reasons: (1) More dead terrorists and (2) Lower taxes. I believe Bush is delivering on the first reason; I fear for the second. One premise that enables the federal tax rate to remain low is small government. No one in their right [ed: is that a pun?] mind can possibly claim that the current administration and congress are practicing, or even heading toward, small government. Consider:

...we have embarrassing spectacles like the 2005 highway bill. Costing $295 billion, it is 35% larger than the last transportation bill, fueled by 6,371 earmarks doled out to favored political constituencies. By comparison, the 1987 highway bill was vetoed by Ronald Reagan for containing relatively few (152) earmarks. Overall, even excluding defense and homeland security spending, the growth rate of discretionary spending adjusted for inflation is at a 40-year high.

Armey argues that there is precious little difference between the Republicans and Democrats these days. I'll agree with him with one exception, that being the GWOT. There's a wave of discontent out here in Red State Land, and it ain't all about the war. I would certainly hate to see the Democrats gain control of the House or the Senate in 2006, or the White House in 2008. But it's entirely possible. When wise old men like Dick Armey speak out, Frist, Delay (yeah, I know. But he's pulling the majority's strings behind the scenes. Bet on it.), and the rest of the Republican leadership better listen. That goes for Dubya, too.

Update: There are those that might consider what I wrote above an empty threat. One might ask "You'd actually vote for someone who would belong to Pelosi's caucus?" The answer, speaking strictly for myself: maybe. The more likely scenario, speaking broadly, is members of the conservative/Republican coalition would just stay home, particularly in an off-year election. The Republican coalition is fragile. Contrary to what a lot of liberals think, we aren't all right-wing religious wackos intent on establishing a Talibanesque Christian theocracy. A significant number of us are small-government, pro-business, free-market economic conservatives that are also, for lack of a better term, foreign policy hawks. It's that contingent of the Republican party, plus a large number of independents, that the current administration and congressional leadership are in danger of losing. And Republicans cannot win elections if they don't bring along a lot of independents. Remember what Ross Perot did to Bush pere in 1992? It could happen again.

We Now Resume Regularly Scheduled Programming...

The new PC is completely configured, data has been migrated, apps re-installed, Microsoft has granted its "Seal of Approval" (yes, my copy of WinXP is genuine!), and we're back in business!

My favorite Captain has a good post up about one of my pet peeves (USAF Division), the proliferation of awards and decorations, i.e., ribbons or "fruit salad." According to Air Force Magazine's 2005 USAF Almanac, the Air Force currently awards 63 ribbons. Sixty-flipping-three! Want to see all of them, plus descriptions of the awards? Be prepared to browse for a while, coz there's ten pages, 15 to a page, except for the first and last pages. The AF link also contains ribbons previously awarded during WW II and Korea, so the ribbon count exceeds the AF Almanac's 63. Here's what ribbon inflation means:

Outstanding Airman of the Year Ribbon, awarded to airman nominated by the MAJCOMs, FOAs, and DRUs to HQ AFPC/DPPPRS for competition in the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year (12 OAY) Program. Device: Oak leaf Cluster, and Service Star.

Air Force Recognition Ribbon, awarded to named individual Air Force recipients of special trophies and awards except the 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year nominees. Bronze oak-leaf clusters will be worn on the ribbon bar to indicate subsequent awards.

It's not enough to win a "special trophy or award" or be nominated (not WIN, nominated!) as an Outstanding Airman of the Year, you get a ribbon, too! Been assigned overseas? Short or long tour? There's a ribbon for either. You add a ribbon to your collection just by virtue of being in place outside the US. (Full disclosure: The AF Overseas Ribbon existed before I retired; it's one of my nine.) Or how about this?

Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, who subsequent to 31 December 1992, perform outstanding volunteer community service of a sustained, direct and consequential nature.

That used to be a line-item in a performance report, not a flipping medal.

Lest I sound like a grumpy old man, here's the point. Award inflation cheapens the whole concept of awards. All USAF personnel, from airmen to general officers, look like bananna republic generals these days. Something's very wrong when an Airman First Class with two years of service has more ribbons than this guy.

Stop it.

So.

The excitement's over for the week. My friend Lori and I had a great visit, brief as it was. Lori begins a new job in San Francisco this coming Monday, so she has some motoring ahead of her this weekend. The two of us talked a lot about SFO while she was here. Made me almost homesick, but only for a moment. Then reality set in. (Doesn't that pic confirm at least ONE suspicion?) As an aside, Lori said she wished she hadn't scraped her "Another Veteran for Kerry" sticker off her car before she left Dee-See...my neighbors might have found a Kerry car right behind my Bush-Cheney-stickered car amusing! (Yeah, my bumpersticker's still on the rear window. And it's gonna stay there until it falls off.)

When Life Intrudes on Blogging Dept.: I still have a lot of administrative work to do on the new box. Data transfer from the laptop to the desktop. Download and re-install a few miscellaneous applications. Register this, that and the other with Microsoft. And so it goes. In the meantime, Number One Son created a new blog yesterday...check him out at http://www.afcaptbuck.blogspot.com/ GREAT pic of NOS, my grandson, and Stanley!

More later.

Does That Look COLD?

Well, it was. Cold was the operative word at Fortuna AFS, North Dakota. Even during the summer, the talk invariably turned to "cold." War stories about things freezing...cars, pipes, people. Today's weather forecast for Fortuna is typical for December: the high will be 15 degrees, the low 6 degrees. Right now it's 3 degrees...at Williston, ND, the reporting station for Fortuna. Williston is about 85 miles south of Fortuna.

I was stationed at Fortuna from 1977 - 1978...12 months, three days, eight hours, and ten minutes. One of the fondest memories of my Air Force career was watching that checkerboard FPS-35 antenna fade into a dot in my rear-view mirror as I left Fortuna, headed west to North Bend AFS, Oregon. All that said, I did have a good time while I was at Fortuna. Like everywhere else I've been in the world, Fortuna was what you made it. The people I met there were great and we had tremendous fun!

My good friend Lori, who was a young two-striper while we were at Fortuna (I was a young TSgt), will be arriving in Portales in about an hour. We'll reminisce, laugh, and have a few beers. One of the best things about a military career is the friends you make, and the friends you keep. I can't wait!

Off His/Her Meds

It would be funny if it weren't so pathetic. Reading the comments to Arianna Huffington's post about Dubya's speech, I came across this gem:

Arianna,

Could you please please please investigate the REAL story that has caused all of this mess???The US government was at least complicit in the 9/11 disaster...If anyone disbelieves this, then you need to educate yourself. Now that we the people have lost over 2100 brave men and women and over 15,000 have been maimed by this George W. Bush war of choice. It is imperative of you as an American citizen especially if you are a young American who will inherit this national debt and the shame of these government activities, that you search the sources and discover the truth. I have done months of research, and I am personally convinced that the leaders of this country committed the most heinous of treasonous acts, by murdering their own people for ideological themes and great personal monetary gain.

Oh, there's more. A LOT more. Eleven stupid questions. Eight wacko conspiracy-theory links. A list of films you should "check out." Want to read it all? Go here and search the page for "scorpiototally." Is it any wonder we on the right call these people moonbats?

I laughed, I cried...