Week of 28 Oct 2008

Crossing Bridges

I am where I am because of the bridges that I crossed.

-Oprah Winfrey

Hard to Be a Stupid US Democratic Congressman

So....this is what happened. We had a couple of Dutch lawmakers who visited the Guantanamo Bay military prison this week. They ended up getting into a discussion with a senior California lefty democratic congressman.....Tom Lantos. Things didn't go well.

The Dutch dudes (and ladies) said that Rep. Tom, who happens to be the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told them that "Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay."

Tom, a Holocaust survivor, was responding to arguments that the United States should shut down the prison, located on a U.S. naval base in Cuba, the lawmakers said. Mariko Peter, a member of the Dutch Green Party, who began the exchange with Lantos, said she took notes of the remarks.

A Lantos aide said he realizes that the Guantanamo facility does harm to the reputation of the United States and has praised judges who ruled in favor of extending legal rights to prisoners. He has not sadly....suggested that the prison be closed.

Before the Guantanamo exchange, the Dutch dudes had discussed a debate in the Netherlands about whether the country should maintain its 1,600 troops serving in NATO's Afghanistan operations.

"You have to help us, because if it was not for us you would now be a province of Nazi Germany," Tom said, according to the Dutch lawmakers. Yep....that really set the situation up badly for ole Tom. Apparently....the hardcore leftists and Green party members from the Netherlands....got real upset.

"The comments killed the debate," said Harry van Bommel, a member of the Socialist Party. "It was insulting and counterproductive."

Tom's spokeswoman....after a while.....said that Tom was out cleaning the chainsaw and raking leaves.....so he was not available and had no comment.

"It was a diplomatically strange situation," Peters said. "The mere suggestion that the United States could be compared with Nazi Germany is so flawed." I was thinking the same thing....although many a hardcore leftists and Green party member in Europe have done the "Bush is Hitler" routine....so maybe Peters isn't as right as he thinks.

Sadly....it was not the first time that Tom has offended European political circles. In May, he lashed out at the former leaders of France and Germany. His comments, which included calling former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder a "political prostitute," provoked a rebuke from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Schroeder himself....didn't say a word....he was waiting to get paid to say the next statement but no one offered up any money.

The lawmakers, from the Dutch House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, were invited to visit Guantanamo and Washington by the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands, Roland Arnall. The lawmakers also met senior Bush administration officials, including Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England.

Members of the delegation said they were given an extensive tour of the Guantanamo Bay prison, which has been heavily criticized by human rights groups.

Some of the lawmakers said that while they found the physical conditions of the prison acceptable. In fact...all of the Dutch dudes ate the catfish and shrimp plate they were offered up, and sipped some of the best mountain dew they'd ever sipped. Later, they ate peach cobbler with lots of ice cream on the side.....although they did say....they remain concerned that prisoners were not being given proper legal treatment.

Most of the delegation called for the closing of Guantanamo.

"We have to close Guantanamo because it symbolizes for me everything that is wrong with this war on terror," Peters said.

But at least one member disagreed.

"Let's not forget we are in a state of war — not only the United States but also my country — with Islamic terrorists," said the far right Freedom Party leader, Geert Wilders. "I think we could only learn from Guantanamo."

A number of the members said that the United States should consult international institutions and other countries to answer some of the difficult quandaries about closing the facility. The US asked them who these international institutions were....but most of the Dutch dudes couldn't name any. And the countries suggested...were mostly Tonga, the Vatican, and Nova Scotia (actually a state in Canada but the Dutch didn't know that). They did recommend some fine hash houses in Amsterdam to the US delegation.

"We need to work out an international deal on the future of Guantanamo Bay," said Hans van Baalen, of the Liberals, who led the delegation. I'm thinking that in the fashion of a Kyoto Treaty....we can do up some kind of Carbon Credit/Gitmo prisoner tax, and just pay it. I'm not sure who would get the money....but as long as they are third-world countries and poor....I don't see a problem.

This worked ok for Al and the Nobel committee....and I think a Gitmo prisoner credit would be a fine way to freshen up our Dutch relations. You can never have enough Dutch friends...especially if they know where to hang out in Amsterdam for cheap.

Gangsta Amish on the Loose: New York

So this is what we know...a couple of days ago...five Amish punks were arrested....accused of smashing windows, flipping buggies over and tearing down mailboxes at two other Amish homes earlier this month. This hapened up in New York state....in Cattaraugus County, New York. The dudes were all 18 and 19 years old and worked together....so they were a "gang". Based on data from the cops....almost $1,200 damage at one house, and $500 at another.

Of a very serious note.....Sheriff's deputies accused the young Amish hoodlums of using very large and round rocks to smash the windows and breaking two Martin houses for birds in their rampage.

All five teens were charged with two counts each of trespass. Three of them also were charged with two counts each of criminal mischief: Jonas J. Hershberger, 19, of Frank Road, Cattaraugus; Robert J. Shetler, 19, of Bentley Hill Road, Conewango Valley; and Eli B. Hostetler, 18, of West Road, Conewango Valley. All three were sent to the Cattaraugus County Jail on bail, Hostetler and Shetler on $2,500 each and Hershberger on $1,000 bail.

Apparently somewhere in the gang situation....two other dudes were arrested, Henry J. Shetler, 18, of Bentley Hill Road, Conewango Valley, and Eli E. Miller, 18, of Flat Iron Road, Conewango Valley, were released on their own recognizance. I'm thinking they were the dudes who found the large and round rocks that destroyed the bird houses.

What we have here...is a national trend....well....it was the first such Amish punk act.....but its a trend. For those of you in New York....your days are numbered. Pretty soon....they will be at your house...overturning your wagon or carriage.....pushing over your bird houses....doing damage far and wide to your garden. Its time to bring tough law into the community and deal with this quickly.

Not to make any accusations....but I'm betting the boys were doing caffeine and maybe even beer. It is the sin of the devil, and certainly drives men to do unrightly (I spell-checked and discovered unrightly is not a word....so I just invented it....make a note about that) things. We must bring the Amish youth back into the fold and cleanse them again. I'd say make them cut down 300 acres of trees by hand...and give them an appreciation of good hard work ethic.

Georgia Reservoirs

In the past few hours....I blogged on the necessity of planning ahead and building reservoirs. It has come to my attention...that alot of folks....over the past twenty years....have tried to get reservoirs on the books, and found environmentalist after environmentalist blocking the construction of the reservoirs in central Georgia...in fact, for the whole state of Georgia....and even the surrounding states.

Last week...Sam Hay from Newton county, Georgia....traveled all the way over to Walton county, and had a splendid contribution to the water board meeting. The water board in Walton county wants to build a $350 million reservoir...and had bonds all fixed up....for the first $30 million to buy property and start phase one of the situation. The reservoir is designed for Walton county folks ONLY. No one from Newton county would ever have a single drop of this water.

So the meeting at the board occurred, with a judge in attendance....and every voice in the audience approved of the bonds and the construction....except for their visitor from from Newton county. Mr. Hay apparently voice displeasure and cited various environmental concerns. The legal authority over the entire bond issue....halted the bond. The water board and county must now APPEAL what was 100 percent approved by their county.

Of interest....Hay didn't exactly leave the board without a suggestion to fix the issue. He wants a 3-county reservoir....down at the Three Brother hydroelectric plant, which already has a dam....and just expand the lake behind it. But he didn't readily say that the environmentalist would "bless" this....which kinda leave the door to the butcher shop wide open for some juggling of knives and such.

There are numerous projects sitting on the shelf....gathering dust over the past twenty years because of continued environmental stand-offs. Even if you were a private citizen, who bought up 4,000 acres of property and wanted to convert it into a private lake for just yourself and your family.....they would tie up the case in court.

Part of this scheme....if you read Eric Hoffer's book True Believer....is to take situations and make them into fearful events which trigger populational moves (mass movements) to "fixing problems". The interesting aspect of "fixing problems" via the environmental method....is that you toss half of the possible answers off the table in the first minute. You basically leave metropolitan growth and control, usage and limits, and conservation as the real keys to fixing problems. You can't discuss reservoirs or desalination plants. You can't discuss using river water to plug up a need for water in a city or area. You start scratching your head at this moment.....wondering why you wouldn't discuss certain answers....and are simply told to play within the rules of discussion.

I think I'd start a national trend here. You want to have a meeting in your town, city or county....make a simple rule. The only guys who get to speak....are registered voters in that town, city or county. If some folks show up from California and want to have input into your water situation in Austin....tell them either sit down or pass their info to a local guy....but be prepared for folks to grill the local guy on his "lack" of information or knowledge. At some point, the game plays itself out...and the outside influences are left to run back to their dismal locations and rethink their future contributions to society.

Red State Update

For those of you who aren't familiar with Jackie Browles and Dunlap....check out Red state Update (just google it). The boys are upstaging almost every politician out there (both Republican and Democrat). They do two or three clips a week (three to four minutes each)....and probably ought to have their own weekly TV show.

Week of 28 Oct 2008

The San Diego Crowd versus the Katrina Crowd

I don't usually make comparisons of societies....unless I refer to Bama and some "other" folks. But in this case....comparing the Katrina crowd with the San Diego crowd....there is something that we must grasp.

The Katrina crowd sat there...waiting. The San Diego crowd left the threat area immediately.

The Katrina crowd sat there and worried about gun control....confiscating weapons left and right. The Sand Diego cops haven't mentioned a word about that necessity.

The Katrina crowd sat there and wanted massive government aide. You barely are hearing a peep about that in this case....other than some shelters and help in clearing the mess.

The Katrina politicians stood and cried buckets over how no one from FEMA saved them. You sit and watch California politicians behave logically and talk "rebuild".

Have we found vast numbers of San Diego cops are non-existent...as we did in New Orleans? No.

Have the emergency services folks done their job in San Diego? Yes.

I don't see the media making the comparison....but it is painfully obvious.

Prepare for the Future....Its not Pretty

Sometimes...as creative of a writer as I am....I simply can't make up stuff, and actually find truth stuff that is as dim as you can get. Such is the case today....where I can proudly announce....the human race will one day split into two separate species, an attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures. A top British scientist announced this today.

I sat and pondered this split. I might be tossed into a crossbred from both groups....intelligent but Neanderthal-looking.

What this future Nobel Science prize winner suggested...is that 100,000 years into the future, sexual selection could mean that two distinct breeds of human will have developed.

The scientist....evolutionary theorist Oliver Curry from the London School of Economics. Now, I realize....that some of you are asking...when does a school of economics....get into evolution? I sat and pondered this as well. I'm thinking Oliver probably married into an accountant family who were filthy rich, and arrange for Oliver to have a chair over at the school. They probably didn't realize what he'd do or say....and regret finding him a job now.

Oliver says that the human race will have reached its physical peak by the year 3000.

These humans will be between 6ft and 7ft tall and they will live up to 120 years.

"Physical features will be driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility that men and women have evolved to look for in potential mates," says the report, which suggests that advances in cosmetic surgery and other body modifying techniques will effectively homogenize our appearance.

The dudes will have symmetrical facial features, deeper voices and bigger penises....at least Oliver claims this in his report.

Oliver then says that women will all have glossy hair, smooth hairless skin, large eyes and pert breasts.

I was sitting there thinking about evolution...and I'd personally have different "fantasies" here. If these gals all have "pert" sizes....these dudes aren't going to be interested in much of anything....and probably sit around and drink booze and play cards at night with their buddies (like they currently do). I'd have the same problem with glossy hair...which means I'd be wanting a gal who wore a wig half the time.

Oliver continues on.....racial differences will be a thing of the past as interbreeding produces a single coffee-colored skin tone.

Then Oliver gets into a downward trend....humans will reach their peak in 1000 years' time, 10,000 years later our reliance on technology will have begun to dramatically change our appearance.

Medicine will weaken our immune system and we will begin to appear more child-like.

Oliver then reports: "The report suggests that the future of man will be a story of the good, the bad and the ugly.

"While science and technology have the potential to create an ideal habitat for humanity over the next millennium, there is the possibility of a monumental genetic hangover over the subsequent millennia due to an over-reliance on technology reducing our natural capacity to resist disease, or our evolved ability to get along with each other.

"After that, things could get ugly, with the possible emergence of genetic 'haves' and 'have-nots'."

Most folks who read British newspapers...and grasp Oliver's theory....suddenly realize his entire theory....is an exact copy of H G Wells' classic novel The Time Machine. Remember....those damn Eloi and the Morlock races? The whole book, written in 1895....revolved around two races....one was highly intelligent and wealthy and the other.....frightening, animalistic Morlock who are destined to work underground to keep the Eloi happy.

I'm thinking Oliver did some drugs....booze....and sat around an entire weekend watching old movies. At some point....Oliver had some vision....and wrote some notes....which turned into this theory.

Thinking about this situation....I'd really like to get on the London School of Economics and get a chair. I'm not sure what I'd write about but it'd be dandy to earn money....just by watching movies and writing theory in longhand.

Who knows.....I might be like that Gore kid who won that Nobel medal.

As Waters Through a Hourglass....These Are the Days of Our Lives

Shortage of water and a drought in Georgia....threatens the water supply for millions.

Florida doubts that it doesn't have enough water for its population boom.

The Great Lakes are shrinking.

Upstate New York's reservoirs are not quiet as high as they used to be.

The Sierra Nevada snowpack is melting faster each year.

Yes.....across the entire country.....water is dying off. We will not survive as a human race. It is the demise of our society.

As always.....some dudes got a grant....went to Reno and gambled the money away....and then produced a report.....which says that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess. Yep, 36 states. Bama didn't make the list.....as usual....we are behind on getting into the line for government hand-outs and such.

"Is it a crisis? If we don't do some decent water planning, it could be," said Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the Denver-based American Water Works Association.

So....you'd naturally think....more reservoirs....right? Nope.....we are using the environmental template of reverse steps. First, you go to conservation, then recycling, then desalination and finally.....stricter controls on development of urban areas.

"We've hit a remarkable moment," said Barry Nelson, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency." For those who aren't aware....Barry works for a think-tank and gets paid money by someone to say stuff....which might be true or totally bogus.

Behind all this talk....as you would start to think about....is money. You can't have a disaster without a price tag. Naturally...lots of studies are required, and we need to hire experts and pay them generous pay deals. So the think tank estimated $300 billion over 30 years. I'm proud of the boys....then went as high as you could go.

"Unfortunately, there's just not going to be any more cheap water," said Randy Brown, Pompano Beach's utilities director. Randy would really like for you to believe that. Randy is hoping that you might be willing to just accept a bill and not ask stupid questions.

But the best part of this deal....just like a true environmental effort....it's global.

Australia is in the midst of a 30-year dry spell, and population growth in urban centers of sub-Saharan Africa is straining resources. Asia has 60 percent of the world's population, but only about 30 percent of its freshwater.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.

So allow me to offer some sound advice. There are millions of acres of open land throughout America...in every state (except Massachusetts) where we could dig out reservoirs and put in for large public lakes (fishing and boating allowed). And basically....you prepare for a 100-year drought. Those thousands of lakes that you could build....could easily make up for drought periods like you have now. We don't need vast programs here....we need civil engineering and state lakes to merge. The state of Bama would be proud to host 30 major lakes (1,000 acres or more each) and get things started. If you wanna pipe some fresh Bama water down to Florida....feel free.

We need to do some thinking....but not that think-tank type thinking.

Will the Real Reporters Stand Up?

So this is what happened....yesterday....FEMA apologized for having its employees pose as reporters in a hastily called news conference on California's wildfires...that we must admit...NO news organizations attended. Yep....not a single one.

Apparently, the Washington Post the episode and asked questions. As FEMA said "Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received."

To be truthful here....we know that the agency had called the briefing with about 15 minutes notice as federal officials headed for southern California to oversee and assist in firefighting and rescue efforts. Reporters were kindly given a phone number to "listen in" but NOT ask questions. This feed was kindly provided to the big networks but they realized that someone had to ask questions...to make this "real".

My perception is....that the real reporters are mostly upset....because the line of questions seemed reasonable and logical...which means the fake reporters were actually better than real reporters. You really can't start a trend like this....where fake reporters turn out to be better "players" than real ones. Imagine the trouble that you could create.....a giant tidal wave going across America....where a fake reporter asks Brittney if she "is as dumb as she acts"....or where someone asks Gore "so if environmental truth is so true...why not debate someone on national TV and prove your point?"

I'm guessing that Fox News has already called the fake reporters and discussed salary arrangements....and FEMA will get notices of folks quiting by next week. On the Senate side....we may have to call for hearings to discuss "fake reporting" and if a national commission should investigate and determine who is at fault for false reporting (I'd suggest Dan Rather as chief of the commission). And maybe at the end of this....CNN can do a piece called "Disaster with False Reporting".

Yes America.....false reporting is wicked, and simply cannot be tolerated. Four lashes with the palm branch and force them drink a six-pack of mountain dew in twelve minutes....thats enough punishment.

Target for Brittney?

So Brittney paid off the gal that she ran into.....for a price which we won't be told. This finishes up the seriousness of the situation....except she didn't have a California license. Yep....all this time in LA....and she still had a Louisiana license. Smell something stupid? Yep.....that was plain stupid.

But for us....a wonderful opportunity.....to just park around Hollywood and wait for Brittney to hit us, and collect $250k. I'm thinking I've got a full-time profession and might be able to get her to hit me with six months of effort. Nothing fancy....I just want a rear-end hit....and I'll collect.

Time in jail? Oh, I'm hoping she gets four weeks. So far....she has shown almost no intelligence....and we have to wonder if this just the beginning of a long career with the law.

Redheads

Some scientist dudes came up this week....saying that some Neanderthals may have had fair skin and red hair, giving them an appearance resembling modern Europeans.

Apparently....with nothing much better to research....the boys homed in on the MC1R gene linked to hair and skin color and used DNA analysis to find a variation that produced the same kind of pigmentation changes as in humans with red hair and pale skin.

Course, they had to produce a study.....to ensure the grant money was properly spent well. This study, published in the journal Science, comes a week after another set of researchers looking at a different gene said Neanderthals may have been capable of sophisticated speech.

"The papers make Neanderthals more like modern Europeans, with light skin and hair color and language abilities, and yet there are no signs of interbreeding with modern humans," Carles Lalueza-Fox, a molecular biologist at the University of Barcelona, said in a commentary in Science. Carles is pretty sure of this....and besides....you really don't want to admit that we have some Neanderthal geans around.....especially folks with RED hair being possible cousins of Neanderthals. This would upset some folks an awful lot.....more than announcing aliens are real or Elvis is alive.

Neanderthals are apparently a dead-end offshoot of the human line who inhabited Europe and parts of west and central Asia. Research indicates they were expert tool-makers, used animal skins to keep warm and cared for each other. Research in the future is suppose to prove they were artistic in nature....very soft-spoken....partial to wine, easy to convince into hunting for woolly mammoths, and probably liberal democrats. Further studies by bored researchers should bring positive analysis back....and help CNN in proving that global warming is wiping out liberal democrats.

He Ain't From Bama

Ok.....so up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa....a fellow was arrested after a government agent allegedly found him in an office building restroom lying next to an inflatable, anatomically correct doll with his pants down. Yep....a real inflatable doll....in the public bathroom. Craig S. McCullough, 47, was charged Wednesday with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor.

Luckily for us.....an agent for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, which is one of the federal agencies that rents space in the Hach office building, found Craig.

Craig was arrested, and Cedar Rapids police took him over to the Linn County jail. His arraignment was scheduled later Friday.

Another agency has an outstanding warrant against McCullough, but the reason for that warrant was not immediately clear.

Craig's criminal record includes a 2004 conviction for burglarizing Just For Me bridal boutique. Shortly after the burglary, police officers found McCullough in a nearby alley, carrying a mannequin wearing a bridal dress.

I'm going to guess that Craig has some issues....which we don't want to discuss in public. And putting him in jail....really ain't much of a option. In fact....the right thing to do....is to help him find a gal who can appreciate a working man, who needs firm guidance.

The Bama Poll

After much thinking last night...and two mountain dews....I have advanced to the second point of my goal of running for governor of Bama. Several things were accomplished today. First.....I checked on what the Bama governor makes for salary....$112k, with some retirement after four years (state-level retirement around $20k), and it gradually goes up if I could pull a second and third term. I feel the $112k is adequate and would pay for my shotgun ammo, subscription to Weekly World News, adequate weekly purchase of mountain dew, and an occasional trip to Atlanta to watch the Braves play.

Second....i checked. The Bama governor gets the governor's mansion....which has free HBO, Showtime, and the cartoon channel. The place is carpeted, and there is a decent carport. There is a built-in bar-b-q out back, and a place where I can clean my fish if necessary.

Third....I double-checked....no one in my family has ever been arrested AND convicted. There was the episode where my brother was carousing in the local town at 16, and the local cop lobbed a tear-gas cannister into the car-wash stall where he and another character were hidden. Most locals have forgotten the episode, and my dad only mentions it once a year now.

Fourth....there is no trace of me being a Republican or Democrat anywhere. I did the Google search and confirmed this.

Fifth.....the Baptist church have yet to put me on a forbidden to talk-to list.....so I can still function within their community....well....for a while anyway.

Sixth.....I have yet to meet Brittney Spears. This is important in Bama. If you stain your reputation.....it cannot be purified (some Baptists wrote this rule in 1987).

Seventh....I have never declared for Auburn or Alabama....so in the college footbal area....I'm still free to choose. Same for NASCAR....I have yet to attend a NASCAR race....so I'm still free to choose there.

Eighth......the only ointment I've ever used...was for.....minor cuts, burns, mosquito bites, cracked hands, dry feet, itching, stings, bursitis, hemorrhoids, rash, inflammation, chiggers, and sun burns. Folks in Bama don't want to hear about some personal liaison episode where bodily functions might have occurred.

Ninth.....I needed a poll (its written in some football coach handbook). I spent part of the morning with the only Bama-ites that I know on Ramstein, and conducted an informal poll. First....100 percent think I'd be ok as a candidate for governor. 66% said they've vote for me, but 33% said they'd want lunch bought before they'd answer. 66% felt that Baptists were nuts and 33% felt that I might need to convert to Baptist to have a fighting chance. 100% of my poll believes in aliens, UFO's, Bigfoot, Loch Nessie, and evolution. 33% felt that I'd have to wear a tie to make a presentable candidate while 66% feel that my current attire is adequate. Finally....33% felt that I'd need some kind of liaison with Brittney Spears to carry the popular vote....while another 33% felt that building a new "NASCAR track in Mobile would carry big attention....while another 33% felt that my continued use of mountain dew was a hindrance in the race.

Tenth....and final.....I assessed the cost here. I'm willing to spend up to $300....although this is a bit more than I'd like to pay to be governor of Bama. But I figure the $112k pay per year.....would easily make it worth the effort.

So I'm past stage two now....and contemplating my platform....if I am to run for governor of Bama. I realize....that Bama requires alot of thinking.....and judgment calls....and daily case of mountain dew might be necessary to carry me through. The next twenty-four hours are critical. A major decision may be forthcoming.

School Daze

So lets examine the facts here. Holly Hunter was a 25-year old teacher at Gallatin High School in Tennessee. She apparently had "relations" with a 17-year old boy in the school....senior we assume....from this school year. She apparently met up with the young man at least six times from the police can figure, so they've arrested her, and set bond at around $15,000.

Shocking. Yes, throughout Sumner county, TN....all of the locals are absolutely shocked. Yep, shocked. My O my....shocked.

Holly had been hired this year as the school volleyball coach....so I am assuming that things are a bit unsettled in the volleyball area.

So lets round up the usual suspects. The case will take six months to bring up in local court. Holly will admit some drug usage....legal drugs....pain killers.....over use of booze....etc. The man involved.....I should say gentleman.....will eventually tire of the attention.....and probably won't be much of a witness at the court episode. By May, the prosecutor will work up a deal....one year of probation....surrender the teaching license....and drug treatment. Holly will sign up.....work at some local hospital for a year, and then quietly disappear out west where she will get another teaching license somewhere.....and teach again. Sorry, if I upset anyone.....but this is the real world we live in.

The Princess Di Epsiode

There is one simple fact that is quietly coming out of the current British inquiry going on in Paris currently....to finally wrap up the Princess Di death.

As her car sped down through the Paris streets and prepared to enter this tunnel.....there was a car in front of them....which had been paid money....to slow down the car so that motorcycles carrying the camera teams for newspapers and the paparazzi could take pictures. It is absolutely clear in the past 48 hours....without any possible doubt.....that that car accomplished its mission in slowing down the car carrying DI and triggered the driver in to taking various maneuvers that flipped the car over in the tunnel. The "delay-car", sped off and is today totally unknown. No one wants to admit nothing....not even the paparazzi.

The more I think about this.....the more insulting this is....for ten years....quietly hidden.

So this is what I'd like to do. The British commons....need to call in a meeting....and establish two simple rules. First, no photographs of any royal in the UK by any Brit or any visitor....within 300 feet, unless they ask and get permission from the royal involved. Second, any photo sold to any British paper, that is from a point of less than 300 feet....must pay a $150k fee to the royal him or herself, per photo. An independent jury will be on permanent call to judge the distance of photos shot.....if the paper or news group wants to use the photo.....they can ask for a judgment before paying.

What happens overnight....is the paparazzi game dries up fast. Even with a great lens....it'll be a lousy photo from 300 feet...especially if the light is dim. Out of every 100 paparazzi out there....fifty will find themselves out of business within four weeks and hurry off to look for Hollywood stars.

I've a low opinion now of this entire group. They actually managed to kill the princess....and won't even stand to admit such. For this reason....freedom of the press isn't really affordable anymore....if the press intends to kill someone every year or two. Lets make this interesting....let them start paying $150k per shot and see how the budget for the paper stands at that point.

Week of 26 Oct 2007

Meth Gun?

Some folks up in Missouri (the cops) are quietly testing a device, which will test a driver, for meth.

It may be five years from production....for all we know....and will face huge uphill problems with the public. Me personally.....I'd ship out 300 to Bama today if it was possible. I'd have every single cop tested by tomorrow morning....and every elected official in the state tested by tomorrow night. I don't have much patience for meth users....they have very little impact on the future and each one is dying as we speak. My honest guess....across Bama....at least 100 law enforcement officers are involved in meth and probably over 100 politicians of various types.

I don't think you will ever see this....with the number of folks involved....certain folks really don't want this operating around the state and potentially identifying the users. Its trouble....waiting to happen.

Air Force to the Rescue

Today, a wonderful article from the LA Times....over how the Air Force has brought in its magnificent Global Hawk....its eye in the sky unmanned vehicle....and shooting vast imagery of fires in LA and San Diego. Yep....lots of overhead. The Colonel in charge.....really proud....first time in the history of America where intel assets were helping the nation in a civil disaster.

Somewhere toward the end of the article....the writer sat there and pondered...."No one is quiet sure what the imagery will do to help."

I sat there and almost wept. Yes.....finally an intelligent reporter. He grasped that a million dollar asset was sent over southern California, and tons of shots were recorded of fire, and downloaded quickly to a secure site, where they made it available to the governor of California and the fire hot-shots.

I'm pretty sure they looked at it for 60 seconds....amazed at how clear it was....and then went back to the map to project where the fire is going to go, and how close it is to being finished. The effort by the air force.....worth about $14.

This is the effort of our boys in blue and all the fantastic tools that they have....and their limited value in a case like this.

My bet? By spring, some senators will be trying to get a US forestry imagery unit up and running, with sensors and analysts....at some central point in Provo, Utah. Millions will be spent on getting imagery into the hands of the users.....well....we may have to hunt for some users....but millions could be at stake here. So they will bring in 40 big-shot engineers (paid $90k each), and purchase $14 million in equipment to download and store these vast images. The truth is.....we could have bought five or six of these fire-fighting aircraft in Russia....and done more for the real requirement than what we see here.

So it is in America tonight....with imagery being shot of your backyard, and that damn bush that you were supposed to cut down last year but never did.

One Divided By Fifty

So today, in Georgia....we had the state supreme court sign in and make a ruling on a rather unusual episode. We basically had one seventeen year old boy have consensual oral sex with another seventeen year old girl. The law at the time said it was rape....pure and simple.

As this case drifted via the courts....the state legislature decided that this really didn't make much sense and changed age difference around so it wouldn't have mattered, and no one would have been arrested. Sadly, this didn't pass until after the boy was convicted and given a ten-year sentence. The new law made it a misdemeanor.

So this case walked via the courts, and eventually made it to the state supreme court...where by a vote of four to three....he was freed. They decided that the law passed and changed his situation.....or at least four agreed to that.

I wouldn't really care much about this....except I had to watch CNN this afternoon....and get a taste of how there is supposed to be a national standard. Over and over, the news host of the hour went out of his way to whack on the state government.

The truth of the matter....is that we are fifty different states, with fifty different visions of rape, imprisonment, court ethics, and rules. There are states where I could marry a 14-year old girl, and be totally legal. There are states where I would be arrested for ten years if I had any relations at all with a 14-year old girl.

The media for the most part cannot understand this strange situation. We hold ourselves in some type of formation and tend to move forward on some issues, but we are fifty different groups. If I had a son who at age 12 literally tore into someone and broke their leg....literally beating this other kid up....in Bama....I could whoop up on my kid and just spank the heck out of him....with no hassle. If I attempted to do this in California....I'd be arrested and taken into for mental counseling. There are crimes in California with the construction of houses....that would give me a year in jail. The same act in Bama....would mean nothing.

So I'm not very patient with CNN and its dubious analysts. I expect alot out of a journalist, and can't stand a act delivered by a immature newscaster who doesn't know his profession.

Twelve Percent?

Stephen Colbert....of the Comedy Channel....and candidate for president...is now pulling around 12 percent nationally. Yep.....12 percent. This is against Thompson and Hillary.

You can feel the rage across the country.....if Colbert gets four million votes nationally.....something is wrong.....

Suddenly....that fancy idea of mine....running for governor of Bama.....isn't just a fancy fantasy dream. If Colbert could pull that kind of numbers nationally......I could pull 2 percent in Bama.....maybe even 4 percent. Thats monumental......me.....governor candidate of Bama.

Re-Re-Writing

So....some folks woke up this week...to hear that the White House severely edited congressional testimony given Tuesday by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the impact of climate change on health. The accusation....that GW and the staff removed specific scientific references to potential health risks, according to two sources familiar with the documents.

Well....we kept waiting to find out the two sources, but of course...the media just couldn't tell us the two dudes. So, naturally, today....Dr. Julie Gerberdig said that she gave the presentation and she doesn't know what the hell the news guys are talking about. Dr. Julie might be right....but here now....I am going to tell the entire story.

First...as Dr. Julie wrote the 15 page document....she left alot of unnecessary stuff in it. So naturally....as GW does with all reports done by his administration....he brought the report over to the oval office on a Friday evening.....where he, the Cheney-clone, and Condi could review and edit the document.

What very few people realize...is that Bill Gates developed a special program called Right-wing Microsoft....which goes through a document and identifies items in the document which just won't work. If you wrote cheery sentences about climate changes.....it identifies them. If you wrote good things about decreasing lion populations.....it identifies them. The filter in Right-wing Microsoft then sends it to the Nerve Center. GW and the folks standing don't really know this.....but the Nerve Center....is really at the real Cheney's secret location in Billings, Montana, where he hides out. Not even the Cheney-clone knows this. At this point, Cheney edits the document quickly and efficiently and then returns the document quickly to the White House.

Bill Gates is presently working on a second program.....called Left-wing Microsoft, which he will sell Hillary.....and her staff....which will identify portions of documents, which will be quietly and secretly rerouted to Bill Clinton to rewrite.

Bill sells this software package for approximately $150 million....of which he gets to keep $10 million of that and the rest goes to the "Nerve Center".

So far, this entire software package has worked well....except when some intern screwed up and sent the constitution into the package, and almost all of the constitution failed the filter and was rewritten by Cheney in 15 minutes.

Week of 24 Oct 2007

Gutless Movies

About a year ago...a number of Hollywood players decided that they had to take Bush and the war crowd down. So they went around....grabbed a number of scripts....found some idiots with cash....and funded a number of movies. In the past month....the movies have started to appear. You probably will see around eight of these over the next two months. The thing is....the public....is now acting as the "conscientious objectors" and NOT attending the movies.

We can use three recent films....."In the Valley of Elah," "Rendition," and upcoming "Redacted" which have failed or anticipated to fail at the box office. The funny thing....is that they used big-name stars and tossed in vast amounts of money....to make these. Rendition...barely made $4 million last weekend on its first weekend....in ninth place at 2,200 screens. Sadly......a re-release of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" actually beat Rendition.

The anti-Bush and anti-war crowd of Hollywood guessed wrong. But here is more to wonder about. Each of these cost around $10 to $20 million to make. In the case of Rendition....with $4 million in the first weekend....it might clear $7 by the end of the first month....and in DVD sales....another $3 million. So it probably didn't pay itself back at all....and someone lost alot of money.

The studios in this mess? Well...its interesting that they would time the movies before Thanksgiving, and in this loser of a period of the year. They probably anticipated all of these failing....and were helping them fail in some fashion. I don't think they really cared....and were just making their stars feel good to go public. What does this say for the public? They know good movies when they see them, and they know losers. Never doubt the public.

Lack of Common Sense

So you can live 9 feet under sea level.....you can live in the midst of hurricane territory.....you can live where flooding occurs every fifteen years....you can live where earthquakes occur regularly.....you can live where fires occur pretty regularly....you can live where street crime is common.....these are all choices of your own.

I don't feel any pity much for the San Diego folks. They went in and bought $500,000 houses. They didn't hesitate building in a area where the place would burn down. They took the same risks as the folks in Charleston or the folks in New Orleans. So when CNN pumps up the heat and wants you to really feel the pity...they are starting to make themselves look more foolish then they really are.

I'm sure they will want congress to cover all the stuff that insurance won't pay for....just like the Katrina folks. At some point.....we need to stand back and ask a silly question.....just how far we are willing to cover the American public when they make stupid decisions.

The Greens and their Report

Good news from Germany today....the Greens helped to release their report (they did pay for it)....which says that oil production has now peaked, and by 2030....will be declining. They actually spoke out about the numbers....saying that oil production would likely be limited to half of what we have today. So we only have twenty years to save the earth....if you trust a Green.

But before you run off and get worried....think about this. When oil hits $100 a barrel....don't you think that bio-fuels will become the rage...because of the huge profits you can make off the fuel? Won't Kansas and various states start planting huge amounts of farm land....for bio fuel use? Yep....the amount of oil production will drop off around $100.....because alternate fuels make it less appealing.

The Greens are the least intelligent group that you could ever hang out with. They really want you to believe anything they say....without questions. But the more you ask of them....the less their story appears to be true. So always be weary.

Stately News

Folks....great news.

Bush and the boys have been really upset that their arrangement with Ecuador on a small anti-drug base is about to end. They have been running around all of central and south America....trying hard to find one buddy, who would allow them to have some aircraft there on location....to hunt them narco fellas. Not one single country said yes. They all politely said NOPE, no American bases. Well....to be truthful....the Ecuador president said that if the US offered Ecuador a base in Miami....that he would offer up a base in Ecuador.

So.....good news. We've seen the light, and the Bush team is now engaged with 50 countries....offering up bases in every single state....to gain basing rights overseas.

So for those of you in Miami....great news.....Ecuador is moving a helicopter squadron over and taking up 300 acres near the Everglades.

Also....for those of you from Arkansas, we've arranged a deal with Sweden, and will have 150 Swedish warriors stationed outside of Little Rock.

Also, we have a deal brewing with the Congo, to put a base in Missouri...near the Mississippi....supposedly a naval port where the Congo military will offer casino gambling on their base.

Also, things seem promising that Russia will have a base in Oklahoma....although they wanted missile rights and this seems to be a sticking point.

Also, for those folks in Texas....wonderful news....the Vatican is working on their basing rights....wanting their Swiss guard deployed and part of a "moving base" on twelve tractor trailer rigs, with speakers and a traveling red-hatted cardinal who will recruit Catholics around the state.

Also, for those folks in Bama....we are working hard to bring Lichtenstein into the state....but them folks want some secret banking laws on their base, and they want houses of ill repute to be built up as well....which Bama folks have issues with. Bush might have to personally get involved, and bring the Cheney-clone down to settle things.

Bush Visit

President Laura, wife of President George....who came after President Hillary who was married to President Bill....was off this week visiting some burka-clad women in some foreign country. No one is quiet sure who she visited causing we couldn't recognize the gal in front of us. We assume they sipped some coffee and ate some donuts.....chatting about men and important stuff.

Its hard to take a burka-clad gal serious. They could be a PhD professional, and you just don't get a good image of the gal. I'm sorry. Maybe I am old fashioned. Maybe I just don't get it. But I'm thinking its pretty sad in this day that women dress like this. And the fact that Laura takes her serious doesn't help the matter.

Week of 24 Oct 2007

Katrina Saves the San Diego Folks

Good news from Hope, Arkansas. With all this fire business going on, and houses going up in flames....them FEMA dudes have these trailers left over from Katrina....10,700 to be exact. They have been sitting there for 2 years....waiting....and now, we can save them folks.

There are thousands of houses that apparently burned up and we gotta house them poor folks....just like them Katrina folks. So, we need 10,700 truckers prepared and ready to haul trailers cross-country. The rule will be....if you had a house, and it burned....you get a new trailer on your property until you rebuild.

Now I realize that some San Diego folks are anti-trailer.....so I'm suggesting here and now.....we bring 500 Bama folks over to help these folks mentally adjust to trailer-life. I'm not saying cars up on blocks but there is a certain mentality required, which only Bama folks have in abundance.

And if those California folks are like them New Orleans folks, it will be years before folks move back or accept their situation. So if the San Diego folks have to move....I'm suggesting we haul their trailer over to Vegas....and give them a new start in life....like we did for them Katrina folks.

Good Ole CNN

Its hard to get CNN to come out and just say something thats absolutely off the wall. They are the "truth network" you know.

So today.....CNN decided to exploit the fires in California, by "proving" a way to blame global warming for wildfires. Yep, global warming is the trigger and cause.

During the October 23 “Anderson Cooper 360: In the Line of Fire,” Cooper reported from Southern California saying, “People are wondering if these fires are a result of global warming in some way.” But then Anderson stood there and admitted "no one really knows for sure.” So then the boys got CNN’s Tom Foreman to warn of a possible “century of fires, just like what we're seeing now” as a result of global warming. Good ole Tom saved the day, when Anderson wasn't really prepared to admit something. "Climatologists say, while we can't blame on fire on climate change, we can say that these factors are combining in that area [Southern California] to set up what could be a century of fires just like what we're seeing now," said Tom.

But Tom wasn't finished.....then he cautioned viewers that, “greater periods of rain” that fuel “increased vegetation growth” over the next century may provide a “potential link between these fires and global warming.”

What I enjoy about this analysis....is that they didn't really want to admit that over populating canyons was a cause....the lack of removing brush was a cause....overbuilding was a cause....or that dense vegetation was a cause. But neither Tom or Anderson wanted to really discuss that part.

Thats what I enjoy about CNN....you could have said that space aliens were the possible cause, and just left as a mystery....and gotten away with that. Its hard to find professionals like this....but I'm sure CNN is working hard on recruiting more.

True Bama Story

So....my brother worked for a technology company with a bunch of engineers.....all geeks. One dude was bored and had dreamed of driving a truck cross-country....it was a dream or fantasy of his.....amongst all the hours he put into technology development.

So one day.....he went into a mini-breakdown, and up and quit the company. He drove down to the county license office, and convinced some lady there that he was from out-of-state and had lost his big-rig license in moving to Bama.....and he wanted a new one. The gal believed him. So she issued him a license.....no test....no training....nothing.

The dude drove over to the local trucking company....gave them a fake resume and showed his license.....and they hired the guy to run from Huntsville, Bama to Portland, Oregon...with a dozen stops inbetween. It was a 18-day jouney by the time the dude returned. Well.....it was supposed to be 18 days.

He arrived the next morning....with barely two changes of clothing and sat for the first time in a truck rig. He had a guy from the yard show how to crank it and shift. Then he loaded up and took off.

He never realized the amount of time it took to find these locations in Dallas, or Phoenix, or Vegas. Instead of driving off the interstate and arriving at the right spot.....he'd spend four hours driving around town, with a rig.

After seven days....he started to get real bored with this daily truck business, and started to find alternate short-cuts.....avoiding the interstate, and adding half-a-day of driving onto his journey.

By day 21......he finally arrived back at Huntsville, with a really upset boss....and he quit right there on the spot. He went back over to the engineering company and begged for his old job....and got it back. He never ever bragged about the experience, and most of the guys all admired him.

Made in China?

So this is what we know. Congress decided to agree on a fence from Texas to California....to stop the Mexicans from entering. Never mind the fact that it was 1,800 miles.....congress determined after lengthly review....that they would only fund 700 miles. How they arrived at this magic number....is unknown. So they turned to the Corps of Engineers apparently, and handed them the money...and said build.

So the boys planned this out......Homer and Karl Wayne of the Corps of Engineer club....probably some smart boys out of Auburn or Texas Tech. Homer and Karl Wayne get this plan, and then decide on concrete and steel to be used....buying the cheapest stuff possible......and order it. Weeks and weeks go by.

Finally.....stuff starts to arrive at the big lot for the Corps boys. The boys wake up one day.....gazing at the steel that had arrived, and read right across the top....."made in China". Karl Wayne and Homer probably stood there for a good hour talking about this. Something just ain't right about the border fence of America.....being Chinese steel.

The boys call up the Corps generals.....who are greatly disturbed by this and kinda wonder what the heck they can do. So they brief some other folks. And finally this week....someone brief congress. Folks are real fired up about this. You can't build the border fence, with Chinese steel......just ain't right. Never mind the fact that you can only build 700 miles.....and not 1,800 miles.....which ain't right either.

So....I'm suggesting my answer here and now. First....fire these Corps of Engineer fellas today. Karl Wayne and Homer can find other projects like rebuilding New Orleans or paving parking lots in Maryland.

Then we contract out this entire fence project to some Mexican dudes I know...Juan, Juan Jr, and Jimmy Juan....who live over in Waruez, Mexico. They do damn good fencing work. Then you buy Mexican steel....which is a bit cheaper than that Chinese steel, and instead of 700 miles.....with the money I save by hiring Juan, Juan Jr., and Jimmy Juan.....and the Mexican steel....I can buy 1,800 miles of real fence.

Now.....some folks might say that it ain't right to have the border fence built by the folks who you intend to stop from crossing. But I'm a practical kind of guy and think I'm out to save a buck.....and deny them Chinese folks our dollars. I'd rather pay our buddies to south and get a damn fine fence instead.

Colorado Rockies and Cyber Warfare

It is widely reported today that the Colorado Rockies ticket office came under cyber warfare, and had to fight off the "enemy". No one is quiet sure who the enemy is or what kind of warfare was underway.

I'm sure the air force would like to rush a squadron down from Colorado Springs and save the Rockies if possible. There would be a fight over who would be in charge and who would get the medals and glory afterwards. They probably would bring five or six guys in flight suits and leather jackets just to look the part of cyber warrior.

After about an hour....they would suddenly realize that the Rockies had an inferior network set up and could not possibly handle the number of hits they took for customers. The warriors would then argue over how they would "word" the great war they fought, and how they saved major league baseball.

Whats amusing here...is that the Red Sox didn't have an issue or ticket problems. Makes you wonder if those damn Red Sox dudes know how to run a business and the Rockies don't.

Week of 22 Oct 2007

Another Hoffer Thought

There can be no real freedom without the freedom to fail.

- Eric Hoffer

A Hoffer Thought

To know a person's religion.....we need not listen to his profession of faith......but must find his brand of intolerance.

-- Eric Hoffer,

Transformers

I sat and watch Transformers Saturday night.

It was pretty bad. I really didn't realize how bad....till I got down to the last 20 minutes and basically gave up.

But what is amazing.....after you read all the little commentary from Air Force generals over the past six months for cyber warfare....all of these dudes must have watched the movie and think Transformers are real. The phrases, the threats, etc.....they all kinda fit into the air force commentary. Its pretty bad when the generals watch something like that and get ideas. On the positive side....at least they didn't watch some freaky zoombie movie and get ideas there.

Bananas Bananas Bananas

So, this is what we know. A couple of wild monkeys in India.....attacked a senior government official....who then fell from a balcony at his home and died Sunday.

The dude? New Delhi Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa. They tried to rush the dude over to the hospital after the attack by a gang of Rhesus macaques, but succumbed to head injuries sustained in his fall.

Apparently, they have a huge problem with wild monkeys there in India. Last year, the Delhi High Court reprimanded city authorities for failing to stop the animals from terrifying residents and asked them to find a permanent solution to the monkey menace.

Part of the problem is that devout Hindus believe monkeys are manifestations of the monkey god Hanuman and feed them bananas and peanuts — encouraging them to frequent public places.

So far, the only real answer they've come up with.....was to use langurs....which is another monkey, but larger, and more fierce.

After sitting here and thinking about this....in a Bama fashion.....I suddenly realized that Ossama and the Islamic boys are watching this stuff....and probably preparing a truckload of wild monkeys to be dumped next to the White House as we speak. They would rush security and the secret service dudes....and catch GW up on the second floor balcony....and try to topple him over.

The only way to counter this Ossama threat? We get two of these langur monkeys and train them up at the University of Bama....to protect GW. We will make them personal secret service agents and provide ample supplies of bananas to ensure their protection of the president. I'm pretty sure that the Cheney clone and Cheney himself will have no issues with this scheme....and Condi might be entertained on occasion when she comes over to visit GW with the langurs.

The key thing so far in this process, which is a unknown....is if the the Langurs are Republicans or Democrats. You can't go around hiring the wrong kind of monkey to guard GW.

Neanderthal Warming (Kinda like Global Warming but Better)

This week, we learned that the Neanderthal dudes....were capable of chatting...or at least had some language ability to readily communicate. We have to kinda accept this....cause no Neanderthal dudes exist today...for some unknown reason. Ifing you were from Ripley....you might suspect that the regular dudes walking around killed them off...because of competition with women. Some of the guys from the VFW hall suspect that women were highly attracted to the bulky hunks of Neanderthal men....who might have been a combination of David Hasselhoff, Bon Jovi, and WWE's the Undertaker.

As you look over the vast science of Neanderthals....you really have to wonder where the scientist get their data....and eventually you will come to my observation....that they learned how to milk a science like the global warming crowd, and basically make up vast amounts of today's knowledge from thin air. I hate to burst anyone's bubble....but its probably all a farce...and these scientist run off to Vegas or Reno and gamble their grant money away, and drink up as much booze as possible before retiring to their cheap hotel room and write 80 pages of nothing.

As for the future of Neanderthal discoveries? I'm betting you find out that they loved fish and shrimp....and were keen cooks. Then you will find out that they made their own wine...which lead to alcoholism amongst some of the Neanderthals. You will discover that some of them were great artists, and made wicked paintings of life in those days....with depressing lifestyles depicted most of the time. Finally....they will "discover" that most Neanderthals were leftist leaning liberal democrats...who were killed off by the regular human dudes who were mostly republicans in nature. Those of us who mingled and conceived in a mixed marriage (regular human and the Neanderthal).....carried the democratic DNA in them....and could dump it into any of their kids by accident. This will invite an entire science to pop up....studying how we can carve that DNA out of humans....or how to multiply the DNA in everyone. Either way....the Neanderthal scientist wins more grant money in the end. Thats what counts.

So the next time your wife goes into a huge fit and acts like a Neanderthal, or your husband refuses to raise the lid when he has to take a leak....its probably a tendency left over from the Neanderthal DNA....and behind it...they are really democrats in nature.

Week of 20 Oct 2007

All The States I've Been To

I sat and counted up all the states I've ever visited or lived in....30 of them. Kinda makes me wonder if I should make it a goal by age 60....to visit the final 20. A curious goal.

create your own visited states map

Peace Prizes or Not

Who hasn't gotten a Nobel Peace Prize?

"Mahatma" Gandhi, India's spiritual and political leader who led the push for independence from Britain, inspired non-violent civil rights movements around the world by pioneering the method of non-violent disobedience or passive resistance (such as mass civil disobedience), all rooted in his commitment to total non-violence -- all of which led to his not getting the Nobel Peace Prize.

Who did get a Nobel Peace Prize:

FDR Secretary of State Cordell Hull convinced his boss to turn away 937 Jewish refugees who had sailed in the S.S. St. Louis across the Atlantic from Germany to escape Nazi persecution in 1939. Forced to sail back to Europe (after Cuba and Canada refused entry), many of the refugees were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Hull got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 for never using the phrase 'perfecting Jews' on a zero-rated show.

Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994. His qualification to receive the prize consisted of his "moderating" his rhetoric -- avoid saying he wants to murder all Jews. As part of his new moderation after getting the prize, Arafat called for "one million martyrs" to march on Jerusalem and he ordered the "Second Intifada" against Jews. There were no calls to revoke Arafat's Nobel Prize since he'd never say, 'perfecting Jews'. That would be over the top.

President Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War and brought down the liberals' once favorite monument -- the Berlin Wall. The Nobel Peace Prize went to the Soviet communist, Mikhail Gorbachev, not Reagan.

Reagan's military build-up and Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) forced the Soviets to moderate, return to the negotiating table, agree to major nuclear weapons cuts, ending the Soviet Union's superpower status, leading to the downfall of the Soviet Union in '91. The Nobel Peace Prize went to Rigoberta Menchu for fabricating a story of oppression of Indians in Guatemala.

Costa Rica's president Oscar Arias Sanchez did everything he could during the '80s to frustrate Reagan's effort to aid the "contras" in Nicaraqua and to topple the communist Sandinista government there. Forced by the "contras" to hold an election, the Sandinistas got booted, peace and democracy won. The Nobel Peace Prize went to Oscar Arias Sanchez.

After 9/11, President George W. Bush took military action and toppled the Taliban in Afghanistan, liberating 25 million people there. The Nobel Peace Prize went to Jimmy Carter.

Kofi Annan and the U.N. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. Gunnar Berge, Nobel committee honcho at the time, said that Kofi "Annan has devoted almost his entire working life to the U.N." Kofi devoted himself while the Hutus devoted themselves to slaughtering 500,000 ethnic Tutsis in Rwanda (devoted Kofi was head-honcho of U.N. Peacekeeping Operations at the time), the Sudanese military and Janjaweed devoted themselves to genocide in Darfur, etc. Kofi also devotedly oversaw the U.N.'s Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, the U.N.'s Child-Rape-for-Food program in West Africa, etc.

Simply food for thought. Al is in good company.

Heroes: Revalations and Time and Reality

(fictional writing over a Heroes episode)

There as Mohinder Suresh and Noah Bennet stood....about to be dissolved by Slyer in the New York City apartment....suddenly the door flew open and a bearded man with a long poncho stood facing the three. It was a moment where Slyer lost his concentration and both Mohinder and Noah breathed a slight sigh of relief, but both knew that the stranger would be annihilated within seconds.

The hefty-sized gentleman took a bold step into the apartment as Slyer quickly turned to set his eyes and powers upon the new "threat". With the first step into the apartment....was the projection of a walking stick that was almost six feet in length. The stranger merely moved the stick at Slyer and he was thrown 30 feet back against the wall.

As Slyer attempted to get himself back up....the stranger's second full step was shifted straight at Slyer....with a movement of the sticker and Slyer suddenly tossed into a chair and set into a daze.

The stranger walked up to Slyer and set him into a repeatable phrase, with barely a word heard by Mohinder or Noah. Slyer sat there, mumbling away with the Lord's prayer and gazing intently at the wall in front of him.

The stranger shifted his focus now up on Mohinder. There was little fear in Mohinder's heart over this stranger. Any man who could take down Slyer....was beyond his capabilities and could have easily killed them in a instant.

The stranger stood and stretched out his hand to Mohinder...with the gripe in a odd fashion....like two wrists being shaken...not hands. And he turned to Noah, and did the same, but with a twist of the head....like a cat would do in a curious moment.

Mohinder: You stopped him in a instant, without pausing....?

The Stranger: He has strength and powers that can be overcome....but I am the only one that can accomplish that.

Noah: How?

The Stranger: You all seem to think in thoughts of "normal people" and the "others". What if I told you that a third group were involved? A group that you might refer to as "the visitors"?

Noah: What visitors?

The Stranger: At some point, in our long long history, the human race was visited and the visitors found that it would be helpful to "bless" the race with some powers. They felt....that things could be improved.

Mohinder: So they gave out powers?

The Stranger: Oh....not to everyone....but enough. It was a nice gesture....being a guest on this tiny planet....and wishing things were better for all.

Noah: So what happened?

The Stranger: Well...kinda like what you see here. The folks who got powers....mostly used them for good....but then you had people like Slyer who screwed things up. Then you had corruption within the ranks of the "others". Then you had groups of "others" who fought various groups formed of the "others".

Mohinder: So the good intent fell completely apart?

The Stranger: Absolutely. The "visitors" actually lined themselves up to one society....only to find that members of the society were evil or manipulating the whole situation.

Noah: Kinda like what we have today?

The Stranger: Oh....you could say that. At some point, they grasped that someone would have fix this, and it wouldn't be them. They proceeded to take every power they had....plus some powers that they never handed out, and searched for a man without faults.

Mohinder: That would seem to be impossible.

The Stranger: Oh....they found that to be mostly true. Until one day, they came upon a man with no evil in his heart. His vision of life seemed to have no conflict with any of the requirements they had drawn up. So they gave this man the powers.

Noah: What happened?

The Stranger: He set forth and convinced the "others" to quietly find themselves in a society and not show their abilities. For those who would not allow themselves to be convinced....he terminated them. He had no choice. He was the judge and executioner....all in one.

Mohinder: So he settled the whole mess. And the "visitors"?

The Stranger: They left. They found the human race of questionable value, and did not want to do more damage to it.

Noah: And the judge?

The Stranger: Well....one of the powers given was immorality. He would not die or age. It was a punishment in some ways....that eventually lead this man to wander the earth. He hid himself well in society. He could foresee events, and prevent them....or allow them.

Mohinder: So you saw us here, in a threat?

The Stranger: Yes....you cannot be allowed to die in this situation. There is more to do.

Noah: But you could have stopped various wars and conflicts with this power.

The Stranger: It is a strange power. I awaken each day and can see the next twenty years in front of me. I can travel into the future or the past, and change things. But this isn't what you think.

Mohinder: How?

The Stranger: In 1913, I could foresee the world war, and tried to kill a couple of gentlemen in the Balkins....to prevent the assassination of the Duke. The next day as I awaken, I foresaw the future....a world that would come to war in 1928 and over three million Russians slaughtered by a French, German and Italian force. So I went back and undid my deed. Then I found Hitler in the trenches of the war, and killed him. But I awoke the next day to find a new German dictator threat in 1937 from Frankfurt who brought up an entire nation and carved out all of the Russian empire and killed millions in just a year or two. So I undid Hitler's death. Over and over, I've tried to fix situations....most of them had to be undone. So I've learned not to tamper much with history and allow things to happen.

Noah: But in this case? You didn't?

The Stranger: Yes....and I may find that I did the wrong thing in the end and have to undo my actions. But that is yet to be seen.

Mohinder: Can't you kill Slyer now?

The Stranger: No. He may be someone that you may find of great help one day....facing an enemy of greater proportion. That is the sad fact of our situation.

Noah: And you will help us?

The Stranger (turning to leave): One deed is done....so I am finished. You have many deeds left to attend to. I would not waste time. Slyer will awaken in two hours and be looking for you. I'd put some distance between you and him.

With that....the Stranger left the room....and Noah and Mohinder quickly exited.

Nuke Punishment

So the Air Force did up their investigation, and decided to punish 70-odd personnel. The top of the group....the wing commander from North Dakota who had been on the job for about 120 days. They couldn't force themselves to fire 3-star General Elder from Barksdale....because he is the cyber warrior general....even though he was the next in line to fire.

Most of the boys in the munitions area were decertified...in fact, the entire base was decertified from its mission....which means 60-odd days to study and pass various tests before they can be recertified. Everybody back at Langley is real happy because this kinda fixes the whole issue and folks can get back to reorganization efforts and cutting missions again.

Its hard to run todays air force. Folks have deployment schedules, running schedules, fire inspector schedules, house inspection schedules, security training schedules, vehicle inspection schedules, commander's meeting schedules, upgrade training schedules, aircraft maintenance schedules, drug testing schedules, picnic schedules, squadron party schedules, Christmas party schedules, commander's priority schedule, first sergeant barracks schedules, renovation schedules, carpet cleaning schedules, bay orderly schedules, flight schedules, safety training schedules, computer orientation schedules, network schedules, inprocessing schedules, outprocessing schedules, visiting generals schedules, visiting VIP schedules, dopey BX holiday schedules, leaf raking schedules, building cleanup schedules, bathroom clean up schedules, toilet paper pick-up schedules, and even chaos occurring everyday which was not on any damn schedule but you simply have to make up a make-believe schedule to cover them chaos episodes.

Yep....with all them schedules....fighting a war in Iraq....and reorganizing going on daily....a fella just ain't got time to count all the damn nukes. So you start rounding off numbers. Maybe there were 16 in there this morning, and now you got 10....does this mean anything? Well....you gotta prioritize and settle upon some schedule. If you haven't cleaned the urinals in five days....that might be more important than wondering about where six nukes went and how they got to Barksdale.

To further complicate this mess....you got two entirely different bases, with different schedules....so it just double-fies the whole situation.

The best thing to do? Hire out to contractors. Let us old guys with vast years of experience with nukes or inspections or shooting folks....do the work for you. Seems like Blackwater does a damn good job on protecting folks....I'm guessing they could do the same thing with managing nukes. Lets make this real simple.

Nuts in the Morning

Ok....so this is what we think we know....out in Sedona, Arizona.

The cops arrested a woman who told folks at gas stations and hotels in Sedona....that they needed to evacuate because a cloud of cyanide gas was approaching from Phoenix.

To be correct about this.....there simply was no cyanide cloud, and so 55-year-old Christine Ann Long of Scottsdale was arrested on charges of disorderly and unreasonable noise. We aren't sure what folks in Sedona mean by unreasonable noise....and this sounds like a tramped up charge to me.

Apparently, Christine started out at a Giant gas station in the Village of Oak Creek at about 4 a.m. Wednesday, telling the night clerk to evacuate because of a cyanide cloud.

There must have been this curious look by the gas station attendant....especially at 4 am when the clerk is usually asleep at the cash register. So Christine told the clerk she heard about the cloud on radio transmissions from the Indiana State Police and that the only way to escape was to go north to Flagstaff. Now you would stand and think....Sedona....Arizona.....what the heck does a report from Indiana have to do with Sedona? But then at 4am....you ain't thinking too clearly.

The cops say that Christine then went to a Chevron station and told a similar story before going to the Wildflower Inn on Highway 179 in Sedona, where she began banging loudly on the hotel's doors and windows and telling the guests to evacuate because of the cloud.

The cops found Christine at 4:45 a.m. at the Radisson Hotel on Highway 179 in Sedona. There, she had gone into the lobby and attempted to have all the guests evacuated.

Now the funny thing is....the cops say....that Christine showed no signs or symptoms of impairment, and authorities determined she was not drinking alcohol or using drugs. I'm hoping they are wrong....because if she is "ok"....then she is a total nutcase and will be out of jail within 30 days, and repeating this whole episode again.

I'm one of those guys who are very particular about getting my 8 hours of sleep....and if traveling...its even more important. If some dimwit knocks at my door at 4am and says cyanide leak....I'm going to be up and dressed in 30 seconds and out the door. And if she is lying....its going to upset me greatly. I'm not one of those guys who would whoop ass over something like this....especially for a lady....but it would make me bit upset for sure.