A REAL CHOICE?

This year's choices for a President presents a real quandary. I have been saying that we have the worst choice(s) I have ever seen for what will be my twelfth Presidential election.
Up until now, I have been loyal to the Democrat Party, but I'm disappointed that they are acting like Republicans. Voting for either candidate doesn't seem to be an option, and I've never seriously considered voting for a third party candidate, which would seem to be a futile gesture, as would a write in vote.
The average voter does not have a choice of who is picked to run for President. The Democrat Party has embraced blacks and now they are acceptable Presidential Candidates, but they still do not (like the Republicans) accept that a woman is capable of being President. I I think it was the power brokers of the Democratic Party, Te4d Kennedy, Howard Dean, et.al., that promoted Obama at the expense of the best candidate (Hillary Clinton). They are just like the power brokers of either party; they cannot accept that a woman can do the job from which they have been excluded for over 200 years. Look at other countries throughout the world, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, India, Indonesia, The Philippine Islands, to name some who have had women leaders, and it doesn't seem to have hurt them at all, and may have even enriched them.
I have at times accused the Republican Party of having a mindset that is entrenched in the Nineteenth Century, but I realize that they are not the only ones. Sex is an accident of birth, and doesn't determine a person's capabilities. The little boys of both parties need to grow up!
And no, I am not a woman!

OPPORTUNITY MISSED!

I have been less than excited about the choice the Democratic Party has made for their Presidential candidate.. Make no mistake, the decision for Obama to run for President came from the (Chauvinist) powers that be.
Ted Kennedy and that bunch will not allow a woman, any woman to run for President. It was OK for Geraldine Ferraro to run for vice President with Walter Mondale, when the Party knew they were just the sacrificial lambs, because it was a foregone conclusioon that Republicans would win that year. It says something about the flaws in Democratic leadership that they have embraced blacks, but still consider women inferior. Even Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is just a token, and the real power of the Democratic Party still belongs to a handful of the "Good Old Boys", such as Teddy Kennedy and Howard Dean
This must be some kind of rebellion, because all their lives men and boys have been dominated by women, their, mother, girlfriends, wives, daughters, and Mistresses, and until they (we) have the maturity to admit it, it will be the same old, same old.
Hillary's speech last night clinched it! THAT was a real President talking! Too bad that opportunity has been lost, and I can see nothing but confusion and chaos in the future.
There is, however, a higher power dominating all of this, and it may be that He is letting all this happen (is this theologically correct?) and has chosen not to intervene. There are some that will say that we are living in the last days according to the book of Revelation, because men's minds and actions have become confused.
I fear thisa action has cost the Democratic Party the chance to regain the Presidency. There may never be another opportunity as good as this one.

An Empty Life

Anyone who has ever served in any branch of the military has a feeling that those who have not served will never have. We're not super patriots, and damn few of us are bona fide heroes. I don't believe any of us draftees or enlistees, entered service with the idea of becoming a hero, and at the same time would not shirk from their duty, and if part of that was to be a hero, it was something expected from him as part of his job.

Before I get too far into this, let me give you my qualifications and credibility for writing this.:

I enlisted and served eight years in the United States Army from June, 1955 to May 1963, The first three years active duty, and the remaining five in the reserves. I spent over two years of my active duty in the Federal Republic of Germany, not with occupation forces, since the occupation was ended a few months before I was assigned to Germany. We were part of the NATO Peacekeeping forces, which at this time was quite large, because of a still divided Germany, and the Cold War under so much tension it could have snapped at any time.

During this eight years, I saw Soviet forces go into Hungary to try to crush the Hungarian Revolt, British and French planes bombing the Suez Canal, and the construction of the Berlin Wall. Any of these events could have triggered another conflict, and possibly World War III Fortunately, (or maybe because we were there?), none of these events escalated to major conflict, and some twenty years later, the Berlin Wall came down, Germany was reunited, and the Soviet Union broke up. Truly, we who served during that period were eyewitnesses to a major part of world history.

Recently, I have been looking back and asking myself what my life would have been like had I not served in the military.. I really think that there would have been something missing from it. Maybe a hollow place.

I've never talked about this to anyone that I served with, but I feel reasonably sure they feel the same way. It's something that is to me priceless. It is not something that took those years out of my life, but something that added much more to living and enhancement to my life. I have a much better appreciation for and a strengthening of my love for my country, family, and friends. It still is so rewarding, and like learning and knowledge, it's something no one can take away from me.

The Army I served in was like nothing you can imagine. Hollywood makes good movies, but they have not yet captured the essence of what the Army (or any branch of the military) is like. It is not as portrayed in a John Wayne movie, or a Rogers and Hammerstein Musical, i.e., "South Pacific". As good as these movies and Musicals are, they do not capture the full essence of Military service. There is no intent to put down any of these attempts to capture the real military, but truly it has to be experienced before you really know.

Leadership Vacuum

Did you see Anderson Cooper last evening on CNN? (7/18/2008) He had insightful articles about both McClone and Obamma. They just strengthened my contention that this year we undoubtedly have the worst choices for President that we have had in at least the past 50 years, and confirms my resolve to vote for neither.

They have no apparent leadership qualities or anything that distinguishes one from the other, and haven't shown that they have any ambition other than wanting the office.

This office is not a do it yourself as you go along. Do they have any specific ideas what they will do? They both have lists of the standard generalized mouthings politicians are wont to do, What are they going to do their first full day in office? It wouldn't surprise me if they (either one) took a "vacation' to recover from the rigors of the campaign.

Neither has given any indication they can fill the leadership vacuum we have experienced the past seven and one half years. Will theirs be a leadership of folding under pressure and knee jerk reaction to the crisis of another September 4, 2001?

That day brought forth unneeded changes that this country doesn't want or need, and it will take many years to recover and return to some form of normalcy. We are not the same people that lived before 2001, but a quivering huddled mass of frightened beings who are wandering around without the benefit lf any leadership and no direction to our lives.

Consider your vote very carefully, and you're likely to come to the conclusion that there is no one running for the office of President of the United States that is qualified or capable of providing the kind of leadership that has been missing in recent years.

With inflation raging, and the specter of depression looming ever larger, it's imperative, if we are to survive as a nation, that we find the kind of leadership we need. The clock keeps running.

The Swift Boating of John Kerry

Let's look at the intent of the so-called Swift Boat Veteran's. Their purpose WAS NOT to refute his testimony about the Vietnam War, but to DESTROY A HUMAN.
Very few wars have been fought without atrocities being committed by both sides. It's the nature of war. I'm not trying to justify it, but pointing out a fact.
Have you ever heard anyone use the expression "a fair fight", or "fight fair"? If you or I engage anyone in a fight, isn't our objective to win, and by using any means at our disposal?
To a lesser extent, and most especially in Vietnam, we didn't know at times who we were fighting, and did what we had to do. I don't think Kerry was wrong by pointing this out, and that the SBVT's were wrong in trying to suppress the truth, and vilifying and attempting to destroy the messenger.
Are we not mature enough to acknowledge that when it comes to warfare, we're no different than anyone else in our desire for survival.
Of course these are war crimes just as sure as the treatment of prisoners at Abu Garib was.
We did what we had to do.
Wars are futile, and in the long run do not solve anything. Isn't this what the man we call "The Prince of Peace" was trying to teach? It is a lesson that so many of us that claim to follow his teachings still have to learn.
On this July Fourth, the anniversary of our independence, shouldn't we be turning our eyes toward the goal of freedom and indepencence for all people?

Drilling for Oil and other harmful practices

Electrical Power plants do not have to be hydrocarbon consuming monsters that belch great clouds of pollutants into the atmosphere. The majority of our power generation comes from burning hydrocarbons such as coal, natural gas, and fuel oil.
Two sources of electrical energy which have thus far proven to have a low level of pollutants, and nearly zero hydrocarbon emissions are wind power and solar power. Another that seemed to have possibilities was using ocean currents and coastal rise and fall of tides to generate electricity.
In the U.S, it takes 10 years or better to bring a nuclear power plant on line. Why can't we take a cue from the French, which generates the greater part of their electricity from nuclear power plants? Their success comes from the fact that they have a standard design for all plants, so that they are not starting over every time they construct a power plant. We Americans tend to re-invent the wheel and all our nuclear power plants are developed and built from scratch. Surely we have learned enough about their construction that we shouldn't have to start over each time one is built. But then that's the American way with anything that requires government approval. Everyone that possibly can be involved is involved.
Look at schools and jails; the ones I am aware of are completely new from concept to design to construction. Is it any wonder that we are raising generations of lock step citizens that all think and act alike. If we have a future, where is our future leadership coming from?
Buildings that are made for the same purpose could be made with one design that is basically fixed although with some latitude for minor changes. I can envision a modular design of single units or classrooms. If you needed a school with 12 classrooms, you used twelve modules, 20 classrooms, 20 modules. These modules could be built at one site and transported to their final location and assembled there like building blocks. You might have the option of putting a different facade on the building so they didn't all look alike, but the basic engineering would be the same, and not require new approval every time a new school or jail was built. This could significantly cut costs, and get new buildings that are needed quicker. Instead of three to five years to build a new school or jail, it could be done in a third of the time for conventional construction, possibly less.
Politics and patronage builds more schools and jails than anything else. We need to change this. I have always maintained that schools and roads are not necessarily built where they are needed most, but where politicians want them. I think the same can be said for our power generating and oil refining businesses.
A recent catch phrase has been "think outside the box." I think to this we can add, yes, think outside the box, but think box - modular box(es).
One more question: How is it that a multi-million shopping center can be built from scratch, from preparing the land to occupancy and grand opening in several months instead of several years?
If drilling for oil is approved for these forbidden areas, take note of how long it takes to start pumping oil.

Do you Remember When?

This is for you mature adults here. Mature like old, ripe, and maybe rotten (too mature).
Take a trip with me back to the 1959's and 1960's when life was less complicated than now. TV was in its early beginnings, black and white, that is, color was just a dream. We had only gotten color movies just before World War II. There were no computers, and jet planes were still military planes. Bell Labs had just announced the transistor, which they claimed would replace the vacuum tubes in radios, and change the radio and television industries.
Remington Rand, I believe it was, had just announced the worlds first computing machine, UniVac, and claimed blinding speed calculating great quantities of numbers.
Hard drive meant heavy traffic and rough roads getting to grandmother's house on Sundays. If someone had mentioned software, you might have thought it was a frilly nightgown.
When we drove up to a service station, we bought gasoline for our car, but got lots more than that. The words "service station" meant that an attendant would come out, pump our gas, raise the hood and check the oil, and water (radiator fluid wasn't called coolant then. We put water in the radiator in the summer, and added anti-freeze in the winter. The attendant also checked the air pressure in our tires, and added more air to them if needed. He would also wash your windshield if it needed it. All of this and more for a 30¢ gallon of gas. Actually, no one bought just a gallon of gas unless it was for their speedboat, and the gas was usually mixed with oil because many boats used two-cycle engines. This was the era of big, high powered, fast, gas guzzling cars. Why not? Gas was cheap, and the supply unlimited.
Even though the end of WWII did not bring an end to conflicts, and the Korean war, things were a lot different in the '50's. We did not have to commit all our domestic production to the war effort. We were having our cake and eating it, too, and letting the good times roll. Our economy was booming, with no end in sight.
But the end did come. In the LBJ Administration, we began to see rising inflation, coupled with higher prices and increasing wages. This was not leveling out, as wages and prices kept spiraling upward. Then, in the 70's duri9ng the Nixon administration, all of a sudden we began hearing reports of a gas shortage. Yep, here it came bigtime. I won't bore you with the details of waiting in line for hours for 5 gallons of gas, and the price had increased to over 40¢ per gallon! President Nixon invoked a wage price freeze. I won't debate the pros and cons of this, but just say it didn't work for me.
With the Carter Administration, came another gas shortage, and an increase in price to 60¢ a gallon.
Since then, gas has been generally available, but with ever increasing prices. One thing however, did disappear. The Service Station. Yes, gone were the owner-operator neighborhood station. The oil companies had been quietly closing them down, and replacing them with gas stations and food marts. The old 7-11 food marts were among the forerunners of this. The pumps were still out front, but no smiling, pimply-faced youngster came out and asked, "fill 'er up, mister?" You drove up to the pump, got out of your car, and pumped your own gas. Even members of the fairer sex who once would never have dreamed of doing so, have learned how to use a gas pump. It has now narrowed down to two methods of paying for your gas; either you pay before you pump, or pay with a debit or credit card. If you're filling up and pay cash, you may have to make more than one trip inside because you have over or under estimated the amount of gas you need.
This is the classic case of pay more and get less. You got a real bonus if your full service station also had someone available that knew a little more than average about cars. If you drove in with a broken fan belt, or busted radiator hose, someone could repair or replace that for you. Fixing flat tires was routine. To get most of this kind of service done now, you will have to go to a garage, or maybe learn to do it yourself.
Over the years, cars have become more complicated, and it's sometimes difficult to locate even fan belts. I'm sure those who grew up with with these nightmarish machines have no more problems with them than many of us did with the simpler cars of the 50's and 60's.
In some ways, I miss these earlier times, but I still contend that "The Good Old Days" are right now.
Consider these things:
Who ever heard of a lifetime warranty on an automobile? Used to be 90 days, tops. Tires that would last 50,000 miles or longer? 6,000 miles or longer between oil changes? Coolant (anti-freeze) good for 5 years? Engines running over 200,000 miles with no major problems. Many vehicles to choose from that get 30 miles to a gallon of gas. Safety features unheard of such as shoulder harness, air bags, better crash resistance, anti-lock brakes. If we had a seat belt, chances are we installed it ourselves, and felt like we were ready for the race track. Bodies that don't rust out in two or three years. GPS equipment so we know where we are at all times, and CD stereo music that rivals home theater systems, and with changers that will provide several hours of continuous music. TV or DVD for rear seat passengers, most common in vans and SUV's.
One thing more and I'll quit.
If you read "the funnies" as I did, you will likely remember the comic strip, Dick Tracy. He was a police detective who had all kinds of neat things. The one I remember the best was his two-way wrist radio, a cumbersome looking box that he wore on his wrist which gave him communications with headquarters. Real Buck Rogers stuff! Now what do we have?
The bane of many drivers. The Cell Phone! Instant communications with nearly anyone around the globe that we carry in our shirt pocket. The bane of many drivers? Yes, the person using his phone in high speed traffic and not concentrating on his driving. Some states are attempting to address this problem, and are requiring either hands free equipment, a speaker phone, or banning cell phone calls while driving altogether. Kind of interesting, but there is a need for some uniformity throughout the country, or the knowledge of what different states require.
Ok, take and read this, and reply if you are so inclined, or ignore it, whatever you wish to do, but have a go0od day, and may your next gas purchase be at a discounted price.