Character. Ethics. Integrity.
These are the things that Arlen Specter is missing. And for him to dupe his Pennsylvania constituents into electing him to another term as Senator?
Calculating. Fraudulent. Traitorous.
Just-- FYI-- I'm not done with this one, yet.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Lighter Fare: Paper or Plastic?
Paper or plastic?
Neither for me, thank you.
What I want you big grocery stores to do is look at my yearly grocery expenditures (through my loyalty card-- because I know you can) and then GIVE me some of those nifty reuseable bags. I've spent enough. I've earned them.
And don't think that I'm going to break down and buy them just because you're giving me cheaper plastic baggies that split before I even get the groceries all the way into the kitchen.
You want me to buy the reusable ones? Make them 10 cents w/my MVP or VIC card and I'll consider.
Or I'll start demanding paper bags. Every single time.
Consider it fair warning~
Neither for me, thank you.
What I want you big grocery stores to do is look at my yearly grocery expenditures (through my loyalty card-- because I know you can) and then GIVE me some of those nifty reuseable bags. I've spent enough. I've earned them.
And don't think that I'm going to break down and buy them just because you're giving me cheaper plastic baggies that split before I even get the groceries all the way into the kitchen.
You want me to buy the reusable ones? Make them 10 cents w/my MVP or VIC card and I'll consider.
Or I'll start demanding paper bags. Every single time.
Consider it fair warning~
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Somali Pirates
Have you heard that Somali pirates attacked an Italian cruise ship? The liner had Israeli security forces aboard, who responded with fire, driving the attackers away.
Good for them.
And kudos to MSC Cruises– and any other company willing to take security into their own hands.
I mean, as much as I’d like to have a Marine attack copter dispatched to just blow a boat full of pirates out of the water at first sight, we really cannot expect coalition naval forces to be everywhere at once.
And pirating is lucrative to these people. More often than not, companies pay the ransoms for the safe return of their crews, ships and cargo and the pirates go back to their home ports, where they are hailed as heroes. Women flock to the ports to try to marry these guys, who are flush with cash and living like rock stars-- pirate style.
So what should be done? What deterrent would work?
I think we should model WWII merchant shipping. We had merchant ships sailing all over the world with all kind of war material—from supplies to troops to mail. These liberty ships sailed through all sort of harrowing ordeals, none more alarming than through the North Atlantic. German U-boats prowled, lying in wait for their targets to appear.
At first, the liberty ships sailed together with armed escort, but they soon realized that they presented an even larger target that way.
So they decided to arm the individual merchant vessels. They placed guns on the decks, covered and hidden from view and had Navy gunners there to operate them should the need arise.
That didn’t stop the German harassment altogether, but they certainly lost fewer vessels, and the merchant seamen aboard felt much safer.
Arming these present-day merchant ships would be the very best way to deter the pirates.
COOL UPDATE: 62 year old British passenger hailed a hero, throws deck chair at pirates.
Good for them.
And kudos to MSC Cruises– and any other company willing to take security into their own hands.
I mean, as much as I’d like to have a Marine attack copter dispatched to just blow a boat full of pirates out of the water at first sight, we really cannot expect coalition naval forces to be everywhere at once.
And pirating is lucrative to these people. More often than not, companies pay the ransoms for the safe return of their crews, ships and cargo and the pirates go back to their home ports, where they are hailed as heroes. Women flock to the ports to try to marry these guys, who are flush with cash and living like rock stars-- pirate style.
So what should be done? What deterrent would work?
I think we should model WWII merchant shipping. We had merchant ships sailing all over the world with all kind of war material—from supplies to troops to mail. These liberty ships sailed through all sort of harrowing ordeals, none more alarming than through the North Atlantic. German U-boats prowled, lying in wait for their targets to appear.
At first, the liberty ships sailed together with armed escort, but they soon realized that they presented an even larger target that way.
So they decided to arm the individual merchant vessels. They placed guns on the decks, covered and hidden from view and had Navy gunners there to operate them should the need arise.
That didn’t stop the German harassment altogether, but they certainly lost fewer vessels, and the merchant seamen aboard felt much safer.
Arming these present-day merchant ships would be the very best way to deter the pirates.
COOL UPDATE: 62 year old British passenger hailed a hero, throws deck chair at pirates.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
My First Post
The following is an editorial column I submitted for publication back in November of 2007. It didn't get published... no big surprise.
But I'm using it to give everyone a taste of what I hope this blog will be like.
The Thanksgiving Day editorial asks, “When will our troops come home?” My simple answer? When they are victorious, when the fledgling democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan can stand on their own and stave off the terroristic, oppressive and unstable regimes that seek to undermine and further destabilize the region. Then, and only then, can we bring our troops home and give them the profound hero’s welcome they so richly deserve. In the meantime, let them carry out the missions for which they have voluntarily, dutifully and skillfully trained, allow them the kudos their sacrifices and successes have wrought and illuminate their great work for the public to see.
A shocking idea, isn’t it-- for the mainstream media to be bold enough to support the troops and highlight the successes that occur on a daily basis, both large and small? I know my comments would echo throughout cavernous newsrooms and fall like a rock in university lecture halls across this great land, for such opinions are not generally recognized as so-called “popular notion,” even though they are indeed supported by facts that need to be shared with the public.
What remains unreported are the larger reasons why we are seeing such a decline in violence in Iraq, both against our Armed Forces and against Iraqi civilians, but instead of highlighting this, the public has been duped and manipulated by the fit of apoplectic hand-wringing of both the media and academia. The reason? These same types of strategies and statistics were thoroughly repressed by the mainstream media and academia in the Vietnam era. They would rather continue a campaign of disinformation than admit mistakes that have been shamefully perpetuated for nearly four decades.
The current surge strategy of “Secure and Hold” is the plan in which American forces work in conjunction with the Iraqi military, living side by side with Iraqi civilians and working together to root out violence and secure the various regions, neighborhood by neighborhood. This strategy is an adaptation of the successful counterinsurgency plan initially developed by General Creighton Abrahms that proved extremely effective in Vietnam, a plan that would have led to a South Vietnamese victory had the Nixon Administration not kowtowed to public sentiment; i.e.: the anti-war movement.
And now we, as Americans, stand at those same crossroads. The anti-war marchers having again taken up their dusty signs with their same woefully tired slogans trying to force a withdrawal of American troops (this time from Iraq and Afghanistan), academics are perpetuating myths to protect their own egos, and the mainstream media grudgingly report good news from Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom sparsely, at best.
It is time we stood up for our troops and for their missions, it is time we send a message to the media that we demand balanced journalism, and it’s high time that we, as Americans, realize what is truly at stake. This is not a regional war over oil, it is a global war to root out terrorists who seek to destroy the very freedoms that are held dear by billions of people around the world. Throughout history, brave Americans have been willing to fight and die to secure these freedoms, not just for us, but for all mankind. It is our greatest legacy to the world, and the stakes are simply too high to abandon that legacy, now or ever. As the saying goes, we need to remember that America is the home of the free because of the brave.
But I'm using it to give everyone a taste of what I hope this blog will be like.
The Thanksgiving Day editorial asks, “When will our troops come home?” My simple answer? When they are victorious, when the fledgling democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan can stand on their own and stave off the terroristic, oppressive and unstable regimes that seek to undermine and further destabilize the region. Then, and only then, can we bring our troops home and give them the profound hero’s welcome they so richly deserve. In the meantime, let them carry out the missions for which they have voluntarily, dutifully and skillfully trained, allow them the kudos their sacrifices and successes have wrought and illuminate their great work for the public to see.
A shocking idea, isn’t it-- for the mainstream media to be bold enough to support the troops and highlight the successes that occur on a daily basis, both large and small? I know my comments would echo throughout cavernous newsrooms and fall like a rock in university lecture halls across this great land, for such opinions are not generally recognized as so-called “popular notion,” even though they are indeed supported by facts that need to be shared with the public.
What remains unreported are the larger reasons why we are seeing such a decline in violence in Iraq, both against our Armed Forces and against Iraqi civilians, but instead of highlighting this, the public has been duped and manipulated by the fit of apoplectic hand-wringing of both the media and academia. The reason? These same types of strategies and statistics were thoroughly repressed by the mainstream media and academia in the Vietnam era. They would rather continue a campaign of disinformation than admit mistakes that have been shamefully perpetuated for nearly four decades.
The current surge strategy of “Secure and Hold” is the plan in which American forces work in conjunction with the Iraqi military, living side by side with Iraqi civilians and working together to root out violence and secure the various regions, neighborhood by neighborhood. This strategy is an adaptation of the successful counterinsurgency plan initially developed by General Creighton Abrahms that proved extremely effective in Vietnam, a plan that would have led to a South Vietnamese victory had the Nixon Administration not kowtowed to public sentiment; i.e.: the anti-war movement.
And now we, as Americans, stand at those same crossroads. The anti-war marchers having again taken up their dusty signs with their same woefully tired slogans trying to force a withdrawal of American troops (this time from Iraq and Afghanistan), academics are perpetuating myths to protect their own egos, and the mainstream media grudgingly report good news from Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom sparsely, at best.
It is time we stood up for our troops and for their missions, it is time we send a message to the media that we demand balanced journalism, and it’s high time that we, as Americans, realize what is truly at stake. This is not a regional war over oil, it is a global war to root out terrorists who seek to destroy the very freedoms that are held dear by billions of people around the world. Throughout history, brave Americans have been willing to fight and die to secure these freedoms, not just for us, but for all mankind. It is our greatest legacy to the world, and the stakes are simply too high to abandon that legacy, now or ever. As the saying goes, we need to remember that America is the home of the free because of the brave.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
