California Dreamin'.......
Being from Texas, I'm used to the usual line of jokes about the state and it's inhabitants, which we take in good humor. But in honor of the California Gubernatorial follies, I thought I'd offer this payback.
You know you live in California if..............
1. Your coworker has 8 body piercings and none are visible.
2. You make over $300,000 and still can't afford a house.
3. You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.
4. Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Breeze.
5. You can't remember...is pot illegal?
6. You've been to a baby shower that has two mothers and a sperm donor.
7. You have a very strong opinion about where your coffee beans are grown and can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.
8. You know which restaurant serves the freshest arugula.
9. You can't remember.....is pot illegal?
10. A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.
11. A low speed police pursuit will interrupt ANY TV broadcast.
12. Gas costs $1.00 per gallon more than anywhere else in the U.S.
13. A man gets on the bus in full leather regalia and crotchless chaps. You don't even notice.
14. Unlike back home, the guy at 8:30 am at Starbucks wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses who looks like George Clooney IS George Clooney.
15. Your car insurance costs as much as your housepayment.
16. Your hairdresser is straight, your plumber is gay, the woman who delivers your mail is into S & M, and your Mary Kay rep is a guy in drag.
17. You can't remember...is pot illegal?
18. It's barely sprinkling rain and there's areport on every news station about "STORM WATCH 2003."
19. You have to leave the big company meeting early because Billy Blanks himself is teaching the 4:00 PM Tae Bo class.
20. You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their cell phones or pagers.
21. It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.
22. Hey!!!! Is Pot Illegal????
23. Both you AND your dog have therapists
Saturday, August 30, 2003
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Professional Assesment
Submitted by friend Joe H. a career Green Beret operative.........
from Tech Central Station
Eliminating Smoldering Coals
by Gordon Cucullu
In the Vietnam War, when I first felt the pride of placing a green beret on my head, we in Special Forces had a dual mission: we were fighting an unconventional war in Vietnam and simultaneously training to be guerrillas. Our primary unit mission was to carry out a resistance movement behind enemy lines. We trained in sabotage, ambush and guerrilla warfare -- tactics of the weak -- for we were not strong enough to engage the enemy in positional warfare.
These tactics are roughly similar to those employed by what Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld calls "dead enders" who are fighting our troops in Iraq today. These guys are former Baathist regime holdouts, committed to Saddam Hussein, and joined by foreign jihadists infiltrated from such garden spots as Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Palestine. The tactics used by these dead enders -- hit and run, assassination, ambush, sabotage, intimidation of the population -- are clearly indicative of a group struggling simply to stay alive.
Paradoxically, the more horrific the targets for attack, the weaker the terrorists. The truck bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad is a classic example. Unable to pull off something of that magnitude against an American or British military outfit, the terrorists pick a soft, innocent target upon which to vent their murderous nature. After all, in a country awash in munitions, putting together a truck bomb is no great shakes. Killing for the sheer horrific effect makes them feel successful. Only a sociopath gloats over murdering innocents. So they blow up children, women and bystanders in their random acts. But each attack underlines the fact that they are becoming progressively weaker.
The wonder to those of us who trained to be guerrillas is not that there is so much activity right now in Iraq but so little. If the situation was reversed and our special ops guys were advising the resistance, the entire country would be aflame. A well-trained, organized force supported by a significant percentage of the Iraqi population would have scores of bombings daily along with dozens of assassinations.
What this tells us is that 1) the terrorists are strictly on their own. Most of the Iraqi population does not support the terrorists yet fears a return of the Baathists. That is why icing Usay and Qusay was so important and why double-tapping Saddam will usher in a new era to Iraq. And, 2) these terrorists are typical of the Middle East variety: poorly trained, uneducated hate machines bent on martyrdom. Fortunately, they have come to the right place to accomplish that goal.
Criticism is surfacing that President Bush has turned Iraq into a battleground for terrorists. If that is truly the case then, well, good: better to fight them in Iraq where they are isolated, vulnerable and the rules of engagement permit our professionals to engage and eliminate them, than to have to fight them here (!!!). If Iraq is the catalyst that is bringing these vermin out of their holes in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Palestine, then, hooray, we have achieved yet another tangential benefit by fighting the war:
Some say that some of these fighters have emerged simply because the opportunity to fight Americans is available to them. In other words, that if left alone they would not have posed a threat. It is tough to know with hypotheticals, but the case can be made that some of these thugs would have been prime recruits for al Qaeda, Hamas or any of the other alphabet soup of fundamentalist Islamic terror groups. Better to eliminate them where we can rather than risk confronting them elsewhere.
We are engaged in the end game of a war, the dirty days of snuffing out the last of the opposition. Just like firefighters extinguishing a blaze, we know that eliminating the last smoldering coal is sometimes tougher than fighting roaring flames. But like iron tempered in the fire, the new Iraq will emerge over time stronger, freer and more resilient than ever.
Gordon Cucullu is a former Green Beret lieutenant colonel and writer. His book, Separated at Birth: How North Korea became the Evil Twin, will be released by Simon & Schuster this fall.
Submitted by friend Joe H. a career Green Beret operative.........
from Tech Central Station
Eliminating Smoldering Coals
by Gordon Cucullu
In the Vietnam War, when I first felt the pride of placing a green beret on my head, we in Special Forces had a dual mission: we were fighting an unconventional war in Vietnam and simultaneously training to be guerrillas. Our primary unit mission was to carry out a resistance movement behind enemy lines. We trained in sabotage, ambush and guerrilla warfare -- tactics of the weak -- for we were not strong enough to engage the enemy in positional warfare.
These tactics are roughly similar to those employed by what Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld calls "dead enders" who are fighting our troops in Iraq today. These guys are former Baathist regime holdouts, committed to Saddam Hussein, and joined by foreign jihadists infiltrated from such garden spots as Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Palestine. The tactics used by these dead enders -- hit and run, assassination, ambush, sabotage, intimidation of the population -- are clearly indicative of a group struggling simply to stay alive.
Paradoxically, the more horrific the targets for attack, the weaker the terrorists. The truck bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad is a classic example. Unable to pull off something of that magnitude against an American or British military outfit, the terrorists pick a soft, innocent target upon which to vent their murderous nature. After all, in a country awash in munitions, putting together a truck bomb is no great shakes. Killing for the sheer horrific effect makes them feel successful. Only a sociopath gloats over murdering innocents. So they blow up children, women and bystanders in their random acts. But each attack underlines the fact that they are becoming progressively weaker.
The wonder to those of us who trained to be guerrillas is not that there is so much activity right now in Iraq but so little. If the situation was reversed and our special ops guys were advising the resistance, the entire country would be aflame. A well-trained, organized force supported by a significant percentage of the Iraqi population would have scores of bombings daily along with dozens of assassinations.
What this tells us is that 1) the terrorists are strictly on their own. Most of the Iraqi population does not support the terrorists yet fears a return of the Baathists. That is why icing Usay and Qusay was so important and why double-tapping Saddam will usher in a new era to Iraq. And, 2) these terrorists are typical of the Middle East variety: poorly trained, uneducated hate machines bent on martyrdom. Fortunately, they have come to the right place to accomplish that goal.
Criticism is surfacing that President Bush has turned Iraq into a battleground for terrorists. If that is truly the case then, well, good: better to fight them in Iraq where they are isolated, vulnerable and the rules of engagement permit our professionals to engage and eliminate them, than to have to fight them here (!!!). If Iraq is the catalyst that is bringing these vermin out of their holes in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Palestine, then, hooray, we have achieved yet another tangential benefit by fighting the war:
Some say that some of these fighters have emerged simply because the opportunity to fight Americans is available to them. In other words, that if left alone they would not have posed a threat. It is tough to know with hypotheticals, but the case can be made that some of these thugs would have been prime recruits for al Qaeda, Hamas or any of the other alphabet soup of fundamentalist Islamic terror groups. Better to eliminate them where we can rather than risk confronting them elsewhere.
We are engaged in the end game of a war, the dirty days of snuffing out the last of the opposition. Just like firefighters extinguishing a blaze, we know that eliminating the last smoldering coal is sometimes tougher than fighting roaring flames. But like iron tempered in the fire, the new Iraq will emerge over time stronger, freer and more resilient than ever.
Gordon Cucullu is a former Green Beret lieutenant colonel and writer. His book, Separated at Birth: How North Korea became the Evil Twin, will be released by Simon & Schuster this fall.
Friday, August 22, 2003
New Math.........
From email reports........
Teaching Math in 1950:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of productionis 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
Teaching Math in 1960:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of productionis 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
Teaching Math in 1970:
A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. Make 100 dots representing the elements of the set "M." The set "C," the cost of production contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as subset of set "M" and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits?
Teaching Math in 1980:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
Teaching Math in 1990:
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels "feel" as the logger cut down the trees? There are no wrong answers.
Teaching Math in 2002:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of production is $120. How does Arthur Andersen determine that his profit margin is $60?
Teaching Math in 2010:
El hachero vende un camion carga por $100. La cuesta de production es........
From email reports........
Teaching Math in 1950:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of productionis 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
Teaching Math in 1960:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of productionis 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?
Teaching Math in 1970:
A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. Make 100 dots representing the elements of the set "M." The set "C," the cost of production contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as subset of set "M" and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits?
Teaching Math in 1980:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
Teaching Math in 1990:
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels "feel" as the logger cut down the trees? There are no wrong answers.
Teaching Math in 2002:
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100 His cost of production is $120. How does Arthur Andersen determine that his profit margin is $60?
Teaching Math in 2010:
El hachero vende un camion carga por $100. La cuesta de production es........
Thursday, August 21, 2003
The New Quagmire......?
From the Washington Times...by Jack Kelley.
It's amazing how many people who've never been to either place say Iraq is "another Vietnam." There are a few differences worth noting. To begin with, at no point in the Vietnam war did the United States utterly destroy the North Vietnamese Army; occupy North Vietnam; send Ho Chi Minh into hiding, and kill or capture most of his Politburo. Had we done so,the war might have had a different outcome.
Vietnam is mostly jungle. I don't like jungles, but guerrillas do. There is plenty of cover and concealment. There is plenty of water. There are a lot of things to eat. Creepy crawly yucky things, but you can eat them if you have to. A large guerrilla force can live, relatively securely, in jungles for long periods. Iraq is mostly desert. Desert offers little cover or concealment, less food and water. Large guerrilla forces cannot live in the desert, period, much less live without detection.
The North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies were bright, skilled, resourceful, well-led, and very brave. In Iraq, we're fighting Arabs. In South Vietnam, we were burdened by supporting an unpopular, corrupt and incompetent government that was riddled with spies. In Iraq, we overthrew an unpopular, corrupt and incompetent government whose surviving officials are being ratted out by the local population.
In Vietnam, the war progressed in classic Maoist fashion: from terrorism, to guerrilla warfare, to conventional combat between main force units. In Iraq, Saddam's forces have regressed from Stage 3 all the way back to Stage 1. Once in absolute control of the entire country, the Ba'athist remnant is now restricted to sniping and remote ambushes. Saddam is spending more time and effort fleeing for his life than in plotting a comeback.
In Vietnam, more than 58,000 Americans lost their lives. At the height of the war, 500 soldiers were being killed each week. In the Iraq war and the subsequent occupation, we have lost fewer men to hostile fire than in a single terrorist attack in Lebanon in 1983. We've been losing about a soldier a day since the first of June. At this rate, we'll reach the Vietnam total in about 158 years.
In Vietnam, the communists received massive assistance from China and the Soviet Union, and had sanctuaries from which to operate in Laos and Cambodia. The Ba'athist remnant is receiving some support from sources in Syria and Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian government is doing what it can to stir up trouble among Shi'ite Islamic fundamentalists. But this "outside interference" is nowhere near as great as it was in Vietnam, and there are signs that the governments in both Syria and Saudi Arabia are beginning to crack down on terrorists.
It is, moreover, not such a bad thing that al Qaeda types have been drawn to Iraq. It is not good to have Islamic terrorists attacking American soldiers. But if Islamic terrorists are going to be attacking Americans somewhere, better to have them attack U.S. soldiers in Iraq where there is a high likelihood they will get their one way ticket to Allah punched than to have them attacking women and children in Chicago.
The Canadian columnist David Warren has suggested the U.S. has a "flypaper strategy" to entice terrorists from the region into Iraq, so that they might be killed there. This is not the sort of policy one announces, but it could be true, and it would be shrewd if it were true.
Finally, those who draw the comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq tend to forget that the U.S. military did not lose the Vietnam war. The U.S. military did not lose a single battle in the Vietnam war. It was American politicians who lost the war, by failing to come to the aid of the South Vietnamese in the face of a North Vietnamese invasion three years after almost all U.S. troops had come home.
The one similarity between Vietnam and Iraq is that the only way we can lose in Iraq is the way we lost in Vietnam through a failure of political nerve.
Jack Kelly, a syndicated columnist, is a former Marine and Green Beret and a former deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration. He is national security writer for the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette.
From the Washington Times...by Jack Kelley.
It's amazing how many people who've never been to either place say Iraq is "another Vietnam." There are a few differences worth noting. To begin with, at no point in the Vietnam war did the United States utterly destroy the North Vietnamese Army; occupy North Vietnam; send Ho Chi Minh into hiding, and kill or capture most of his Politburo. Had we done so,the war might have had a different outcome.
Vietnam is mostly jungle. I don't like jungles, but guerrillas do. There is plenty of cover and concealment. There is plenty of water. There are a lot of things to eat. Creepy crawly yucky things, but you can eat them if you have to. A large guerrilla force can live, relatively securely, in jungles for long periods. Iraq is mostly desert. Desert offers little cover or concealment, less food and water. Large guerrilla forces cannot live in the desert, period, much less live without detection.
The North Vietnamese and their Viet Cong allies were bright, skilled, resourceful, well-led, and very brave. In Iraq, we're fighting Arabs. In South Vietnam, we were burdened by supporting an unpopular, corrupt and incompetent government that was riddled with spies. In Iraq, we overthrew an unpopular, corrupt and incompetent government whose surviving officials are being ratted out by the local population.
In Vietnam, the war progressed in classic Maoist fashion: from terrorism, to guerrilla warfare, to conventional combat between main force units. In Iraq, Saddam's forces have regressed from Stage 3 all the way back to Stage 1. Once in absolute control of the entire country, the Ba'athist remnant is now restricted to sniping and remote ambushes. Saddam is spending more time and effort fleeing for his life than in plotting a comeback.
In Vietnam, more than 58,000 Americans lost their lives. At the height of the war, 500 soldiers were being killed each week. In the Iraq war and the subsequent occupation, we have lost fewer men to hostile fire than in a single terrorist attack in Lebanon in 1983. We've been losing about a soldier a day since the first of June. At this rate, we'll reach the Vietnam total in about 158 years.
In Vietnam, the communists received massive assistance from China and the Soviet Union, and had sanctuaries from which to operate in Laos and Cambodia. The Ba'athist remnant is receiving some support from sources in Syria and Saudi Arabia, and the Iranian government is doing what it can to stir up trouble among Shi'ite Islamic fundamentalists. But this "outside interference" is nowhere near as great as it was in Vietnam, and there are signs that the governments in both Syria and Saudi Arabia are beginning to crack down on terrorists.
It is, moreover, not such a bad thing that al Qaeda types have been drawn to Iraq. It is not good to have Islamic terrorists attacking American soldiers. But if Islamic terrorists are going to be attacking Americans somewhere, better to have them attack U.S. soldiers in Iraq where there is a high likelihood they will get their one way ticket to Allah punched than to have them attacking women and children in Chicago.
The Canadian columnist David Warren has suggested the U.S. has a "flypaper strategy" to entice terrorists from the region into Iraq, so that they might be killed there. This is not the sort of policy one announces, but it could be true, and it would be shrewd if it were true.
Finally, those who draw the comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq tend to forget that the U.S. military did not lose the Vietnam war. The U.S. military did not lose a single battle in the Vietnam war. It was American politicians who lost the war, by failing to come to the aid of the South Vietnamese in the face of a North Vietnamese invasion three years after almost all U.S. troops had come home.
The one similarity between Vietnam and Iraq is that the only way we can lose in Iraq is the way we lost in Vietnam through a failure of political nerve.
Jack Kelly, a syndicated columnist, is a former Marine and Green Beret and a former deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration. He is national security writer for the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Post-Gazette.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Out of the woodwork....
By email reports from an unknown source, comes this news........
Now that Uday & Qusay have been eliminated, a lot of the lesser-known family members are coming to the attention of American authorities.
Among the brothers:
Sooflay ............the restauranteur
Guday...............the half-Australian brother
Huray...............the sports fanatic
Sashay..............the gay brother
Kuntay & Kintay.....the twins from the African mother
Sayhay..............the baseball player
Ojay................the stalker/murderer
Gulay...............the singer/entertainer
Ebay................the internet czar
Biliray.............the country music star
Ecksray.............the radiologist
Puray...............the blender factory owner
Regay...............the half-Jamaican brother
Tupay...............the one with bad hair
Among the sisters:
Lattay..............the coffee shop owner
Bufay...............the 300 pound sister
Phayray.............the zoo worker in the gorilla house
Sapheway............the grocery store owner
Ollay...............the half-mexican sister
By email reports from an unknown source, comes this news........
Now that Uday & Qusay have been eliminated, a lot of the lesser-known family members are coming to the attention of American authorities.
Among the brothers:
Sooflay ............the restauranteur
Guday...............the half-Australian brother
Huray...............the sports fanatic
Sashay..............the gay brother
Kuntay & Kintay.....the twins from the African mother
Sayhay..............the baseball player
Ojay................the stalker/murderer
Gulay...............the singer/entertainer
Ebay................the internet czar
Biliray.............the country music star
Ecksray.............the radiologist
Puray...............the blender factory owner
Regay...............the half-Jamaican brother
Tupay...............the one with bad hair
Among the sisters:
Lattay..............the coffee shop owner
Bufay...............the 300 pound sister
Phayray.............the zoo worker in the gorilla house
Sapheway............the grocery store owner
Ollay...............the half-mexican sister
Monday, August 18, 2003
The information highway...and farming
My family owns a farm in Stoddard County, Missouri that has been in our possesion since my Great Grandfather migrated from Germany and made it his home. For the last two generations we have had great tenant farmers, partners really, who share with us the profits, good or bad, of their efforts on our land. Now, finally, this family no longer has anyone interested in taking over the duties at the farm, so we are at a crossroads. Sell or find another way to keep the farm going.
Without "share cropping" partners, the only other option is to do a full lease of the land to a farmer willing to pay rent to work it as his own. Luckily our departing partner has a neighbor amenable to this arrangement and he has presented us with an offer to lease. The problem is, not being attuned to this kind of arrangement, we were completely at a loss to determine if the offer is good, bad, or ugly. I needed to find someone who is experieced in this sort of transaction.
So..to the internet. Opting to start with a real estate firm, I Googled up *real estate, Stodard County, Missouri*. Several names popped up. I perused several webpages, but none looked liked they had what I wanted. However, there was one of those ubiquitous Google ads on the page.....for a bank in Dexter Mo. the site of our farm. It occured to me that in small towns, the bankers know everyone. Pow/Click.....I go there and view a list of names and phone numbers. I call for one of the bank V.P.'s but the secretary tells me he is not in, but would I like to speak to the President. Sure. The Prez is a very affable fellow, and when I describe my question he relates that they are really not in the agricultural lending business, but he knows someone who is. He gives me the phone number to Mike Pobst at the Alliance Bank in Sikeston, Mo. another small town near the farm.
Mike, Senior V.P.-Ag Lending, is my kinda' guy. A bubba banker. I pose my question to him...."do you know anything about farm leasing rates in the area"? Mike gives me a chuckle, and says that he grew up on a farm, worked on a farm until he graduated from college, his family still owns a farm in the area, and he's been lending money to farmers for over 20 years. He proceeds to give me the "Farm Leasing for Dummies" short course. What are you raising? If it's corn you should get more per acre.....corn prices are good. Are you raising soy beans? You get less money. Irrigated land brings "X" percentage more. Mike reckons that our deal with irrigated and non irrigated land and raising soy beans, wheat and some corn is mostly a fair deal, but he'd go for a three year lease instead of a five year deal. Three years is enough time for the leasee farmer to amortize his costs in his fertilizer program.
Damn. Mind you this whole process took approximately one half of an hour. Back in the old days, BTI [before the internet] I suspect I would have had to go to Stoddard County, Missouri and spend three days to learn what I did in this half of an hour.......ain't the Internet great!
My family owns a farm in Stoddard County, Missouri that has been in our possesion since my Great Grandfather migrated from Germany and made it his home. For the last two generations we have had great tenant farmers, partners really, who share with us the profits, good or bad, of their efforts on our land. Now, finally, this family no longer has anyone interested in taking over the duties at the farm, so we are at a crossroads. Sell or find another way to keep the farm going.
Without "share cropping" partners, the only other option is to do a full lease of the land to a farmer willing to pay rent to work it as his own. Luckily our departing partner has a neighbor amenable to this arrangement and he has presented us with an offer to lease. The problem is, not being attuned to this kind of arrangement, we were completely at a loss to determine if the offer is good, bad, or ugly. I needed to find someone who is experieced in this sort of transaction.
So..to the internet. Opting to start with a real estate firm, I Googled up *real estate, Stodard County, Missouri*. Several names popped up. I perused several webpages, but none looked liked they had what I wanted. However, there was one of those ubiquitous Google ads on the page.....for a bank in Dexter Mo. the site of our farm. It occured to me that in small towns, the bankers know everyone. Pow/Click.....I go there and view a list of names and phone numbers. I call for one of the bank V.P.'s but the secretary tells me he is not in, but would I like to speak to the President. Sure. The Prez is a very affable fellow, and when I describe my question he relates that they are really not in the agricultural lending business, but he knows someone who is. He gives me the phone number to Mike Pobst at the Alliance Bank in Sikeston, Mo. another small town near the farm.
Mike, Senior V.P.-Ag Lending, is my kinda' guy. A bubba banker. I pose my question to him...."do you know anything about farm leasing rates in the area"? Mike gives me a chuckle, and says that he grew up on a farm, worked on a farm until he graduated from college, his family still owns a farm in the area, and he's been lending money to farmers for over 20 years. He proceeds to give me the "Farm Leasing for Dummies" short course. What are you raising? If it's corn you should get more per acre.....corn prices are good. Are you raising soy beans? You get less money. Irrigated land brings "X" percentage more. Mike reckons that our deal with irrigated and non irrigated land and raising soy beans, wheat and some corn is mostly a fair deal, but he'd go for a three year lease instead of a five year deal. Three years is enough time for the leasee farmer to amortize his costs in his fertilizer program.
Damn. Mind you this whole process took approximately one half of an hour. Back in the old days, BTI [before the internet] I suspect I would have had to go to Stoddard County, Missouri and spend three days to learn what I did in this half of an hour.......ain't the Internet great!
Saturday, August 16, 2003
Sister Cities.....
Since the announcement that I have named Coober Pedy, Outback, Australia as my personal sister city, nominations and suggestions have been flooding in for additional affiliations. One comes from Canadian ex-patriate Lisa who now resides in Cambridge, England. Lisa writes.....
Chibougamau looks like it might qualify. It's a town built on mining and it advertises itself as "Your best choice for your next Northern Adventure". I like a town that sees itself as a place for adventure, especially Northern Adventure. I haven't had a Northern Adventure in quite some time. Other advantages include, "All the services of a big city can be found in Chibougamau including four modern motels". It's good to have a choice of modern conveniences when visiting a sister city. But perhaps the best indicator of a town worthy of sister city status is the names of the surrounding communities. There are some great ones here, including Mistissini, Oujé-Bougoumou, Nemaska and Waswanipi . Waswanipi, the name just sings out "visit me, I am adventure".
I'll have to make contact with a local citizen in Chibougamau and feel out the tone of the place, personal relationships are the key to sister city status. And speaking of personal relationships, Coburg, Ontario seems to be the Canadian capital of such activity. A Google search revealed that almost every website associated with the town involves some manner of people getting together from Pen Pals, dating services and designer love to Catholic singles groups. They certainly appear to be a friendly lot, or perhaps lonely. Coburg certainly deserves a second look, they may be very grateful to gain a new a friend.
In other sister city news, Gary in Coober Pedy comments about the adviseablity of honeymooning in his town.....
"Honeymoon - I don't think so. I've been here 20 years and the first ten years are the hardest. I remember spending half a day once walking 3 km to town and back home again with a backpack, to buy 20 cents worth of fresh water".
Sound advice, I'd hate to send a new bride all that way for water. Gary also informs me that The Coober Pedy News will be taking a break while he treks to Adelaide to sell opals. Good luck Gary.
Since the announcement that I have named Coober Pedy, Outback, Australia as my personal sister city, nominations and suggestions have been flooding in for additional affiliations. One comes from Canadian ex-patriate Lisa who now resides in Cambridge, England. Lisa writes.....
"....Chibougamau, Quebec would love to be your sister city. Alternatively, may I suggest Orangeville, Ontario [the perfect mix of lifestyle, prosperity and location] or Coburg- home of the big apple (literally, it's a big giant apple that houses a shop). One of my best friends is from Coburg and could put in a good word for you".
Chibougamau looks like it might qualify. It's a town built on mining and it advertises itself as "Your best choice for your next Northern Adventure". I like a town that sees itself as a place for adventure, especially Northern Adventure. I haven't had a Northern Adventure in quite some time. Other advantages include, "All the services of a big city can be found in Chibougamau including four modern motels". It's good to have a choice of modern conveniences when visiting a sister city. But perhaps the best indicator of a town worthy of sister city status is the names of the surrounding communities. There are some great ones here, including Mistissini, Oujé-Bougoumou, Nemaska and Waswanipi . Waswanipi, the name just sings out "visit me, I am adventure".
I'll have to make contact with a local citizen in Chibougamau and feel out the tone of the place, personal relationships are the key to sister city status. And speaking of personal relationships, Coburg, Ontario seems to be the Canadian capital of such activity. A Google search revealed that almost every website associated with the town involves some manner of people getting together from Pen Pals, dating services and designer love to Catholic singles groups. They certainly appear to be a friendly lot, or perhaps lonely. Coburg certainly deserves a second look, they may be very grateful to gain a new a friend.
In other sister city news, Gary in Coober Pedy comments about the adviseablity of honeymooning in his town.....
"Honeymoon - I don't think so. I've been here 20 years and the first ten years are the hardest. I remember spending half a day once walking 3 km to town and back home again with a backpack, to buy 20 cents worth of fresh water".
Sound advice, I'd hate to send a new bride all that way for water. Gary also informs me that The Coober Pedy News will be taking a break while he treks to Adelaide to sell opals. Good luck Gary.
Friday, August 15, 2003
The Blackout of '03....
First let me state that I do have great empathy for the people in the Northeast United States, and those in Canada for the loss of their electric power. It's a major inconvenience and can cause some serious problems. Secondly, I have NO empathy for the major media based in the Northeast. By the tone of the reporting you would have thought that this was the prelude to the end of the earth. Funny, that tone always appears when some major news story is breaking in their own backyard.
If this had happened in Texas, the ABC Nightly News story would have said, "Power out in Texas.....they know how to handle the heat.......now for our story on how drug prices affect homeless teenagers". Or in California...."California without power, they deserve it.....stand by for our interview with Gary Coleman". But when it happens to the media guys in the East, they preempt all other news and have roving reporters in the streets interviewing the common man for his indignant reaction. Problem is...no one seemed indignant, they just wanted to get home. The appearance was that every one was orderly and going about their business, and that this didn't suit the reporters. I almost expected them to shout, "New Yorkers, you have no power....run for your lives".
They did, however, manage to dredge up some indignant politicians who all said "I told you this would happen, now maybe my new power transmision bill will pass.....yadda, yadda". The probem is they didn't have a clue that this could happen, and further nothing will now happen. The reporters were searching for some sort of mass chaos story and they didn't get it and the tone of Ted Koppel's serious disaster voice made me think he was going to cry. Come on Ted, buck up, it'll be over soon.
For more fun comments read James Lileks. And I'm glad the lights are coming back on, but if they'd just pay their electric bills........
Additional photo and coverage can be found at Blackout 2003
First let me state that I do have great empathy for the people in the Northeast United States, and those in Canada for the loss of their electric power. It's a major inconvenience and can cause some serious problems. Secondly, I have NO empathy for the major media based in the Northeast. By the tone of the reporting you would have thought that this was the prelude to the end of the earth. Funny, that tone always appears when some major news story is breaking in their own backyard.
If this had happened in Texas, the ABC Nightly News story would have said, "Power out in Texas.....they know how to handle the heat.......now for our story on how drug prices affect homeless teenagers". Or in California...."California without power, they deserve it.....stand by for our interview with Gary Coleman". But when it happens to the media guys in the East, they preempt all other news and have roving reporters in the streets interviewing the common man for his indignant reaction. Problem is...no one seemed indignant, they just wanted to get home. The appearance was that every one was orderly and going about their business, and that this didn't suit the reporters. I almost expected them to shout, "New Yorkers, you have no power....run for your lives".
They did, however, manage to dredge up some indignant politicians who all said "I told you this would happen, now maybe my new power transmision bill will pass.....yadda, yadda". The probem is they didn't have a clue that this could happen, and further nothing will now happen. The reporters were searching for some sort of mass chaos story and they didn't get it and the tone of Ted Koppel's serious disaster voice made me think he was going to cry. Come on Ted, buck up, it'll be over soon.
For more fun comments read James Lileks. And I'm glad the lights are coming back on, but if they'd just pay their electric bills........
Additional photo and coverage can be found at Blackout 2003
Wednesday, August 13, 2003
Travel destination......Coober Pedy
It seems to me that there are very few truly unique travel destinations left in this ever smaller world. Spots that offer something no one else on the planet has, albeit it not for the faint of heart. Coober Pedy appears to be one of those locales, after all this is where Mad Max was filmed. In exploring my new Sister City online I've discovered some things that are really amazing. Like... some large degree of the population of the town lives underground. The Cooberites, Gary there tells me they are called, are not particularly to be considered troglodytes, they are just wise since the temperatures in the middle of the Outback can get, in a word, scorching. They also have an almost unlimited supply of tunnels created by opal mining with which to set up house.
Some of the businesses just bespeak adventure and the out of the ordinary experience. On my trip to to Coober Pedy, I think I'd like to stay at The Mud Hut Motel. I like the thought that one of the best places in town to stay on vacation is called The Mud Hut. Besides, the picture shows a windmill on the property, making me feel right at home. And so not to have to wilt in 100° heat, I believe I'll eat underground at the Old Miner's Dugout Cafe where, it is advertised, "some of the dishes have never been served in Australia before...". Makes one wonder, but this is an adventure vacation.
But perhaps the most interesting adventure item, and one I've never seen anywhere else is the 12 hour Mail Truck Run. As advertised....."A 12 hour, 600km adventure visiting remote Australia on the Coober Pedy – Oodnadatta – William Creek Mail Truck. Drive with the mailman and visit remote outposts as we deliver the mail. Walk around towns we pass through and visit many points of interest". You tell me where else can you pay to go ride for 12 hours with a mail truck. As I've mentioned before.....this looks like my kind of place!
And there's more to do in Coober Pedy than can be described in this short space. Like the Night Sky Tour. If you are a city slicker and have never seen the night sky in a remote area of the world, you would be stunned. Then there is the Outback Camel Tour and Desert Cave Tour. Like I said, just too much to do in the Greater Coober Pedy area!
In a token of friendship to the Sister City, I have been in contact with Gary, purveyor of The Coober Pedy News, and we should begin work soon on transfering their online newspaper into a more functional Blog version of the News. And thanks to "Slatts" for his mention and assistance in helping to make Coober Pedy a household word here in the United States.
It seems to me that there are very few truly unique travel destinations left in this ever smaller world. Spots that offer something no one else on the planet has, albeit it not for the faint of heart. Coober Pedy appears to be one of those locales, after all this is where Mad Max was filmed. In exploring my new Sister City online I've discovered some things that are really amazing. Like... some large degree of the population of the town lives underground. The Cooberites, Gary there tells me they are called, are not particularly to be considered troglodytes, they are just wise since the temperatures in the middle of the Outback can get, in a word, scorching. They also have an almost unlimited supply of tunnels created by opal mining with which to set up house.
Some of the businesses just bespeak adventure and the out of the ordinary experience. On my trip to to Coober Pedy, I think I'd like to stay at The Mud Hut Motel. I like the thought that one of the best places in town to stay on vacation is called The Mud Hut. Besides, the picture shows a windmill on the property, making me feel right at home. And so not to have to wilt in 100° heat, I believe I'll eat underground at the Old Miner's Dugout Cafe where, it is advertised, "some of the dishes have never been served in Australia before...". Makes one wonder, but this is an adventure vacation.
But perhaps the most interesting adventure item, and one I've never seen anywhere else is the 12 hour Mail Truck Run. As advertised....."A 12 hour, 600km adventure visiting remote Australia on the Coober Pedy – Oodnadatta – William Creek Mail Truck. Drive with the mailman and visit remote outposts as we deliver the mail. Walk around towns we pass through and visit many points of interest". You tell me where else can you pay to go ride for 12 hours with a mail truck. As I've mentioned before.....this looks like my kind of place!
And there's more to do in Coober Pedy than can be described in this short space. Like the Night Sky Tour. If you are a city slicker and have never seen the night sky in a remote area of the world, you would be stunned. Then there is the Outback Camel Tour and Desert Cave Tour. Like I said, just too much to do in the Greater Coober Pedy area!
In a token of friendship to the Sister City, I have been in contact with Gary, purveyor of The Coober Pedy News, and we should begin work soon on transfering their online newspaper into a more functional Blog version of the News. And thanks to "Slatts" for his mention and assistance in helping to make Coober Pedy a household word here in the United States.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Coober Pedy.....
Actually, I had heard of Coober Pedy , Australia in the past, but barely. The town is synonomous with opals, those milky gems that adorn so many rings, pendants and brooches. It took my online friend, journalist Bernard Slattery in Geelong Australia to bring the town to my attention in a more intimate way. Slatts, being the professional journalist that he is, has been intriqued by the towns newspaper which is viewed online at, The Coober Pedy News. Directed there by Slatts, I too now enjoy the news from Coober Pedy and have become enthralled myself. This is life, news the way it's supposed to be, information by and for the people.
To tell you the truth, perhaps I was attracted to Coober Pedy because it seems to me to be a lot like many smaller towns in West Texas. Honest, hard working, hard living folks who keep going in a tough business because they are optimists. Down in the mines they think themselves one shovel load away from wealth and eternal ease, which is the mentality at heart with those of us in the oil and gas business. That next well will produce the motherlode! Most don't, some just break even, a few make a fair return, but hope springs eternal for the really BIG ONE. Optimism keeps poor people happy.
Midland, Texas has several official Sister Cities, most notably Dongying, China a large and vast new city which is the hub of the Chinese oil industry. That's all well and good, but I'm chosing Coober Pedy to be my personal Sister City, I identify more with the Bubba's of the World and anything I can do to promote their cause, I will. I hope you'll keep in touch with The Coober Pedy News. You never know what the Cooberites are up to! And by the way, the last three lines of the current issue quote me. Well actually a comment I made on Slatts News, but any newspaper that quotes me, even slightly has my undying support.
Actually, I had heard of Coober Pedy , Australia in the past, but barely. The town is synonomous with opals, those milky gems that adorn so many rings, pendants and brooches. It took my online friend, journalist Bernard Slattery in Geelong Australia to bring the town to my attention in a more intimate way. Slatts, being the professional journalist that he is, has been intriqued by the towns newspaper which is viewed online at, The Coober Pedy News. Directed there by Slatts, I too now enjoy the news from Coober Pedy and have become enthralled myself. This is life, news the way it's supposed to be, information by and for the people.
To tell you the truth, perhaps I was attracted to Coober Pedy because it seems to me to be a lot like many smaller towns in West Texas. Honest, hard working, hard living folks who keep going in a tough business because they are optimists. Down in the mines they think themselves one shovel load away from wealth and eternal ease, which is the mentality at heart with those of us in the oil and gas business. That next well will produce the motherlode! Most don't, some just break even, a few make a fair return, but hope springs eternal for the really BIG ONE. Optimism keeps poor people happy.
Midland, Texas has several official Sister Cities, most notably Dongying, China a large and vast new city which is the hub of the Chinese oil industry. That's all well and good, but I'm chosing Coober Pedy to be my personal Sister City, I identify more with the Bubba's of the World and anything I can do to promote their cause, I will. I hope you'll keep in touch with The Coober Pedy News. You never know what the Cooberites are up to! And by the way, the last three lines of the current issue quote me. Well actually a comment I made on Slatts News, but any newspaper that quotes me, even slightly has my undying support.
Sunday, August 10, 2003
When indeed.....?
Well they say, they being everyone, when is the wedding? We say, this is a good question, but we just don't know. Not long, but really not too short a period of time. Not June of 2004, but not next month either.
There really is much to be done prenuptially. Get Julie's house on the market. Get young Jack started at his new school. Decide which pieces of two sets of furniture stay, which go. Clear space in the Bedford Drive residence for two more occupants...and another dog. Then there is the Air Show in late September of which I am commited to assist in running. A reunion in San Antonio late in October that we don't want to miss, a reunion in D.C. in early November that we don't want to miss......and then those pesky holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And don't even get started on where......my oh my, where? Today while talking to an old friend who is now in Miami, I had a suggestion for where and when. The suggestion was made so that she and her husband could be sure to attend. They have been some of my closest friends over the years, such good friends that I lived with them at Ft. Benning, Ga. in 1971. Tom, is one of the highest ranking Generals in the Army, Four Stars, and travels constantly so it would be nice be able to accomodate them. Plus, I don't know many people who have Four Star Generals in their wedding....so that would be memorable. We'll see.....and don't worry the "where" in the suggestion was not Miami.
So for now, we'll concentrate on first things, first. We are still trying to choose between two rings for Julie. We'll decide on the ring this week and move on from there.........
Well they say, they being everyone, when is the wedding? We say, this is a good question, but we just don't know. Not long, but really not too short a period of time. Not June of 2004, but not next month either.
There really is much to be done prenuptially. Get Julie's house on the market. Get young Jack started at his new school. Decide which pieces of two sets of furniture stay, which go. Clear space in the Bedford Drive residence for two more occupants...and another dog. Then there is the Air Show in late September of which I am commited to assist in running. A reunion in San Antonio late in October that we don't want to miss, a reunion in D.C. in early November that we don't want to miss......and then those pesky holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And don't even get started on where......my oh my, where? Today while talking to an old friend who is now in Miami, I had a suggestion for where and when. The suggestion was made so that she and her husband could be sure to attend. They have been some of my closest friends over the years, such good friends that I lived with them at Ft. Benning, Ga. in 1971. Tom, is one of the highest ranking Generals in the Army, Four Stars, and travels constantly so it would be nice be able to accomodate them. Plus, I don't know many people who have Four Star Generals in their wedding....so that would be memorable. We'll see.....and don't worry the "where" in the suggestion was not Miami.
So for now, we'll concentrate on first things, first. We are still trying to choose between two rings for Julie. We'll decide on the ring this week and move on from there.........
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
A Love Story.....
I almost did not go to the Christmas party that friends Lori and Joe were having during the holiday season of 2001. I wasn't sure I really felt like going alone. But I did go. Joe and Lori are interesting people and neighbors and I usually see friends from my high school days, business acquaintances or older couples who are friends of my folks and whom I've known for 40 years. I went, and I did see many friends......however I didn't see the girl who saw me.
Joe and Lori live in the next block, and their alley is on my regular dog walk route, so it didn't surprise me when I saw them several days later. What did surprise me was that Lori said there was someone at the party who had asked about me. Who was I and was I unattached? A tall blonde girl Lori added. It had been a moderately large party and I had been speaking with friends, so I said, no I had not noticed and then I wracked my subconscious mind trying to remember a tall blonde. Lori asked if I might be interested in being "fixed up" with the tall blonde, Julie . Frankly I was in no hurry to be fixed up, but I consented.
Lori told me that Julie was also in no hurry, having things in her own life that needed to be attended to, so months went by with Lori asking me periodically if I was still interested. I was, but nothing seemed to happen to move the situation forward. Then sometime in April, with Lori asking me once again.....we decided that I would just give this Julie a call. So, call I did, and call and call. The line always seemed busy or the answering machine engaged. I was about to give up, when one day there was a message on my answering system from "Julie" indicating that she heard that I was trying to call....and to please try again. Luckily I did, we talked and made a date to go to a baseball game.
It seems like yesterday that I was readying myself for my first blind date in decades, if indeed I had ever gone on a blind date. I can't remember. But go I did, driving to her house and again I can still feel the nervous anticipation of a first meeting as if it just happened. Then the door opened and I saw a beautiful smiling face. After the first few moments, I can't recall any jitters between us and certainly no lack of conversation. Julie is interested in art, as am I. Julie is interested in history, as am I. No subject was foreign to our common interests. We had a great time at the ballgame, and I took my first picture of her there. When I look at that photo today, I still have the feeling I had then......"this girl is something special".
The next day Julie stopped by my house and we went to an art show where she helped me pick out a perfect oil painting for my fireplace.....our fireplace actually because this last Sunday Julie said that she would be my wife.
Julie is a sophisticated small town girl. A sweet, kind, beautiful, intelligent, loving person. My best friend, and a terrific mother to her kids Amanda and Jack. I never dreamed that I would find anyone so perfectly matched to me. Although I think that at times Julie had her doubts about the outcome of our relationship, probably caused by me. I have never had anyone who so obviously loved and adored me, and tells me so on a daily basis. I suppose I really didn't know how to fully react to this. I do now. I want her to be my wife and tell her every day how much I love her and what she means to me. And to have Jack in our family with all the joy that brings to enhance my.....our lives.
The engagement was made "official" last night when I asked nine year old Jack for his Mom's hand in marriage. Graciously and gladly he consented, adding with a sly boyish grin, "I suspected something like this........" So did I.
I almost did not go to the Christmas party that friends Lori and Joe were having during the holiday season of 2001. I wasn't sure I really felt like going alone. But I did go. Joe and Lori are interesting people and neighbors and I usually see friends from my high school days, business acquaintances or older couples who are friends of my folks and whom I've known for 40 years. I went, and I did see many friends......however I didn't see the girl who saw me.
Joe and Lori live in the next block, and their alley is on my regular dog walk route, so it didn't surprise me when I saw them several days later. What did surprise me was that Lori said there was someone at the party who had asked about me. Who was I and was I unattached? A tall blonde girl Lori added. It had been a moderately large party and I had been speaking with friends, so I said, no I had not noticed and then I wracked my subconscious mind trying to remember a tall blonde. Lori asked if I might be interested in being "fixed up" with the tall blonde, Julie . Frankly I was in no hurry to be fixed up, but I consented.
Lori told me that Julie was also in no hurry, having things in her own life that needed to be attended to, so months went by with Lori asking me periodically if I was still interested. I was, but nothing seemed to happen to move the situation forward. Then sometime in April, with Lori asking me once again.....we decided that I would just give this Julie a call. So, call I did, and call and call. The line always seemed busy or the answering machine engaged. I was about to give up, when one day there was a message on my answering system from "Julie" indicating that she heard that I was trying to call....and to please try again. Luckily I did, we talked and made a date to go to a baseball game.
It seems like yesterday that I was readying myself for my first blind date in decades, if indeed I had ever gone on a blind date. I can't remember. But go I did, driving to her house and again I can still feel the nervous anticipation of a first meeting as if it just happened. Then the door opened and I saw a beautiful smiling face. After the first few moments, I can't recall any jitters between us and certainly no lack of conversation. Julie is interested in art, as am I. Julie is interested in history, as am I. No subject was foreign to our common interests. We had a great time at the ballgame, and I took my first picture of her there. When I look at that photo today, I still have the feeling I had then......"this girl is something special".
The next day Julie stopped by my house and we went to an art show where she helped me pick out a perfect oil painting for my fireplace.....our fireplace actually because this last Sunday Julie said that she would be my wife.
Julie is a sophisticated small town girl. A sweet, kind, beautiful, intelligent, loving person. My best friend, and a terrific mother to her kids Amanda and Jack. I never dreamed that I would find anyone so perfectly matched to me. Although I think that at times Julie had her doubts about the outcome of our relationship, probably caused by me. I have never had anyone who so obviously loved and adored me, and tells me so on a daily basis. I suppose I really didn't know how to fully react to this. I do now. I want her to be my wife and tell her every day how much I love her and what she means to me. And to have Jack in our family with all the joy that brings to enhance my.....our lives.
The engagement was made "official" last night when I asked nine year old Jack for his Mom's hand in marriage. Graciously and gladly he consented, adding with a sly boyish grin, "I suspected something like this........" So did I.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
Bill of No Rights.........
Perhaps you have read the following which has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from Georgia. If you haven't you will be glad you did.
Thanks to alert reader Don Dulin
Perhaps you have read the following which has been attributed to State Representative Mitchell Kaye from Georgia. If you haven't you will be glad you did.
"We, the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid any more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt-ridden, delusional and other liberal bed-wetters. We hold these truths to be self-evident: that a whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim that they require a Bill of No Rights."
ARTICLE I:
You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.
ARTICLE II:
You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc., but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be ... and like the rest of us you need to simply deal with it.
ARTICLE III:
You do not have the right to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.
ARTICLE IV:
You do not have the right to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.
ARTICLE V:
You do not have the right to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.
ARTICLE VI:
You do not have the right to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you fry in the electric chair.
ARTICLE VII:
You do not have the right to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV, pool tables, weight rooms or a life of leisure.
ARTICLE VIII:
You don't have the right to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of part time jobs, education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.
ARTICLE IX:
You do not have the right to happiness. Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness --which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an overabundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights,"
ARTICLE X:
This is an English speaking country. We don't care where you are from. We welcome you here. English is our language and like the one you left behind, we also have a culture. Learn it or go back to the country and the living conditions you were fleeing.
Thanks to alert reader Don Dulin
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Praise be...!
There will be news of glad tidings and great joy to be announced shortly.......
stay tuned. :>)
No Joy.......
And in this time of personal joy....condolences to James Likeks
There will be news of glad tidings and great joy to be announced shortly.......
stay tuned. :>)
No Joy.......
And in this time of personal joy....condolences to James Likeks
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