Rock on.......!
Julie and I just finished watching Austin City Limits, tonight featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd. We enjoyed hearing a couple of their old tunes, but they have not aged well, compounded by the fact that they are just plain ugly. But after the debauchery we all lived through in the 60's and 70's I suppose they are to be congratulated on being alive. Coincidentally with the door to the house open we could hear Jerry Jeff Walker playing live in concert at our May Arts Celebration about a mile from my house . Jerry Jeff, another survivor.

This got me thinking about all the old rockers and songsters from the 60's that I've had the privelage to see live. The conversation with Julie on this subject started by my mention of my encounters with ZZ Top. Going to college in San Antonio, we had ZZ play several of my fraternity parties before they got to be famous. Just 50 or so guys, our dates and ZZ Top.....pretty cool looking back now. As the treasurer, I was responsible for paying them for the two hours of music they provided. I paid them the grand sum of $400. I think that they get more now.

We then moved on to my mention of the Sir Douglas Quintet who played in our student union at Trinity University on several occasions. No concert, they just showed up and played. Julie, being younger, was not really that familiar with Sir Doug, who met with moderate success, but had a big influence on later music. While still in college I heard The 13th Floor Elevator a short lived cult psychedelic band who had a band member from Trinity U. They later imploded under a drug induced haze. Throw in The Association and you've rounded out my college era rock experience. The Association appealed more to women, but they were great musicians and vocalists. Well, I also saw Barbara Mandrell at the San Angelo Rodeo before she made the big time, but we won't count her in this rock related memorial.

Prior to going to college my experience with big time rock bands was front row seats at Paul Revere and the Raiders. Some called them rock bubble gum, but they were BIG when I was in high school....some top 10 hits. And of course at my high school all night party we had the one hit wonders, well two hit wonders.....the The Five Americans playing Western Union and I See the Light.....Being full of high school graduation and intoxicating beverages, I don't remember much about that.

Some of the best, meaning my favorite, musicians I saw while living in Hawaii. Both Canadians. Joni Mitchell was just hitting her stride as a crossover rock star coming from folk music. She was in concert with the Braker Brothers Band and was simply fantastic! She still is. And then within several months of seeing her, I saw the other great crossover of the day, Gordon Lightfoot. Saw him for the first time......three all together. This first was in a sold out Honolulu Bowl appearance where Gordo was so....well drunk....he could hardly stand up, but never missed a word in any of his numbers. The next time I saw Gordo was in Dallas at a really cheesy, sleazy little venue playing before no more than several hundred fans. I have recently met, online, Rick McGinnis the photographer who did a recent album cover for Gordo, and I'm informed that, like me, Gordo has seen the advantages of not drinking himself to death.

My later life has put me in the crowd at an outdoor performance of the original [minus Brian Wilson] Beach Boys, a B.B.King concert [where he played in the aisle right next to me] and at a private party where Ray Charles was the entertainment. Nice private party!

Perhaps my most memorable brush with musics best came several years ago when Willie Nelson was in town playing a small outdoor gig here, much like Jerry Jeff Walker is doing tonight. I had a backstage pass for Willie, and since there was really no backstage, I got to sit on the side of the 2 foot high platform, right next to Willie's sister Bobbie. Then afterwards I was invited to meet Willie at his bus. I was thinking that Willie would come out for a cameo appearence, say hey and bug out. Not So! Willie stayed for two and a half hours talking, signing autographs, and getting his picture taken. By three in the morning there were just three of us and Willie. Willie probably would have stayed longer, but the rest of us were tired. Willie is one of the most genuine, nice, and humble people I have ever met, counting himself grateful for a great career. I rue the fact that this was in my pre-digital camera days, or I'd post a picture of Willie and Me, though I did cop an autograph.

Achtung! Verboten!
From Tim Blair down under, comes a distressing story concerning the plight of one Herr Stefan Lukoschek and his protest against the German government. Stefan is angry with the Schroeder government and has painted "The Government is Crap" on the sides of his Yellow VW Bug. The German government, not being able to accept some critical thinking, is threatening to send Stefan to prison unless he removes his slogan.

Now this hits close, very close, to home with us. Julie drives a Yellow VW Bug and and someday we might just want to slap a slogan of our choosing on the door. As long as we don't espouse the violent overthrow of the government, racial hatred, criminal activities or try to advertise tacos for sale without a permit, we are free to paint whatever slogans we wish on our Yellow VW Bug. We are grateful that we live in Texas, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, where we can paste slogans critical of the German Government on our Yellow Bug without the threat of prison hanging heavy on our heads. And if the German government secret agents read this, don't bother to send your Jack Booted Storm Troopers here, our Yellow VW Bug is parked right under our symbol of slogan freedom....the Stars and Stripes!

If you own a Yellow VW Bug, now is the time to speak out! Don't let the left wing fanatics trample on your right to put slogans on your Bug! Today political slogans, tomorrow Smiley Faces!

Short Subjects......
Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers. Mothers truly do make the world go around, and functioning smoothly. One of the reasons I love Julie so much is that she is such a great Mom. She takes care of Jack, Amanda........and Me in superb fashion.

Congratulations to Lisa who completed the 13 mile Moonwalk for Cancer in London on Saturday night. You are an inspiration to us all, and it makes me want to start running in my underwear thru the streets again.......!

If you are a Native American and know anything about making rain, please do so now...target West Texas. We have not had any significant moisture this entire year. It is bleak. Several inches would be fine, but any amount would be appreciated.

On Saturday, Julie and I took Jack and several of his friends in Cub Scouts to the Kids Day at the Planetarium. We all had a bang up time participating in the varied events demonstrating elementary science. While there I was touched by a little group of girls......Brownies. These girls were from Kermit, Texas, which is generally a pretty poor small town. But here were these girls and their leader attending this learning experience forty miles from home. I wanted to thank this adult leader for taking the time to make a difference in these kids lives. I didn't lest I might embarass them, but I hope she might somehow know that someone noticed.

!JavaScript! Cube
The magnificent Java Cube has been removed to improve loading times. More Java Magic will appear periodically.

Oh Poo to the British....!
How lucky to live in Britain where Microsoft© is soon going to feature Wireless toilets, or as it is termed, the iLoo. As if lines to public restrooms aren't long enough, now we will have to wait for some gaseous teenager to finish reading his email. And how exciting to have web addresses on your toilet paper!

Actually this makes more sense as an option on home toilets for those of us fast readers who have exhausted our monthly Readers Digest by mid-month.

Pepe Le Pooch.......

In a half hearted attempt at international reconciliation, The Big Gold Dog tries on my old beret. I had a hard time convincing him to do this. He hates snails, bleu cheese and women who don't shave under their arms, but he was a good sport.

Actually, this beret brought distant memories flooding back. I received it in approximately 1953, a gift from my grandparents on one of their trips to Paris. Apparently as a young lad I loved it so much that I wore it all the time resulting in the nickname, "Frenchie" which was bestowed upon me by my grandfather, Norm. A name which stuck with him until his death in 1995. My brother was "Stuffer", the derivation of which is lost to history, but I can still hear Norm's voice on the phone from St. Louis......"OK good bye Frenchie, and tell Stuffer hell-o".

I don't really recall wearing it, and was unaware that it existed until several weeks ago, when my Mother was on one of her "I want to get rid of everything in the house" binges. I received it today, still looking brand new and surprisingly it has grown on me, having played so much a part in my childhood....or so they tell me. It doesn't fit my adult sized head, but gives the dog quite the continental look.

Story of the year.......!
Amazing things are revealed in this recent article from the World Weekly News! I'm not sure about the credibility of the World Weekly News, but I can attest that this article was sent to me by an old friend, who is in fact, a high ranking FBI supervisory agent in Washington D.C. Decide for yourself.......!
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NEW YORK -- FBI Agents have arrested an enigmatic Wall Street whiz on insider-trading charges -- and incredibly, he claims to be a time-traveler from the year 2256!

Sources at the Security and Exchange Commission confirm that 44-year-old Andrew Carlssin offered the bizarre explanation for his uncanny success in the stock market after being led off in handcuffs on January 28. "We don't believe this guy's story -- he's either a lunatic or a pathological liar," says an SEC insider.

"But the fact is, with an initial investment of only $800, in two weeks' time he had a portfolio valued at over $350 million. Every trade he made capitalized on unexpected business developments, which simply can't be pure luck." "The only way he could pull it off is with illegal inside information. He's going to sit in a jail cell on Rikers Island until he agrees to give up his sources."

The past year of nose-diving stock prices has left most investors crying in their beer. So when Carlssin made a flurry of 126 high-risk trades and came out the winner every time, it raised the eyebrows of Wall Street watchdogs. "If a company's stock rose due to a merger or technological breakthrough that was supposed to be secret, Mr. Carlssin somehow knew about it in advance," says the SEC source close to the hush-hush, ongoing investigation.

When investigators hauled Carlssin in for questioning, they got more than they bargained for: A mind-boggling four-hour confession. Carlssin declared that he had traveled back in time from over 200 years in the future, when it is common knowledge that our era experienced one of the worst stock plunges in history. Yet anyone armed with knowledge of the handful of stocks destined to go through the roof could make a fortune.

"It was just too tempting to resist," Carlssin allegedly said in his videotaped confession. "I had planned to make it look natural, you know, lose a little here and there so it doesn't look too perfect. But I just got caught up in the moment."In a bid for leniency, Carlssin has reportedly offered to divulge "historical facts" such as the whereabouts of Osama Bin Laden and a cure for AIDS. All he wants is to be allowed to return to the future in his "time craft." However, he refuses to reveal the location of the machine or discuss how it works, supposedly out of fear the technology could "fall into the wrong hands."

Officials are quite confident the "time-traveler's" claims are bogus. Yet the SEC source admits, "No one can find any record of any Andrew Carlssin existing anywhere before December 2002."

In a follow-up article on 29 April 2003, the Weekly World News reported that mysterious time-traveling Andrew Carlssin had been bailed out by an "unidentified benefactor" who ponied up $1 million, then jumped bail before an April 3 court hearing and disappeared without a trace.

The Secret.......Football
The Secret of American Foreign Affairs
By Stanley K. Ridgley, Ph.D.

During his administration, Bill Clinton cut the United States Army from 18 active divisions to 10 and presided over an aimless "Blackhawk Down" foreign policy. How, then, could the U.S. military remain so formidable as to conquer Iraq, a nation of 24 million people, in three weeks. A larger question is how does our military continue to outstrip the rest of the world in every category, from soldier training to leadership to the will to win? The answer to that question is one of the great secrets of American foreign affairs.

There is one primary reason for the rise of U.S. military power over the past century and its overwhelming capability to fight and win wars: American football.

Decried by some as a simple-minded sport that "glorifies" violence and appeals to the blue-collar, beer-bellied crowd, football is a phenomenon woven into America's social fabric and into the psyche of her people. The United States is a football nation - football players and football fans - and this sociological factor sets Americans apart from every other nation on earth.

American football is a brutal collision sport in which every player's mettle is tested on every play. At its supreme level, the mutual human violence done in football is greater than that of any other sport in the world. The only other sport that approaches football in bone-crunching controlled mayhem is rugby, another Anglo-Saxon game played almost exclusively by the British and Australians. Coincidentally, they were the two major powers providing ground troops for the war in Iraq.

Football is violent, but it is not aimless violence. Each individual collision is a tightly circumscribed competition that measures each man's heart, drive, intellect, skill and cunning. On both sides of the ball, strategy and counterstrategy - the multiplicity of options on a single play - contrive to create an intricate and sophisticated contest. Football is as cerebral as it is violent.

The only people who cannot comprehend football's sophistication are snobs who would like nothing better than to believe that these slashing wide receivers and great gridiron behemoths smashing into each other are dumber than they are. What a devastating ego shock to realize that the average college professor would be incapable mentally, as well as physically, to play successfully the modern game of football.

Why incapable? Because a working intellect under intense psychological pressure and physical exhaustion is an entirely different quality than a working intellect languishing in the library. Players must execute a sophisticated battle plan swiftly, decisively and flawlessly in extreme situations, while a similarly equipped and talented group of athletes is doing its best to stop them. Play after play, there is no room for error. In football, there is no time for still more "resolutions." The threat must be perceived and evaluated and the correct decision made now or the consequences could be ignominious defeat. The ethos of football and its prerequisite talents, attitudes and qualities are inculcated in abundance in America's military leaders.

While the football ethos is reflected in America's national spirit and her military, the Europeans draw from a distinctly different sports tradition; one developed on the playing fields of Paris and Potsdam, Boulogne and Berlin. The ethos of what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called "Old Europe" is exemplified in the game of soccer. Soccer is a beautiful and well-powdered sport, much like "diplomacy," bringing to mind men in top hats and striped pants walking herky-jerky, as in black-and-white silent newsreels. Soccer is French jeu d'esprit, and it is the sport of the United Nations.

Soccer rules are easily understood, and the sport is imbued with a comradely egalitarian aspect. Players run about. They wave their arms. Sometimes, they fall down. Sometimes, they can even be tripped, and it is in these moments that Europeans first learn to be either bad actors or diplomats; tumbling on the turf, clutching a "bruised" shin, then bounding up unhurt to take a free kick (or a post-war oil concession.) Soccer matches can and frequently do end in a tie. This abundance of scoreless ties leads one to suspect that for soccer players, as for U.N. diplomats, the goal is to stall until ultimately nothing is resolved, and no one can really be blamed. Tie-breaking "shootouts" in international play ought to be eliminated altogether, since an egalitarian draw of no winner, no loser, and no hurt feelings is a U.N. dream come true. The activity, in the end, is pointless. But fans will neither despair nor rejoice at the outcome; aficionados in smoky salons, sipping espresso, can debate endlessly who played the better game.

Is it any wonder that the Old European nations shrink from decisive action, taking only tentative, mincing steps, hoping they'll never have to fight for anything and unable to decide firmly whether there is anything at all worth fighting for? Consider also what American football is not. It is not about passing the buck, walking while others carry the load or debating until you are overcome by events. Nor is it about ennui, languor and the c'est la vie attitude.

Football is about character and courage, might and mettle, decisiveness, strength and stamina. It is about men who sacrifice, who dare great things and who are not afraid to win great victories. Hundreds of thousands of American boys and young men play football each year, forging a distinctly American character in the fire of competition. This character is reflected in the American military and its successes.

I am not the first to claim more from sport than might be deserved. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, supposedly credited his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo to his having been schooled on the "playing fields of Eton," his famous alma mater. So mightn't there be substance here? Perhaps. American football might not be the great secret of American foreign affairs success of the past 100 years, but it does capture much that is true about the United States and her mettle. And surely, it is one small part of why she is great.

Charity fund raiser
The last 12 days have been the most active of my recent social career. Saturday night was a fund raiser for my old High School and their band program. No, I wasn't in the band......back then you were a nerd if you were in the band. Not so anymore and the band program shows it. We have 300+ kids in the band. And I ruefully wish now, that I would have learned an instrument well enough to still be playing.

I started out in elementary school playing the drums, for about six months, until my Mother had had enough of that at home. She then suggested a much more sedate instrument, the flute. Really I was a natural at this, I apparently had the right genetic mouth and teeth alignment to pick up the this instrument readily. But alas, the Mother figure interceded again. After a year, I think she decided that this wasn't "manly" enough for me and might damage my self-esteem. Darn her......I was pretty good. So I moved on to the trombone for two years of junior high school, and was a mostly disinterested player, and where teenage social pressures made me give up on my muscial career. I did, however, teach myself to play the guitar later, at which I was moderately good.......and had the opportunity to play in front of 2000 people at my college musical festival [with back-up thank God].

The featured speaker at the gala charity event was our good friend Bruce Crandall who was portrayed by Greg Kinnear in the recent film We Were Soldiers. Shown above is Bruce with his lovely wife Arlene and Julie and me.

Slow Week...
It's been a slow week in the Blogworld. Bernard down in Geelong Australia has pictures of his good looking kids, James Lileks can't get the Gnat to sleep, Professor Bunyip had a hard time down in the Billabong with his in-laws visiting from prison and the NZ Pundit features a story about the 4 millionth New Zealander being born. Good Blog topics seem to be in short supply.

I think it's the let down, so to speak, after the military action in Iraq. The big news is over except for capturing a few of the scoundrels from the pack of 55. The anti-war crowd is, not surprisingly silent, providing little for us to rant and rave about in our Blogs, so we have turned back more to the mundane. In fact, this is quite alright with me. I have been busy with the mundane also.

First it was Easter with most of the surviving members of the Craig family in town. Nieces and nephews to entertain and to catch up on news of their lives, a brother and sister to visit with. A lavish meal for eleven to prepare and serve. And now Julie and I are on the benefit circuit. Tonight it was a silent auction for little Jack's school, this weekend a fund raiser for my high school. And, of course, Jack's baseball games and Spring yard work. And the news channels are no help in providing fodder for the blog. Fox News, has gone from great war coverage back, I'm afraid, to more of a tabloid oriented fare. I'm sorry, but I don't want to know every detail of the Laci Peterson murder case, and I'm not going to Blog about it.

So, come back soon. For the time being, I may have Jack's Junior Little League scores, he's much improved over last season. I like mundane sometimes.

POWs........
After watching CNN tonight, fawning over the recently released POW's, I have to add my own thoughts on the matter. I'm glad they are back home, I know they and their families went through some trying days, and things could have ended much more tragically. Again, thank God they are back home.

However, they are not heroes. They were put in the situation of being POW's by the luck of the draw and bad map reading on someone's part. Not that I don't know this can happen to the best of us in the military, but it was a mistake none the less. They were prisoners somewhere in the neighborhood of three weeks. I have met some of the POW's from Vietnam who were kept captive in brutal conditions for five, six, or seven years. Three weeks is not years. The darling of the media POW story, PFC. Lynch, was captive for only days, and was found hiding under a sheet. I'm glad she is back and will be OK, but she is not a hero.

Who are the heroes of the story? First the two or more brave Iraqi's who reported the location of the Americans. Secondly the Rangers and Special Operations soldiers who raided the compound where Lynch was being held.

Where are their stories?

Leno Laughter....
For those who don't stay up to late, here are a few Iraqi zingers from Leno.


Did you see the Iraqi people dancing in the streets today? It made me realize, you know what they need more than food and medicine? Dancing lessons. They don't know how to dance. They haven't danced in 30 years.

Tonight President Bush warned, don't be too gleeful, there are still pockets of resistance. Barbra Streisand, the Dixie Chicks, Susan Sarandon...

Reports are coming in now that Saddam Hussein has been spotted in central Baghdad. Parts of him were also spotted in northern Baghdad, western Baghdad and eastern Baghdad.

You know that story by now. The U.S. military bombed a restaurant where they thought Saddam Hussein was eating. Well, actually, the military heard it was either Saddam Hussein or Geraldo. So they figured either way they'd make their move.

They dropped four 2,000-pound bombs on the place. Actually, we may have killed two birds with one stone. It turns out it was also karaoke night.

We have now captured all of Saddam Hussein's palaces and residences; he has no place to live! If he thinks Bush was hard on him before, wait till Saddam sees how Republicans treat the homeless!

Some Iraqis are looting the presidential palaces, taking stationary, ashtrays, pillows, even a grand piano. Reporters say they haven't seen looting like this since Clinton's last days in the white house.

An open letter to Baghdad Bob.....
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf or may I call you Bob? I am as American as apple pie, I am an ex-American army officer, I was for this military action against the Iraqi regime.....and yet I have to say with all candor, that I miss you. I know that as a stooge of Saddam you were only doing your duty as you saw fit, producing some of the greatest lies mankind has ever produced, yet you did this with grace, honor and a sense of diginity not often seen in the media these days.

Steadfast in your duty, you were our daily warped inverse look at how the war was going. Your greatest whoppers told us that things were going well. While all the assorted scum around you ran for their lives, you were there for us, brightening our day with your merry good wit. While journalists of the world gave us innuendo, double talk and conjecture, there you stood, beret held high, telling us the complete truth as you saw it, made up on the spot. And we felt your pain, the pain of lying for murderers and criminals!

Bob, we the American people are a forgiving nation and I personally will hold no ill feeling, no grudge against you. You were not even included in the "death card" pack, a sign that the healing has begun already. We wish you well in your hiding place and hope that you can continue your remarkable career in other endeavors in the media. The opportunities are many. CNN needs professional liars. Hollywood celeberties need professional liars. The BBC needs professional spin men. Game shows need hosts adroit in their speech. I remember one of your pithy, inspiring quotes while speaking of the coalition forces, "Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" Bob, this is the spirit that made you great, don't let one little defeat keep you down. I hope to see you back on the air soon.

Baghdad Bob Fan Site

America finally wakes up....

The alarm clock, that's what we thought we heard on the 11th of September 2001 and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then.

The beginning.....

It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign US embassy set the stage for the events to follow for the next 23 years.

America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Viet Nam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then President Carter had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized / right sized since the end of the Viet Nam war. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.

Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued.

In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.

Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut. 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.

Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber.

The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gates of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.

Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe.......

In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid.

Then in August a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed and the Snooze Alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US soil is continually attacked.

Fifty-nine days later a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed.

The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259.

America wants to treat these terrorist acts as crimes; in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These are acts of war...the Wake Up alarm is louder and louder.

The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America.......

In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

The following month, February 1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war? The Snooze alarm is depressed again.

Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.

A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500.

The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively. They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These attacks were planned with precision; they kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.

The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.

And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we have chosen to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.

In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979. The President is right on when he says we are engaged in a war. I think we have been in a war for the past 23 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough.

America has to "Get out of Bed" and act decisively now. America has changed forever. We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. We cannot afford to hit the Snooze Button again and roll over and go back to sleep. We have to make the terrorists know that in the words of Admiral Yamamoto after the attack on Pearl Harbor "that all they have done is to awaken a sleeping giant."
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From a speech given by U.S. Navy Capt. Dan Ouimette Executive Officer of NAS, Pensacola.

Perhaps with the commitment to fight wherever necessary to destroy terrorism, we have finally gotten out of bed!

A bad rap for Gen. McCaffrey......
The gloating and "We told you so's" about the outcome of the effort in Iraq have already started. The pro-war BlogWorld [count me one] and some TeeVee news spots have zeroed in on anti-war groups, weasel countries, leftists and assorted naysayers of the principals and plans of the war. Many of these are dead on and the recepients are deserving of the reminders of how out of touch with reality they were. There were no mass floods of starving refugees, no hundred's of thousands of civilian casualties, no bombed baby hospitals, and mercifully our coalition casualties have been relatively light. And it appears now that the average Iraqi was indeed glad to see our military forces oust their tyrannt.

However, when I read these lists of the lame, it disturbs me to see the name of Gen. Barry McCaffrey listed with the Peter Arnett's, the human shields and the Not in My Name crowd as deserving of an "I told you so". Gen. McCaffrey is one of the nations most respected war fighters, a leader who led the 24th Division through the desert in Gulf War I, this after decades of good and true service. McCaffrey's name is brought up because he questioned, not the outcome of the war or it's purpose, but the military details in the plan of it's execution.

What needs to be said is that there were many professionals in the military who questioned the structure of the operation and the size of the force, and not just in the retired General Officer corps, but many of the same people who are at this very moment carrying out the plan. I have this on good authority from senior men and women I know who are wearing the uniform today and from correspondents who were covering the military before it became fashionable in the last several months. They questioned the plan not because they were negative defeatists or complainers, but because it is their job to make sure that our military does triumph. And to triumph on the battlefield one does not leave things to wishful thinking, to luck or to assumption, which is the feeling some of us had about the Iraqi war plan. Had the active duty questioners of the plan spoken up....yes they would have been out of line. Not so the retired officers who had a genuine concern and I think felt an obligation to lay the facts out as they saw them. Our military training says to use overwhelming force when you have it, not just enough to get by if all the assumptions work in our favor.

The last of the Vietnam era soldiery is leading the war in Iraq, and those of us of that period remember another self confident, don't question my plan Secretary of Defense named McNamara, a guy who had all the facts and data figured out. Everything but the most important. An enemy who didn't fight the way he had planned and who didn't give up even when slaughtered by the tens of thousands. Don't worry he said, the data is on our side, we have a plan.

I'm sure that Gen. McCaffrey will be the first to say that he is glad to see some of his estimates and worries did not come true.....yet. But for one, I'm glad we have this type of honesty at the highest level of the military. Or perhaps you would rather take the overly optimistic word of the paid "expert" ex-army captain with eight years service on Fox News? I'd rather have Gen. McCaffrey's opinion, thank you, and be glad luck was with us this time.

Mr. Badman Hussein, I hit you with my shoe!

BBC Report....
One has to be very careful these days when listening to the media, and even more so when talking to the media. Thus it was last week when we hosted the BBC crew in our home in Midland, Texas. In my BlogWorld the BBC has the rap of being on the liberal side of things, which I generally believe to be true. Opinions of other Bloggers aside, I've just read too many BBC online articles that ignore the facts or slant them to the left.

Having said this, our Midland Texas online article came out today. The article is dead on with our comments without slant or innuendo. I couldn't be more pleased, as I personally liked the two reporters, Matthew Wells and Kevin Anderson, very much. We had a great time showing them our world, and it is nice to see our comments stated with veracity and without sly hints that we might some hidden agenda. I cannot say whether Kevin and Matt agree with all or any of our principles or our comments; they are good reporters, they didn't let their personal views get in the way of their reporting on how we perceive the world. We were truthful in our thoughts to them, and they were truthful in their reporting.

Once again I learn the lesson that, "contempt prior to investigation" is a trap that is all too easy to fall into and one that can lead to a closed mind. Thanks Matt and Kevin, and I hope our paths cross again.
BBC Midland Texas Article

Gen. Ali Hassan al-Majeed

The Minister of Information, People's Republic of Iraq announces with deep regret the untimely demise of Gen. Ali Hassan al-Majeed. Ali died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes related to recurring heart problems. Because of his tireless work in humanitarian assistance, the Iraqi people affectionately knew Ali as "Chemical Ali".

He will be deeply missed by his many friends, supporters and relatives, among them his beloved cousin Saddam. Speaking on behalf of the family his nephew LeRoy Hussein said, "Uncle Ali had a deep and abiding interest in helping mankind thru chemistry. I remember from the youngest age, when Ali got his first "My Lil' Scientist" chemistry set he would always push his experiments to the limit...and he could make the best "Stink Bombs" with only his limited knowledge".

Many friends and close observers had noted that recently Ali had not been looking well, with many of his facial features running with pus laden sores and blister like scabs. The Minister of Information noted that these symptons are common in patients with advanced heart disease.

BBC Oil Field Interview

In the field with the BBC
In the oil field that is. My second day with the BBC film crew allowed me, and partner Del Sloan [above], to give reporters Matt and Kevin a basic primer in the oil business, a tour that they had requested. We ate breakfast at JoJo's Cafe, a good ol' bubba kind of place where Matt was not to impressed with the grits, but Kevin loved the Huevos Rancheros. With their complimentary hard hats in hand and a warning about the dangers of hydrogen sulfide gas, we set off on a world of discovery for them.

We visited pulling units and pumping units, saw a frac job in progress and visited an oil gathering system. We spoke of how, we as lovers of the environment, are fastidious about cleaniness and how if we weren't the State of Texas is, and the amount of fines involved in errant pollution. We talked of the costs involved in drilling one well, a well that usually has a 1 in 5 chance of being really commercially viable. We talked of the geology of the region that is an ancient seabed, a region that produces 20% of all the oil and gas in the continental U.S. Being the digital guy, I explained to Kevin, the BBC digital guy, the slick solar powered metering systems we have, which allow us to see on our office computers what's happening at each well on an instantaneous basis. I think he was impressed.

I believe that Matt and Kevin came away with a new understanding of where the gasoline for their Austin Mini-Coopers comes from, and that being in the oil business is not necessarily evil, is not a ticket to instant riches and that there are many hard working average people involved. But most of all, Del and I and these two BBC guys just had a good time driving around West Texas being guys from different cultures explaining our points of view and discovering that even living an ocean away, we are still pretty much the same. A good sign for humanity.

BBC crew at my Blog station

Blogging with the BBC
The BBC has had a radio, television and online media crew traveling the US talking to the citizens of the Blogosphere, taking the measure of the common folks thoughts about the war and current events. Today they were in my home, thanks to a referral from Jessica' Well. Julie and I were pleased to have them, if not somewhat apprehensive due to the liberal reputation that they have garnered.
They were interested in speaking with us in Midland, Texas as we are the hometown to two people figuring prominently in world events today.....our President George W. Bush and our commander in Iraq, Gen. Tommy Franks. When I spoke to reporter Matt, on the phone earlier in the week, I thought that he would be awed by my grasp of events both political and military and I would be the star of the show. However, when I told him that Julie had once worked directly for George W., my time in the limelight faded quickly.

We did interviews with Matt and Kevin for both TV and radio consumption, and to be put into text online very soon. Although we both were cautious about our comments, especially Julie's personal thoughts on rememberances of the President, we found Matt and Kevin to be very likeable, asking pertinent questions while seeming to be truly interested in our thoughts without any noticeable traps or leading questions. I hope the final product reflects that.

A Fishing Break
Streams commentary has been on a needed break these last days. I've been fishing. I have just returned from the big annual fishin' trip with fraternity brothers, a trip that has been made now for the last 28 years without fail. Not that I've been to every one of those, but I try. There is something about the continuity and being with guys that you've known since you were 17 years old that is comforting. If you are guessing, I've known this group for 36 years now. We've all been through good times and bad. Divorces, addictions, health problems, richer and poorer, but the fishing group survives.

I welcomed the break after a week and a half of continuous war news. At the Greenwood Ranch, there is no television and no cell phone service. So we had to resort to something that modern men don't get enough of.....long periods of conversation with real time to contemplate what is being said including enough time for silent reflection in between. Having lived in Dallas for a good portion of my post army adult life, I also get to catch up on what's happening in that big city and to find out that after being gone for 12 years, really it's still pretty much the same without me. I learn that many of my old friends are in the same jobs and careers, eating at the same restaurants and that the traffic is now even worse than in my days there. I try and explain that it takes me five minutes to get to work, I come home for lunch and that I can be on an airplane thirty minutes after leaving the house. I am met with those looks that say I'm making this up to justify my life in a smaller city. I am not. I love my life here, but I sure do love seeing those old familiar faces once a year.

Europe reacts.....
French President Jacques Ch-Iraq, in anticipating an anglo coalition victory in Iraq, is vowing that the U.S. and the U.K. will not have a leading role in the reconstruction of the country. Jacques is tres irate. Insiders say that if the US and it's allies persist in thwarting his efforts he will consider military action. He has made secret plans to call up his elite troops including Le Brigade d' Ballet, the Coq d' Vin Corps and the Royal Grenadiers d' Frommage. He is quoted as saying, "If the US and UK are itching for a fight, we'll give it to them.....just let them try and get through the Maginot Line!".

And in Germany the alert citizenary are starting to boycott American goods. Notably mentioned in the boycott are Budweiser, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Marlboro products. And so, in another gift to the Germans from America we just might turn these chain smoking, pale, flabby, beer guzzling Aryan smarms into healthy people!

And from Dave Barry, an example of the trouble with the Germans

Patience...
Today is Monday. It was one week ago tonight that President Bush drew the line in the sand for Saddam..."you have 48 hours to vacate the premises or else". It was another two days before hostilities began with a shot to the Tyrannts embunkered backside. Five days since the war began. And already the plethora of talking heads are asking "what's taking so long?" Sunday was described as a "day of setbacks". The stock market is down 300 points today because "traders are nevrous" that this could be a long struggle....perhaps months.

It would be easy to simply blame naive talking heads or nervous traders....but these mirror, in some sense, the general public. A youngish general public who relate a war with our high tech gear to playing video games resolved in an hour, and whose memory of a "real war" was Gulf War I. Neither of these have any resemblence to the present situation.

Let me shed some perspective from my days when I was in the "young public" category. 1965 was the year of the first real combat for American forces in Vietnam. I was a sophomore in high school. I watched [a misnomer...in those days we read] the events in Vietnam fthrough two more years of high school. I continued to read and watch through four years of college. In 1971 I became a member of the "Green Machine" and the war was still going on. Although the American combat phase was for the most part over and done by 1972, the US was still involved until 1975. That is ten years of war dispatches, news coverage, killed in action reports, demonstrations and heart felt grief.

In Vietnam we lost over 58,000 brave young Americans, the preponderance between the years 1965-1970. In rough averages that is 10,000 young American lives each and every year. Again in rough averages approximately 30 human lives each and every day, with perhaps three times that number wounded, and some percentage captured, tortured and executed by enemy forces. Every day for fiive years.

In those days most of us got the details of the day old news through newspapers and then the dreadful, Evening News, which would cram the days events into 30 minutes of video bites with short commentary in summation. It became a way of life for years. The deaths in ones, two's or three's did not even make the newspapers unless the death had a connection to your hometown. Deaths in large numbers took up a 2 minute segment on the TV news, and then on to other events.

I'll have to be honest and say that as an ex professional soldier, I am as transfixed by the continuous news flow of today as the general "general public". The wild rides through the desert with the good ol' 7th Cav, the images of the attack helo's pummeling the bad guys, the massive precision bomb strikes. It's not all a bad thing for people in our protected society to see the competance of our forces and to face the reality that war does mean death and destruction, both for "us" and "them". Seeing this makes us feel like we are right there. The problem is that 95% of our population is not right there, really. We are sitting comfortably at home just as if we've watching the next Ultimate Reality Game Show. We can turn the action off and go eat a pizza in our cozy beds. Our guys and girls in Iraq can't.

We at home can nitpick ourselves to distraction with the details, while missing the big picture. We are attacking all the way across an enemy country. In five days we have gone hundreds of miles across his own defended home terrain with minimal casualities. We are closing in on his capital and his leader may be dead or injured. I can tell you that from a military standpoint, this is miraculous. But there are rough days ahead, perhaps with more dead and wounded than we have seen since the worst days of Vietnam. We must keep our eyes on the prize, because the outcome will be decided in our favor.

The hard facts....
"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell."
Gen. William Tecumsah Sherman


Refugees flood in....
Just as predicted by the anti-war demonstrators, a virtual tidal wave of refugees have flooded into Syria by the tens of thousands. NO wait, make that 14 refugees. Another big disappointment for the "antis".

Eternal French Optimism....
In a bold statement, the economic minister of France, Frances Mer, thinks that the backlash against his country is over.

"In the last year, or rather in the last six months, I think the Iraqi events have already created negative consequences that France regrets now," Francis Mer told LCI television and RTL radio. "I'm not saying that to deny the intensity of the Iraqi problems, but the main part of the negative consequences from the Iraqi crisis is behind us," he said.

Think again Frog Face.... as we will no doubt discover more examples of French duplicity in Iraq.

War heating up....
Fox News has reported tonight that the Iraqi defense minister has said that, and they quote, "President Bush and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, ought to be hit with a shoe".
And here the anti-war activists thought that there were no grounds for this military action.

From Kosovo....
By Bajram Rexhepi, prime minister of the coalition government of Kosovo.
From The Washington Post.

March 20, 2003

There are moments in history when the world is confronted with an age-old question: Do you stand united in the face of evil, or do you close your eyes and hope for the best?

A cruel and cowardly dictator used his military and security forces to brutalize civilians. He flouted every international convention and norm relating to the protection of human life and liberty. He played on the good intentions and patience of the international community to buy time while his reign of terror prevailed across the land. He played the international community for fools.

We in Kosovo know something about facing evil, because that dictator was Slobodan Milosevic, and we were his victims.

For 10 years, our people faced the brutality of his police state. Villages were burned, women and children were killed, and all the while the dictator was given one chance after another by the international community to reform his ways. While they talked, our villages burned.

The UN Security Council could not agree on what to do. But our voice was heard, and under the leadership of the United States, a coalition of the forces of freedom confronted the dictator with an ultimatum. This coalition acted with the courage of its convictions, backed up by the promise of the use of force in the defense of human rights. In our hour of need, the United States, Britain and the rest of the coalition took on the dictator and liberated a nation.

We Kosovars know firsthand that peace is not simply the absence of war. Dictators will use the goodwill of the international community to buy time while they continue to crush the people under their control. Wherever men are denied freedom, there is a threat to peace. Whenever we leave them in bondage, there is a threat to our own dignity. Whenever we fail to act in the face of evil, a shadow is cast across the future of humanity.

Today the world is faced with the age-old question: Do we stand united in the face of evil, or do we close our eyes and hope for the best? We Kosovars stand with the forces of freedom. We know that when confronting evil, there is no compromise.

And so, in the coming conflict with Saddam Hussein, we stand with you, America. We are here to tell you that your sacrifices for the cause of human freedom are remembered. We are here to bear witness to the fact that the day of the dictator is over - and that peace can be ensured only when all are free.

War Chronicle Tidbits......

Thank you to CNN for this detailed and graphic picture of the battle as it is shaping up! Note: we are winning, notice blue line is longer than red line.

Here's......Hans:
In a very short but very interesting interview on ABC news with Hans Blix, he gave his personal thoughts on Iraq. When asked whether Iraq had WMD, Dr. Blix said, "well we didn't find any, but undoubtedly they do". About his personal relationship with Saddam, Blix, chuckled and said, "Well I never met the man, he thinks that he is the Emporer of Mesopotamia and would not deign to talk to someone as lowly as me".

Dan Rather:
It is now being reported that U.S. Marines have crossed from Kuwait into Iraq, somewhere near the Iraqi border.
Huh, how's that Dan?

Reporter to SecDef Rumsfeld:
Sir, now that the scheduled plans for the start of the war have changed, is this upsetting things?
SecDef Rumsfeld:
Well, I don't really believe we made you a party to the plans have we? Next question.

Wings over Baghdad.....
8:35 local time and it's on. No sane person wishes war, but in this day and time no sane person can allow an insane tyrannt to flaunt international law, persecute his own people and build weapons of mass death. God Bless our Troops. And as my old commanders taught me years ago.....this is war give 'em everything you have.

Into action.....
Tonight, undoubtedly some action will begin in the long overdue military action against the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. My prayers are with the young men and women who will be asked to put their lives at risk. Here is my conjectured chronology of events.

Week 1: The bombardment will be unparalleled and by the end of the first week coalition forces will control 80% of the Northern and Southern regions of Iraq. Many large Iraqi units will surrender outright and will be found to be virtually combat ineffective, having plenty of ammuniton but no food. Chemical weapons will be used, but Uday will misjudge the wind direction wiping out his own Republican Guard. Hans Blix will say that he would have found these, eventually. The United Nations will put forth Resolution 1550 asking that inspections be given more time.

Week 2: 90% of Iraq will be in coalition hands, and special operations units will be immersed in Baghdad. Saddam is on the run seeking to return to his hometown of Tikrit, which doesn't exist anymore. Huge stores of chemical and biological weapons are discovered, all in packaging labeled, "Made in France". The UN discusses Resolution 1557, which asks for negotiations in order to avert war. France vetoes Resolution 1600 which hasn't been presented yet.

Week 3: Baghdad is effectively occupied. Saddam is spotted at a pay phone at the Saddam-11 convenience store and the chase is on! First he motors down Saddam Rd., taking a left on Saddam Dr. then a sharp right on Saddam Blvd. and quickly onto the Saddam Expressway over Saddam Creek trying to reach the Saddam International Airport. He is finally captured while trying to disguise himself as one of the 25,000 Saddam statues in the city. He claims he is a Saddam double. France enters the frey sending it's elite Mess Hall Unit, the Legion d'Escargot.

Week 4: Hostilites come to an end with the United Nations declaring a great victory. Kofi Annan says, "I knew that war was the answer, madmen like Saddam are never dissuaded by such things as negotiations or inspections". Hollywood actor Martin Sheen urges the Iraqis to fight on to prove that war is not the answer. On the home front, protestors urge President Bush to declare war on North Korea, they already have their "No Blood for Kim Chee" banners ready.

True friends and mates....
An old adage but eternal......you find out who your true friends are when times are tough and crisis looms. One of the truest friends and allies the United States has is Australia. Their Prime Minister, John Howard, has put up with double rations of crap from some of his constituents who see appeasement of dictators as the way to lasting peace, but PM Howard has stayed the course and is sending young Aussies to help in the cause of freedom. If you appreciate this as much as I do, please drop Mr. Howard an email note thru the following link:
G'day and Thanks Mr. Howard.

Oh Canada.......
I wish I was including a link sending thanks to the Canadian PM here also. If Australia is our close first cousin in the world, then Canada is our brother. Even though I live only 150 miles from Mexico, I still consider Canada our "real" neighbor. We are cut from the same cloth, our histories are parallel, our natural habitat generally similar and our love of personal freedoms paramount. There are many Canadian expatriates living in my oil field oriented home town and they are great folks. Obviously not all the world supports or likes the US, especially at this moment, but I thought we could count on Canada for support, if not in troops, at least in moral backing. Apparently I was wrong. Not that I will hold this against the majority of Canadian people, after all they are now under the thumb of a Francophile in Ottawa, but the electorate did speak in that decision.

But here is a thought for Canadians. We in the US have learned much in the last two years about who we are fighting and why. Have you? By offering up the apparent high moral ground of peace by appeasement you are only delaying the inevitable and buying time for yourselves. Read this carefully: The people we are fighting don't like you either! In their eyes, you are a rich, decadent, immoral and generally Christian country just like the US.
Read this again: They don't like you either.....!!

Wrath of the Vikings.....
And a very special unexpected thanks to Denmark for standing tall in the fight against tyranny. Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has decided to send a submarine, the Saelen, a corvette, the Olfert Fischer and a corps of elite soldiers into any conflict with Iraq. "The time has come to take a stance," Rasmussen said, in a statement released after US President George W Bush gave Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein until Thursday to leave the country or face war. [from Tim Blair]

Late Breaking News...!
In what may be the story of the century it has been announced that Saddam Defies U.S. Demand to Leave Iraq. This is stunning news! Saddam defies someone, what next? In a show of their massive support 5,000 people rallied around Saddam. 5,000? After millions protested in support of Saddam around the free world, the best these people can do is 5,000? Can this be telling?

Vacate the premises......
My official warning to Mr. Saddam Hussein:

We are not the United Nations.......we mean this. We really, really, mean this!

Chicken dinner cancelled...
Well apparently the offer by Saddam of further inspections and a free chicken dinner did not pass muster with the Azore's conventioneers. The gauntlet is now thrown down, though who threw it is up for debate. Saddam by refusing to stop lying, or the Western Powers [minus] who have said "enough is enough" no more negotiating stunts, it's time to "lock and load" and rock n' roll.

Looking in hind sight on the last six months there are two things that strike me. I have felt for some time that if GWB had been a little less bellicose in public but instead had made the diplomatic circuit on the QT drumming up support from the doubters and undecideds, he would have come out in a better spot today. As one of my favorite Presidents, Teddy Roosevelt, said, "Talk softly but carry a big stick". Not that they would have all joined....hardly, but it might have cut down on much of the negative chatter from the ignorant.

Secondly, had the main body of weasels, Germany, France and Russia, put forth a solid front with the coalition of the free, perhaps Saddam might have been much more inclined to give the game up and retire to Corsica or some other vacation spot. But with three of his long time economic sponsors pledging peace at any cost, in additon to the peace marches by the naive and ignorant, he felt that once again he could worm his way out of a tight spot. Now because of the Weasels and peace marchers giving heart to Saddam, war is quite inevitable.

Of Course, this is all hindsight and speculation. But while I'm in that mode, my observation on how hostilities may begin. As of this writing the administration is deciding whether or not to give Saddam a deadline, 72 hours, to comply. Whether this limitation is set or not, is really unimportant. Saddam thinks, one way or the other he as 72 hours. And his experience in Desert Storm I was that immediately after the deadline passes, the bombs start to fall. I would let him think just that and perhaps carry out a few heavy sorties around the country every night to make him wonder, "is this it?" But the moon is full now, not a good environment for our night fighting armies and air forces. So make him keep his troops on high alert for weeks, and then deliver the main thrust. Nothing wears troops in defensive postions out quicker than being on alert for weeks on end.

There are two military geniuses from Midland, Texas.....myself and Gen. Tommy Franks and Tommy has the reins so I'll leave the details to him. He is up to the job!

Come for Sunday dinner.....
In a surprising new development, Saddam Hussein has invited UN inspectors back to look around one more time and then come for a chicken dinner at one of his 400 palaces [to be decided later]. At U.N. headquarters in New York, Chief Inspector Hans Blix said he would study the invitation and discuss it with the council. Asked if the Iraqi invitation was a stunt, he told CNN,"I certainly wouldn't call it a stunt, Saddam has never been known to pull stunts. ... I think that they will actually serve chicken, but we will of course inspect it also".

Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Saddam's science adviser, Lt. Gen. Amer al-Saadi - the point man on disarmament - had invited the two chief inspectors to come to Baghdad at the "earliest suitable date to discuss means to speed up joint cooperation, but please not for another week, as we are still moving some items". Amer al-Saadi pledged to take inspectors to all locations where chemical and biological labs had been to show them that they are no longer there.

In another bid to show cooperation, Iraqi authorities gave inspectors the names of 183 more scientists involved in Iraqi chemical weapons programs, U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki said Saturday.These, of course, were due five months ago and Iraqi officials denied ever having kept names from the UN, but chief inspector Blix hailed this move as a show of real cooperation.

In Saddam's hometown, Tikrit, thousands of people including Baath Party officers armed with Kalashnikovs and men in Arab dress, carried portraits of the Iraqi leader and chanted "We love Saddam," as they filed past a local dignitaries in a reviewing stand. We seek one of two things: victory or martyrdom," said one demonstrator, Abdullah Rasheed al-Haza'a. To show their willingness to negotiate even at this late date, US officials pledged assistance in the martyrdom.

Why did the Chick cross the road?......
The Dixie Chicken's singer Natalie Mange is now singing a different tune. In a case of what came first, the Chick or the egg, Natalie has appologized for her recent statement in which she said that she was sorry that President Bush is from Texas.

The Chick, apparently being of a lower mental caliber, didn't realize that statements made in Europe could be transmitted back to the US. Realizing that she now has to come back to America, and presumably her home in Texas, Natalie wished to rephrase her statement. She indicated that what she really meant to say was, "I love George W. Bush, worked on his campaign, and would be his love slave if he weren't an honorably married man. And I just want my Texas fans to know that I have purchased an AR-15 rifle and 300 rounds of .223 ball ammunition and have offered to go to Iraq and pick off a few human shields". The fact that almost every radio station in Texas has been bombarded with hate mail against the Chicks was also viewed as a factor in this latest statement.

This is a nice attempt Natalie, but the egg is out of the cartoon, the true nature of your feelings is exposed. Perhaps you and the other Nitwits of Fame will heed a proverb that I learned long ago........."Never miss a good chance to shut up!"

Don't leave the light on...
In a move that was not unexpected, the French hotel chain Sofitel surrendered it's Manhattan hotel today. The French tricolor was lowered and was quickly replaced on the flagstaff with the Stars and Stripes. Sofitel chairman Paul Charoy, by all accounts a Frenchman, said, "This is not a political consideration, the move is temporary and we just wanted to be safe." Of course the French are well known for switching sides temporarily and putting their own safety above political considerations, morals and world wide responsibility.

For you traveling budget minded Gaelic Boycotters, Sofitel is owned by Accor, whose units include U.S. motel chains Red Roof Inn and Motel 6. So tell them not to worry about leaving the light on for you, you'll be down the road at the Holiday Inn where the flag of the United States flies proudly all the time.

TeeVee Land.....
Tonight, world events were put on hold for the extravaganza presentation of the First Annual TV Land Awards. Oh what memories of happy times! It was good to see all the stars of years gone by in this gala event. Some impressions.

*Sally Struthers is just about as big around as she is tall. When did this happen? The last time I saw her raising money for starving waifs, she looked like one of them herself. She must have raised a lot of money....and bought her own food supply.

*Rob Reiner is still a Meathead. Parodying Michael Stivic, he had to sing a little anti-war song. Where's Archie when we needed him?

*Lee Majors, the 6 Million Dollar Man, now looks like about a dollar and change. I wouldn't have recognized him, looking this very old. But, receiving the Super Hero Award he countered the Meathead by offering a tribute "to the real heroes, our Armed Forces". Way to go 6 Million!

*Barbara Eden at whatever age.....still looks like a babe to me. I Dream of Jeannie!

*Best award: Don Knotts as the "Best Sidekick". It's strange seeing him so old, when every night at 9:00 pm. he's a young Barney.

* It was good to see many of the Star Trek crew back together! By the looks of them, William Shatner seems like he could pop at any minute and if Scottie survives another week we'll be lucky. And I thought he was so young.

* Agent 99, Barbara Feldon, is a really classy chick.

*David Cassidy, aka Keith Partridge, has grown up to look exactly like his dad, actor Jack Cassidy.

*Oh my God, even Larry Matthews, little Richie Petrie, is an old guy now. Where has time gone?

*Shocking: Leave it to Beaver was virtually ignored, though June Cleaver, Barbara Billingsley did make a guest appearance. Where are awards for Lumpy, Eddie and Larry Mondelo?

*And in the big surprise of the evening, Carl Reiner announced that he is writing one final episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show for the remaining original cast, Sally Rogers, Richie, Dick and Laura! Tune in to TeeVee Land.

Axis of almost evil....
I saw this item today posted on Sgt. Stryker's website and they credit the original to Andrew Marlatt, of SatireWire, so I'll take their word for it. In any event it's just too good not to pass on.
-------------------------------------

Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil," Libya, China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil," which they said would be more evil than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address. Axis of Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil...in their dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're the best evils... best at being evil...we're the best."

Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil.

"They told us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "An Axis can't have more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and Japan in the evil Axis. So, you can only have three, and a secret handshake. Ours is wickedly cool."

International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as within minutes, France surrendered. Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs. Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the "Axis of Somewhat Evil," forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the "Axis of Occasionally Evil," while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the "Axis of Not So Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable."

With the criteria suddenly expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up...Sierra Leone, El Salvador, and Rwanda applied to be called the "Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host he Olympics."

Canada, Mexico, and Australia formed the "Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But Secretly Have Some Nasty Thoughts About America," while Scotland, New Zealand and Spain established the "Axis of Countries That Be Allowed to Ask Sheep to Wear Lipstick." "That's not a threat, really, just something we like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.

While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axis, although he rejected the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay," accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.

Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately, world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.

No Blood for Cash...
With a variety of talk floating around about just what interest the UN Security Council naysayers have in Iraq, I thought you would like to see some of the facts submitted by alert reader Joe Hannon. The information is from the conservative Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at The Heritage Foundation, so factor that in...but facts is facts.

WHO BENEFITS FROM KEEPING SADDAM IN POWER?

FRANCE
• According to the CIA World Factbook, France controls over 22.5 percent of Iraq’s imports. French total trade with Iraq under the oil-for food program is the third largest, totaling $3.1 billion since 1996, according to the United Nations.
• Roughly 60 French companies do an estimated $1.5 billion in trade with Baghdad annually under the UN oil-for-food program.
• Total Fina Elf, France’s largest oil company, has negotiated a deal to develop the Majnoon field in Western Iraq. The Majnoon field purportedly contains up to 30 billion barrels of oil.
• Total Fina Elf also negotiated a deal for future oil exploration in Iraq’s Nahr Umar field. Both the Majnoon and Nahr Umar fields are estimated to contain as much as 25 percent of the country’s reserves.
• From 1981 to 2001, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), France was responsible for over 13 percent of Iraq’s arms imports.

GERMANY
• Direct two-way trade between Germany and Iraq amounts to about $350 million annually, and another $1 billion is reportedly sold through third parties/countries.
• It has recently been reported that Saddam Hussein has ordered Iraqi domestic businesses to show preference to German companies as a reward for Germany’s “firm positive stand in rejecting the launching of a military attack against Iraq.” It was also reported that over 101 German companies were present at the Baghdad Annual exposition.
• During the 35th Annual Baghdad International Fair in November 2002, a German company signed a contract for $80 million for 5,000 cars and spare parts.
• German officials are investigating a German corporation accused of illegally channeling weapons to Iraq via Jordan. The equipment in question is used for boring the barrels of large cannons, and is allegedly intended for Saddam Hussein’s Al Fao Supercannon project.

RUSSIA
• According to the CIA World Factbook, Russia controls roughly 5.8 percent of Iraq’s annual imports. Under the UN oil-for-food program, Russia’s total trade with Iraq totaled somewhere between $530 million and $1 billion for the six months ending in December of 2001.
• According to the Russia’s Ambassador to Iraq, Vladimir Titorenko, new contracts worth another $200 million under the UN oil-for-food
program are to be signed over the next 3 months.
• Soviet-era debt of $7 billion through $8 billion was generated by arms sales to Iraq during the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq war. (February 28, 2003 Fact Sheet No. 1.)
• Russia’s LUKoil negotiated a $4 billion, 23-year contract in 1997 to rehabilitate the 15 billion–barrel West Qurna field in Southern Iraq. Work on the oil field was expected to commence upon cancellation of UN sanctions on Iraq. The deal is currently on hold.
• Russia’s Slavneft company is believed to have signed a deal around October 2001 with Iraq for a $52 million service contract to drill at the Tuba field in Southern Iraq.
• In October 2001, Slavneft, a Russian–Belaruscompany, negotiated a $52 million service contract or the Suba–Luhais field in southern Iraq. The oilfield is believed to hold at least 2 billion barrels. The contract is pending approval from the UN for additional drilling at the Luhais field.
• In April 2001, Russia’s Zaruezhneft company received a service contract to drill in the Saddam, Kirkuk, and Bai Hassan fields to rehabilitate the fields and reduce water incursion.
• A future $40 billion Iraqi–Russian economic agreement, reportedly signed in 2002, would allow for extensive oil exploration opportunities throughout western Iraq.
• Russia’s Gazprom company over the last few years has signed contracts worth $18 million to repair gas stations in Iraq. (Houston Chronicle).
• The former Soviet Union was the premier supplier of Iraqi arms. From 1981 to 2001 Russia has supplied Iraq with 50 percent of its arms.

CHINA
• According to the CIA World Factbook, China controls roughly 5.8 percent of Iraq’s annual imports.
• China National Oil Company has negotiated a deal for future oil exploration in the Al Ahdab field in Iraq. Total estimate of the contract is unknown.
• In recent years, the Chinese Aero-Technology Import–Export Company (CATIC) has been contracted to sell “meteorological satellite” and “surface observation” equipment to Iraq. This contract was approved by the UN oil-for-food program.
• CATIC also won approval from the UN in July 2000 to sell $2 million worth of fiber optic cables. This and similar contracts approved were disguised as telecommunications gear. These cables can be used for secure data and communications links between national command and control centers and long-range search radar, targeting radar, and missile-launch units, according to U.S. officials. In addition, China National Electric Wire & Cable and China National Technical Import Telecommunications Equipment Company are believed to have sold Iraq $6,104,000 and $15.5 million worth of communications equipment and other unspecified supplies, respectively.
• According to a report from SIPRI, from 1981 to 2001, China was the second largest supplier of weapons and arms to Iraq, supplying over 18 percent of Iraq’s weapon’s imports.

God Speed..!
I received the email below from Tim Millar today, a friend from the Ia Drang Vietnam, We Were Soldiers, bunch with whom I am connected. The email is from a friend of his, Linda, a Senior Flight Attendant with American Airlines who volunteered to work troop shuttle flights to the Middle East. Her idea is to line the inside of the aircraft with printed emails of support for our young men and women who may soon be in harms way. What won’t fit on the walls will be passed around so that every soldier on that plane will know that we are all behind them 100%. Hope you can help........!
-----------------------------------------

"I am one of thousands of volunteers who are working military charters to fly our troops over to the Middle East. On my last trip the one thing that stood out to me is how important it is for our troops to know that we care. Protests are making a big splash in the media and that's what they are leaving home with. Regardless of our position on war itself, I believe it is important to thank all these men and women who are putting their lives on hold and heading for the dangers on the tip of the spear.

I would like to collect as much e-mail as possible to print out and take with me on the next trip and display them on our aircraft walls for the troops to read. I know it would be so uplifting for them. Veterans, parents with children, teachers with students -- anyone who wants to express their support for our men and women, please send your e-mails to drkbay@charter.net".

Thank you one and all,
Linda

World Bites....
President Bush has imposed sanctions against the leadership of the anti-white Mugabe government in Zimbabwe and immediately they fire off the ulitimate and predicted "racist" charge against the US. The same US that feeds half of impoverished black Africa....and recently announced a 1.5 billion dollar AIDs package aimed at Africa including.......Zimbabwe.

And almost forgotten Chelsea Clinton gets a six figure job right out of college....as a consultant. Sources say the job offer was based strictly on merit and not on her looks or connections. In a note of wonderment, I've always pondered how anyone coming straight out of college can be a consultant on anything?

In business news the US economy could be permanently crippled....Broadway Musicians are on Strike. This is a vital sector of the US GNP affecting possiby .00000003% of the population. The French have urged Bush not to launch strikes and are sending violins. But thanks to "virtual music" the strike did not affect plays, and such productions as "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "Take Me Out" and "Vincent in Brixton". I suppose this is good news, but it beats me, having never heard of any of these. My "broadway" exposure is limited to a high school production of Les Miserables I saw just last week. We had live musicians.

In very troubling news close to home, the Alamo is under seige by termites! The UN has urged restraint in handling the situation and wants to give Terminex inspections time to work. The termites are reportedly a virulent Mexican strain.

And in the most astounding development on the digital scene......the Blogger Template server is now working......... weeks after they announced that they had installed new miracle hardware that would prevent any further problems!

Tidbits....
Nothing says "no war, peace in the Middle East" like protesters ransacking and looting the store of a Middle Easterner...
Peace Protestors Riot

Nine years...
It was nine years ago today that I gave up alcohol. That's a long time between cold beers. I didn't give it up easily or without a fight. That's the way addictions are. You go down swinging. And far down I had gone. From losing almost everything I owned and everything I was to almost losing my life, I had sacrificed everything for the next drink. It now seems completely crazy that a high achieving, positive personality, well educated individual could have come to that point. And it is insane but that's what unchecked chemical addictions will do...to anyone no matter his personal strength, character or best of intentions.

The entire story, like most, is a long one and you won't be bored with it here. But suffice it to say that I lived five or so years of sheer hell and that AA saved my life along with the help of friends and family. Not only saved it but embued in me an entirely different outlook on life based on gratitude for things both big and small. And not that this came easily either. Through those years of selfishness I had imagined that I could solve my problems alone and by my force of will. So I drove just about every human who offered help away. At some times the only true friend I had was my golden retreiver "Ranger". In no small way he helped save my life, giving me that one small spark to continue on so I could take care of him. Thus the name of my website Big Gold Dog.

AA is more well known and accepted today than in earlier times. Society has come to grips with the notion that addictions are a sad fact of life, and it is rare that any family today is not touched by them in some fashion. But AA is still somewhat misunderstood. As we say, it is not a program of promotion, but one of attraction. It is not about or against drinking or alcohol, it is about finding a way to live life on life's terms without alcohol or drugs for me or anyone else attracted to that notion. It is not about fighting the battle everyday, it is about giving up the battle entirely. Once I truly surrendered to the fact that I had lost control over alcohol the battle was over. I can honestly say that the hell I lived through was in most ways worth it. I see things as I did not before.

And finally a word of thanks and gratitude to all those who stuck with me during those dark ugly years and those who came later who gave me the opportunity to live a new life. This Pepsi's for you!

Not my Daddy's Army any more......
In a "slap in yo face!" for future blonde jokes and a kick in the butt for the Islamonazi's I hope that you will take a long look at this proud photo and then come back to read....the rest of the story.

Ok, a great picture.....and these proud Americans are a first. The first all female crew to man [no pun intended, it's just a word] a KC-135 aircraft in a combat zone. The women are: Clockwise from lower left) 1stLt Alison, Capts Heather and Waynetta, and Senior Airman Lyndi [Last names withheld for operational security.] of the 376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron of Robins Air Force Base, Ga. The story in the press release reads.
--------------------------

......."They have been deployed here since Dec 9. Once inside the tanker, the women began their pre-flight and take-off duties with an ease borne of plenty of experience and skill. Most of them have deployed before, to places like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iceland and Thailand.

Between the four of them, they total almost 4,000 flying hours in the KC-135. The flight path to Afghanistan traversed three of the "Stans." The country itself remains a dangerous place. Just a few days before the historic flight, coalition forces on the ground encountered the heaviest fighting since Operation Anaconda last year. Norwegian F-16s from Ganci dropped munitions in support from the air.

Once over Afghanistan, the crew got down to business, refueling F-16s from the European participating air forces of Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. Based at Ganci, the aircraft provide combat air support to coalition ground forces.

In the refueling world, the motto is, "Nobody kicks ass without Tanker gas." The crew emulated that motto when the boom operator connected two moving aircraft together on a night with 1 percent moon illumination.

"It's awesome knowing that I'm having a direct impact on the mission," said Lyndi on her 17th combat mission over Afghanistan. "The fighters couldn't put bombs on target without gas, and I'm the one who gets it to
them," she said. More than 50,000 combat missions have been flown in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In all, Lyndi refueled 10 European F-16s during the flight, off-loading 63,000 pounds of fuel. "I'm accomplishing something with my Air Force career," said Alison. This is especially true in the case of OEF, an operation that more than 1,800 women support, according to the public affairs office at Central Air Forces, the air component of U.S. Central Command.

"I've always thought the greatest thing I could do with my life was to serve my country and be willing to die for it -- for my family, my neighbors, people I don't even know," Waynetta said. "Now, we're here supporting troops in Afghanistan who are defending our freedom and way of life." Basking in the early morning sunlight, the tanker headed
back to Ganci. As the snow-capped mountains poked out above the clouds, the women reflected on the significance of the flight. "All we wanted was to fly together," said Lyndi. "I'm so excited we got to do it."

"We believe in equality," Waynetta said. "But, the fact of the matter is, we're still girls and we're doing something our grandmothers couldn't do."
---------------------------

You go girls.....we're damn proud of you....no blonde jokes from me. The only question I have is, "Are you old enough to drive?"

Mid-East TV Guide...
Not wanting to appear to be culturally insensitive I thought I would publish this weeks TV fare for Middle Eastern readers.

SUNDAY
7:30 - My 33 Sons
8:00 - Osama Knows Best
8:30 - Let's Mecca Deal
9:00 - I Dream of Jihad
9:30 - The Kabul Hillbillies

MONDAY
7:00 - Husseinfeld
7:30 - Mad About Everything
8:00 - Monday Night Stoning
8:30 - Win Bin Laden's Money
9:00 - Allah McBeal

TUESDAY
7:30 - Wheel of Terror
8:00 - The Price is Right.... if Saddam Says It's Right
8:30 - Children are Forbidden from Saying the Darndest Things
9:00 - Taliban's Wackiest Public Execution Bloopers
9:30 - Buffy the Yankee Imperialist Dog Slayer

WEDNESDAY
7:00 - Beat the Press
8:00 - When Kurds Attack
8:30 - Two Guys, a Girl, and Pita Bread
9:00 - Just Shoot Everyone
9:30 - Veilwatch

THURSDAY
7:00 - Fatima Loves Chachi
7:30 - M*U*S*T*A*S*H
8:00 - Survivor Iraq [chemical attack episode-repeat]
8:30 - Married with 139 Children
9:00 - Eye for an Eye Witness News

FRIDAY
7:00 - Judge Saddam
7:30 - Suddenly Sanctions
8:00 - Who Wants to Marry a Terrorist Millionaire
8:30 - Cave and Garden Television
9:00 - No Witness Left Alive News

SATURDAY
8:00 - Spongebob Squareturban
8:30 - Who's Koran Is It Anyway?
9:00 - Teletalibans
9:30 - Camel 54, Where Are you?

If you know of any programs we have omitted please add them in the "comments" section.
**Courtesy of alert TeeVee viewer Don Dulin

Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes...
Whatever the final outcome of the campaign to rid Iraq and the world of a mass murderer, I sincerely hope that the leadership in the USA will at long last change the way we use our wealth and bounty. Since the end of WWII the US has been the leading nation in the world's supply of foodstuffs, medicine and humanitarian assistance to the more needy, if not unappreciative, flotsam on the globe. In truth, the reason was partially selfish and self serving. In the mid part of the twentieth century there was a serious and real threat that Russia and China would spread their communist influence to less developed and unstable nations. They did this by handing out money and protection. We needed to "compete" with the red menace for the affections of the disadvantaged by in effect buying their loyalty, or at least their compliance. Right or wrong, this was the way it was for 50+ years.

But the world has changed with the new millenium. In the Western World, Russia spent itself out, literally and figuratively, and their former client states are now thirsting for capitalistic democracy. In the East, China has made some small steps towards capitalism or at least a more moderate form of communism, while robust capitalism in Japan and Korea acts as a blunting force to whatever communistic urges may linger in the Red Dragon. The young people in China are on the Internet. They have had a taste of capitalist decedance...they won't go backwards. And for all the angst and blood over Vietnam, it is becoming more clear that it had the desired effect on ambitions of tyrannts in the East. We lost that campaign, but we are winning the war.

For several decades, I believe, the middle majority of America has had a gnawing feeling that the global pigs had been feeding at our trough for too long. In the past we could see the benefit of slopping the hogs to keep some order, if not status quo in the world. This has changed with the campaign against Saddam, visibly changed, and the middle of America can feel and taste it. The US supplies half of all the world's relief in the form of food supplies to the weak and wandering. Half. And we get 2/3rds of the worlds hate directed back towards us. We announce that we will contribute billions of dollars to help relieve Africa's AIDS sorrows and we are derided in the major capitals of Europe as having designs on conquering the world. Through monetary and military assistance to Turkey we have helped them in becoming a modern nation, and they repay this with a vote of no assistance, even though we are trying to rid them of a murderous neighbor on their very border.

The time for change has come. Big changes. How well we could use some of the trilions we give away each year if we were to dedicate this money in helping our own citizens to have better lives through lower taxes, better schools, feeding the poor and a modern healthcare system for all. So....Turkey, you are a democracy, we acknowledge your right to vote as you see fit, but don't expect another dime from us. No credit either. Hey "non aligned" nations of central Africa, we hate to see it, but seems you may well starve because our breadbasket is closing and those who don't starve may die of AIDS, it's not really our problem. Germany, we are putting a "For Sale" sign on our bases in your country, closing the doors and moving to Lithuania or Estonia. They appreciate the cost of freedom there, and they'll also appreciate the extra billions in their treasury.

The time has come to stop giving money to people who don't like us. To not like us is their privelage, but we don't to have clothe and feed them so that they can throw stones at us. It's time for us to cut the marginal nations of the world free to swim, sink, die or get their bread from France. It's time to start developing better relations with countries who are among the up and coming. And not just coming up with their hands out. Countries in our own hemisphere like Brazil and Mexico where, though with their own troubles, they are making strides in democracy and workable capitalism. Countries in the East like the Phillipines and India. These are countries that have promise, countries who for the most part appreciate a capitalist democracy and moreover know that sometimes you must fight to preserve it.

I can only hope that our legislators, in the coming years, won't let our American spirit of generorsity override the treatment we have been accorded by much of the world in the last 9 months. Tell them, "Uncle Sugar's" checkbook is closed. Let the hogs get their slop courtesy of another trough.
Call it tough love.

Mr. TeeVee.....
My good friend, business partner and fellow bon vivante Joe Galloway sends me this note about his next TeeVee appearance tonight on CNN....

"I taped a little spot as the Newsmaker of the Week to broadcast Saturday night on CNN Capitol Gang with Al Hunt. Show goes on at 9pm est; my segment shortly after 9:30pm est. Watch. They gonna use some movie clips, pix of me with the gun etc etc as background".

The picture he refers to is one of him from Vietnam, sporting his correspondents beret and totin' a Swedish Automatic rifle. I sent them this picture from our files the last time he appeared on CNN......glad to see they're getting the mileage out of it.