Far East Cynic

Yea I did it again. Opened my big mouth on a subject I feel strongly about.and got the usual blow back. I, of course reacted on instinct with my usual reply:.

Fortunately for me, and for the United States in general, there is a woman of stature, wisdom, and vision, who understands that it is not a blow for women’s equality when the nation sacrfices key parts of what keeps its society together simply in the name of political correctness.

God Bless Elaine Donnelly! America needs her to keep pointing out the facts. My donation to the CMR will be in the mail soon. Till then, here is the reply that I wish I could have given:

GRIM TOLL OF MILITARY WOMEN LOST IN WAR.

Updated: December 12, 2006

Since the attack on America on September 11, 2001, a total of 69 women deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait have lost their lives in service to America.

Most Americans, and even members of the media, are not aware that 69 brave servicewomen have died in the War on Terrorism. With few exceptions, news stories about their tragic deaths usually appear only in the military press, or in small hometown newspaper stories and television accounts that rarely capture national attention.

Everyone in this war is serving “In Harm’s Way,” but “Direct Ground Combat,” such as the infantry, engage in deliberate offensive action against the enemy. Most of the servicewomen whose names are listed below were killed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and some died in military plane crashes. Seven were mothers of children age 18 and younger. One female soldier, whose body was shattered by an explosive device she was attempting to disarm, died in the arms of her soldier husband who was stationed nearby.

Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. has cared for many female heroes who have lost legs and arms. When two women Marines and a female sailor were killed in a Fallujah truck attack in June, eleven more were sent to Brooke Medical Center in Texas, which specializes in the treatment of severe burns. Hundreds have received medals for serious injuries and for personal valor under fire.

Heartbroken family members have expressed indescribable grief and great pride in their daughters, which is universally shared by a grateful nation. It is always when soldiers die, but losses of women in this war are unprecedented in modern history. According to Army Times, 7,000 women served in Vietnam, but only 16 were killed, most of them nurses. In the first Persian Gulf War, 33,000 women were deployed, but only 6 perished due to scud missile explosions or accidents. (Nov. 24, 2003)

Some have argued that the women who have died are no different than the men. But deliberate exposure of women to combat violence in war is tantamount to acceptance of violence against women in general. As a nation we must consider the long-term implications of this cultural shift, which many see as a setback for our values and civilization.

At times in our history it has been necessary to send young men to fight in defense of America. Women have always served in the armed forces with courage and distinction, but there is no military necessity to send young women and mothers to fight in close combat areas where they do not have an equal opportunity to survive, or to help fellow soldiers survive. Concern for men who are fighting and dying in this war should not preclude discussion of problematic policies affecting our women.

Decisions by Default Disrespect Women.

As the war advances into its fourth year, it is appropriate to ask serious questions about policies that have led to this grim reality. Our female soldiers are being asked to shoulder heavier burdens and greater risk than military women have ever faced in America’s history. Recent policy changes have been implemented with deception and advanced by default, with elected representatives in Congress paying almost no attention to what has been going on.

In 1991 the military service chiefs expressed strong reservations about the consequences of repealing women’s combat exemptions. Their testimony was forgotten when the Navy’s Tailhook scandal led to sweeping changes in policy and law demanded by feminists who have not suffered the consequences themselves. Former Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder argued, illogically, that abuse of women in a Las Vegas hotel corridor was wrong, but combat violence at the hands of the enemy was perfectly all right.

The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has not heard testimony about women in combat since 1991, 15 years ago. Nor did the SASC have time to hear a single word of testimony about the findings of the 1992 Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Services, which recommended that most of women’s combat exemptions be retained.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) did hear five minutes of testimony from former commissioner Elaine Donnelly about the panel’s report in 1993, but nothing more on the subject was heard until May 18, 2005, when the HASC briefly debated limited legislation regarding women in or near land combat. The last committee hearing on the subject occurred in the House in 1979, 27 years ago.

Female soldiers and the men with whom they serve have a right to expect that policies and laws will be honestly explained and faithfully enforced. But as CMR has explained in several articles posted on this website, critical policy decisions are being made by default, in violation of current Defense Department regulations and two specific laws written to ensure congressional oversight.

Neglect of this issue by President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and by members of Congress shows disrespect for our women in uniform and the importance of congressional oversight. Failure to discuss this issue could also result in successful litigation to include civilian women in Selective Service registration. It is long past time for the Bush Administration and Congress to pay women the compliment of taking this issue seriously.

The following list of the names of deployed women killed since 9/11, updated on December 12, 2006, should be viewed with sober reflection and gratitude for the courageous women who gave their lives in service to America. Unless otherwise indicated, all were soldiers in the Army:

Afghanistan:

1. Marine Sgt. Jeannette L. Williams, 25, KC-130 crash in Pakistan mountains, Jan. 9, 2002

2. AF Staff Sgt. Anissa Shero, 31, loadmaster, MC-130H, crash on takeoff of Special Operations mission, June 12, 2002

3. AF 1st Lt. Tamara Archuleta, 23, co-pilot Pave Hawk helicopter, crashed while picking up two injured Afghan children, Mar. 23, 2003

4. Sgt. Maj. Barbaralien Banks, 41, Chinook crash, Apr. 6, married, one son, 19, Apr. 6, 2005

5. Spec. Chrystal Stout, 23, Chinook crash, Apr. 6, 2005

6. 1st Lt. Laura M. Walker, 24, IED attack on Humvee, Aug. 18, 2005

7. Sgt. Wakkuna A. Jackson, 21, IED attack on convoy vehicle, Aug. 19, 2006

8. Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Merideth L. Howard, 52, suicide car bomb attack on Humvee, Sept. 8

Iraq:

1. Pfc. Lori Ann Piestewa, 23, captured, died in captivity, Mar. 23, 2003, two children, 4 and 3, Mar. 23, 2003

2. Sgt. Melissa Valles, 26, non-combat gunshot wound to abdomen, cause unknown, July 10, 2003

3. Spc. Alyssa Renee Peterson, 27, gunshot wound to head, cause unknown, Sept. 15, 2003

4. Pfc. Analaura Esparza Gutierrez, 21, RPG attack on supply vehicle, Oct. 1, 2003

5. Spc. Tamarra J. Ramos, 24, non-combat injuries, armor medical company, Oct. 1, 2003

6. Pfc. Rachel Bosveld, 19, MP, attack on Baghdad police station, Oct. 26, 2003

7. Pfc. Karina Sotelo Lau, 20, Chinook crash, under fire, Nov. 2, 2003

8. Spc. Frances M. Vega, 20, Chinook crash, under fire, Nov. 2, 2003

9. Chief Warrant Officer Sharon T. Swartworth, 43, CWO, JAG Corps, Blackhawk downed under fire, Nov. 7, 2003

10. Sgt. Linda C. Jiminez, injuries following a fall in Baghdad, Nov. 8, 2003

11. Staff Sgt. Kimberley Voelz, 27, explosive ordnance disposal expert, bomb exploded, died in soldier husband’s arms, Dec. 14, 2003

12. Capt. Kimberly Hampton, 27, helicopter pilot, downed under fire, Jan. 4, 2004

13. Sgt. Keicia M. Hines, 27, MP, struck by vehicle, Jan. 14, 2004

14. Pfc. Holly Jeanne McGeogh, 19, vehicle hit by IED, Jan. 31, 2004

15. Pfc. Nichole M. Frye, 19, Civil Affairs Reservist, vehicle hit by IED, Feb. 16, 2004

16. Capt. Gussie Jones, 41,non-combat death (surgical nurse, possible heart attack), Mar. 7, 2004

17. Spc. Tyanna Avery-Felder, 22, shrapnel wounds, Apr. 4, 2004

18. Spc. Michelle Witmer, 20, Wisconsin NG MP, killed by small arms attack (one of three sisters in the Army), Apr. 9, 2004

19. Spc. Isela Rubalcava, 25, hit by mortar round to Stryker brigade, May 8, 2004

20. Pfc. Leslie D. Jackson, 18,vehicle hit by IED, May 20, 2004

21. Pfc. Melissa J. Hobart, 22, collapsed while on guard duty, mother of 3 year-old, June 6, 2004

22. Spc. Julie R. Hickey, 20, Civil Affairs Reservist, died in Germany after complications from non-combat related illness, July 4, 2004

23. Sgt. Linda Terango-Griess, Ordnance Company Reservist, 33, vehicle hit by IED, July 11, 2004

24. Sgt. Tatjana Reed, 34, vehicle hit by IED, July 22, 2004

25. Sgt. Shawna L. Morrison, 26, IL NG, 26, hit by shrapnel when barracks mortared, Sept. 5, 2004

26. Spc. Jessica L. Cawvey, 21, vehicle hit by mortar, single mother of 6 year-old, Oct. 6, 2004

27. Sgt. Pamela Osbourne, 38, three children, ages 9 t0 19, Oct. 11, 2004

28. Sgt. Cari Anne Gasiewicz, 28, convoy vehicle hit by grenade, Dec. 4, 2004

29. Sgt. Tina S. Time, 22, vehicle accident, Dec. 13, 2004

30. Sgt. Jessica M. Housby, 23, IL NG, hit by IED near truck convoy, Feb. 9, 2005

31. Spc. Katrina L. Bell-Johnson, 32, truck overturned, cause unknown, mother of 1 year-old, Feb. 16, 2005

32. Spc. Adrianna Salem, 21, vehicle rolled over, unknown cause, Feb. 21, 2005

33. Pfc. Sam W. Huff, 18, IED attack on Humvee, April 18, 2005

34. Spc. Aleina Ramirez Gonzales, 33, Puerto Rico, April 15, mortar attack on forward operating base, Apr. 29, 2005

35. Spc. Lizbeth Robles, 31, vehicle accident, Mar. 1, 2005

36. Spc. Carrie L. French, 19, bomb hit on convoy, June 5, 2005

37. Marine Lance Cpl. Holly Charette, 21, attack on truck convoy in Fallujah, June 23, 2005

38. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Regina Clark, 43, 1 18 year-old son, Fallujah attack on truck convoy, June 23, 2005

39. Marine Cpl. Ramona Valdez, 20, Fallujah attack on truck convoy, June 23, 2005

40. Staff Sgt. Tricia L. Jameson, 34, medical specialist, Army NG, IED explosion while responding to a casualty incident, July 14, 2005

41. Pfc. LaVena L. Johnson, 19, non-combat related injuries, July 19, 2005

42. Spec. Toccara Green, 23, IED explosion, Aug. 14, 2005

43. Airman 1st Class Elizabeth N. Jacobson, 21, IED explosion, Sept. 28, 2005

44. 1st Lt. Debra A. Banaszak, 35, non-combat related injuries, Oct. 28, 2005

45. Sgt. Julia V. Atkins, 22,IED attack near Humvee, Dec. 10, 2005

46. Sgt. Regina C. Reali, 25, IED attack, Dec. 23, 2005

47. Sgt. Myla L. Maravillosa, 24, RPG attack on Humvee, Dec. 24, 2005

48. 1st Lt. Jaime L. Campbell, 25, helicopter crash, Jan. 7, 2006

49. AF Senior Airman Alecia S. Good, 28, Gulf of Aden helicopter collision, Feb. 17, 2006

50. Pvt. First Class Tina M. Priest, 20, gunshot wound to the chest, unknown cause, Mar. 1, 2006

51. Pfc. Amy Duerksen, 19, of injuries suffered in Iraq, Mar. 11, 2006

52. Spc. Amanda Pinson, 21, mortar attack while waiting for bus transport, Mar. 16, 2006

53. Marine Lance Cpl. Juana Navarro Arellano, 24, of wounds received in Iraq, April 8.

54. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jaime S. Jaenke, 29, Humvee struck by IED, Iraq, June 5, mother of 9 year old girl.

55. Pfc. Hannah L. Gunterman, 20, vehicle accident in Taji, Iraq, Sept. 4.

56. 2nd Lt. J. T. Perez, 23, IED explosion near Humvee in Al Kifl, Iraq, Sept. 12.

57. Sgt. Jennifer M. Hartman, 21, suicide bomber attack on West Baghdad Substation, Sept. 14.

58. 1st Lt. Ashley (Henderson) Huff, 23, suicide attack on convoy, near her Humvee, Sept. 19.

59. Sgt. Jeannette T. Dunn, 44, of non-combat related injuries, Nov. 26.

60. Maj. Megan McClung, USMC, 34, IED attack near Ramadi in the Anbar province, Iraq, Dec. 6.

Kuwait:

1. Reserve Sgt. Denise Lannaman, 46, non-combat-related incident at Camp Arifjan, Oct. 1.

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I am coming to the conclusion that if conservative outlets cannot win you with their ideas, they will wow you with appeals to the pruient interest. After all, when is the last time you saw a Fox news lady who you would not have slept with? I haven’t seen one. I think its a part of the job interview-the showing of the leg.

Or take this comic strip-Day by Day, from Chris Muir. You never EVER see any fat chicks in it. This particular strip caught my eye. Trust me, I never figured out what the point was since my eyes never made it past the middle panel:

Nice Thong!

I don’t follow the strip, but she ranks right up there with Betty Boop, and Wilma, as far as cartoon characters I would have sex with!

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I miss Bloom County. I really enjoyed that comic strip during the 80′s and early 90′s with its satire of government and in particular, the foibles of the rich and famous.

So I was pleasantly suprised to see that Berkely Breathed had started a Sunday strip which brought Opus and the gang back. I did not know that till I opened my Sunday paper while leaving Honolulu last Sunday.

Here is the current Iraq debate-nicely summed up in 7 panels:

Click on the image!

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This is not about the Weblog awards. Since yours truly was good and duly snubbed by the voting public, I’ll let Lex and Phibian and all the other losers slug it out for web log of the year positions. I’ve got my mind on something more important. That’s right, Geeky Mom and the rest will have to get by with out my vote.

No, what I am talking about is something much closer to home and much more important. Namely which of the 1,994 kanji officially recognized in Japanese will be named “Kanji of the year” (今年の漢字）。Its a contest run to determine which kanji character best represents the year gone by. Submissions for the Kanji of the Year were sought from the public by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation in Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, and 85,322 people responded. In a ceremony in Kyoto at a temple, the winning character is painted on a piece of butcher block paper to in front of a very large crowd. Some of the previous winners have been:

2001-「戦」　Sen., which means war-because of 9-11 and Afghanistan

2002- 「帰」　Kaeru- to return to a place. In honor of the return of the abductees.

2003- 「虎」　 tora- Tiger. Honoring the Hanshin Tigers who won their first Central League pennant in 18 years. Also folks felt Japan sending troops to Iraq was like walking into a Tiger’s den. (koketsu).

2004- 「災」　wazawai-disaster. Nigata had an earthquake and there were 27 Typhoons that year. This was chosen before the Tsunami, but it seems appropriate.

2005- 「愛」　 Ai-love. People reaffirmed the importance of nurturing love through various events in 2005, such as the marriage of the former Princess Nori and the relief activities for victims of the disasters in America and Pakistan.

And this years winner?

“The envelope please…………and the winner is!”

The Chinese character of the year, “Inochi,”
which means “life,” is unveiled Tuesday at Kiyomizu
Temple here by Chief Priest Seihan Mori. The character
was chosen because several student suicides and other
incidents underscored the importance of human life,
said the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation,
which organizes the annual event

So there you have it. A contest that really means something. Unlike that blog thingy that just passes so many deserving people by…………

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Halo scan appears not to be working today. Frustrating for a guy who lives for comments………………

Please come back and comment again. We apologize for any inconvienence.

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Back and reasonably un-jetlagged. I did not appreciate waking up at 6am , however, unable to go back to sleep. The JAL flight was pretty uncrowded thanks to the Honolulu Marathon, which meant I had the rare priveledge of having a a 3 seat row all to my self. And JAL stewardessess don’t snarl at you when you keep asking for 12 ounce sleeping pills! Taking a day off today to recage my brain and gear up for the upcoming challenges this month. Besides I’m owed a day off after dealing with idiots all the past week! I have zero Christmas shopping done, especially for my son and daughter, so I have got to get on the ball!

Ever since I came to Japan, the December holidays has been really weird for me. Generally it becomes too expensive to fly back to the states, given that as New Years approaches the air fares zoom. Part of THAT is fueled by the fact that Japan takes the first four days of the year off. Before I met the S.O. it was a time of prowling around Roppongi and other less reputable places looking for Miss Right (for tonight!). My first New Years here I spent new years day sleeping off new year’s eve. Thank God it was the one day of the year the trains ran all night. Since meeting the S.O. we usually exchange gifts on Christmas, have dinner together and New Years….well we’ve just agreed to disagree about how to spend that. She favors quiet and reflection and I favor dressing up, Auld Lang Zyne, and boozy kisses at midnight. Suffice it to say she gets her way more than I get mine.

Which got me to think of how the holidays are celebrated around the world. Without meaning to, Christmas has become a holiday celebrated even in countries without a Christian tradition. Probably there are some who might argue this, but the fact that there are Christmas decorations in Shanghai at least proves one part of my theory:

Retailers will jump on anything that makes profit!

Now when I was growing up, we had a relatively “normal” American Christmas. I use the word normal sparingly because in our family, family type gatherings always had an underlying layer of tension. That applied both when I was teenager and then subsequently when I was married to the ex. However we followed a formula. Christmas Eve was a ham dinner, usually followed by a trip to church. Christmas day was opening presents in the morning, eating as little as possible until the Turkey Dinner was served. My mom never varied her menu: Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, scalloped oysters, pea and asparagus casserole, bread, wine, and milk for us underagers.

New Years had its own ritual too-New Years eve would find me scheming to get to a new years party, and after I had children, not being able to do that much. New Years day was a set menu: Pork Roast, Potatoes, Blackeyed Peas with what my father called Hog Jowls. (Pork Loin with fat.) The theory was the more Blackeyed peas you ate the more money you would see come your way the following year. The Hog Jowls were for luck. This meal was usually followed by copious amounts of college football on TV.

Now in Japan, the Christmas and New Years holiday are just the opposite. For a young 20 something single person, being with out a date on Christmas eve is the low point of the year. As was described in the Tokyo Classifieds a few years ago:

And there is, of course, the little detail of of the Christmas Cake:

Arguably there are worse ways to spend the holiday, but as an American it is different from what I was used to before I came.

New Years on the other hand is very much family time. There are New Years parties, especially in Gaijin heavy areas but on the whole they are not the norm. People go to see their families, pray at the Shrine on New Years day and eat the food that mom has either prepared in advance or purchased at higher than normal prices. Its called Osechi Ryori-quite good actually.

Now Sourrain lives in Leeds and I know little of English Christmas tradition. I have been in England during December , up in Linclonshire, and saw in all the pubs flyers for making reservations for Christmas dinner. I’m not sure how popular and pervasive that tradition is. And I have no idea what Boxing Day is all about.

I spent New Years in Naples once. I paid some ungodly amount of lire to attend a New Years party at the AFSOUTH (NATO) officer’s club in Pazzuoli. Good time, but different than I expected. It was mostly couples there which limited oppotunites for yours truly. The ticket price covered all the booze though. The real point of the story was, in Naples on New Years eve get off the streets around midnight. Evidently, it was a Neapolitan tradition to throw old things out on the street at the stroke of the new year. I’m told that can include things such as washing machines. Not sure if that is true, but it sure did get noisy when midnight came and went. Lots of fireworks and sounds of metal on concrete!

So what say you? Any other interesting holiday traditions that are worth passing?

cross posted at Exordinarily Ordinary.

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My excursion into the make believe world that is. On the plane tomorrow back to Nihon.

Once back there I can resume plotting my escape from all of this.

Today was the first decent day I have had in 10 days. Went up to Barbers Point to play golf. It was a nice day and in what turned out to be a pleasant suprise it was in fairly good shape. I had heard less than flattering descriptions of it, so I was concerned when my buddy got us a tee time there. Some good shots, some bad ones and after 14 my slice came back………………

Now its back to pack, then into a cab and head to Waikiki for one final round of booming.

Going to be drinking these:

And flirting with these:

Not much of substance tonight. We went straight from golf to dinner and now its past 9 at night. However I have also taken up a guest blogging spot over at Sourrain’s place. Why not stop by and give her a hug?

I could use a hug myself, but I am so glad this week is over! When I get home I will tell you why-please stay tuned.

Mahalo!

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When I could today, which was not often, I tried to watch the news about the Iraq study group. One of the big problems with working in the Air Force building I am working in is that all the TV’s are turned to Fox News ( or to sports). That tells me a lot about why so many of the Air Force people working here are brain dead…….too much Fox helps destroy that part of the brain that enables critical thinking.

I tell you the truth, I can’t make much sense out of the things I am seeing on TV. Lets start with a couple of things about the troop strength. I am at a loss to see how the training thing is going to work. We have been training the Iraqi Army for some 3 years. It does not seem to be taking. And those who are being trained are immediately putting their skills to work for the scruffy haired little devil Al Sadr.
What does that buy us?

Then the idea of a conference about the Palestinian problem. That’s been done before. It ignores the fact that Palestine as an independent state is not a very viable idea. And Israel is no mood to give up prime farmland that it has now occupied for some 40 years.

Also I don’t understand why there are separate panels in the Pentagon and State Department and NSC. Why did they not have one organization with empowered representatives from all of those organizations? This is not a Swedish buffet. You cannot take from and then move on to get another entree from the other.

Bottom line for me is that I think the talk of victory is using an incorrect word. Victory has nothing to do with a democratic government, economic stability, or any of the that other nonsense. Victory is about defeating your opponent and ensuring that he knows that he has been defeated. By that standard we never set out to achieve victory. The only person we defeated was Saddam.

To defeat your opponent it requires him to be subject to an overwhelming demonstration of your power, through either brute force or trickery. I do think that was what Shinseki was trying to tell the people some 3+years ago.

The conditions the President is aspiring to are more properly described as an endstate-albeit an unachievable one. The two conditions are different. There is plenty of precedent for ending wars when and endstate is achieved. That does not, however qualify as victory.

I still see really only two choices. Either go all in-as in literally re-invading the country and leveling cities and applying overwhelming military force, or leave. If we choose to stay as we are then the Army has to become larger-much larger because we will be there for years. Training the untrainable, and dealing with the ungrateful. You know, Arabs.

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Note to the Honolulu airport hotel. So long as you are renovating this s**thole, spend some bucks, run some Ethernet cable, and put hi speed internet in the rooms. Either that or open a bar. This running back and forth to the room for a beer while blogging in the lobby just does not hack it.

Lots to talk about today, but the Iraq report will have to wait. Being in Hawaii, supporting an exercise about a future Asian war while observing an anniversary of a past one is just too much. I wish I did not have to work tomorrow, I would like to go see the commemorations. I’m told its impossible to get a secret, but I was talking to an Air Force guy today whose dad is a Pearl Harbor veteran. He said his father went in 2001 to one of the reunions/commerorations. As he pointed out:
“It was always great to be with these guys. Just give them five minutes and they were sure to tell you their story, especially if they had been drinking”.

The last moments of peace in 1941

His own father’s story is pretty interesting. Turns out his dad was 19 when he got to Pearl. He was in port waiting for the Enterprise to return to port. As a result he was assigned to take a boat around Ford Island to make sure there was nothing amiss with the moorings of the ships moored to the posts on Battleship Row and elsewhere.

As my work acquaintance tells it, his old man had finished, and gone over to Ford Island….tied up the boat. He and his running mate were sitting at a table just relaxing when all hell broke loose. He could not get to a weapon, really could not go too far and basically just had to hunker down and keep from getting hit. As a result he was in close proximity to the Arizona on Ford Island when it exploded:

According to my source, he was knocked flat by the force of the explosion, even though he was removed on Ford Island. He said that his father said that even though he went through all of World War II, the worst days of his life were after December 7th. Because he was assigned to the boat crew, they went around on December 8th, 9th and subsequent pulling dead bodies out of the harbor. Since I have always been fascinated by the attack and the events leading up to it, I was riveted to his every word.

As an aside, I never realized how narrow the Pearl Harbor channel was until I went over to the Wright Brothers Grill at Hickam for breakfast one day last week. There, you can eat out side in a very pretty spot next to the water. I was shocked to look up from my corned beef hash and eggs to see an Ohio Class submarine coming up the channel. It was so close I could see the Sailors moving around on the missile deck and even the Captain up on his perch on the sail. I wish I had my camera-that really surprised me. I just figured the water was an inlet or something. I’ll bet Sea and Anchor detail here must be really challenging.

Another reason I’m glad I was in aviation.

I strongly recommend John Toland’s The Rising Sun for more insight……….a great book.

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“I’m a veg Danny……”

Watched Caddyshack last night after I came back the to my room late as usual. Did get some time off on Sunday then back to the slave ship on Monday. The overseers seemed to have picked up some new whips in the interim. Did play golf though. Today in particular sucked.

The thing about working on a project like this is that it is mentally draining. And intellectually depressing watching egos and realities collide. Its also about seeing the haves and the have nots and how some people just are stupid and try as you might to keep them from being stupid they are hell bent to do it.

Speaking of ego’s, the radio station I listen to on the way to work, is not the same one I listen to on the way home. So I change to another talk one which unfortunately has Bill O’ Reilly on. That gets my anger up. For the last 3 nights running the little bastard has Been beating on the Webb story. You know, the one that was leaked by the White House about how the Senator elect was rude to the President for asking about his son. And how Webb in a fit of pique said words to the effect of “Its none of your Goddamn business and why don’t you bring him home tomorrow” ( He said something slightly different, but that was the gist of it.)

Now O’ Reilly just has been riding this like a cheap pony. And I’m not sure why. Seems to me that some people are rude and maybe Webb is one of them. Then again the people of Virginia elected him because he is different. At least he did not call Bush “Macaca”.

What I think the incident points out how we have lost the art of the subtle insult. If Webb had some time to think about it or perhaps were a little faster on his feet he could have given the appearance of being polite to the mis decider, while ever so subtly driving his point home. Of course with this particular recipient there is not guarantee he would have gotten the message, but then again he is a politician.

They could have said something like this:

“So Jim, how is your boy?”

“Thank you for asking Mr President. He’s fine. Lots of challenges to deal with as I am sure you know. Hot and all, lots of uncertainty, things are pretty hectic. He’s dealing with it though. Mostly, however he just wants to know when he can come home.”

Bush might have utter something pendatic. However Webb’s point would have been made-without the headlines or the abuse. Does not matter if that is how his son really feels, Bush would never have known anyway. However it would have preserved the illusion of politeness.

The political equivalent of smiling while dealing with-morons.

We all do it. However in today’s world less and less people are equipped to do it well. Probably the master of this talent was H.L. Mencken. Consider a few of these dandies from the master:

On life:
Life may not be exactly pleasant, but it is at least not dull. Heave yourself into Hell today, and you may miss, tomorrow or next day, another Scopes trial, or another War to End War, or perchance a rich and buxom widow with all her first husband’s clothes. There are always more Hardings hatching. I advocate hanging on as long as possible.

On women:

A man’s women folk, whatever their outward show of respect for his merit and authority, always regard him secretly as an ass, and with something akin to pity. His most gaudy sayings and doings seldom deceive them; they see the actual man within, and know him for a shallow and pathetic fellow. In this fact, perhaps, lies one of the best proofs of feminine intelligence, or, as the common phase makes it, feminine intuition.

Or on the justice system:
It is the fundamental theory of all the more recent American law…that the average citizen is half-witted, and hence not to be trusted to either his own devices or his own thoughts.

Somehow I think Bush knows that one already. Ergo we have the Patriot Act or any of the other little affronts to the constitution.

On morality:
It was morality that burned the books of the ancient sages, and morality that halted the free inquiry of the Golden Age and substituted for it the credulous imbecility of the Age of Faith. It was a fixed moral code and a fixed theology which robbed the human race of a thousand years by wasting them upon alchemy, heretic-burning, witchcraft and sacerdotalism.

Or my personal favorite:
He marries best who puts it off until it is too late.

His creed is worth noting too. Several of its tenets are in line with my own:

I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind – that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.
I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.
I believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war upon liberty…
I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect.
I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech…
I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run.
I believe in the reality of progress.
I – But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant.

He had Islam summed up about right:

We must respect the other fellow’s religion,but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart

Both Webb and GW could learn a thing or two from the master…………

Miss Manners would approve.

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And I’m in my hotel doing laundry………….What the hell is that all about?

Had to work today-off tomorrow. Then back at it for another 6 days. Tell me again about bad choices, I don’t think I heard the warnings the first time.

Then again, its not so bad a day when:

Navy beats Army and I get to lord it over a bunch of Army guys (and a couple of Air Force pogues).

USC gets knocked out of the National Championship.

WVU wins.

I am in Hawaii…..I just need a better set of working hours.

Nothing to post really. I have a lot to say-just not time to say it till next week. I have just enough time to get a beer (or 4), dinner, then off to sleep. Tomorrow though……..FORE!!!!!!

All I need now is one of these:

Instead I feel like this:

A serious post tomorrow……..after all I read today that it turns out even Donald Rumsfeld was begining to realize that Iraq was a mess….who would have thought it?

But hey, Maliki is the right guy for Iraq—–GW said so………………..

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