WHAT'S GOING ON?

When those who benefit most from living in a country, contribute the least to its defense and those who benefit least are asked to pay the ultimate price, something happens to the soul of that country. I don't remember the origin of this quotation, but it hits the nail on the head regarding this nation today. Not only do people refuse to serve, but they also encourage the young to ignore the armed forces. What is worse is that a sizeable number of people, mostly from large urban areas, reflect a personal animus towards those who do serve. Also, in this connection, I do not believe there has ever been a president who had to contend with the continual vile, crude, and downright dirty language that President Bush has endured from the extreme left. It is not necessary to agree with the president, but it should be kept in mind that he or she is the titular head of the nation, that as Head of State the position is in great extent symbolic, and therefore when one reviles the president, he is in effect passing the same vilification onto himself. Other presidents have been unpopular to varying degrees. Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon Johnson and Woodrow Wilson come to mind, but none of these suffered quite the same nastiness as George W. Bush. As you may have guessed, I'm one of the few who believe that President Bush, like President Truman, will be recognized by history, and ranked in the top percentile of presidents. We seem to have forgotten what started all the current rancor towards the president--namely the premeditated attack on the twin towers and the Pentagon, the subsequent invasion of Iraq and the elimination of Hussein. Perhaps we should have left Iraq at that point, as the first President Bush did, that's a point for others to work out, but the undeniable fact is There have been no more terrorist attacks on US soil. This is indisputable. I suggest that soon after Bush leaves office there will be an attack of some sort in the United States,,irrespective of who becomes president. To test the mettle of the new president. Let's all hope he or she is up to the task!

OOPS!

So far, the so-called Secular-Progressives have pretty well taken over the Main Stream Media, the colleges and universities, and the movie industry, but, though they control these vital opinion shaping institutions, they have not been able to shake the innate pride of nation which typifies the middle American, who generally views with suspicion the
Negative predictions of the east and west coaster

HILLARY

As the Democratic primary winds down, I must admit that my feelings for Hillary Clinton have changed. I realize that she's a politician and has studied at the feet of the great charlatan, Bubba Clinton, but nevertheless she has shown a grit, determination and drive that indicate she could probably handle the presidency. Unless she changes it appears that she is no longer tied to the radical left wing of the party as is her democratic copponent. I'm not enthralled by her political stances, but on examination, except for health care, taxes, and Iraq, she is not that far from McCain. She shows more fire than McCain--she really wants the job--and sometimes I wonder whether McCain really, really wants it. In my mind, the biggest problem with Hillary is her honesty and her husband. We know she lies (Bosnia) and is a possible thief (White House furniture), but better the one you know than the one you don't know--Obama. As far as Bill is concerned, I think he will create havoc in the administration, unless Hillary could funnel him into a job that would keep him too remote to interfere, perhaps Ambassador to Fiuland, which is far away and the girls, I undersatnd, are beautiful. If the Democrtas want to win the Presidency they had better nominate Hillary. She has demonstrated a will and determination that will inspire many. The other guy is smooth and appealing to many who do not think beyond the end of their nose. He's all wrapped up in a nice package, but no'one knows what's really inside the package. It would be a disaster to find the contents are rotten after he is elected. Would I vote for Hillary? I can't say. There are still considerations. Can she get the nomination? She ought to get it. Will McCain falter? Who are the running mates? Will Hillary drift too far left? This is possible because she may need their money. This lady shows she has guts and determination and we need that above all. I'm a Republican, but as I've said, I voted for Democrats and can do so again. Can Democrats do the same?

THE SPARROW

While resting in a living room chair my mind drifted to some books on the Roman Army I was reading and I thought my son Pete, in Maine would like them and I should take them with me when we go in August. Then I thought, he will want to know the author, who is a man by the name of Scarrow, this then led me to sparrow, which in turn led to a guy named Cerniglia who was in my OCS company at Fort Benning in 1942. Cerniglia was a loud-mouth who bragged of having been Brigadier General Teddy Roosevelt's (son of the President) driver in the 1st Infantry Division. My mind then drifted to a hot day at Fort Benning (how do I know it was hot--they were all hot!) in probably July, 1942, when at the end of a class, the instructor asked, as he was programmed to do, "Are there any questions?" Now, let it be known, that no GI in his right mind would ask a question at this time as that would eat into the ten minute break following the class, and particularly into the cigarette time (this was back in the days before cigarettes became harmful to your health). Nevertheless, staying in character, good ol" Cerniglia had a question.
The instructor listened politely, then said the following: "This puts me in mind of a story. There was a little sparrow who lived in Boston and back when there were a lot of horses he lived a good life as there was plenty of food on the street. But then the auto came and times were rough. One day he's teetering on the curb almost dead, when a horse came by and dumped a meal right in front of him. The sparrow tottered into the street and gorged himself, then got back up on the curb and began to sing, at which point a cat came by and gobbled him up. The moral of this story
is-'when your full of s--t, don't open your mouth'. From that point on Cerniglia was known as Sparrow, and the name followed him throughout the war, and perhaps after. Why did I write all of this--I don't know, it just seemed like a good idea and it does show how the mind follows a train of thought, and besides it's a good story and a true one.

GAS PAINS

Well, looks like the chickens have come home to roost. Gas prices are skyrocketing and there's really no end in sight. So what causes it? A couple of things. First there's the increased demand, mainly by India and China on a supply which has not increased to meet the demand. Common sense says that if demand exceeds supply, the price will go up. Even if we produce more crude, we do not have the refinery facilities to handle it. Secondly, our government, Congress and the various presidents have given in to the exhortations of the environmentalists and have not allowed additional drilling, nor the building of refineries. There will probably be a change of direction as the outcry grows about the high gas prices, but it will be a number of years before any results can be felt, and don't expect the price of gas to come down in the meantime. I believe we're going to experience the same results when Congress and the President begin to manipulate so-called Global Warming. Food prices are already rising as shortages exist due to diversion of food products into bio-fuels--wait til the additional taxes clock in! All three of the candidates believe in Al Gores doom and gloom.

POLITICAL PARANOIA

What a tempest in a teapot! The President speaking to the Israeli parliament made reference to a 1940's senator who stated that if he had been able to speak with Hitler could have prevented
the invasion of Poland. President Bush did not say that he was casting Barack Obama in that image. However, Barack Obama and his supporters took this as a slap at the senator. All I can get from this is that Obama must have a guilt feeling as to his position, otherwise, why would he feel that the President in making a policy statement, was referring to him? Democrats refer to Nixon talking with the Chinese and Reagan with the Soviets as examples of past presidents conferring with our enemies, but in both cases we operated from strength and let the other party know it. There has been no indication, as far as I know, from Obama that he would use the power of the United States and his office, to influence the other party. As I recall, "There would be no pre-conditions." Also, what a nerve the Democrats have to criticize George Bush, who is the titular leader of the Republican Party, for making what they call a political statement. What do they expect? That Bush and McCain will lie down and play dead? The last great Democrat Harry Truman said it best: "If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen."

RAMBLINGS

Its 5:30 AM and what to blog? This is a dialysis day and Carole will be up at aboput 6:00 to get breakfast. Jack ans Lois Graf are here for one night on their way back to Texas after going to Illinois to see Jack's brother who was deathly ill. Bob and Nancy came over for supper and later Kelly, Mark and the little guy showed up, all three riding on a motor scooter--I assume saving gas. Kelly showed me how to post pictures to the blog, but i have no suitable pictures. Rain--so what else is new! Look forward to getting on to doing my own dialysis, and if all goes well we will drive to Maine this summer. Am sure it will be my "last hurrah". We may get in a trip to Branson also, as we already have the tickets which we didn't use last year. Also a shakedown trip to Texas to visit Jack and Lois, not to shakedown them, but to find out how I handle a 400+ mile trip. Bob just back from long truck trip and he spanned the nation hitting both Maine and California, among other locations. Tim has bought us a carpet in Afghanistan and is shipping it to us--should be here in about 3 weeks. Carole wants it for the sun room. From Tim, there is a possible outside chance that Pete may try to get one of the type contract jobs that Tim has. I think it would do ete well to get away fro a while--and the money's good. Bob's going to come over and replace a part of our fascia which blew off during a past windstorm. He is a great help to us and does countless things big and small for us. Kelly and Mark have also been very helpful.

THOUGHTS WITHOUT TOO MUCH THOUGHT

Just writing this off the top of my head, so don't know how it will come out. I admire John McCain, but wish we had someone with more fire and one who hews more closely to conservative values. I wonder whether he will cut loose on Obama, or will he be Mr nice guy and wind up losing the election? I don't agree with him on Global Warming and believe that to follow that path will break the back of the American tax payer with absolutely no discernible change in weather patterns. This is the gospel according to Gore and I hate to see McCain getting into the tent with the Great Al. As far as the illegal question is concerned, I mostly agree with him except for sanctuary cities--which he seems to think are OK. As long as someone secures the border, I know we will have to eventually legalize these people. I think he favors English as the official language, though I'm not sure. Why there's any question in any one's mind concerning this, I haven't a clue, except politics. How on earth the far left can call people desiring a one language nation, racists and bigots, is beyond me. But then a lot of things are beyond me when I try to understand the motivations of many of my Fellow Americans. How will we ever come together in Their country if we can't approach matters honestly without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, etc? These things are fixed, immutable, and they can't go away, so why are we so reluctant to discuss them openly--why must we, particularly white males, have to walk on eggs whenever we approach topics involving these matters? Why, when Hillary Clinton mentioned that most white working people voted for her, was there an outcry of racism? She only stated a fact, and isn't it also a fact that a vast majority of blacks voted for Obama? People who seriously question Obama's suitability to be president are likely to be labeled racist by some of his supporters. If we give in to this insidious use of words, how can we ever rationally decide

the fitness of a person seeking the most powerful position in the world?. This was supposed to be an election free of racial overtones according to Obama and others. Think!! How was that to be possible when one of the candidates was a black man? We are not and never have been a color blind society, though the courts have so dictated, this does not make it so in the hearts and minds of the electorate. We should not exacerbate the matter of race, but at the same time it cannot be ignored--it is there, and ignore it, placate it, do whatever--it will not go away. Even the eloquent Obama cannot make it disappear.

PRESIDENT OBAMA?

"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama." Words that send chills down the spine of anyone with a real thought in their head. His main supporters appear to be Blacks (understandable), college educated, academic egg-heads, and union organizations, but not necessarily their members. This is more evidence that a college education does not build on and reinforce intelligence. Common sense remains with the common people, and hopefully they will display this in November and vote for John McCain. McCain has demonstrated through the trials and travails of his Vietnam captivity and his long years in the Congress, his character, integrity and essential decency. Retired Air Force Colonel Bud Day, the most decorated man of the Vietnam War (Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross, Silver Star, and other medals) who in an interview with Carl Cameron on Fox News confirmed the courage of John McCain during captivity and stated that John McCain was not corruptible then and he is not corruptible today. Col Day was the commander in the Hanoi Hilton and "roomed" with John McCain. While in the Senate John McCain has evidenced his ability to work across party lines by sponsoring legislation in co'operation with Democrats Kennedy and Feingold, among others. There has been no evidence of any such action by Barack Obama, yet he says that he can bring the country together--he probably means democrats only, but his party is seriously divided and if it comes together it will be due more to the actions of Hillary Clinton, than Barack Obama.
The backers of Obama either do not think things through, and consider that what he says is not necessarily what he believes. He spouts change, without saying what the change entails. Unfortunately, considering his backers and his legislative record (such as it is) he reflects a Leninist approach to government and I believe, would attempt to take the nation down that road
and lead to the disintegration of the United States as we know it. Though no provable influence of Jeremiah Wright and the weatherman people has been established, the very fact that these matters have surfaced is evidence that this man has had and probably still has associations that are not consonant with the office of President of the United States. Consider this unemotionally.
Are you ready to accept Barack Obama, and his effete backers as the 44th Presidential Administration?

DIALYSIS AND KIDS

Monday, May 5th, Carole and I went to Cox Hospital in Springfield where a Dr Gibson was to install a peritoneal catheter in my abdominal cavity. Thwere were three or four ahead of me and I laid on the guerney from 9:30 AM to 3:45 PM. The job was done by 5:00 PM and we headed home. The purpose of all this is to make it possible for me to provide my own dialysis, and will liberate me from the three time weekly visits to the dialysis center. It means I will be able to travel as I'll take my machine with me. I've been in some discomfort, but it's beginning to ease off. It'll be about four more days before I can take a shower. Son, Bob, a truck driver is on the road somewhere between here and California, Son, Pete is still teaching in Maine, his son, Pete is in Kuwait awaiting deployment to Iraq, Son Tim is in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor, daughter, Jane is in West Virginia still toiling for Internal Revenue, Pete's son Bryan is in the State of Washington contemplating going to Veterinary school, Bob's daughter Kelly is still her family's principal bread winner and also publishes a blog. Granddaughter Jill is in Maine with three children and entering a career in real estate. If i'm not mistaken her daughter, Shelby, will be entering college in a year. Of Tim's two kids, Tristan is doing fine at James Madison Universsity and Elspeth has been selected for prestigious Governor's School in Virginia. Pete's son Jamie is still at home and should finish high school in the near future, Jane's daughter, Bobbi, lives in West Virginia with husband Stephen and 2 daughters. Young Pete will get out of the army in about October of next year (?) and live in Texas where he plans to attend college for a degree in computer engineering. Its worth noting that he has a lady friend in San Antonio. Closer to home I have a great grandson, Kasey, who is the idol of his grandparents eyes. To get acquainted with Kasey, check Kelly's blog.

The Democrats have really backed themselves into a corner. There's no doubt in my mind that Hillary stands the best chance against McCain, and also no doubt that Obama will earn the party nomination and go on to defeat in November. As a Republican I welcome the Obama nomination, and at the same time respect the fight put up by Hillary, and believe she deserves the nomination, but to do this would cause a large rift in the party as they would have to ignore the positive standing of Barack Obama, and thus give a big slap in the face to the African Americans who have long been faithful supporters of the Democratc Party. So.....Look for McCain vs. Obama and Obama sent packing back into the obscurity of the United States Senate.

I WONDER

I cannot help but wonder why African Americans so blindly adhere to the Democratic Party when the following matters are considered. It was the Republican Party under Lincoln, pressured by New England abolitionists who presumably freed the slaves by means of the Emancipation Proclamation. This was followed by the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution BY THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION, which codified the provisions of the Proclamation . Further, in the latter half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th it was the Democratic party of the deep south with its Jim Crow laws, etc who kept the blacks down and made a mockery of the Constitution.

ABOUT ME

OK, more about me. As a hobby I collect United States stamps. I collect all, but concentrate on the Washington-Franklin Issues between 1908 and 1920. This is a tricky area as an awful lot of stamps look exactly alike, but there are differences and the diferences can involve 100's of dollars. I do most of my buying on eBay and also sell when I have a stamp surplus. I used to colloect beer cans and had an extensive collection (about 2000 cans) Only took a few to Florida when we moved there and then got rid of the rest when we moved to Missouri. Sold quite a few on eBay and one sold for over $550!! I have 4 children who are scattered: a son in Missouri, A son ion Maine, Ason in Afghanistan, and a daughter in West Virginia. I have 8 grand children and
7 great grandchikldren. My wife, 3rd marriage, has 3 children, 5 gandchildren and 7 great grandchildren--so birthdays come around too often. Enough for today Oh yes, politics intrigue me and I used to teach government in a community college in Baltimore, MD.