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.