The Reason I Blog

So you don't miss stories like this.

From the blog "I Drive Warships" this heartbreaking & heartwarming post "A Sailor's Dying Wish".

After signing my Pop, EM2 Bud Cloud (circa Pearl Harbor) up for hospice care, the consolation prize I’d given him (for agreeing it was OK to die) was a trip to “visit the Navy in San Diego.”

I emailed my friend and former Marine sergeant, Mrs. Mandy McCammon, who’s currently serving as a Navy Public Affairs Officer, at midnight on 28 May. I asked Mandy if she had enough pull on any of the bases in San Diego to get me access for the day so I could give Bud, who served on USS Dewey (DD-349), a windshield tour.

The next day she sent me an email from the current USS Dewey (DDG 105)’s XO, CDR Mikael Rockstad, inviting us down to the ship two days later.

Go and read the rest.!  You will be moved and proud.  Bravo Zulu to all involved.

h/t Mr. Wolf

I Thought This Clown Was Supposed To Be A Constitutional Scholar?

Last month, some GOP Congresspeople tried to get up support to amend the ACA, aka #ObamaCare.  Most notable were Senators Ted Cruz & Mike Lee.  The President, Harry Reid, and the rest of the Democratic Party said, "No, it's the law.  And furthermore, we won't even discuss it.  Period."

The government shuts down and in an incredibly shameful move, the Administration makes the shutdown as ugly and painful as possible.  They spend time and taxpayer money on scumbag moves like closing down the WWII Memorial.

Incredibly, the Administration and the Main Stream Media blamed Cruz, Lee, Republicans and the Tea Party!  Seriously?  Anyway, the #ACA is law deal with it.

Fast forward a few weeks - the Healthcare.gov website doesn't work.  Why?  It isn't ready, insufficient testing.  Why did you open it?  Sibelius says "We had to, the law said so." Buzz!  That's a lie, the ACA law says the Secretary (Sibelius) can open it any time they wish.  But deal with it, it's the law.

Fast forward another few days - Numbers start coming out.  Few can sign up.  Rates and policies don't appeal to anyone except those getting Medicaid.  Democrats & MSM explain this is because Republicans want the #ACA to fail.  Ummm, what?  Well anyway, the #ACA is law, deal with it.

Then the individual market cancellations started coming in.  I'm sure this is also the fault of Republicans somehow.  Anyway, it's the law, deal with it.

And today,
"Insurers can extend current plans that otherwise would have been canceled in 2014," Obama said.

Ahhh, the President does not have that power.  The Executive Branch does not just call out changes to law.  I thought Obama was the smartest man ever to be President?  Not only would it not be possible for him to make such a change to the law, it can't happen no matter how hard he wishes.  So what was this?  Smoke & mirrors.  President Obama just wants you to redirect you frustrations America.  Don't fall for it.

Sara's Dog Is Going To Love Me To Death

Sara's puppy, Tank is always trying to get under my feet.  I try to pay attention, but the other day he caught me on the cellar stairs with an armload of clothes. I caught myself before falling to the cement floor, whew!  But I wrenched my knee and boy does it hurt.  I've been keeping it elevated and Tom got me an ace bandage.

I'm miserable!

Dr. Ezekial Emanuel - It's Not An Effin' Car

Dr. Ezekial Emanuel has been described as President Obama's "Chief Architect" for the Affordable Care Act.  He has been hitting all the media outlets defending the #ACA and attempting to explain away the individual policies that people are losing all over the country.  Dr. Emanuel wants you to know that it's not a bad thing that Americans are losing insurance coverage that they liked; that they felt they could afford.

And to illustrate this, Dr. Emanuel repeatedly draws comparisons to purchasing a new car.

This morning on FoxNews Sunday -

"The second thing is, just as we have safety standards for cars, you can't buy a car without a seat belt. You can't buy a car without an air bag. You can drive them, we're not going to take you off the road. But if you're going to buy a new car, you have to have safety"

It's not a car.  It's healthcare insurance.

Healthcare insurance that you are mandated by law to obtain and pay for.

If you don't want a new car, you don't have to buy a new car.  The law doesn't say that you "must" buy a car.  The IRS will not penalize you if you don't buy a car.

Stop comparing it to a car.

So, you may ask - "What kind of guy would try to mislead people this way?"

Well, I'm glad you asked!  I give you, Dr. Ezekial Emanuel, "bioethicist".

Obama's Health Rationer-in-Chief
White House health-care adviser Ezekial Emanuel blames the Hippocratic Oath for the overuse of medical care.

Sounds nice, doesn't it?  "Overuse" because your doctor is paying attention to his Hippocratic Oath and taking care of you and not society as a whole.  Yeah, the "Complete Lives System".  I don't know about you, but as a Multiple Myeloma patient who at times has required chemo costing over $22,000 in the space of one month.....this isn't the guy I want anywhere near my healthcare.

A Little Affordable Care Perspective

*******UPDATE*****
On FoxNews Sunday, Dr. Ezekial Emanuel just used the 50 million number, which is false on it's face.

I guess I'm feeling ambitious.  I don't know why, lol.  It's 72 here in the Shenandoah Valley and I am on the deck getting some Vitamin D.

But as I sit here I read and have to listen to people talk about how heartless Republicans are.  We fought ObamaCare.  We want it to fail.  Not cause it's a boondoggle mind you....no, because we never cared about the uninsured.  Didn't we understand that 50 million people in America were uninsured in 2008?  More than 16% of the population!  Read the census!

Well, did you?  Did you go read the 2008 census they are/were citing?  Cause I did.  And a few others did.  They tried to tell you.  I told everyone who would listen, including my sons who stopped listening, lol!  "Yeah, yeah Ma.  We know.  They are playing with the numbers.  Can I get back to what I was doing?"

But it was more than a headline.  It was more than a soundbite.  People didn't have the time or inclination to fact check.  So they were fooled by the whole "50 million Americans have no healthcare!"  Never mind healthcare is not health insurance.  Word games, numbers games, whatever.

From the 2008 census the number of uninsured in America - Page 20, Table 7.  "People Without Health Insurance Coverage by Selected Characteristics: 2007 and 2008"

Number of uninsured in 2008; 46,340,000.  Not 50,000,000.  OK, so they rounded up a little.

Number of uninsured people whose household income was over $75,000 per year; 9,725,000.  Did they need saving?  No, more likely they decided they could pay out of pocket and  not bother with insurance.

Number of uninsured people whose household income was over $50,000 per year; 8,034,000.  Some might have struggled in that bracket depending on their location, but most?  No, I don't think so.  Again, I believe the majority made a conscious choice to abstain.

Number of uninsured people with a household income under $25,000 per year; 13,673,000.  Now again, this number represents something that is not being discussed.  It includes a great deal of people who qualify for insurance /Medicaid /Medicare /VA coverage and they are not obtaining it.  Why?  Well some just aren't aware.  Some don't understand the process.  Some don't want to be "in the system" whether out of fear or stubbornness.  And in all categories, again, there are those who just don't want to opt in.  I want outreach to help those who qualify get through the process and get coverage through existing avenues.  Don't tell me that there wasn't an easier lest costly way to help this demographic.

Number of non-citizens who do not report health insurance?  9,511,000.  Ok, now there are many differing views on what this number represents and how much we should care.  This number does not represent a solid block of malnourished, abused, illegal immigrants living in abject poverty.  And while you may disagree, I do not think we should be turning 1/6 of our economy to make sure they have insurance.

After I make what I consider to be reasonable adjustments, who is left of those 46,340,000?

Well, I don't want to count anyone making than $75,000 or more per year.  If there is an extenuating circumstance, chances are there is a corresponding charity.  If not, it must be possible to fix that on a small scale.

So we're down to 36,615,000.

Next category is those making between $50,000 and $74,999.  Conceding geographic location, I'll give you half.  How's that?

Down to 32,598,000.

What's left is people with incomes under $25K.  I'll give you a third of them - 4,557,667.  Again, I think that's more than generous.  So I'm subtracting two thirds, 9,115,333 people.

Non-citizens?  I don't want to count any of them.  My Federal tax dollars should not be taking care of you.  Go home to your own country for care.  Or pay the bill.  Taking them completely out would cut the number drastically , but there is no telling where they fell in the income breakdown.  So I can't take any off.  But you know darn well some of them are represented in the numbers for households making over $25,000 and less than $49,999.  And I'm leaving that group whole.

Now our number is 23,482,667.  I won't quibble about people who chose not to be insured, as is their right.  But where does this leave us?  Less than half of what the Affordable Care Act's proponents cried about.

23,482,667 people represent not quite 8% of the 301,483,000 counted..

Now let's watch and see how many people who were responsible and had a policy in 2008 will lose what they had.  And I don't mean just the people getting letters that their individual policies are cancelled.  You know the ones who per this link on Forbes -

"On Tuesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney attempted to minimize the disruption issue, arguing that it only affected people who buy insurance on their own. “That’s the universe we’re talking about, 5 percent of the population,” said Carney."

So Jay Carney doesn't think *those* 5% are any big deal.  You know, it's not like it was 8% or anything.

However, in addition to the people who had individual policies and will lose them.....let's add people whose employers lost or dropped coverage.  And what about people who lost access to their employee insurance coverage when employers cut their hours?

So at the end of the day, you will have disrupted far more than 8% of the population.  You will have moved them out of policies that were adequate.  You will have forced people who simply paid their own way into purchasing insurance they didn't want.  Because the ACA also forces insurance companies to drop bare bones policies to offer policies with bells and whistles that some Americans neither needed nor wanted.  You will have people moving from adequate plans to plans with higher deductibles and out of pocket costs.

In the big picture you will have a net loss of coverage.

Spending Time With Tommy

Just as I was grateful for the chance to live again at 88 Elm Street with my parents; I am grateful for this time with Tom.

He works nights, so I make him breakfast around four in the afternoon.  The other day after putting his plate in the sink he walked past me "Thanks for the eggs mom." I was struck.  I got a little leaky and went in the other room.

I realized that now I am getting another chance to relive another happy part of my life.  For the first six years of Tom's life I was lucky enough to be home with him most of the time.  Especially after we moved to Rocky Nook.  It was a happy simple time.  And my life now is very like my life then.  I hang, I do a little housework, I make Tom's breakfast and sometimes pack his lunch.

On nights he doesn't work we do stuff and talk.

Living in Virginia is painful for me, lol.  I long to be in Boston.  The independence of hopping on the "T" and going to events and lectures and movies.  The ocean, God!  I miss the ocean.  I  miss my city.

But inside this house?  Inside this house is very nice.

Robert Hale, Pentagon Comptroller Should Resign Immediately

Ok, so here's the deal.

The Pentagon let the Congress know that the shutdown would cause certain things to effect the defense department.  They let them know this *before* the shutdown.  The Pentagon cited many items, but they specifically said "death benefits"

And a bipartisan Congress approved the money.  They thought, as did most, that the matter was settled.

Then the shutdown comes and we descend into this macabre theater where WWII Vets are barry-caded from outside monuments and hotel guests are escorted out of national parks by armed park rangers.

Now the sad reality of war, which is never too far, returns.  We lose servicemen and women who were fighting on our behalf.  Some stop and turn and reflect as they always do.  Their hearts big and wide and grieving.

But this time, something is different.  And the national grumble turns to a roar as we realize that the Pentagon is saying there will be no death benefit because of the Shutdown.  There is bewilderment.  Congress funded this.  Both parties agreed.  For once the right thing was done.

Fisher House, a marvelous and worthy charity steps into the breech and takes care of those grieving families.  Thank God, for Fisher House.  That's not just an expression of relief.  That's me saying to you that if you believe in God, please thank Him for good people like Arnold Fisher and his family and everyone who works for, fundraises for and helps Fisher House.

Congress, both sides, springs into action.  They are going to immediately fix this oversight.  According to Jay Carney, the President wants a solution immediately.

OK, so everyone is scrambling.  They thought this was settled, it wasn't, we'll look into it.

First problem - Reporters ask when the President was first aware of this problem.  Fair question, no answer.

Second problem - White House spokesman says POTUS isn't going to sign the law that Congress threw together because now the problem is being handled by Fisher House, so no need.  Plus it's just a gimmick.  Yeah buddy it's just a gimmick that was signed unanimously.  It's hard to call something a Republican trick if the Democrats are hustling too.

YGTBFKM!

Arnold Fisher blasted the President at some event last night  "It's the worst thing this country has ever done:  Allowing these families to come to Dover Air force Base on their own money....Stop the nonsense."

Then the President signs it saying he meant to all along.

Third problem - Robert Hale, Comptroller of the Pentagon, before the Armed Services Committee saying the problem was the law was vague.  So he consulted with lawyers.

Vague?  Did it not occur to you to call someone?  Like that steaming pile of shit Chuck Hagel?  How about the Commander in Chief?  How about the House Armed Services Committee?  How about the author of the bill "Pay Our Military Act" Rep. Mike Coffman R-CO.  That's the bill that Congress thought solved this problem back on the eve of the shutdown.  No, Hale sent a memo to Justice.  Well, we all know how useful Eric Holder is.

So yesterday Coffman reams Hale in a hearing.
Hale "resented Coffman's remarks".  Too fucking bad.

If  Robert Hale can't handle this he should resign.  If Hale, as Coffman accuses, used it to further the "Make it hurt" White House political strategy, he should be tarred & feathered.

Nothing Much Is Going On Today

There was some furniture to arrange yesterday.  I know better than to heft that barge and tote that bale.  But in my current anal fashion, I decided some (more) cleaning should happen.

I emptied my room of everything in prep to wash walls, ceilings and floors.  I even talked Sara into buzzing me to the local "Dollar" store to find a cleaning liquid I liked the smell of.  We found Comet Lilac Bliss.

 I must go back and stock up since an appearance in a dollar store is often the last stop before oblivion.

I listened to MIDRATs as I scrubbed the ceiling, up and down the step stool.  I checked their chatroom as I scrubbed the floor on my hands and knees.

Once everything was put back together, the first move was complete.  It smelled great!  I love lilacs.

I looked at the second room and promised to get cleaning in there this morning.

Yeah.....no.  More like on the couch watching movies with my friends "Milky Way" & "Bayer Aspirin"

My Share Of Tom's Vacation

So Tom has some time coming to him and he asked if I wanted to do something.  He's going to take me to have lunch or dinner with Mary Ripley......his request.  He's awesome, isn't he?
****UPDATE - My Marine would like me to inform you that while many have suggested visiting Civil War.....he is the most important among them, also the most insistent and the biggest taskmaster.
********
He asks what else I might want to do.  When I moved down here many suggested some Civil War sites.  So I ask Tom what he thinks.  And he brings up the #GovernmentShutDown.

The World War II Memorial and it's special reinforced Barry-cades.

And the blocked of scenic drive so no one can park & take pics of Mount Rushmore.

And the locking of the gates to the parking lots at MinuteMan Park.

So, what Civil War places will we visit?

Any damn one I want.

Smart Political Advice

From yours truly!

Every Republican in Washington, DC should be down at the World War II Memorial escorting anyone who wants to walk around inside.

I get why POTUS thought barricading it was a good idea.  Everyone is trying to get their point across.  POTUS wants to blame the Republicans for the fact that he, Harry Reid, Nanacy Pelosi, et al said they would not negotiate.  There are a million clips on the internet.  Google one up.  "We won't talk."  "We won't compromise"  "Just forget it."

You can disagree with me here.  That's fine.  You can say it is the fault of the Republicans.  Not my point.  My point is that blaming Republicans has no oomph unless someone suffers.  Sure, people have been furloughed, but does that really grab America?

But shutting down memorials and monuments, that's a soundbite!  "Yeah, me and the wife saved up all year to bring the kids here and now it's closed!"  Mr. Middle America opines into the reporters mic.  The the MSM bot gets to point out that polls blame REPUBLICANS!!!!!

It's the same thing as closing down the White House tours but not cutting the entertainment budget inside the White House.  They aren't tightening their belts, they are trying to make a point.

So yesterday they threw a few symbolic barricades around a number of outdoor monuments.  I am sure they expected that their loyal MSM cohorts would record sad pics of tourists barricaded from National Monuments and Museums.  Just like the pics of school kids outside the White House at the beginning of the Sequester.  Mean, mean Republicans!

But something else happened.  World War II veterans, some escorted by Honor Flight, just moved shit outta their way and went in anyway.  It's an outdoor memorial, morons.  You can't close it up.  So essential park police came to stop them and (if I understand correctly) Rep Peter King sent some of his people down to diffuse the situation.

So that photo op didn't go POTUS's way.  And, Honor Flight has stated they aren't changing their schedule.  The Republican National Committee has offered to pay for the memorial to be opened.

Mistake!  Stop.  Back off.  It is the wrong message.  Mean old, rich Republicans throwing money at a problem.

Instead every Republican should be down there daily escorting these vets.  Wear out some shoe leather.  Your reward will be whatever tales these amazing men and women want to share with you.

How Much Did It Go Up This Month?

Every month lately I have my IgA level tested.  Ever since the cancerous protein came back, signalling the end of my remission, it has been climbing.

Between October '12 and January '13 it went up 41 points.  Between January '14 and March '13 it jumped another 41 points.  Yikes.  At that rate I was going to sail right past the upper level of normal (normal ranges run from 50 or 80 to 350 or 400, depending on the scale).

After March it went up more slowly, but it was going up.  The month I took the curcumin religiously it only went up 2 points.  Since then it's been spotty.

Every month friends and family hold their breath with me - "How much did it go up?"

So I just listened to Karen's voice mail..........it went DOWN!!!  From 319 in August to 310 on Monday.

I hear Nelly singing "Ride Wit Me" in my head "Hey!  Must be the Milky Ways."

Remind Me Never To Use The Restroom At Sears

My Grandmother Washes Her Feet in the Sink of the Bathroom at Sears

BY MOHJA KAHF

My grandmother puts her feet in the sink

        of the bathroom at Sears

to wash them in the ritual washing for prayer,

wudu,

********************************

Yeah, I hear you - "Maggie, what the ...."

Well folks this is the poem that the principal of Concord-Carlisle decided would be an appropriate for a school wide reading on.........September 11, 2013.  Yeah, that Concord.

Did I mention that the kid that was supposed to recite the Pledge of Allegiance wasn't available, so they skipped it?

Oh and also, the representative of the school committee is "disappointed" that people thought that poem was inappropriate.

What's above is just the opening.  Want another sample?

And if you Americans knew anything

about civilization and cleanliness,

you'd make wider washbins, anyway

My grandmother knows one culture—the right one,

****************************************

Pissah.

Got To Sit Outside Today!!!

Yay me!

I've been spending a lot of time indoors in the new place in Craigsville.  Mostly because I sleep more than you can imagine.  Also because there are so many cleaning projects in this place, it's been closed up for three years.  But also because of the heat here.

It's not like it doesn't get beastly hot in Boston.  But when it does I go to the beach or the Clougherty pool at the top of Bunker Hill.  I love to lounge in the sun.  My Marine refers to me as a housecat because I love it so much.

But there is no water element nearby.  And no dependable public transit to reach the nearest public pool......21 miles away!  The hose doesn't even reach around to the back of the house, lol.

But today at noon it was 69 degrees!  Whew.  I was getting pretty pale.

The outdoor space here is pretty sad, just like the inside was when we moved in.  But it has great possibilities.  This is a view of the back of the house.  There is a small well built deck that we need to refinish.  As you can see, I also need a screen door.  But the magic screen is batter than nothing.  The insects here are very serious.

This is a view from the deck going up.  The yard goes up this hill and over.  Lot's of space.  Lot's of privacy.

And this is a partial view of the bleak front yard. 

  But I can't do anything outside until I finish inside.  I know once I start trimming bushes, planting bulbs, carving paths......I won't go back inside!

Today Is Important

For many reasons.  But today let us turn our attention to Benghazi.  We need answers.

Battle of Lake Erie

"We have met the enemy and they are ours" - Oliver Hazard Perry's famous message to General Harrison after the American victory at the Battle of Lake Erie, 200 years ago today. 

Battle of Lake Erie: Building the Fleet in the Wilderness

My Dear Stella

My fun on FaceBook has irritated my friend Stella.  I have "shared" every derisive post on the fact that some party line hacks in the Democratic party who howled over "W" and Iraq are now backing intervention in Syria.  I have repeated every petty, pithy comment on their hypocrisy.

You can't be surprised.  Everyone knows that my most finely attuned sense is my sense of schadenfreude!

But I am well aware that not all liberals back military intervention in Syria.  I know that not all Democrats blindly follow President Obama.  I know that the Americans who voted for Barack Obama are not a monolith unquestioningly following his lead.

Mathematically that would be impossible.  50% of voters chose to re-elect Obama over 48% backing Romney.  Yet Real Clear Polling averages 51.3% oppose intervention on Syria's civil war with only 34% favoring it.  And I have heard numbers putting that support as low as 19%.  Politician after politician talks about calls and emails coming into his/her office against intervention.  I've heard no one discuss a flood of calls in favor.  I think that is even more telling because those people made an effort as opposed to just answering the phone.

I understand that my stand on Syria puts me in bed with MoveOn.org and Code Pink.

I further understand that John Boehner the nominally Republican Speaker of the House, backs the President here.  But Boehner's actions don't move me.  He's a boob.  He's not a true republican or a true conservative.  And ack, the crying!  Don't get me started.  Boehner is a non-entity in this discussion.

Facebook is for fun and snark.  Please scroll through my timeline.  A pic I shared last night jokes about Pope Francis, who I respect and admire, being a bad catholic for sitting in the back at Mass.

You know I loathe John Kerry to the point that seeing his visage gives me agita.  You know I am disgusted that Obama talked smack about "W" and Iraq for years.  But now that he is sitting in the hot seat, things are different.  Yet, he still takes the occasional pot shot at "W".  Have you heard anything from "W" in terms of a counter volley?  No.

So when we make vicious fun of those involved here, that's what it's about.  Never, never about you.

Can I Umm, Get Me A Red Line Here?*

"Children of Darfur"

Sudan: Letter to Human Rights Council on the Human Rights Situation in Sudan

"Two years after the secession of South Sudan, armed conflict continues to devastate large parts of Darfur, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile. "
******************************************************

Darfur in 2013 Sounds Awfully Familiar

Nicholas Kristoff reporting for the New York Times

ABGADAM REFUGEE CAMP, Chad — ASIYA TAHIR, 20, had her 4-month-old baby, Mariam, on her back in April when three armed men in Sudanese military uniforms seized her and her sister at a well in Darfur.

The soldiers beat Asiya and then — according to both sisters who were interviewed separately — pulled Mariam off her back and laughingly checked to see if she was a boy or a girl. Grabbing Mariam by one arm, a soldier flung her into the distance.

“You’re lucky she’s a girl,” Asiya remembers one of the soldiers saying. “If that were a boy, we would have cut his throat.”

**********************************

Not that I would expect our SecState to be much help on Darfur.  After all, when we had Khartoum at the negotiating table in 2010, Kerry was the one who brought that Administration's offer to "decouple" the issue of Darfur from the talks.

The UN estimates that as many as 300,000 have died in Darfur.  No they weren't gassed, just shot, displaced, starved and left in camps to die from preventable disease.

**************************************

The asterisk in the blog post title is to explain the poor grammar.  I am jeeringly using some of John Kerry's own words.

Mismanaging Syria

All war is ugly.

Chemical weapons are a crime against humanity.

However, President Obama has mismanaged this situation and is on the way to making it worse.

I just watched CNN's State of the Union - as well as Kerry on "Meet The Press".  Later, I will catch a repeat of FoxNewsSunday.

But so far several things really bother me.

First is SecState Kerry and others such as Rep Eliot Engel, D-NY trying to drive support by talking about Syrian children who have been gassed.  Do not try to manipulate me this way.  I care about those children, but no more or less than the children Assad has killed with bullets and bombs.  I also care about those who have been orphaned and displaced.  How about the children killed by rebel forces?  Don't tell me the answer is to bomb and kill more Syrian children.

Oh and when Kerry makes his passionate statements in front of this picture

Just know it's a lie.  This isn't a depiction of the aftermath of a Syrian chemical weapon attack.  It's not the result of anything Assad has ever done.  It's Marco Di Lauro's "The Aftermath of Saddam" in 2003.

Then there is the "we must back Obama now that he has committed" argument.  I find this best exemplified by former diplomat and current JFK School professor R. Nicholas Burns (a guy who I have agreed with on some things in the past).

"The congress has to vote in favor of this resolution or else the credibility of the United States as a global power in the Middle East is going to be vastly reduced."

Yeah, no.  Saying Congress must blindly follow whatever nonsense and poor foreign policy POTUS comes up with is bullshit.

And when some talking head tells you that it's a crime against humanity - and it is - so the US must handle it.  Remind them that's what the UN and other world bodies are for.  If this was sooooo important, where was Obama's Ambassador to the United Nations when it was brought up?  Oh, yeah, Samantha Power was vacationing in Ireland.

Well then, they'll say it's a US national interest.  Really?  Please define it.  Syria can gas every last Syrian and it will not effect the US as a nation.  So absent a vital national security interest, the answer is in Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the US Constitution.  One would think someone who has referred to himself as a "constitutional law professor at the University of Chicago Law School" would understand that.

Meet The Press had a segment on the horrors of refugee camps.  I've never seen a nice one and the UN says this is a huge crisis.  OK, I'm with you there.  I want to help there.  No one is going to argue that.  Send aid.  We're good at that.  But don't blow smoke and tell me that bombing strategic targets in Syria is going to make any difference in refugee camps.  These camps were there before the chemical attacks.  Syrians are fleeing the fighting overall.

Finally, people will tell you President Obama "wants to send a message".  Ok, I understand "gunboat diplomacy". Currently we have USS Gravely DDG107, USS Barry DDG52, USS Mahan DDG72, USS Ramage DDG61, and USS San Antonio LPD-17 in the Med.  USS Stout DDG55 is heading over to relieve the Barry.  So tell me, if DDGs deliver Tomahawks and LPD deliver US Marines.......what is your message?

Ten Years Ago I......

.....landed in Dubai.  The U.S. Navy Commander, formerly known as the Favorite Naval Consort may have turned out to be a selfish jerk who got "tired of my cancer", but too many other things were wonderful.

The pool; the gym; the spa and the staff at the Taj Palace took marvelous care of me during my eleven days in Apartment 245.  And thanks to the Navy phone (mine didn't work internationally) he gave me from his office and the use of his car and driver, Ali, it was the best vacation ever!

I have a pic of the two of us, but I can't find it.  Ali coached me on bargaining in the souks.

That's where I got these little treasure chests filled with frankincense.

The Long Dark Winter..........

....of my lack of good reliable Internet connectivity is over.

No more looking for unlocked networks.

No more driving near a McDonalds just to update my Kindle.

Thank you, Sara.  I know it was a sacrifice.  My son is as much of an addict as I am.

Signal strength: Excellent.  Mmmmmmm.