War Casualties

Americans Killed In Action are tragic figures. A father, a son, a mother, a daughter---anyone killed is a loss. Unfortunately, it is the cost of doing war. Regardless of the desires of Miss Americas over the decades, World Peace is not a reality.

Most all of us know that more than 50,000 U .S. service personnel died in Vietnam. Ten years of fighting that no-win war (at least, fighting it the way our troops were ordered to fight).

Some of you know that more than 400-thousand were killed in another war that lasted a little more than three years. At least, three years that the United States was involved. That was World War II.

The attached video link is a good one. It looks at yet another American war. One that claimed about the same number of American lives than both World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam combined.

http://biggeekdad.com/2011/01/gettysburg/

Regardless of your North-South heritage, you should find this piece of history educational and interesting. When you think about the number of Americans who died during the American Civil War, consider the population at that time. The sheer percentage of those killed would be staggering. 31-million in 1860 compared to 200-plus million during Vietnam. Two percent of the entire population was wiped out during the Civil War. That's two killed for every 100 men, women and children in the United States. By comparision,  three out of every 10-thousand Americans were killed in combat during the Viet Nam era. And, the Civil War lasted one-third as long as the Vietnam War. Think how devastating it would have been had General Lee not surrendered when he did.

Campaign Promises vs The Truth, the WHOLE Truth, so help me GOD

So, we're about a dozen months out before the next batch of campaign lies begins . Yes, I know, some local and state elections are closer. But, compared to the Big Boys, those wannabees are little more than mere amateurs when it comes to telling tall tales. Not that I mean to demean Amateur Radio operators, aka "hams". Those are some fine folks, some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Whenever the professionals make it round to your communities, looking for votes, making promises that even the dumb among us know they can't keep, why not arm yourself with a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Just for giggles. And, every chance you get, quiz each and every one of the politicians on one part or another of our most important document. Challenge them. Put them on the hot seat. Make them squirm.

There are parts of our Constitution that we should all review from time to time. Particularly, the Bill of Rights. In 1789, 12 original amendments to the Constitution were presented for discussion. Of those, 10 were adopted, and became known as the Bill of Rights. Others have been added since then, 17 others all total. Think about it for a moment. In a tad over 200 years, only 17 additional amendments have been added to our Constitution, that document that some much smarter guys than we have today put together. Our elected officials, and the wannabees, should pay close attention to these rights. They should not tread on them.

At the top, the First Amendment, was obviously important to our Founding Fathers:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

This First Amendment guarantees me that I can say what I want, as I'm doing now; it protects our journalists; it allows me to worship as I please.

Immediately following is the Second Amendment. Those smarter guys I mentioned knew something about the consequences of having an unarmed society. Such a society can never be free.

"No free man shall ever be de-barred the use of arms. The strongest reason for the people to retain their right to keep and bear arms is as a last resort to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
-Thomas Jefferson

"The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able may have a gun."
-Patrick Henry
So, what part of this is hard to understand? Even for the loophole-lawyers of today, I cannot see why there is any argument one could raise. But, they do.

Less than a hundred years after the Constitution was drafted, the great Sam Adams...known for his debating skills...addressed the first and second amendments in, of all places, Massachusetts (Ted Kennedy should have read up on this): 

"The Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Sam Adams, Debates & Proceedings in the Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1886-1887

Please take note that Adams said "people". But, there are still folks who argue that "people" are not  average "people", like you and me. They argue that our Founding  Fathers meant to say "militia". I think that if those smart guys had meant to say "militia", they would have said it. And, they would not have been wishy-washy about it, and say something brilliant like, "...depends on what is is".

I keep saying Our Constitution. Well, folks, that's what it is. Our Constitution was adopted to provide these rights to the citizens of the United States. An illegal alien is not a citizen. A confined suspected terrorist is not a citizen. Our Constitution does not offer them ANY rights. How clear is that? If you want to enjoy the rights of Our Constution, then you must be a citizen of the United States.

Those rights, by the way, are courtesy of our forefathers. The ones who originally adopted them, and those who have fought for more than 200 years to make sure that no foreign government treads on them. I think our military can handle that part quite nicely. But it's up to the rest of us need to make sure that our own government does not tread on them, either.

As I stated, the campaign lies get underway in a year.   

Oil Shortage is caused by our Dipsticks

My favorite cat (next to my little EvinRude) understands.

But, the rest of us don't seem to understand why we have an oil shortage.
It's simple, really, according to Garfield.
Nobody bothered to check the oil.
It's a matter of Geography.
Our oil is located in Alaska, Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Wyoming, Kalifornia, Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, and off the coasts of Florida and Louisiana.
Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington.

Gas prices, while we sleep, are not creeping up anymore. That stopped a week ago.
We sat by while they sneaked up. 
Usually in the middle of the night, while we slept.
A penny here, a penny there.
We said nothing when they inched towards $3/gallon.
Now, without a single apology, the gas dictators add a nickel today, another one while we sleep...there's no end. Of course, along comes an excuse in the form of "un-rest" in a country far, far away.
Have you even looked at a map to see where Libya is?
Why, I ask, does anything happening in Libya have anything to do with the price I spend at the pump in North Carolina?
Our "media", at first, threatened us with predictions of $4/gallon gas by summer. Too late. Some places, it's already there. Latest threats are that it will top out at $5/gallon.
Garfield has this one right.
What are we going to do about it?
We did a lttle. Last November.
But, there remains an overabundance of dipsticks in D.C. When is "enough--ENOUGH"? Aren't you tired of being subjected to the gas dictators? It seems that we're just plain scared to say anything. Too many hide under the sheets when we hear someone kicking in our front doors. Like that's going to help.  
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's time for a real change. Not one of those camapaign Bravo Sierra promises for a change. It's time that those we elect to represent us to give us a workable solution to this most current crisis. .
Today.
No more reprieves.
We are being taxed, but I fail to see where we are being represented.
Therefore, as it was more than 200 years ago, we have
"Taxation Without Representation".
That was the political battlecry then.
And, we had a revolution.
Perhaps it is high time that we have another one.
Not on the battlefield, but at the ballot box.
Please remember this as we head towards 2012.
That's our next opportunity to remove another batch of dipsticks.

Gas Prices are ridiculous. Dead man walking???

President Reagan tried. Back in the late 1980's. On April 14th of 1986, to be exact. The bombs and missiles missed old Muammar Khadaffi (there are several prublished spellings for his first and last names), but they took out a bunch of his relatives. And, it sent Khadaffi running for a hole. Kept him there for a long time, too. Libyan terrorism wasn't so loud after the 14th. And, I thanked the President for that birthday gift. Too bad that the Italians tipped off Libya about the U.S. plans. We really need to learn to keep our secret missions secret.

Well, the fine folks of Libya, Khadaffi's people, are tired of him, tired of his ridiculous ruler-ship. They have seen a better world beyond their borders, beyond Khadaffi and his Band of Thugs. Unfortunately, for much of the world, their unhappiness has sent the price of oil up, up and away. Not sure that I understand why. Seems that the oil-price-dictators look for any excuse to rob us.

No doubt, Khadaffi is a dead man walking. His days are numbered. Since the great American guru has told the Libyan dictator that he needs to go away, I'm betting that someone, somewhere, will take that to mean there's a price on his head. Khadaffi has lived a quarter century longer than he should have. If our surgical strikes of 1986 couldn't get the job done, I'm betting that a bounty will bring out the best of today's mercs.

Ok, now that we're fixed that dictatorial problem, gas prices should start plummetng, right? After all, the unrest caused them to skyrocket, so--using Sherlock Holmes' deductive reasoning techniques--when the source of the unrest is laid to rest, they should come down. Let me know when that happens.

Perhaps it is high time to search for the gas price dictators. Perhaps our problems don't originate in nothing countries like Libya with nothing leaders like Khadaffi. Perhaps the great American guru should call for the gas price dictators to step down. With a simple wink-wink, he could put out a contract for one or all of those guys. I'll bet that the price of gasoline would become much more reasonable, at least by today's standards.

In case you have done little more than complain about the HUGE jump in pump prices, let me help you out in the math arena. If you use 20 gallons of gas per week, the increase over the last two weeks, alone, will cost you a whopping $400 MORE for the year. Now, I'm not sure how many 20-gallon-per week drivers there are out there, but you can just imagine how much MORE we're going to spend this year, all because of the gas price dictators.

Now, about that wink-wink-contract...

Conch Stew. You find it in the Caribbean. Like it?

I've traveled, on dive trips, to a number of Caribbean spots. And, I've sampled conch chowder or conch stew in a lot of places. Some were good, very good. Others...well, they were a little watered-down to suit me, often tasting no better than canned clam chowder.

So, I set about trying to come up with one that I like. It's been a while since I last made any, mainly because I couldn't find any conch meat. The Winn-Dixie stores, at one time, kept some in the seafood section. Always had to buy it in 5-pound frozen blocks. That was ok, 'cause I could separate the individual pieces as needed. With a little help from a sturdy knife and some delicate "prying".

Thanks to my boss and friend, I ended up with another block of the meat. He got it on a trip to Florida. If you try the recipe, I can't emphasize enough : DO NOT OVERCOOK the meat.

Conch Stew

aka Conch Chowder

12-14 ounces cleaned conch meat

6-ounces claw crab meat

1-medium onion (I like onions, so I use 2, sometimes 3)

6-carrots

6-stalks of celery

8-ounces Clamato juice (tomato juice or V-8 works well)

1-can diced tomatoes

4-cloves of garlic

1-small potato

Salt, pepper, Thyme, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, fila

*********

Dice carrots, celery and onion. Finely chop garlic. Cut the potato into small cubes. Add to stock pot. Add tomatoes. Add Clamato juice to cover half of the ingredients , then add enough water to completely cover the rest. Add desired amount of seasonings, keeping in mind that you can add more during the cooking and tasting process.

Bring to boil, reduce heat, then cover. Cook for 20 minutes on slow simmer, until the carrots are fork tender. Taste for seasoning. Add, as needed and desired. It should have a moderate amount of “heat”, or a lot if you’re from Texas, or like to brag that “the hotter, the better”.  Remember your guests.

Cut conch into chunks. Chop but do not mince, using a food processor or chopper. Add conch and crab meat to the pot. Reduce heat to lowest setting. Cover.

Ready to eat in 30 minutes.

Warning. Once the conch is added, do NOT overcook. Conch will become rubbery, and will have the consistency of rubber bands if cooked too long.

Having trouble finding conch? You can, of course, substitute clams. I often add crayfish (the tail meat) to my stew. You can go another step and include wheels of Kielbasa sausage, perhaps some rice, and develop your own version of gumbo.

Always remember to add the seafood in the last step, after reducing the heat to almost zero.

Like it with some crunch? Add the onions 10 minutes before adding the seafood.

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

Hope you enjoy.

A Good Mom

You gotta give it to Bev Perdue, North Carolina's first female governor. She's a good mom. Seems like she's a better mom than she is a governor. She certainly has looked out for her baby boy, Garrett. He's a lawyer. Oh, yeah. One of those. And, he's working for ex-Governor Jim Hunt at Womble Carlyle, the state's largest law firm. His position? He's on the firm's economic incentives team.

Cool. Nice spot. He landed that gig shortly after Bev took office a couple years back. The governor does a lot of grip and grin photos at ribbon cutting extravaganzas for companies she has encouraged to come to the state, using economic incentives. Not sure how much these incentives cost us, but it's likely more than a buck-ninety-eight. Of course, the company that benefits from this is that law firm that Lawyer Perdue works for.

Interesting to note that our Head of State (you do know that a head on a boat is the toilet, right?), Governor Mom, vetoed Senate Bill 13, the one calling for a balanced budget, one that would reclaim unspent economic funds.

Hmmm.

Young Perdue, as one might expect, says he would "...never, never abuse my relationship with the governor, or hold myself out as having an advantage because of my relationship to the governor, ever."

Hey, Garrett. Don't you dare forget Mother's Day in May. If you do, it could cost you your job.

Pirates Kill 4 Americans

"Negotiations had been under way to try to win the release of the two couples on the pirated vessel Quest when the gunfire was heard".

You've got to be kidding me! We're "negotiating" with the likes of scums? Why? And, why in the world did U.S. forces capture 13 of the so-called pirates? Two were killed, according to reports. But, we captured 13. That means we have to house them, support them, provide them free legal services, tie up our courts for years and years to come. They are pirates. Piracy on the high seas is punishable by death. Immediate death.

The two couples aboard the sailing yacht Quest were on a peace mission, a religious mssion. They were handing out Bibles to folks who wanted them. Until the Somali pirates took over their vessel.

One of the pirates was being interviewed by the Associated Press, via telephone, apparently minutes before the hostages were killed.

"Some pirates have even suggested rigging the yacht with land mines and explosives so as the whole yacht explodes with the first gunshot," said the pirate, who gave his name as Abdullahi Mohamed, who claimed to be a friend of the pirates holding the four Americans.

Oh, goodie. Abdullahi Mohamed. Another peaceful muslim. Funny way of promoting peace, don't you think? And, here we are, John Smith, Gertrude Jones. Americans with U.S. issued driver's licenses, Amercans in their 70's, 80's, 90's. Forced to remove their shoes, and forced to endure the indignity of being sexually assaulted when they prepare to board an airplane to visit their grandchildren. Why? Because we are not allowed to profile, we cannot target the folks who so hate Americans and our way of life.

It's high time we get real in this country. It's high time that the lilly-livered, spinless examples of leaders we keep electing get the royal boot. It's time that we, as true Americans, those with True Grit, stand tall, as did John Wayne (American), and take back the country our forefathers so bravely fought to establish and then to preserve in wars dating back more than 200 years.

It's time that we stop taking prisoners.