Greatest Americans

I was very disappointed last week, when I opened this subject. I tried to handle the subject somewhat objectively, knowing that I have a great admiration for Ron Reagan.

I didn't try to reach beyond the five finalists, nor did I seek to unnecessarily put down anyone...

But sure enough, some commentators, had to get sarcastic, and spit vitriol, over some of the finalists, even, I suspect, though they either weren't alive during their time, or certainly not old enough to be politically aware.

It was then that I realized how completely our parents pass on the prejudices of their own lives.

Certainly, there were other great Americans that were left out...

Franklin Roosevelt, certainly deserved a spot, and many others...I just wish that we could all just debate the issues, instead of stooping to insults, innuendos and echoes of our parents. If you can't think of any other way to comment, then shut up...Let the more thoughtful among us be heard...

Health Update

Today was the day...

I went into the V.A. for a needle biopsy, which went smoothly...

It will be about one week until I get results. The scan that accompanies the biopsy showed three bumps, which could be calcium deposits, or tumors. One can only wait and see.

In the mean time, live today, for tomorrow.......

Greatest Americans

AOL has all week been holding an election for the top American of all time.

The finalists are as follows...

Benjamin Franklin
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abraham Lincoln
Ronald Reagan
George Washington

I honestly don't know how you can objectively choose between these great Americans...

Benjamin Franklin was a great inventor, a great statesman, and may have been principally responsible for the French intervention in the Revolutionary War...

Martin Luther King, Jr., of course is known as the one single American most responsible for directing attention to the plight of the Black Americans that were still not getting full Citizenship, or justice. I still have chills when I hear replays of his great speech, "I Have a Dream"...

Abraham Lincoln was the president during a time of great turmoil. While the industrial North was doing well, the Agricultural South, depending upon slavery, was not going to follow his lead, and of course didn't...He held the nation together, at a time that no one thought it was possible...

Ronald Reagan inherited his office, after the previous President, a nice man, but an ignorant one, had, much like the Truman administration, following the second world war, with the Navy decimated, the Air Force raped, and the Army cut to one third of it's previous strength.

He, during his term of office,managed to rebuild the Armed Forces to a level that could not only compete, but actually sank the Soviet Union...He of course, along with Congress, ran up a large national debt, which some folks still blame him for, without looking at the reasons therefor.

This man, in his own time, managed to turn the world around by the strength of his will, during a time that television and the media well surpast any media that existed during the previous persons lives...

George Washington...How can anyone choose above him, yet, was he a great statesman, or just a great General...

I confess, that faced with these great choices, why should we be force to choose...

I am thankful that we have had them all, in their chosen, or forced into roles...

I can't see where anyone can choose between these great men, certainly not me...

Mariners

I have a plan...

Watching the Mariners play inter-league, I have come to the obvious conclusion. We need to petition Major league baseball for a change of league. As near as I can figure, if we switch to the National League, we're in first place.

We whipped San Diego, thence Tampa Bay, Philly, and now the Mets...

Whata you think, CDA Dave? DFO?

I rest my case...

PS: In doing spell check on "Mariners", the option is "Mourners".

Boy is THAT symbolism!

Grandchildren

I have, for the last few days, been entertaining my youngest Son, Daughter-in-law, and three delightful grandchildren. Actually, they have been entertaining me.

My Son is a missionary in England. My grandchildren, ages 7, 4, and 2 are all young ladies. The youngest two, I had never met, as they were born in England.

The picture of myself and the youngest, below, says it all. I had a wonderful time, and hope that they did too. We went to Silverwood, where yours truly works. None of the kids had ever been to a theme park and were thrilled with the magic show and the juggler, plus the many rides that they took.

I miss them already...

This is what Grandpa likes to do in his spare time...
Posted by Hello

Wailting for another sunny day
Posted by Hello

If I could, would you

I am a poorly trained blogger. Having arrived at the ripe age of 67, I'm very lucky that I can find and understand the function of the on/off switch.

Having said that, I am irretrievably sucked in to this amazing stuff. One thing, though that escapes me, is how to manipulate the various options that exist on Blogger.com

I see all of these links to other blogs, and I'm sure that either these people don't like what I write, or, just simply write me off because I don't link to them.

The simple truth of the matter is that I don't know how. If I did, I would be delighted to refer others to my esteemed colleges...Help?

Newsweek heard from

Several days ago I wrote a scathing article about the irresponsibility they showed recently.

Today I received a reply in the mail. In opening it, I found an offer of a greatly reduced subscription for a "journalist discount". This has to be the greatest!

I am in awe. The Yiddish language has an expression that covers this, but I can't spell it.

PS: I just found out why my cat is so demanding all of the time as I chased two huge racoons off my porch. Their reputation as thieves is well deserved.

Boeing

There was much discussion about Boeing and taxes on the "Wild Card" comments of yesterday, posted by Huckleberries on line.

I remember that during the Vietnam War, the Boeing 727 used the same engine as the F-4 multi-use fighter-bomber. At the height of the conflict a shortage occurred of these jet engines. I lived near the Renton plant, and observed 50 or more 727's lined up ready for delivery, but without engines.

Along came the year end, and Washington State inventory tax. To avoid this punishing penalty, Boeing had to ferry engines to Renton Boeing, install them, fly to Wichita, Kansas, remove the engines and fly them back. They did this over and over until the undelivered planes were all in Wichita.

The moral of this story is that if a state, in their greed, passes too many anti-business tax laws, they will loose the base which they are taxing.

Boeing also pays Business & Occupational tax, one of the most repressive taxes ever invented. With this tax, you pay on your gross revenue, regardless of whether you showed a profit. I once started a business in Washington where in the first year I showed an actual loss of $7000.00. I paid $1600.00 B & O tax anyway...

The state got their's first.

Boeing pays their own way and then some. It is very hard for me to see the point of view that all businesses are predatory, and all labor is perfect. Who hires these perfect workers, and who creates with their own capitol the where-with-all to hire?

Prayer

I don't talk much about religion. The reason being, that either some idiot comes up with a bunch of reasons that I'm an idiot, or it's a different slant on the same stuff, or, I'm not of your faith.

Right now, I'm recieving a lot of prayer. I gotta be honest with you, I don't care whether you are a praying muslim, or a praying Jew, or even if, like me, you are a Christian, all of your prayers are coming from the heart, and that's the only place that counts...And, remember, it all started with a guy named Abraham, or Abrim, or whatever.

God bless you all...

Herb

New Farragut Shooting Range

The following is a guest publication, written by Tim Jones, on behalf of C.A.R.E.

Citizens Against Range Expansion

Farragut Shooting Range Q and A

Q. Fish and Game seem to be doing a good job providing the area with a needed facility. Why are you against shooters having a safe place to shoot?

A. We’re all for safe places to shoot. The NRA identifies 15 such facilities within a 50-mile radius of Coeur d’Alene. Yet Fish and Game didn’t bother to survey any of them for usage rates before designing the expanded facility in Farragut. While we understand that an expanding population is putting pressure on shooting ranges (primarily because of noise), putting a noisy one in Farragut State Park is not a reasonable solution.

Q. Fish and Game say the new range will actually be quieter than the old range. Why on earth would you object to that?

A. Of the many half-truths employed by Fish and Game, this is one of the dirtiest. They arrive at this absurd claim by referring to a planned curtailment of shooting hours available compared to the shooting hours available now. Of course, they are actively promoting the new range for competition and making access much easier. This will certainly lead to a vast increase in the number of bullets fired, therefore an INCREASE in noise.

Q. But Fish and Game say they have noise abatement plans. Won’t these take care of any additional noise?

A. What plans, exactly? Ask Fish and Game to show you their acoustical engineering plan. They don’t have one. Their design contains NO acoustical engineering. Any noise abatement plan they claim is simply an empty promise, with no basis in science.

Q. And how are you in a position to criticize?

A. Well, unlike F&G, who have yet to plan a proper sound test, we know the noise will be massive. On April 23, 2005, C.A.R.E. conducted a bona fide sound emission study at the range under the direction of a qualified acoustics engineer. His final report is pending, but preliminary results show clearly that noise from the range far exceeds any reasonable standard. Effective abatement to acceptable levels would likely be very expensive.

Q. Fish and Game says they’re just making “improvements” and “safety enhancements” to an existing range, not an “expansion.” What’s wrong with that?

A. $3.6 million, parking for 400 cars, accommodations for 130 simultaneous shooters, a 600 yard high-power range, a skeet range and Cowboy Action Shooting goes far beyond these terms. This is an expansion on an enormous scale, but Fish and Game knows that term sets off alarm bells.

Q. I’ve heard that C.A.R.E. is an anti-gun organization. Is that true?

A. Absolutely not. We support the letter and intent of the second amendment. Many of us own guns and use them regularly. Some people who want the range to be expanded try to characterize us as anti-gun because they have little to offer in its support. We are not against guns. We ARE against Fish and Game sidestepping every reasonable safeguard and shoving this range down our throats.



For more information, please call (208) 683-3736

Challenges

Two days ago, I learned that I probably have cancer of the prostate. While being tested routinely at the V.A. for various things last Summer, my PSA reading came back at 4.6. In March of this year, it came back at 5.4. Day before yesterday it was 6.0.

That, according to my Urologist, is pretty convincing, as there are apparently no other causes for these numbers, other than cancer. It's a strange feeling. Kind of unreal. I'm a charter member of the "it can't happen to me" club. While I see and hear of people all around me having fatal or near fatal diseases, hey, that's not me, right?

In about three weeks, I go in for a biopsy. There is an 80% chance of it being positive. I'm going to, as far as I can, share my feelings and reactions as this situation unfolds. Prostate cancer, of course, involves the reproductive organs, and details of this experience my be objectionable to some, and perhaps helpful to others.

Right now, I am somewhat ambivalent. This type of cancer is curable in 80 or so percent of cases, and even more, when caught early. Having said that, the loss of bladder control, prevalent in many after radical surgery, and the knowledge that my sex life may be over forever, is to say the least, daunting.

Hopefully, as I periodically write about this new adventure, I will help someone to get checked, and successfully get help for them. If not, maybe just writing about this will at least keep me from whining.