Stupid People!

Two weeks less two days ago we had a major flood in our locality. One of the effects of our inundation was that the road just east of our house was undermined by about four to five feet. There is a drop of approximately forty feet to the bottom.




Because there were so many of these incidents in the county it was late in the day before road barriers were in place.

For the first couple of days the road was barred like this:




One would think that would do the job. Not here! Traffic continued as if there were no barriers.

There is no rock fill under the road — only mud. Every time a vehicle passes the vibrations loosen more dirt, causing the area under the road to slough off more material, further undermining the road.

The county came out a few days later and installed more barriers and this is the present configuration:




Several sandbags have been added to make it more difficult to move the barriers but every day several do it. One recent night, about 11, a small pickup truck barreled through and drove right into the center barrier, breaking it in pieces and moving it about 100 feet. Some drive over the cones, others stop and move the barriers sideways, leaving them for some other dunderhead to drive through.

One woman told me, “It's so inconvenient to drive around.” “Yes,” I responded, “but not quite so inconvenient as waiting for the medics to arrive and pull you out of the creek.” She took the long — and safe — way.

I think the base problem is not inconvenience but a total disregard for law. Anyone with a lick of sense would know the signs are there for a reason. They would also know that they are there to protect people from possible injury or to protect the road from further damage. But then, those that drive through road barriers don't have a lick of sense. They are just plain stupid.

Margarine vs. Butter

The New York Times has an article in today’s on-line edition titled, “The Claim: Margarine Is Healthier Than Butter.” I am sure that it will generate no little discussion.



Margarine proponents like to talk about its low cholesterol ratings and lack of saturated fats. Butter proponents like to talk about its lack of trans fats. I couldn't care less about those things. I use butter because it tastes better and it is natural. I figure, if God made it it cannot be all that bad. Margarine is made by chemists and mad scientists. That makes it suspect, in my book.

I am old enough to remember when margarine had no coloring and little flavor. It looked like grease and tasted like grease. Yuk! Little packages of food coloring were supplied because people did not like what they saw. Pennsylvania's pure food laws put a big crimp on margarine sales back in the forties and fifties, because long after other states allowed food coloring to be integrated into the margarine before sales, Pennsylvania did not.

Stuart Hill has an excellent blog entry on this very matter. I recommend your reading it. The gist of his article is that the food and drug industries are in cahoots to keep us dependent on them. There may be some merit to that. I believe the food and drug developers have bought out the Food and Drug Administration. Why else would the FDA allow rapeseed, a known carcinogen to be sold for human consumption in the form of Canola Oil? Why else would a known poison like Aspartame be allowed in products designed for human consumption?

If you eat a balanced diet, butter is not going to adversely affect your cholesterol levels. Eighty percent of the body's cholesterol is self-produced and does not come from ingested sources. I am going to die someday and cholesterol may be the cause, but at least I will die happy eating the things I like rather than some chemist's greasy paste.

This is America, so Speak English

“This is America, so speak English!” I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that statement. It has most often been spoken in conversation between Americans discussing the many immigrants that cannot or will not speak English. I think it is an unkind, knee-jerk, redneck reaction to a non-problem.

Why do immigrants and foreigners not speak English?

1. They are visitors from another country here on business or vacation. Why should they learn English just to spend their money in our country? Those redneck rubes that think they should have no trouble accepting their dollars. Not only that, they (the rubes) do not learn Spanish to go to Mexico or French to visit Paris. No, they think everybody should bow to their backwoods philosophy — except themselves.

2. They are recent arrivals and have not yet had time to learn our language. Give them a break, for Pete’s sake! English is not an easy language to master. Ten-to-one, those that have no mercy on others have no mastery of their own language.

I worked in an industrial bakery and was one of eight native English-speaking employees on my shift. Of the three hundred plus others most were Mexican, with a scattered representation from the other Central and South American countries. Many of them were bilingual, most were not. “This is America, so speak English!” was often thrown in their faces.

Although it was not required, I made an attempt to learn Spanish so I could better communicate with them. One night, a young Mexican male was pulling a large motor across the plant floor by the cord. In order to get it to change direction, he sped up and yanked on the cord. I was livid because I was the one who would have to repair it. I lashed into him, speaking English, only to see a face that obviously was not comprehending. “¿Habla inglés?” He shook his head from side to side. After getting his supervisor and instructing the man on how to move electrical equipment I told him that if he was going to live and work in the United States he would always have menial jobs unless he learned English. He started immediately.

In exchange for help learning Spanish I agreed to tutor several in English. I soon learned that we often take for granted common words and idioms. One day a young man from Nicaragua asked me what “left” meant. I explained to him that it is a direction. “You can go left or you can go right,” I said while pointing in the direction indicated. “That doesn’t make sense,” he responded. “Well, use it in a sentence.” He said, “I was at the green grocers today and asked for a dozen eggs and the man said he only had three left.”

3. When foreigners are among their own people, they will speak their native language because it is more convenient and quicker for them. I know it is irritating to be among people whom you do not understand. However, we like English because it is what we know. And, when overseas and in a country that speaks another tongue, we find conversation with someone else who can speak English refreshing. Speaking one’s own language is comforting.

4. Foreigners often will not speak English for fear of making mistakes. I can understand this. I used to have a fair understanding of German and can still carry on a conversation. I sat on an airplane behind a group from Germany and translated to my wife what they were saying. It was really funny because they were drunk and did not know I could understand. My wife suggested I talk to them, but I declined because I knew my command of the language was so inferior to theirs.

4. By speaking their mother tongue they can keep you paranoid, wondering what about you they are talking about. I'd almost bet this is the primary reason. Now, that’s tongue-in-cheek but to hear some people talk that’s really the way it is.

I do believe we should have one national language and that language should be English. I believe that those who come here to live and to work and that speak another language should make due haste to learn English. I do not believe that our governments should have to print instructions in twenty languages to mollify those who cannot speak English. But if we want to enjoy an influx of tourists and their dollars businesses and public conveniences should attempt to communicate with them in their language, if those concerns so desire.

I once visited Montreal and asked a policeman for directions. Even though I was wearing the uniform of an American serviceman he spoke to me in French. I was infuriated. English is one of the two national languages of Canada. The entire time I was in Montreal I heard no English apart from the World’s Fair or aboard ship. I did not expect the man in the street to know English and perhaps the policeman was not bilingual. I learned what it was like to be a foreigner unable to communicate.

Too many Americans expect foreigners to do what they will not. How many Americans are bilingual? The percentage is less than that of other lands. In many countries Americans are sought after by the natives so they can practice their English language skills.

I have learned that immigrants who have a non-English heritage love to hear their heart language. It takes little effort to learn a few polite phrases like “Good morning, hello, how are you?” Speaking to them in their own tongue paves the way for friendship and understanding. It may also open the door to assimilation. A little effort and a little understanding goes a long way. Now, if only I could master “Good morning” in Korean....

Red Bull Energy Drink

I was given a can of Red Bull a few weeks ago. I'm not sure why I was given it. Perhaps my benefactor thought I was a little drained. I have seen others drinking Red Bull and had often wondered what it was. I thought maybe it was a malt liquor or some other intoxicating beverage. It is neither.

I placed the can in the refrigerator and tried to forget about it. Did I really want to drink it? It looked suspicious. The can was smaller than that of a 12 oz. soda pop so it couldn't be a soft drink. One day I picked it up and noticed the small print that said "Energy Drink." Hmmn, so that's what it is. I returned it to its place in the refrigerator.

Several times over the next weeks my wife would ask, "Have you drunk that energy drink yet?" And my answer was always, "No." Every now and then I'd pick the can up, look it over, and set it back down.

"What did it taste like?" I asked myself. "Have you ever heard anybody say they liked this stuff?" I'd continue in my mental conversation.

I finally opened the can. With great deliberation I poured the nectar into a glass. In a different glass container it would easily have been mistaken for a urine sample. Did I really want to drink this? I picked the glass up and turned it slowly in my hand, examining the contents for anything suspicious. Bringing it to my nose, I sniffed it gently. I took a sip. It was carbonated. It tasted like medicine. I tried to analyze the flavor and finally concluded it came in somewhere as a cross between Alka Seltzer Plus and Gatorade.

I do not believe any claims were made about the taste but it is supposed to be an energy drink. It didn't do anything for me — at least it had no noticeable effect. Oh well, it didn't cost me anything and didn't hurt me. That's a plus. However, it definitely will not be on my grocery list.

Check Your Sources

I recently received this in an email. The first part, relative to Alexander Tyler, I have read before. The statistics regarding the last Presidential election I had not seen nor do I know if they are factual. Anyway, I checked with a usually reliable source and found that, as with so many of this type of email, there are some truths, some lies, and some distortions.

One of the places I checked is http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp. I thought I smelled a rat when I noticed that Professor Olsen (a real person) taught at Hemline University School of Law. Hemline? It turns out that Professor Olson did not do the research, there are inaccuracies in the research, and Alexander Tyler is not the correct person. Read the Snopes.com article for a fuller explanation.

While it is probable that the facts regarding a democratic state are true or plausible, the cause being heralded is done no good through shoddy journalism (or whatever you want to call it). The conclusion to the email is definitely true, regardless of the errors in the preceding paragraphs.

Here is the email:

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government."

"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury."

"From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years."

"During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. from bondage to spiritual faith;
2. from spiritual faith to great courage;
3. from courage to liberty;
4. from liberty to abundance;
5. from abundance to complacency;
6. from complacency to apathy;
7. from apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:
Gore: 19
Bush: 29

Square miles of land won by:
Gore: 580,000
Bush: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by: Gore: 127 million
Bush: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare..."

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal's and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA as we know it in as few as five years.

A Republic or a Democracy?

Some things really irritate the daylights out of me. One of those is referring to our national form of government as a democracy. The United States is not a democracy. We do not have a democratic form of government, thank God, although we sometimes act like it.

The United States is a republic and has a republican form of government. A republic and a democracy are not the same. One is infinitely superior to the other. A democracy is just one step shy of anarchy.

So what is the difference? In a democracy every voter has an equal vote. Laws are made based on what the majority wants. If the majority wants to make it illegal to do something upright it can do it. If it wants to make something immoral legal, like assisted suicide, for instance, it can vote to do that.

A republican form of government elects representatives to make our laws, representatives who (in a perfect world) should do what is right regardless of what the majority wants.

I often hear our politicians, including our President, refer to the United States of America as a democracy. That thinking is pernicious and indicative of either abject ignorance or a subtle undermining of the basic principles of our governance.

Democracies only work in small venues like some New England town governments and clubs or social organizations and in which those who vote and make rules and laws are themselves both educated and God-fearing. Because few these days are educated and fewer can think logically and even fewer are God-fearing, a democracy can only result in ridiculous self-serving legislation.

The United States needs to revert to its republican roots but it probably cannot do so because our legislators are more concerned with collecting from their own golden-egg laying geese than they are in ruling righteously. The same is also true of those in the Exuctive Branch. Thus, our nation is doomed as we, the people, allow and encourage our rulers to legislate based on which way the wind is blowing — or what the (supposed) majority wants.

Slugging It Out

Recently I was out on the lawn and espied a garter snake with a slug in its mouth. I observed it for a few moments and went back into the house to get my camera. It was still there when I returned.

I do not know much about snakes. I have seen and handled garter snakes since I was a child. I am not a snake lover, although I see no sense in exterminating them just because others may be squeamish around them. I find them particularly odious when stepping on them unexpectedly in my bare feet.

I know from experience that rattlesnakes taste good when properly prepared. I also know they are poisonous and dangerous. Once, when living in the mountains of far northern California, I came upon a rattlesnake crawling up the middle of the road. Being on foot, I followed it for some distance. It made no move of aggressiveness toward me. I prodded it with a large stick I had found and couldn't get it to respond in any way.

My high school freshman son once stepped on the head of a coiled rattlesnake as he was running. He had disembarked from a school bus and had taken up at full gallop and didn't even see the serpent. His older brother dispatched the 25”-long rattler with a large rock. It had five rattles.

But back to my garter snake. I had never seen a garter snake do anything but try to escape and get out of my way. This one was just lying there with a slug in its mouth. Was he going to eat it? Was he sucking the juices out of it? Would he carry it off to his den for an after-dinner snack?

I watched it for a few minutes and eventually the snake released the slug. Having done so the beribboned reptile slithered off and the slug continued on its merry way, apparently none-the-worse for its experience.

It's Mind Over Matter

“It's mind over matter,” said the sailor to his minion. “I don't mind and you don't matter.” The New York Times reported a few weeks back, in an article titled, “In the Classroom, a New Focus on Quieting the Mind,” that certain schools are teaching Buddhist mind-control techniques, stripped of religious language but Buddhist nonetheless, to grammar school and high school children. Why is there no uproar about the separation of church and state here? It's mind over matter, too, I suppose.

It seems strange to me that it is impolitic and unlawful to teach Intelligent Design, even though everyone with an I.Q. over 50 knows that there is an Intelligence behind the design. “It smacks of religious teaching,” the contrarians say. What they really mean is it smacks of Christianity.

Things like this and the forcing of elementary school children in California to make believe they are Muslims show the outright hypocrisy of the ACLU, our judicial system, and media moguls. It's a wonder the judge in the California Muslim case didn't order the children to enact beheadings of infidels or practice suicide bombings.

Well, at least they are not doing something honorable, like reading the Ten Commandments.

An Absurd Logic

Jenny was pregnant — seven months and two weeks pregnant. Jenny was homeless. Jenny had no money. What hope was there for her baby? Her husband was on the road, looking for work. His poor language skills coupled with his shabby appearance made it difficult for him to find employment that would pay enough to maintain a family. He certainly was in no position to help his wife, several hundred miles away, with her situation.

Winter was approaching and already the weather was cold. Huddled under a bridge with only a flimsy windbreaker for outer wear, Jenny shivered and cursed the night. She had spent the day combing through trash cans looking for food. She barely found enough to make a meal and what she did find was not fit for humans. She ate it, nonetheless. Jenny had tried to get public assistance but because she had no identifying documents and could list no home address that was not forthcoming.

In her desperation Jenny hit upon a plan. She had seen some homes that to her were like mansions. Rich people lived there, she surmised. If she could get into one of those she could hide in the attic or basement and at least be warm. When the people were not home she could filch some food — just a little bit; it wouldn't be missed, she thought. The next several days Jenny spent watching some of these houses to see what the habits of the occupants were and how she could enter unnoticed.

It took several weeks, the weather getting colder and the food getting scarcer. One home in particular presented an ideal situation. The owners were often gone and she notice they seldom locked the door when they left. She packed her few belongings and broke into the house. In the attic she found an out-of-the-way corner where she could remain unseen if anyone ventured up. It wasn't long, though, before she was discovered, arrested, and put in jail.

At her arraignment the judge told the homeowners that they would have to allow Jenny to live in their house. He scolded the homeowners for their callous, cruel, and uncaring attitudes. Not only that, they would have to feed her and pay for all her medical expenses. When her baby was born, they were told that they would be responsible for the child. They would have to provide the child housing, food, medical expenses, and when the time came they would also have to pay for the child’s education. “And if Jenny stays in your home for seven years, she will automatically become a member of your family with all the benefits that come with it,” the judge intoned. “She can bring her husband and parents in, too, and you’ll also have to support them.”

“But that’s not fair! That’s not right!” the homeowners remonstrated. And it’s not. But some of our legislators and politicians want you to think it is. That is why we will never get a handle on illegal immigration.

How Did I Get on Their Mailing List?

I am a senior citizen — whatever that means. I am a sexagenarian, at any rate. So how is it that I get advertisements and sample magazines from “Highlights for Children"? Is there someone out there that filled my name in on one of those post cards that you send in for a free something-or-other? Is this some sort of a joke?

I have often thought about filling out those free offers for people that I don’t like or that don’t like me, for people that just irritate me, or for those that need a little more to do in their lives. If I think like that, what's to keep others from thinking the same way – and acting on their impulses.

I would like to be a little mouse and watch the reaction of some guy with one foot on a banana peel and the other in a grave when he gets all that literature from the Army recruiting office. Even more fun would be watching the little spindly old lady who gets a free sample of a muscle-building magazine.

As often as I have thought along those lines and as much as I would like to carry out those designs, I have never done such a thing. The fun is in thinking about it. Now, if I knew I’d be there when all that junk mail came ... well, that would be a different story, I suppose.

Dan Rather's Latest Stupidity

Dan Rather is suing CBS and Viacom for $70,000,000, saying they intentionally mishandled the flap over his intentional misreporting of President Bush's service with the Texas Air National Guard. Now that takes a lot of nerves!

You intentionally announce on national television a story in which you have intentionally lied with the motive of intentionally affecting a national election and then you sue because someone else intentionally mishandles the incident? You try to destroy one man's life and have a fit because you were supposedly mistreated? Get real! My momma always told me when I got myself into a jam, “You made your bed, now sleep in it.”

Yes, CBS and Viacom mishandled the incident. Whether it was intentional or not, I cannot judge. However, had they done what they should have done they would have summarily dismissed you. That they allowed you to retire with some dignity was gracious on their part. So is that why you are suing them? It seems to me, Dan Rather, that you should crawl in a hole and stay there. We've heard enough from you and we've heard enough of you. You should have been drawn-and-quartered — that's what you deserved.

Not the Brightest Bulb

Sheriff's deputies arrested a 46-year-old local woman and her boyfriend after running a vehicle registration check on his car.

It seems the automobile is a work of art, so beautiful the deputies thought it was abandoned. They decided to run the plates. The registered owner had a suspended license and three outstanding misdemeanor warrants.

A short while later a woman came got into the car and drove off, only to be stopped by a sheriff's deputy. She had no license and no proof of insurance. In addition, her license was suspended and she had four misdemeanor warrants outstanding.

Not wanting to have the car impounded, she asked if she could call her boyfriend, the registered owner, to pick up the car. The deputy granted her request. When her friend arrived he was arrested, too. The car was impounded.

Truth is often funnier than fiction.

Why Do You Need a Washington State Driver's License?

Every person moving into the state of Washington desiring a driver's license and not having had one previously is required to take both a written test and a road test, as is every resident applying for a first license. I wonder why.

I moved here, for the second time, in 1977 and shortly thereafter went to Bremerton to get a new license. I was driving a brand new Toyota Corolla lift-back with a 5-speed transmission. My examiner was an affable old gentleman and we got along just fine. One of the requirements was to back from one street onto another. In my case, I was asked to stop on a one-way street and back onto the two-way street behind me, making a left turn. I did ok, or so I thought, but was gigged because I did not hug the left curb. My other demerit was given when I was told to quickly accelerate to the speed limit and then stop as fast as I could. The acceleration part was acceptable but he didn't care much when I stepped on the brake without throwing the clutch out. We stopped real quick — like right now! "That wasn't what I asked you to do," he squeaked. "But you said to stop as fast as I can, and that is what I did." He said I didn't have positive control of the car after the engine died.

The man ahead of me in the testing line was told, "You aren't qualified to drive in metropolitan traffic!" I almost broke out laughing when he said, "What do you mean metropolitan? I'm a New York cab driver." He got his license.

I have no problem with the requirement to take a road test. I just wonder why it is there. I walk the roads with my dog several times a day. Roads without sidewalks have a white line painted to the right of the driving lane. I am told these are called fog lines. At any rate, it is illegal to drive to the right of them. It is permissable to park there and they are also used for pedestrian walkways and bike lanes. That is where I walk. It is not a safe place to walk, however. People zoom by engrossed in talking on their cell phones, picking up stuff off the floor of their vehicle, eating, and recently, even reading a book. While ensconced in whatever they shouldn't be doing they wander across the fog line and on more than one occasion I have had to prepare to jump into the ditch or someone's yard.

Driver's in this state do not know what speed limit signs are for. There is a short stretch of 35 mph zone in an otherwise 50 mph area nearby. Almost no one slows down for it, including the sheriff's department and the Washington State Patrol. I commented on this to one deputy and he got highly incensed. "Well, you don't know why they were speeding." He's right — and I do not care. What I do know is that emergency vehicles are supposed to obey the posted speed limits unless they have both their lights and sirens on. Even when on an emergency run they are not to exceed the speed limit by more than 10 mph.

Then there are the tailgaters. Tailgating seems to be the infraction of choice around here. The cops never stop you for following too close so there's no reason not to do it unless, perhaps, you want to live to a ripe old age. I don't like tailgaters. In my younger, pre-family days, I would stomp the brakes for a tailgater, but now I just slow down — way down. Tailgaters must also be stupid, because most of them don't catch on.

Tailgaters often engage in another hazardous driving habit. They have no problem passing on curves and over double solid lines. This, too, is all-too-common.

Over the years I have lived in Washington I have seen some ridiculous drivers. Once, in Tacoma, a woman passed me while playing the flute. How she steered her SUV while using two hands for the flute is beyond me. Another woman was fixing her hair — with both hands — while driving. A law against text messaging was recently passed after a pedestrian was killed by a driver doing so.

Another Washington State careless driving habit is making a left-turn into the on-coming traffic lane. On more than one occasion I have been sitting at the intersection only to have someone turn left into my lane and almost hit me. Drivers also fail to look to the right when making right turns at intersections, parking lot exits, and driveways. When entering the right-of-way, they often turn onto the road to the right of the fog line before moving over into the driving lane. Pedestrians and cyclists beware!

I won't even talk about what it is like when it snows. Oh yes I will. It snows often enough around here that driver's should know how to get around in it, but they don't. "We have different snow here than you do back East," they tell me. "Yeah, like, is it pink or something?" One inch of snow will shut this county down. One year someone called the cops on a driver that was doing donuts in a parking lot to practice recovering from a skid. Duh!

So, why do you need a Washington State driver's license? What! You mean to tell me you found your's in a Cracker Jack box?

Am I Really an Idiot?

A "female torpedoman warrior" didn't like my last post, which originally appeared on Smartpunters.com last May. Well, I didn't expect everyone to like it, especially female torpedomen warriors.I will post the majority of her comments, eliminating those portions that are not suitable for ladies and children. She starts off with:


I came across your May 23, 2007 posting while searching for information about the first ever "women torpedoman" aka "skirts". I also read another posting concerning women and torpedoes - I am sure you're familiar with the HSN term? "Men... women are like torpedoes, treat them with loving care and they will run hot, straight and ...." - I can almost picture you laughing as you read this and finishing the quote - but you know, I am not laughing. I am really rather sad about the 2 top search engine results for keywords "torpedoman - women" would produce such degrading material - as if your view or the views of other male Torpedomen really matter. Enough said in that respect.

First, for those not familiar with "HSN," the ellipsis refers to "normal." It is what every tube captain wants to report when a torpedo is fired.

But to answer our female torpedoman respondent: I think you have thin skin and a chip on your shoulder. Do you really think that your opinion is superior to mine? Do you really believe that centuries — no, millennia — of thinking the military is properly a male bastion should be overturned by a less-than-forty year change of thinking? Do you really consider your opinion to be wiser than the millions upon millions of men (and their women) who thought otherwise in ages past?

What I wrote is not degrading. In fact, it is you who have degraded yourself. No self-respecting woman would utilize the crude reference to male genitalia that I excised from your post.

Your statement that women are not warriors is just your own true admission of ignorance. Ask your mother if she was a warrior when she gave birth to you, ask your grandmother if she was a warrior as she gave birth to your father, - I triple dog dare you to do that and post the results of your questions on your blog. I am calling you out on that one - [removed by editor].

Who is ignorant here? Giving birth makes you a warrior? Come on, let's be real. Childbirth may exact effort and pain that no warrior has ever felt, and I shall not diminish what women go through to bring us into the world. That, however, does not make them a warrior. My mother and both my grandmothers have gone to the great beyond and are presently unavailable for interrogation. However, I knew them well enough to know they would take umbrage with being called a warrior. They were ladies, not warriors. Warriors are trained to kill, not to give life.

I am a torpedoman, a woman, a warrior, a daughter of a 2 time Vietnam Veteran with 2 Purple Hearts, and I earned awards for my service as well - not to compare "racks" -

What does being the daughter of a Viet Nam vet have to do with anything?

but I earned my career every painstaking way from being taped to a chair and having sponges filled with piss water thrown at me - to humping 100 lb lead weights from ship to sub - to carrying a weapon and being a sharpshooter with that weapon - to driving a ship YES A SHIP to walking up 7 decks in 30 minutes with a weapon pack and doing so for 4 long painstaking hours - to being in cramped little spaces inside of a submarine and performing PMS on specialty equipment that was simply too difficult for the knuckle dragging, size 2 hat wearing, ignorant Torpedomen that didn't know the difference between EXCELLENCE in the Navy and are not aware of the CORE VALUES...

That you should have been so ill-treated is inexcusable and should never have happened. I have seen worse than that inflicted on male sailors.

I see, however, that you are not even convinced in your own mind that your being a torpedoman has validity. Your use of ad hominem attacks proves you have no valid argument. Ad hominem means "against the man." When you have no logical argument, attack the man (or the woman). If good reasoning can't defeat him, insults might. Well, I confess to being a size 2 hat-wearing torpedoman, but I am far from ignorant.


I suggest you - revisit those memories, do you remember the CORE VALUES you said you would uphold?

Core Values? We didn't have them when I was in. Our core values were: work hard, fight hard, party hard.

I love free speech and the time I served and the sacrifices I made to have the right to free speech..... I just hate it when idiots as yourself use that right in an attempt to cloud the sacrifice made.... mine... or yours....

I'd almost believe you, except if you really loved free speech you wouldn't have had such a hissy over mine. I don't consider my Naval service to have been a sacrifice. It was a privilege. I enjoyed it, for the most part. I don't believe I denigrated your perceived sacrifices. I said nothing to demean you (unless you really believe that my thinking women should not be torpedomen is demeaning).

Here again, you resort to an ad hominem attack. Idiots have a mentality of less than a three-year old. This supposed idiot was, at one time, the engineer responsible for designing all physical and radiological entry controls, accesses, and security control points for refueling naval nuclear reactors and was the cognizant engineer responsible for writing and maintaining one section of the nuclear power manual. Stupid? — possibly. Ignorant? — never. Idiot? — not even close.

And you don't even know the whole story....

I wasn't aware there was a story.

Shame on you.

Back to you, sweet pea!

What Is The Navy Coming To?

The commanding officer of the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), E. J. McClure, was recently relieved of command for "loss of confidence in her ability to command." That's right — her. What's the matter with the Navy. Aren't there enough real men to command these ships?

It was a sad day, IMHO, when women were allowed on combatant ships. I am glad I didn't have to serve alongside them. I have no problem with women serving in our armed forces. Just keep them off the ship I'm on.

Yeah, I'm not being PC. I hate being PC. Why do we have to suppress our opinions to please a bunch of lily-livered men who haven't got enough manhood to tell the women when enough is enough? Women do not belong in combat. Period! Women do not belong on combat ships. Period! Women are not warriors. Oh, I forgot about the Amazons. Well, let them be warriors if they are willing to give up a breast like the Amazons did.

I have nothing against E. J. McClure. From what I have read she is an outstanding officer. There's no doubt in my mind that she is not fully capable of commanding a line ship. My issue is that she shouldn't be.

So I'm a relic. Ask me if I care. I was a knuckle-dragging size 2 hat Torpedoman's Mate and proud of it. That was until I found out they now have skirts as torpedomen.

I don't go along with the women's lib thing. There are things men should be doing and there are things that women should be doing. And there are things that both can be doing.

I can remember the first time I went into a barbershop and saw a woman barber. I waited until the male barber finished his customer. No way was I going to allow a woman to cut my hair. Well, as it turns out, women are just as good as (if not a whole lot better than) male barbers. Since that initial shocked reaction I have had my hair cut many times by women. So, you see, I am not blindly anti-woman and I can change my mind.

I once had a female hard-working marine machinist partner that was just as good as any man marine machinist that I have met. She could do everything I could do and probably a bit more. She owned her own D-7 Caterpillar tractor and repaired and maintained it herself. But she paid a price for working in a man's world — she lost her femininity.

The pro-women element can argue all they want. They will never convince me that it is right and proper for a woman to command a warship. They will never convince me that it is right and proper for women to be in combat.

A woman soldier was recently laid to rest and the media pundits made such a big deal over this young woman's tragic death. It is tragic and I feel for the family. The tragedy is that it did not have and should not have had to happen. However, she chose to put herself in harm's way, to take on a role that men have been more-than-willing to fill for eons. She did what was not necessary nor expedient. Unfortunately we cannot have it both ways. You cannot have women exposed to combat and not expect them to be killed.

Some think the Navy brass relieving Captain McClure for grounding her ship was harsh. It was. She may not have been the one that made the mistake, but she was in command and it is the captain's responsibility to stay afloat. Captain McClure has just joined the ranks of many others who have had the misfortune to lose their commands for running their ships aground. Welcome to a man's world!

The Little Red Hen — Modern version

This came to me in an e-mail awhile back:

Once upon a time, on a farm in Texas, there was a little red hen who scratched about the barnyard until she uncovered quite a few grains of wheat.

She called all of her neighbors together and said, "If we plant this wheat, we shall have bread to eat. Who will help me plant it?"

"Not I," said the cow.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Not I," said the pig.

"Not I," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen. And so she did; The wheat grew very tall and ripened into golden grain.

"Who will help me reap my wheat?" asked the little red hen.

"Not I," said the duck.

"Out of my classification," said the pig.

"I'd lose my seniority," said the cow.

"I'd lose my unemployment compensation," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen, and so she did. At last it came time to bake the bread.

"Who will help me bake the bread! ?" asked the little red hen.

"That would be overtime for me," said the cow.

"I'd lose my welfare benefits," said the duck.

"I'm a dropout and never learned how," said the pig.

"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," said the goose.

"Then I will do it by myself," said the little red hen. She baked five loaves and held them up for all of her neighbors to see. They wanted some and, in fact, demanded a share. But the little red hen said, "No, I shall eat all five loaves."

"Excess profits!" cried the cow.

"Capitalist leech!" screamed the duck.

"I demand equal rights!" yelled the goose.

The pig just grunted in disdain.

And they all painted "Unfair!" picket signs and marched around and around the little red hen, shouting obscenities.

Then a government agent came, he said to the little red hen, "You must not be so greedy."

"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.

"Exactly," said the agent. "That is what makes our free enterprise system so wonderful. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants. But under our modern government regulations, the productive workers must divide the fruits of their labor with those who are lazy and idle,"

And they all lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, for now I truly understand,"

But her neighbors became quite disappointed in her. She never again baked bread because she joined the "party" and got her bread free.

And all the Government smiled. 'Fairness' had been established.

Individual initiative had died, but nobody noticed; perhaps no one cared.....as long as there was free bread that "the rich" were paying for.

Words

I like words. I can't even imagine what it would be like to not have the use of words. Jack London wrote, Before Adam, a story that takes place in prehistoric times before the invention of language. I admire Jack London. How do you write about communication in a time in which there were no words? He did it — but even he had to use words.

Words are tools. We use words to wheedle and cajole, to influence and pressure, to persuade and dissuade. The right application of words can win a lover's heart — or break it, start a war — or stop it.

Some words are more appealing than others. Some are graceful, others are coarse. Some are mellifluous, others are guttural. Some are beautiful, others are ugly. Some express complete thoughts, others have no meaning unless attached to another. Some words have a pleasant taste, others have to be spit out.

For the writer, words are most important. It is not the accumulation of words that is attractive, but the arrangement. Unlike our forbears, we like our writing to be tight, succinct. We don't enjoy reading the long descriptive narratives of ancient novels; we want our words to be active, to do something, to pique our interest the moment we start reading.

Even in oral communication, our minds wander when the loquacious jabber on with no idea of where they are going. I know some who have the gift of gab. Hmmn, who was it that said that was a gift? Anyway, I avoid having a conversation with them. Why can't they just get to the point? Why waste all that energy on description and explanation when what I want is clear instruction?

Words should be used with discretion. Say what you mean. Years ago, in my youth, I used nebulous terminology, saying things like thingamajig, whatchamacallit, and doohickey. One of my superiors called me up short one day. He said, "Everything has a name. Use it." From then on, when I used one of those non-descriptors he would say, "Proper nomenclature, please!" In time I was converted.

Word lovers find reading dictionaries a pleasant pastime, at least this philologist does. Some people get absorbed in surfing the Internet. I get absorbed in dictionaries. I have several English dictionaries, as many more foreign ones, thesauruses, and books on English usage. I want to know not only what a word means, I want to know when and where and under what circumstances it originated. I want to know how the word is used in a sentence, whether it is formal, informal, slang, colloquial, in fashion or passe.

Some like words that are multisyllabic, thinking that their usage in one's vocabulary will set them apart as erudite. Vocabulary can be learned from a list as easily as from usage. Words are tools of communication. Four letter words can have as much power and meaning as three or four syllable words. Knowing when, where, and how to use a word shows education. Being able to communicate to the unlearned is a skill and an art requiring not only a sack full of words but a knowledge of how to put them to best use.

Talking with doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scientists may require not only a different vocabulary but a different manner of speech than that used in talking with a longshoreman or ditch digger. I say "may," because there are educated longshoremen and ditch diggers even as there are uneducated professionals.

Words — I like words. There are words that fascinate me. Words open up mental exploration of subjects that otherwise might be withheld from me. As I look into the skies at night and see the myriads of stars and celestial objects that present themselves I find my mind opening to expanded knowledge. I cannot absorb that knowledge without expanding my vocabulary. Even words that I do know, words like "horizon" and "azimuth" take on a new meaning. New words, like sidereal, are added. Now there's a neat word: sidereal. Sid-er-e-al, I toss it around on my tongue. It tastes good. Can we talk about time and space without the use of this word? Now, how can I put it to use? Oh, I suppose I can impress someone by tossing it out in casual conversation. No. That won't do it. It has to have meaning for the hearer as well as the speaker, for the reader as well as for the writer.

I have noticed that those living on the left coast often pronounce words differently than those on the right coast. One day I asked one of my coworkers if he knew the correct pronunciation of concomitant. I said, "Is it CON-com-i-tant or is it con-com-IT-ant?" The former is the correct pronunciation and is what I learned in New York, the latter is often heard out here in the West. "What does it mean? he asked. I told him. "Well, why don't you just use the those words? Why use a word that I've never even heard of?"

"How many crayons are in your kid's crayon box?" I responded. He said, "Sixty-four." I then asked him, "Why didn't you buy him a box with only the basic eight colors?" You see, words are like crayons. They give a different hue, a different nuance. They make for more accurate and more interesting conversation.

Words give us the ability to say exactly what we mean. They incarnate our ideas. They make abstract thought concrete. Words are powerful. Words have changed the course of history, have changed the path our lives take, and words have left us with a repository of the thoughts of the great and the small down through history. Words are valuable and I am both glad and thankful that someone years ago opened my eyes to their beauty.

It's Time to Bury Diana

Princess Diana died 10 years ago today. It is time to bury her. Oh, yes, she has been interred, but she is very much alive in the minds of many. I certainly feel for her loved ones and close friends who will always remember her, but there are many to whom she was no more than a celebrity, someone they knew only vicariously. It is to those who had no close attachment that I address.

Princess Di is dead. There is no bringing her back. Let's get on with life. What is it with this obsession, anyway? What purpose does it serve to keep dragging her out of the grave on every anniversary. The same would go for others, like Elvis Presley.

Don't you have more important things to do with your life? Maybe you just need to "get a life." Your interest in the late princess is morbid. Life is for living, not for mourning. The young princes may want to keep her memory alive. I would like it to go away.

"Loss of Confidence" in the Navy

What is going on in the United States Navy? There seems to be an epidemic of commanding officers being relieved for "loss of confidence in ... ability to command."

A quick search of the Internet revealed these incidents:

September 2002 CO, USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) relieved for loss of confidence. This man was a Captain

February 2003 CO, Kitty Hawk Battle Group, relieved for loss of confidence because of an inappropriate relationship with a female officer. This man, a Rear Admiral, also received a punitive letter of reprimand.

April 2004 CO, USS Firebolt (PC 10), relieved for loss of confidence after his ship collided with a navigational aid off the coast of Iraq.

February 2005 CO, USS San Francisco (SSN 711) relieved for loss of confidence and issued a letter of reprimand after his submerged submarine collided with a sea mount.

May 2005 CO, USS Patriot (MCM 7), a mine countermeasures ship relieved for loss of confidence after running aground in the Republic of Korea. He also received a punitive letter of reprimand.

January 2006 CO, USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) relieved for loss of confidence.

June 2006 CO, USS Columbus (SSN 762) relieved for loss of confidence after allegations of harassment disclosed.

November 2006 Commander, Submarine Squadron 17 relieved for loss of confidence in his ability to command. The charges against this Captain, who was addressed as Commodore, have not been specified.

January 2007 CO, USS Minneapolis - St. Paul (SSN 708), relieved for loss of confidence after 2 sailors died after they were washed overboard.

April 2007 CO, Electronic Attack Squadron 140, relieved for loss of confidence only 9 days after assuming command.

May 2007 CO, USS Higgins (DDG 76), relieved for loss of confidence while en route to the Persian Gulf.

May 2007 CO, USS Helena (SSN 725), relieved for loss of confidence.

May 2007 CO, USS Constitution, relieved for loss of confidence.

There may be more, who knows?

Some of these have been removed for obvious reasons, others for undisclosed causes. Primary causes for removal from command are unsafe actions, misuse of funds, sexual indiscretion, and other inappropriate conduct. I suspect that nowadays some are removed for not being PC. The number of captains being relieved for loss of confidence is alarming. They did not get their by mischance. These are men that have years of schooling and experience. They have been to PCO (Prospective Commanding Officer) School or its equivalent. Those of senior rank have attended the Naval War College. If the caliber of our officers is so degraded that our best are bad, what does that say for the junior ranks? Something is amiss. The Navy has lost its moorings in more ways than one.

Payday Loans

Broke? Low on cash? Just stop by your local payday loan store for an easy hundred dollars or so. Then you can just sell your body and soul to the lending agency because you will forever be in their debt.

Even a low $10.00 per $100.00 borrowed for two weeks is equivalent to 260.71% annual interest. That's highway robbery! Yet that is about as low an interest rate that you'll find on payday loans, if you can even find that. Typically, interest rates are above 15% for two weeks (391% per annum) and can exceed 30% for two weeks.

I would like to see these institutions put out of business. Poor people are poor enough without having to mortgage the rest of their lives for a hundred dollars or so. At the very least, they should be regulated so that the customer has a chance to pay off his loan without major harm to his income.

I see (and know) people that make regular trips to the payday loan store. If they can't afford to pay their loan off this week they can pay the loan and then immediately take out another loan for the same amount, incurring another fee.

Let's say you borrow just $100.00. In two weeks you will owe $125.00, assuming a fee of 25%. You write out a check for $125.00 and the lender holds it, depositing it two weeks later (or you can by it back by going to the store in person). Two weeks roll by and your paltry paycheck will not carry you another two weeks if you pay off the loan. So you pay the loan off and borrow $100.00 more. You again write a check for $125.00. Two weeks later you are in the same situation and repeat the scenario. Your interest rate has now climbed to 75% (650% per annum) and each time you roll or flip your loan, it goes up another 25%. You are in an involutional financial spiral. Eventually, you will crash!

My first year in the Navy I received, after my allotments were taken out, 68 dollars a month. Even in 1964, $34.00 was hard to stretch out for two weeks. I was attending a service school and had to wear pressed uniforms to class. That required sending them out to the laundry. White uniforms seldom went past two wearings. In order to gain some extra money I would pawn my camera. That would give me another $10.00. I didn't want to lose that camera so I would hustle down to the pawn shop and buy it back for $15.00 and then turn around a week later and repeat the cycle. I soon realized that what I was doing was self-defeating. If I budgeted my money, cut back on expenditures, and set some money aside for emergencies I would not have to be in the pawn-payback-pawn cycle. I ended up having to sell the camera, but it was worth it in the long run.

Unfortunately, once a person gets trapped by the payday lender's snare of easy money, it is hard to get out of it. Estimates are that only about 1% of payday loans are paid off the first time with the borrower not flipping the loan.

Some states have passed restricting legislation but much more needs to be done. The industry is a parasite, sucking the life-blood out of those who can least afford to give it.

Crash Dive

I thought I had seen every submarine movie there is, but the other day, as I was in the library, I came across an oldie that I not only had not seen but I had not even heard of it. That was 1943's “Crash Dive,” starring Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter, and Dana Andrews. It has been reissued in DVD format, which is what I saw. The back cover of the box presented a blurb that piqued my interest, so I checked it out.

The movie was made with the cooperation of the US Navy and the Submarine Base in New London, CT. Cdr. M. K. Kirkpatrick, USN, was assigned to the movie as the technical advisor. Seeing that splashed on the screen during the opening moments of the film gave me the assurance that the movie would be good and true-to life. That assurance, however, was short-lived.

The first disappointment came in the opening scene of the movie in which Tyrone Power's character is the skipper of a PT boat, with the rank of Lieutenant. For those not familiar with Naval rank, that is the equivalent to a captain in the other services. In all the services it is the officer rank third from the bottom. A squadron of PT boats is somewhere when they discover a lifeboat filled with people. Lt. Ward Stewart (Power) peels off and as he begins boarding the survivors, a periscope is spotted off the starboard bow. The PT boat crew loads everybody back into the lifeboat and takes out after the submarine, which by now is diving. When they get to the approximate location of the dived submarine they drop some ashcans (depth charges) and Lt. Power returns to the lifeboat with a stupid grin on his face. There is no substantiating evidence to support the sub's sinking and in real life this just would not have happened. The movie then breaks to a newspaper headline proclaiming: “Torpedo Boat Sinks Enemy Sub!!” At least they didn't give any chest candy for that.

A few minutes later the movie moves to the Submarine Base in New London. There, one sees a company of recruits in formation, complete with guidon and two CPO drill instructors, marching along at right shoulder arms. As far as I know, New London never trained recruits.

Lt. Ward has received orders to report to New London and there finds his uncle, Rear Admiral Stewart. The Admiral congratulates Ward on the swell job of sinking the sub, to which Ward replies, “That U-boat never had a chance.” The upshot of all this is that the uncle has ordered Ward to submarine duty. Ward remonstrates that he doesn't like subs and much prefers PT boat duty. “They're the best,” he says. Uncle Admiral reminded him that's what he said about battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, all of which the young Lieutenant has served on. With that much experience in such a short career, he must have really been a loser — I mean, it's hard to pack a career into such a short life.

Lt. Ward's submarine, running submerged under wartime conditions, comes to periscope depth for a look-see at the surface ocean. The captain, played by Dana Andrews, brings the periscope up just enough to break the surface. Battle procedure would be to take a quick 360-degree sweep to ensure no enemy ships are nearby. Our illustrious skipper makes a 10-degree scan and raises the scope all the way. Then, paying half-attention, Captain Dewey Connors takes a leisurely rotation and 33 seconds later spots a ship. In the meantime, his periscope is cutting a wake large enough to surf on. He then looks, somewhat stunned, for another 12 seconds. It's another 30 seconds before the scope is lowered. Had the ship been a man-of-war (it was a Q-boat) the sub would have been under attack and fighting for its life.

The movie only gets worse as the sub, in another scene, sends two boat-loads of sailors to make a commando raid on a Nazi base. That's a real laugh. Sub sailors are good at sailing submarines, but most of them, especially of diesel boat days, wouldn't know how to spell commando let alone be one. Worse yet, there was no planning and no maps of the base or charts of the harbor. It would have been a suicide mission in real life, but in this flick only one man is killed — and he was going to die of a heart attack anyway. After the commandos are back on board, the sub attempts to escape the harbor. In making its exit, the sub is fired on by a shore battery, but only once. One has to wonder why.

The final infamy of this movie is the blatant propaganda typical of World War II government influence. The final litany given by Ward Stewart is a paean to the Navy, brilliant and truthful, but propaganda nonetheless.

If you are looking for an evening's amusement (which means “no thinking) this movie fits the bill. Submarine buffs will relish it only for the fact that it is a submarine movie. If you can, borrow a copy or check it out from the library: it certainly isn't worth spending a dollar on.

Edinburgh Tattoo — Taking leave of its senses?

Every August for the past 58 years visitors from around the world have gathered to witness and enjoy the Edinburgh tattoo. The Tattoo is a musical extravaganza conducted on the castle esplanade. The performances are, for the most part, military-oriented.

This year Major-General Euan Loudon, formerly head of the British army in Scotland, has taken the reins of the Tattoo. He has observed that many of the visitors in recent Tattoos are from the Pacific Rim. "That tells me that I probably need to think a little bit about the make-up of the show ... and make sure that we give people who come from the other side of the world a taste of something of their own culture," Yahoo News Singapore reports him saying.

I don't know about you, but when I travel to a foreign country it is not to see and hear my own culture. I want to see and hear the native sights and sounds. I certainly do not want to spend the enormous amount of American dollars to go to Scotland and hear Chinese, Japanese, and Korean music unless it fits in with the typical Tattoo repertoire.

Don't take me wrong, I have nothing against the Orient. However, I do not want to go to Scotland to see and hear it. I would like to visit China, Japan, and Korea and there to see and hear all that constitutes those countries.

What makes the Tattoo worth going to see and hear is the distinctiveness of Scotland. I hope the new chief executive officer of the Edinburgh Tattoo will bear that in mind.

Illegals — They have a lot of gall!

I am proud to be an American. America is the land of my birth. My father was the son of an immigrant. My mother's anscestors arrived much earlier — before the Revolution. Without immigration I would not be here. I am not opposed to immigration or to immigrants. I am opposed to unlawful or illegal immigration.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer recently ran an article reporting on demonstrations for illegal immigrants. Typical of their thinking is this comment by immigrant and American citizen Melissa Woo: "Us [sic] immigrants aren't pieces of trash, we're human beings," she said. "To be treated as less than human is a travesty." If you are an American citizen than why are you protesting? Deportation of illegal immigrants is not a travesty — it is an imperative, a necessity.

Illegal immigrants are a drain on our economy. By coming into our country illegally they have already proven themselves unworthy of American citizenship. If they think so little of our laws when they cross the border, what makes you think they will become responsible law-abiding citizens afterwards?

As I was writing this I received an email addressing this subject. It was filled with half-truths and distorted facts. Wanting to verify the data it contained I visited Snopes.com and did a search on illegal immigration, resulting in 21 hits. Examining these reveals illegal immigration to be a highly-charged issue. Unfortunately, many of those opposed to illegal immigration are not opposed to twisting the truth.

A few years back I worked the night shift at an industrial bakery in Nevada. I was welcomed to the "VFW." When I showed my ignorance, I was told: "You are one of the Very Few Whites." And so I was. There were 8 Caucasians to over 300 Hispanics, mostly Mexican. Many spoke no English and some were illiterate. An INS raid also showed that many were illegals.

I do not blame any of my Hispanic co-workers for wanting to be here. We are the land of opportunity. I was slightly amused when told by a young man from Jalisco, "We spend all our lives of dreaming about coming to the United States — and then, after we are here we dream of the day we can go home." At any rate, I found all of them to be industrious and anxious to please. Rather than tell them, "You're in America — speak English," I learned to communicate with them in their language. I did encourage them to learn English and assisted those that were willing to learn with the nuances of our difficult speech.

The bottom line, though, is that illegal immigration is illegal. Just because a robber breaks into my home and manages to hide out for five, ten, or even twenty years does not give him the right to live with me. Hiding out for a long time does not make him moral or ethical. The same is true for illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants have no say, or shouldn't have.

America welcomes all who come through the front door with the proper invitation. Those that break and enter should be treated as the criminals they are.

Don't Mess with the Electoral College

The New York Times today published an editorial advocating eliminating the Electoral College. The editorial opens by saying, "The Electoral College should be abolished...." The Electoral College is there for a purpose and most people, including those supposedly erudite editors at the Times, just don't understand why we have the Electoral College.

To be fair, the NY Times editorial rightly condemns a State of California initiative to distribute the Electoral College vote according to the number of electoral districts a candidate wins. That is wrong and the paper does a good job of making that clear.

There are those who would like to see the Electoral College disappear altogether and the President elected by popular vote. While that sounds like the democratic thing to do (ignoring the fact that we are a republic and NOT a democracy) it, too, is wrong — or at least not wise.

The purpose of the Electoral College is to prevent those states with large populations from controlling the electoral process. If the President were elected by popular vote rather than by representative vote then the votes of some states would not even matter. The Electoral College gives the smaller states a say in Presidential politics.

With the winner-takes-all system that most, if not all, states now have in place the Presidential candidate with the most votes state-wide gets all the Electoral College votes. Here, in the State of Washington, Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, and the I-5 corridor determine the outcome of all statewide elections, effectively disenfranchising the less-populated districts. This is exactly what would happen if the Electoral College is eliminated. Our founding fathers saw that. It's too bad the editorial staff at the New York Times are not that astute.

Ponderfications?

Ponderfications? What kind of word is that? Do you like it? I hope you do. I made it up. This blog will be devoted to my ponderings and pontifications. Often, my ponderings lead to pontifications.

I am, as you shall discover, very opinionated. I suppose that is why I never made it as a politician. I have no difficulty in expressing my opinion. Sometimes those expressions are not popular. So what. I am not in a popularity contest. Now, that does not mean I do not appreciate contrary opinions. It does not mean I cannot or will not change my mind. I think it is better, though, to be of the wrong opinion than to be wishy-washy.

How one expresses one's opinions is often more important than the opinion itself. It is easy to run rough-shod over the feeling's of others. Truth hurts. Sometimes the hurt is unnecessary and the delivery counter-productive.

I hope my rantings in this blog, when they do not garner your approval, may at least be polite and courteous, coated with honey, and solicitous of your good grace.

Moving Day

I have been blogging for some time on Smartpunters.com. There is nothing wrong with Smartpunters. They have treated me well and provided excellent service. I would recommend them to anyone. However, for some quirky reasons of my own I am moving my four blogs to Blogger.com.

I shall be moving each of my entries to this site as I have time and adding new ones, besides. I hope you will become an avid and addicted reader.