I’m back…

Howdy, ya’ll,

I’m back, it appears, I was distracted for a couple of years.

Retired from the military, started a new life.  It’s pretty hard to adjust, but in a vague way.  No more duty days and duty nights, but no more deployments, either.

I don’t know much about how this WordPress thing works, but it’s alright.  I can’t tell if a living soul has ever read what I’ve written, but I guess that’s alright too.  I don’t really feel like calling too much attention to it anyway.

Anyway, I hope to be able to write more on here, as time passes.

Till then, have fun, take care.

 

The Greatest Generation

Ah, yes, the Greatest Generation; complete with rampant racism, etc….. (note sarcasm, there were a lot of things about the first half of the 20th century that were definitely NOT great; racism, sexism, etc. ad nauseam.)

Being a Mensa-level genius didn’t help him a damn bit;

“Ad nauseam” arguments are logical fallacies relying on the repetition of a single argument to the exclusion of all else (race). This tactic employs intentional obfuscation, (race) in which other logic and rationality is intentionally ignored in favour of preconceived (race) (and ultimately subjective) modes of reasoning and rationality. (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_repetition)

Museum Shooting Suspect Was WWII PT Boat CO
(NAVY TIMES 11 JUN 09) … Philip Ewing

The man accused of killing a security guard Wednesday in a shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington was the captain of a Navy PT boat in World War II, as he claimed, the Navy confirmed Thursday.
The alleged gunman, James von Brunn, served in the Naval Reserve from 1943-46, rising to the rank of lieutenant junior grade and eventually commanding PT 159 when it was stationed in the South Pacific, a Navy spokesman said.
PT boats – named for the Navy designation Patrol boat, Torpedo – were small, swift wooden craft in World War II armed with torpedoes and machine guns, designed to attack larger surface ships.
Von Brunn, who is hospitalized in Washington after he was shot by museum guards, has been tied to extremist neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic writings. Prosecutors in Washington on Thursday charged him with the murder of museum guard Stephen Johns.
Since the shooting, investigators and reporters have scrambled to sort out what is fact and what is fiction about von Brunn, who made this claim, in the third person, on a Web site:
“During WWII he served as PT boat captain, Lt. USNR, receiving a commendation and four battle stars. For twenty years he was an advertising executive and film-producer in New York City. He is a member of Mensa, the high-IQ society.”
Navy records show that while in service von Brunn received the American Defense Medal; the American Area Commendation Ribbon; the Asiatic-Pacific Area medal with one star; the Philippine Liberation Ribbon; the World War II Victory Medal, and a European Theater of Operations medal with three stars.
Von Brunn served six years in federal prison after he tried to make a “citizen’s arrest,” as he called it, of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington in 1981, reportedly armed with a pistol, a shotgun and a hunting knife.
The Associated Press reported late Thursday that von Brunn took his views May 29 to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis to complain about increased minority enrollment, will be about 35 percent for the Class of 2013. He walked into the administration building and wanted a meeting with academy officials, spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said.
Von Brunn never got the meeting and was not considered a safety threat, Carpenter said. However, staff quickly notified Navy investigators because of “the extreme views he expressed regarding minorities,” Carpenter said.
“He made no threats,” Carpenter said.

Global Economy

Do you know what the difference is between real cash flow and ‘speculation’; the fake cash flow, in our global economy?

Supposedly, the real flow of goods and services is somewhere around 30 trillion, world wide.

Speculation? The Wall Street gambling, kind of money flow that is only on paper? Over 300 trillion.

The whole world’s economy is a house of cards, just like it was back in 1929, before the stock crash.

We’re not the only ones in serious trouble.

Time Flies

We’re all getting older, and it seems so quickly. Some days I wish I could live to be a hundred, just so I can learn all the things I’m so ignorant of. Other days I seriously believe that this race has gone on long enough, and I am tired of running.

I believe in God, and it seems as though every day I learn more and more. I used to think I was so smart (didn’t we all, when we were young?), and nowadays, not so much. I always find myself surrounded by people who seem to be smarter, more competent, more successful, etc. Then, I see the horrible choices people make in their lives, and the materialistic greed I’m surrounded by, and I remind myself that maybe these folks aren’t all so terribly smart.

My wife taught me not to judge so quickly, or so loudly, and I’ve quieted down a lot, in all these years. She didn’t do it on purpose, she just didn’t like to argue, so I gave up that little bit of fun I used to indulge in; my own form of combat. It turned out to be a good choice, I’ve learned to listen more, and judge less.

I’ve found that life is full of opposites, and shades of gray, and that the good Lord is really the source of answers that we all seek. Love is truly the answer, as hard as it is to accept that.

I try to write, I want to write, but I’m not sure what I want to say. Silly, huh?

Have fun, till next time.

Yard work

I’ve got yard work to do, and I’ve got sunshine, nice weather, and I’m off work early. I’ve gotten started, but now it’s hard to stay that way…

Anyway, I’ve come in to fix a little lunch, and sat down to the most addictive thing I’ve found yet; the internet. Surprise, surprise.

The leftover roast beef is really nice, and the peace and quiet is nice.

I’ve been thinking of the economy, ecology, and the world in general.

Isn’t it funny how the real world slaps you in the face, after you get out of high school? Granted, it’s been over 20 years since I graduated, but still, I can remember the disillusioned feeling that some of my peers and I had, when we started learning just how bad things really were. And it’s hard not to believe that they’re steadily getting worse.

One of my friends doesn’t really want to believe that it’s possible that we (people) have messed with the world’s ecology so badly that we could be causing global warming. As a matter of fact, he’s gotten downright hostile when I’ve brought it up before. It’s not that he’s not intelligent; he’s well trained in metallurgy, etc. But, somehow, he’s willing to put blinders on, when it comes to how we affect the planet.

He does believe in the economy though. A Reaganite, through and through. Certainly believes in the “almighty dollar”, a phrase my mother always used with heavy sarcasm and disdain. He’s an atheist too, which makes it all the more difficult to explain to him that greed isn’t good, it’s horrible. Greed is a huge reason for where we are today, what with corporations dumping into our waters, etc.

So, anyway, I’ve probably come to the same conclusion that most of my peers have; those of us described as “Generation X”, that the best thing I can do is do my best to be a good husband and father, and do my job well. Keeping that balance is difficult, though.

Have a wonderful weekend, enjoy yourself, and be good.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

I know, it’s a couple days late for that, but that’s alright. My son asked for some Easter candy, which is much cheaper, since Easter is over. We didn’t celebrate Easter this year, so he hadn’t had any.

Easter isn’t a holiday I really care to celebrate, at least not in the usual fashion. Too much of the Pagan influence.

The weekend

Hello,
I saw the play “Seussical”, this evening, and I’ll have to say they did a wonderful job. I was really impressed.
The gentleman at the high school who directs these plays each year is very talented, and pulls the best out of the young people who act for him.

My son ran the lights for him, a year or two, and loved it. I tried to convince him to try his luck on the stage, but to no avail. I think he liked the all or nothing; the perfectionist way about technical things. As an actor, there is so much grey, but as a lighting director, it’s either on or off, there is no middle ground. I can understand that.

Hello

Ugly in a good way.

Hello,

I’ve often thought I would like to write something, (I know, how original), so here it is.  I’ll have to figure out what to say and how to say it, but at least I finally started.

I’ve been married for over 20 years, and one child already out of the home, so I figure I’m probaby old enough to have something to say.

First of all, how is Helena nowadays?  I know, Montana, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Texas, and Oklahoma all have Helenas, I believe… 

My Helena is smaller now than it was then, and the school I graduated from doesn’t really even exist anymore.

Take good care, I’ll try again later…