Political Food for Thought - Iraq

"To get out of a difficulty, one usually must go
through it. Our country is now facing the most serious
threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced
in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII).

The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the
fact that there are very few of us who think we can possibly
lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really
means.

First, let's examine a few basics:

1. When did the threat to us start?

Many will say September 11, 2001. The answer as far
as the United States is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to
September 2001, with the following attacks on us:
* Iran Embassy Hostages, 197 9;
* Beirut , Lebanon Embassy 1983;
* Beirut , Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
* Lockerbie , Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York
1988;
* First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
* Dhahran , Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military
complex 1996;
* Nairobi , Kenya US Embassy 1998;
* Dares Salaam , Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
* A! den, Yemen USS Cole 2000;
* New York World Trade Center 2001;* Pentagon 2001.

(Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there
were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide).

2. Why were we attacked?

Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms.
The attacks happened during the administrations of
Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush 2. We
cannot fault either the Republicans or Democrats as there
were no provocations by any of the presidents or their
immediate predecessor, President Ford.

3. Who were the attackers?

In each case, the attack s on the US were carried out
by Muslims.

4. What is the Muslim population of the World?

25%.

5. Isn't the Muslim Religion peaceful?

Hopefully, but that is really not material. There
is no doubt that the predominately Christian population of
Germany was peaceful, but under the dictatorial leadership
of Hitler (who was also Christian (?)), that made no
difference. You either went along with the administration
or you were eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million
Christians killed by the Nazis for political reasons
(including
7,000 Polish priests).

(see http://www.Nazis.testimony.co.uk/7-a.htm)

Thus, almost the same number of Christians were
killed by the Nazis, as the six million holocaust Jews who
were killed by them, and we seldom heard of anything other
than the Jewish atrocities. Although Hitler kept the world
focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing
anyone who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of
taking over the world - German, Christian or any others.

Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the
world on the US , but kill all in the way -- their own
people or the Spanish, British, French or anyone else. The
point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no
protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many
peaceful Muslims there may be, they are no protection for us
from the terrorist Muslim leaders and what they are
fanatically bent on doing -- by their own pronouncements
-- killing all of us "infidels." I don't blame the
peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut
up or die?

6. So who are we at war with?

There is no way we can honestly respond that it is
anyone other than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be
politically correct and avoid verbalizing this conclusion
can well be fatal. There is no way to win if you don't
clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.

So with that background, now to the two major
questions:

1. Can we lose this war?

2. What does losing really mean?

If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two
pivotal questions:

We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as
it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many
of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question
- What does losing mean?

It would appear that a great many of us think that
losing the war means hanging our heads, bringing the troops
home and going on about our business, like post-Vietnam.
This is as far from the truth as one can get.

What losing really means is:

We would no longer be the premier country in the
world. The attacks will not subside, but rather will
steadily increase. Remember, they want us dead, not just quiet. If they had just wanted us quiet, they would not have produced an increasing series of attacks against us,
over the past 18 years. The plan was, clearly, for
terrorists to attack us until we were neutered and
submissive to them.

We would, of course, have no future support from
other nations, for fear of reprisals and for the reason that
they would see; we are impotent and cannot help them.

They will pick off the other non-Muslim nations, one
at a time. It will be increasingly easier for them. They
already hold Spain hostage. It doesn't matter whether it
was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its troops from
Iraq . Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed
their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything
else they want Spain to do will be done. Spain is finished.

The next will probably be France. Our one hope on
France is that they might see the light and realize that if
we don't win, they are finished too, in that they can't
resist the Muslim terrorists without us. However, it may
already be too late for France . France is already 20%
Muslim and fading fast!

Without our support Great Britain will go too.
Recently I read that there are more mosques in England than
churches.

If we lose the war, our production, income, exports
and way of life will all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us if they were threatened by
the Muslims. If we can't stop the Muslim terrorists, how
could anyone else?

The radical Muslims fully know what is riding on
this war, and therefore are completely committed to winning,
at any cost. We better know it too and be likewise
committed to winning at any cost.

Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of
losing? Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we
cannot unite and really put 100% of our thought s and efforts
into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to
win.

So, how can we lose the war?

Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by
"imploding." That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to
recognize the enemy and their purpose, and really digging in
and lending full support to the war effort. If we are
united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to
be divided, there is no way that we can win!

Let me give you a few examples of how we simply
don't comprehend the life and death seriousness of this
situation.

President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of
Transportation. Although all of the terrorist attacks were
committed by Muslim men between 17 and 40 years of age,
Secretary Mineta refuses to allow profiling. Does that
sound like we are taking this thing seriously? This is war!
For the duration, we are going to have to give up some of
the civil rig hts we have become accustomed. We had better
be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or
we will most certainly lose all of them permanently.

And don't worry that it is a slippery slope. We
gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII, and immediately
restored them after the victory and in fact added many more
since then.

Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton
before him?

No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain
all of our Political Correctness, and all of our civil
rights during this conflict and have a clean, lawful,
honorable war. None of those words apply to war. Get them
out of your head.

Some have gone so far in their criticism of the war
and/or the Administration that it almost seems they would
literally like to see us lose.

I think some actually do, I hasten to add that this
isn't because they are disloyal. It is because they just
don't recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that
conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are
divided and weakening. It concerns our friends, and it does
great damage to our cause.

Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the
politicians and media regarding the treatment of some
prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies best what I am saying.
We have recently had an issue, involving the treatment of a
few Muslim prisoners of war, by a small group of our
military police. These are the type prisoners who just a
few months ago were throwing their own people off buildings,
cutting off their hands, cutting out their tongues and
otherwise murdering their own people just for disagreeing
with Saddam Hussein. !

And just a few years ago these same type prisoners
chemically killed 400,000 of their own people for the same
reason. They are also the same type of enemy fighters, who
recently were burning Americans, and dra gging their charred
corpses through the streets of Iraq . And still more
recently, the same type of enemy that was and is providing
videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading
of American prisoners they held.

Compare this with some of our press and politicians,
who for several days have thought and talked about nothing
else but the "humiliating" of some Muslim prisoners -- not
burning them, not dragging their charred corpses through the
streets, not beheading them, but "humiliating" them.

Can they be for real?

The politicians and pundits have even talked of
impeachment of the Secretary of Defense. If this doesn't
show the complete lack of comprehension and understanding of
the seriousness of the enemy we are fighting, the life and
death struggle we are in and the disastrous results of
losing this war, nothing can.

To bring our country to a virtual political
standstill over this prisoner issue makes us look like Nero
playing his fiddle as Rome burned -- totally oblivious to
what is going on in the real world. Neither we, nor any
other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say, this does not mean that some of our politicians or media
people are disloyal. It simply means that they are
absolutely oblivious to the magnitude of the situation we
are in and into which the Muslim terrorists have been
pushing us, for many years.

These people are a serious and dangerous liability
to the war effort. We must take note of who they are and
get them out of office. Remember, the Muslim terrorists
stated goal is to kill all infidels! That translates into
ALL non-Muslims -- not just in the United States , but
throughout the world. We are the last bastion of defense.

We have been criticized for many years as being
'arrogant.' That charge is valid. We are arrogant in that
we believe that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we
can win the hearts and minds of all those who attack us, and
that with both hands tied behind our back, we can defeat
anything bad in the world! We can't!

If we don't recognize this, our nation as we know it
will not survive, and no other free country in the world
will survive if we are defeated.

And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout
the world that allow freedom of speech, freedom of thought,
freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equal rights for
anyone -- let alone everyone, equal status or any status for
women, or that have been productive in one single way that
contributes to the good of the world.

This has been a long way of saying that we must be
united on this war or we will be equated in the history
books to the self- inflicted fall of the Roman Empire . If,
that is, the Muslim leaders will allow history books to be
written or read.

If we don't win this war right now, keep a close eye
on how the Muslims take over France in the next 5 years or
less. They will continue to increase the Muslim population
of France and continue to encroach little by little, on the
established French traditions.

The French will be fighting among themselves, over
what should or should not be done, which will continue to
weaken them and keep them from any united resolve. Doesn't
that sound eerily familiar?

Democracies don't have their freedoms taken away
from them by some external military force. Instead, they
give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by
politically correct piece.

And they are giving those freedoms away to those who
have shown, worldwide that they abhor freedom and will not
apply it to you or even to themselves, once they are in
power.

Muslims have universally shown that when they have
taken over, they then start brutally killing each other over
whom will be the few who control the masses.

What is happening in Iraq is a good example. Will
we ever stop hearing from the politically correct, about the
"peaceful Muslims"?

I close on a hopeful note, by repeating what I said
above. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose.
I hope now, after the election, the factions in our country
will begin to focus on the critical situation we are in, and
will unite to save our country. It is your future we are
talking about! Do whatever you can to preserve it. I
reiterate. A national election is months away.

After reading the above, we all must do this not
only for ourselves, but our children, our grandchildren, our
country and the world. Whether Democrat or Republican,
conservative or liberal and that includes the Politicians
and media of our country and the free world"

-Dr. Vernon Chong, Major General, USAF, Retired

Thoughts/Arguments anyone?

Shatze Wants to be a Chef...

Last night Kris and I got home after about 11pm and as we walked up to the door Kris said, "I think I'm gonna go straight to bed - I'm pretty tired." I replied, "Yeah, me too."

Little did we know that while we were gone (about 5 hours), Shatze decided to whip up a little something in the kitchen. She decided to use everything on the third shelf...2 boxes of hot chocolate mix, a couple of boxes of apple cider, a bag of brownie mix, some pasta shells and crackers... Unfortunately, we got home too late to take part in the majority of the festivities and just got the left overs - and she left the mess for us to clean up too...

(The view of the dining room as we walked in.)

(Shatze and Roxy ate most all of the chocolate, but apparantly didn't take too
well the the tart taste of the apple cider.)


(Roxy's bed covered in chocolate footprints and hot chocolate foil packaging.)


(Obviously knows she's in trouble, and yet still trying to hide some evidence.)


(The kitchen floor covered in chocolate, dog slobber, and dog prints.)


(You can imagine our thoughts at 11pm...)

(The clean up sweep - you can see none of the chocolate powder was left [or came off the floor] and she ate all the wheat thins. Isn't this like drinking a diet coke with a double cheeseburger and chili fries?)

(The survivors: a few crackers, apple cider, one brownie mix,
and lemon-poppy seed muffin mix...)

Shatze has not done this in a long time...and never this big. And Roxy - her whiskers were completely covered in chocolate. Yes, we know dogs are allergic to chocolate... Shatze probably lost a few braincells considering she ate an entire large bag of miniature Reese's PB Cups a couple of years ago and just left me the foil. Roxy spent the evening throwing it up and then slept in her kennel. Shatze was quite proud of herself but has been regretting it a bit today as she's been really thirsty and trying to take a solid dump...

And to make matters worse, Shatze ate a pair of underwear the previous day (why she was locked downstairs) - just because she was bored.


We can't give her toys because she destroys and eats them in record time - including Kongs... And now, she's sucking on her hip...(refer to previous pet post).

In the News

Today there was a murder-suicide at the AFB... It's all over the news, but the names have not been released...and will not until tomorrow evening, at the earliest, according to Air Force policy.

But I know who he is... This guy was crazy - absolutely crazy. I knew he was - I tried to tell people, but they wouldn't listen. They just shook their heads and said there was no way. He's too good of a guy...he couldn't do that. Leave him alone...

But he did - He waited until his wife left and then he killed them. In cold blood. He shot his own 8 year-old daughter and 4 year-old son. Then the coward shot himself.

He never faced justice for anything he did - people always let him off. And now when no one could save him from yet another situation he created, he shot himself. I'm sure to avoid justice.

You want my opinion why he didn't shoot the mom (but did the kids) even though he had access, was so mad at her, and wanted the kids in the divorce? Because he knew he couldn't have them and wanted her to suffer...

And tonight, she suffers... Not that listening to me now will do any good...

Tonight, I'm just beside myself - a multitude of emotions I don't quite have grasp of, currently summed up by, "angry, guilt-stricken, and broken." I wish I could interrogate him now...

Why can't people just listen to reason? And why do abused women keep coming back?
(These are rhetorical questions...please don't send me answer messages).

And this one goes out to Tonya... in Israel!

A few weeks ago, I was "chatting" with Tonya via yahoo messenger - Isn't technology great!??!?! As we were discussing future plans for her and Brent's return to Oklahoma after about 6 months away, I did not realize I knew something Tonya didn't know...

As I made a solemn vow to Tonya that Kris and I (and whomever else wanted to go) would take her to the new Chipotle in Edmond (OKC metro) upon her return, Tonya lost her mind... For those of you who don't know, there is a large Chipotle following in Oklahoma who go out of their way to go to Chipotle every time they are in Texas.... No one had told Tonya they built a Chipotle in Edmond while she was gone! Even during the months of building - no one told her!

So I not only promised to take Tonya to a Chipotle in the OKC metro area, but also to take pictures and send her an electronic Chipotle meal...

Well, we forgot to take the camera when we went for the first time - so we had to make a second trip this Saturday night after Shabbot. (Saturday's are my diet cheat days).

So Tonya - this one goes out to you! Proof there is a Santa Claus - I mean Chipotle...in Edmond.

(Arrival...Chipotle by night)

(See, we didn't pull this picture off the internet, we were there!)

(Kris sends you a fajita burrito...see chipotle cup? Not a fake chipotle burrito!)


(I send you steak tacos - they were out of chicken...again. See, I also have a chipotle cup and paper...)

(Leaving...the Edmond Chipotle sign - in Hampton Village [whatever that is])

There you go Tonya - tacos and a burrito send to you with love...via internet travel.

Building my Body for Life - (Updated Weekly)

Congratulations! You all are my accountability... I started a "new" diet/exercise plan about 2.5 weeks ago - it's a 12 week program called "Body For Life."

Each week, I'll update this with my progress - big time accountability, I know. Not that any of you would really hound me, but the fact that I have to publicly tell everyone...well, it will kinda take care of itself.

I'm not a big "cheater" when it comes to stuff like this; I'm usually really good when I've set my mind to something. However, I plan to do this for my 12 weeks and then maybe start another 12 week session depending on how it's going - and once I finish it once or even halfway, I start psyching myself out of how much time it's taking vs how much progress... But I'm losing body fat and building lean muscle!!!!

Ok, so here we go - Progress:
Week 01: -1.5 lbs
Week 02: -3 lbs (+ cardio levels .5 mph)
Week 03: +.5 lbs
Week 04: +/- 0 lbs (+ cardio levels .3 mph)
(The book says it is often about Week 7 before women's metabolism really kicks in and regulates [sigh] - starting to get a little discouraged)
Week 05: -1.5 lbs
Week 06: +/- 0 lbs
Week 07: - 1.0 lbs (+ cardio levels .2 mph)(pants, shirts, watch, & ring fit noticeably looser this week!)
Week 08: +/- 0 lbs
Week 09: -0.5 lbs
Week 10: +/- 0.0 lbs
Week 11: -1.5 lbs
Week 12: +1.o lbs (-7.5 lbs total)

She Really....Sucks?

I've had Shatze for just over four years. She's big, she's scary....she's a big baby!

Shatze was a "pound puppy." Home from college, I happened to be visiting an old youth group friend who was doing some "community service" working at the local animal shelter. I walked around with him for awhile making him show me all the animals while telling me about his life. Finally at the end of the kennels, there was "Sweetie" (aka: Shatze). Emaciated and shaking, there was no eye contact to be made by this 40lb dog.

Shatze was an "owner surrender," meaning she was taken from her owner, but that's about all my friend knew about her. He thought he had heard something about a puppy mill and kennels, but didn't know for sure. She was sickly skinny, wouldn't eat, wouldn't allow any attention to her, and hid in the back corner of the kennel with her back turned and shaking if you came near her. Of course, I tried to coax her to let me pet her - thinking maybe she just needed a non-threatening small female. Ummm...no. I crawled partially into the kennel where Shatze became paralyzed with fear. She didn't growl or snap at me, just zoned out and shook - then started crying.

I slowly backed out of the kennel and turned to my friend for his thoughts on her. She intrigued me. As I stood there talking to him with my back turned to her, I started bouncing a tennis ball I found at some point - probably to relieve the awkwardness of this conversation after no communication for four years (and I didn't know him that well to begin with). I guess we didn't find it important to shut Shatze's kennel since she was fear-stricken at the sight of us, but none the less, the tennis ball didn't bounce back up when I dropped it the last time.

My friend started laughing and I turned around to see Shatze sitting in her kennel looking at me, chewing my tennis ball! Bah? So, I took it back - and did it again. Once I turned my back to her, she snuck out and took it again. We played this game for a while and she finally quit going back in her kennel - then I could throw it and she'd bring it back to an extent and leave it. There was a lot more to this dog... I fell in love with her...

That's when my friend told me they had contacted the closest Doberman Rescue and they couldn't come get her because of her health, temperament, and location. So, that day happened to be Shatze's last day...unless she was adopted. I didn't need another dog - I had a terrible one already. I had a red Doberman as a kid - she was my favorite dog....

Well, obviously I adopted her...and changed her name to Shatze. (The name"Sweetie" was just...lame - and with the knowledge she may have been abused/neglected, I thought it best to change it to something that may sound similar to her, but was new). My father informed me "Shatze" meant "sweetie" or "sweetheart" in German...and she's a German breed - done.

The ride home was horrible - she cried, whined, and paced in the backseat the entire time (and still does 4 years later). I took her to the vet - they thought she was about 3 years old and had obviously had a litter of puppies recently (she was 40lbs and all teets!)

The point of this blog? Long story short, Shatze has a weird mental...thing. She curls in a tight ball and sucks her hip to go to sleep.

She opens her mouth as wide as she can and places it over her hip (action shot).

The top of her mouth goes almost all the way over to her spine and her bottom jaw covers that entire side of her underbelly. Then she sucks on it and whines through her nose until I make her stop or she decides to fall asleep.

Then she goes to sleep and her side is covered in dog slobber... It's usually this side of her body, but she will do the other side if that is the only option.

I mentioned this to the vet who looked at her hips and said he couldn't find anything wrong and that it was probably a coping mechanism she adopted from living in a tiny kennel, being weened too early, or maybe both. He also stated she would probably outgrow it with a normal home...

It's been four years and people are still mesmerized watching her do this. She completely zones out - the only way I can really make her stop is to put my fingers in her mouth. She does it no more and no less than when I first adopted her....

She has, however, gained almost 30lbs and is very social/loyal 7 year-old(?) dog who acts younger than she is. She thinks she's a lap dog and wants tons of attention. Don't mess with me or my roommate though, because she has made her loyalty pretty clear at my soccer games where she barked and snarled at anyone on the opposing team who came near me, nearly breaking her leash...and the bleachers she was tied to.

Has anyone else ever seen a dog that does this? Just curious if there are any other common theories out there because it really is just weird.

Unemployed...(sigh)

This week finds me unemployed - no-notice - that's what happens when you work kinda contract labor type stuff... One day they decide they can't afford labor and you're the one that gets cut - no notice, no benefits, no severance...

Except the crappy part of this was that I had about 3 months notice, but they stated they had gotten approval to extend me though November 2008...then they didn't follow through with the funding and told me two days after my "contract" had expired - so yeah, they owe me for a couple of days of work.

Now I'm job hunting (insert crappy tone of voice here). I applied for yet another position this morning - resume #11 sent out.

(sigh) What do I want to be when I grow up?

I've learned from my previous jobs that the things I thought I would really want to do when I was younger, I still have a desire to do (see #1 and 2 below). And the career paths I've developed as I've gotten older, I find to be unsatisfying, though they pay more. I've never been one to want a job just because it's "higher paying," but it seems that is what society tells you to do.

Of course there is a natural progression of career paths I can take from the experience gained in my current job, but I don't like the "benefits" and "benefits" are supposed to be "beneficial" right?

I don't know exactly what I want, but I do know that I don't want:
1. A 24-hour on-call schedule and an "electronic leash" (aka: company phone). When I leave work, I want to LEAVE work.
2. A job that does not pay overtime for regularly required 12-14 hour days
3. A job that involves weekends or shifts
4. A job that "requires" you to be away from home regularly
5. A job that "requires" you to move every 3-7 years

I think I might want to:
1. Teach/coach high school (everyone tells me this is ridiculous, though I think some are called)
2. Work in Health/Wellness/Fitness
3. Work for myself (doing what? I don't know).

Things I have been told that I will not consider:
1. Counseling
2. Police Officer

Things I said when I was younger, but also no longer consider:
1. Veterinarian (Didn't every kid say that?) I think I starting using this when people laughed at my #3...
2. A truck driver
3. American Gladiator (though they are making a come back)