MULTITASK

Thank goodness that the present Administration is very adept at multitasking!. While the Iranians are rattling their missiles and new potential nuclear capabilities, the Country is still in financial and moral meltdown, the healthcare debate is droning on (but please do not go to sleep on this one), and the terrorists are showing new muscle and capability, our President is going off to Denmark on a very important mission. His mission is to try to convince the Olympic Committee to hold the 2016 Olympics in Chicago! I wonder if that would be the Summer or Winter games? Either could be appropriate for that area unless they have to dig into certain areas for new facilities. If they do they might even find Hoffa.

I truly wonder why the President feels it necessary to be the leader of everything big and small that occurs from Olympic hometown (Thought he was from Hawaii or IndoKenya) exercises to healthcare crafting. Some day he may get around to helping defend US interests around the world rather than apologizing for our perfidy and arrogance. It looks like the downfall of US power and prestige is accelerating under his stewardship.

AIDS ADVANCEMENT

The discovery of a somewhat effective vaccine against the AIDS virus is certainly welcome news. It could lead to the defeat of this horrible disease.

I do have some questions about the process that helped to develop the new vaccine and the probable follow up efforts.

1) It was stated that the discovery was conducted by the US Army. What kind of funding and need promotes the US Army to conduct such research? It seems to me that such investigations would be better performed by a civilian (even for profit) organization. That approach would show a reasonable justification for the expenditures of funds.

2) The study and experimentation was conducted by the US Military in Thailand! This makes very little sense to me. There should be plenty of candidates in the US for evaluation of the vaccine and the costs for the Army to conduct the research would be (should be) less. What am I missing here?

The research could even be made the subject of some very negative propaganda relating to the experimentation of an untried and potentially dangerous procedure on non US subjects. Sorta like the experiments that were conducted during WWII by Germany and Japan using foreign peoples (Koreans and Gypsies).

Could it be that other reasons may underly this testing in Thailand such as potential public criticism that the US experienced during the Atomic tests? Or does the experimenting in Thailand allow using potentially dangerous shortcuts that are not allowed in the US? Finally, how much of the DOD budget has been (and in the future will be) siphoned into this effort?

NEW NAVY ENLISTED UNIFORM

The Navy has fallen into a state of sameness that I thought would never happen. At one time, a sailor (particularly lower enlisteds) wore a very distinctive uniform. it consisted of blue bell bottom trousers that buttoned in front by 13 buttons and a very distinctive shirt (with white piping and stars etc).

About the time that Robert McNamera became the Secretary of Defense, the Administration decided to change the uniform so that all service members (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force) would dress exactly the same.Until recently (starting in 2003 I guess) the Navy resisted the change citing the uniqueness of the service and its mission. Now, the bureaucrats have won. Sailors now wear uniforms that look similar to any of the other service branches.

So what?? The issue in my mind is one of breaking with a very old tradition, and I am quite displeased although it does not directly impact me. It does impact my sense of history and the symbology of the uniform. The present uniform no longer matches the mission or the history associated with the Navy.

Just thought someone would like to hear my opinion; not that it really matters since so much more in this Country appears to be headed in the same direction.

INCREDIBLE

It is difficult for me to see why the US scrapping of the Eastern Europe missile Defense Shield is a wise move. So long as the Russians are on the defensive and we (the US) are considered to be trusted allies of many of the Eastern European nations, I believe that our interests are being served. I do not see how scrapping the system and alienating the Eastern Europeans is beneficial. EXCEPT for the Russians! This move supposedly improves our position with respect to the Iranians.

I do not consider myself to be a defense expert or an accomplished political strategist, but, to me, these moves does two things: It discourages any country from trusting us and it encourages the Russians to re-align the Eastern Block.

WATCH OUT

It seems to me that the Administration realizes that the proposed healthcare bill (s) being argued are not acceptable by a majority of CITIZENS, and will probably not pass as they are presently written. So, why continue the intense media blitz and Administration discussions? It could be that the citizens are having their attention diverted from some other real agenda. The Administration does not seem to be paying attention to North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Russia, ACORN, China Trade sanctions, and many other issues. Something really important must be happening before our eyes that the Administration does not wish to discuss or declare. Now more than ever, the citizens need true and faithful advocacy. Maybe the Conservative forces should be looking!!

ADDED COMMENT:

On further reflection, one could arrive at one other conclusion; and, that is, our present Federal Administration is populated by some really incompetent people. If this is true, we need to consider getting them out of office quickly through a recall referendum or by some other vehicle. I do not know whether the Constitution has such provisions except through Impeachment.

TO RULE THE WAVES

Just finished a book by Arthur Herman, "To Rule the Waves". It is a version of history that should be read by people who may have only a passing interest in ships, and sailors, but, more importantly, by people who want to understand the almost certain future (and demise) of the US. The real story of this book is not about the rise and fall of the British Empire, of battles won and lost by great Navies, or the heroic figures in British history; But about how a Nation may be led into relative obscurity by not paying attention to HISTORY. The British did not understand how history can teach, and now, the US is following the same path. It appears that we (the US) are allowing our leaders(?) to send us into obscurity by thinking that our treasury is an unending source of riches and that we can and MUST afford to keep the world propped up and our citizenry safe and well supplied and that no one may be allowed to fall by the wayside. And, by the way, we must be the example for the world for fairness, and consideration.

Somehow we need to wake up and see the dangers in the path that we are following (and have been following since the messiah of the last great Depression, FDR, was elected President). Social conscience and welfare does have practical limits, and we are at that limit NOW. Health care, environmental concerns, fairness, and consideration needs to be reevaluated for the sake of this Nation.

Read the Constitution and let us return to its requirements and start to evaluate all operations and actions of the Federal Government (as well as the States Governments) and correct the mistakes and errors in light of what is written and not what some politically motivated judges say. Maybe the Judges need to be reeducated as well.

JUST WONDERING

I wonder what happened:

1. The massive and detailed information on the War in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc. There is no longer a media tally on numbers killed or wounded; Terrible costs; or misdeeds by Americans during the prosecution of these efforts. We must now have corrected all the ills. Could it be that a change of managers (ala sports teams) really improved things?

2. The failing economy is now really improved; why, look at the massive improvement in the DOW, it is only down by about 3000 points from the previous highs under the last Administration.

3. The unemployment picture is really improving; it now stands that the number of new unemployed was only 266,000 more than the previous month. Wow! I wonder if the reduction in firings and layoffs is not a result of running out of people to get rid of rather than an improving economy. BTW the rosy unemployment figure is at 9.7%; still well below the disastrous 10% level. Under the previous Administration, unemployment was at a dismal 6%.

4. The various financial bailouts has shown to be a boon. Why, just the other day, the Government earned 4 Billion dollars already on their investment of our tax dollars. Lets see, 4/787*100 = 0.502 return on investment. This is a lot better than bank interest on my savings account.

5. Cash for clunkers which drained 3 billion dollars from the economy was supposedly a smashing success. Unfortunately, now that it is over, except for the fact that only about 20 percent of the dealers have received payment under the program. It now appears that some people are being dunned for repayment of the bonus money by the dealers because the Government rejected their claims. In addition, some of the states are starting to tax the bonus money for various reasons. BTW: I wonder if the apparent income from the bonuses are taxable as income according to IRS rules? I also wonder how many of these deals will result in repossessions as the people who participated in the program find out that they still can not afford the new payments ?

REALLY SCARY

The President may decide to have the White House (staff??) to draft a separate version of the needed(?) revised healthcare plan. Which makes me wonder why anyone would think that such authorship would be any better than the plan presently being considered by Congress. Would the collective CZARS be responsible for penning the White House plan? Given some insight into their credentials, I would be very concerned about anything from that croud. How about some of the Law interests that are guiding White House decisions. OOPS, the same ones who think that indicting CIA agents from the Bush Administration is a good idea for the safety of the US; Good grief, not them! Well, maybe from the State Department then? Sorry, there does not seem to be a rationally thinking individual there either.

Then why not just FORGET about the whole idea of massive reinvention of healthcare in the US and return to the idea of continuing to incrementally fix the present system? Then, lets get some really smart and knowledgeable people involved who may not have any political connection to any politician? I believe that I could even contribute to a set of sensible ideas and changes.

LOVE THE FRENCH

This article that I recently saw on the internet is a reason to love the French.

French towns on one-way street to head-on collision

LEVALLOIS-PERRET, France — French commuters ran head-on into a local political standoff Tuesday after feuding towns redirected road markings to leave two busy one-way streets facing off against each other.

The Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret and its conservative council lies next door to middle-class and Socialist-run Clichy-la-Garenne. Daily, thousands of motorists pass between the two, heading into and out of the capital.

This week, after deciding that the D909 route brought too much congestion to his town, Levallois mayor Patrick Balkany declared his portion of it a one-way street, speeding traffic into neighbouring Clichy.

Balkany's Clichy counterpart, Gilles Catoire, was not amused, and promptly issued a decree of his own, declaring his section of the D909 one-way as well, only this time in the opposite direction.

Chaos naturally ensued, and on Tuesday both local and national police were deployed to direct traffic away from the gridlock on the towns' borders and onto narrow suburban routes unsuited to high volumes of commuter traffic.

"What Clichy has done is not a long-term solution, but it is a response to a unilateral decision by the town of Levallois," said Clichy's deputy mayor Alain Fournier, a Green Party member.

"Such a matter should have been dealt with at an inter-municipal level, but we were never invited to discuss it," he told AFP.

Balkany denied this, and insisted: "The mayor of Clichy has taken a position that is unreasonable and is hurting his own constituents."

Following Tuesday morning's traffic chaos, the French central government, in the form of the regional prefect Patrick Strzoda, stepped in to order Clichy to re-establish two-way traffic on its section of the D909.