The leaves are starting to turn colors here in Iowa.  Just a little bit.  A few trees here and there are showing hints of the spectacular color explosion that will soon offer yet another glimpse of God’s artistry for too short of a time.   As much as I love the fall season it is always appreciated with the bitter sweet recognition and angst inherent with the coming of winter.  My own personal loathing of oncoming winter months was diminished somewhat last year by my having made trips to both coasts on my Harley.  I had taken full advantage of the summer months and the ease with which they afford the opportunity to recreate.  Such wise use of the summer season made the impending down time associated with winter slightly more palatable last year.  It occurred to me recently that I had not even put enough miles on my trusty steed this past summer to warrant an oil change.  How could that be?   

            In the waning days of summer this year I began to give consideration to the fact that I hadn’t taken any trips, hadn’t even gone on a family vacation actually.  If you have seen the movie Office Space you know some of what a typical day at work can be like for me.  I am an IT guy for a large Mid West credit union and I work in a basement cubicle.  One significant difference between Milton and me, however, is the fact that my stapler is blue.  Work had been insanely busy with several significant fundamental infrastructure changes and the opening of a new location.  I had made attempts to take vacation but one was cancelled by my employer and another I cancelled myself as a result of the seemingly insurmountable workload. 

So as summer was winding down I figured I’d better take it easy a little bit.  It seemed that I had been working too much lately.  I decided to take some time off work. My twins would soon be starting college and my youngest would soon be busy with school, scouting, play dates and church group.  I needed to refresh my spirit and a little get away sounded perfect.  I pledged to enjoy some of the more important things in life, slow things down and get back in touch with the man I wanted to be.  I was looking forward to some well earned rest and relaxation.  I decided to take the family with me anyway.

We went to a water park and motel in Dubuque for an overnight excursion and my intention was to sip on ice cold $5 beers until the kids were turned to prunes or my visa credit line ran out, which ever came first.  I should have known better.  I hadn’t made it through my first beer when my seven year old began demanding that I go down the green slide of death with him.  Somewhere between the time I sat at the top of the slide and the moment I realized I was actually going to do this I got a sense that things were going to go badly.  At turn one my leopard print Speedo swim suit was perceptibly working its way to uncover parts of me that most definitely should be covered.  By turn number two I became aware that the pipes of the water slide were not nearly as big of diameter on the inside as they had looked from the outside.  The very real possibility of becoming stuck in that slide entered my mind.  I wondered if they would be able to get me out if I did get stuck.  Would they be able to save me before water pressure built up around me?  I wondered how much it would hurt as kid after kid after kid piled into me on turn number three.  I wondered how they would describe that mishap on the 6:00 news.  “Fat man drowns near top of water slide!  Film at 11:00” 

            Finally I saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and would have been relieved to have that experience behind me were it not for the fact that I could swear I heard a “POP” sound as I came out of the tunnel and into the pool below.  A quick check of the Speedo’s assured me that the worst of my problems were over and I couldn’t wait to get out of there and get back to the relative safety of my basement cubicle and blue stapler. 

            I would suppose that with an experience such as that I should be as accepting of the change of seasons as I would be if I had enjoyed grand tours on my Harley once again this summer.  Not so.  A guy like me is used to a little adversity from time to time.  The leaves are supposed to peak along the Iowa Wisconsin border of the upper Mississippi later this week.  I’ve got some vacation time I need to burn and I may just have to take me a little cruise.

            I hope you are having a great weekend.  See ya tomorrow!

 

            I had one of “those days” Friday.  I had one of “those days” that that I hope you experience from time to time.  I had one of “those days” where you kind of wonder what you did to deserve such a day.  I had one of “those days” where I felt like I was cheating somehow as I am certain I was not worthy enough to have experienced it.  I had one of “those days” where I could feel nothing but appreciation for the blessings in my life.  And I suppose there aren’t many of us who shouldn’t live each day with that sort of appreciation but life doesn’t seem to work out that way for some reason. 

            My day started with kind words about Thursday night’s performance at the Comedy Club and it was easy enough to appreciate those kind words.  What really put me over the edge yesterday though was lunch with my kids, Courtney and Clayton.  I had called my daughter late Thursday morning after learning that an old family friend, Kevin BF Burt would be performing for Iowa Public Radio’s Java Blend program at noon on Friday at the Java House in downtown Iowa City.  The program will be aired on October 13^th and 14^th and I will give you guys a link to a Podcast as soon as it is available.  Kevin is a phenomenal talent, there is no other way I could describe him.  There is a link at the top of the post here for you to hear the song that did me in.  The song that is responsible for the story I am about to tell.

         I knew Courtney would be into Kevin’s sound because… well because I raised her right.  I called her to suggest that she go see him and she said she would if I came down to see him with her.  I found out that Clayton had a half day at school on Friday so we made plans to go down to Iowa City to meet her. This would be a good place to insert a “thanks Boss!” comment.  Thanks, Boss.  Clayton and I beat Courtney to the Java House by a couple of songs while she made her way across campus and we were full-on groovin’ to Kevin’s unique Iowa Blues stylings by the time she arrived.  Sensing her arrival I turned and caught one of the greatest I’m-glad-to-see-my-dad-and-brother-smiles that you could ever imagine.  I wonder if all Dad’s melt like I did when they see their daughter smiling like that. 

            No sooner than I had collected my hug from Courtney when Kevin broke into an amazing cover of Eleanor Rigby.  He had prefaced the song by saying that his interpretation of the song is maybe how the band from Liverpool would have performed it had they grown up poor and black in Waterloo, Iowa.  His rendition was hauntingly sad as the lyrics of Eleanor Rigby truly are.  After blowing the audience away with the Beatles classic he performed an original tune called “Your Smile.”  “Your Smile” is a song Kevin wrote for his daughter and the guy understands fatherhood perhaps as well as anybody could have a right to.  He barely made it to the second line of the song when it started to tear me up a little bit.  Courtney caught on to my plight right away and reached across the table to take my hand.  That didn’t help.  I knew I was going to make a fool of myself in a hurry if I didn’t do something quick so I lifted her hand and mine over Clayton’s head who was sitting between us to make it more of a group hug kind of thing.  By the grace of God that move kind of knocked Clayton’s hat off kilter, a ball cap which he wears backwards nearly every waking moment.  So I got to get a good laugh in while Clayton struggled to keep his hat on in spite of the fact that I wouldn’t let go of Courtney’s hand and there was no possible way he could get it back in place with our hands clenched over his shoulders.  The what-the-hell-are-you-guys-doing-glance he gave me was all that kept me from being an emotional wreck in front of a hundred Java House patrons.

            I think what made the event so powerful, besides that damn song, was that the three of us, Courtney, Clayton and myself, were truly enjoying being together and we were sharing our appreciation of a genuinely gifted talent.  We were in one place in body, spirit and mind and it I have to think the music is what made that possible.  Thanks Kevin.  You know, I don’t suppose that it takes an extraordinary event such as that to achieve such closeness but it sure made it easy on this occasion.  Our family is a warm and affectionate family, most of the time, and sharing in each others moments and dreams has never been a problem but yesterday kind of transcended that and it overwhelmed me.  And I’m thankful for every minute of it and I hope that you get an opportunity to experience something like that in the very near future.

 

Your Smile  by Kevin BF Burt   

 

I wanna see you every day and night

just to make sure every things alright

Because you know you’re Daddy’s little girl.

Hey you know that Daddy only wants to be there for you baby.

Make sure everythings alright in your world.
Wanna hold you in my arms and keep you save and warm

And don’t you know you got your Daddy screamin’ out loud.

Each and every time you’re out there baby doin what ya do

Ya know you make your daddy so proud.

You make my life worth while, you make my life worthwhile

When I see you smile

 

wanna hold you arms in my arms and never let you go

but then baby you’d never grow and that’s not what daddy wants at all

daddy just wants you to understand

no matter what you do or say that daddy catch you if you fall

oh daddy has to go sometimes and I know that you miss me baby

oh and I miss you too uh huh

And Daddy can’t wait get back home to ya baby

Spend my time snuggled up with you

You make my life worthwhile, oh you make my life worth while

When I see you smile

When I see you smile.

 

One day you gonna spread your wings and fly away and that’s okay

Cuz baby daddy understands that’s what you s’posed to do

Oh and Daddy’s gonna cry that day but don’t you worry baby cuz

That’s what Daddy’s s’posed to do too.

Just remember no matter where you go no matter where you roam

That Daddy’s waitin with open arms

Oh to give you that big daddy bear hug baby

Soon as you step one foot back in your home

You’ve made my life worthwhile, You’ve made my life worthwhile

When I see you smile.

Just to see you amile.

When I see you smile.

Just to see you smile.

 

            Wowzers!  Bear with me Redhog Readers, I may have been a little over-served prior to writing this post.  If you know what I mean.  It was amateur night at Penguins Comedy Club again last night and I took another shot at it.  What a hoot!  I was fortunate enough to have about 20 friends show up and my gig was pretty much “on fire,” Okay, maybe not but it was a whole lot of fun and I left feeling as if I did a whole lot better than last month.  What more could I ask for, right?  I'm not certain feeling I improved since last week means a whole lot because last month after the show I thought I had nailed it.  Being on a stage and hearing laughter is somewhat surreal and I suppose whether people are laughing with you or at you doesn't really make a lot of difference.  It is hard to keep perspective when looking back on it but video's don't seem to lie.  Clayton “Mad Dog” Wilcox didn’t get to perform last night because he had to work.  Which was a bummer because the house was pretty full and everybody did a good job last night.  It’s pretty cool how the comedians are jelling into a bit of a family.  I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it would be fun to hang out with a group of comedians.  So anyway, as painful as it is for me to see myself on camera I will have last nights show up for your viewing next month, when I get the video.  I have put up up both Clayton and my videos from last month for your viewing today.  I think you will find the quality of these video’s much better than what I put up last month.  Hope ya like it. 

 

 

            Sorry about the late post today but we were up late and on the road last night when I normally do my posting.  Clayton “Mad Dog” Wilcox won third place in the Isle of Capri Casino sponsored “Iowa Last Comic Standing” competition in the Quad Cities last night.  First and second place finishers won decent cash prizes and third place was rewarded with a $25 gift certificate to Ruby Tuesdays.  The comic gods smiled favorably upon Clayton because for much of the time before the show began he exclaimed his desire for that Ruby Tuesdays gift certificate so he could enjoy his all time favorite “Cheddar Bacon Turkey Burger.”  (CBTB) It was hard to tell if he was saying he wanted third prize to be funny or because he was jonesin’ for the turkey burger.  He is a bit of a freak about the CBTB’s.  All of this seemed to prove the old adage of being careful what you wish for. 

 

            Dubuque Iowa’s biggest Cardinals fan and martial arts guru, Jay, sent me a fascinating email yesterday.  It kinda made me wonder…

 

Many will recall that on July 8, 1947, witnesses claimed that an unidentified object with five aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico. This is a well- known incident that many say has long been covered up by the US Air Force and the federal government.

 

            However, you may NOT know that in the month of March 1948, exactly nine months after that historic day:

 

George W. Bush,

 

Dick Cheney,

 

Donald Rumsfeld,

 

Bill O'Reilly and

 

Rush Limbaugh, were all born. 

 

See what happens when aliens breed with sheep.  This piece of information may clear up a lot of things.

 

Thanks Jay.

            I have a question for all of my Republican friends who like to throw out terms like “socialized medicine” and use scare tactics when talking about how horrible things will be if legislation is passed that ensures all Americans have equal opportunities for health care.  Who do you think is paying for uninsured’s health care now?  In case you haven’t noticed health care professionals, pharmaceutical and insurance companies are all recording record profits and capital growth.  They are getting paid even while estimates of as high as one in seven Americans are uninsured.  That means that you and I are paying for their health coverage one way or another.  For every trip to the doctor by an uninsured patient the premiums or out of pocket expenses of the insured go up to pay for their visit.  What isn’t born in higher costs to the insured consumer is covered by some form of government transfer payment.  Again paid by the insured tax payer.  Typically we end up paying more when deferred trips to the doctor result in catastrophic care that could have been prevented with early treatment.  And the whole time the health care industry wants to keep the government out of medicine because they fear the regulation and oversight that might come with it.  Guess what people?  The government got out of the business of oversight over 7 years ago!

            The House was expected to vote on the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) yesterday and the Senate is expected to vote on it Thursday.  The plan would seek a $35 billion dollar expansion over Bush’s recommendation and would cover an additional 4 million middle class American children who currently have no health coverage.  Bush says it is “irresponsible” and has promised to veto the bill.  In virtually the same breath Bush has asked Congress for an additional $195 billion for his failed policies in Iraq against the will of the American people.  Talk about irresponsible. 

            I won’t hold my breath that the fiscally conservative (when it comes to anything but the shit they want to spend money on) GOP will cough up enough votes to help some kids after the great “decider” vetoes the bill.  Republicans are on track to triple the previous record for blocking legislation that has been asked for by the American public.  Even though the SCHIP legislation is hugely popular among the electorate and many Republicans see it as key to their re-election it remains an important opportunity for the GOP to prevent something of a Democratic victory.  And we all know that it is more important to make the Democrats look bad than actually do anything productive for America. 

            Here’s the bottom line Red Hog Readers.  The only possible reason I see to object to expanded health care coverage is that you don’t want anybody else getting something of a better deal that what you think you might be getting.  Such petty, selfish behavior is hardly reconcilable with the tenets of Christianity that so many of the politically conservative purport to behold.  To be against national health care for all is to believe that corporate profit is of greater value than human life.  It almost makes me wonder if abortions were priced at something like 100 times their current rate and provided by Halliburton if we would not see abortion clinics popping up like Starbucks shops with tax credits as incentive for their glorious economic expansion and blessings from Focus on the Family and the 700 Club.  But I digress. 

            There should be no argument that health care should be provided for everyone.  Where we should be fighting is to ensure that quality of service and selection of services from providers of choice be maintained.  To buy into the threats from those most likely to see their annual corporate bonus go by the wayside is to be duped to the highest magnitude.  If I had ever spoken against comprehensive health coverage for all Americans I might feel pretty stupid about now.  We can have it all.  Well most of us can.  The consumers can have the health care they desire but maybe a few Fortune 500 executives may be out of a job.  Heck, they get all the tax cuts anyway so it shouldn’t bother any of us that they fall on a little hard luck should it?
           

            It finally happened.  After 600 consecutive posts written over one year, seven months and twenty three days, or 85 weeks – more or less, 14,400 hours, 864,000 minutes or 51,840.000 seconds I missed.  Twice.  I don’t quite feel so bad about missing Sunday’s post because of the camp out and all and I did offer up a disclaimer in a Saturday afternoon entry.  It was Carters very first Cub Scout campout and the scouting powers that be had expressed in no uncertain terms that it was to be an electronics free weekend.  I have a confession to make.  I assumed cell phones and such were permitted and took along the Blackberry.  I was fully prepared to defend my possession of said contraband being an all important IT guru and all but in reality I was going to need it for it’s web browsing abilities to keep track of the score in the Iowa game.  I didn’t end up needing to get too creative, however, because as soon as the scout master caught onto my Blackberry’s capabilities he was regularly asking me for updates.  Ahhh, it’s good to be a gangster.

            Scouting has changed quite a bit since “back in the day.”  For starters it seems to have little to do with the no-nonsense business of merit badges and knot tying that made up the activities when I was a wee wolf scout.  Scouting has morphed to a more family oriented event complete with mothers and sisters and three room tents and king sized air-mattresses and such.  Well Carter and I didn’t have any of that but pretty much everybody else did.  We had your basic two man too small tent, two too thin sleeping bags, two too thin pillows and an extra blanket to share that kept getting wrapped around Carter more and more as the night went on.  I noticed that the recent rains in Iowa made the ground just soft enough to indent with knee pressure but not soft enough for those indentations to form around hips or shoulders.  It made me regret all of the crawling around we did to place our too thin sleeping bags in the tent when we prepared for sleep.  Basically I spent the entire night counting the minutes until daylight.

            I found it ironic that my body finally numbed to the rigors of the cold and the uneven ground about the time the sun did begin to peak over the horizon, about the time some thirty odd scouts started to scamper rambunctiously outside my tent.  Sigh.  It was all about the kids though right?  And one parent had promised me that there would be coffee available in the morning so I drug my stiff and sore body out of the tent and performed what I considered a miracle by managing to get myself upright without the assistance of others.  I was tempted to be bitter from suffering through such a long, cold and arduous night but the memories of camp songs, the fireside story teller, S'mores and the previous days marshmallow gun competition made it impossible to think this had all been time misspent.  After a quick bit of breakfast Carter and I tore down our campsite and as we were taking the last of our gear to the truck Carter grabbed my free hand and said, “Dad, thanks for taking me for one of the funnest nights of my life.”  I told him it was my pleasure and assured him that there would be many more camp outs in the future.  The moment was getting a bit heavy for me when Carter let me off the hook.  The next words out of his mouth were, “Dad, its kind of scary to be with out TV, isn’t it?”  Yep, that’s my boy.

Carter won the distance segment of the wolf pack marshmallow gun competition by the way.  Who would have figured that one of my kids would excel at an event which required vast quantities of hot air?  I suppose that will be handy to keep that in mind for the next camp out.  I have very specific plans to go to the local Target and shop for a modest bigger than two man tent that will accommodate one of those king size air mattresses. 

           

            Sunday evening we all gathered in the living room for the much anticipated one hour premier of “The Family Guy” Star Wars episode.  I loved it when, in the opening scene of the show, the familiar scene of a Star Destroyer seemingly endlessly passed over head.  As the flag ship of the evil empire finally made its way across the screen it showed a Bush Cheney 04 sticker on its back end.  Ya gotta love writing like that!  Watch the opening scenes here.

            The Red Hog is off on Carter’s first Cub Scout campout.  Wish me luck with that.  I wanted to get this Olbermann Special Comment out for my Sunday post but won’t be home in time to get it out there for your morning viewing.  The neo-con’s are outraged that MoveOn and 70 percent of America are participating in democracy and expressing their disdain for the way Bush is executing his war.  Bush said he was “disgusted.”  Well that’s fine I suppose.  We are disgusted with him.  It wouldn’t matter if Bush or Cheney had actually had the courage to serve when it was their time.  Most Americans can clearly see that our involvement in the Middle East have destabilized the region, and for what?  For what?  Those who support this war can never give a good answer to why we are in Iraq or at least they can never give an answer that is the same one they gave last time they were asked. 

            I think most Americans do not support this war because it was the wrong thing to do in the first place but now even most who supported it in the first place no longer support it because it isn’t working. 

 

John Lennon 9 October 1940 - 8 December 1980

 

Do yourself a favor.  Go grab a cup of coffee, a Mountain Dew, or maybe a glass of port, what ever trips your trigger.  Sit down, take a deep breath and just enjoy these timeless words of wisdom.

 

Courtney found a little online toy that she used to summarize her perception of Sen. Obama.  Thanks Court.

Watch this video and then go to HRC.org.  This is a chance for you to do the right thing.  Happy Friday Red Hog Readers!

 

CAIRO, Egypt – “Osama bin Laden called on Pakistanis to wage holy war on their president Thursday, saying in a new recording that it was their religious duty to overthrow Gen. Pervez Musharraf for his alliance with the U.S. against Islamic militants.”  The Middle East becomes more unstable day by day.  Guess we should have chased down Osama bin Laden and left Iraq alone after all.  Didn’t Petraeus just tell us that the surge was working, that terrorism was in decline?

I had meant to write a post for today about Congress using valuable time to denounce the Move.On.org ad that questioned if Gen. David Petraeus had betrayed us while young soldiers are still dying in Iraq.  Here are some links to info about the vote.  What this proclamation basically tells you is that Congress doesn’t like it when you tell them what to do and they will go on record to condemn you if you speak out.  That’s okay.  We get the last word one year from November.  Go here and you can see how your Senator voted. 

On Wednesday, September 19th, a proposal put forward by Senate Democrats that would have required that American troops be given as much time at home as they had spent overseas before being redeployed fell 4 votes short of the 60 needed to prevent a filibuster. They couldn't even pass a bill to give soldiers adequate leave with their families before redeploying.  While I was gathering information up to write my post I came across a CBS poll that asked, “Looking back, do you think the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, or should the U.S. have stayed out?"  I was absolutely shocked to see that, in a CBS poll, 39% of Americans answered it was the “right thing” to invade Iraq.  Thankfully 78% of those polled believe we should be bringing our troops home as a result of Bush’s failure as Commander in Chief.  I don’t know what those who supported Bush expected out of him.  When it was his time to serve in Viet Nam he was, in fact, AWOL.  He never stood a chance of effectively executing a war from anything but a coward’s perspective.  But I digress.

I was thinking about how Americans who, for all practical purposes have had very similar experiences could have such divergent opinions on such a profound topic as this war in Iraq.  I wondered about the nurture nature arguments of our development and what possibly could have been so horrible in the childhood of my Republican friends.  (No NO, I’m just kidding about that part.)  I don’t suppose many of us have a dramatically different political outlook from our parents.  There are families split along political lines to be sure but generally speaking I think we are the political product of our parents.  And our parents most likely gained perspective from their parents and so on.  I am so glad that I grew up in the home that I did.  I’m also smart enough to be thankful that I did not take on this proclivity for political activism until my oldest children had made it through their rebellious formative years. 

I wonder if my endless rantings around the house would have driven my kids to the dark side.  In the end I would suppose that both pro-war and anti-war families want their children to grow up as compassionate free thinkers.  And yet I have a problem of not recognizing that the conservative agenda is perhaps something more than one of self centrism and fear.  How else can you explain four in ten Americans thinking that invading Iraq and destabilizing the entire Middle East was a good idea?  Does anybody actually still believe that Iraq had anything to do with the attacks of 9/11?  How can anybody look at the tens of thousands of Iraqi lives and the thousands of American lives that have been lost in this war and believe it was the right thing to do?  What are we supposed to be gaining from this war?  Surely the promise of a fat 401K invested in oil and defense stocks is not incentive enough.  We all need to really examine our hearts and reflect on why we have the feelings we do about this war. 

In the mean time your U.S. Senate just told you to sit down and be quiet. They passed a resolution condemning MoveOn.org and it has one purpose: To intimidate all of us who care about ending this war. To send a message that anyone who speaks unpleasant truths about this war will pay. To make everyone--especially politicians--think twice before they accuse the administration of lying.  Okay, maybe that is three purposes.  You get the point. 

We can't let that happen. I just signed a statement telling Congress that they won't intimidate me, and I'm going to keep speaking out until they force an exit strategy out of this awful war. Can you join me?

 

Follow the link to see if your Senator is a small minded insecure Bush enabler.  When we undermine the principles this country was founded upon the terrorists do finally win.  Chuck Grassley appears to support terrorists.  How about your Senator?

            Woohoo!  Cedar Rapids comedians have been rocking the house in the Last Comic Standing, Iowa Edition, competition at Isle of Capri Casino in the Quad Cities.  Last week one of the Cedar Rapids comedians made it into the finals and last night two Cedar Rapids comedians made it into next weeks final round.  I’m proud to report that Clayton “Mad Dog” Wilcox will be “representing” next Wednesday night when the top 12 amateurs in the state go head to head to see who is the funniest amateur in the state.  It’s pretty cool, as a parent, to see your kid making people laugh.  I’m pretty damn proud of the kid in spite of the fact that one of the biggest laughs he got last night was when he closed a built up story with the punch line, “I’m just kidding.  My parents don’t have sex anymore.”  …How did he know?

            Our trip to Davenport kept us out past midnight so this is about the best I can do for a post for you today…unless I can find time to work on a post at work?  Nah…we don’t want to go there.  Have a great day.  Catch ya tomorrow.

 

 

          Filmaker Robert Greenwald has made a short video highlighting what he knows about Blackwater, including the many millions in no-bid government contracts they've received since the start of the war.

            On Monday it was reported that the Interior Ministry of Iraq had announced that they were revoking the license of Blackwater USA, a private American company that provides “comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations.”  Blackwater employees were involved in a Baghdad shootout that resulted in the death of eight civilians, including a mother and child it was reported.  The shooting began after a car bomb exploded near a State Department motorcade and Blackwater employees claimed they came under small arms fire.  Reports of the incident are numerous and varied and the State Department, the Iraqi Government and Blackwater officials have all pledged an investigation. 

            The revocation of Blackwater USA’s license would be a problem for US operations there as Blackwater personnel are responsible for security of many diplomats, engineers, reconstruction officials and others.  The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security doesn’t begin to have the resources needed to maintain the security function currently being managed by Blackwater in Iraq.  Blackwater has angered many Iraqi’s who consider them overly aggressive.  There are currently between 126,000 and 180,000 private contractors working in Iraq and Maliki is expected to gain significant political capital if he follows through with the expulsion of the unpopular security contractors. In May of this year Blackwater guards were involved in shooting incidents on consecutive days in Baghdad.  Interior Ministry officials in Iraq claim they have received reports of at least a half-dozen incidents in which Blackwater guards allegedly shot civilians. 

            The mission of Blackwater USA employees in Iraq would seem vital to our efforts in Iraq and having never been in anything remotely similar to a combat situation (just like Bush and Cheney) I am not about to second guess their actions without more details.   I can’t imagine what it is like in the aftermath of a road side explosion or when bullets start flying from unknown locations.  In the incident referenced at the start of this post eyewitness’s claim that there was no small arms fire, however.  They report that once the bomb exploded Blackwater employees jumped from their black SUV’s and started shooting at anything that moved.  I would think we all might pray that that is not the case.  There has to be a way to end the violence that is destroying Iraq.  At some point you would think that everyone would have spilled enough blood to consider their vengeance sated and become willing to negotiate for a safer and more secure Iraq.  The only thing I know for sure is that it is going to require smarter people than have tried to bring peace to the Middle East to date.  That much we know for sure.

 

            The Washington Post has a website that has a picture of all of the American soldiers who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Should you decide to follow this link please take time to look into the youthful eyes of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  You can sort the pictures by age, branch of service, state and even city.  Pictures are powerful things.  It was once said about war photos, “If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.”  ~Pentagon official explaining why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War. 

            And there lies the problem.

 

            When looking for that quote about pictures of war I came across another interesting quote.  Note the date and the timelessness of the observation.  “What a country calls its vital... interests are not things that help its people live, but things that help it make war.  Petroleum is a more likely cause of international conflict than wheat.”  ~Simone Weil, Ecrits historiques et politiques, 1960

 

            From Salon.com Thanks to the recent growth in the Latino population, however, the white male share is now dropping about a percentage point a year, accelerating a decline that began with the increased enfranchisement of African-Americans in the civil rights era. In next year's election, white males may account for fewer than one out of three voters. Bubba is no longer a kingmaker.  (Click the Salon link to read the entire article)

 

            A friend from my youth recently passed away.  He was actually the younger brother of one of my best high school friends.  As all younger brothers tend to; this guy loved to tag along with the older guys when ever his big brother would have it.  I will never forget the way he would yell, “WAAALLLLY!!!” whenever I happened into a hometown watering hole where he was present.  Over the years I had lost touch with most of my best friends from