Land of Oz

Sitting Duck

Yes, I know it's a sitting duck, and as much as I hate easy targets, I just can't resist. A couple of days ago it was

"I don't think you can win it," Bush told NBC in the pre-taped interview, although he added, "I think you can create conditions so that the -- those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world."

and now it's

"We meet today at a time of war for our country; a war we did not start, yet one that we will win," Bush told the veterans' organization.

As far as wars go, this one sure has some interesting dialogue as a basis to go along with all the dead bodies. It seems like just a few hundred US corpses ago, it was "Mission Accomplished" - sorta. Then it was "weapons of mass destruction" then "possible programs of weapons of mass destruction" - sorta. Then I seem to recall those clear cut connections to the 9/11 terrorists - sorta.

Now, there's thousands of folks who are being involuntarily extended or called back into the military (US Army anyway) for a war that we may or may not be able to win. Does that mean that they'll never get out? Sure they signed on the dotted line for all that extra time, but what was the chance of being stuck forever actually happening?

How would you have liked to have spent your four years on active duty and then gone home and restarted your life and after three years as a civilian (yes - I know - not really, but...) after three years as an acting civilian, be called back for an indefinite time, to serve in a war that probably won't be won - {ever???}.

It's make me glad I retired in 1995, but also fearful that I retire in 1995. I'm still in the retired reserves. Does that mean, these fat, bald bones may get a call tomorrow to report for some indefinite length of time to fight in some semi-declared war, that may be about WMD and terrorist connections, or not, and that probably won't ever be won? Talk about a long haul.

2fers: US Army and US Air Force

2 Spoofs Better Than One?

Here's an interesting web site. If you've read some of my other stuff, you'll know I'm not particularly fond of mainstream religion. And if you haven't read my other stuff, you know now. Fanaticism of any kind is at best annoying and at worst dangerous and deadly.

For some reason, christians seem to often fall into this form of fanaticism. The same side that so vociferously attacks Muslim and other fanatics is often guilty of the exact same thing. Does it really make a difference if you blow up some family in the name of Alah or Jesus? Is some omnipotent god really going to damn a person to hell because they ate some bacon or killed a cow? And don't think I'm singling out Moslems and Christians alone. I'm happy to include Hindus, Shintoists, Atheists, and any other religious fanatics you might happen to know.

What does this have to do with the Landover Baptist Church (LBC) you may ask? LBC is one of those parody sites that drives so many fanatics crazy. The banner ad attached to this short piece comes from some other Baptist religion site that is convinced it is the true "objective" christian supporter -- the same site that feels Apple Macs are a tool of the devil (really).

So check out the 2fers below and decide which site is actually the more humane and people friendly site. Personally, I think they're both a little nuts, but LBC at least seems to be having more fun with life. If there is a god, and I really doubt it. I'd like she/he/it to be one who could read LBC with a chuckle, and then groan a bit over Objective: Christian Ministries (OCM), as it/she/he thinks, these folks really need to lighten up.

2fers One side and The other

Whither Terrori$t?

From the AP:

Two weeks ago, when Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned of possible al-Qaida attacks, the "where" was very specific: financial institutions in New York City, Washington and Newark, N.J.

The authorities jumped into the breech and massive security programs were hurriedly updated, upgraded and put into operation. Streets were blocked, guards posted and us citizens wondered how soon we'd see another cloud of smoke and dust as a building came crashing down.

However, it seems the data this was based on was pretty much 3-4 years old with some evidence of new photos taken this year. Now there are government agencies saying

"I have not seen an indication of an imminent operation," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity with reporters from nearly a dozen news organizations.

You have to love the consistency of information in this "war on terror." First it was imminent use of WMDs, then probable ownership of WMDs, then probable interest in programs of WMDs. First it was Osama as the world's bad guy who had to be captured at all cost, then it was Saddam as the world's bad guy, and now you hear very little about Saddam and next to nothing about Osama.

Now we are winning the "war on terror" and have "turned the corner" yet we seem to be under more threat this week than last year. Even though we're winning and have the "evil people" on the run, it seems like our the very foundation of our financial power is only a step away from destruction. Helicopters have just been added to the imminent threat along with buses and U-Haul trucks. We aren't even supposed to show the American flag at the Olympics.

The war in Iraq was "Mission Accomplished" over a year ago, and our allies like the Philippines and Poland are bailing out or handing off as if Iraq and Baghdad were dangerous places. The threat to world security and peace has been lessened by our actions in the Middle East, yet gas prices rise and security warnings are increasing every day.

By the way, the anthrax attack investigation in the US is still waving in the wind and there's still only one person who's been arrested for the 9/11 attack - and he's likely to be let loose because the US won't release information about the case. Meanwhile Tim McNichols has been sentenced to 161 consecutive life sentences!?! Does that make any sense. Someone must figure he's God and will be resurrected after each sentence is finished.

And while all this going on, the biggest news stories are about some dude in California accused of killing his wife and a basketball player who in some fog of multimillion dollar self-importance brought a young girl into his hotel room. And then we can put some 61 year old women in jail for lying about $44,000 dollars and the stock market while multimillion/billion dollar companies take their shareholders to the cleaners for trillions.

2fers: Terror dollars and cents and Hero or Devil?

Crime & crimes

Over the last couple of years, I've had to do a lot of paper-pushing through various government agencies. I also crossed the Canadian border a lot going to and from Toronto to visit my girlfriend. Some of the paperwork has taken nearly a year to crawl through various government agencies and I've spent up to four hours waiting to cross the border.

In dealing with those agencies, I've often gotten different reasons for different reactions to the same events. One person will say, "sure you can do that" and then another person listening in will say, "of course, you can't do that" and on and on. I spent 22 years working in the military and it was the same way. However, back then, you had to at least be creative in your excuses for not knowing what was going on. Since 2001, however all you have to say is, "it's because of 9/11."

Yes. 9/11 was a tragedy. However, it has its limits. The direct cost of the 9/11 attack was about 3000 people dead. That same year saw 16,000 people murdered, 91,000 raped, and 910,000 aggravated assaults - and this only in the US. And those numbers are pretty close for the following three years as well. After some four year old information has been found, Washington D.C. is again drowning in police presence. OK, the Pentagon terrorist bombing cost around 200 lives -- last year Washington D.C. had 262 murders, Detroit 402, and New Orleans 258. Those numbers don't change much year after year after year.

After hearing "it's because of 9/11" as an excuse for every type of delay and inconvenience known to man I thought it's getting old. We need to get on with life. Yes, there is a terrorist threat. Ask the rest of the world. They've been dealing with it for many years. I spent a couple of years in England in the early 80s. The local department stores all had information notices about suspected bombs. I missed one London Christmas bombing by less than 12 hours. I was in Italy in the mid-80s. The week before I arrived the Rome airport was turned into a butcher shop by terrorists. American generals were kidnapped from their homes and airplanes and ships were fairly regularly bombed and hijacked.

Yes, 9/11 was a tragedy, however life should go on. The city I live in has cut the police force and murders and other crime are rising. There was a presidential visit last week that lasted a couple of hours. How many local cops could the money spent on that visit hired? I wouldn't be surprised if the total budget of that visit exceeded the annual budget of our city. Let's get our priorities straight. Let's start spending more money and time fighting local crime and quit worrying so much if some half-baked country has the potential to think about the possibility of maybe developing weapons of mass destruction.

2fers: FBI Crime Stats and Beautiful Detroit

Let The be Light

I learned a new medical term today - Scintillating Scotoma. About 5 years ago I was sitting in the computer lab at college and noticed my vision going bad. This was happening within minutes. Needless to say I was pretty freaked out. In my case I lucked out and managed to see the regional visiting VA ophthalmologist the next day who basically told me there was nothing to really worry about out - and there was nothing that could really be done either.

Like all the descriptions you'll see when googling "Scintillating Scotoma," it starts with a small spot where the vision is mostly gone, then grows into a shining, shimmering glint of light. In my case, it's usually in the lower left of my vision and appears with eyes closed or opens. My best description is like seeing a piece of cut glass crystal in the corner of my vision. The jagged, faceted edges seem to glint with a pure white light and about half my vision is obscured, but not completely blocked. The whole process from start to end takes about 30-40 minutes. I find I can lessen the effects and hurry the recovery if I try to relax and get in a dark place.

Like others have mentioned, while this can be annoying and even momentarily disabling, at least I haven't yet had to suffer the pain of a migraine headache.


2fers: What it looks like and You're Not Alone