Humpday Happenings...
Wow, middle of the week, AND the 100th day of the Obama administration.
Can we stand the strain?
Where is Millard Fillmore when you NEED him anyway?
Still, it could always be worse...I'm just trying to figure out HOW.
How, indeed...
In the meantime, let's sneak a look at what ELSE is occurring about out happy little planet, shall we?
-- From the "Gee whiz, it's like DEJA VU all over again" Department:
The recent flyover of Manhattan by Air Force One has brought a LOT of criticism, and deservedly so.
I mean these people have been through PLENTY this decade, and the LAST thing I'm sure they WANT to see is ANOTHER honking huge airliner greasing the skyscrapers of their city, right?
Talk about flashbacks!
Everyone from the White House (who advised those corporate shrubs to NOT fly their PRIVATE JETS to the economic hearings recently, and has mandated ways to reduce everyone ELSE'S CARBON FOOTPRINT), on down to the Pentagon and DoD are getting their fingers into THIS pie, as well they should. And it WOULD have been nice to notify the MAYOR of NYC when they decided to pull this stunt. Former mayor Rudy Giuliani didn't have anything nice to say about this, and who can blame him?
-- From the "Another one bites the dust" Department:
I spoke yesterday about PONTIAC going the way of the Passenger Pigeon (after Oldsmobile did earlier this millennium), and now we can add even more "orphans" to the mix. Say goodbye to HUMMER (civvie sales anyway, unless you want to get some old surplus ones), SATURN and SAAB.
Damn shame about them, I like Saturn's no-nonsense approach to sales, and SAAB was always a SAFE car.
I have a friend who is ALIVE today, thanks to a SAAB 800 coupe!
And unless there is a drastic change of the status quo, I don't expect much from CHRYSLER and their "union" with FIAT. Cripes, of ALL the car companies to merge with, they HAD to get FIAT!
This is the Italian car company that has a history of retaining the same model style for DECADES, and produced a series of sub-compacts (that looked remarkably like the YUGO) in the 1980s which had a really bad "flaw" in them. The car liked to rust out and break at the firewall. Not the best way to get that "warm n fuzzy" while tooling down a highway, is it?
My jury is going to be out on these guys until I see something positive.
-- From the "George Patton died way too soon" Department:
Pentagon sources are now saying that the war in Afghanistan is presenting problems unique to the country, and will surely be a lot more difficult to achieve victory there, even on the order of the victory in Iraq.
Well, you DO have more than just "hot and sand" in Afghanistan. You also got those really cool MOUNTAINS (with snowfall even) that make fantastic hideouts for the Taliban. Logistically, it's a nightmare, and that's being way too kind.
You also don't have the urban areas in the size and quantity that you enjoy in Iraq.
Not to mention, you have a population dispersed over an area the size of ENGLAND, and it will present problems. Obama promises another 22K troops and NATO says they're sending 5K.
Makes me see a lot more clearly why the USSR pulled out of there when they did. Maybe they thought their war in Afghanistan wasn't sustainable nor were able to achieve victory.
One thing's for sure, if you figure into this mix the state of Pakistan, this can soon become a lot more volatile area, especially with NUKES figuring into all this. While I'm saying they will most likely NOT be used as traditional weapons such as a Hiroshima device, I will concede that the potential for some radioactive scenario (low yield device w/ heavily distributed toxicity) in some heavily populated area HERE OR ABROAD takes on a new aspect to terrorism.
Couple that with the constant threat of some bio-device and you can sow the seeds of confusion and misdirection VERY nicely.
-- From the "In a pig's eye and pass the bacon" Department:
Cases of SWINE FLU continue to mount, but I strongly caution that all you guys and gals out there DO NOT PANIC.
Listen up, about THIRTY SIX THOUSAND (that's 36,000) people die EVERY DAMN YEAR from INFLUENZA!
Them's the FACTS.
And curiously, we never hear all that much about THAT. So why go and get your undies in a bunch over another strain of flu?
All you REALLY have to do for now is just take PROPER PRECAUTIONS to minimize the chance of contracting the flu (or the common cold for that matter). This is a case where a little COMMON SENSE goes a LONG way.
You don't have to run to the military surplus outlets and grab up some LVL III HAZMAT gear, trust me!
You SHOULD be washing your paws off a bit more frequently.
Those with depleted immune systems need to be extra careful.
And should you come down with the bug, the number one thing I advise is to STAY HYDRATED.
You will get a fever, and fever loves nothing more than to be on the RISE.
When that happens, the body gets water from everywhere else, and that leads to dehydration, and even HIGHER fever.
I know...been there myself, and it's not a pretty scenario.
When your fever gets too high, your body has difficulty holding anything down, which INCLUDES WATER. Also, if your temperature rises above 104F, you run the risk of brain damage...or even death.
Like everything else, your BRAIN likes to stay comfy, and now you know the reason behind the saying: "Keep a cool head".
So remain calm, stay positive and focused on the tasks at hand, and you'll get by with as few problems as possible.
-- Finally, I was noticing the memorial for victims of violent crime here in Ft. Wayne, and I was amazed at the LOW turnout, but on the other hand, I can understand why.
The venue could never hold the ACTUAL NUMBER of victims, and with good reason:
We are ALL victims of violent crime.
Sure, maybe some of us don't have it knocking on our door, or dividing our family, but we DO suffer the fallout from such violence, nonetheless.
We ALL share the burden inflicted upon us when we have to hire MORE police to keep us safe.
We ALL expect our streets to be safe and that we will be protected.
We ALL foot the bill for added security, either at home, in our vehicles, or at our workplace and schools.
And still, the violence rears it ugly head.
There will always be those few, misguided miscreants, for whatever reason, will see themselves as some type of perverse "final authority" on earth. And that simply cannot be tolerated by civilized society.
We can pray about it...we can legislate it, we can debate it until the sun sets, and never really come to some point of closure.
What we can do, is be AWARE.
We CAN aid the police whenever possible.
We CAN report behaviors and situations that are contrary to normal, pose an imminent threat to our lives, and deny us the QUALITY OF LIFE that our laws say we are supposed to have as citizens of whatever city, state, or nation we happen to be part of.
Or we can nothing, and when we do that, THAT is exactly what WILL get done.
So, wherever the four winds happen to take you today, please...
Stay safe out there, America.