Monday Musings...
Off we go, into another week...
Fire up the engine, test the control surfaces, and release the chocks...
Hopefully, we can all catch our collective breath from the "frivolity" we encountered last week.
Good news, bad news time, people...
The GOOD news is that Oprah didn't wind up eating her way through the fjords after we lost the bid to host the 2016 Olympics...
The BAD news is that she DID binge her way through several danish cities.
Come to think of it, I could use a Danish with my coffee...(no, not THOSE kind of Danish...the BAKERY ones...sheesh).
Well, there appeared to be NO news over the weekend, so all MUST be right with the world, right?
Not so fast, now...
We did have some action in Afghanistan, (at a U.N. FOOD CENTER, no less) which killed several people.
Seems the Taliban is getting a might touchy these days.
Now, could that mean that (maybe) General Petraeus is going to be making a 2012 presidential bid?
Whoa, wouldn't THAT be a kick in the pants?
(just tossing that out there...nothing in stone, yet)
Which makes me wonder WHO could possibly be his running mate. (wonder what Ollie North is doing these days?)
Just something to keep on the back burner...
Americans still hold a majority when it comes to ending the war in the Middle East.
Less than 50% think we should stay.
Everyone else says we should get out.
I tend to be in that "less than 50%" number, and with (imho) good reason.
IF you are going to wage war with somebody, it would be in YOUR best interest to be fighting to WIN.
I mean, how many people play ANY game to just TIE?
(Even in sports, there is "sudden-death" overtime)
We (as Americans) like a definitive WINNER.
We don't take LOSING too well...look at all the sullen faces on Monday morning at work when "their" team lost.
(and they tear up that ticket from the "pool"...LOL)
They ALL would have liked to win, but it doesn't work that way.
Half will win...half will lose, given the nature of most American team sports.
In racing, there is only ONE winner...everyone else is second (or lower)...simple, huh?
In warfare, there NEEDS to be a victor.
And in victory, it's not ALL "win or lose".
There are LEVELS of victory that need to be known.
1) We have TOTAL victory...no capitulation, no terms...unconditional surrender by the opposition.
2) We have a PYRRHIC victory...you "win", but at a devastating cost to YOUR side, so that any "win" you achieve is superseded by the sheer loss to your forces.
3) We have a TACTICAL victory, which refers to winning a specific ENGAGEMENT in a military campaign.
4) We have a STRATEGIC victory, referring to the success OF a military CAMPAIGN.
So you can see, that victory has many depths and manners with which we can attain success.
Personally, I think we should fight to WIN.
Total victory.
I worked just fine for us in WW2.
Sure, civilians will suffer, but Gen. Sherman once said that: "All war is hell".
And Gen. Patton said that: "No man ever won a war by dying for his country...he won it by making the other poor bastard die for HIS country".
The nature of war itself is to make people realize that the COST of war should force people to NOT want to wage it.
Some folks just can't get it.
They believe they're on some "holy mission" to wipe the "infidels" from the planet.
Now, I don't know WHAT "god" would want his followers to practice and advocate bellicose behavior, and especially on such a regular basis.
I always thought you could catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar.
But in today's world, that doesn't seem to apply.
Now, I said most all THAT...to say THIS:
Sun Tzu said that: "ALL WAR IS DECEPTION".
That means that whoever is the best BS'er is usually the winner, in terms of fooling the opposition.
Make your enemy think and therefore believe ONE thing, while you do quite the OTHER.
Sounds like a plan to me.
Every one of us is almost ALWAYS "at war".
Might not be with another COUNTRY (which would be quite a feat for ANY ONE PERSON), but it might be that we're at odds with our very own government.
Or, we might be tangling butts with our kids, or other family members, or even neighbors.
The Bible says (Eph 6:12) that "we wage war not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places".
Now, if one were to argue the point, YES...we DO wind up killing PEOPLE.
To that, I would say that we are in a struggle against EVIL first, and that people are the instruments or vessels by which that evil might be conveyed. And people will get killed along the way. It's an inevitability in life...and war.
It's not the BEST way to wage any war...but until something BETTER comes along, we're pretty much stuck with it.
Lastly, I got me a copy of Glenn Beck's new book, ARGUING WITH IDIOTS, and this is a really neat tome. And it's got PICTURES...!!!
It debuted at #1 on the best-seller list...gee, wonder why? I recommend this to anyone that has an idiot or two in their lives.
The book reads like a dialogue between common sense and idiocy, and guess who comes out "on top"?
It's even got "guest idiots" included, and the layout of the book is nothing short of brilliant.
And at the end of the book is a rather comprehensive "bibliography" so you can check out where the FACTS that Beck uses throughout the book actually COME FROM. I mean, we can't call someone a LIAR, when they are providing facts, figures, and statistics from OTHER sources (that are true), can we?
Truth is weird like that, don'cha think?
But who would have thought ANY book on politics would be "fun" to read?
(Certainly not I)
So, go visit the "book czar" and take a peek into this book (I think Borders or Amazon has a preview available online).
Of course, if you're not a Beck fan, then never mind, you might not like it.
Or maybe you WILL!
As for the rest of you...what are you waiting for?
We've got a brand new week staring us all in the face, right?
Make it a great one, and remember...
Stay safe out there, America.