Memorial Day U.S.A.: Another day in the home of the brave and the free and the …

There was no work today and so I managed to sleep until almost 10 a.m. It is amazing that I can sleep better in the morning than most anytime. I first woke just before 9 and said, “No, I need to sleep until at least 10.”

I began thinking about a bear. Maybe it has to do with that Discovery Channel series “North America.” It is a very cool show if you haven’t seen it. I believe they said it took three years to shoot. There is just fantastic footage of all kinds of creature in myriad situations in their everyday life. Things like trying to seduce a spideress. You lose you die. That’s kind of opposite the situation sometimes with women. You win, you die. Ba-rump! Sorry all of my former girlfriends who read this. Which probably total to “0,” If there are some, I am sure I will hear from her or them, or perhaps I will hear her racking a slide.

Last night I saw this report on this “green machine,” an actual vending machine that will buy your old cell phone and pay you cold cash. Well, I can’t guarantee the temperature. So I decided to take my lone ex-girlfriend cell phone to the Eco-ATM at Parkdale Mall. I didn’t know what to expect after seeing a report similar to this one on TV.

It seemed as if the people who were trying to sell their phone in the kiosk were having trouble, as did the next folks. Those next folks just jumped right on up, in front of me in line. The first group who was on the kiosk acknowledged that those other people jumped in line in front of me. I didn’t say anything until this little smart-ass girl was too busy talking on the phone and to her friend, while operating the nosy kiosk to get her job done. It was too much for her and when I asked her if she was finished after talking on her other cell phone she acts all innocent.

“He mad,” said the probable teen to her friend.  Sorry about the quote and any racial overtones it might bring, but that was the way she talked.

I told her that, “No, I’m not mad. In fact, I feel rather sorry for you with your self-esteem issues.”

“Say what?” with her breaking into laughter with her enriched friend.

Yes, I can be cruel sometimes. I will admit to that. She tells herself she didn’t break in line. Plus I told her what type of emotional issue that was bothering her. But, she was/is a total nitwit.

Finally, she got through and took back from the machine, the iPhone4 she was going to sell because the machine only offered her $99. I chuckled. Karma’s a bitch, I wanted to say to her. Glad the little witch didn’t slap me.

I didn’t get lucky with the Eco-scammer either. My phone was turned down because it didn’t have “no,” as the previous customer would say “power.”

Oh well.

Then as I came home, I turned at the underpass over I-10. The lanes go like this: One goes “U-ie,” under the underpass. The inside lane goes left under. The outside lane goes either left or straight. I always take the left-straight because I have to turn at the first right, just past the convenience store. But since I had the accident in the G-car in which I was at a similar intersection — a 90-year-old lady turned left from the outside lane into the left and hit my car which was going straight — I always give a little leeway and time before turning. The reason is because sometimes a driver, whose head might be too deeply inserted up his or her ass, might just decide to go straight from the inside lane instead the outside lane.

The latter happened today. Fortunately. I waited and only turned a little bit. The car on the inside lane decided to go straight. Thus, I “laid” quite harshly onto my horn. I hadn’t used my horn much lately. I was glad to see it worked. Afterwards, the nitwit in the other car laid down on his or her horn while speeding away for the Interstate. What a f**king stupid a**hole!

But I also reflected upon the meaning of this Memorial Day. All of those who lost their lives upon the field of battle or even training or other types of accidents have kept this country safe so the majority of our great nation can thrive. And all the jerk-offs that I experienced today? Well, I suppose some gave their all so we can have those ignorant asses who make the rest of us feel as if we have some sense.

Rest in peace all of those who died in our nation’s service.

 

 

Memorial Day. Celebrate, but find the cost of freedom

Have fun this Memorial Day Weekend. Just remember what Memorial Day is all about.

The Battle for  Iwo Jima lasted 36 days and resulted in 25,851 US casualties. Of these, 6,825 Americans were killed. Practically all of the 22,000 Japanese combatants died.

Hundreds of Marine and corpsman dog tags hang from the Marine Corps Monument on top of Mount Suribachi, a volcano at Iwo Jima.  Hundreds of Marine and corpsman dog tags hang from the Marine Corps Monument on top of Mount Suribachi, a volcano at Iwo Jima.  U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Millage
Hundreds of Marine and corpsman dog tags hang from the Marine Corps Monument on top of Mount Suribachi, a volcano at Iwo Jima.
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Millage

This nation has a history colored in blood, from the Revolutionary War to the Present. As of 9 a.m., this May 24, 2013:

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM

U.S. Military Casualties  —  4,409

U.S. Civilian Casualties  —       13

KIA

U.S. Military   —   3,480

U.S. Civilians  —          9

NON-HOSTILE

U.S. Military  —   929

U.S. Civilian  —     10

WOUNDED IN ACTION

U.S. Military  —   31,927

OPERATION NEW DAWN

U.S. Military   —   66

KIA   —   38

Non-Hostile   —   28

Wounded in Action   —   295

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM

Total U.S. Military Casualties (Afghanistan)

Deaths   —   2,093

KIA   —   1,734

Non-Hostile   —   355

Pending   —   4

Wounded in Action   —   18,584

U.S. Military Casualties (Other locations )

Total Deaths   —   124

KIA   —  11

Non-Hostile   —   113

OEF U.S. Civilian Casualties

Total Deaths   —   3

KIA   —   1

Non-Hostile   —   2

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM includes casualties that occurred between March 19, 2003, and August 31, 2010, in the Arabian Sea, Bahrain, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Persian Gulf, Qatar, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Prior to March 19, 2003, casualties in these countries were considered OEF. Personnel injured in OIF who die after 1 September 2010 will be included in OIF statistics.

OPERATION NEW DAWN includes casualties that occurred between September 1, 2010, and December 31, 2011, in the Arabian Sea, Bahrain, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Persian Gulf, Qatar, Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Personnel injured in OND who die after 31 December 2011 will be included in OND statistics. (Post Iraq War casualties.)

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM (Afghanistan & Other Locations), includes casualties that occurred in Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Philippines,Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

(Statistical information from Department of Defense)

Read closely, my friends. And for those of you who can, remember those lyrics to that chilling anti-war song of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young:

“Find the cost of freedom, lying in the ground. Mother Earth will swallow you, lay your body down … ”

Happy Memorial Day.

Why do we ask why after large news events? Why do you ask?

Why is that Americans must have an explanation for when circumstances go blowing out of our control? Perhaps we have a Why Disorder. But if so, why is that?

Take the recent mega-news stories lately: The Boston Marathon bombing; the West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion; the retrieval of the three, long-held kidnapped girls-turned-women in Cleveland; the Oklahoma City-area tornadoes. Each one of these scarcely left time for a breath until journalists were seeking the why behind the stories.

* Why didn’t Boston have better planning for the possibility of terrorist attacks, especially during the marathon? What’s with the connection between the dead Boston suspect and a 2011 murder in which the victim, supposedly the marathon bomber’s best friend was allegedly found murdered in Florida and sprinkled with marijuana? THIS STUFF IS FREAKING ME OUT!!!

* Why weren’t residents who lived in the downtown portion of the community of West better informed as to what kind of dangers lurked in their communities?

* Why weren’t the three kidnapped girls found earlier after the suspect had contacts with the police while the girls were being held? Why was the 9-1-1 operator “so mean” to kidnap victim Amanda Berry as she summoned help from police?

* Why aren’t people in Oklahoma City, especially kids in school, better protected with shelters from the ferocious storms that frequent “Tornado Alley,” the area including OKC?

NOAA photo
NOAA photo

These are all fair questions and I don’t fault the journalists with asking such questions, especially when victims or those living in the communities do the asking. Perhaps the timing rubs me the wrong way. The more I stray from my journalist roots, the more I question some of the very practices I once engaged in as a reporter. Or at the very least, some aspects of those practices.

“Get off my lawn,” sez me, the Old Fart.

If you’ve ever tried explaining something complex to members of the general public — tides, animal reproduction, the Consumer Price Index — you might understand that getting to the why isn’t always easy. Yet, often the whys to these type of questions are easier to fathom than “the why to the why.”

When I was growing up, accidents used to happen. Mr. Jones was killed in an automobile accident. Mrs. Jones died of natural causes. That the car Mr. Jones was driving had a blow-out on the right-rear wheel which caused the driver to veer off the road and flipped the car three times after the driver over-corrected was not that important. The fact that he was survived by Mrs. Jones who died from a heart attack the next day and that the funeral for the couple will be tomorrow at 6 p.m. under the direction of Smith’s Morgue was what the locals cared most about.

Since then, we’ve had the 24-hour news cycle, lawsuits, the Internet, Honey Boo Boo and who knows what all.

So if you have questions, here are some news articles that might answer some of the inquiries, that is, from all of you who have come to expect immediate answers. If you are looking for answers from me, look somewhere else might I suggest.

Is anywhere safe in a storm — Slate

Tornado Aftermath — The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal

Gimme Shelter — Mother Nature Network

 

‘Pow!’ Time to duck and cover kids. Teachers be packin’ heat!

The end of this month brings to an end the current session of the Texas Legislature. That would be good news in itself were it not for the fact that with the end of the lawmaking comes the culmination of a horse race for “Most Ridiculously Insane Texas Law of 2013.”

At the present we have a very solid leader for that race as lawmakers run out the clock with the inane, the idiotic and the imbecilic a.k.a. Texas Law. The front-runner makes a statement about guns, that being: The only way to combat gun violence on Texas school campuses is to turn the first grade into the OK Corral.

A bill innocently known as HB 1009 establishes secret “school marshals” which according to the bill’s text also creates:  ” … the training and appointment of certain employees of a school district or open-enrollment charter school as school marshals, and the rights, restrictions, limitations, and responsibilities of school marshals; authorizing the imposition of a fee.”Hmm, seems like there’s always a fee. No taxes though.The Senate passed the measure with a rousing 28-3 margin. Sing it — “People all over the world, join hands, join the gun train, gun train … ” The bill is headed for an inking by our gooder-n-good-haired Guv, Mister Perry his own damned self.

Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, authored the gun bill. Villalba told The Texas Tribune that the program is modeled after the federal air marshal program and the identity of the participants will supposedly be held closely. Only certain school officials, DPS, and local LEOs shall know. Yep, something looks different about Coach these days. Can’t tell what it is with those tiny shorts and a bulge from his backside. Must be some kind of new jockstrap.

“This legislation provides school districts with a cost-effective school security option that includes robust training tailored to protect children in schools during an active shooter situation,” Villalba said.

And details? What about those details? The district may appoint only one marshal per 400 students. That district “may, but shall not be required to” pay for the employee’s training. And check this out! A school marshal may carry a concealed handgun on campus but only if district regulations provide the employee is not in direct contact with students as part of the employee’s normal routine. However, the marshal:

 ” … may possess a handgun on the physical premises of a school in a locked and secured safe within the marshal’s immediate reach when conducting the marshal’s primary duty. The written regulations must also require that a handgun carried by or within access of a school marshal may be loaded only with frangible ammunition designed to disintegrate on impact for maximum safety and minimal danger to others.”

Frangible? Fragile – brittle – breakable – frail – tender – friable. I had to look it up.

I see all kinds of trouble ahead with this legislation. Yes, I’m talking trouble with a capital T, that rhymes with P and that stands for “Pow!” Trouble too extensive to extenuate! Too God-awful to genuflect! First Amendment problems. Fourth Amendment woes. Logistical problems.

“Coach, you can’t go out on the field anymore unless you move your gun safe out there! 444-44-4 or not!”

Such silliness. The Tea Partyers, the RINOs, the regular old Republicans, even the Dems, they don’t want to piss off the NRA. So the Lege just throws something together up into the atmosphere and see where it lands.

Maybe somewhere down the line that landing will bring weapons to the students so it will give them a fighting chance.

Intriguing news and the rest of the deep, deep beat

Some intriguing news has hit the electricical messaging system. When I opened my eightfeetdeep e-mail box, I received a message from one Salim Barywani whose email appears to have originated from a western county in Sweden called Västra Götalands län. His or her or its email may have come from there or could have bounced from somewhere else to there to many places in between before it came here. In here, I mean, Beaumont, Texas. For those of you too freaking lazy to move a few fingers, Beaumont is a city of about 118,000 located about 80 miles east of Houston (the fourth largest U.S. city,) about 45 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, some 27 miles west of the Sabine River and Louisiana-Texas border, and just for s**ts and giggles, is 5,063 miles southwest of Vastra Gotalands Lan, Sweden.

More importantly is what was contained in the message from one Salim Barywani:

 “You have won One million pounds from Abu Dhabi, Manchester City promotion 2013.”

Talk about breath-taking. Just one question, mate! I have won “One million pounds” of what? I won 1 million pounds in U.K. currency £1 million? Or perhaps I won One million pounds of Cheerios. Maybe I won One million pounds of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. More than likely, I won 1 million pounds of s**t. Then again, you never know.

The Abu Dhabi, Manchester City reference is even more baffling. The best I can tell from reading is this refers to the Manchester City FC, an English soccer team, owned by some Abu Dhabi businessmen, which has teamed up with the New York Yankees to buy a new Major League Soccer Team for the Big Apple. Ah yes, I can see myself hanging out with A-Rod, watching a little futbo, engaging in knife and bottle fighting, and having a little ongoing contest amongst Alex and I to see who can drop tens of pounds (of flab.)

“You are one of six lucky winner,” said the online missive.

I am one of something or other.

——–

And to hit the ol’ roundup, no one won the big Friday contest.  Your loss. It was a disguised former Vice President Dick “The Head” Cheney. The closest to the right answer was “Love Child of Sen. Fred Thompson and Kelsey Grammer.” That brilliant but incorrect answer was sent by Leon Trotsky, of Dime Box, Texas, who said: “That isn’t my real name but I’ve got a case of the trots today. Got it?”

Ay yi yi!