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The Ashman Cometh

Posted on April 18th, 2010 by Retired-Ed in Daily Life, politics

So I have been off the Internet for a while. The Queen and I took a spring break vacation to Lake Como in Italy. It’s a gorgeous place, and I promise a post about it very soon….just as soon as I can edit the 400 or so pictures that I took. Thank goodness for digital cameras. I would have spent a fortune on film on this trip. But this post is about a natural phenomenon that is literally encircling the globe at the moment. While we were gone, the volcano in Iceland erupted and spewed ash into the air that has disrupted air travel around the world. Tomorrow (Monday) ought to be interesting for my former colleagues in the school district. Many teachers are stranded and can’t get home from their spring break trips. Some principals are also stranded, but I can tell you from personal experience that they won’t be missed as much as the absent teachers.

I’ve received several emails from friends in the States asking if I can see the plume of ash. The answer is “maybe”. Today we have a sky that is totally devoid of clouds. But the blue may have a yellowish tint to it….or is it my imagination? I’m not sure. The ash cloud is supposed to be invisible, but who’s to tell? I have noticed some instructions for people. For example, if the residue falls to earth, those with respiratory conditions are to remain indoors. That’s logical.

What’s a bit more surprising is the instruction on what to do with the ash residue if it falls to earth. You see, you aren’t supposed to just sweep it up and dump it in the trash. In fact, my friend Steve (formerly of Spokane and who remembers the Mt. St. Helen’s eruption) tells me that it is difficult to sweep. Nevertheless, what one is to do is to sweep it into a special vat in one’s back yard. These vats are known as “ash holes”. Residents are not permitted to dig  their own ash holes. Oh no. There are special contractors who do this. You’ll have to make arrangements with an ash hole contractor to get your ash hole dug. But wait! First you have to get approval from an ash hole politician. There are many of these, so don’t worry about trying to find one. They are located all over the world. I have heard that there are more ash hole politicians in Washington, DC, than in any other location in the world. Chicago runs a close second.

Once the ash hole politician approves the digging of your ash hole, the ash hole contractor can go to work. It is important to keep your ash hole covered as you don’t want the neighbors to see your ash. It’s also important to keep your ash hole clean so as not to pollute the atmosphere any more than it already is.

I have noticed lots of ash holes in my wanderings about. It seems that everybody has one. There are special instructions for illegal immigrants. If you are not a citizen or a legal resident alien, you are not to worry. There are some very special ash hole politicians who are appointed to make certain that an ash hole will be provided to you free of charge (paid for by residents). Instructions on use of your ash hole will, of course, be in your native language.

So here are the salient points:

1. Everyone must have an ash hole

2. Contact an ash hole contractor to dig your ash hole

3. Contact an ash hole politician to get approval

4. Keep your ash hole clean and covered

5. If you cannot afford an ash hole, contact an ash hole politician who will provide one for you at taxpayer expense.

I think that about covers the issue of the ash cloud. Understand?

Retired-Ed

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I Am Appalled

Posted on April 1st, 2010 by Retired-Ed in politics

When I started blogging, I told myself to stay away from politics and religion in my posts. Today, I will violate both of my admonitions. I am outraged about a news story that is making the rounds. Here’s the gist of the story in a nutshell. Albert Snyder is the father of a fallen Marine. At his son’s funeral, members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, led by the Reverend Fred Phelps, picketed the funeral. Their claim is that these war deaths are God’s punishment because America tolerates homosexuality. I will do my darndest not to editorialize here, but then again, that’s what blogs are for.

Mr. Snyder, the grieving father, sued the church and Rev. Phelps in federal court. The court ruled that the church had intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Mr. Snyder and awarded damages of $11 million to Mr. Snyder. Later it was reduced to $5 million. The church appealed and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision and directed Mr. Snyder to pay the legal fees of the church, which amount to $16,510.80. Can you believe that? I am outraged at this, and so are many other people. I see that the news commentator Bill O’Reilly has offered to pay the entire amount. The American Legion is urging members to contribute to the Albert Snyder Fund.  A veterans’ website reports that the address for contributions is:

Al Snyder Fund [make out check/money order to "Al Snyder Fund"]
c/o Barley Snyder LLC
100 East Market Street
York, PA 17401

The original suit filed by Mr. Snyder will be heard by the Supreme Court. Let’s hope that those ladies and gentlemen of the Court will have some sense in the matter. In case you are wondering, Appellate Court judges are appointed by the President, and if confirmed by the Senate, they serve lifetime appointments. The only way to get rid of them is by impeachment. Impeachment proceedings of federal judges begin in the US House of Representatives. Do you know how to get in touch with your representative? I will be emailing mine today. I don’t care if he is too busy running for the vacant Senate seat in Missouri; this situation is way beyond politics. This regards fundamental human decency.

If you are interested, the three judges of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals who ruled in this case are Robert King, Allyson Duncan, and Dennis Shedd. If you’d like to learn more about the Westboro Baptist Church, you can go to their website www.godhatesfags.com. They will be picketing today in Philadelphia, PA, at Temple University, but this one doesn’t appear to be related to a fallen warrior. You gotta love our First Amendment rights. I wonder if someone will bring the Second Amendment  into play at any point?

Retired-Ed

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Snow…an Explanation…Snow…a Proposal

Posted on February 14th, 2010 by Retired-Ed in Travel, politics

It’s still snowing in my little Dorf here in Germany. Not to imply that our problems can even begin to approach what the mid-Atlantic states are experiencing in the US. However, we may be better equipped to handle the problem here, because we’re used to snow. Our communities have snow plows! Sometimes they even have salt to spread on the roads, but this year’s problems with lack of salt seems to be a new phenomenon. I have already shoveled once this morning around 0700, and it’s now 1000 and I need to shovel again. I’m not even bothering with trying to clear out a path for my car. My beloved BMW may have given up the ghost. While driving on the Autobahn yesterday, some young lady (around 2o, I would guess) decided that she wanted to pass the truck in front of her. Never mind that I was already passing both of the vehicles at around 90 mph. She was driving a Smart Car, but that didn’t make her smart. She didn’t even know I  was there, and she pulled out right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes, skidded, and miraculously avoided a collision. Don’t ask me how. I flashed my lights a few times at her, but she seemed oblivious. She’s an obliviot, to borrow a word from one of my favorite bloggers, Randy Cassingham. So, there was no damage to either vehicle. Or so I thought. Immediately, my car began to vibrate. I thought that maybe I had lost a weight from one of the tires, and the wheel was out of balance. I especially thought that when the vibration stopped at certain speeds. But alas! The vibration is coming from the engine. I’m hoping that it’s something as simple as a bad spark plug, but how would that be caused by a quick braking on the Autobahn? I’ll take it to the shop on Monday, unless Monday turns out to be a holiday (it’s Rosenmontag and some communities declare it to be a holiday). Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I have been absent from the blogosphere lately. I’ve still been here, but my computer has been busy. I have been getting a little nervous about the possibility of a hard drive crash or some other malady that might affect my computer. So I decided to try Carbonite, the online backup system. It will back up your most valuable files such as photos, documents, emails, and music for a flat rate of $55 per year. I figured that it was money well spent for the peace of mind. You get a 15 day free trial when you sign up. During the trial, the program will back up your files….all except for your music. That took 8 days! After I decided to purchase the subscription, the program began to back up my music files. I had no idea that I had so much music on my computer! That took 10 days. Subsequent backups will only take a few minutes. I’m satisfied with the program. If you think that you’d be interested, please contact me and I’ll send you a referral. The cost is the same, but I will get some extra months on my subscription for the referral. Thanks.

OK, so that explains where I have been. With the backup in progress, all of my other online activities were degraded. We already have a very slow DSL connection here. It seems that Germany has fast and half-fast DSL connections. You’re stuck with whatever lines your community has. My village has half-fast DSL. Yes, I know how that word sounds, and the pun is definitely intentional. I even had to pause my backups so that the Queen could download her TV shows from iTunes. But I seem to be back in business now.

It appears that our nation’s capital (I’m American, so I speak of Washington, DC) has been paralyzed by several feet of snow. Now, not to make light of their situation, but I can think of 535 morons on Capitol Hill that have been paralyzed for a long time. And that doesn’t even include the White House. No, that’s not a political statement; there are fools in every administration. However, I’m still waiting for Rahm Emanuel (or someone even higher) to blame the snowfall on Bush. But I digress.

In a city that is totally unprepared for snow, the government was closed for 4 days last week. Even a half inch of the white stuff seems to trigger government closures. What are they doing with over 2 feet of snow? Wow! Not ready for all of that. So I have a proposal, as radical as it seems. This is actually only partly tongue-in-cheek. It’s time to think about moving our capital to someplace that can cope. Washington has become a political cesspool, and moving outside the Beltway…WAY outside the Beltway…may be the solution. Maybe we could leave the lobbyists, the political hacks, the “consultants”, the morons, and those in the federal workforce who are more interested in a paycheck instead of public service (and there are a few of these people!) behind.

Where to go? I have two cities in mind, but I dismiss one of them for obvious reasons. My first thought was Chicago. Now they know snow! But Chicago also knows all about corrupt politics. The city that gave us Anton Cermak, Rod Blagojevich, Richard J. Daley, Richard M. Daley, Rahm Emanuel, and, yes, our current president, probably would not be the ideal place to re-plant the nation’s government. Anyway, Congress would be divided between Cubs fans and White Sox fans, and they’d never get any work done.

My suggestion is Minneapolis. It’s a wonderful city that can cope with the snow, and can probably even cope with the snow job that politics would produce. It has an international airport and also the Mall of America. It has a major league baseball team and an NFL football team. It even has Bret Favre, who is old enough to remember when the Washington Monument was first built. Oh, it would be expensive. New buildings would have to be constructed, but think of the jobs that that project would generate. Sven and Oly would not have any trouble finding construction work. And Garrison Keillor would find plenty to talk about on his radio show “A Prairie Home Companion”. It’s on Public Radio, which would probably send the Republicans into a tizzy, but he’s funny. Why, Minneapolis even has skyways that allow one to walk from building to building about about the 3rd story level (if I remember correctly) to avoid having to slosh through the snow at street level.

And it is used to snow jobs. The city ignores them. An ideal location, eh?

Retired-Ed

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“Uh, pardon, but your roots are showing”

Posted on September 30th, 2009 by Retired-Ed in politics

OK, I don’t really color my hair. My hair is double-G (glorious gray) and I love it that way. No, in this case, my roots that may be showing are my conservative roots. To pacify my two kids who read this  blog (maybe), I will endeavor to make this post as apolitical as I can.

There were some disturbing articles and letters to the editor in my “hometown” newspaper today. That would be the Stars and Stripes, the military version of a daily newspaper. In fact, it’s not a bad paper to read. Anyway, I was disturbed by some of the articles today. In the first one, a young wife and young son of a fallen Marine are about to be deported from the USA and sent back to the mother’s home of Okinawa. Now don’t get me wrong, Okinawa is not that bad of a place to live. I spent 6 years there, and I’m sure that it is MUCH improved since the 1970s. Nevertheless, this young woman and her son deserve a break. Here’s the story in a nutshell. This young Okinawan woman fell in love with an American Marine and they had a son together. The Marine deployed to Iraq and was tragically killed on August 10, 2008, about a month after they were married by proxy by separately signing papers in Iraq and Okinawa. OK, I know that the traditional practice is to get married first and then have kids. In fact, that’s my personal bias, but let’s give this young woman a break. Her 22-year old late husband’s wish was that their son could grow up in his hometown in Tennessee, as an American, surrounded by friends and family. The woman and son have been living there with his family. But she is facing deportation because of a provision in the US Immigration law. The US State Department does not recognize the marriage because it was not consummated. Good grief!!! The guy was serving his country and gave his life doing so. How about some compassion, Congress? Why am I pleading to Congress? It seems that the lady’s only relief is the passage of a private bill, and only a handful of those get passed every year. If you think this is an outrage, ask your congressperson to vote for the bill sponsored by Representative John Duncan, Jr (R-Tennessee). The fallen Marine’s name is Sgt. Michael Ferschke, Jr., and his widow is Hotaru Ferschke. Let’s see if we can see justice done here.

The second story involves troop levels in Afghanistan. A year ago, we were bombarded on radio and television with “Change is coming to America,” and “Yes we can!” That’s pretty typical for an election year. We hear lots of promises. And, yes, I’m picking on our current president because he’s the guy who won. Had the other guy won, there’d be plenty of campaign promises to pick apart as well. In this case, however, we heard much about a complete withdrawal from Iraq and a different focus in Afghanistan. We were pretty much told that if we voted for McCain, we’d be bogged down in an unwinnable war. I am taken back to the election of 1964. The candidates were President Lyndon Johnson and Sen. Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was the leading conservative of his day and despised by the liberals. We were told over and over again, that if we voted for Goldwater, we’d get mired down in Viet Nam in an unwinnable war. Goldwater inexplicably chose General Curtis Lemay (former commander of the Strategic Air Command) as his running mate (anything sound familiar there?). The cynical anti-campaign slogan was “Bombs away with Curtis Lemay”.) Well, a few people voted for Goldwater (in fact, he lost in one of the biggest landslides in American political history), and the pundits were right. People voted for Goldwater and we got mired down in an unwinnable war in Viet Nam. The only difference was that it was Johnson, not Goldwater, who got us there. His fault? No, not really. The circumstances of the day got us there. The problem is that politicians can say anything during a campaign, even outright lie, and the public seems to have a selective memory. Remember, “Read my lips….no new taxes.”?

Well, now the new president has fired one commander in Afghanistan and brought in a highly respected general to replace him. GEN Stanley McChrystal is very well though of in military circles. Yet he said in an interview recently that he has spoken to the President only once during his tenure. (I think that they might be talking personally in the very near future if news reports are correct). But is the White House listening? Supposedly, the general has said in a classified report that we need more troops to keep from losing the war (and if the report is classified, how come it is being reported in the press? But I digress). What about earlier promises? That’s the problem, once a candidate gets into the White House, reality sets in. Campaign promises often go out the window. I just hope that someone can decide what’s best for the country and not what’s best for the politicians and do the right thing.

Finally, there was a letter to the editor that disturbed me. This is from a woman who is the wife of a military member. They came to Germany on what is called PCS orders. That’s Permanent Change of Station orders. The term “permanent” is relative. It usually means three years. This family, because of the current economic situation, found themselves “upside down” on their mortgage. Because the value of their home had declined, they owed more on their mortgage than their home was worth. But they could not wait out the storm; they were ordered to Germany. They can’t sell their home because the lienholder will not accept less than the value of the unpaid balance on the mortgage. They are stuck with a home that they can’t sell and are nearing foreclosure. Isn’t there help? Well, there should be. President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 back in February. According to the letter writer, there was a provision for $555 million in a Homeowners Assistance Program to help military members and their families. Again, according to the letter writer, the government is holding on to that $555M and not helping the very people whom they are supposed to be helping. This is disturbing. How about we get it right?

OK, I’m climbing down off my soapbox now. I just hate it when our military members and their families are getting screwed by our government. It just doesn’t seem right to me.

Retired-Ed

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I Guess I Should Feel Honored

Posted on August 23rd, 2009 by Retired-Ed in politics

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post in which I asked my readers if they thought that I should include political posts in the blog, make a separate site for them, or not do them at all. Results were mixed. CityWendy, my lovely first-born daughter and first-rate blogger herself, said that I should put them on a separate site so she could choose not to read them. Other readers responded all over the board. One of the most useful comments came from my younger daughter who told me that some of the links at the bottom of my post are in German and could I fix that. Not yet. I still haven’t figured that one out, but she also commented about something I once said about Rush Limbaugh. She goes on to say, “And someone once told me he was an intelligent man.” Hmmm, would that be Rush or me? Maybe she meant me, because the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, or did it?

Anyway, I said that I wasn’t sure if this blog would be the proper place to comment on the proposed health care plan that is causing so much turmoil across the “fruited plain”, to borrow an expression from Rush. I have decided to press on and give some thoughts on this because I have noted in my site statistics that I was visited by the very site that I said I was worried about. That would be the site where the Obama administration is asking people to snitch on folks who make comments about their health care proposal. I also had a visit from the United States House of Representatives. Okay, folks, since you are reading my blog (and bless you for that), I offer some words of advice from afar.

First of all, in the interest of full disclosure, I tend to lean toward the conservative side. I’m not in favor of big government and I am not a fan of socialism. But, on the other hand, I agree that our health care system needs some fixing. Costs are out of whack and too much red tape is involved in getting some procedures. The health insurance situation has hit home recently. I have two daughters whom I am rather fond of. One is a free-lancer who doesn’t qualify for group health insurance; the other does qualify for group insurance at  her work, but recently changed jobs. Upon applying for benefits for a lab test that she had done, she was informed that it was a pre-existing condition and the company would not reimburse. Say what? She went from one covered position to another with no break in coverage. Does that mean that no one can ever change jobs for fear of losing health care coverage? As you see, I’m not saying that reform is not needed. I tend to think that tort reform is also needed. Doctors would not prescribe so many procedures and tests if they didn’t have to fully cover their backsides for fear of a malpractice suit, but that’s another blog post for another time.

Right now, this is for you folks in Washington. Perception is everything! I didn’t invent that phrase, but I believe that it’s true. When you set up a website and ask people to rat on their friends, regardless of your intent, it gives the impression that Big Brother is keeping tabs on the citizenry. C’mon guys, give us some credit.

Another bit of advice for our leaders: Come on and tell us what’s in the plan. We’re having these town hall meetings around the country. Some of them in Missouri, from which I recently departed, turned ugly. Arrests were made. The Democrat House members had to have a “talking point” note card with them to explain the plan. Why not just put the plan up on a PowerPoint presentation and explain what’s in it. Oh, there’s 1017 pages? Could that be the problem? Maybe you could boil it down to the main points. The main points usually are these:

1. How will it affect me?

2. How much is it going to cost?

3. Who will be responsible for my care?

4. How will it change from what I have now?

I realize that there are many, many more concerns attached to this issue, but the bottom line is that you haven’t fully explained the plan. From what I gather, there isn’t just one plan, but multiple versions wending their way through Congress. If the President has his own plan, how about spelling it out to the citizenry? Heck, maybe I could support it if I only knew exactly what was in it.

And then there’s the so-called “Death Panels”. A lot of people made a lot of noise about them. For me, I never really thought that there would be something as overt as a “Death Panel”. I am concerned about whether or not there will be a sort of “triage” system to determine who gets care and who doesn’t. I’ve heard horror stories (are they true?) about people in other countries who are denied certain procedures because they are too old to enjoy the benefits for very long. True? Is that in the plan? Maybe I should read it to find out.

After reading some of the House Bill, I think that it is largely incomprehensible to the average citizen. I am in my 60s and have had a career of over 40 years in education, including 36 with the very government that is proposing this plan. I have two college degrees and many more semester hours beyond my masters degree. Dear Representatives, I can’t understand what is in the bill. I read the famous Section 1233, and my eyes glossed over. For the last 20 years or so of my career, it was my job to be somewhat of an expert in federal regulations, and even with that experience, I had trouble reading that gobbledygook. Please tell us in plain, easy to understand, English what it is that you are proposing. Perhaps some of the hate and disconent would melt away. Maybe…maybe not, but please give it a shot.

Oh, and dear Congressman and White House staffers, while you are visiting my site, please click on the ads and see what my advertisers are offering. You might find something you like….and it helps pay for the blog. Thanks.

Retired-Ed

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