U.S. Soldiers Cost Taxpayers $1 Million Each Annually
One American soldier now costs U.S. taxpayers $1 million a year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — One American soldier now costs U.S. taxpayers $1 million a year.
This new figure means that to field 40,000 troops to Afghanistan as suggested by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the bill will be $40 billion.
The 2006 figure by congressional researchers had each soldier costing $390,000.
The increase is reportedly due to more equipment to transport soldiers and survey insurgents in the mountain regions of Afghanistan.
The New York Times reported the new figure as part of the government’s budget projections for the war in Afghanistan.
A military budget estimate is upwards of $734 billion, which is $67 billion more than the highest annual military budget under the Bush administration.
This budget is said to have caused President Obama to rethink his strategy in Afghanistan.
The Times reported that Obama plans to cut domestic spending by five percent in 2011.
Texas Ranks Second In ‘Food Insecurity’: Study
Texas ranks second in the country for food insecurity, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Texas ranks second in the country for food insecurity, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In all 1.4 million Texas households are in danger of being hungry from 2006-08.
This is a 1.5 percentage point increase from 2005-07, the report said.
Jan Pruitt, president and chief executive officer of the North Texas Food Bank, told The Dallas Morning News that these statistics match with his agency’s experience.
Thirty-six percent more people are seeking food assistance this year, she said. In July, August, and September, food distribution rose 50 percent.
“We’re averaging a million pounds of food a week,” she said.
Pruitt said she predicted more demand for food assistance “for a while.”
The group, she said, that has been served for the longest time are the underemployed – people working at jobs that can’t pay their bills.”
But more professionals, such as engineers who lost jobs as Hewlett-Packard, are seeking food assistance now, she said.
And don’t forget about the women and children who live below the poverty line.
One-in-five Texas children live in a food insecure home, she added.
New York Fed Refused Power On AIG Bailout
An auditor with the Troubled Asset Relief Program said that the argument for banking secrecy being key to bank stability is bogus.
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — An auditor with the Troubled Asset Relief Program said that the argument for banking secrecy being key to bank stability is bogus.
“The default position, whenever government funds are deployed in a crisis to support markets or institutions, should be that the public is entitled to know what is being done with government funds,” said Neil M. Barofsky, the special inspector general for TARP.
Moreover, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York didn’t just drop the ball during the negotiations of American International Group’s bailout last year.
According to Barofsky’s government report, the Fed failed to play ball.
The Fed “refused to use its considerable leverage,” he wrote,
The man at the helm of the New York Fed at the time was Timothy F. Geithner, the current Treasury secretary.
Barofsky’s report emerged earlier this month after he testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Barofsky wrote that the way the Fed considered itself in the negotiations doomed the process to failure.
The Fed, he said, acted not like a regulator but as a creditor seeking “voluntary” concessions, a role different from the government during the auto industry’s restructuring.
The Fed, Barofsky added, feared foreign retaliation, so therefore foreign banks were treated differently than their American counterparts.
Geithner, however, denied in interviews that any foreign bank refused to concede ground.
PBS Cancels Moyers’ ‘Now’
PBS has cancelled “Now on PBS” once hosted by journalist Bill Moyers.
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — PBS has cancelled “Now on PBS” once hosted by journalist Bill Moyers.
Moyers’ last broadcast of the weekly television show “Bill Moyers Journal” will be April 30, 2010.
Moyers said he decided to end his show because it felt “time” to do so after a three-year run.
Moyers, 75, told the New York Times that he would remain on television but has no plans.
“Now” started in January 2002 and had been hosted by David Brancaccio since Moyers’ departure.
Said John Siceloff, PBS executive producer, “We’re all looking for places to continue that work.”
PBS is said to reorganizing its news programming. It’s new schedule will be announced in January.
U.S. Military To Offer Jobs To Taliban
The U.S. military launched a new program to persuade low-ranking insurgents with the Taliban to drop their violent ways.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. military launched a new program to persuade low-ranking insurgents with the Taliban to drop their violent ways.
With the help of the Afghan government, the plan is to give jobs to the Taliban.
The program is modeled after “Sons of Iraq” program that persuaded Sunni Muslims to withdraw weapons.
U.S. officers have been encouraged to implement the jobs program in Southern Afghanistan, the heart of the Taliban insurgency.
The program is being supported by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the head of U.S. and Western forces in Afghanistan.
The target of the program is specifically those fighters with personal problems with their foreign occupiers rather than an ideological agenda like those espoused by the Taliban.
The drive comes a month after President Hamid Karzai took back control of the Afghan government through what most consider a sham election.
Said Karzai, “We invite all disenchanted brothers who are not directly linked to international terrorism to again embrace their homeland.”
However, any plan has its weaknesses, an unnamed diplomat told the Los Angeles Times.
“Lots of Taliban surrender,” he said when asked about Afghan reconciliation commission ‘s claims of gaining the confidence of over 8,000 fighters. “And lots of them then un-surrender.”
Former PM Blair Covered Up Military Plans In 2002
As British prime minister, Tony Blair hid from the public the military plans to invade Iraq in 2002, reported The Sunday Telegraph.
LONDON, England — As British prime minister, Tony Blair hid from the public the military plans to invade Iraq in 2002, reported The Sunday Telegraph.
The report cited secret government documents leaked last week.
During 2002, Blair claimed that Great Britian’s mission would be disarmament, not regime change.”
Privately, Blair’s military commanders criticized the lack of contingency planning for keeping civilians safe, a key obligation of the Geneva Convention.
The Telegraph noted that the classified documents show that coalition forces were “ill-prepared and equipped to deal with the problems in the first 100 days” of the Iraq occupation.
Among the lies that Blair told the British Parliament was on Sept 24, 2002:
“In respect of any military options, we are not at the stage of deciding those options but, of course, it is important — should we get to that point — that we have the fullest possible discussion of those options.”
However, “formation-level planning for a deployment took place from February 2002,” according to the newly leaked documents.
An inquiry into Iraq was to start last week.
The inquiry’s head former Whitehall civil servant Sir John Chilcot reportedly saw these classified documents.
Attorney: Fort Hood Soldier Might Use Insanity Defense
The defense attorney for the soldier accused of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood said that his client might use the insanity defense.
FORT HOOD, Texas — The defense attorney for the soldier accused of killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood said that his client might use the insanity defense.
“But we haven’t reached that stage yet,” said attorney John Galligan.
Moreover, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan will more than likely plead not guilty, he added.
Galligan told ABC News that his client is paralysed and in “severe pain.”
Maj. Hasan is to remain at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, according to a recent military court ruling.
The hearing was conducted in Hasan’s ICU unit, a move in which was a first for Galligan who questioned the pace of the proceedings, he said.
“[Hasan] is paralyzed. He is not going on leave,” Galligan, a retired Army colonel with 36 years experience in law, said.
Galligan noted that given Maj. Hasan’s condition he should still be considered a patient in the eyes of the government.
The day after Maj. Hasan was removed from a ventilator, he requested lawyer during an interview with investigators.
Galligan met with his client on Nov. 9, a day after the request was made.
“Major Hasan is presumed innocent of these charges,” Galligan told “Good Morning America” last week.
New Web Site Tells Stories Of Historic Sites
Nineteen new web sites featuring the Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) historic properties are now active, highlighting the unique stories of these real places from Texas’ past. The web sites are an upgrade from the previous single web pages to full, stand-alone web sites.
AUSTIN — Nineteen new web sites featuring the Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) historic properties are now active, highlighting the unique stories of these real places from Texas’ past. The web sites are an upgrade from the previous single web pages to full, stand-alone web sites.
From frontier forts to Civil War battlegrounds to stoic mansions, these new web sites provide educational and interpretational information that heighten the visitor experience and open a window on these significant moments in the state’s history.
Each web site reflects a tailored and memorable look that is enhanced by vivid photographs of each property.
Direct links to the THC’s Texas Heritage Trails Program guides visitors to more regional attractions near the 19 historic properties.
To explore the 19 new web sites, readers may visit and select a historic property.
For more information on the THC’s historic sites contact the Historic Sites Division at 512-463-7948.
Mexican Presidential Candidate Blames ‘Mafia’ For Loss
Former Mexican presidential candidate Manuel Lopez Obrador told his supporters last week that a “mafia” stole the presidency from him three years ago.
MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Former Mexican presidential candidate Manuel Lopez Obrador told his supporters last week that a “mafia” stole the presidency from him three years ago.
“They themselves know that this movement is the only thing that can take them on, and that can stop them,” he said to the reportedly “10s of thousands” at Zolcalo square.
This “mafia,” the former mayor of Mexico City said, includes business interests.
Lopez Obrador is said to be gearing up to take on the conservative PAN party of President Felipe Calderon in 2012.
Lopez Obrador, however, insists that he is in fact the current president of Mexico.
He claims the title because a recount of the 2006 vote never took place, though authorities could have done one.
Calderon lost by 230,000 votes.
Lopez Obrador still operates a “shadow government complete with a Cabinet from his offices in Mexico City.
He has sought legitamacy from such international leaders as President Barack Obama.
However, his former political party, the Party of the Democratic Revolution, is no longer affiliated with him.
Politics Gone Nuts
During the Holiday Season we’re all likely to be subjected to social intercourse involving people with whom we have little, if anything, in common, and had even less contact throughout the past year (or ever).
During the Holiday Season we’re all likely to be subjected to social intercourse involving people with whom we have little, if anything, in common, and had even less contact throughout the past year (or ever).
For instance, there’s that numbers-cruncher from accounting who rarely slinks out of his office between 9AM and 5PM; or, the neighbor with a Pekingese that yaps incessantly during the wee small hours of the morning, making it impossible for anyone within a five-house radius to get any sleep; or, that niece of your son’s Little League coach who’s visiting during semester break from State U., and shows up at the block party looking like Teri Garr in her “Young Frankenstein” days (“Anyone for a roll in the hay?”).
Whatever your own personal variation on or experience with human intercommunion at parties which you would rather not attend yet feel compelled to, I believe that I’ve happened upon a great conversation starter (or ender, depending upon the polarized tendencies of those within earshot).
Expound upon the metaphorical symbolism of nuts as applied to political parties.
The “mixed nuts” can be explained as “Democrats.”
In one canister are found subspecies of many shapes, colors and textures. Most plentiful are peanuts, “goober peas,” which aren’t really nuts at all but legumes. These commoners, small and ovate, are somewhat pale in pallor, overall the lowest priced.
They are “others,” and not like the rest.
Subservient to the commonplace goober is the Spanish peanut, replete with a dark red skin and light brown shading. Like the Mexicans and other Hispanics, these are smaller and rounder than their off-white cousins. Once the Spanish peanuts get mixed in, it’s virtually impossible to reach in and not grab a few along with the others.
The brainiac of the mixed nuts might very well be the almond. Slender yet firm, with a definite brown tinge, the very shape (rounded at one end, pointed at the other) is reminiscent of the eye of the Asian – and we all know they’re nothing but a bunch of socialist overachievers intent upon world domination through whatever nefarious means.
The Brazil nut, largest within the mix, fat and oily with brown outer coverings, yet light ecru underneath, was pegged for what it stood for generations ago by its nickname, “N(egro) toe.”
A favorite among Europeans, the Hazelnut resembles a combination of Mediterranean types (brown-skinned) with whitish (Anglo-Saxony) meat, maintaining a Germanic rotund shape.
The brownish, misshapened pecan is the soft nut, allowed into the mix because it would be wrong to ostracize any one subspecie based upon appearance, strength, or any perceived disability.
The usual alternative to mixed nuts is the cashew.
Now, cashews are readily found alongside the hoi polloi that make up mixed nuts, but these few are the cashews that don’t quite make the grade. They are substandard, and cheapen themselves by associating with the mixed crowd – even losing flavor by the sheer intermingling of subspecies.
But, of course, the cashews, like Republicans, when kept apart from the others all look identical and taste the same.
The cashew is light-skinned and Aryan-looking. When packed alone with other cashews, each retains its own inherent blandness (cashews require salt to actually taste like anything).
It is virtually impossible to distinguish one cashew from another.
Not only that, but they, like Republicans, are valued more (monetarily) than other nuts.
Just as the Bible indicates a woman’s worth to be about 60% of a man’s, the same holds true for the mixed nuts-to-cashews ratio.
And, we all know how strongly Republicans adhere to biblical teachings…
There I go, adding the fuel of religion to an otherwise already heating political debate. Before things get way out of hand, and Holiday Violence crashes the party, I’d better cut myself off here.
Happy Christmas and Merry Hanukkah!
Shalom.
Prince of Darkness
As Uncle Hugh used to say, “Whoever said, ‘There’s no fool like an old fool!’ never had children.”
So, the Students for a Democratic Society is back and battling high tuition.
If we ever left.
Let me save you guys some grief.
Don’t expect to outlast the war.
Most of your comrades are just here for the dope and the girls.
Uh, make that women.
Unless you are a woman.
And if you are a woman, what’s your sign?
Another sizeable percentage of your ranks just don’t want to get drafted.
In the long term, most will end up as Republicans.
And the rest will end up like me.
Not much of a future, hunh?
So, consider the alternatives and just go jump off the university tower.
If you have a tower.
We didn’t have one at Austin College.
Well, there was a chapel steeple, but that would have been a bit melodramatic for a Presbyterian.
Even if it was predestined.
So I transferred to East Texas State, where the only tall building on campus was the preppy dorm.
Not the crowd for a James Dean road trip.
You could drown yourself in the campus lake, if you didn’t know how many people had barfed in it or . . . well, let’s just say there are some things worse than death.
I suppose now you could make some kind of solidarity statement with your fellow Middle Eastern student brothers and become a suicide bomber.
But considering that in the traditional SDS lexicon, a bomber was a marijuana cigarette the size of your thumb, it wouldn’t be much of a statement.
Not a very coherent one, anyway.
Now you are a bullhorn crying in the wilderness.
With too many syllables.
We had it simple: Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today? Make love, not war! U.S. out now! Hey, man, spare change?
Now sloganeering is tough: One, two, three, four, we don’t want your fuckin’ deficit! Outsourcing is not healthy for children and other living things! Hell no, we won’t join the National Guard!
The short answer is, there is no short answer.
You can’t oppose globalization without appearing racist.
At least you can’t without a five-page policy analysis.
Immigration is simply a nightmare, because the issue isn’t immigration.
It’s a decent life for working people.
And let’s face it, most people who are part of SDS, then and now, aren’t exactly Joe Hill.
More like Westlake Hills.
But then that’s where most revolutionaries come from, isn’t it?
Thomas Paine, Lenin, Chè Guevarra.
Pretty yuppie bunch.
I could emphasize that this radical point of view is brought to you by the first generation middle class son of a couple of public school administrators from Detroit, Texas.
So, hello, young radicals where ever you are, I’ve had a cause of my own.
And have some free advice, which is probably worth exactly what you paid for it.
First, accept that there’s practically no chance that you’ll win.
Certainly we, your predecessors, haven’t dealt you a lot of high cards.
I’m sorry, but we used up all the fun in the 60s.
No more sex, drugs, and rock’n roll.
All we left for you is STDs, Just Say No, and Dave Matthews.
You may not even make a difference.
And the matters you do change will eventually be hyped to sell boxed set CD collections commercially interrupting old movies in the early morning hours.
Second, who cares?
You aren’t in this for yourself, and if you give a damn what anybody else thinks about you one way or another, you’re in the wrong business.
Try insurance.
But if you want to shave or make up a face each morning that you can look back at with no guilt or regrets, then pick up your sign, go to your meetings, and do battle with the Prince of Darkness on Meet the Press.
Maybe you can fix some of the things we failed to make right.
And even if you can’t, when that first shovel-full of dirt lands on the lid of your casket, you will know that, even if you didn’t make too much of a difference, they damn sure knew you were here.
Even if they hate you for it.
And by the way, yes, it was worth it.
Hell, it was a gas!
I’m even sorry I’m not young enough to go with you and do it all again.
Being hated by all the right people ain’t half bad.
Wall Street CEOs Run On Government Banks
The chief executive officers on Wall Street are fleecing you, America.
Sure, the CEOs of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers both received golden parachutes as their giant investment banks died last year, according to the Harvard Law School study “The Wages of Failure.”
Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne made $388 million; Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld, $541 million.
And, sure, the top five executives at Bear Stearns rolled $1.4 billion from bonuses and equity sales from 2000 to 2008.
Sure, the top five executives at Lehman Brothers took $1 billion during the same time.
And not one shareholder received any compensation as their investments went south. Sue their CEOs, they should.
However, as we speak, the CEOs who “survived” last fall’s financial meltdown have done so through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (i.e. your tax money).
And now the FDIC is said to be going broke! Tell us that FDR is NOT rolling in his grave!
The Wall Street Journal reported: “The deposit insurance fund dropped by $18.6 billion during the third quarter of 2009 to negative $8.2 billion, as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. set aside $21.7 billion in provisions for additional bank failures,”
And the problem of “bad apple CEOs” in the so-called “corporate culture” ain’t going away any time soon.
That’s what CNBC business anchor Jim Cramer told NBC’s Matt Lauer last week.
Cramer said, “They got away with it, so why shouldn’t the next guy try?”
And the FDIC’s troubles look to be only starting, according to the New York Times on the FDIC’s recent industry report.
The Times said, “The number of bad loans of nearly every stripe — credit cards, mortgages, small business and commercial real estate — continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.”
As of Nov. 21, 2009, 124 American “problem” banks have gone belly up.
The easy question is, “So what’s BHO going to do?”
Better question: What are you doing, America?
Ever two to four years, we citizens have the opportunity to “vote the bums out” if we so desire.
Isn’t it about time we turn the screws on these Wall Street CEOs and their “too-big-fail banks?”
The FDIC has it within its power to protect the banks with a temporary $500 billion fund of capital from the Treasury Department.
However, this time, shouldn’t there be more strings attached if it is allocated to cover depositors funds up to $250,000 when the problem bank goes bankrupt?
We expected the American auto industry to take a haircut.
Let’s make some wigs out of some hairy banks.
— Nathan Diebenow
The Great Unemployment Mystery
Unemployment in the U.S. is at its highest rate in many decades. Apparently it is a mystery that only a Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan can solve because President Barack Obama has not fought significantly to bring jobs to hardly-working Americans despite his promises to the American people.
Unemployment in the U.S. is at its highest rate in many decades.
Apparently it is a mystery that only a Sherlock Holmes or Charlie Chan can solve because President Barack Obama has not fought significantly to bring jobs to hardly-working Americans despite his promises to the American people.
The U.S. Congress has turned its back on jobless citizens, merely offering short-term solace via extending unemployment benefits. Who can live on such a paltry sum for any extended period?
The banks have washed their hands of millions of homeless indigents who foreclosed or walked away from their homes. Some Americans, left with money, are finding good deals on purchasing these discarded homes. Tent cities continue to grow across our nation.
How hard is it to provide jobs to those who need and want them?
It would be simple enough to issue tax reduction incentives to businesses who wish to expand their enterprises by providing jobs to unemployed Americans.
Equally, it is easy for the government to develop federal jobs to build, repair, and maintain our depreciating infrastructures, e.g., bridges, tunnels, highways, dams, etc.
However, simple or not, jobs are NOT being provided.
Consequently, we must consider that the reason jobs are not forthcoming is that government and corporate sectors do not want to provide jobs since it is a great mystery to determine what other tangible reason there is for the highest unemployment among Americans since The Great Depression.
(Peter Stern, a former director of information services, university professor and public school administrator, is a disabled Vietnam veteran who lives in Driftwood, Texas.)
The Heroes Of Healthcare
I hate to admit it, but some political strategists are geniuses. They have taken something that has been hated, reviled, and scorned by Americans for generations and turned it into an institution that many now believe we must protect, foster, and preserve. No, I’m not talking about telemarketers who call during dinner. I’m talking about the medical insurance industry. Over the years, I’ve heard many people say, “I love my doctor,” but, until now, I never heard anyone say, “I love my health insurance.” But to some, medical insurance companies have become the Heroes of Healthcare. During the Great Healthcare Debate, legislators and their “gullibles” are saying they like their current healthcare system so much that they don’t want anyone to touch it. In fact, there are claims that the very idea of changing the healthcare system is unAmerican.
I hate to admit it, but some political strategists are geniuses. They have taken something that has been hated, reviled, and scorned by Americans for generations and turned it into an institution that many now believe we must protect, foster, and preserve. No, I’m not talking about telemarketers who call during dinner. I’m talking about the medical insurance industry. Over the years, I’ve heard many people say, “I love my doctor,” but, until now, I never heard anyone say, “I love my health insurance.” But to some, medical insurance companies have become the Heroes of Healthcare. During the Great Healthcare Debate, legislators and their “gullibles” are saying they like their current healthcare system so much that they don’t want anyone to touch it. In fact, there are claims that the very idea of changing the healthcare system is unAmerican.
Obviously, if people don’t like a certain approach or the principles or cost of any of the proposed legislation, they should object. I’m talking about those who now claim that we don’t need to change anything about healthcare at all. Not a single Republican voted to even open up debate on the issue. Obviously, they don’t think we need to change anything. They’re probably even okay with not having any current magazines in the waiting rooms.
When both of my kids were born, we got bills from the hospital that included tests for my wife that she didn’t get, treatments that she didn’t receive, and medications that weren’t prescribed for her. Each time I complained to the hospital. They said it was their procedure to bill for all of these things. It was a “package” — like one of those Las Vegas “Three days, six nights” things or whatever they’re called. They couldn’t understand why I was so upset, since my insurance company would probably pay for the overcharges. I told them I was upset because the bills didn’t represent the truth. They immediately corrected them. They didn’t argue or fight or even put me on hold listening to “Moon River.” This showed me that they knew the bills were unfair. Unfair? They even charged my wife for ice. I guess we’re lucky they didn’t ask us to chip in for the air-conditioning.
Do you know even one person who doesn’t have a similar story?
One of the objections of the nay-sayers has to do with the government getting involved in healthcare. Haven’t they ever heard of Social Security and Medicare? Would they like those to be abolished, too?
And of course there’s the cost objection. These people didn’t object to government spending when it came to the Bush and Obama bail-outs of the financial industry, but they don’t like the idea of spending whatever it takes to fix healthcare. Oh I forgot, they don’t think it needs fixing.
Oh, really?
The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other country, yet, the last time the World Health Organization put out its rankings, we were 37th in healthcare — in between Slovenia and Costa Rica. Don’t those who oppose any change think we should at least move up to, I don’t know, maybe 15th and kick Iceland’s butt out of there?
Usually, our medical bills are so hard to read, that most of us don’t bother trying. Couldn’t the billing system use a little reform?
When a ride in an ambulance for three blocks costs hundreds of dollars, shouldn’t someone look into that?
Is waiting 11 hours in an emergency room okay with those folks who don’t want anything changed?
If the Senators were all really voting their “consciences” as so many of them claim, don’t you think at least a dozen or so Democrats would disagree with parts of the bill and at least a similar number of Republicans might think, “Hey, that’s not bad?” It’s an amazing coincidence that on something this complex so many consciences happen to line up with their party’s agenda.
I just hope that a whole bunch of Senators don’t yell so much in opposition or in favor of the healthcare bill that they hurt their throats. It would be a shame if they had to seek medical attention. Oh, wait a minute. It wouldn’t be a problem for them at all. Members of Congress already have great healthcare.
(Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from “Sesame Street” to “Family Ties” to “Home Improvement” to “Frasier.” He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. He can be reached at lloydgarver@gmail.com. Check out his website at lloydgarver.com and his podcasts on iTunes.)
Warning: Before Flushing Remote-Controlled Toilet, Duck Behind Inflatable Sofa
Hello, and welcome to another edition of High-Tech Watch, a consumer information guide to the latest technology, and the exciting items you can expect to see following the eventual collapse of the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
Hello, and welcome to another edition of High-Tech Watch, a consumer information guide to the latest technology, and the exciting items you can expect to see following the eventual collapse of the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
We begin in Scotland, where textile researchers are currently working to perfect material that can generate and store electricity. This would allow wearers of clothing made with “Smart Yarn” to generate their own power for things like cell phones, pocket radios, Game Boys, or, in the case of a full-length muu muu worn by Shaquille O’Neal, a small Chicago suburb. The technology is relatively simple, and dates back to the early 1970s, when a combination of corduroy pants, wool socks and shag carpeting was blamed on the electrocution deaths of several people in the U.S. and Canada.
According to Scotland researchers, they are close to finding a way of harnessing that power while, at the same time, reviving as few fashions from the 1970s as possible.
Next, we have Spanish designer Marti Guixe, creator of the “Flamp,” a phosphorescent lamp that absorbs light from other sources and can illuminate a room for up to 20 minutes without electricity once the lights go out.
Sounds pretty cool.
Accept for the fact that, once I turn the lights out, it’s usually because I want to go to sleep. And I should mention that the “Flamp” doesn’t come with an “Off” switch, which means that, unless you regularly read before bed, you will need to find a way of killing the 20 minutes it takes your “Flamp” to fade out each night.
My suggestion is to hold it directly under your chin, make a scary face, and then peek into your neighbors’ windows before bed time. Eventually, they will get used to it and begin to welcome your nightly visits.
Or, quite possibly, you’ll get your “Flamp” shot off the very first night.
Either way, your problem will be solved.
Also on the high-tech home front is something that is sure to re-kindle fond memories of that first apartment.
No, I’m not talking about cardboard coffee tables, but the next best thing—inflatable furniture. That’s right, for a mere $800, you can again have the same bedroom ensemble you once paid $6 for.
In addition, Ikea USA, makers of the new inflatable furniture, also offers sofas and chairs made from a “special plastic” that’s guaranteed to last for 10 years—which is about how long it will take for you to blow up your new six-piece living room set once it arrives.
And finally, we go to Tokyo, where a recent trade show featuring “Homes of Tomorrow” unveiled the perfect example of what happens when technology meets toiletry. I’m talking, of course, about a new computerized toilet introduced by Matsushita Electric.
(And let me just say right now that the idea of sitting on a toilet designed by a company with the word “electric” in its name doesn’t exactly thrill me.)
According to Matsushita, the new Laboratory Toilet has a number of improvements over older toilet designs, including a remote control flushing system.
This is particularly useful when…
Or should you somehow..
Or in the event that there’s a …
Nope. I honestly can’t think of a single reason I’d need to flush my toilet from anywhere other than the bathroom. And if I ever DO need to gain a safe distance from my commode before flushing, finding the remote will be the least of my worries.
(You can write to Ned Hickson at nhickson@thesiuslawnews.com, or c/o Siuslaw News, P.O. Box 10, Florence, OR., 97439.)
Hunting Season 2009 — Part Two
When hunting season begins, fashionista that I am (or was) —— and even though I have no intention of shooting or killing anything — I find myself suddenly wearing camo. I can’t seem to help it. This would have horrified me in my previous, city life. It horrifies my daughter now. But when November arrives in Central Texas, at least one bit of camo seems almost required. Like cheering for the high school teams, one should be at least slightly caught up in the spirit of hunting season.
When hunting season begins, fashionista that I am (or was) —— and even though I have no intention of shooting or killing anything — I find myself suddenly wearing camo. I can’t seem to help it. This would have horrified me in my previous, city life. It horrifies my daughter now. But when November arrives in Central Texas, at least one bit of camo seems almost required. Like cheering for the high school teams, one should be at least slightly caught up in the spirit of hunting season.
Zack and I have extremely different buying styles when it comes to hunting clothes (or anything else). Zack likes high-end merchandise from catalogues such as Orvis, Land’s End, L.L Bean and Cabelas. He’ll shop our local stores as well. The things he’s acquired over a lifetime are sturdy, often gorgeous —and he wears them forever or until they fall apart. He works in these clothes as well. Sometimes he uses them for “dress.” I’ve been known to “inherit” things he’s thrown out. I hate to admit this publicly, but more than once he’s caught me fishing things out of his trash can if they’re still really good and he just changed his mind. It’s become an inside joke, my dirty little secret (until now).
I usually don’t stoop THAT low but do often hunt for my outdoor gear at yard sales, thrift shops, and the like. I may save up for that gorgeous boutique jacket for a special occasion. But I refuse to spend the same amount on a hunting vest that will, likely as not, end up at some point in mud or cow poop. It’s called priorities. This kind of clothing is a guy thing, and I just don’t have the same attraction to it —or the hormones or whatever. Having said that, I will tell you that, living on a ranch, I’ve come to appreciate work clothes like insulated overalls. But that’s about survival, and clothing is like a tool in that instance. Anyway, I’ve always known that my yard sale tendencies horrify Zack and most of my friends. But even the prissiest of the latter have had to admit I’ve come home with some real winners over the years. Besides, with all the talk of recycling, I’m proud to do my part.
One of the best buys I ever made was a ten dollar pair of waterproof, lace-up, camo boots. I can slog through our creeks in those things almost up to my knees, stay warm and dry. I’ve found that the parents of young men (size 6 foot) are proudly prone to buying their offspring the perfect pair of boots for this or that special or seasonal purpose. From the looks of these items at yard sales, the young men in question grew so fast that the shoes were never actually worn. (It has been suggested that anticipation is often better than reality). Thus, the $100 pair of waterproof, camo boots in my closet that cost me $10. And I considered that a lot of money for a yard sale buy.
I recently found two identical, size Men’s L hunting vests at a yard sale. I brought them home, washed them, and offered one to Zack. I assumed he would turn it down, possibly with great disdain. Zack doesn’t have my open-minded approach to “gently loved” clothing. He surprised me by praising my find. After all, it was very manly and useful, with plenty of pockets. But I notice this garment is still hanging in his closet (that we jokingly refer to as “Brooks Brothers South”). I, on the other hand, have thoroughly enjoyed my vest ever since hunting season began—when I mysteriously, seemingly with no control whatsoever, slipped helplessly and inexorably into camo world. (For a dollar, if I change my mind, I can pass the thing along to the local thrift shop or a consignment store. I can recycle it to someone else who would appreciate it as I have. I’m usually not deeply invested in my yard sale finds).
I discovered that a vest with so many pockets can hold all my necessities for hours of working on the ranch. Normally I lug around one of my huge, trademark handbags for town trips. Heaven forbid I should need something and not have it on my person. (That would be almost as bad as being down to the last roll of bath tissue). But a big, fashionable bag won’t serve in the field. Right now, in the generous and plentiful pockets of my wonderful, pre-owned hunting vest, there are these items; cell phone, ear plugs with case, pocket knife, binoculars, bandana/hanky, Chap Stick, sun block, emergency Dove dark chocolates (2), work gloves, plastic bag, neck scarf, reading glasses and sunglasses. I’ve often packed more, depending on special needs for any particular day. I’m thinking of sewing extra pockets over the bullet holders, which I won’t be needing. I don’t want to kill anything that isn’t trying to kill me first. (Pass the steak. I know it’s hypocritical). I publicly admit I’m the hunting version of “all hat and no cattle.” My camo’s all for show, but I’m sold on the vest!
Hot Or Not? — What’s Actually Happening In Iraq Today According To Our Own Troops
Every day for the past several years, I have been receiving press releases from the U.S. military in Iraq with regard to actions that our troops are taking there. And this morning it suddenly occurred to me that, strung together, all these releases may give me a more complete picture of what is actually going on in Iraq today — that is, a picture of how involved our troops are in the day-to-day life of Iraq. Are they still over there every day, up to their eyeballs fighting bad guys? Or are our troops only nation-building over there at this point? Or are they now spending most of their days moving U.S. personnel and equipment out of Iraq and back home?
Every day for the past several years, I have been receiving press releases from the U.S. military in Iraq with regard to actions that our troops are taking there. And this morning it suddenly occurred to me that, strung together, all these releases may give me a more complete picture of what is actually going on in Iraq today — that is, a picture of how involved our troops are in the day-to-day life of Iraq. Are they still over there every day, up to their eyeballs fighting bad guys? Or are our troops only nation-building over there at this point? Or are they now spending most of their days moving U.S. personnel and equipment out of Iraq and back home?
Back when Obama was campaigning for president, he promised to get us out of Iraq. “You can take that to the bank,” he exclaimed — and here’s the video to prove it: .
Well. We now know that President Obama, once elected, DID take a bunch of stuff to the bank — Bank of America, CitiBank, etc. to be exact. He took over a trillion dollars to the banks, all newly printed up by the Federal Reserve. (Thank goodness that the Fed didn’t pay off the banks with taxpayers’ money! But, heck, the Fed had no choice. Us taxpayers’ money has already been long gone.) But I digress.
So. Has Obama kept his campaign promise to get us out of Iraq? Let’s take a look at some of the recent press releases from MNFI (Multi-National Forces-Iraq) in Baghdad and see if we can find out.
Yesterday I got a press release from MNFI’s Baghdad Phoenix Base entitled, “Information Assurance Prepares Security Forces Against Cyber Threats”. That sounds promising. “Twenty senior Iraqi leaders from all 14 Iraqi army divisions and four regional operations centers participated in the first information assurance trainers’ course here.” I could use some information assurance training too! Don’t you just hate viruses? “The overarching objective of the seminar was to provide each attendee with ‘train the trainer’ instruction to take back to their units.”
This next press release also came from Phoenix Base: “Maysan Province Security Unit Prepares for Election Demands”. Does that mean that they are gonna eliminate the use of Diebold and electronic voting machines in Iraq? Let’s read on. “Eighteen members of the Maysan Province Personal Security Detail and five instructors from the Iraqi Police Maysan Provincial Training Center completed a five-day basic PSD course here…. The training prepares them for increased responsibilities anticipated in support the upcoming federal elections.” Wish we had had something like that in Ohio and Florida!
But wait. There’s more. “Students were instructed on how to protect and conduct safe movement for dignitaries.” This instruction isn’t about vote-counting at all. “Class scenarios and practical exercises were used throughout the course to illustrate how to protect people while responding to attacks.” This instruction is how to protect candidates and office holders from getting shot or blown up! Too bad we didn’t have a class like that in Dallas in 1963.
Here’s the next press release, coming from Camp Victory, just outside of Baghdad: “U.S. Paratroopers install vehicle scanners”. Our troops are advising and assisting traffic check stations in Al Anbar province. The scanners help find “weapons, explosives, radioactive material and other contraband…. At a checkpoint east of Fallujah, where Iraqi army, police and provincial security forces jointly inspect vehicles traveling between Baghdad and Al Anbar province, the guards were happy to see the explosives detection equipment….” So. Now we know that traffic is flowing again around Fallugah — but that deadly material is still coming into the city as well.
Next release: “ISF arrest suspected suicide, vehicle bomb facilitators in northern Iraq”. Nope, Iraq is not all sweetness and light quite just yet.
And then we have this press release: “Iraqi Security Forces arrested 13 suspected members of the al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) terrorist organization Friday and today while conducting a series of joint security operations in northern Iraq.” So the Iraqi army is now doing some of the heavy lifting over there. That’s good news. “The 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Iraqi Army and U.S. advisors searched several residential buildings in southeastern Mosul Friday…” But U.S. troops are still involved. Looks like no one is going back to the States any time soon.
Let’s see what else we can find. Here’s some good news. “First Iraqi-Moderated Women’s Conference Held. Thirty-nine women from the Ministries of Defence and Interior attended a conference here…to discuss women’s issues. This
marked the first time an Iraqi woman moderated such an event.”
Followed by bad news. “3 arrested as ISF track down Kata’ib Hezbollah member. Iraqi Security Forces arrested three individuals today while conducting a joint security operation in northern Baghdad. ISF and U.S advisors searched a building for an alleged weapons leader for the terrorist group Kata’ib Hezbollah. The suspect is believed to be coordinating attacks against security forces in Iraq.” The Kata’ib Hezbollah, BTW, is a Iraqi insurgent group and has nothing to do with the Lebanese Hezbollah. Whew.
And then Iraq-U.S. joint forces arrested some more bad guys from a different group. “The 44th Iraqi Army captured three alleged Promised Day Brigade (PDB) members today during a joint security operation conducted in northeast Baghdad. Based on intelligence, Iraqi Army and U.S. advisors searched residential buildings and arrested two warranted individuals suspected of planning and carrying out improvised explosive attacks against Iraqis and security forces throughout Baghdad.” So. We just learned that there are still several insurgent groups left in Iraq.
Most of the other press releases that I’ve read lately continued to run along these same lines — both good news and bad news about how our troops are doing in Iraq. There’s some good news about clinic and school openings, There’s more bad news about insurgents and EIDs. And there’s also a few stories about “non-combat related deaths” of our troops — in traffic accidents? Another MWRAP roll-over? From over-eating in a DFAC?
Then we have “Iraqi Police arrest one in search for Bayji IED-cell member,” followed by “Eight Kurdish students attend waterborne operations course”. That’s water BORNE operations, guys — not water board operations. Get your mind out of the gutter. This is the new Iraq.
Then I got “ISF arrest two suspect AQI members,” and “Suicide bomber and counter measures course teaches prevention”. This all sounds really good — like our brave troops over there are really trying hard. And I’ve been there. And they really DO try hard. And at around a billion dollars a month that the Fed is printing up to cover the costs of the New Iraq, I’m really glad to hear that the Fed is getting its money’s worth.
All of these press releases are interesting and informative and I’m glad that I’m getting them and really like to keep informed about Iraq just in case I get an opportunity to embed there again.
But the real bottom line regarding all these very informative press releases is — that nobody over in Iraq seems to be sending me any press releases about how our troops are getting ready to disembark from occupied Iraq in large numbers and come back home.
2 Letters: DuPont, Muccolini
Dear Editor,
As President Obama continues to push for mandatory health care after he said he was against it when he ran, I hear nothing from either ex president Bush or the senile John McCain. I will never forgive George W. on how he ignored our Mexican Boarder. But I am further disgusted with him and McCain for now showing the slightest concern about fining and jailing those citizens who refuse to be part of this unconstitutional health bill!
Has American really been taken over? Has the Federal Reserve and others who pull the strings finally finished the take over of the United States? It looks like I’m going to have to become a Mennonite or Christian Scientist to stay out of jail, because I refuse to a slave to a liar.
I truly hope that you print this so GW will be too embarrassed to ever show his face in public again.
Sincerely,
Joseph Rene DuPont, Towanda, Penn.
Dear Editor:
After the previous eight years of total incompetence, malfeasance in office, an international joke, encouragement of the culture of corporate greed, environmental abuses and alleged war crimes by the former Bush/Cheney regime, America was given a reprieve to see our way clear of this murky mess by the historic election of President Barack Obama.
As a proud “Bush-basher” from the moment “Dubya” occupied the White House until he was sent packing, and as a patriotic participant in one of the largest anti-Iraq war marches in Washington, D.C., it is not without a sense of irony that I now witness the fanatical zealots of the GOP’s ultra right wing now maliciously attacking every progressive measure proposed by our legitimate president.
The former and once respected Grand Old Party has been hijacked by the likes of non-elected blowhards such as television’s Pied Pipers Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and their equally rabid, foaming at the mouth colleagues.
Their followers, who call themselves “pinheads” or whatever, blindly fall in line with all that floods through the “Joseph Goebbels” cable network (aka: Fox News).
Sadly, the GOP morphed into “Greed Over People” when George W. Bush served the interests of corporate America and now has become “Gobbledegook Oblivious Paranoia” as the ultra conservatives would rather see this nation blind sided and crippled than work for the mutual benefit of all.
While political dissent is needed and welcomed for a healthy democracy (evidenced by the non-threatening demonstrations against Bush after his immoral war in Iraq), the dark forces led by these Sith Lords will continue to spew out their evil lies until the educated and literate moderates and independents, who form the vast center of our political spectrum, say “Enough!”
No more villainous behavior at town hall meetings, no more deliberate falsehoods and deceptions, no more unproven innuendoes and smear campaigns, no more silly “birther” counterfeit certificates and no more hidden racial agendas for those who can’t tolerate inevitable cultural changes.
America is on the right track and most of us will come to realize how fortunate we are to have Obama as our president.
Sincerely,
Gene Muccolini, Mt. Holly, N.J.
A November To Remember For Young Don Meredith
With a sensational, record-setting sophomore at quarterback, the Mustangs of SMU liked their chances against archrival TCU on Nov. 2, 1957.
With a sensational, record-setting sophomore at quarterback, the Mustangs of SMU liked their chances against arch-rival TCU on Nov. 2, 1957.
“Jeff and Hazel’s baby boy and Billy Jack’s younger brother,” as Joseph Don Meredith never tired of telling the Monday Night Football television audience, was born and raised in Mount Vernon (2004, pop. 2,316) in northeast Texas. An all-state star in two sports, he played quarterback and linebacker on the football team and scored 52 points at the Dr. Pepper high-school basketball tournament his junior year.
At six-foot-three and 210 pounds, Meredith was much bigger than the typical college quarterback of his day. But more coaches, like Sleepy Morgan at Southern Methodist, were waking up to the fact that a tall passer could see spot potential receivers over onrushing linemen. For that reason as well as the promising prospect’s natural ability, the freshman coach offered him a scholarship.
Meredith surprised many people by choosing SMU over several other interested schools. Since the departure of Heisman Trophy winner Doak Walker and All-American Kyle Rote, the dominant football program in the Southwest Conference had been on the decline. In the past six seasons, two different head coaches had succeeded in winning only 26 of 60 games.
Hoping for a swift return to the glory days of Walker and Rote, Southern Methodist hired Bill Meek away from the University of Houston. The new coach saw Meredith as the signal-caller of the future but believed the 19 year old, who had yet to play a down of varsity ball, needed on-the-field experience before taking charge.
With that in mind, Meek put Meredith in for just two plays in the final seconds of the Ponies’ season-opening upset of the University of California on Sept. 21, 1957. The next week in the rain, mud and wind of a scoreless tie at Georgia Tech, he took four snaps only to fumble the wet pigskin on the last play.
A shoulder injury kept Meredith on the sidelines of what could have been his Cotton Bowl debut. He watched helplessly from the bench as the Missouri Tigers, two-touchdown underdogs, edged the Mustangs by a point.
In a close contest the following Saturday with Rice, destined to come out of nowhere to win the conference championship, Meeks abandoned his go-slow plan and inserted Meredith in the fourth quarter. The lanky youth responded to the challenge with three picture-perfect passes that covered 72 of the 84 yards to the Owls’ end zone. The boys from The Institute still prevailed 27-21, but “Dandy Don,” as everyone soon would be calling him, had proved he was ready.
Meredith played the Nov. 2 game against Texas on from start to finish leading SMU to a 19-12 victory over the Longhorns and a first-year coach named Darrell Royal. He connected on six of nine passes, two for touchdowns, and showed he could run with the ball by gaining 72 yards on 10 carries.
Next on the Ponies’ schedule were the Texas Aggies, the number-one team in nation and winners of 14 in a row. Prognosticators predicted a rout, but the first half ended in a 6-6 tie. However, Meredith’s eight-for-12 passing could not compete with John David Crow’s powerful running, and A&M came out on top 19-6.
Two out of every three seats were empty in the Cotton Bowl on Nov. 16, but those that showed up for the SMU-Arkansas shootout witnessed “one of the most exciting games in Southwest Conference history” according to the Dallas Morning News. The lead changed four times before the Mustangs pulled ahead to stay for a 27-22 triumph.
Meredith put on a dazzling display of pin-point accuracy with 19 completions in 25 attempts for 230 yards and two tallies. He accounted for the other two TD’s on ground, part of his 67-yard rushing total for the afternoon, and also kicked an extra-point.
Good as he was against the Razorbacks, Meredith was even better seven days later in Waco. He threw 20 passes against the Baylor defense and missed the target just three times. With the score deadlocked at seven apiece, he rallied his teammates for a 67-yard march in the final six minutes that produced the go-ahead touchdown.
But the Bears were the last opponent the Mustangs would beat that season. Abe Martin, the head Horned Frog, limited Meredith to nine completed passes with a six-man rush and TCU shut out SMU 21-0. And Notre Dame was simply too much for the Mustangs to handle as the Irish scored at will in a 54-21 blowout.
In spite of sub-par performances in the last two games, Meredith finished his sophomore campaign with 71 completions in 102 attempts — a 69.6 percent success rate that was the best ever by a college passer.
With Meredith returning for two more seasons, expectations were through the roof at SMU. But football has always been a team sport, and “Dandy Don” never had a strong supporting cast. Yet, even though the Mustangs managed to win only six games in 1958 and five in 1959, Meredith placed third in the Heisman Trophy balloting as a senior.
(“Secession & Civil War” — newest “Best of This Week in Texas History” collection available for $10.95 plus $3.25 postage and handling from Bartee Haile, P.O. Box 152, Friendswood, TX or order on-line at twith.com.)
