Lost a great officer and friend

Our office stopped working for an emergency meeting. A coworker and passed away. He had few close relatives and he loved his job. He was a credit to officers everywhere. He was my first friend in the NYC office. When my old office was flooded I made sure to sit next to my old buddy in a space nobody wanted. Soon it was an area everyone wanted to be in. Myself and a worker around the corner traded jokes like it was the Catskills early in the morning. A third worker would join in
with a joke or two. My buddy was introverted and the jokes would stop when he uncharacteristically would let a quip go at my expense. Of that group shorty retired, another is in TX awaiting retirement, my buddy is deceased and I am the last man standing.

The agency has lost a dedicated worker. I have lost a respected peer and friend.

And then what

I want to address the simple point of legal equity. This is the concept of fairness under the laws. I have a problem with an issue raised with the Carty Death Penalty case in TX.

There has been much written about the treaties requiring consular notification of arrests between the USA and the UK. The treaty was a product of a 1950 world and was designed to protect travelers and businessmen. In the case of Carty she is a legal permanent resident with 20 plus years in the USA.

While I do recognize that death penalty cases are serious and the UK consulate should have been contacted this is not reason by itself to overturn a verdict. On a practical matter these treaties need to be revisited and long term residents should not get additional rights based on lack of citizenship. Countries need to take their own criminals back, per these same agreements.

Forward

There is something that should be clear to everyone not named Barak Obama. Americans want to
work first and foremost. The economy has burned and Obama seems more intent on pushing legislation Americans do not want than job creation.

There is an anger in the land aimed at an unresponsive out of touch government. The government
has forgotten that it exists to serve the people.

Many of us thought Obama could grow into the job. It is clear he is not even capable of being Bill Clinton on his worst day. There is a distinct possibility that Obama will be forced to govern like an adult after the looming electoral defeat in November. However, unlike Bill Clinton, Obama does not appear capable of learning anything and is solely concerned with his allies in faculty lounges.

The term Obamaville is a real word for many. If you are looking for work and having to live with relatives you are in Obamaville. Homeless camps are springing up and the media does not seem to report these new tent cities as they did in the 80's under Regan. This winter will be cold and tough for many up North. Of course the workers want jobs and at best Obama is thinking of his next power scam immigration bill.

Americans are getting fed up with the arrogance and Marie Antionette Marxist disdain for our values. Those who thought of Obama as the messiah had it correct. Obama's incompetence and arrogant disdain for the American people has done more to breathe life into the GOP than centuries of talk radio.

Commies often visualize the American people rising up. I used to think this was impossible, but anger at an arrogant out of touch government and scores of out of work is a lethal brew. Mob
justice is never right and if the American people ever did rise up it would not be what commies had in mind.

Our nation will survive. The question is will we learn anything from the folly of electing a symbol
rather than a competent leader.

Survived

I am at the best point of my life. The Tranquil Sea is very easy and charming. Being a step dad to the beloved Sprite is the greatest feeling of my life. Even nutty Rex the ever hungry Maltese is a blast. I am more of a pug or English Bulldog type as they are more manly. Then again Rex is a pet for a young girl.

Sometimes, one has to undergo adversity to get to a better place. My sisters AOW and TMW were there for me. There was a call to my buddy Warren. In life we sometimes have to overcome adversity.

Along the way I started to enjoy old hobbies. I did enjoy the historical fiction genre immensely. The Duck can have his gassy philosophers and hack doodlers, but I would sooner read about rich characters like Beryl Jastrow and Cap Huff. Time is limited and one does not need a road map to see the carnage of the mendicant imbecile Marx.

I shall be going to Guyana in the fall. Unfortunately, they do not have a season for hunting useless Chavezistas across the border. One or two of his foreign supporters would look good in the den. I could probably have a taxidermist preserve the bug eyed insane look. Alas, I am going there to enjoy the scenery as a boat ride down the Berbice should have ample adventure. I will be visiting with locals who are familiar with Brooklynese. Maybe someday the Contras will form along the rugged border. Even as the economy goes into the toilet the bug eyed faithful are swearing it is because Chavez hasn't gone far enough. The motto for the Cult of death should be build socialism over mountains of dead, the starving and the imprisoned. They talk of justice and freedom but all I hear are the chains of neomonarchistic statism repackaged.

I also took time to adjust the musical tastes. I have an office full of instrumental rock mostly surf
and some Duane Eddy tossed in. It is almost like having a personal sound track in the office. Two weeks on a standard rotation away from my desk was a bit much. I have returned to my desk, but the junior officers now have a better grasp of my style. It is more down home and less confrontational than the norm. It works because it is my natural style and is not faked.

Dead workers produce nothing

One of the things I loathe about government is the lack of common sense. The East Coast is in the midst of a brutal heat wave. Most offices have common sense dress policies that allow workers in brutal heat to dress sensibly. My office is run by a person whose heartless fixation on rules endangers workers safety. Despite the missery index being well over 100 there will be no relaxation of the dress code. Usually on a Monday in a heat wave about three workers will report to the nurses office with heat exhaustion.

Two years ago I had a blood pressure spike of 175/125 with no history of high blood pressure. Of course working 11 hours in these conditions with a boss yelling non stop and no breaks contributed
to the spike.

Perhaps an employee has to be hospitalized before common sense prevails. Of course if you work in a well air conditioned office this is not an issue. Unfortunately, the air conditioning is shut over the weekend and is not felt until 3. The windows do not open so ventilation is a real concern at work.

Of course the Union will work on this as usual.

Baron was ill

Long term readers are aware that I do have a pet that seldom makes it into these pages. My turtle, Baron, is around 36 years old and usually is miserable from April to September. He has gotten better over the years but is by no means tame. If he is hungry he will swim over and acknowledge you.

Oddly, he is the only member of the household who enjoys the heatwave. When I place a heater in his tank it is normally set at 85 and he is holding up well. I have gotten away from bringing the live food. However, he has a nasty fungal infection and gets them a few times a year. An inexpensive tropical fish fungal remedy usually fixes things in 72 hours.

While I was at the store I got him some live food 25 goldfish, 3 snails and dug up a few worms from the yard. His color is back to normal in five hours and the food is all gone. I have yet to actually see him extract a snail but he somehow does this. Of course now that he is well fed he will ignore everyone unless he smells chicken. I also give him small shrimp uncooked.

He is hand trained and will grab cooked chicken from your hands. I discourage my nieces from doing this as this can be dangerous given his size, but they do it anyway.

Childhood friends are amazed that the he is still around. Most are on second cats or dogs.

He will now return to blog anonymity.

He did star in a video in college. Meat you don't need brains to tell the difference. He correctly found the real burger bits 100% of the time and ignored soy products.

Guilty Pleasures on the July 4

There is nothing as American as a road trip with junk food and music for the holiday weekend.
As the Tranquil Sea is working and the beloved Sprite is staying with an older sister I am relaxing in the stifling heat. For religious reasons neither eat beef or pork and I am respectful when we go out to do the same.

Lets sit back and take a cyber road trip. I have my gas guzling car ready to roll as we head out of NYC classic rock like AC/DC fills the car. We are no into suburbia and we switch to the oldies like the Beatles, Blondie and so forth we are headed to the mountains and now the instrumental cds like Duanne Eddy, The Ventures and so forth fill the car.

We stop for that all American lunch of Hot dogs.

I prefer NY Style Hebrew National, with NY Deli Mustard, Sauerkraut and pickle relish. Most NYC types swear by Nathan's famous but I will take the robust taste of Hebrew National. Wherever the road takes me I tend to lose them as the locals prefer the taste to whatever else they were serving.

I did learn to enjoy a local Vermont variety of the hot dog called the Michigan. It is an amazing hot dog with a meat sauce served in many places but my favorite was Gus's Red Hots near the Plattsburgh ferry. I think Farmer John alerted me to the place and I was there almost every time I left VT. I made a special trip on my final voyage home to NYC even though it was out of my way.

No lunch is complete without a soft drink. My beverage of choice was usually Mountain Dew or Classic Coke. I have sworn off all of the soft drinks except for their diet versions. I will try the seasonal special versions of Mountain Dew. However, the only one I liked was Pitch Black.

We can also talk of local favorites. I prefer the traditional NY Style Pizza with fresh mozzarella
and a touch of marinara. The St Louis Style has a crust that is so thin you can almost read a newspaper through your slice. The Chicago style is almost all bread and not my choice.

I would like to pull into an old style truck stop. However a Fat Burger, Popeyes, KFC or Burger King will do. When I am back in the Midwest I will place Lees on the top of that list.

Here is wishing you and your family the best on our Nation's birthday.

July 4 in the age of Obama

It does not feel like a great day. The fireworks are subdued and the barbecue from everywhere seems absent. People are home but the spirit of love of country is subdued. Perhaps it is the person next door who has had to sell his house as his business floundered and his marriage crashed and burned. Perhaps it is the 46 year old financial executive who made a mint but was laid off two years ago and knows he will never work again, unless he reinvents himself or starts his own company.

The Pro Obama Times can not hide the economic data. Unemployment is everywhere and jobs are not coming back. The atmosphere at work is many people are waiting for buyouts. Obama could trim the payroll by merely stating we will not be doing this in the next two years. This would get those holding out for a deal to leave.

Loving our country and traditions should go beyond the inept University Marxist in Washington. In fact much of his unpopularity is exactly because he has spent too much time in the faculty lounge and not enough time in Walmart parking lots.

Our economy is so bad I am half expecting another Coxey's army to form again and Obama to embrace the concept to counter the Tea Party. The key idea is that people want to work and do not want handouts. Welfare is not the solution and we should be solely focused on job creation.
As usual commies fail to grasp that expanding benefits , confiscatory taxation and making everything the job of government has killed the private sector.

In November we have a chance to send Obama a message. The message must be loud and clear, but the media will spin it into something else. We are Americans with our own history and traditions. Those of you who wish to be like the EU are encouraged to emigrate there. Kindly, respect our traditions and the will of the American people.

Book Review Rabble in Arms by Kenneth Roberts

This is the second of Roberts three works on the American Revolution. We reviewed Arundel earlier. This is the rare sequel that is even better than the excellent first book. The hero of the first book is the historical figure Natanis an Abenaki indian makes brief appearances. The main character from the previous book Steve Nason appears, but has grown as a person and as an officer. His sidekick the perpetually drunk but heroic Cap Huff has a major role again.

The hero of this book is undoubtedly Benedict Arnold. Historically, we make the error in assuming that his later treason is the sum of his contribution. General Arnold was perhaps the greatest military leader of the American Revolution. Unfortunately, congress did not recognize his achievements and officers of far lesser ability were promoted over him. The formal history says that General Gates defeated Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga. Gates did little real fighting and he wrote his reports taking credit for the initiative of Arnold. In essence those of you that are stars at work and have lesser coworkers take credit for your efforts grasp a mere fraction of the situation General Arnold found himself in.

The book shines when Arnold makes an appearance. There are those who state that Roberts is an apologist for Arnold. Roberts conveys the Arnold lost in history due to his later ethical lapse.

The author did serve in the US occupation of Siberia and much of his writing should be viewed as a reaction to the abomination of the Russian Revolution. In the view of Roberts, who was a Conservative, the Revolution of the rabble was saved at the last moment by the Constitution that formed a coherent system of governance. In the 1930's era there was an assumption by many that similar revolutions would overthrow governments. Much of Roberts themes about cronyism and political hacks promoted over their ability by manipulating the system remains valid today.

When I read this book, I wondered what type of book would the author write showing Arnold after his fall from grace. The answer lies in Oliver Wiswell a book written from the loyalist perspective. That book has the greatest reaction of all of the Roberts novels. It is praised by many readers as his finest work for its unique perspective and it is panned by many for the same reason.

I have acquired all of Roberts books save one Lydia Bailey. Lydia Bailey is en route as we speak
and is in my opinion his most unique work dealing with the Haitian revolution as a backdrop.

Reading rotation

I seemed to have been mistaken in that Kenneth Roberts did return to the subject of Benedict Arnold after the treason. He appears at a later stage in Oliver Wiswell. It may have been better off if the author had left us to ponder the greatness of Arnold amidst his humanity that caused him to turn his back on the cause he fought so valiantly for.

Reading list at the moment

1) Poland by Michener
2) Oliver Wiswell by Roberts
3) Lydia Bailey by Roberts
4) A God in Ruins by Uris
5) New York by Rutherford.

The hypocrisy of the Duck

The Duck is quite vivid about Commie hacks producing art or placing inane themes into art. An example was the overrated Arthur Miller making the claim that comparing persecution of witches to Communists in the Crucible. Witches are typically harmless and unlike commies were not planning on global hegemony and the authors of wholesale human rights violations.

The Duck frequently criticizes Uris who places Zionism into his work. What works of Uris the Duck has bothered to read is unknown. The Duck usually is quite vocal about appreciation of the art for its merit. Thus when a Conservative points out the idiocy of Arthur Miller or boycotts films with commies like Sean Penn the Duck talks about artistic merit. Obviously, the Duck doesn't grant Uris anywhere near the liberties that he wishes us to take with Communists like Arthur Miller. Miller is assigned reading and perhaps it is time to start the lectures about Stalinist crimes and decades of lies about spies and funding of the Communist party.

Uris is not read as assigned reading via Bolshevik Academic coercion. His readers enjoy his many excellent books that commies seldom bother to read. I did place a God In Ruins on the list of books to read.

I am finishing Rabble in Arms by Roberts. I am around 100 pages from the end. We are now past the Battle of Hubardton which is discussed tangentially. The first 70 pages drag on a bit, but the pace does pick up. Characters introduced there will be seen later in important roles. I will be pausing from Kenneth Roberts to read one of the few Michener books I avoided. I encourage those who may be lacking in vacation reading to pick up some pleasant well crafted novels. It is enjoyable and a better product than you are apt to see on the silver screen.

An Officer vs a Doodler

The bird brained Duck apparently is off his rocker once again. He claims his work as an educator of doodling and mediocre obscure cinema has social value. He is mistaken and if he thinks he has changed and lives in doodleology he is mistaken.

This is not meant as a slight to serious educators like AOW who teach important subjects to bright students and change lives. However, we seriously doubt that a single life has been changed by studies of doodles while the Duck lines his pocket.

While the Duck studies doodles and obscure films yours truly works with members of the community changing lives. Attorneys representing clients from every walk of life and ethnicity, including many on the left, would be the first to tell the Duck about the important work we do each and every day. We protect the public, change lives and serve the public with dedication and honor each and every day.

The doodler dreams he has changed lives, but alas he has more than likely done little other than line his own pocket. The Duck's often bitter bigoted rants display little more than classic Marxist
antisemitism and demented antiamericanism. He can not find racism in my posts so he rants about Yeagley without grasping that I had many notable fights with the man over his bigotry. One can similarly point to my presence on Communist blogs, except that anyone at those blogs will tell you I skewer commies.

Calling Jews Nazis is typical Communist Antisemitism. The bird brained Duck thinks that as a hardened commie he is exempt from bigotry by fealty to his Marxist Death Cult. Sorry but if he thinks his Jew as Nazi rants is somehow less odious than Yeagley's Obama as a Negro rants he is mistaken. The Duck also without evidence calls Yeagley gay and calls Condi Rice Aunt Jemimah.
The Duck displays as much bigotry as Yeagley, he is merely different in his targets.

Those who can do, do so quite well as dedicated officers do each and every day. Those who can do doodle with varying skill levels. Those who can neither do nor doodle with skill teach doodling and delude themselves with exaggerated importance.

Shocking Far Leftist Caught Spying

Once again one of the far lefties caught spying was journalist who was noted for her vocal support of Castro and Chavez. This should come as no surprise to any student of history. Far leftists are exponentially more apt to be traitors, spies and terrorists than the general public.

Of course the media is very quiet about people caught spying for Cuba. There have been quite a few in recent years.

Perhaps Putin is looking to get people nostaligic for the days of Julius and Ethel.

Its entitlements and growth of government stupid

One thing that has become obvious in the economic meltdown is that the problem in many countries without significant defense spending is the growth of entitlements and luxurious retirement packages given to government employees. Of course this lesson is lost of the Marxist Duck who was last seen in a commercial with Ben Afleck.

What is shocking and surprising is that the Obama administration has yet to offer buyout to older workers. This would reduce the size of government somewhat. When my agency went on a hiring binge two years ago we asked where is the work? Of course the answer was it will be there. When it gave decent raises and promoted many people not ready for additional duties, we asked where is the work. The work still has not arrived and years latter the agency finds itself overstaffed. Now some of this is being lessened by natural attrition but it is not where we should be.

Once Again Benedict Arnold to the Rescue

I am up to the part in Rabble In Arms describing the Battle of Valcour Island. While General Arnold is widely known for his later treason, his brave battle against a superior fleet in Lake Champlain is generally considered by most historians the first action of the United States Navy. Arnold lost the battle but delayed the British into delaying their offensive for another year. This allowed the Northern Army to get stronger and was a key factor in the eventual victory in the Saratoga campaign where Arnold once again plays a key role.

If you are in the DC area the Gun Boat Philadelphia that was sunk at the Battle of Valcour Island
is prominently on display.

When one thinks of the great battle fields in NY one thinks of Saratoga, Forts Ticonderoga, Stanwix and William Henry. However, Lake Champlain was also the site of a decent sized battle in the War of 1812 The Battle of Platsburgh. Lake Champlain in Colonial times was an important waterway for trade.

Good step now lets look at Chavez's agents

The United States Government has arrested Russian agents. This is a good step by the administration. The previous administration seemed to place too much faith in Putin who acts strangely for a nation with its own problems with terrorism.

Do not hold your breath waiting for this administration to prosecute Americans for acting as agents for a narco terrorist criminal state in Caracas. Americans who receive subsidized foreign travel should have to register as foreign agents. As this administration is loaded with Marxists do not wait for sanity.

Commies also feign ignorance at the continued sale of drugs by FARC. FARC is armed, directed and funded by Chavez. Of course commies are quite thrilled with their clown Hugo shipping drugs to America's inner cities. Whatever BP did was accidental, but remember if you buy your gas at Citgo you are funding terrorism.

I will proudly buy my gas at BP.

What is Educational Literacy About Anyway

The comments of Poultry aimed at authors he has not bothered to read are typical of an out of touch elitist clique. A typical complaint is that people stop reading after school is finnished. This is because our educational system run by hardened left idiots like Bill Ayers place zero emphasis on making reading fun.

There is an elitist arrogance that says reading must be drab and provoke idiotic discussions. For
example a commonly assigned book is Upton Sinclare's the Jungle. I read this while working in a brutal sweatshop shortly before I became an Officer. It was my way of protesting the working conditions. I was not at that employer very long and told them to keep their check rather than cross a picket line. It was a moment in time where even though I did not have another job lined up, the principle of safe working conditions was more important than a check.

Of course people like the Duck have a bias towards mediocre hacks like the author of the Jungle as it is written by a fellow commie. The book while important in a historical sense is not one that
would inspire people to read for the love of reading like Roberts, Michner or Wouk. Maybe, the day has come where educators need to consider installing a love of reading first.

Of course far left commie types would have fewer chances to abuse and indoctrinate their students, so placing enjoyment first will not happen. Actually, I would like to see historical fiction
books accompanied by notes of historians. The version of The Jungle I acquired had notes from a professor before and after. I am thinking of how much more enjoyable reading Last of the Mohicans would be in a similar format that likely exists.

Welcome to the 2010 Era

The old ways of throwing money at problems and uncountable government is over. The sole discussion for the future should be "is this the job of government and how can we do this more efficiently".

Unlike most of the readers, I am a social liberal. I do recognize the need of government to intervene in a national crisis and to help the indigent. I also recognize learned dependency and having to motivate people to get back to work at less glamorous jobs.

Amusingly, those on the left fail to see their handiwork in the economic mess. The lesson of the mess in country after country is that one can not hand out unlimited entitlements. News item the mess Hugo created is far worse than that of the USA.

All of us need to realize times are different and endlessly droning on about hope and change while offering the same bad ideas as Jimmy Carter is not the change the country needs. Obama can not lead, he has no vision, his judgment is poor and he needs to be replaced in 2012

Protesters arested for violence

The media fusses about angry Tea Party activists while ignoring or rationalizing violent criminal activity on the left. In fact the media made a huge story about members of the Black Congressional caucus being called the N word and Barney Frank being called a Communist Homo. Frank oddly seemed only to complain about the gay slurs. Amazingly zero footage of these slurs occured in a town with wall to wall cameras.

Once again anarchists have violated the laws and will likely get a slap on the wrist. We recognize the right of peaceful protest even by demented commies. However, once this becomes a riot the full weight of the law should be invoked including jailing people for years.

Switching up Reading Lists

After I finnish Kenneth Roberts Rabble in Arms, I will switch to Michener's Poland. This is interesting in that the Editrix likes this book. My father who is a fan of the author was critical of this offering. His point was that the absence of Jews in the book where they were a large part of the population is glaring. He does read a surprising number of the books I have finnished.