Bayou Music.

Good Afternoon Folks:

I recently completed reading James Lee Burke's Latest Book "The Glass Harmonica", and as usual the book got me started thinking about Louisiana in general, and the natives of Louisiana in particular.

I guess many of us think that all Louisianians are what we call "cajuns".
Nothing could be further from the truth. I found New Orleans to be a giant melting pot, where one could hear accents and patois' basically from all over the world.

For instance, there is, or used to be, a section of the City of New Orleans that was known as the "Irish Channel". I was remiss in not inquiring as to why this area was so labeled, but presumed (I was young) that it was because a lot of the inhabitants of that particular area were of Irish Descent.

I later found out this this was the case, but the area was no longer an Irish enclave, but, in keeping with the rest of the city, had a broad racial mishmash.

One could go to certain areas of the city and hear people speaking whom you would swear had just gotten off the Plane from Brooklyn. You could also go to other areas of the city and surrounding areas and swear you were in Paris.
I guess this is just one of the things that makes New Orleans so interesting, and was one thing that made my wife and I to love it so.

But, on a personal note, the people of New Orleans and the area in general that I found most fascinating were the Cajun People. I have never in my life met a more self-deprecating people, who always ready to laugh, not only at other people and things, but themselves as well. I also found that when one was fortunate to count a Cajun as a friend, you were a lucky person indeed, for a cajun put no limits on his or her friendship, and would do absolutely anything for a friend, a trait I have found in very few people since. Anyway, before I started this diatribe, and the reason for it, is the horror of the Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the wreckage it is making of the Gulf and the lives of the people who depend on the Gulf for their livelihood.

I know British Petroleum says that they will clean up the area and reimburse every person affected, but just exactly how in the world can that possibly be accomplished?

Hundreds of miles of coastline and tens of thousands of people have been irreparably damaged, their livelihoods ruined and the wetlands impacted to such a degree that there is NO way to repair the damage.

I guess it would be fair to say that all the Gulf States will be "closed for Repair", for a length of time greater than my life expectancy, and I sorrow greatly when reflecting on this fact. I have heard it said that this accident was an act of God. I vehemently object to that statement, for why would a loving God inflict such damage on a people? The answer , of course, is that he wouldn't and didn't. This was purely and simply, an act of Man and his insatiable Greed for his Petrochemical "Fix", around which too many of us have staked out our lives!!

I find it restful and pleasant to daydream about fishing trips I have taken in the past on the Bayous and Lakes of Louisiana and Mississippi and find it sad that I will probably never again find the soul-restoring peace one can find on a lazy float down a Louisiana bayou, spending more time listening to the voice of the Bayou and the Swamps surrounding it. From the Sigh of the breeze through the Spanish Moss and across the water, to the calling of various birds in the surrounding trees, to the occasional Pig-like grunt of an Alligator, seldom seen, but always present, all combined to form a quiet music, which left a lot of time for introspection.

I found I did some of my deepest and best thinking about life in general, and my part in it in particular on these fishing trips;

Of Course one must not assign a minor role in this "nature Play" to fishing, itself the reason for the trip in the first place. for anyone who loved to fish, and in a somewhat spookily darkling atmosphere to boot, I can recommend nothing better than a Louisiana bayou, especially in the early spring.


On one particular trip my Brother and I took with our neighbor, we literally caught fish (largely Speckled Trout) until we were just plain tired of catching fish. My brother has a picture taken of us, with our catch taken just after that trip and it is amazing. This is one of those "Life's Memories" that I will never forget, and is just one of those things that makes my memories of New Orleans and the area around so very pleasant and precious.

I guess what I've been trying to say, in all this uncharted rambling, is that the next time you doubt the existance of God, and perhaps are disgusted with the intrinsic faults of the species homo sapiens sapiens, perhaps its time to go on a fishing trip. I recommend it unreservedly. And while you are about it, offer up a prayer to whichever God you worship, for the Health and Welfare of the people of the Gulf States and the Gulf itself. And God Bless Admiral Thad Allen (U.S.C.G. Ret) for the thankless job he has undertaken to trying to solve this horrible problem, and start to bring the Gulf, and all its inhabitants back to health.

Stay Well


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Correction.

Its a Dark and Stormy Evening here, but we needed the rain so that the farmers crops would progress satisfactorily, so come on rain!

I think I may have reported an untruth in my just previous post, re: the "New" Black Panther Party, and if so I want to correct my unintentional error.

I wrote that the New Black Panther Party was interfering with white voters at various polling places. I based this article on an interview I saw on Television with an old-time member of the Civil Rights movement, who was excusing the actions of the supposed "New Black Panther Party" and their actions at certain polling places.

My mistake stemmed from believing what I saw on Television. You'd think that after spending three-quarters of a Century on this Planet, I would have learned better, but, apparently not.

So.......If I erred in this post, I most humbly apologize, However I am not yet positive of my mistake yet......so..stay tuned, and don't hesitate to correct me at any time.

I Remain,

Your Obedient Servant,

The Old Professor

What's fair for the Goose...........

Good Afternoon Folks:

Well there have been a number of things in the news lately which have caught my eye, and I'm sure the eyes of many of you as well.

First... Several hundred tons of newsprint and several hundred hours of broadcast "Journalism" have been devoted to the subject of "King" LaBron James, and what team he is signing a new contract with. It turns out that he is signing with Miami. Okay, everybody feel either better or worse now??????? This has been one of the silliest bits of reporting I have ever had the extreme displeasure of witnessing, as I could honestly care less where a Multi-multi Millionaire has played, or where he will play in the future. I have said before, and it bears repeating, that out Society is going to Hell in a Hoop, in paying these largely uneducated freaks millions upon millions of Dollars to play a game.. A GAME!!!!!!!!

These jokers make more in one game than a lot of HONEST people earn in a year, and earn more in one year than poor old Joe Lunchbox (without whom society could not function) will earn in his lifetime, and this is just a damnable disgrace.

We pay our Policemen, Firemen, and members of our Armed Services less per year to risk their lives than we pay these tall Idiots to play a game for an Hour or so, and if that doesn't fit the description of inequity, I don't know what does.

The second item in the news that has caught my eye and ear in the past few days is the re-emergence of the Black Panther Party, and their actions in harassing white voters when they tried to vote in a Precinct that had a goodly number of black voters.
They(the Black Panthers) also threw the American Flag to the ground, spat on it and set it afire, BUT,our National News media made no mention of this apparently well known fact, either in print or electronic Journalism, until some "Quisling" of a Journalist let the facts be known, and then the new media reluctantly mentioned the fact, as an aside to their more important subjects, as the above on "King James" and etc.

If white people Had been harassing would-be black voters in the Elections just past, we would not only read about it in the Newspapers, News magazines, hear about it on radio and television, but also probably see Tanks and Troops moving into the affected areas, to quell these savage Caucasians.

But, the worst thing of this particular issue is the fact that the Justice Department, on orders from the White House, is taking NO action on these occurrences.

Can you spell R A C I S M ??? Are you still proud of being a Democrat?

Have a good day


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One of "Those" days.

Good Day All.

I probably shouldn't post anything today, as it's been one of those days. I'm sure most of you have had the kind of day that I'm currently having . To say its a bad day is an understatement, call it what you want, depression, attitude sickness, a day when you feel like throwing something at something because you don't know for sure why you feel so lousy, you don't know what you would do about it even if you did know, and on and on with the silent whining or cerebral carping or whatever the hell it is. But the point is , so far it's just "one of those days".

Its a day when I feel like walking into an Italian Mens Social Club, in NYC and kicking the head goombah in the testes just to get the crap beaten out of myself, or maybe, if I got lucky , shot or whatever, doesn't matter.

It's a day when I am just plain disgusted. I've tried to live my life as I thought it should be lived, and have to say that I see now that my being on this planet has made no difference at all. The things I've done that I thought I should do, haven't , in the final analysis, made a damn bit of difference.

I cannot point to one single thing that I am proud of doing, not one single thing that I've done that has made any difference to anyone that I can think of, save the people who are worse off for things I have done. I owe so many debts, both financial and otherwise, to so many people, that I cannot possibly live long enough to satisfy.

If I have been an example to anyone, it can have been only a bad one. I cannot say that I have been an inspiration, to anyone, at anytime, for anything, save for those who have been smart enough to avoid doing the things that I have done, and profited therefrom.

Sorry for the whining

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The Emperor has no clothes.

I will ask in advance for your forbearance on this post.

I have watched with interest the actions and inaction of the "Accidental President"
Barack Hussein Obama , and the longer I watch, and the more I listen, the more discouraged I get.

First Little O was elected a United States Senator from Illinois, through a freak happenstance. He, in effect, had no opponent. His opponent, on Paper was widely thought of as an idiot, so people voted for O as the lesser of two evils. No one knew much about him, as all he had done prior to running for the U.S. Senate, was to be a State Senator, which in Illinois consists mainly of looking the other way while nefarious deeds are consummated and certain Bribe Price Lists are circulated. Other than this his efforts had consisted mainly of Registering Minority Voters and lecturing in law school.BUT, he got the blessings and financial support from Big Mamma Oprah, and that's all he needed. God bless and save us all.

He never served one single day in any of the United States armed Forces, doesn't know a PFC from a pork chop, yet finds himself with the luxury of Lecturing a full General in the U.S. Army, on how to fight a war.

I don't think anyone could fault the General if he, in turn, were to lecture Little O on how hard it is to fight a war when White House Permission has to be sought before launching a Drone Strike against the enemy.

Lets face it folks, anyone who has ever served in the Military will hasten to tell you that a Politician is inhibited by his training and instincts from having even the foggiest idea of how to conduct a Military Operation.

The wars we have not conclusively won have served as an example of what happens when Politicians try to fight a war their way, in order to bolster their standing in the Polls.

We have never won a war from the White House, or from a Congressional Committee room, nor will we.

Verily, I am sick of this squandering of the lives of American Servicemen and Women in a Politically Governed War. I have heard it said that, in order to win the War in Afghanistan, we must win it politically, by winning the hearts and minds of the population in general. This ain't gonna happen folks. As long as you have, as the larger component of the populace, fruitcakes who think it is noble to kill unarmed civilians and blow themselves up in order to gain admission to Paradise we will have a population that will not cooperate with those who would try to liberate them from 12Th Century Anarchy, in the simple hope of staying alive.

I am not much of a Military prognosticator, but I fear that General Stanley McChrystal will not be the last Commander that will be displaced for voicing an opinion unpopular with the newt in the White House.

I am going to think about this a little more before I post it, to try and sort irrationality from ignorance, but I fear that I will be unsuccessful, as the two appear to be conjoined when talking about the national political scene.

And I did so.....................................................................

If I recall the lessons I learned in the Army, and I'm pretty sure I do, the primary lesson was this. " do not fight to keep from losing, fight to win and gain territory and once gained, DO NOT give it back". A saying that I heard more than once from senior combat veterans was "Politicians think that because they can start wars it follows that they also know how to fight them". This is as fallacious as saying "My rifle is clean enough"

I am fully aware that in the UCMJ it is expressly forbidden to criticise one's commander in Chief , but to give a temporary President the power to terminate the career of a man who has spent his whole adult life serving his Nation, is just wrong.
Sure give the CIC the authority to transfer the Officer elsewhere, but fire him? No, Never. That's as silly as throwing away a good pocketknife because you cut yourself on it.

Oh Well, it'll all come out in the wash (Election).

Keep the Faith (thats all we have)

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Lost Generations.

Good Evening Gentle Folk.

I was awaiting my appointment time, in the VA clinic this morning, and was pursuing my usual habit of people watching and listening,when it dawned on me that I was seeing an Illustration of Generations in the Tableau that was playing out in front of me.

There were Veterans waiting to have their blood drawn, or for other tests, and it seemed to me obvious which of these men, (they just happened to be all men today), were in my guesstimation probably of what Tom Brokaw called the Greatest Generation.

I am sure that most of us agreed with Brokaw on this designation, in that never before in recorded American History have so many taken on such an incredible task, with the certain knowledge that fully a third of them would either not return home to their loved ones,or possibly in a metal box. And of the "lucky" ones,those who made it home alive, many of them would be maimed in body or mind to such an extent that they could never again be so free and easy with thoughts of Liberty and taking their lives for granted , but instead, as evidenced by these few Old Men I observed this morning, keep their own council, and reserve their memories for those which, unbidden , come of their own volition, and with the contagion of long habit, in their dreams and in their waking Nightmares.

The few Old Men, and they were, in truth, only in some cases Ten or so years older than I, were distinguishable to me, by their silent observation of the younger Veterans of who served long after their(The World War II) Generation. The younger veterans, one in particular, almost never stopped talking, to all and sundry, and the older guys never stopped listening, in a bemused manner, as if to say "If you had only seen".

I do not in the slightest mean to demean those of succeeding Generations and of succeeding Wars, whatever their size, but I'd venture to say that none of them had ever seen one or two Thousand or more Dead Soldiers, laid out in neat rows, most with only a Poncho over their faces, and a Dogtag wedged between their front Teeth, waiting with the Stiffness of the Dead, for shipment or Burial, for later recovery by Graves Registration troops.

We have lost far-far too many troops in succeeding wars, and often it is difficult to find any sort of a justification for their sacrifice, but rather leave it to their grieving survivors to justify this, as they must, to retain their sanity during their loss. I suspect it is always easy for those lucky ones of us to say that these Heroes died for their Country, but that, like all labels, cannot hold `til self applied. We lack the experience to know fully of their sacrifice.And those of us who had a peaceful and uneventful service in the Military, cannot even begin to even try to understand what ALL combat veterans know.

So, perhaps, Brokaw was right in calling this the Greatest Generation, and not just the Brave men and women who served in the Military, but those left at home, who also served in ways they had never imagined having to do, in order to help in the War Effort.

So, in the just aftermath of Memorial Day, let us all at least stop for a moment to say Thank You to that Noble Generation.

And to Pledge that we will never forget.

Not just the" Greatest Generation" but those Generations of Americans before that, and those that have followed,in the sometimes necessary folly that is War.Let us pray, too, that no other Generation will ever have to sacrifice in such numbers that their Generation will, forever after, be identified mostly with the conflict in which they served.

Be Well


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More Notes on the Oil Spill

Good Morning:

Well folks, I guess we can relax now. The President has assured us that he and the Government are on top of this "Thing" (oil spill).

The Prez flew in yesterday, arriving in Grand Isle, La about thirty minutes after about 400 workers showed up, via special buses, in spanking clean Haz-Mat suits, complete with color co-ordinated shirts and hats, and were busily raking, shoveling, squeegeeing (?) the sand, walking around peering at the sand, picking up balls of oil with their gloved fingers, and in general giving the appearance that by-golly the Government was right on top of this disaster.

Local people called these workers and the President's visit a "Dog and Pony Show", intimating that it was a staged photo op to try and fool the public into thinking that, indeed, everything was being done that could be. There was also a yellow Hazard tape that was pristine in it's newness strung along the beach just in case someone, anyone, didn't know that there had ben an oil spill.

The whole affair, I think, lasted a couple of hours, and then the President had to leave, to fly to Chicago, where, today, he is engaged in the serious business of playing Basketball in a School Gym. In a Televised interview with a Restaurant owner, the camera showed where the "workers" had dumped their haz-mat suits, still clean and white, in this restaurant owner's Dumpster(Without Permission) before departing from the area.

If we were not already sick enough of the mis-handling of this tragedy, and of the purient politics involved, the scenes yesterday and the President's urgency in not missing a Basketball Game in Chicago today, should make us all upchuck.

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p.s. The "Topkill" didn't work . Perhaps it is time for the Government to hire a firm such as Red Adair's, who specialize in oil well disasters to come in and take charge, and then send the bill to B.P. I realize that Adair's firm specialized in Oil Well fires, but there are other firms who specialize in other aspects of Oil Well Disasters. For one thing, strictly as a non-professional, I nonetheless know that the Government could station a fleet of super tankers around the well site and vacuum up the oil as it spills out and pump it into the tankers. This method has worked before in other offshore locations.

It's worth a try, or perhaps we could just send all the Bureaucrats from Washington, D.C. to the area, line them up along the shoreline, and if they can suck as well as they can blow, they should be able to corral this spill in short order.

Anyway, we should never forget all those people whose livlihood's, and indeed their lives, are being inundated in this obscene mess. Pray for them.

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THE GULF OIL SPILL

Good Morning Folks:

I am sure that many, if not most, of you have been following the events following the Horrendous Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and no doubt, nearly in tears in worry about the People of the affected areas, and sorrow for the families of the Eleven Men who died in the initial explosion, which started this whole mess.

This morning I turned on the Television, hoping to hear that the "Mud Pumping and Cementing' operation was successfully under way.

BUT, first I had to listen to various "Anchors" telling me all about (more than I wanted to know) the latest from Facebook. Now on the nearly nonexistent chance that one of these same "Anchors' is reading this, let me just say I DON'T CARE ABOUT FACEBOOK, OK? Neither do I care to listen to the Outlaw Cycle Builder Jesse James whining about his terrible-terrible childhood. To the very best of my knowledge not one person has ever had a perfect childhood, with the possible exception of Hugh Hefner, whose childhood has never ended, plus he's probably too weak to complain anyway, so get over it Jesse, you screwed up, and since you are always acting like a tough guy, suck it up. You lost one of the Sweetest and Cutest Actresses in the country when you decided to hop on the tattooed lady.

Next, before I could hear any real news, I had to endure about 77,000 hours of commercials. For the record, I don't care what my credit score is, I do not need the services of Tax Masters.com (or, as I call it, Fat Bastards.com) and, although I probably need it, I am not interested in re-growing my thinning pate-patch, and my taking Viagra would be akin to putting a V-8 engine on a child's tricycle.

Plus, I am in favor of the proposed Arizona Immigration law, even though it seems redundant to me, as I was under the impresssion that sneaking across out borders was already illegal, so I don't really need to hear this issue addressed 80 or 90 times per day.

By the time they (the Newt-works) finally got around to addressing the Oil Spill, it was basically by telling us to wait just a moment and President Obama would give us the absolute low down ( an excellent choice of words when speaking of a Politician or Politics) on the Oil Spill, which chiefly consisted of his same old worn out litany, of the problems don't lay with his administration, but were inherited from ole George W., who we all know already know was pretty much of a Dud, and DO NOT need to be reminded of every blessed time President Roundball speaks, which it seems is several times a day, if Air Force One is spending a few minutes on the ground, which is seldom.

Finally, I am absolutely sure that O's speech was useless, as I watched a "screen-within-a-screen" view of the Oil gushing out of the ruptured pipe, and it did not stop or even slow down during the wind gust from D.C.

As best as I can tell, the (B.P.) effort to stem the leak with drilling mud and cement is progressing slowly, but, so far so good.

TEMPIS FUGGIT

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Anniversary

Hideho Good Folks:

Well today is the Anniversary of this mess that I call a Blog.

One year ago today I wrote a piece about that Lovable Jockey,Calvin Borel, winning the Kentucky Derby, and darned if he didn't just turn around and do the same thing today. He won again on Super Saver, making him the winner of three of the past four Derbys.

I don't know what it is about the Kentucky Derby that makes it so special, not just to myself and my wife, but to a tremendous amount of other folks.

Maybe its the competition, maybe its the Beauty of the Setting, or the majesty of the Horses, I just don't know.

Or perhaps its the idea of watching these splendid animals give their all, for very little in the way of an equine award. Same old stall, same old hay and oats, with perhaps an occasional treat in the way of a reward. Its a puzzle.

Or maybe its the idea that here is a sentient being giving its all just for the joy and challenge of outrunning the other competitors.

Quite a contrast to we humans, huh? Kind of makes you wonder which is the superior species doesn't it? I think horses have in common with Mans True Best Friend, the Dog, in doing what it does for very little reward.

Perhaps we can all learn a lesson from Animals.

Worth thinking about.

Stay Well

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Three Faces of Evil.

Hi Folks:

I'm relatively sure that all of you have heard of the disgraceful behavior of Ben Roethlisberger, and his subsequent 'punishment" of having to sit out six games.

Wow!..heres a guy that makes Millions of Dollars a year for playing a kid's game and he can't even behave himself. And you know what? I'll bet you Nineteen dollars against an apple core that he has learned absolutely no lesson from this "Non-Crime".

And then of course we have the Case of Kobe Bryant, Star player for the Los Angeles Lakers, who raped a Hotel employee, Paid off his wife with a multi-Million Dollar ring and the victim with an unknown amount. He is still playing Basketball,making Millions, and for all I know he still can't keep his pony in the barn.

Then we have Michael Vick, who committed such savage acts against fighting Pit Bulls in his stable that it makes me sick to think about it. Granted he served a relatively short time in Prison, where, I'm sure he enjoyed an elite status, but he's back in Professional Football and again making Millions.

Who said crime doesn't pay?

And now we come to the category of Big Business, which I'm sure, over the past couple of years we have all come to know and love.

We all recall when the Government "Bailed out" Chrysler and General Motors to the tune of Billions of Dollars.

We are being told now, in a Commercial featuring the New CEO of GM that they, General Motors have paid back their loan , in full, and Five Years early. This is a Bald Faced Lie. What happened was that G.M.'s debt was transferred from the Bail Out Money to the so called TARP program, which supposedly was a temporary fund to help out certain Big Businesses. What ever happened to truth in Government (okay-okay, I get it , you can stop rolling around the floor laughing your butt off)

My point (which I'll bet you never thought I'd get to, is that Honesty, Ethics, and Morals seem to be cascading down and down to the point where anything goes. Now I'll admit, that there have been episodes in my life which I deeply regret,and I'm pretty sure that the same goes for most of the rest of the Population, But I "learned my lessons" and tried earnestly not to make those mistakes again, as I suspect most everyone else has done, but apparently Big Business and Big Sports never seen to learn their lessons..............and in case you are wondering, I was prompted to write this post by going Car Shopping today. ...........I trust you can all fill in the rest of the blanks.

Have a Great Night.

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Blogger's Block.

Ever have one of those days when you just couldn't decide what you wanted to do?

Well, I'm currently experiencing such a moment in time similiar to the above.

I feel the urge to write, but there is such a melting-pot of ideas churning in my old head, I'm having trouble trying to decide what category I want to write about, whether to comment on the compost heap of Politics, or to focus on just one ember of this bloated campfire of craziness we now call D.C.

I can't decide whether the current era should be called "Obama Nation " or "Abomination". Either way it seems that the only thing being done is the two "Parties" constantly jousting with one another, trying to get the upper hand in the voters mind, and neither, as far as I can see, are being particularly successful in their efforts . Meanwhile the President can be counted on to do one of several set things, which seem to be his fixed itinerary. First, it seems, the Prez favors hopping on Air Force One and flying off somewhere to continue ,for all practical intents and purposes , his Presidential campaign, or he gives yet another in his seemingly daily series of "Lectures".

I for one am getting a little more than sick of his lecturing the American People.
It seems to rile Mr. Obama that he has to continually glare from beneath beetling brows and tell the American People what they should think and do. It seems he's losing patience with us, the lowly electorate, for not bowing down before now and declaring him to be the Maximum Leader for Life in the U.S. A., and thus being able to issue orders to Congress, do away with the inconvenience of Elections , and just whip us, The People, into a malleable lump of obedient clay that he can form into the shape he wishes it to be.

I know, for one certain thing, I am sick and tired of Partisan Journalism. It is just as abhorrent for Time and Newsweek, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and etc, to fall all over themselves in their lavish praise of Obama, as it is for Fox News to be one sided in their support of the Republicans.
Hell, Time Magazine might just as well re-lable itself "The Obama weekly" and get it over with. And Campbell brown could Tattoo "Obama is Right" on her forehead without significantly changing her cant.

Maybe none of this makes sense, I confess I don't know, but like I said in the beginning I didn't know what I wanted to write about, but as least I'm writing................or trying to, and as best as I can tell thats more than Congress can say about their efforts in running this Country. Maybe what this Country, the same Country that my Ancestors have fought for, beginning with the Revolutionary War, and all wars since, needs now, instead of new blood,which is just another word for relative kids really who have never been in the pits or Foxholes, whose greatest deprivations have been the lack of a Cell Phone or Blackberry, and who have absolutely no idea what it's like to work, Hard, for little Money,perhaps we, then, as a people, need a few more Grizzled old Vets of Wars Foreign and Domestic, Sanctioned and Unsanctioned, to set a few stakes delineating what part of this supposedly free country we claim as ours. And No, Emphatically No, I am not talking about people starting to start one of these half-assed Militias, running around a private patch of woods in Camo going bang at Oak Trees, and then retiring to their $40,000.00 trucks to drink beer and tell each other how mean they could be if one of those sinister "Black Helicopters" ever set down on their little part of Tobacco Road.

Those morons have about as much in common with a real soldier as a roadrunner has to a Bald Eagle.

Well , as I said when I started this rant, I didn't and don't know for sure what I wanted to write about, but at least I gave it a shot.

Temper Fi

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Appreciate your indulgence



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Basketball vs Brains.

Good Morning Folks:

Well its that time again. March Madness, a title applied to the NCAA Basketball Tournament .This Tournament always starts me to wondering what will happen to these players when they leave College.

Some of them, a very few, will go on to the "Professional" ranks, a term which is misleading because it only means that these players are getting paid to play. In that sense, every working man and woman in the United States is a "Professional".

So...in that sense, I prefer to not refer to these players as "Professionals", but rather as paid players.

I read an article in this Morning's Newspaper, written by a Man whose opinion I have respected in the past, for his thoughtful insights, and frequently amusing columns, and today's column is what made me start mulling over the subject for this post.

But today's column, I respectively submit, is Hogwash. I submit this criticism with the full knowledge that this Newspaper is published in Kentucky, and to say anything even remotely critical about Basketball, or its players or Coaches, is tatamount to, at the least heresy, and usually sedition, in the State of Kentucky, so I guess one cannot blame this Editor for not wanting to put his head on the chopping block.

Today's column as mentioned above, is about the U.S. Secretary of Education's Proposal that any College not graduating at least Forty Percent of its athletes should not be allowed to participate in the NCAA tournament to which I say, " RIGHT ON MR. SECRETARY.!!!!!!!!!!!!."

However, in the above-mentioned column, the writer (The Executive Editor of the Paper, or the Archbishop of Articles) takes issue with the Secretary of Education, saying that he (the Editor) thinks that time in College is beneficial for these "Athletes". Perhaps it is beneficial to the College, in that the College makes money off its sports programs (supposedly), but I fail to see how it has been shown to be beneficial to the so called Student Athletes, other than to enable a very few of them to become Millionaires via the Professional Circuit.The Editor goes on to state that the graduation rate at the University of Kentucky is Thirty-One percent. In my amateurish research I seem to have found a figure of Twenty-One point Three percent as an accurate figure for these student athletes at U.K. (pronounced 'Ewe Kayee")

I believe the overwhelming majority of College Athletes DO NOT go on to become Professional Athletes, or as I call them, felons. In the main, and this is based on personal experience and observation, what these players all too frequently contribute to the College is disruption in the Classrooms and often a lowering of Academic Standards, so that Joe Seven Foot can remain eligible, and by this making the average students (Those who PAY for their education) have to work even harder to glean an Education from a reluctant and dysfunctional college, which are, it seems, more and more tailoring their standards to the least common denominator,thus making "scraping by" an accepted norm and discouraging REAL Students from trying to excel, and gain a REAL education. Also, the Majority of these players either flunk out, drop out or get kicked out of College, thus making all the Instructor's time and efforts wasted on them, when it could be better spent on those Students who are really striving for an Education.

So, as a suggestion, let us also increase that percentage, suggested by the Secretary of Education. by one percent every year. It's only fair, and could serve as a precursor for these young people in their daily lives, and in making a living. After all don't most Businesses, large and small, tend to hire only the brightest of applicants, and retain only those who do the best work ? Seventy Four years of life have qualified me to answer that question with a resounding YES! Hell, even Bill Gates, the founder and Chief Muckety Muck of Microsoft, himself a drop out from Harvard, has instituted a policy for his Company of not even ACCEPTING a job application from a person unless the applicant has a College Degree. so, I think, that even Mr. Gates probably thinks that he could have done a little better (and yes, it's hard to see how) If he had graduated from college. However, as best as I recall Mr. Gates didn't attend Harvard on a Basketball Scholarship, so perhaps he learned enough in the time he WAS in school to help him become the wealthiest nerd in the World.

Folks, we can either face hard facts now or later, but sooner rather than later we will, as individuals and as a Nation, HAVE to face the facts.

If our High School and College graduates are becoming a smaller and smaller percentile of our population, and our graduates are slowly becoming less and less intelligent, doesn't it follow that our Nation will also slowly fall behind other Countries, where Education is given the highest Priority ?

And if our country falls behind, doesn't it follow that the quality of life for each and everyone of us will degrade? Of Course it does.

In checking Statistics, I see that Kentucky, the State wherein the Newspaper containing the article which prompted this post, ranks Forty-Fifth in the Nation in College Athletes who Graduate with at least a Bachelors Degree.

This may or not be because the University of Kentucky has long been known as a "basketball school", and perhaps then not chosen by parents deciding on the best University for their children to get the best Education, and thus, presumably, have a better and more successful life.

It doesn't have to be this way folks. The University of North Carolina, which usually has a pretty fair basketball team,has as their Graduation Rate Sixty-Four percent. Likewise Duke University with a Sixty percent graduation rate , illustrates the fact that a College or University can have both an abundance of first rate Scholars AND a highly proficient Sports Team, which is after all (or should be) only a addendum to SCHOLARSHIP programs, and not a raison d`etre for the Schools existence.

This, of course, doesn't hold true in all cases. There are thousands of people who have graduated from a "Sports College" who have gone on to accomplish much. But I think it is a fair argument that the more emphasis Schools place on Education, at the cost of sports, the better chance a kid has of getting good Education. The shame of all the above is that this Nation has gradually over the past four decades or so, slowly lowered out standards of excellence, and our status in the World.

But as the old query goes "What do you call the lowest ranking graduate from Medical School? A. Doctor"., so maybe now Businesses don't really care if you know anything or not, just as long as you have a college Degree, any Degree, Any College.

So, With deep respect Mr. Editor, You're Wrong.

Says Me

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College "Sports".

Good Afternoon Folks:

Well brace yourself folks, once again I am in a mood to "Harp" on the subject of College Sports.

I take it as a sign of the denigration of our society , when so called "Sports" take the upper hand in our Educational Institutions.

Time was, a College or University was a place where young people went to gain an Education in order to make themselves more employable, a place of respect, where Scholars were esteemed, and when one graduated from their chosen Educational venue, one could take pride in their education, and society as a whole generally benefited from their efforts.

Now it seems that Colleges are simply a place for far to many people to go for no other reason than to play "Sports", and hopefully get a free ride to a lucrative Professional career.

I would find not as much fault in this loophole in our Educational System, if the players in these sports also studied for and received a measurable education, obeyed not just Criminal laws, but generally accepted moral guidelines, which decent people are expected to follow to become good citizens, and contributors to an improving society.

But today, thanks to those people who don't care what a young person does, or what variety of laws they break, just as long as they show up for practice, hungover or not, and be ready for game day.

I guess the fault lies with all of us, in not absolutely insisting that our children be able to attend such an institution with a realistic probability that they would get a good education, in a safe environment for learning, and learn valuable lessons, to be of value to not just themselves and their families, but to society as a whole and succeed in being a good and contributing part of our society.

What started me on this current "Rant", was an Associated Press article in our local paper about an incident in a Texas College.

It concerned an event at Division II Texas A&M-Commerce, when several members of the University's Football Team were arrested on drug charges.
The Schools Student Newspaper ran a front page article about the players arrest, and distributed some Two Thousand copies around the campus, presumably in free vending machines.

The article went on to say that football team players went around the Campus, removing every one of the copies of this edition, and, though the article doesn't say, presumably destroying the papers.

But to throw salt on an already grievous wound, the Football Coach was quoted as saying "I'm proud of my players for doing that". The article says that the Coach, one Guy Morriss, was disciplined for his words, but, typical for what passes for Associated Press Journalistic excellence, doesn't spell out what said discipline amounted to, saying only that someone or something called "Jolly" declined to discuss details. We are left to wonder whether "jolly" if a living person, is the President of the College, The Athletic Director or maybe the towel boy for the team.

We are also left to not only shake our heads at the apparent unbelief in Normal Ethical behavior in our Colleges and Universities, but at the sloppiness of the Associated Press.

Perhaps the A.P. writer graduated from A&M-Commerce?

This is a sad state of affairs in itself, but even sadder when we stop to think that this kind of behavior goes on all the time, and all we can do is shake our heads in disbelief , and wonder why so many decent honorable young people are no longer able to afford to attend one of these Institutions of Higher Learning.

Until and if, we as a society stand up on our hind legs and say "NO MORE" willl this sorry state of affairs end, and our Politicians and Academic Officials get their heads out of their asses, will the collective intelligence of this great Nation once again to embark on the path to our former place of pride in our Institutions and their Faculties.

What Say You?


Jeers

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A Life Examined...Part II

Good Afternoon Folks.

In part one of this self-examination of my character, I mentioned people who I have met, worked with or paid attention to over the course of my rather tattered excuse for a life, and my failure to keep in touch with many of these folks.

So I took my own advice, and called an old Colleague of mine from years past, and was thoroughly glad that I did so.

Hearing voices "from the past", I found, was an enriching experience. The fellow I called, I remembered, was a very nice person, and we had a lot of fun times while we worked together, as we both agreed, and this conversation just made my day.

But the point I am making is that if you know someone who somehow, by word or deed, has enriched your life's experiences, by all means take the trouble to stay in touch with them. You won't be sorry you did.

But I guess, all in all, that self examination can serve little purpose, than to try and admit the mistakes one has made, and try, earnestly, not to make them again.

I've met a few people who have staunchly maintained that if they had their life to live over, they wouldn't change a thing. This tells me a couple of things about this particular sort of person. Either they have led a perfect life, never made a mistake, and have been a roaring success, for which I truly envy them....or they are just lying to themselves and others, and determined, come Hell or High Water, not to admit their mistakes.

At any rate, we'll all be judged, sooner or later, and then will be forced to realize whether or not we've been honest with ourselves.

Just another point to ponder.

Stay Well

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