SitRep

The Old Sarge reports that things are not all that well in the military. Time was, when a ranking person told you to do something, you did it without complaining. Or, at least, complained later. Nowadays, in our "kindler, gentler" military, you get to complain about anything that makes you "feel bad".

Did we miss something here? Isn't the job of the military to protect our country? Aren't they supposed to be ready, willing, and able to endure great hardships -- even death? So what's the big deal when someone says "No, you can't have that" or "No, you don't get preferential treatment"?

We give this country only a few more years before everything falls completely apart. The only thing that could save this country is if people wake up and realize what's happening. And there are no signs that that's going to happen among the general population.

God help America....

We've been Googled!

Aw, gee...

Just out of idle curiosity, we decided to check Google to see if we could find our own blog thru a search engine. And it was successful.

Not that the fate of the free world depends on it that it somehow improves anyone's lot in life, but it is rather pleasing that some might stumble across these musings and maybe even learn something.

Now, on to bigger and better things....

Life's Harsher Realities

So, Bill O'Reilly (no fan of the ACLU) does a segment on a lawsuit filed by the ACLU to overturn a not-yet-enacted law in Virginia that would make it illegal to locate a methadone clinic with half a mile of a school or "government-sponsored" day-care center (are the private day-care centers out of luck?). O'Reilly argues that children should be shielded from some of "life's harsher realities".

Arguing the ACLU's case for them (since they're too chicken to send one of their own, was "civil rights" attorney Michael Gross, who quite correctly argued that such a law would be discriminatory.

Of course, we must point out that shielding children from "life's harsher realities" does no one any good. As we've said for years: never underestimate the value of a bad example. Children need not have their noses rubbed in this sort of thing, but it can't hurt for them to see that not everyone lives a great life. Not to mention the value of letting them see the consequences of stupid choices.

Life has a lot of "harsh realities". Get used to it.

How Do You Say "No Legal Standing" in Swedish?

A Swedish receptionist has been sacked for sexual harassment after her boss heard that she told a male client he was good-looking.

"I joked with a client about how handsome he was," the receptionist told the daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet.

The man said he had not been offended by the woman's remark.

It is not uncommon in Sweden for women to accuse men of sexual harassment, but the opposite is rare.

The woman's employer declined comment, said the newspaper, which did not identify the company or the people involved.

So, what the heck does the boss care if the customer was not offended?? Whatever happened to minding one's own business? Or was this a case of trying to justify the injustices already done to men?

The Plot Sickens

So, it turns out that Ms. Rowland -- the woman who refused a Caesarian because she didn't want scars, thus dooming one of her unborn twins -- had apparently been using drugs before and/or during her pregnancy. Word comes that the still-born twin had drugs in its system, including cocaine.

Looks like someone's not up for Mother Of The Year. This could strenthen Utah's case of homicide against her, as drug use would be prima facia evidence of depraved indifference. Let's see if they have the nerve to go forth with it.

Some people really shouldn't be allowed to breed.

What About The Other 43%?

A recent poll shows that 57% of Iraqis believe that they are better off now than under Hussein. That leaves 43% who think that things are either worse or the same. We need to see how that 43% breaks down and find out who thinks things are worse off now than under the Butcher of Baghdad.

Why Didn't He Say So Sooner?

Recently comes the rather lame "revelation" that John "F" Kerry didn't say that he had the support of "foreign" leaders, but of "more" leaders. This from a reporter who went back and listened again to the tapes of the encounter (not that we have the slightest reason to doubt said reporter's objectivity).

The intemperate question that immediately raises its ugly head is: Why didn't Kerry himself say something when the controversy first hit the fan? He certainly had plenty of opportunity. Are we to believe that he doesn't see the difference between "more" and "foreign"?

And -- just to sweeten the pot -- why did he tell one questioner over the weekend that "it's none of your business" who these more/foreign leaders are?

"Curiouser and curiouser", said Alice

Pity The Poor Drug Companies

So, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry were on 60 Minutes last evening, whining about how American consumers are cutting into their profits by buying their drugs at a lower price from drugstores in Canada.

Aw, gee.... isn't that a shame? Tough cookies, guys. Turnabout is fair play. We like to think of it as "outsourcing".

You Mean They [Gasp!] Lied?!

So, former editor of Ladies Home Journal Myrna Blyth admits on The O'Reilly Factor that there has been a concerted effort over the years to stir up dissatisfaction among women and sell them on liberalism (read: socialism). Is it any wonder, then, that women have not only been unhappy but made just about everyone else unhappy?

Although we've never taken a Pollyanna view of the world, we do recognize the need for a balanced perspective. Certainly, there are many things in American society that need to be fixed, and focusing only on the positive does nothing to fix the negative. But, constantly harping on the negative -- without any constructive ideas for improvement -- breeds only dissatisfaction and unhappiness. And the left-wing loonies who have been stirring things up for the last thirty years have given us nothing to improve our lot.

Happiness is the object and design of our existence. And we'll achieve that if we live according to correct principles. We've said for years that our lives are governed by very simple, natural laws. And most of our problems in life stem from our attempts to circumvent those laws.

Somehow, we have this suspicion that the turmoil of the last three decades has been caused by people who are themselves unhappy and wish to make the rest of us as miserable as they are.

Another One Bites The Dust

Along with millions of others, we mourn the untimely passing of Bobby Hatfield of The Righteous Brothers. Theirs was a class act in a world of crass acts. What makes it even more tragic is that his death was caused by cocaine use, which he succumbed to as a result of a back injury.

All he had to do was go to a doctor at the very outset of his pain. We'll probably never know why he didn't make that visit.

Get Your "But" Out

Positive reinforcement goes a long way to encouraging people to excel. Unfortunately, too many people's efforts are undermined by what is all too often literally a careless word.

We remember well living and working in Germany, with Americans but among Germans. Germans are nothing if not consistent. An encouraging word was an encouraging word, and that was that. Not so the Americans. For some reason, they were never content to offer a word of encouragement and just leave it at that. There was always a "but".

"Hey, you did pretty well this week, but..."

"That's a good idea, but..."

So often, we were tempted to tell the offender to just "but" out. What's the point of praise if it's followed by a criticism or pointing out a deficiency?

When you walk, just walk;
when you sit, just sit;
above all, don't wobble.

And have a nice day...

So, here we come walking across the parking lot and some middle-aged woman who should surely know better asks "Why don't you smile?". The natural rejoinder, of course, was "We are smiling?". This led to the usual nonsense about "spreading cheer". (Since when are we responsible for your moods?? Go cheer yourself up and leave others alone.) As a parting shot, we mentioned the old saw about 13 muscles being needed for smiling, 26 muscles required for frowning and noted that equanimity requires the use of no muscles.

And the winner isn't....

The envelope, please....

And this week's Henry Waldo Award for Literary Excellence does not go to the History Channel narrator who referred to "certificated" female pilots. (And just who "certificated" them???)

Dishonorable mention goes to Fox News Channel's Brit Hume for using COM-bat as a verb. (Now go sit in the corner with that cone-shaped hat on your head and think about how you might com-BAT this problem. And stay away from Geraldo Rivera.)

Voll-treffer!

Got another one right.

For years, we've been saying that the real danger in not keeping Church and state separate lies not in what the Church might do to the state, but in what the state will do to the Church.

Now comes the ACLU to sue Catholic Charities for not funding birth control for their employees. Never mind that the ACLU is infringing on Catholic Charities' free exercise of their religion and that birth control is contrary to Catholic teaching. Now that Catholic Charities is receiving taxpayer money, the state is being petitioned to intervene.

Oh well... he who pays the piper, calls the tune.

Never Ask Us That

We've been telling people for many years that there are two questions they should never ask us. The first is "How are you?" (or any variation of it). The other is "Are you sure?". Both questions generally elicit a "Never ask me that" response.

As to the first, no one really cares how anyone else is doing, and most of the people we encounter during the course of a day would just as soon see us go away as -- quickly as possible. The question is merely a conditioned response, and -- like Pavlov's puppies -- they all parrot it out at the mere sight of another human being.

The second question is usually met with the further reply of "Did I sound the least bit unsure?". In this day and age of hyper-sensitivity, it mystifies us how people could be so insensitive. What ever happened to listening to the tone in another's voice?

It's the Constitution, Stupid!

The main reason the Pres. Bush is in danger of losing this year's election is because he has lost the favor of so many people who voted for him in 2000. The vast majority of those people voted for him not as the lesser of two evils, but as an affirmation of their ideals. It seems to us that most people in this country do believe in the ideals upon which this country was founded. Unfortunately, too many have been suckered into believing that -- as Paul Harvey puts it -- we can all get rich by standing around with our hands in each other's pockets.

This country has drifted so far from the rule of Constitutional law that it would be unrecognizeable to our Founding Fathers. What is needed is another president like Grover Cleveland, who was probably the closest thing to a l/Libertarian president this country has ever had.

If Dubya could only work up the nerve to abide by the Constitution, he'd probably win in a landslide.