Okay, I know I scare some people but this guy does a way better job:

Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that “no one knows” if gasoline prices in the United States will reach $9 per gallon, and acknowledged that the possibility is outside his control. Okay seriously, I filled up my tank today and really had to consider if I could afford to keep driving. Or eating. Or […]

Something so powerful, people were willing to die for it.

Kings and potentates. Dictators and tyrants. Savage bands of lawless men and unruly mobs. They all have one thing in common. Throughout history, they would all rob you of your natural born right to freedom. Mankind has a poor track record when it comes to guaranteeing freedom. I think the spark has always been […]

Apollo 16: Losing the Dream

I was an astronaut in the 1960’s. Our launch facility in Western Pennsylvania was incredibly busy from 1963 to April 1972. We were cutting edge at the time. Not only did we have unlimited supplies of oxygen and “space” food, we journeyed well beyond the moon to find planets that even NASA had not discovered […]

How much is that doggie in the window?

Its only spring but it already seems like the dog days are upon us. Recent stories from both the right and left have made me doggone mad. I don’t mean to dog one side or another, but truthfully both sides need to remember that there are more dog lovers in this country that vote than […]

In war, truth is the first casualty. AESCHYLUS

Like many baby boomers, I was born in the shadow of the Greatest Generation and the last good war. I am not sure how anything that caused so much destruction could remotely be considered a “good” war other than the fact that hundreds of millions of people were temporarily freed from one set of tyrants, […]

Semper vigilantes

I have been having a great time watching the eagles web site. http://www.alcoa.com/locations/usa_davenport/en/info_page/eaglecam.asp The third egg finally hatched and Dad (I think) is standing watch this morning. Mom must be out looking for the morning meal since she has not been around for a while. The background sound is very interesting too. Apparently the area […]

What a country … (at least it is so far)

As we drove to Church this morning, I was reminded what a great country we live in. We left the house (that we chose to live in) in our car (that we selected from among hundreds of possible choices). We drove on streets that were paved (using money we paid in taxes) and passed at […]

Unauthorized Absence

I made it a point of pride to never miss a ship’s movement or a muster for my whole career. I can remember driving like crazy through the erratic traffic only to get stuck in a long line at Makalapa Gate thinking “The Chief is gonna kill me”. But somehow, my angels always made sure […]

It Happened in 1954

I really like cruising around the “store” in the front of my favorite southern cuisine restaurant. You can see the old fashioned toys and magic sets mixed in with collectables of one kind or another. One of my favorites though is the rotating card stand that holds the little books about what happened the year […]

True Colors

As previously predicted, Congress and the Administration are making something they describe as “Hard Choices” in regards to containing spending. There is just one problem with those hard choices: the people who cause this mess are bearing the least of the cost. That’s right, the elected officials that pushed us into the sub-prime mess, the […]