The Boss

Drunk Awakened from Coma,

A man who drank himself into a coma and lay near death in a hospital bed suddenly woke up after hearing that his boss had commanded, "Get your ass back to work!"

Stickin' it to The Man

Quick, when someone mentions "the establishment" or "the man" which party comes to mind first. I suspect most people would say the Republican Party. Increasingly though, the reality is quite different.

In the recent debate on social security reform, two of the organizations to come out against any reform are the teacher's union and the AFL-CIO - both bastions of the democratic party.

Michael Barone makes a good case for Republicans as the party of change and Democrats as the party of the past,

Looking back on election year 2004, I am struck by how many of the constituencies supporting Democratic candidates oppose, rather than seek, change -- how they are motivated not by ideas about how to change the future, but by something like nostalgia for the past.

Democrats have become the establishment and many of the real anti-establishment types are Republicans.

Orthodoxy

The American Thinker does a great analysis of the response to Intelligent Design from the media elite and orthodox evolutionists. Read it here. Also, Hugh Hewitt tackles the WaPo's thinly disguised hit piece on ID in his post here.

Religion By Another Name

I just finished reading an article and accompanying comments on Slashdot about some new discovery purported to shed light on evolution. (here)

I've rarely observed anyone as zealous as many believers in evolution. It's almost comical to hear them rant and rave about the delusioned creationists. They accuse them of wanting to have a monopoly on what is taught in schools and accuse them of being closed minded bigots. I find it comical because their accusations reflect the desire to have an exclusivity in schools and the outright dismissal of anything that doesn't coincide with their orthodoxy.

Regardless of whether you're a believer in creationism, evolution, or anything else, red flags go up in my mind whenever I hear:

• Belief in XXXXX is going to lead to anarchy, dogs and cats sleeping together, mass hysteria! It just isn't true. There is no new idea under the sun and just because an idea exists or becomes more popular doesn't mean it will destroy the world as we know it.
  
• Those who believe in XXXXX are just idiots. You can find very intelligent, well-reasoned people who espouse nearly every theory. To summarily dismiss the proponents or any single idea as idiots is just too easy and merely conveys an attitude of intellectual arrogance.
  
• The open exchange of ideas is dangerous. Those who believe in evolution seem threatened by any consideration of creationism. Of course, this is the exact opposite of how it used to be - when creationism felt threatened by any mention of evolution. It's much better to allow for a free market of ideas and let human beings decide for themselves.
  
• Those who posit some great division between science and religion. As if scientists can't be religious or vice versa. It's an artificial distinction that serves only to cloud the waters.
  
• Those who insist that faith is confined to religion. Faith exists in science also; most often cloaked as an assumption.
  
• Those who deride the bible on the basis that it claims something as a scientific fact when it doesn't. The bible isn't meant to be a science textbook and there are clearly parts of it meant to be metaphor and/or allegory and parts of it that are meant to be literal.
  
• When discussions revert to name calling and straw man type arguments that only serve to stir things up on an emotional level.

In case anyone cares, my belief on the whole creationism/evolution thing is:
Organisms change over time due to their ability to be flexible to the changing environment. Many times these changes are "permanent" resulting in a new species or subspecies. I don't see how anyone can argue otherwise. However, this is still a long way from accepting evolution in full. To my mind there are some parts of the human body which don't seem to have any current use and seem to be remnants of some evolutionary past. Whether that is due to so-called macro-evolution or micro-evolution, I just don't know. I find it just too unbelievable to attribute the existence of all organized organisms to be only a result of zillions of years of luck. Also, I believe the bible is the literal word of God and I believe that God created the universe in six days. Possibly these aren't meant to be literal days but it seems to me that what Genesis says should be taken at it's face to be what it intends to convey, six literal days.
So, do my ideas about the origin of man contradict each other? Possibly. I haven't reconciled the so-called religious belief with the so-called scientific observations. I think there's a sense in which both are true. Ultimately though, you come back to the idea that something sprang from nothing. I find it easier to believe that God created everything than to believe that something just appeared and mutated into a very organized universe. I'm open to believing in evolution and I don't see it as a threat to my belief in God. But so far, I haven't heard anything compelling enough to believe in evolution as it's espoused by the scientific establishment.

Well, this whole post was just hacked together in only a few moments with the family busy making all sorts of random noises in the background as they prepare for Christmas. It probably shows in the writing. It doesn't matter.

Have a Merry Christmas.

The Things A Real Man Doesn't Do At Christmas

Real Men don't write checks.
Writing checks takes too long and it's for wimps. Real men only use a charge card or a debit card.
Real Men can do all of their shopping for everyone in two hours...or less.
Real Men don't buy their wives sexy lingerie as a Christmas present.
They know that such things are a huge turnoff to women.
Real Men don't cruise around the parking lot incessantly until they get a close spot.
They park in the back row and walk to the store. They need the exercise and leave the close spots for the women, children and elderly.
Real Men get the attractive sales person to "help them" pick out nice outfits for their wives.
It's enjoyable for all involved and the wives actually get an outfit that matches.
Real Men don't unwrap a present while being careful to save the paper for later.
No, Real Men rip into their presents with a ferocity that befits their manliness.
Real Men don't wear stocking hats.
A Real Man pretends his ears aren't cold even if the temperature is in the single digits and he can't feel his ears anymore. (Okay, maybe that one is a trifle dumb. But if he's going to wear a stocking hat it should be as a last resort.)
Real Men don't wear fur.
Real Men don't scrape the ice off their whole windshield, just a little hole in front of the driver and they don't scrape the back window either. Why would you need to see where you've already been?

I'm sure there are other things a Real Man doesn't do so I'm going to leave it up to the comments for suggestions...

A Chaplain in Mosul

I could never be a chaplain. To be in the line of fire without a way to fire back would be pure torture. I suspect a chaplain would tell you they do have a way to "fire back" through the power of prayer and the encouragement of the holy spirit. This week wasn't an easy one to be a chaplain in Mosul and the guy at Training for Eternity provides a firsthand look at how chaplains fight the war.

A Very Perfect Merry Christmas

Every Christmas I get at least one "newsletter" type of Christmas card from someone I haven't seen in a very long time. Usually it goes something like this,

Dear Friends, Merry Christmas from the [fill in the blank]'s! We hope this holiday season finds you well.

We are very blessed. _____'s job making incredible amounts of money is going very well. He/She just received a big promotion to Senior _____ and has the perfect job. ____'s career is really taking off too. She is working from home and recently was named "person of the year" at work.

____ is really enjoying staying home with our adorable children, ___ and ___. Their pre-school teacher says she has never seen two more intelligent well-adjusted children. Of course, there was that little incident where ___ did [some kind of disgusting behavior that only parents would think is cute]. Isn't that just an incredible laugh riot? We've enclosed some photos so you can hang them up in your house and marvel at these two perfect specimens.

For vacation this year we went to beautiful [fill in the name of some incredibly cool place here] where we [fill in the name of some incredibly expensive activity]. Our guide said he had never seen such a great family. (We've added him to our Christmas card list --- Hi Juan!)

We doubt we'll make any contact with you throughout the year but we'll be sure to update you on our incredible life in a Christmas card next year.

Happy Holidays!

The _______'s

Many years ago I made a resolution that I would never send out one of these types of Christmas cards. These are the kind that shout, "It's all about me!", but then maybe I'm just bitter.

Underground History

My grandparents used to live near old Camp Grant and I loved exploring there. Elena explores old WW2 sites near Kiev, Ukraine and finds a lot of really neat stuff. For a fascinating look at the things she uncovers go here.

I would love to visit old sites like this, especially in a place where they haven't been fully explored and looted already. Perhaps, DS will have a chance to explore this area after the Orange Revolution.

Thanks to BlackFive for pointing out Elena's latest production.

Adventures of An FSO

I haven't been real inspired to blog lately. I've resorted to simply searching for other, more interesting blogs, and I've found one that I enjoy. This post about The Ratman is interesting and worth a look.

Not Dead

Not dead. Just busy elsewhere. Come back again sometime soon.

Yo Canada

It's been a while since I visited the Ace, but I found this to be quite funny,
Top Ten Ways To Convince a Stranger You're Actually Canadian

Joe Oliver, Spam Breeder

I started receiving them in the waning days of the Presidential Campaign. I recognized pretty quickly the spam-centric nature of these emails I was receiving but since I generally agreed with their sentiment, I didn't do anything.

Fast forward to December. I get at least 3 or 4 emails from joessoft@yahoo.com every day. Although I never read them, I usually agree with the subject line of the messages, but they're still SPAM. I never asked for them and I'm getting sick of receiving them.

I'm tempted to write to good ole joessoft@yahoo.com (i'm hoping other spammers will spider this site and get his email address) and tell him to stop sending me his missives. But I never requested them in the first place. Fortunately, I can have my email client send them straight to the trash bin. If you get these emails I would encourage you to do the same and if, by some chance, you have some contact with Joe, tell him to leave me alone.

A Very Bad Fusileer

I've been bad, very bad. A week or so ago I agreed to participate in soliciting donations for Spirit of America. I signed on with the Fighting Fusileers (I don't know what that is either.) and I've actually made a donation but...

There has been a flurry of email back and forth between the fusileers and I have a feeling that I haven't exactly pulled my weight. (job and all that) To make up for my slothfulness I'll just start by linking to a recent entry by Sgt Hook and by Cool Blue, all of them urging you to donate to Spirit of America.

Special Forces Changes

In the 80's there was a program allowing fresh recruits to enter into US Army training to become Special Forces qualified. Along those same lines, you might've seen a press release on the DOD website announcing a new pilot project by the US Army. Apparently, they've come to realize that soldiers with 20 years worth of Army-think aren't always the most creative at coming up with novel solutions to certain problems. The result is that applications are being accepted for attending the "Q Course" held here as part of the process of becoming a Special Forces soldier. Specifically, the Army is seeking "professionals in their 30's and 40's" looking for a new challenge.

One of the main assumptions of the special forces establishment has always been that a soldier's brains are the most important weapon. I guess with this new program they're taking that assumption to the next level.

Of course, the above "announcement" is totally false so don't bother going to the DOD website to look for it. I should be forgiven for spreading this misinformation though because I've recently read, Secret Commandos : Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG by John Plaster and Masters of Chaos by Linda Robinson. Both very different books, but both well written.

Normally, I try to maintain a little bit of balance in my reading. Too much of any one subject makes for a sort of tunnel vision that borders on obsession, (that's my inner geek coming out) but as I was ordering one of the books at Amazon I was trying to qualify for "super saver" shipping and I needed to spend a little more so I ended up clicking on a suggested book in the same category. (I'm a sucker for that.)

I ordered the SOG book because I like finding out about the types of tactics these units use. (It's one of the reasons why I enjoyed reading "A Clear and Present Danger" by Tom Clancy, despite the fact that I can't stand the guy and think he's a terrible writer.) The author of the SOG book is John Plaster, who served in a SOG unit in Vietnam. He's a good writer, unlike many military guys who write memoirs, and apparently he has a good memory. The book provided good information on unconventional warfare and also provided an excellent glimpse into the views of many soldiers about the war itself.

The "Masters of Chaos" book has the type of title that usually repels me. However, it isn't one of those macho tales of daring-do like the ones put out by that Marcinko guy. It's not written from a first person perspective but gives you an education on the way US Army Special Forces works. If you know someone who wears the Green Beret, as I do, you'll enjoy reading this book because it helps you to fill in some of the blanks as to what your friend/relative/acquaintance has been up to these past few years.

I can't see the Army ever opening up it's elite units to "outsiders", especially not those in their 30s and 40s and I question the sanity of those who would try to pass the Q Course at that point in their lives. But it makes for an interesting middle-aged fantasy.

Esoteric Ruminations

National Treasure is an entertaining (although improbable) movie that reminds me of the Masonic symbolism embedded in America.

The Washington Monument, for example, is a masonic symbol. Then there's the masonic symbols hidden in the street plan of Washington, DC. (See here) Unfortunately, a search on the internet reveals all manner of websites which, to put it kindly, tend to be on the fringe of society. You'll see anti-semitic websites proclaiming that Jews control the monetary system, (here), sites of a religious nature that "expose" the Illuminati, and sites heavy with occult folklore. All of this makes it tempting to just write off the whole Masonry thing as the product of paranoid imaginations.

But you might want to take a look at a dollar bill. If you overlay the two sides of the Great Seal you end up with something that looks suspiciously like the Masonic Compass. Then there's the number 13. In the Great Seal of The US you find:

• 13 stars in the crest
  
• 13 stripes in the shield
  
• 13 olive leaves
  
• 13 olives
  
• 13 arrows
  
• 13 letters in "Annuit Coeptis"
  
• 13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum"
  
• 13 rows of stone in the Pyramid

Clearly, the designer of this seal really liked the number 13. Of course, there were 13 original colonies, but this goes a little overboard. A site titled, The Masonic Seal of America goes into great detail on this subject and Masonic Foundations of The US provides a lot of information about Masonic symbolism throughout our nation's capitol.

As far as the Freemasons go, I don't think they're the malevolent group that many make them out to be. The vast majority of them are simply attracted (for some reason that I can't fathom) to being part of a "secret society". As far as I'm concerned, this group is a "false religion". I don't think membership in the masons is consistent with a genuine Christian faith, but that doesn't make them evil - just misled. Still, the esoteric nature of this subject is fascinating and if you're not careful you'll find yourself going over the edge into a paranoid fantasy world.

The Fighting Fusileers