Have Had Better Weeks

Sorry for the lack of posting....the grind of daily life....and afew other things has brought about little posting this week...hope to see this change in the next day or so. In the meantime, I am still going to be live on Radio CIA..."The Smoke Filled Lounge" tonight at 9 Central Time....hope to see you there...and will be on Yahoo Messenger for those who want to yak look for Navvet1955.

The Smoke Filled Lounge...

...that's where you'll find me tonight thanks to Radio CIA. We will be playing a mix of standards done by original artists and new voices as well. Add in some jazz, blues, and a few other odds and ends....and there you have it. It starts at 9 goes to midnight, or whenever I fall over. So, if you want to kick back and mellow to music which has stood the test of time, indeed is experiencing something of a renaissance, click here, around 9 tonight and stop on by.

Click For Cathy

Chris Muir, cartoonist extraordinaire, is being the kind of brother everyone should be lucky enough to have. His sister Cathy, is battling against cancer. One of the tools in her arsenal is American Cancer Ablation Center. Chris wants to give this most noble group of doctors and their platform, as much exposure as possible, thus bringing them more recognition. To this end, Chris is having a ten day "Click-A-Thon". You can also read today's cartoon, on the left column, or click on the button directly underneath same. That button will stay there, as a reminder to support those who seek to rid cancer from the list of human maladies. So give it a click, it doesn't cost a thing, and may make a difference in the good doctors receiving the visibility they so richly deserve.

UPDATE 2 Chris has had a rousing success with his "Clik-A-Thon!" And has drawn it to a close (see today's cartoon!) So the image below is gone. But for those who would like to keep the American Cancer Ablation Center link on their site there are, in the original links place, two "buttons" you can take and use if you so desire. And this post will now move down as others are added.

UPDATE This will stay up for the next week or so for the length of Chris's Clik-A-Thon.

The Holy Grail

Well it seems Eric has taken a quiz to see which character of the classic Monty Python movie, titled conveniently enough, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", he is. And wonder of wonders his ended up as King Arthur. Now, when I take the very same quiz I end up as a force to be reckoned with....an immovable mass..one who knows not the meaning of quit or retreat....in short

Take the quiz: "Which Holy Grail Character Are You?"

The (Invincible) Black Knight
No one shall pass beyond your defended territory, which you will defend to the death and multiple amputation.

Si vis pacem, para bellum

Si vis pacem, para bellum -- Flavius We may as civilized men want to reach and preach to the higher ideals and aspirations of mankind. And in and of itself, that is not a bad thing. It speaks toward the potential greatness of man (as ordained and willed by our Creator) that we subscribe to this. But to do so with the naivete (many would say foolishness, and they won't get an argument from me) of say, a Jimmy Carter, without acknowledging and preparing for the ever present threat of mankind's darker side. Like it or not, every country which through outright acts of appeasement, or sacrificing all for the sake of peace has, in very short order, disappeared from the face of the earth.

The fact is in order to remain strong there must be warriors. Whether fully manned, operational, and at the ready....or if possible, ready to forgo their civilian occupations and assume, again fully capable and ready, capable of defending and or guarding this country and it's national interests.

Or to quote Daniel Webster--

"God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it."

Then there is General Douglas MacArthur

"No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation."

There is a thread in all the above quotes...as to what a warrior is. They are the ones who willingly answer their countries call, and to the best of their abilities carry out their duties as assigned. They may have entered any given branch of service for any number of reasons (and those are many and varied). But when called to arms they do not shirk their oaths, but turn smartly and carry out "the plan of the day". Some fight for pride (personal, or for the "Unit"), some because the oath they took is paramount to all other commitments. Others for the blood of the warrior, strong in their family heritage, which coursing through their veins. There are those who simply believe there is nothing more important then to be there to cover their buddies back. I would imagine all would find at least some part of the last post personally resonates in their mind. And all could find common ground with any of the quotes above.

Kipling Said It Best

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer, The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here." The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die, I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:

O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.

Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

Yes, Kipling said it well and proper. When the wolf is at the door, the public at large looks to those in uniform to do what must be done to alleviate the threat. Though in the last 30 to 40 years there has been an ever larger group of folks who seek to offer the wolf kind hearts and coronets in the naive belief the wolf was nothing more then emotionally disturbed or acting on the after effects of an abused childhood. When in reality, the wolf seeks nothing more then a full belly and domination of its territory...but I digress.

And when the threat is removed then we need to rid ourselves of the "burden" of a well armed, trained, and flexible military. (We have made the world a safer place, and because we have dealt with the "enemy", we never need fear again. Thus we have no further need of them, cause it will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.) This line of thought happened after both World Wars, the collapse of the USSR, (And even before that, during Carters poor excuse of a presidency as well, cause we just needed to learn how to get along with everyone don't 'cha know.)

Now I don't support the line of thinking in the last paragraph. John Stuart Mill says it best

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

But it would seem at least half of this great country would blithely ignore the ugly truth of human nature. That given the chance there are still far too many out there who would absorb this nation, indeed, our very civilization, bend it or break it to their will, needs or desires. Without "Tommy" at the ready, this is an all to real likelihood. Roughly a century ago, Kipling recognized this. He noted how the civilian populace would just as soon forget the warrior in times of good fortune and with no wolf at their gate. But when the fangs fast approached and the pack has blood in its eyes....why they rallied around "Tommy" he will protect us!. What the fail to see is Tommy and his ilk spring from their very loins. If you denigrate the office Tommy holds you will find fewer and fewer to accept the mantle as the years go by. 'Til there are no more "Tommy's" to be had (or hardly enough). If we chose to ignore the message of Kipling's poem and the thoughts of Mill above we forget at our peril.

I Remember When...

As the good Mrs Du Toit notes, what was accepted as normal has been forever lost to us. It has been replaced with a post Sept 11, 2001 version of same. At some point in our future this too will be relegated to the trash bin of history. And whether or not evil brought about this change, or just the passage of time did the deed ($2.20 a gal for gas??? Why I remember when it was .22 cents a gal!) I remember spending a dollar to see a Sat matinee and that included the cost of the movie, a drink, and a box of popcorn. Today, if you get out alive for less then 20 dollars, you are doing good. So in one sense *what's normal* is constantly changing. It's the sudden unexpected "changes", rudely thrust upon us, which gives one pause. This brings about a major change to what is considered normal. How we react to this *new* normal, has consequences.

As such (the new normal), the war goes ever onward....but in a broader sense, it is not against *just* terrorism, but a much longer battle, that of good against evil. It sounds trite, but at least on the modern stage (within the last 200-300 years) with the possible exception of the Russians rattling against the ChiComs, there seems to be a consistent light against dark, a push and pull going on. Fran has noted our current woes are a case of those who, if not all in agreement with *the rule of law*, at least stand with the side of life/light vice our adversaries, who follow darkness/death...even in the very nature of their philosophy. Looking at other flavors of extremists, be it animal rights groups, environmental wackos, extreme political activists, would fall on the side of darkness, and you won't have any argument from me on that. Look deep enough (or not deep at all in most cases) and you will see a group who places value anywhere BUT on individual human life ... and so they (collectively) side with darkness, regardless how benign they appear to be.

If you look at it that way, yes, we will be fighting this battle forever. The current foe may (with determination, patience, and lots of luck) fall to the wayside...in defeat or marginalized to the point of becoming meaningless, but there *will be* someone or something else taking its place. (Remember how everyone seemed to think the world was finally going to be able to have a group hug and sing Kumbia after the USSR and it's satellites fell? Swords into plowshares seemed to be the plan of the day.) Certainly we should hope for the best, and dreaming about a better world, free of strife (at least on a national level), is in itself not a bad thing. The wise man, however, prepares for the worst. In this case it happened that a recognizable and easily identifiable menace (the Reds) was replaced with one not so well defined or contained. The old ways of dealing with such (evil) changed with the changing of the threat. Thankfully our President recognizes this (though it took a bloody wake up call to do so). And I hope we will see this fight to it's completion, there is no other viable alternative, if we seek to remain a nation and a culture.

For there are those (and they are many) who would ask the following, and answer with a resounding yes. Are we going to allow our government(s) to trade our hard fought freedoms (to a greater or lesser extent) for a greater sense of security? Are we going to fall into the tar pit of appeasement, having the arrogance to believe our adversaries follow the same basic philosophy(ies) that we embrace? Are we to attack this a purely a legal issue...let's catch all the offenders and place them on trial. Any, or all of the above, either runs the risk of seeing this country progress closer to self destruction, as more power without checks and balances is given to the state at the expense of individual freedom, or we go to far in the other direction, emasculating our nation, to the point of impotency. It then becomes a matter of time before our national identity is stripped away from us, and we either become governed by some group/nation which has a stronger identity of self, we dissolve in to city-states, or into out and out anarchy.

Radio CIA part Dux

Well, it's Friday night and the music is easy! Come on over to Radio CIA at 9pm (CDST) for the standards sung by old and new, jazz, mixed in with a bit of the blues. Will also be on Yahoo IM look for navvet1955 that will be me. And sorry Kim, there will be some Sinatra now and again...but plenty of Connick, Buble, Basie, Peterson, Kent, Monheit to go around. Hope to see y'all there.

Brothers

He's a year and three months to the day younger then I am. Years ago, when we were barely out of the three cornered pants stage, he was "Gar". Though there was a difference in age, if you looked at our pictures taken until we were nearing ten years of age, the first thing out of most folks mouths was, "My, they are cute, are they twins." we looked that much alike at the time.

It was many years later, when talking with mom, I found out how much my little brother idolized me, and in a number of ways sought to emulate me. (Though why he would choose this stumblbum, is still a mystery to me.) That he had joined the choir in high school, and actively pursued joining the Armed Forces after high school, due more to my actions then (according to mom again) anything else.

He ended up finally finding his own *self*. Went to college, got married, got his degree (computer geek), and went out into the world to seek his fame and fortune. I didn't see as much of him (or the family) as I would have liked being in the Navy kept me either overseas or stationed many states away from him. But we talked from time to time. Discussing sports, politics, life's ups and downs.

Now, he is in a position to enjoy life...and is doing so. And life as it is want to do, continues on...and in doing so, sent another birthday in my brother's direction. Today he is 49. Can it be that long ago we played at being Superman, jumping off the stairs of our basement onto piles of newspapers stacked on the floor? Or we wrestled in piles of freshly raked leaves? When did we go our separate ways in how we look at the world and its problems and the solutions needed to address same? Yet, all the while, never forgetting we were brothers and we could discuss things and disagree, but never had to personally "attack" the other (one of the nicer things about being brothers). And how on earth, did time pass so quickly that "Frick & Frack" suddenly grow into the men we are today?

Thank you Gary. For being the kind of brother only a fortunate few are lucky enough to have. For having the courage of your convictions to go your own way, but to never forget your family...(what you did for dad and mom was the highest example of a son honoring his mother and father...were I but half the son you are in that regard, I would be a happy man). You wear many hats, father, son, friend, confidant, but I am the luckiest of all...you are my brother.

May you have the happiest of days (I know you are doing your level best to do just that ~Avec le gusto à Paris, vivent votre vie !~) And may you see many more!

Kate Needs A Hand...

...more correctly, she needs a tooth...a few teeth. Last Monday Kate (of Venomous Kate fame) had a terrible biking accident. The end result was she is now minus a number of her front teeth, and has a couple others needing to be removed and replaced, or repaired as well.

The reason I mention this, is Kate is one of the folks I first started reading a couple of years back, even before starting this blog, she is one of the reasons "Snugg Harbor" is here. And getting the word out to the blogosphere at large, is the least I can do, in a very small way, to say thanks.

This is one of those events in a persons life you don't expect to happen....and yes she has insurance....the irony of it was, there was going to be other dental work done (and monies from the insurance company, plus the deductible, had already been put in motion for this), and now she has exceeded her allowable coverage for this year.

In short, she needs a hand. You can Go Here, click on the button in the left hand column, and drop a couple of shekels in there. She has never been the sort to beg, but the lady is in need, help her out if ya can.

My Son, A Real Good Sport

Those of you who follow this bit of Naval lint know, there are a couple of other members of my family who either have their own blog or have had, and will have again. My better half used to sound off when the mood struck her...and in the not too distant future, will do so again. However, there is another member of the family who is more then willing to share his thoughts. Stephen, my oldest son, college student in good standing, and man about town up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the owner/operator of "Just Another Young Pup".

He talks about life, sports, love, sports, college, sports, jobs, sports, his search for "truth-justice-and the American way", and...did I mention sports? He loves all athletics...but baseball, ahhh baseball is where his heart will always be. I think if he could lease a condo across the street from the "friendly confines", (That's Wrigley Field for y'all not infected with the incurable Cubbies virus!) he would do so in a New York minute. Anyhow, he addresses the current sad state of affairs in the NLB steroid battle. Check out his latest entry, you will be glad you did.

UPDATE Limbaugh is reporting at this hour, Raphael Palmeiro may be recalled by congress to face possible charges of PERJURY for his testimony regarding his use of steroids. Karma strikes quickly!!

American Zero

Alan, over at Barking Moonbats is highly peeved at the worlds worst excuse for a cartoonist, and all around putz, Ted Rall. Well, I thought Rall was at his usual low standards...and felt it was only fair...things were balanced out a bit...check *below the fold*updated below the fold.

Jihad Jane

As promised, here is Russ Vaughn's second offering. He shares the same loathing of this piece of filth as I do....and with far more justification...he was in country. I was just a young Sailor, learning my trade at the end of our support in that far off South East Asian land. That Ms Fonda should have been brought up on charges years ago...says as much for this countries tolerance of fools as it does for our governments lack of intestinal fortitude in prosecuting those who wear the mantel of "traitor". "Hanoi", now "Jihad", Jane will most likely live to see another day free of any legal concerns.....one wonders which circle of hell awaits her when her hour glass empties. I think she should not be sent that far....better she is forced to stay at "Fiddler's Green", serving on hands and knees, those who she continues to besmirch to this very day, for all of eternity. But that's just my take....what do you think?

Oh, and with a name inspired by Col Oliver North's column, here is Russ's poem!

Handmaidens of Terror

Russ Vaughn, who should be considered the poet laureate of the conservative blogosphere, has honored me with not one, but two of his latest efforts.

The first is here. The second will be in a post following this one. It is my humble opinion, that Russ, is fast becoming my generations answer to Kipling....but I may be a tad biased on that. Anyhow, read and enjoy.

Russ mentions this was inspired by a Michelle Malkin post. Said post can be reached here

Fear

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." -Franklin D Roosevelt

Today President Bush has appointed John Bolton as the newest ambassador to the UN. And as expected, the liberals and their lap dog, the liberal media have their knickers in a knot. No big surprise here. About time we had someone in that cesspool who was rock solid...haven't had a person of that caliber since Dr. Kirkpatrick.

Senate Dems along with their congressional cronies, continue in attempts to torpedo the current administration's proposed programs, agenda's, and appointments.

Terror groups continue to ply their deadly trade across the globe....many allied with Islam (or at least the Wahhabi's sect of same), though militant factions of any state, ideology, or particular cause, will gravitate toward this kind of violence, if their logic is flawed and their passion is high enough.

The continent of Africa continues to be embroiled in civil war after civil war, as either corrupt leaders seek to tighten their reigns at the expense of their peoples...or once again, Islam seeks to gain control of yet another country or peoples.

Third rate nations attempt to develop nuclear capabilities, for their own use in gaining a larger portion of regional control, or exporting this technology to others...or both.

Minority groups who seek greater levels of acceptance by society...looking to become part of the status quo.

What is the one thing all the above have in common? Look at the quote at beginning of this entry. It's fear.

Now fear is an honest emotion....and can, when reacted to properly, indeed save ones life. But we have gone far beyond the fight or flight response in our actions and reactions to fear.