politics and leadership

all from G.K. Chesterton

"Men are ruled, at this minute by the clock, by liars who refuse them news, and by fools who cannot govern." - The New Name, Utopia of Usurers and Other Essays, 1917

"There is only one thing that stands in our midst, attenuated and threatened, but enthroned in some power like a ghost of the Middle Ages: the Trade Unions." - A Short History of England

"I would rather a boy learnt in the roughest school the courage to hit a politician, or gained in the hardest school the learning to refute him - rather than that he should gain in the most enlightened school the cunning to copy him." (ILN 8-31-12)


Except this one...

So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.
Peter Drucker (1909 - 2005)

Immigration, President Fox, SAY WA

Mexican President Vicente Fox made a much publicized visit to Washington State yesterday. He first stopped in Washington's agricultural heart near Yakima. He visited an apple orchard and other agriculture related locations such as a fruit packing plant. I couldn't help but wonder if Fox was looking for work as his term will soon be up and he will be leaving behind a Mexican economy that is just a bad as the one he inherited. Perhaps that is why he is opposed to a crackdown on illegal immigration by our country. Here are some things that I know from experience.

1) I have seen Mexican immigrants, both illegal and legal, do work on my reletives farms. They are hard workers and are friendly. They are very thankful for the opportunity to work for a living.
2) I have seen whites that have the fortune of being born in the United States ask for work and get hired by these same reletives. Almost to a person they were lazy, ungrateful, and unfriendly. They wanted to be paid up front and couldn't be counted on to do a good job.
3) even with todays advanced industrial technologies, farm work is labor intensive. Contrary to popular opinion, American farmers are not rolling in the dough and getting rich at the expense of oppressed migrant workers.
4) the American agriculture industry is in grave danger from cheap foreign imports. China, and other countries, are planting millions upon millions of acres of farmland and are flooding the market with produce that truely does come from oppressed workers.
5) the United States has a duty to control the ingress of people through her borders. This is primarily a security issue.

Do we round up a kick out all people in this country who are illegal immigrants (don't give me that "undocumented workers" crap, thats like calling a tresspasser a untypical visitor)? I don't think so. The ones who can't provide proof that they are currently working or living in a household where there is a worker supporting them, they can be deported. If they don't want to become naturalized citizens, bye bye. Why should the United States have to support other countries welfare cases?

I will end with a question. Why hasn't Mexico, a North American country like the United States and Canada, been able to develope in to a 1st world country. What holds them back from true prosperity. The country is rich in natural resources. The Mexican people have a great work ethic. The nation has warm water ports on two oceans. What gives?

BIRD FLU ALERT

Fox news is carrying a story that the World Health Organization is reporting the possible person to person transmission of the Avian Flu virus (H5N1 virus). Up until now, it has been the belief that all human cases were contracted from infected birds. What does this mean for us? If you haven't started preparing yourself and your family for a flu pandemic you should really get serious about doing so. Here is the government plan for a possible pandemic. What can you do?

Make sure you have a disaster prep kit at your home.
1) Have a quality first aid kit, focus on trauma, environmental emergencies, and whatever special needs medications & equipment that are specific to your family
2) Water. the average person needs at least 1 gal of water per day for consumption, food prep, and hygiene. Most disaster prep books recommend a 3 day supply. As we all saw in New Orleans it would be more prudent to have at least a two week supply.
3) Food: the simpler the better. I'd pack canned/ready to eat meat, vegetables, and fruit. Stay away from things that need to be cooked or heated. Energy bars and a supply of multi-vitamins should also be included.
4) Medication: as we saw in New Orleans, this could be a matter of life or death. Diabetics were dying simply because their 3 day supply of insulin was exhausted.
5) store other tools, clothing, and supplies as appropriate. (click here for examples)
6) firearm: the sad fact is that when things went poorly in the New Orleans disaster, it didn't take long for a major American city to become a dog eat dog third world slum. In many instances the lawless and ill prepared took advantage of the situation and stole other people life sustaining food, water, and shelter. Don't let that happen to you, we have a second amendment for a reason. If they want to steal your food and water, give em some lead instead.

New Ship testing

So if you were the United States Navy where would you go to test new ship designs? If your answer was Lake Pend Oreille in North Idaho you would be right! The lake, which is the fourth deepest in the U.S. at 1100+ feet, has been used for decades by the Navy to test submarine technology. Now, for the first time, it is being used to evaluate some new skimmer (surface ship) technology. The test platform is a 1/4 size model based on the next generation Destroyer DD(X). The model was built by Dakota Creek Industries of Anacortes, home of the fighting Seahawks!!

The model is testing some new water jet propulsion system (catapiller drive?) along with alternative power systems that are supposed to make her much quieter when underway. The hull design is also new, incorporating much stealth technology borrowed from the Air Force.

I think the concept is very interesting and will improve our Navy's ability to fulfill it's primary mission, maintain sea dominance. The only drawback as far as I'm concerned is that ships have a certain beauty and grace, this new ship doesn't maintain that traditional shape. But, I'll never be one to choose appearance over substance.

In the end DD(X) is just another target for submarines like all the other surface ships.

p.s. notice how much the DD(X) looks like a surfaced submarine?

Pyro

Some new links

Here are a couple of new links. One is to the Pope Benedict XVI fan site, pretty much self explanatory.

The other is to the American Chesterton Society website. If you've never heard of Chesterton, it's a must see. Unless you don't like to read things that intelligent people wrote, (and that's entirely possible since your reading my blog right now). Here is an example of something Chesterton wrote.

"Without authority there is no liberty. Freedom is doomed to destruction at every turn, unless there is a recognized right to freedom. And if there are rights, there is an authority to which we appeal for them." (G.K.'s Weekly, April 28, 1928)

Armed Forces Day

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending the Bremerton Armed Forces Day parade. What a great parade. For nearly two and half hours there was non stop action as one entry after another passed in front of the kids and I. They say that the Bremerton parade is the largest in the country. The parade was led off by a joint services color guard followed by the "I" corps band from Ft. Lewis. The military grand marshall was COMSUBPAC (the two star admiral in charge of all the Pacific Ocean submarines). The civilian grand marshall was Sgt. John D. (Bud) Hawk, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from WW II. Bud is a longtime Bremerton resident and is a fixture in the annual parade. There were many other bands, military groups, general entrants, very cool. One of the highlights was a flyover from a C-17 from the Air Force base at McChord. About the only thing in the parade that I didn't like was the Shriner/Freemason entries. They must have been going by for 10-15 minutes. They wear their pseudo arabian outfits and play kazoos, bang cymbols and drums, and generally produce a sound that is as silly and annoying as seeing a bunch of 65+ year old men wearing Fred Flintstone poohbah hats riding on mopeds doing tricks. Whatever...
My favorite thing from the parade would have to be what my daughter said to me after it was over. She told me how proud she was to be an American and how when the jet flew over when all the soldiers were marching by it made her cry for love of her country. God Bless America.

I'd just like to say thank you to all those people I know in the Armed Forces and to the veterans. And I especially honor those Americans that have fallen in the service of our country. Now, be a good American and go read the Gettysburg Address.