Of Dorks & Dogs...

The linked blog entry I've included with this entry pretty much says it all for the Liberal Elitist and what has changed from the day after 9-11.

Are we safer today than 9/11/01..? Yes- "but..."

There-in lies the crux of the Elitist's braggart for our war on terror.

"Yes- But..." to them means "We're not safe at all."

Funny thing that Ryan Singel's article takes into account many and varied forms of US governmental data on health, disease and highway/product safety data- but therein is where his Liberal ideology shines.

1st off- "launched a pre-emptive war on false pretenses"?!

Okay, you half baked Libby Sci-Hippy. Let's not forget that you're using selective memory and you pretend to only remember what you wanted to hear and that everybody in Congress near-unanimously voted FOR the invasion; no, no! Let's also confirm something here... Define "what" pretenses you seem so wanton to illude to- if you're so damned smart, how about some facts?

2nd- "But despite the never-ending litany of warnings and endless stories of half-baked plots foiled..."

"Half baked?" Again- for a scientifically minded portfolio of information, your vaguarity just boggles my mind. Define "half-baked" you indolent turd. 5 years ago, "half-baked" was the idea that 4 planes could be commandeered with only box cutters and a little religious zealotry.

And then, my favorite. 3rd and finally...

Mr Singel's vaguary knows no bounds because he never takes into account [single mindedly and myopically self indulgently so] that the "silly" color coded warning is not just for American soil!

He mystically seems to forget that federal codesses are used wherever Americans may be. Sure- if you only apply American terrorist deaths to American soil- his analysis [though blisteringly dim and short sighted] is minimally correct.

Let's consider ALL deaths to Americans related to Islamofascism. And let's do it from the very start of this threat- let's say some time around 1960.

[Yes- I'm taking this opportunity to call a spade a spade- something our cowardly Mr Singel seems unwilling to do as well- Islamofascism is what's killing Americans and un-Muslims alike; and guess what- "Terrorism" as a tactic has been with us for many- many years...]

http://www.army.mil/terrorism/index.html?goto=menu

Total CONTEMPORARY deaths related to terrorist tactics? 20.X MILLION people.

Related to cancer? Hardly a dent. Won't even argue that point.

What makes this little pendantic Liberal Agenda ploy so obvious is that to make your point, you have to use only 10 years of data. Go back any more than 20 years- using both societal as well as military data and the answers are far more skewed- almost even in many of the catagories.

How about AIDS though? You realize that Terror as a tactic has helped to further the disease of AIDS more than any other disease known to man, right? Rats are probably the only vermin besides man that have surpassed the transfer of death disease and pestulance. Problem is, rats pass plagues by virtue of their nature- man does it by virtue of his hatred or ignorance.

Party politics and hatred for the standing administration are what keeps this war on terror from being just another sentence or two of footnote in a textbook.

All the items mentioned are analogous to all falls, all disease, poisonings, flu and electrocutions- military or otherwise. Raw military data configured to Terror activity going back to 1960 puts it on-par with "yellow" designation quite easily.

Our literary and statistical charlitain [Singel] may have a legitimate rant to the banality of our existance after 9/11- truly we all should because of the leathal proclivities of Islamofascists- but to place that rant on the residing administration smacks of the same partisan politics before 9/11. It's analogous to screeching about not being allowed to borrow the car on a Saturday night because Dad stands 4 inches taller than you.

"It don't add up".

I continue to be:

Russ

Name Five

Here’s a small quiz- see how many answers you can come up with…

1. Name the last 5 people to get the Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer.
2. Name the last 5 Miss Universe Pageant winners.
3. Name the last 5 Heizman Trophy winners.
4. Name the last 5 people to win an Academy Award for best actor or actress.
5. Name the 5 wealthiest people on the planet.
6. Name the last 5 teams to win the World Series.

Rather tough questions, perhaps?

Sooner or later, none of us will remember the “headliners” of yesterday.

All of the questions above mention people that weren’t slackers by any means- they’re all “top dogs” in their professions… Sadly, with all things, no matter how great- the applause eventually dies, awards begin to tarnish- achievements soon forgotten.

Eventually, accolades and certificates are buried with their owners…

Now, try this small quiz:

1. Name 5 teachers that fostered or encouraged your best potential.
2. Name 3 people who helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name 5 people who taught you something worthwhile.
4. Name 5 people who you felt appreciated and special by.
5. Name at least 5 heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Now it’s not nearly as tough a quiz this time, right?

The people who make a difference in your life wind up being the ones without the most credentials, money or awards…

Though it could be said that your personal inspirations will fade in due time, consider this; it’s usually the ones who had the passion, courage, and drive- basically; the ones who cared, that make the greatest contributions to this world- no matter how grand or small.

There's a saying about the dropping of a pebble begins the ripples in a pool that eventually crash to a distant shore as a mighty wave...

What pebbles have you dropped into the sea of life along the way..?

I continue to be...

Russ

"Do I Make You Proud?"

Taylor Hicks - Do I Make You Proud

If the olde addage "a picture is worth..." holds true:

Here, dear readers, are a billion words expressing the love and admiration for those who have risen to the cause of freedom and those who have fallen for its protection...

To say much more, would only cheapen such a wonderful work.

Enjoy.

So; What Are You Afraid of..?

At some point in time- especially in our youth this question would inevitably come up.

Most often it was a rhetorical postulate by nature, simply testing your resolve to either join the clique or to surmise whether you had grown beyond the reach of your teddy bear outside of the comfort and safety of your home.

Now though, is the time to ask that all too familiar question...

Indeed- what are we afraid of?

Is it terrorism?  Outside of the North-Eastern states; I really doubt it.  The Communist Left of San Fran have left little if any doubt as to the dubious fantasy land they live in- one of their "leadership" professing no need for an American military- I suppose we could do as the Romans and let mercinaries protect us- until the price becomes too high even for them and they turn on the very masters who might once have fed them...

Our own demise?  Seems to me the world is far too busy- collectively as well as individually- to contemplate our navels and the forces of the here-after to really account for anything meaningful.

Hell- at one point I feared having my testicles cut off- by "The Potty Monster" back during the potty training formative years and then some years later in some god-forsaken shithole of a place...

Oddly enough- it only took a vasectomy where the local antistetic wore off 15 minutes into a 20 minute proceedure to make me a believer that you may feel like the world is gonna end- but besides a few month's trauma- you [or I in this case] can endure and live through it.

So.  

"What are you afraid of..?"  

The known?  The unknown?  The pain of 'loss' or is it 'pain' in its most base form?

Think of this as simply a contemplation exercise- something to convince me [or most importantly, yourself] that you're very much alive and a part of this world!

I continue to be

Russ

It's Been A While...

Far be it from me to state that I'm a 'frequent' blogger- obviously I'm not...

In the time since the last jotted post, I've managed to do all manner of "nesting" to make way for a new baby girl and all the accoutrements that go with a new infant.

As a doting parent, there'll be time enough for me to post a picture or two- so yes, those that truly despise such things will have fodder to add to their desparagement of doting parents and their ill sent coos and gaffs of their children.

Let this stand as a simple note that I am indeed still alive and that with the lack of sleep of the truly parentally damned, I may or may not get much writing done in the next month or so- right now I seem to have a problem with my feedburner links, so thus I have something else to add to my list of ebb-n-flow problems that make up life.

Peace be with you, gentle readers- Russ will be back in the saddle before you know it.

I continue to be:

Russ

What We Do, Here & Now...

I sent this story to Lee Cockerell Back in the winding fall days before winter and the inevitable Christmas rush. It was the story of my father-in-law, Robert Holman and what his life represented during WWII. It may be a little out of place in the scheme of things as I post them- but his was a story I wanted to share with teh world- and with it, the continuation of his story into my own... The story is/was as follows:

I wasn't sure where to send a magical moment of this type, as this became a "moment" in time that a person doesn't realize has come to fulfillment until almost a year later- and certainly, this is a Magical Moment where the whole of experiences combines into a flood of emotions only brought to the surface from that point of picturesque clarity that hindsight represents...

I've noted your Main Street Diary since 1998 when I began my role as Ops Maintenance Administrator for the D/MGM Studios, and would only pleasantly glance over the guest compliments section as one letter or another might grasp my interest- not fully realizing the humanity that lie beneath mere printed words. Past notions of "a pleasant glance" are now replaced with a desire to learn more about the "who" as well as the "why" in a guest letter.

I have my own story to tell and it begins some time after December 7, 1941...

Before there's any mistake, I'm only 38 years old, the person "directly affected" by "Disney Magic Past" was my father-in-law Robert Holman, who joined the Navy just after the initiation of conflict that plunged the whole Earth into World War II. The unfortunate side effect of having made 4 shipboard deployments during his Naval career, Bob never came home on the same vessels he went out with. The first 3 deployments met with U-boat torpedoes; literally, he had the boats blown out from under him. The last deployment saw Bob swept off the deck during a squall where he tread water for almost 2 days until he was picked up by an English destroyer! Factor into this, enemy air attacks and battleship volleys, you could fully understand this man's desire to see nothing bigger than a pontoon boat ever again!

After the kind of conditions experienced by Bob, it's not hard to understand why he would never want to take a cruise, but you couldn't explain it to his wife or my wife [his daughter]... Shirley and my wife Suzanne seemed to be the Lucy and Ethel of the High Seas, always prodding and poking Robert to take them on a cruise since the 1950s. And always, the same answer- "I don't want to get on one of those renovated scows- too many nightmares, not enough memories".

Enter The Disney Cruise Line.

After my wife and I had taken an anniversary trip on the Wonder, everyone in my family (including the 1-year-old, go figure) managed to convince him to go. It took some doing, but eventually we were able to drag him onto the Wonder for his first voyage in almost 60 years! Though Bob could have pealed the tile off the floor to the gangplank going in, within the third day of the trip, while we were on Castaway Kaye, unprompted, we get a totally unexpected question "When should we take the 7 day cruise?"

Eventually, we took that cruise, right around the first of February (2003). My family, the "In-Laws" and my wife's brother and wife all took the trip- the only caveat being that Bob's health was faltering due to a harsh bout with cancer. As are all things Disney, the guest treatment was top notch, and any help with Bob's needs were always humane.

A couple of months prior was the family Christmas trip to the Magic Kingdom during the Cast Holidays. Normally, we're not a picturesque bunch and usually wave off the Main Street photographers, but since we had the option of a photo and The Castle to our backs, we posed all together with cheesy grins and eventually picked up the picture for a good laugh. Much like all the holiday photos and trimmings of the season, after Christmas it was put aside for the next year...

Unfortunately, Bob's health never got much better, even after the cruise. Eventually he was diagnosed terminally ill back around the end of February- the very same month as the cruise. With dwindling health and no positive prognosis, Bob and his wife of 50 years, Shirley, planned for what they knew to be inevitable. By the first week in October Bob and Shirl ventured up north to Massachusetts to take one last look at the falling leaves and to have amends with family and friends all with the idea of coming back to Florida for whatever time might be left.

Bob never made it back to what he considered "home". He passed away on October 14, [2004]due to the progressive nature of the cancer that had persisted for so long.

At that time, between moving into a new home, and reporting to Imagineering for a grand opportunity to work under their helm for a few months, things were already hectic in my family's household, and Bob's passing only compounded the frenetic nature of what one would call "life". Quiet moments after the funeral are- for now- sometimes spent with nagging quiet voices of regret and "things left undone or unsaid". Hardest hit of course was a wife and mother of 50 years, and a daughter who's only selfish motive for her father to stay alive was so his grandson would better remember his grandfather and not just some jumbled stack of pictures and grand stories.

This past Monday, I pulled decorations out of the Holman's attic in order to help Shirley have something up for the holidays- though things are melancholy this Christmas, we all agreed that we wanted things to be special for our toddler.

Being just over two years old, a toddler has a strong propensity for nosing into anything, and nothing sparks the curiosity of a little boy like a dusty box with greenery sprouting out of it... Lo and behold, in one of a dozen dusty boxes the baby had managed to pull out the picture of our family in front of the Castle, with the digital imprint of the Disney characters along the foreground edges.

The baby would point to each character and then burp out "Ickey", "Uto", "Inney", "Donnod"... Of course, we expected him to remember the characters- since he showed interest in Mickey all while we were on the cruise (as long as Mickey "stayed waaay over there"). But then came a Magical Moment- as fleeting perhaps as the time it took for the photo to be snapped and as quiet as the omnipotent voices of Pandora's box offering hope to the future:

"Daddy, Mommy, Gammy, Baby..."

"An Gampy..."

That Cast Christmas photo- the one we scarcely would have had taken- the one we laughed at ourselves for the chagrined nature of the moment since we had repetitively passed the opportunity time and again; is the last photo of our family together. That one photographic Disney moment is locked in time- we're all smiles- Bob is still with us and cognitive- the future was there to be had- and a grandson remembered his grandfather...

What happens in our future is anyone's guess. For those that subscribe to Zen koans, "Only the here and now are perfect- the past is a memory and the future is a lie".

Much like the proverbial pebble, onced dropped close by helping to create the crashing waves some place far from it's origins, my family and I, for now, will have rippled moments of perfection during this one difficult holiday season.

My letter then ended detailing some things that I could take a life lesson from and apply it to business...

To try to sumerize it directly wouldn't make much of an impact to you, my faithful readers- but once paraphrased, is just as timely here and now as during that turbulent time in my family's history...

As an observation concerning the holidays- as self actualized individuals, sometimes we need a reminder that, though we see things differently than our fellow human beings, often through the eyes of repetition and the frenetic pace of the season's; sometimes the act of "just being there" for a moment that creates the moment.

Those persons and personalities you'll come across in life will have their stories to tell, and whether you tell them or are told- there will be stories- ("ripples" from the very pebble we have just dropped into this "ocean" of our guests' expectations) in the not-too-distant future. What difference they make to you or that you will have made in a person's life may not be spelled out so clearly at the time of your meeting.

But soon enough, what will be the "here and now" of the future will tell...

I continue to be
Russ

Blogger Widget Test...

I have to hand it to the folks at Gooooogle and Blogger...

Not everything has to be special for the Windows users, and the addition of the Mac Blogger Widget just might make things a little swifter for guys like me that have just enough time to do something other than post on their blogs...

Granted, the widget doesn't provide all of the wonders of the full fledged Blogger Account- but for someone to simply jot a note that could easily be forgotten, this tool makes it much easier to get a person's thoughts down and into the microcosm that is Blogger.

Truly a wonderful addition to the Blogger line.

Now I can say that I'm a better integrated, and continue to be

Russ

The Difference Between Liberal & Humanitarian

All right- it's been a while... I could just whine about the time not spent installing entries as chocked up to "familial responsibilities":

Case in point- it's taken me 30 minutes to write this much...

It turns out that even getting up as 'late' as 07:00 means that all the pets [and we have acquired quite the zoo repository in this household...] want bread, fed, watered, walked and squawked- a hungry and QUITE pregnant mother wants to start "The Baby Room Project" and a son that just shat the bed full [damn virus/bacterium that's been going around the day care; Geez, I hate day care- just on that "merit" alone] demand immediate, simultaneous attention.

The interesting [or dare I say- 'funny'] part to this is that it makes for entertaining writing fodder at some later date when I can actually adjust my thinking to the humor of it all.

Back to matters at hand: Liberals and Humanitarians.

In order to piss off mankind's [hence: "My"] rivals and to solidify "correct" thinking in the shortest method possible, here's how I see things...

Humanitarian: Person dedicated to the just cause of humanity/mankind through action and 'good works' to produce results beneficial to everyone- if one should benefit, all should benefit.

Liberal: Person dedicated to personal cause[s] through action and discention to produce results beneficial to his or her personal beliefs- even at the restriction or cost of another's.

Yes, good readers of RussViews- my stance is that Humanitarians seek harmony and balance with everyone by striving for results that allow everyone to rise to a higher balance; Liberals seek the restriction and/or subjugation of others to create what they dimly percieve to be as "balance".

A Humanitarian will make mistakes and look inward to see what he or she may have calculated incorrectly in order to change themselves and thusly help change the world for the better.

A Liberal will make a mistake [their meer existance is often enough] and looks outward for the person, place or thing that needs changing to make their world a better place.

All this I've gained just by surfing some of the leftist and rightist blogs and forum sites...

There's all measure I could write concerning the subject- but I've a load of household duties to perform and it waits for no man- or, "woo-man" for that matter.

There'll be plenty more "slammage" to be made as the days, weeks, etc pass- until then, I have a baby to prepair for it's arrival and a son who needs extra attention while his tummy feels bad.

I continue to be:
Russ