The Hawkmeister Chronicles

Fait Accompli

2008-07-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

...or is that fate accompli?

I'm voting

2008-06-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Antici

2008-05-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

pation.

Try to look unimportant...

2007-12-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

I do not necessarily discount everything that comes from the government. I remember from my time in Southeast Asia that every once in a while, our tax dollars fund government studies of inestimable worth. For example, the folks in the Defense Dept. researched issues related to protecting our troops while at the same time, providing the enemy the maximum opportunity to give his life for his country. From one of those studies came the Claymore mine.

The Claymore mine is a device designed to spray an area with many, many steel ball bearings of approximately .32 caliber at a velocity approaching 19,000 feet per second. The device consists of a small sheet of C-4 plastic explosive, one side of which is covered with the steel balls. It is deployed with the ball side facing the enemy, and is detonated by means of an electrical charge transmitted to a blasting cap that is inserted into the C-4. The entire package is encased in a plastic cover that keeps everything intact until the moment of detonation.

The wonder of this device is not its destructive force (which is considerable). No, the wonder is the message that came with each Claymore, to alert its users to the danger it posed. I know, you're probably thinking of messages like, "Danger! High Exposive!" or the like. No, the warning is much more personal than that. On the back of the mine, in letters embossed upon the olive green plastic, were these words:

"Do not eat."

Sage advice, that. But I've never been quite comfortable with the notion of entrusting a Claymore mine to someone who could actually benefit from this advice.

I will admit, though, that not everything I learned from my government is completely worthless. The military, for instance, has distilled some very astute observations into easily remembered lessons. Among these are,

If the enemy is in range, so are you.

Tracers work both ways.

If your attack is going too well, you have walked into an ambush.

If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn't plan your mission properly.

And my personal favorite,

Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo.

Throw the bums out

2007-12-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

The Bush Administration is the worst in the history of the United States. It has waged war on the American middle class, it has trampled on the Constitution, it has turned surplus into deficit, it has abandoned the moral high ground that we had occupied in international affairs for decades. Much to our collective shame, this Administration has replaced the expression, “as American as apple pie” with “as American as waterboarding.”

In 2006, the electorate sent a message that we are tired of politics as usual and that we want a change in Washington. We elected Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress. And what have we seen since then? Congressional cowardice—a complete lack of resolve to bite the bullet when necessary to effect a real change of direction. The recent Congressional approval rating of 22% reflects the Nation’s intense disappointment in our elected officials.

Do you feel the despair for this country that I do? If so, please consider this.

In the next election, do not vote for an incumbent.

Voting for an incumbent is like going back to the same dentist who pulled the wrong tooth the last time.

Voting for an incumbent is like going back inside the Port-A-Potti that was out of toilet paper last time you were there.

Voting for an incumbent is like re-marrying your former spouse even though s/he cheated on you the last time around.

Voting for an incumbent is like getting in a plane with a pilot who crashed his aircraft last time s/he went up.

Voting for an incumbent is a vote for “staying the course”.

Voting for the incumbent means that you believe that things can never get any better. Is that what you believe?

I’m not suggesting that if the incumbent is a Democrat, instead you should vote for a Republican. Or vice versa. We all know that if we do that, nothing really changes. Vote Green. Or vote Libertarian. Or vote Peace & Freedom, or American Independent. Vote anything but Democrat or Republican. Until we are willing to step outside the norms, and take a chance on electing someone else, we will continue to be held in the clutches of the two-party stranglehold that is American politics today. And nothing will change.

Voting for the incumbent signals the end of all hope for change, and the bums win.