The Laughing Wolf

When I was 12, we spent the summer living with an Uncle who was stationed in Italy with the Air Force. One of the things we did was to drive up into Switzerland, and Germany to tour, and the Eagle’s Nest was on the itinerary, given that I was an avid student of all things WWII. Mom wasn’t real keen on going up there, and much preferred looking at the mountains from down in the town. As a child, I knew that Mom did not like heights, but it didn’t really register that she REALLY DIDN’T LIKE heights. In fact, they terrified her. It was not something I shared as heights don’t bother me, nor does falling – it is only the sudden stop that bothers me. So, I joined the other kids in scrambling around, going out on trails and sharp ridges, and exploring every public area of the nest. Mom was not happy, but didn’t scream at me too much.

She was much happier when we took a tour of the underground bunkers and fortifications. I was fascinated with the design, construction techniques, and other factors and so while I knew she was happier I really didn’t think much about it. Indeed, I was much more interested in finding out if one could explore more than was shown and memorizing a lot of what I saw. Partly just because I was curious, and partly because I wanted to see what provisions had been made for gas, since even at that age I figured out real quick that the defenses were not up to one grenade or canister of gas.

When we left the Nest, I was happy. Life was great, and I am taking in the magnificent view from my window seat in the bus. I was happily describing all to my Mom, who had averted her face from the window almost as soon as we boarded the bus. As we start down the road, I look down on the town and happily announce “Look Mom, you can see the hotel from here!” From the floor of the bus, where she was trying to get under the seat came the words:

“Shut UP Blake!”

“Mom, what are you doing on the floor?”

“Just shut up, and tell me when it is safe to get up again.”

I did, and Mom was a good sport about my teasing and sharing the story with one and all. Out of all the wonders I saw that trip, this incident is still one of the first to come up, and remains a memory of Mom that is guaranteed to bring a smile. Thanks Mom.

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Dear Mr. Powers:

Thank you for applying for health coverage with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

We base eligibility for membership on certain underwriting requirements to protect all members and to keep health care costs manageable. Each applicant must meet these standards to be accepted.

After careful review, we have determined that you have not met these underwriting requirements. We are unable to offer coverage to you at this time due to your history of Shoulder Injury and Hyperinsulinemia. Additionally, a person 5’10” is allowed a maximum weight of 215 pounds.

We appreciate your applying for membership and wish we could give you a more favorable reply.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXX

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Let’s face it, there will be one and most likely there will be more than one unless and until we confront the real enemies and deal with them. Our ability to do this is being tested in Iraq and right now the reviews are mixed. Not because of the insurgency, but because of the political infighting and failure of various Alliance and U.S. factions to set aside their own ideological shibboleths and deal with the real issues. How we face that challenge is even more important than how we deal with fair weather friends and outside-orchestrated “uprisings.”

The enemy has first hand empirical evidence that the tried and true methods work. Bombs in Spain cause the Spanish politicians (not military) to run like spooked bunnies. They get other allies to say stupid things so that their military can be attacked and then withdrawn. They see Old Europe ready to roll over and present its belly to them in exchange for the use of lubricant and payoffs to various individuals and concerns. Business is business, after all. They see U.S. political opposition ready to follow suit with Europe and failed appeasement, and they see the Old Media ready, willing, eager and able to do their propaganda for them. In short, they have every expectation that attacks will have the same effect here as they did in Spain and elsewhere.

They are wrong, but that will not stop the attack(s).

The important questions after the attacks will be:

Why? No, not just the fact that they are sworn to destroy all competing cultures and religions, for that is their stated long-term goal. Why then? What was the short-term aim of the operation? Why the location selected? Did it serve a strategic goal other than simply pointing out that no place is safe? Why did they use a particular methodology? Do they hope to stampede us into destroying ourselves from within through rash, freedom limiting legislation?

What? What were the full short-term goals? What response did they desire to provoke other than fear, for there are always other responses being sought beyond the obvious.

Who? Who were the real targets, for such may not be the victims at all? Consider that such events are aimed at influencing, for good or ill, certain key individuals who are in positions of power or potential positions of power. They may seek to limit the actions that can be taken by someone, by binding them in political infighting and domestic strife. They may seek to cause someone to take actions that will have a long-term benefit to them, even at the expense of short-term loss.

When? The timing is critical, for it gives leads to the answers to the questions above. There is also the fact that for a given period after such an event that the public and the politicians are going to react on a more emotional level than intellectual. There are a few who will avoid this, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Who these are and what they can do will decide much of the future. If they are venal, they will use it for short-term political or economic gain, ignoring the fact that the long-term will turn out bad. If they are not venal, then the long-term will be secured even at some expense to the short-term. In short, such individuals will live up to their obligations and do what is right rather than what is expedient or comfortable.

Now, I said above that they are wrong in their assumptions, but I did not say why. Now is the time.

They are wrong because the venal are a minority in the body politic. The ultra conservatives are a minority. The far-left and I hate Bush/anyone but Bush brigades are noisy, especially given their domination of the Old Media, but again are a minority. The core of American public opinion is fairly set and even increasing in its support for a real war on terror, to the shock and dismay of the Old Media. While an act will have short-term consequences, the long-term are unlikely to be what is desired.

The real, true, fundamental flaw in their thoughts is that they, like so many before, have held the belief that America and Americans will react like Europeans. To quote Jacob McCandles, “Not Hardly.” Despite all the propaganda thrown at them, they remain fairly solid. In the last 100 plus years, we have never reacted as would Europeans, and that cost those who bet otherwise skirmishes, battles, and wars. It has cost political careers and lucrative deals. Yes, in the short-run individuals will be venal and short sighted, but the difference is that once the long-term becomes clear, we act.

9-11 awakened a sleeping giant. There is a considerable effort being expended to put it back to sleep again, and to keep it from waking friends and neighbors. The attack, when it comes, may temporarily blind the giant, but it will guarantee that it is fully awake. Then, let enemies beware.

Bugs Bunny had it right, and summed up the American attitude towards war. We don’t want it, and will avoid it if at all possible, but there is only so much we will take. “This means war” sums it up well.

The attacks will happen. There will be terrible short-term consequences, and there is a real danger of doing ourselves harm during that time. They key to avoiding such harm is to avoid the trap, to think, to look at the questions posited above, and act upon those answers rather than in the way the enemy wants.

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I thought I had signed up for a 5,000 minute plan, based on a very limited time special at the time I signed up. What shows up now, however, is a 1,000 minute plan which has left me extremely unhappy with the bill I just got. With the surgery and everything else that has gone on, I have made good use of my cell phone, and it was more than 1,000 minutes.

My call to T-Mobile Customer Service was not a happy one. I got loads of accurate and factual information, none of it truly germane to the problem at hand, namely the issue of the number of minutes for which I had signed up. The person at the other end also repeated several times that she had never heard of a 5,000 minute plan. Gee, I’ve seen advertising on it in print and on the WWW, and know people on it. All of this together did not give me a warm fuzzy.

So, I went to the T-Mobile office where I had bought the phone and service, but none of the regulars I’ve dealt with were there. So, I ended up dealing with a gentleman I don't really know. He started confused and stayed confused, even asking me for my phone number and such even after I had given him the bill with said information prominently displayed. He did not remember the special, couldn’t find anyone who could or could spare any time for him (they were quite busy), and generally was not able to tell me much of anything. In fact, the best he could do was recommend that I call back customer service and get them to change me to the 5,000 minute plan (the one they never heard of). The only thing he could tell me was that I was signed up for the 1,000 minutes according to the records, but he never could seem to access the original contract, and I say that because he gave me the wrong date for my start of service.

Somewhere, I do have the original contract but I have a growing suspicion that I was either signed up for the 1,000 minute plan (and didn’t catch it) or that I agreed to change down to the 1,000 minute plan and that my memory has been faulty from the start. Given my memory, this is a distinct possibility.

Either way, I am going to be stuck with a large bill, and customer service that has left me very cold. This is not what I am used to getting, and I do expect better of them. I also expect better of me, and plan to make triple sure of any cell phone contract I take in the future.

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The shoulder has been a problem for a bit more than a couple of years now. As mentioned before, the GP and I have treated it by symptoms, hoping that would work. I really should have gone for the consult sooner, but am very glad I went when I did.

The good news is that the rotator cuff, the tendon, and such are in remarkably good shape, especially the rotator cuff. It really looked good. There is a bit of roughness on the ball part of the shoulder joint, but it is not bad and about average for someone my age. No biggie. The area where the bone spur had been stabbing was a bit inflamed, to be polite, and there were signs there of arthritis and bursitis. While he was in there, the good doc cleaned out as much of that as he could and left things in good shape. In mechanical terms, he cleaned and oiled the joint.

If the bone splinter had been a bit to one side, things could have been much worse. If I had waited another year or two before going in, it could have been much worse. If I had not tried to take care of things and do right, it could have been much worse.

Yes, I hurt like heck after the exam, especially after he gave me a new torture, I mean physical therapy, to do. I overdid it a bit in the office, but that should surprise no one who knows me. I have been warned to take it easy, and I will do so. We want to get the inflammation down or gone, and then start building strength back into the joint. That will take time, but that is okay. Time I have, especially now that I have the right treatment.

If you don’t feel good, or you do hurt, don’t wait – go see the doctor now. I know this and still didn’t do it. I will be doing better from now on, because I was lucky and I know it. Share the luck, and take care of yourself. Get a yearly physical, and be an educated and aggressive consumer where your body is concerned. Take care of yourself, because if you don’t, no one else will.

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Proving a positive is easy. If you claim that you went to a college, prove it by showing a transcript. Say that you earned a certificate in International Marketing and Management, and be prepared to show a copy of said certificate. In short, you can easily prove what you say, or equally you can be easily proven a liar.

Disproving a negative is a real challenge however. How can you prove that you won’t be tempted away from a job by another? You can point to the fact that you really like the company, and think that the job is a great one that is perfect for shifting career gears. You can point out that your last two major jobs were not left voluntarily, with a company going away and a contract ending hardly things that you engineered simply to leave a job.

This applies to many other things, however, and in watching the feeding frenzy, I mean some of the press questions tonight, I was reminded of this. Take a look at most of the questions being asked of the President and others by the Old Media. Take a moment to look at the logic behind them. Again, I ask, how do you disprove a negative?

May you not be approaching other issues in life the same way? Are you placing others in the position of disproving a negative?

Just some food for thought.

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Yes, I am aware that he served in WWII, and I will not belittle that service. What I will say is what a lot of people, possibly including the man himself will say: that was different. To their minds, it was and is, and this dichotomy is just part and parcel of a mindset that allows the Old Media’s undeclared war against the military to continue.

Despite his own service, it was “different” then and no one truly wanted to be a soldier. They just did what had to be done. Only losers and psychotics wanted to be soldiers, you see, and they made up the military up until it was called upon their betters to enlist and win the war. A gross simplification of the mindset, but if you bother to read through a lot of drek, this is indeed the distilled version.

It is also the heart of the socialist/liberal/whatever viewpoint: No good person wants to be a soldier. Anyone who does is psychotic, not nice, a loser, etc. At best they are myrmidons, and at worst they are all cold-blooded baby burners just itching to go to work. Yes, I have chosen offensive terms, and they are terms that I have heard used against people who have served in the armed forces.

Now, the problem is that some like Mr. Rooney are conflicted by past service, or the fact that they happen to know someone who is a serving member. Maybe they are the child of a friend or whatever, but they are good people and can’t possibly be such a bad person. That just leaves one option: stupid. They were too stupid or were tricked into service, that’s it. They were forced in by the evil machinations of BushCo, who forced the economy into a slump so that there would be many willing volunteers. That has to be why these nice and bright people would join.

So, they are stupid myrmidons and baby burners.

Unacknowledged amongst this mental clutter is quite a bit of bigotry. You see, to those of this mindset, to be used by the military is the only way “they” can get ahead. “They” being the poor/ethnics left behind by the great American capitalist juggernaut. The Man keeps them down otherwise, so they have no choice but to go into the military. The military, in turn, has to advance some of the more “gifted” of “them” and that is how “they” get ahead. When you parse the logic here, it is more than a little obvious and offensive.

Bah. People like Rooney and others of the far left never got it, will never get it, and don’t want even a chance at understanding why people choose to serve. Why those that serve see that service as a good thing in support of a great country. Why those that serve fail to see that America is the pits in terms of moral relativism and such. Why those that serve are not necessarily the ones wearing blinders, or just plain blind to the world as it really is.

What they also miss is that they sound just like the intelligentsia who backed Chamberlin to the hilt, and felt it just awful that that warmonger Churchill was taking over; who insisted that we not get involved, and didn’t that Mr. Hitler have some interesting ideas; and, who believed that we could do business with Tojo and Stalin and others if reason were to prevail.

It’s not the questions or the column itself that was disrespectful to the troops. It is the thought behind it that is the blood insult, and is what needs exposure to the light of day for all to see.

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I do hope I get a good gas passer this time. When I had my knee scoped 20 or so years ago, I had a good one. He knew that I sometimes do strangely with drugs and that I might be a challenge. He prepped, and I benefited. I think it is the only time I’ve gone out laughing. He was so determined to do me right, that he prepared a special concoction. I started counting backwards, and when I got to 93 my eyes crossed. The last thing I heard was this exultant, satisfied, and smug “Gotcha!!” that I just made me laugh. He really was good, because in recovery, when I came out, by the time the nurse logged my awakening and turned back around, I was dressed and ready to go. Went and had pizza afterwards. Almost every other time I’ve been under, it has not been pretty on the recovery end.

To answer a question, I do and I don’t have a problem with being put to sleep. Overall, I don’t because I do expect to wake up again. I do have a problem with it because I tend to see stopping as death. Because of everything growing up, and having it tossed in my face more often than necessary, I did and do equate stopping with death. Even my rest involved/s a book, for like many before me who could not live life fully one way, I lived and explored mine through the written word. Encyclopedias, adventures, National Geographic, you name it, I read it. To this day I have a hard time just sitting still – I have to read or do something else. A habit I need to break.

I told a boss’s boss one time that I often needed a vacation from my vacations. Since I have a hard time with the sitting and relaxing thing, I tend to hike, climb mountains, or just walk. I have to do. Even on the beach, or sitting in a pub, I pull out a book. I really do need to learn how to relax, to live in the now, and just enjoy what is. I do that far too seldom, and enjoy it when I do it, but just can’t seem to be able to allow myself to do it on a regular basis. Need to work on that.

The place is still a disaster and I hate to let anyone see it. I did get some vacuuming done, got my bathroom sort of clean. Still not where I want it, but in pretty good shape. The carpet really needs cleaning, but that will have to wait. Close a few doors, and things should be okay. Do wish I could have gotten to the guest bath a bit more…

Well, I will see you all sometime when. If all goes very well, and the gas guy is good, it may be tomorrow. If not, it will be as soon as I can and when I am not on pain juice --- or at least too much of it. Take care of yourselves, and go visit the fine blogs listed on the right.

LW

Over the years, I have shot a variety of long weapons, backpacked with an average of 50-75 lbs in the pack, done Judo and Aikido, jumped out of planes, and done other things that can savage a shoulder. The current troubles started a couple of years ago in Aikido. The first injury was my doing a roll wrong. I fixed the problem myself, did not go to a doctor, and dealt with it. Got it all better, and then got back into full Aikido just in time to have someone do something they were not supposed to, with audible (and tactile) results.

This did result in a visit to the doctor, and my GP and I elected to treat symptoms at first, and I did some physical therapy. I was given Vioxx to take as needed, and tried to see if resting then therapy would work. The results were very mixed, to say the least, so I tried more aggressive therapy. That clearly did not work, with the result that I stopped all therapy and upper body workouts around Thanksgiving. Thank goodness I did.

I have a fairly high pain tolerance, and what I consider a low rumble probably is something. With that in mind, I have experienced some rather severe pain over the last year or two, and it was not fun. It was not constant, which bugged me, and made my decision on what to do more difficult. Finally, about a month ago I had enough and asked for an orthopedic consult. The doctor did some X-rays and an MRI, and there was good news and bad news. The good news is that there did not appear to be a rotator cuff tear. The bad news was a bone spur and problems with the collar bone. The bone spur is driving into the rotator cuff and assorted tissue every time I raise my arm shoulder high or higher, such as when I was doing therapy, working out, or just doing things around the house. Given this and the damage, it is not surprising that I was having some pain.

The ortho gave me some choices. I could go with Vioxx and very conservative treatment (injections not having done very much), but within a few years I would have to have surgery because of the damage being done by the bone spur. Or, I could go ahead and have the surgery now. I was told to take a day or three to think about it. I immediately contacted another doctor, various people in the medical field, some friends who’s judgment I trusted, and a couple of people who if they say left I go right. The result was surprisingly unanimous, and fit my opinion: get the surgery now.

The surgeon and the center have a fair reputation, so that was a plus. The fact that the damage was only going to get worse went heavily in favor of the surgery. The fact that my COBRA coverage would not last much longer was also a factor. When all this was factored in with every medical type recommending the surgery, well, it confirmed what I was leaning towards. Better to fix it now, than to have real bad problems to fix later.

So, that is how I got to this point. Lessons learned include not waiting as long if the initial does not work as planned. It is almost never a good idea to wait if you know something isn’t right. I didn’t think things were really this wrong, but still probably should have gone in sooner. Oh well.

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Yet, I am not shocked or dismayed. Indeed, I am glad it is not worse. This is the vicious urban combat scenario that was the favorite of armchair warriors and anti-war types before the invasion. This is the fighting that was going to take the cocky administration and the great American war machine and grind them up and spit them out. This is what was going to bleed us dry, and give us our just desserts a thousand fold.

Thirteen killed.

Not thirteen thousand, not thirteen hundred, not even one hundred thirty.

Thirteen.

Their loss is a real and painful loss, and I resent it having to happen. But my resentment is not aimed at the administration, nor even to those who are trying to make things worse in the name of partisan politics. No, I will save my ire for those that truly deserve it: The people responsible.

For I hold Osama and his merry band as being solely responsible for 9-11 and kicking off the war.

For I hold Saddam and his murderous and barbaric regime responsible for not honoring their commitments under treaty and for their support of the war Osama started.

For I hold other murderous thugs and barbarians in capitals and palaces around the Middle East, and elsewhere, responsible for not merely supporting Osama’s war, but for directly aiding and abetting that war and what is going on right now.

It is the latter group that is most worried right now. They have to, not want to but have to, destabilize Iraq and give the U.S. a black eye. Nothing else will return even a shred of their credibility and remove the most significant threat to their power in decades. Nothing else can save them.

Yet, from all appearances, their plan while flawless, was based on some false assumptions and kicked off prematurely and skewed when the U.S. did not act as planned. All the weapons, all the support, and all the planning appear to have misfired.

The fighting going on will be vicious, all the more so for us since we will try to minimize civilian casualties even as the other side tries to maximize them. It will be bloody and hard on our troops, and I have no doubt that the Old Media will play it for all it is worth, since it is not just our foreign enemies that have failed to grasp change. Yet, this may well be the best thing that could have happened.

The fight has kicked off early and has not gone well for the enemy. They are out in the open, identified, and the “treat them all equal and nice” doctrine no longer applies. We have the right and the ability to go in and remove a grave danger to the new republic before it even forms. In the process, we not only remove troops, but leaders. We have the opportunity to identify command and control centers, people, and methods. We have the ability to track communications and run things all the way back to the sources and identify them. We have the opportunity to turn various elements and play them as needed.

It will not be easy, or pretty, but it is not a tragedy, a mistake, or even a bad thing. What happens now is a good thing, no matter how painful it may be. For what is going on right now is killing a cancer before it can spread or grow. It is catching the cancer early, so that it can be more easily treated and destroyed. It comes at a cost, but that cost is small in comparison to what it would be had it not been discovered early. It is a far lower cost than if we let that cancer take over, and spread to other places.

For all that, this cancer we face is spread from elsewhere. Despite the cost, we now have additional means to track that spread and see where the most dangerous source infections lie. Once we have this metastasis dealt with, we need to look at the sources, and begin treating them as well, wherever they may lie. Let us not miss the opportunity, and let us not fail to honor those who are giving their all to give us this opportunity. We must not let their sacrifice be in vain.

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The libations of the afternoon are underway, and I have been very much enjoying my Balvenie Single Barrel Single Malt. While I have heard many a purist sniff at such things, I enjoy them and am glad that they are not all the same. Indeed, it is the differences between each bottle that make it such a pleasure to try. Currently, I am trying a bit of Glengoyne 17-year-old, like Balvenie a Highland whisky. It used to be that I enjoyed Highlands almost exclusively, but have come to truly love a good Speyside. I do wish I still had some of the 27-year-old that I obtained from Cadenhead’s last time I was in Edinburgh, as it was superb. For those interested in learning more, allow me to point you to the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society and the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society of America. A fine group of lads they are. Also, for Ifni’s sake, don’t drink blended whisky. A large part, if not most, of each bottle is grain alcohol, not true Whisky. Go for a good single malt, and taste the real water of life.

I have also just splurged a bit and ordered more tea from British Isles in Houston. Another fine group of people who keep in in Taylor’s of Harrogate Scottish Breakfast Tea, Williamson & Magor English Breakfast Tea, HP Sauce, and Scott Porridge Oats. Their site is undergoing revision, but they are most happy to talk with you by phone or work with you by e-mail.

Do wish I had some Brannigan's Special Ale though...

Thanks again to Ith, and all the other participating blogs, for throwing such a good party.

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That process has already started here. Not only have I provided all the basic information to my doctors, I have also specifically requested that the doctor’s office pre-approve this procedure, even though such is not strictly called for by the insurance. This may have been a good move on my part, give a letter I just received. In a move that surprised me, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama carbon copied me in regards a request for information on my referral to the orthopedic surgeon. This appears to be a standard request, but it also gave me a good opportunity to be proactive. So, I have sent the following letters by FAX and by mail:

Dear XXXXXXX,

I am in receipt of your letter to Dr. XXXXX in request of further information in regards my shoulder injuries, for which I was referred to Dr. XXXXX. Thank you very much for the courtesy, as it is very propitious in another way.

Being a writer who often writes on consumer products and such, I am doing a series of online, internationally read, columns about the entire process. As I wrote in my first column, “This is, in many ways, no different from any other consumer product about which I have written, and it may be that my experiences with doctors, facilities, insurance companies and the like will assist you. After all, you do have choices on each, and what I go through can help you decide on your choices. … Lean from what I do, my triumphs and my mistakes, so that you can apply that hard won knowledge to your own healthcare. Caveat Emptor applies here just as much as it does to cars.” At some point in the future, I hope to publish these columns, edited, in either a magazine and/or as a book.

I ask that you keep me apprised of any and all decisions, problems in obtaining information, things that call for commendation, and other items of note so that I can share them with my readers, just as I am sharing this letter.

Thank you very much for your time, effort, and consideration. If any information or assistance is needed from me, please just let me know. I look forward to hearing from you on a regular basis.

Sincerely,

Dear Dr. XXXXX,

Attached please find a copy of the letter I have faxed to XXXXX in regards her letter to you dated 1 April 2004. If I am needed to provide any information or assistance in regards this letter, or any other inquiry by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, please do not hesitate to contact me by voice at XXXXXX, by FAX at XXXXX, on my mobile at XXXXX, or via e-mail at XXXXX. I would very much appreciate your cc’ing me on all information provided so that I can have a full set of records.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for the care you have previously provided in regards this matter, and for the referral to Dr. XXXXX. I have been very pleased with the care provided to date, and while it would be a stretch to suggest that I look forward to the surgery, it will be a welcome relief to have some form of resolution to the matter.

Again, my thanks for the care you provide me. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if I may be of service.

Sincerely,

Words of strong advice: Do NOT be passive on insurance matters; keep copies of everything sent or received; try your darndest to get copies of any information provided by others, and if you can’t get it note for the record when you tried, who you talked to/wrote to, and why it was not provided. When dealing with things of this nature, note times, dates, who you dealt with, and any other details even if they don’t seem relevant. You simply cannot have too much information.

Note my response to this, which is a very routine thing for an insurance company to do. I have made notes, I have requested information, and I have asked to be kept in the loop. Don’t just assume that everyone is going to look out for you, they are not: they are going to look out for themselves. It is up to you to look out for you. Do so.

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That said, the surgery I am having is minor and will be handled on an outpatient basis. The implications behind the surgery, and the changes it could have on my life, are, however, quite profound. The shoulder has already proven to be a life altering experience, and that is only going to intensify.

As some of you know, I love Aikido and have miss taking part in it very much. I have been informed by the doctor that Aikido is no longer to be a part of my life. While I have hopes that such will change with time, he seems very firm about it.

I also like being active in other ways, and several of my favorites may well be compromised. This is a bitter blow, given that my being able to do and enjoy them has been a literal matter of blood, toil, sweat, and tears. The short version is that I was born allergic to almost everything and had other problems as well – including extremely bad coordination. Some doctors told my parents that I would not live and if I did I would not be able to do much at all, such as go to college. To all those delightful docs, I have but one thing to say:

Thhhhhhhhhhhppppppppppppppppppppppttttttttttttt!

My father built balance beams and other items as needed to help me overcome obstacles. He taught me not only how to shoot, but to shoot well, which was yet another thing I was never to be able to do. He helped me to realize that NO was a good answer in many cases, particularly when someone, anyone, tried to place limits on me. To do all that I have done has cost me a great deal, and I resent and fear anything that tries to undo what has been done. I tend to deal with such things and people in very short manner.

I no longer have that option, for once again it is my body that is the enemy. The problem for which I have put up far too long is a bone spur. It is bone that is damaged. If it were just the bone spur, it would not be too bad: a slit, a snip, and not much more. The damage my shoulder has taken for many years, possibly many, many years, is such that the end of my collar bone has to be removed as well. Exactly how much is a question. What else may have to be done in there is a question as well.

All of which place things like backpacking and marksmanship in quite some question. The doctor and I have already discussed the backpacking a bit, and he had a couple of suggestions that may help. We have not discussed shooting, as it would be pointless until we know exactly what has to be done in the shoulder. If enough bone comes out, I will no longer be able to shoot right handed. It is possible that I may have to give up long guns entirely, and that will NOT me a happy camper make.

My thoughts on part of this are not printable. I fear my body and the treacher it may be. I fear sliding backwards, accepting any limits, in ways far more than death itself. Hell to me is to be trapped in a body and unable to do. It is to be trapped in my own mind in some of the ways I was as a child. I am not going easily into this.

I have some plans in place to deal with things. If I have to, I may make the range a really interesting place for others by learning to shoot left handed. I hope to avoid this, for no other reason that the need to get new, left-handed long guns. I can and will find ways to carry a pack again without the agony that I have had the last year or two. I will not give an inch if I can.

More on this later, including the decisions and what led to them. Lean from what I do, my triumphs and my mistakes, so that you can apply that hard won knowledge to your own healthcare. Caveat Emptor applies here just as much as it does to cars.

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On the immediate Iraqi front, there is a challenge from Muqtada al-Sadr who appears to have orchestrated multiple uprisings that come suspiciously on the heels of the events in Fallujah. Al-Sadr has dropped any pretense of wanting to work anywhere near or in the system, and made clear that he wants control a la the Iranian theocracy. He presents a scary picture, but one that needs a closer look than most media are giving it.

He appears to have semi-organized troops in large numbers. There was a fairly well done march of them, all in what was effectively a uniform, and others have seized points that seem to beg for a harsh response. Like I said, a scary picture at first glance, but what is it really showing us?

First, it is showing a fair degree of organization and communications. The C3I is interesting, and says a lot about the backing that is coming from somewhere. It is clear that communications have been provided, weapons procured, and most of all money has been provided. The clothing and other items speak of the potential for fairly serious money coming in to the cause.

Second, the organization itself is revealing. Look at the structures, look at how it is set up and how it interacts. Then start looking at the models that fit. For a hint of what I see, look east northeast of Baghdad. There are very interesting parallels.

Third, look at the operations. They are textbook in many ways, but some of this is getting missed. Yes, the operation is texbook for portions of the Iranian theocratic revolution. Yet, there is more here. Look beyond the surface at what has happened. We have just had Fallujah, which invited a very nasty response. Then this new army surfaces while other elements connected with al-Sadr seize a governor’s residence in a move that demands they be removed immediately and forceably. There are unconfirmed reports of smaller-scale but similar incidents elsewhere.

Now then, it is clear that this is a challenge to not only the Coalition Provisional Authority, but to the Iraqi Council and the plans to go to an interim government. It is an attempted coup.

Now, at the same time, we have OPEC playing games with production and prices. This is not surprising in some ways, except that where OPEC had been willing to play along with pretending to support the War on Terror up until the Coalition went into Iraq, they are no longer doing so. They appear, in fact, to be working to undermine and undercut things on several levels. Pay close attention to more than just the obvious here.

The picture emerging is not a good one, and there is a lot more afoot. For today, given time constraints, this is all I am going to go into. What this boils down to is an attempt to derail the transfer of power, and perhaps to install a theocracy just like in Iran. All that truly matters, however, is that democracy in Iraq is eliminated as a threat to the rest of the Middle East.

If it also happens to effect regime change here, and do away with a clearly stated threat, all the better. None of the surrounding countries and wanna-be countries in the region want a free and even semi-democratic Iraq in their midst. The power they hold depends on ignorance, superstition, and poverty of the majority of the people. If the people suddenly have hope, see that what they have been told is wrong, and see also that poverty need not be the norm, then those in power are in trouble. The peasants will be most interested in funds, and how certain leaders seem to have amassed millions and even billions in overseas accounts. The peasants will not be happy. This must be prevented at all costs.

What the U.S. and the other members of the Coalition have done in Iraq, and most of all what they plan to do there, represents a clear and present danger to them. Nor are these leaders the only ones threatened. Many other governments and organizations also depend upon ignorance and poverty, and upon the wholesale graft and corruption that has emerged from the Middle East, for the fortunes they have made above and beyond what their governments and organizations have provided them. Some of these have already openly sided with Saddam, and may well be in bed with the enemies of freedom that have just “suddenly” sprung up in Iraq. In fact, I would all but bet on it.

What is happening is only a surprise to the willfully ignorant or those who depend on the Old Media to do its job. It is not a surprise to anyone who has looked at or followed this situation to even a minor degree. It should not be a surprise to anyone who has read this site for a while, as I have been saying for some time that it is going to get worse – but in getting worse it is already getting better.

Even today, there is hope. There are some signs that what we see happening was not supposed to unfold this way. In point of fact, I think someone jumped the gun.

The key is the barbaric atrocity the other day in Fallujah. It was well planned and orchestrated, from the attack itself to the professional media coverage. It was a stalking horse that was intended to provoke massive retaliation, or at least action that could be used to project the same to a salacious Old Media that would fall all over themselves to project it as such. Why hire PR people when you have useful idiots who will do the job for you, for free, and even better than you could have because they know the cultural mores for each area of the world?

The thought and planning behind this is impressive in many ways. A lot of time, careful thought, planning, and skull sweat – as well as real sweat – has gone into it. They are making full use of the U.S. election and politicians here; they are making full use of political divisions, elections, and more in Coalition member countries; they are making full use of larger divisions and de facto alliances elsewhere in the world; and they are clearly using the lessons learned from previous engagements worldwide. The only problem is, they have yet to realize that the playbook has changed.

Vietnam and Mogadishu are history, of intense interest only to those hopelessly mired in the past. Warfare has changed, and the blitz into Baghdad proved it. Operations since that time have proved it. The military is not just using a new book, it is writing portions of it as it goes. Just as the enemy has studied the past, so to have our troops, and they are determined not to repeat the mistakes made, or react in the ways expected.

Instead of going in, Fallujah was surrounded and preparations for what is to come are proceeding in a deliberate manner. Anyone old enough to remember the anticipation of being switched, of having time to think about what is coming, of seeing the switch picked or selected, and the effect that has? Think about that, and what the people in Fallujah might be feeling about now.

This also seems to have had the effect of throwing off a carefully orchestrated timetable. The troops marched, the building were seized, and everything you would expect in terms of eruption in the face of atrocity by the Great Satan took place: only without the provocation.

Yes, it is going to be ugly, and we are back to combat. But, instead of dribs and drabs, the enemy has come out into the open. I will bet that by the end of the day someone in the Old Media will drag out the dead and well beaten horse of Tet, and make the comparison. And they will be right, this may well be Tet. For there, the enemy came out in the open and was soundly defeated. A fact covered up and distorted by the Old Media and those who stood to make political gain.

That must not happen again. The enemy is out in the open, in more ways than one. Let’s start shining the light on those who are trying to manipulate elections here and elsewhere; let’s shine a light on those politicians who try to use such for political gain; and, let’s shine a light on what is actually going on at every level, so that a truly free press and the marketplace of ideas can flourish.

The enemy has miscalculated and jumped the gun. Let’s make the most of it. Go get ‘em.

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We started with a 2000 Chablis from Roland Lavantureux. The nose was light yet sharp with scents of hay and light fruit. The medium mouth was sharp and dry strong mineral, slight wood, and citrus under on the finish. The result was not pleasing, and the only thing I could think of for it was to pear it with something extremely sweet.

The second wine, Castle Rock 2002 Napa Valley Sauvigon Blanc, made up for it a bit. It had a nice nose of pineapple and tropical fruit, followed by a medium mouth that was slighty crisp but with subdued flavors of fruit and mineral. If it had lived up to its nose, it would have been a very good wine.

The third wine was Jewel 2002 Viognier from California. The rich nose was filled with red delicous apple and bosc pear, and the medium to full mouthfeel was crisp and sweet with fruit. A nice finish. While sweeter than my normal like, it would pair well with good white cheeses.

The fourth wine was Qupe 2002 Syrah. It had a nice nose of leather and chocolate with fruit under. The tart mouthfeel revealed fruit – and a bitter finish. This was another wine that if it had lived up to its nose, it would have been very good. As it is, I do not recommend it.

The final wine of the tasting was Napanook 2000. The nose held leather and fruit, and the medium mouthfeel also contained leather and fruit. The finish, however, was not good.

The best wine of the day was not a part of the official tasting, but was offered to me when I arrive a bit early. It had been opened the previous day, and it had held up very well. I was quite pleased with the Mason Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2002. It has a very nice nose of citrus and fruit, and a medium mouthfeel with flavors of citrus and green fruit with a slight crisp finish. This is not a bad summer day wine, and would pair well with fruit and cheese on a hot afternoon.

One thing to keep in mind for wines is that they are not just for drinking. For example, the Jewel above would be excellent for poaching a firm white fish or even some salmon. Take a covered pot, or some aluminum foil to make a container, and place the fish within. Season, and consider using some fresh dill or other herbs appropriate to the fish. Pour in some of the wine, seal, and cook.

Another thing to keep in mind at a tasting, is if you consistently get a reading – such as a mineral note to the nose – no matter the type of wine, it may be the glass. Even minute traces of soap or chemical can throw things off, and if you have hard water the mineral notes you get may be from said local water when used to wash and rinse. Just a thought to keep in mind.

Enjoy your day!

No, I will not mention the name that is upon the lips of a thousand blogs, again, this morning. It has never been linked here, because unlike others I never felt that it was an adult or showed any dedication to rational discourse and basics of responsibility that I consider essential. I deeply regret that it is proving me right, with a denial and coverup worthy of a Nixon, and a play at being the victim worthy of an award.

I find it amusing that this thing has chosen to attack Glenn Reynolds as the leader of a vast right wing conspiracy against them. I knew of Glenn long before he began blogging, and there are many things I could say about him. Time being short this morning, I will simply point out the following:

Glenn does have a fairly good sense of humor. He not only encourages the Alliance of Free Blogs, he tried to join it – and it is an allegedly anti-Glenn organization. He has taken the fake quotes and other things, including my references to him as Cardinal Puppilieu and Gary/Glenn The Rat, in stride and even run with some of what he considers to be the best.

When Glenn makes a mistake, he fixes it.

When Glenn makes a mistake of fact or other item that needs to be acknowledged, he does so.

To the best of my knowledge, Glenn has never tried to cover up any mistake he has made, blame said mistake on others, or otherwise tried to evade responsibility for said mistake

I am not aware of any time that Glenn has ever led a personal crusade to “get” a blogger, not even Frank J.

That said, Yes, I am being petty to referring to it as It. I will expand my earlier comments to say that I have never felt that it had sufficient fibre of any type, and that given what has spewed forth of late I feel that such must include a strong lack of dietary fibre as well. I find the comments made to be reprehensible in the extreme, and it is my hope that the families of those fine MEN, or their employer, will initiate all appropriate actions against this base libel and smear.

That said, I am not surprised at the class and thoughtfulness shown by the Armed Liberal at Winds of Change. The people that form the core of Winds of Change are indeed better, and the blog far better as a whole, because they work hard to be so. Note the difference, and accept no less in all those that you read.

When thinking about those who debate endlessly in locked rooms, versus those that went out and looked around, I realized that almost every one of the people I had admired as a child were those who went and looked.

Some of my earliest heroes were the Knights of the Round Table who rode forth and did to the highest ideals. It was Merlin, who sought for knowledge and wisdom in the Hollow Hills and across the length and breadth of the lands/Earth. I hung upon every word of the conflict between ideals and reality, and how the problems were resolved.

In more pragmatic terms, I thought very highly of Galileo. Here was a man who refused to accept the knowledge of the windowless cloisters and locked minds. He looked, and when he needed tools to look he made them, literally. He performed experiments to confirm or deny theories. He paid the price for so doing. It really bothered my Mom that I thought so much of him, given that she believed very strongly for many years in not rocking the boat.

Poor lady, she was sorely tried on that regard because I immediately turned my sight upon Leonardo, for whom I felt a strong kinship. We were both outsiders with a rough childhood, and he gave me courage and hope. For he dared great things, and was not content to simply dream of ideas, he had to try and make them real.

There were others, all of who paid a price in one form or another: Archimedes, who had to test his theories; Antony van Leeuwenhoek, who invented the modern microscope and began to prove once and for all that it was microbes and not daemons that were behind many illnesses; Joseph Lister who revolutionized surgery with treatments for wound sepsis; Marie Curie, who gave her life for her research; Thomas Edison, inventor and businessman; and Nikola Tesla, who probably took more to his grave than we care to think about. Add to that military figures who pretty much formed the other half of my heroes, and it is a powerful mix.

Almost none of the ivory tower types stuck in my pantheon. Pure philosophy for its own sake was something that eluded me, and still does. It is great to dream of something grand, but such effort is useless if it has no bearing on reality.

The argument espoused by Mr. Whittle is an old one, and has been going on since well before Plato and his groovy cave. There have always been those who dreamed of ideals, and they were forever at war with those who looked out the mouth of the cave. I can well remember from my own career when computer modeling became the vogue. I remember well arguments raging over the validity of weather models that clearly said it was sunny and bright outside, when anyone leaving the lab and going to a window could see the rain pour down. Simple observation drove some of the modelers to even more intransigence, rather than to fix an obvious need in their model. The model was ideal, it was the world that was wrong to them.

So spend today and think a bit about your heroes. Were they people of action and great things, or merely thinkers with great ideas? Or, were they people who aspired to lofty goals and ambitions, but had the sense to look out the window and see the world as it was? With that in mind, who do you choose for your heroes, your authorities, now?

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Most of the other items will be dealt with, one way or another. They are not easy or fun, nothing life altering ever is. I will survive them, though my life will surely change because of them.

The thing that has me truly scared is some surgery. Long-time readers will know that I have had shoulder problems for some time, and that it has quite literally been a pain. My GP and I treated the symptoms, but to no avail. I put off for far too long going to an ortho about it, even though I knew I should. Don’t put such things off, and get a yearly physical. I know far too many people who are dead or dying because they did skip those things, or put them off for far too long.

The good news is that it is not a torn rotator cuff. The bad news is that it is a combination of things that will see me next Friday going in to have a bone spur taken out and the end of my collar bone removed. Exactly how much and what remains to be seen, but I am already a less than happy camper in some ways.

Given that what is happening to me is not that unusual, I am going to blog about it and all that goes with it. I hope to make some points and encourage all of you to take better care of yourselves, and to deal with some of the demons that I face right now. To be honest, I would much rather be being shot at again than dealing with this. At least in that situation I can fire back and have an enemy I can try to out-think, out-maneuver, and out-fight. I have none such here, and am having to face all-too-painfully the fact that I am not getting any younger. Professional and financial changes don’t scare me nearly as much as having to give up doing things I love. Or that I feel are necessary.

I will clearly mark these posts so that those who wish to skip them, the personal, and the whining, can easily do so. Those masochists among you who want to, will be able to spot them. For what it is worth, I am going to try to get ahead on blogging, and have some things in the pipeline to cover several days to a week, just in case. I have the sneaking suspicion that my typing speed is going to be cut more than in half for a while. Call it a hunch.

What will happen, will happen. With luck and such, I will end up much better than I am now. That is a goal well worth shooting for, in every sense of the word.

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While I am not quite ready to call the hotel that is the home to most media-types in Baghdad the Caravelle, it is getting awfully tempting. The parallels are amazing, and extremely disconcerting. The fact is, the faces you see on the news don’t go out and search Baghdad and surrounding areas for good stories – they depend on others to tell them of the stories and don’t stray out of the hotel grounds that often. To go wandering around is dangerous, and to go where there is trouble and such is very, very dangerous. The safe thing to do, therefore, is to rely on PAO types and native bearers, I mean, native journalists/stringers to go do the searching and filming.

In far too many cases, those natives are the same helpful people that worked for Saddam and were in fact the minders and keepers of the press. They were the people who blocked them from reporting stories that Saddam did not want told, promoted the stories (remember that there is more than one meaning for this word) that he wanted told, and in general worked to block access to the truth. That such are now the main source of news for many of the Old Media speaks volumes and explains a lot of the coverage that comes out through them.

I don’t have answers to my questions, but will share those questions and some speculations with you.

First, where did the footage come from? Was it from a source who sold it to the networks? Was it from a stringer who just happened to be there? Was it from reporters who were there?

These are very important questions. Keep in mind that most of the broadcast faces spend most of their time at the hotel, and only venture out on specific errands. They are not the type to go roaming the streets looking for stories, and most especially not in Fallujah, where it has been made clear that they are NOT welcome. So, unless someone told them they would have a great story and safe passage, major reporters are not going to be there. Had they been there, you can rest assured they would have been seen.

Most likely, even if they were given such guarantees, they would not be there. Too easily a trap and too easily a way to get hurt or killed. What you do is send a native, since they can blend in, know the culture, etc. Remember also the mindset I have discussed before, where to the elites of the Old Media, they are wogs and expendable wogs at that. If they are hurt or killed, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth for public consumption, and little else. Save some celebrating by the reporters and producers involved, who will be breathing huge sighs of relief that it was not them.

Still, the natives are not going to be there unless they knew that something big was going down, and that some promise of safety was made. Take a look at the murders and bombings of late – most are aimed at those who are cooperating one way or another. Any native reporter, especially one who was trying to live up to the standards of journalism, would in effect be wearing a bullseye. They are not stupid, and would not be there without some strong guarantees.

The footage shown could have come from just one crew, but there again comes the question of who and why? If it was one crew, then they were hired to be there.

Second, when did the media get tipped? Was it well before the event, so that a crew or crews could get there? Or were they offered the tape(s) later? Makes a difference in one important area – that of collusion. While journalists have long maintained that they have an obligation only to the truth, and some prominent members of the Old Media have stated in public that if they were filming with guerillas and had a chance to warn a U.S. patrol of an impending attack, they would not do so but simply film the result. Freedom of the Press is what they wrap themselves in on this, but that coat does not – in my opinion – fit. I will bow to the members of the Volokh Conspiracy on this, I am not a lawyer, but to my mind this does fall under aid and comfort to the enemy. Accessory before and after the fact at best, treason is more what comes to mind here. I want an answer to this, very badly.

Third, did any media organization pay anything before this started? Remember, one or more so-called media organizations have been disclosed as paying people for good footage. You know, like riots, rock throwing, and demonstrations against the Yankee oppressors and the like. I have to wonder what some media organizations would be willing to pay for filming a nice, juicy attack on American civilians?

Fourth, here is some speculation based on analysis. Look at the footage. Look at it. Ignore the center, look to the sides. This was staged, and there is a lot of acting going on. People are hamming it up. They are showing faces, they are making the grand theatrical gestures. They make no threats towards those filming, and it is clear that the person or persons filming are welcome and safe. All of which speaks volumes. I am willing to bet that those truly behind the attack are not in front of the camera, but they are there. They are just smart enough not to get in the frame, and to let those without much in the way of brains get all the exposure possible.

None of this is good, and most of all it is not good for the media, particularly the Old Media. The questions here are being ignored, and will be ignored as long as possible. What I see here is a mockery of journalism, and one of the reasons I am happy to no longer be associated with what passes for journalism today. What I see here is a betrayal of the principles of journalism and of the duties of a Citizen.

I want answers to my questions. I want them now. I want them in public. The media will avoid this unless they are held to the fire, and that is the duty of the New Media, and of the Citizens of the Republic and all other citizens anywhere who believe in life, liberty, and humanity. Most of all, those who are dedicated to a free press, a responsible press, must demand these answers. The reasons why should be obvious.

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