Hooray for the USA

From Warren Buffet's recent annual letter to the shareholders:

“Money will always flow toward opportunity, and there is an abundance of that in America. Commentators today often talk of ‘great uncertainty.’ But think back, for example, to December 6, 1941, October 18, 1987 and September 10, 2001. No matter how serene today may be, tomorrow is always uncertain.

“Don’t let that reality spook you. Throughout my lifetime, politicians and pundits have constantly moaned about terrifying problems facing America. Yet our citizens now live an astonishing six times better than when I was born. The prophets of doom have overlooked the all-important factor that is certain: Human potential is far from exhausted, and the American system for unleashing that potential—a system that has worked wonders for over two centuries despite frequent interruptions for recessions and even a Civil War—remains alive and effective.

“We are not natively smarter than we were when our country was founded nor do we work harder. But look around you and see a world beyond the dreams of any colonial citizen. Now, as in 1776, 1861, 1932 and 1941, America’s best days lie ahead.”

Gingrich won't be president

In today's local paper (The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC)I saw a picture of Newt Gingrich talking with a couple at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition in Waukee Iowa. The former Speaker of the House was photographed at a side angle by Charlie Neibergall for the AP and I can tell you that Americans have not elected a man this fat since Warren Harding.

Turtle is a tortoise

My turtle is a tortoise. (See Mr. Turtle below.) I learned today a major difference between a turtle and tortoise: The former has web feet for swimming. The tortoise is a land-dweller that eats low-growing shrubs, grasses, and even cactus. Tortoises do not have webbed feet. Their feet are round and stumpy for walking on land. So my Mr. Turtle is undoubtedly a tortoise. So who knew?

Turtle on the move

This turtle was considering crossing the Isle of Palms, SC, connector on March 1. He was at the edge of the highway watching four lanes of cars moving very fast. I made a decision for Mr. Turtle: I turned him around and headed him back to a grassy area and a drainage ditch. I continued on my walk and when I returned he was no where in sight.

Extraordinary fidelity — Central Intelligence Agency

This is a link to a fascinating story of courage and fidelity by two men who survived more than 20-years of captivity in China. They were young CIA officers when betrayed and captured. They came out grown men still in love with their country and demonstrating "extraordinary fidelity." This is a great story, better than most spy fiction.

Two CIA Prisoners in China, 1952–73 — Central Intelligence Agency

For the child in all of us

In all of us, I believe, is a child's fascination with trains. This weekend myself and a friend went to the Citadel Mall, Charleston, SC, and visited the Charleston Railroad club house and The Best Friend of Charleston temporary museum. Both of these are in former stores' spaces and a delight to visit and spend time. The RR club has a great display of all scales* of tracks and trains on hand and the museum is dedicated to preserving the history and memory of the Friend of Charleston, the first railroad engine to see service in South Carolina back in 1830.

*Scale is the reduced size relative to the original item being reproduced. The most common model railroad scale is HO. This is 1:87 in relation to the real thing. This scale is used by maybe 70% of model railroaders out there.

Other common and easy to find scales include N(1:160), O(1:48), G(1:24) and Z(1:220).

Clicking on the link above will take you to some pictures we took during our visit. You may view these as a slide show by clicking on the appropriate term on the left above the first picture.

Don't redefine rape - sign the petition

Hi,

I just heard about a horrible bill that could redefine rape and
set women's rights back by decades.

Here's the deal: Right now, federal dollars can't be used for abortion
except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman's life is in danger.
But the bill, introduced by Republican congressman Chris Smith, would
narrow that use to "cases of 'forcible' rape but not statutory or coerced
rape."

I personally believe that when a woman says "No" anything beyond that is rape.

As far too many women know, bruises and broken bones do not define rape -
a lack of consent does. This bill is scary - so I signed a petition
telling Congress to stand up and oppose the bill. Can you join me at this
link?

Thanks.


Archie

Mary Frances Cooper Archibald - Obituary

Mary Frances Cooper Archibald MT. PLEASANT - Mrs. Mary Frances Cooper Archibald, wife of Francis X. Archibald, died peacefully Wednesday in her sleep at the Skilled Nursing facility in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., where she had lived for the last three years. Mary was born in Georgetown, S.C., October 13, 1931, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cooper, also of Georgetown. She was educated in the Georgetown public schools and graduated from Winyah High School. During her teens she worked at the usual teen-ager type jobs, including a stint as a waitress at the Screven Hotel. She was taken to a commercial college in Columbia by relatives but arrived back home in Georgetown by bus almost before the relatives who traveled by car. Mary joined the United States Air Force and took basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas. She went on to specialized secretarial training at Okalahoma A&M and was then assigned to Headquarters, USAF Office of Special Investigations, Washington, D.C. It was there she met her future husband, Francis X. "Archie" Archibald and they were married in a Catholic wedding at the chapel at Bolling AFB on September 4, 1954. Mary and Archie had five children and lived in Washington, Charleston and again in Washington before moving to the Charleston area for what would become the family site. They settled in Hanahan in 1960 and lived there until three years ago. Mary was a most loving wife, devoted mother, caring grandmother, and friend of many people. She earned a college degree from New York State University through classes and study in the Charleston area. During the early years of her marriage she worked briefly from time to time at Charleston AFB, the Naval Base and later with the Department of Mental Health in Columbia. In 1980 Mary was a campaign leader in her husband's successful campaign for the Statehouse. She later bought an 80-year old Dutch Colonial house in Columbia, S.C., and restored it to its original likeness. Much of the work she did personally and supervised the rest. Mary was a devoted viewer of the Discovery and Travel television channels and yearned to see many places around the world. After Archie retired in 1993, Mary and he traveled by car throughout the United States, Canada and Alaska. In 1994 they went to China and taught at Taishan Medical College, Tainan. Mary had approximately 200 college students in Basic English classes. Following this, Archie took Mary on a six months trip to foreign countries to visit some of the places she had seen in films and on TV. They drove across Western Australia in nine days, a trip many Aussies will never undertake. In 2003, they traveled to South Africa on a self-guided tour for two months and in 2005 made a trip to Malaysia. Mary was a member for many years of the Berkeley Hills Garden Club and worked hard in her home garden and on club projects. She enjoyed sitting in her swing on the back porch her husband constructed for her at their Hanahan home, especially in the spring and early summer, and taking in the beauty of the yard and nature in bloom. Mary is survived by her loving husband, Archie Archibald of Mt. Pleasant, SC; five children, Francis "Frank" X. Archibald, Jr. and his wife, Lisa, of McLean, VA, James E. Archibald and his wife, Lisbeth, of Arlington, VA, Patrick L. Archibald and his wife, Donna, of Goose Creek, SC, Martha Archibald of Goose Creek, SC and Wynn A. Godbold and her husband, Rett, of Myrtle Beach, SC; nine grandchildren, a sister, Bertha Westbury of Georgetown, S.C. and a brother Edward Cooper, Marietta, GA. She was preceded in death by her sister, Lee Benton. Mary was a convert to Catholicism in the early 1960s and a devoted communicant at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church in Hanahan. The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Rodenberg Hall, Franke at Seaside, 1885 Rifle Range Road, Mt. Pleasant on Saturday, January 1, 2011, at 1:00 p.m. with military honors. Her family invites all neighbors, friends and those who were touched by Mary's life to attend. Visitation will be held Friday, December 31, 2010, at J. HENRY STUHR MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. Final commitment will be private to the family. The family wishes to thank the staff at Skilled Nursing, Franke at Seaside, for the loving and caring they showed Mary while she was living there. Also, Hospice of Charleston was a big assist to the family in Mary's final days. Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association Alzheimer's Association Alzheimer's Association , 2090 Executive Hall Road, suite 130, Charleston, SC 29407. A memorial message may be sent to the family by visiting www.jhenrystuhr.com. Visit our guestbook at www.postandcourier.com/ deaths

Mary Frances Cooper Archibald, R.I.P.

The Post & Courier
Charleston, SC
Thursday, December 30, 2010

ARCHIBALD, Mary Frances Cooper, of Mount Pleasant, wife of Francis X. Archibald, died Wednesday. Arrangements by Stuhr's Mount Pleasant Chapel.

(Full obituary to follow on Friday. Visitation at Stuhr's Mount Pleasant Chapel, Mathis Ferry Road, on Friday, December 31, 2010, from five to seven in the evening. Funeral Mass on Saturday, January 1, 2011, in Rodenberg Chapel, Franke at Seaside, 1885 Rifle Range Road, Mount Pleasant, SC, at one o'clock in the afternoon. Interment later will be private to the family.)

Note: This blog entry is primarily for friends and extended family outside the Mount Pleasant area, although the publication mechanism of necessity includes a wider audience.

A daugher's "feel good" blog

This click here blog is written by my daughter and I am so proud of all she has become I want to share it with you. I hope you will enjoy it and click on the different headings (home, blog, testimonials, etc) to learn more about this remarkable woman and SC kindergarten teacher who loves her work.

DADT to end

Newspapers report this afternoon the Congress has voted to end the "Don't Ask, "Don't Tell" discriminatory practices in the armed services. The bill goes to the President who is expected to sign it and then the Department of Defense will have to take action within 60 days for repeal to be final. Gays and lesbians will then be able to serve in the military without fear of persecution and prosecution. I believe this is only right.
When I was in the Air Force (1951-1959) two of my friends were kicked out of the service having been revealed as homosexuals. I never suspected either one of being gay and considered them along with the hundred others in our office loyal and hardworking members of the Air Force dedicated to serving our country in good times and bad.
Other nations since the days of the Roman Empire have had gays and lesbians in their service and now our country will join their ranks. We will still be the best damn military machine in the world today and tomorrow.

(For other blog entries visit: archibaldinsc.blogspot.com)

Four out of five major newspapers endorse Sheheen

Four out of five of the major newspapers in South Carolina have endorsed Sen. Vincent Sheheen for Governor. The fifth, The Post and Courier, Charleston, endorsed his opponent Rep. Vicki Haley.
The Greenville News, The Florence Morning News, and The Myrtle Beach Sun News endorsed Sheheen Sunday morning. Earlier The State, (Columbia), endorsed him.
Voting is Tuesday throughout South Carolina and everyone who is eligible and has not yet voted is urged to go to the polls on Tuesday.

The Rent is Too Damn High

Jimmy McMillan of The Rent Is Too Damn High Party during the New York gubernatorial debate Monday.

On the question of same sex marriage, Mr. McMillan said anyone could marry a shoe as far as was concerned. He always answers his campaign phone in the same way: The Rent is Too Damn High. He is running for governor of New York.
You have to love this guy a little bit. BTW: He has $26.05 in his campaign fund.

The web site from hell

Have you ever tried to use the US Postal Service web site for the second time? It has become the web site from hell. After several attempts to buy some stamps I gave up and contemplated going to the tallest building in Charleston, drinking a cup of hemlock, slicing my wrists and jumping off. Then I remembered I had to do my laundry.
I used the postal service web site some time ago to buy stamps. It was an easy task. Now, I wanted to buy some more. Since my first usage they have changed the criteria for passwords and even after they e-mailed me my old one and told me to use it their computer would not accept it. I tried to register as a new user but their computer rejected me because it already holds my name, address and, I suppose, date of my graduation from kindergarten.
It could be simple. Go to the site, select what you want, type in where to send the stamps, and tell them your credit card number. Why do they need everyone to register and to keep all this data on file until global warming destroys the planet? The postal service is not a secret nuclear military base.

Heated Warning

Letter to the Editor
The Post & Courier
Charleston, SC
Published Sunday, Sept 12, 2010

Heated warning

Book burners would do well to recall that German philosopher Heinrich Heine wrote: "Whenever they burn books, they will also, in the end, burn human beings."

Francis X. Archibald
Franke Drive
Mount Pleasant

(To view other blog entries click here.)

I am passing this along because it is another good deed done without any self-interest by the Southern Poverty Law Center. I hope you find it so.
Archie

From: Morris Dees

Southern Poverty Law Center

Aug. 30, 2010
Dear Friend,

I'm proud to tell you that we've settled the lawsuit we filed on behalf of Louise Marie Monroe, the widow of a black man who was shot to death by a police officer in Homer, Louisiana.

Bernard Monroe

Earlier this year, we filed a civil suit against the town of Homer, seeking damages for the wrongful death of Bernard Monroe. The 73-year-old retiree was enjoying a family reunion on Feb. 20, 2009, when two white police officers came onto his property. Our suit claimed that the police officers created a volatile situation when they chased Mr. Monroe's son into the family home and shot the young man in the back with a Taser gun.

During the commotion, Mr. Monroe went to check on Louise Marie, his wife of 49 years. As he was climbing his porch stairs, one of the police officers in his home shot him several times through the screen door. Because he had lost his voice to cancer, Mr. Monroe was unable to call out during the incident. The officers said they thought he had a gun; several witnesses said he did not.

The settlement will allow Bernard Monroe's family and the town of Homer to move forward from this terrible tragedy. The town's attorney, Jim Colvin, agrees that the settlement will help heal the community. "The town needs an opportunity to recover from this unfortunate event. This settlement is a key step in that healing process."

Because of the nature of the settlement, I'm not allowed to disclose the amount of the monetary damages, and the town did not admit liability. Both officers have left the police department.

One of Mr. Monroe's family members told me how grateful they all were for the SPLC's help, saying that "everyone we met at the Center was kind and considerate" and that the attorneys were "real people who cared about our family."

But we could never have won justice for Mr. Monroe's widow and family without your support. As you may know, the SPLC takes no portion of the damages we win for our clients. Your dedication to fighting injustice and intolerance enables us to take on cases like this. Please accept my personal thanks for standing with us in this important case and all the other work we do.

Sincerely,

Morris Dees
Founder, Southern Poverty Law Center

You can donate to the Southern Poverty Law Center online.

Or by mail:
Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104

(For other items in the blog click here.)

Building permit granted

A friend sent this along earlier tonight:

I recently applied for a building permit for a new house.

It was going to be 100 ft tall and 400 ft wide with 9 gun turrets at
various heights and windows all over the place and a loud outside
entertainment sound system. It would have parking for 200 cars and I
was going to paint it dark green with pink trim.

The City Council told me to go to hell.

So I sent in the application again; but this time I called it a Mosque.

Work starts next Monday...

(See full blog here.)

Spies of the Balkans - A novel reviwed

“The Salonika communications unit was at least indoors; having bivouacked in the local school along with other reservists. They’d stacked the chairs against the wall and slept on the floor. Dry, but bored. Each member of the unit had been armed for war by the issue of a blanket, a helmet, and a French Lebel rifle made in 1917. The captain took Zannis aside and said, ‘Ever fire one of these?’

‘No, never.’

‘Too bad. It would be good for you to practice, but we can’t spare the ammunition.’ He chambered a bullet, closed the bolt, and handed the weapon to Zannis. ‘It has a three-round tube. You work the bolt, look through the sight, find an Italian, and pull the trigger. It isn’t complicated.’”

This is one of the grim humorous passages in Alan Furst’s latest historical spy novel, Spies of the Balkans. The story incorporates Mussolini’s strutting invasion of Greece, to demonstrate his power and value to Hitler, but the Greeks drive his divisions back Albania and Hitler has to send his army to Greece.

As the events unfold Costas Zannis, a senior police official who works only special ‘political’ cases, finds himself being drawn into the lives and acts of spies, wives, lovers, and criminals from Turkey, Britain, Germany, and Bulgaria. He cautiously develops an escape route from Berlin to Salonika to Turkey.

The Underground Railroad in America, an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by black slaves to escape to free states and Canada between 1850 and 1860, was a piece of cake compared to creating escape routes for Jews and others important to the Allies from Nazi Germany and the Gestapo. Being caught on the run in Europe meant death for those fleeing and anyone who helped them. Yet there were those who fled and those who stepped up to rescue them. Zannis is one of these rescuers and his actions put him on the Gestapo’s list of scores to settle.

Spies of the Balkans takes the reader on a suspenseful journey through the labyrinth of Eastern Europe in 1939-1940 and keeps the tension at a maximum peak as the Germans march into Greece. With all other routes closed Zannis reaches the Turkish border where, because he lacks a visa, he is told, “You will return to Greece.”

This is the 11th historical novel written by Alan Furst centered on spies, intelligence operations and ordinary people during the pivotal years 1933-1945. I have read them all and consider this one as enjoyable and engaging as the first one and all the others. His novels have been translated into seventeen languages.

(Furst, Alan, Spies of the Balkans, Random House, New York, 268 pages.)

(For the complete blog click here.)

Intensify the fight against Alzheimer's

Dear friends,

Alzheimer's disease steals the future from millions of Americans. It robs spouses of their companions and children of their parents and grandparents; it erodes the health and financial resources of caregivers.

I just signed a petition calling on Congress to make Alzheimer's disease a national priority. Will you add your voice?

http://www.alz.org/petition

Your signature will be delivered to Congress on September 21, 2010 World Alzheimer's Day.

Together, we can make Alzheimer's a national priority.

Thank you.

Archie
(For the complete blog click here)

How Millennial R U?

On a Sunday morning when it continues to rain as it has since long before dawn I went to the Pew Research Center and looked at a few studies and issues currently under scrutiny. Among these was a short quiz, How Millennial Are You?
The quiz measures how much the quiz taker has in common with the Millennial generation, i.e those born since 1981. It also measures your standing with other groups: Silent generation (born 1928-1945), baby boomer (1946-1964), gen Xer (1965-1980).
I scored 52 which put me closer to the Millennial generation than any other group. My basic group, based on date of birth, would have been the silent generation and I was separated by 48 points from that group. The Pew researchers conclude that the higher your score, the more you have in common with the Millennial generation.
Who is to say if this is all good or bad one way or the other, but it does make me feel good to realize I am closer to the generation which will carve our future than tied to the past.
I also took the Science Knowledge Quiz and answered only eight out of twelve questions correctly. This tells me I need to spend more time watching PBS than HBO.
(To tour the complete blog click here.)