State of Denial

Letters to the Editor
The Post and Courier
Charleston, SC
(Published October 25, 2006)

The 2003 invasion of Iraq began while I was winding up a two-month tour of South Africa. South Africans I was in contact with, well educated, professional people, asked why the United States had invaded Iraq.
I recalled those early evening discussions while reading State of Denial, Bob Woodward’s 14th book since Watergate and his third book on the war on terror. This insightful, comprehensive and diligently pursued book full of first-hand accounts (and almost 30 pages of source notes) is a tremendous addition to the body of historical knowledge required to answer “why.”
It is even more valuable to understanding what we did right and what was wrong. This tragically incomplete adventure is still an on-going tale, however, and it leaves one wondering, at the end of 2006 and State of Denial, if we are facing a Vietnam-like-ending where it is crazy to stay in and we don’t know how to get out.
I believe, however, after finishing all 560 pages of State of Denial, that if the men and women in Washington at the highest political, military, diplomatic, and intelligence levels who were in charge of this Iraq excursion devoted half the time to solving problems as they did fighting and arguing with each other and buckling under to one man – Donald Rumsfeld – and being afraid to bring bad news to the Oval Office, a “Vietnam-like-ending” would not hang over us.

You've got mail - responses

Judging by the swift response to yesterday's blog by five friends mail is something on everyone's mind. Here are their comments:

(1) What an interesting undertaking! Sounds quite familiar, but I'm jealous of your personal correspondence. I receive very little any more, sadly. Mostly thank-you notes or invitations. I used to maintain voluminous correspondences with many people--but that was before e-mail. I still have most of those old letters--they're more precious by the year.

(2) Only 4 bills!!!

(3) With the exception that personal correspondence, other than the cards my wife and her sisters, some of Hallmark's most cherished customers, exchange, has been almost entirely replaced by email among our friends and relatives, I think that the proportions would be about the same here. And I really do get dismayed of thinking of all the mailing expense various charities and causes must incur and of how much better those funds could be used.

But at least you're not standing in the mud, dog excrement and cigarette butts that surround our neighborhood stanchion box cluster as you sort it out. as we once discussed before. My favorite mail delivery system was some years ago, when I lived in a small town that had curbside residential delivery and three times a week trash pick-up at the curb. I could scoop out the mailbox and then stand over my trash can without having to ever carry the majority of it indoors.

(4) I could get a hernia carrying out the throw aways.

(5) Archie, this sounds just like the mail I receive.

You've got mail

I've been wondering for some time about the breakdown of the mail I receive. The Postman who covers our street looks upon me as one of the stalwarts of his long-range retirement program. In September I decided to keep a record of what came and it held few surprises. There were 25 requests for donations of money to causes far and wide; 29 requests to subscribe or renew magazine subscriptions; 20 offers of new credit cards; 24 pieces of other unsolicited bulk (read junk) mail; four bills; and 18 pieces of personal correspondence. These figures do not include the various magazines and professional journals, weekly, monthly and quarterly which come regularly, nor the newspapers and catalogs which we have requested.

A courageous lady has died

The lady who two years ago declined an abortion despite the danger her pregnancy added to her heart has died this week. (She subsequently gave birth to the baby who is doing well.) In early September, 2006, she had a heart transplant and was struggling to survive.

See my early blog: For those who believe in the sanctity of life .

The funeral for Elizabeth (Lisa) Ramirez Fuerte, age 32, was held Thursday with an 11 o’clock Mass of Christian Burial at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church, Hanahan, SC. She leaves a husband and two children, among her large, loving family of survivors

Two photos tell a story

The two photographs in the Sept. 20 paper (The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC) on Page 11A speak volumes about our lack of "national smarts" in foreign affairs. One photo showed all the Iranian seats in the General Assembly occupied while President Bush addressed the body. The second photo showed all American delegation seats empty while the Iranian president addressed the same body.

Doesn't this administration realize what a political coup they have handed the Iranians who will show these pictures around the world and say, "See, the Americans won't even listen to us"?

The administration could have taken the high ground by listening and then refuting the speech. Sure, they could read the remarks or watch the Iranian president on closed circuit TV in their offices, but they would not have handed the Iranians a weapon with which to beat us over the head in talks with China, Russia, France and Germany; all of whom, by the way, have major economic deals in progress with Iran.

(Originally printed as Letter to the Editor, The Post & Courier, Charleston, SC, Sept. 25, 2006)

You can't read that...

If there are any two words at the beginning of a sentence which tick off Americans these are them: “You can’t ……..” We don’t like to be told we can’t do something. As a child, for example, being told we couldn’t go out and play in the rain, or as an adult being told we can’t read something. Which is why free-thinkers, liberal oriented people and a few true conservatives, will observe Banned Books Week, September 23-30. 2006.

The BBW, observed since 1982, serves to remind Americans not to take this precious freedom to read what we want, when we want, too lightly least it be taken away. The American Library Association has recorded at least 8,700 attempts to ban books since 1990, when it began to keep an electronic count. Not surprisingly, “offensive language” and “sexually explicit” lead the pack of challenges of what should be on the shelves in public libraries and schools and even bookstores. Political and religious viewpoints also generate attempts at censorship.

Recently we had a parallel attempt at censorship of a film to be shown on network TV dealing with the events of 9/11 and the language of New York firemen. The firemen cussed and cursed as they went about their duties during this horrific event, and this some Bible-belt moralists said made it unsuitable for other Americans to hear. A guest on the Bill Maher show asked why the critics picked on the fireman, “There were 8 million people in New York on 9/11 and every one of them said, ‘what the f**k?’”.

Banned Books Week is a special time for all of us to be vigilant and to resist censorship wherever it rears its ugly head. We are Americans and we can make most of the decisions about our lives and what is good and bad, and all will still be well in the end.

For those who believe in the sanctity of life

Two years ago, Lisa Fuerte of Hanahan, SC, had difficulties with her heart during her second pregnancy. It was at the early stages of this pregnancy where her heart became extremely weak. As a result of the complication she spent many days in the hospital. The doctors suggested to her that she consider aborting the child to alleviate the stress on the heart. Being a woman of tremendous faith she knew this was not an option. She put the situation in the hands of God and the child was born premature at twenty-six weeks. Father Edward Fitzgerald had the privilege of baptizing the baby in the Intensive Care Unit. Lisa had a heart transplant at Duke University Hospital in September. She has a long way to go to recovery. There are many expenses for this family and insurance does not cover everything.

Father Fitzgerald is running in Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon (26.2 miles) on December 9. He will run because he is a runner and to assist the Fuerte family. You can help by pledging so much per mile (results available in December) – or easier by simply sending a check to: Divine Redeemer Catholic Church, 1106 Fort Drive, Hanahan, SC, 29406, marked for the Fuerte family.

I have never before used my blog or web site to solicit funds for any person, cause or any thing else. But this is a great story for those of us who believe in the sanctity of life and faith in God and the needs are great and a dollar or more will be a big help. Checks made out to the Church are tax deductible (and marking it for the Fuerte Family will guarantee it goes to help them.) And I believe God will return the blessing to you in some way, some day.

More shower space

I increased the space in a tub/shower today by about 25 percent through the simple expedient of hanging a crescent shower curtain rod in place of the straight rod we have used for years. The extra space comes where you need it up around your torso and shoulders. (We recently experienced a tub/shower with such a rod in a hotel and were greatly surprised and pleased with the effect.) The tub/shower is in one of our bathrooms that is original to the old part of our house where the tub is the customary five foot tub. The rod I selected was made by Creative Specialties International, a division of Moen Company. The rod came complete with installation instructions and ample wall plugs and anchors. It can be fastened into studs, drywall or tile. There were several choices from different manufacturers found on the Internet, but the Moen allowed me to center the new rod wall brackets over the holes left in the sheetrock after I removed the old brackets. Thus repair of the sheetrock, including painting, was not necessary

Friendship

“Friendship is often an amusement, sometimes an education, at least a reprieve from loneliness, at best a human connection of the highest and grandest kind. Contradiction is implicit in the very nature of modern friendship. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that the sign of an intelligent person is the ability to keep two contradictory ideas in his head at the same time and still function. With friendship, the two contradictory ideas are these: first, friends can be an immense complication, a huge burden, and a royal pain in the arse; and second, without friendship, make no mistake about it, we are all lost.” Epstein, Joseph. Friendship – an Expose. (Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston-New York., 2006, 270 pages, $24.)

Sports Note

A guy whose wife ran off with his Mercedes, his best friend, the family dog, all the money, and all the booze and grass laying around the house has better prospects than the Red Sox.

The beat goes on at the Post Office

They are still at “it” at the local Post Office. “It” being a callous attitude toward customers, (AKA: citizens and taxpayers.) Back in June I wrote about this problem (On Improving the Post Office) and yesterday I visited the same place again to mail five flats and see if the service had improved. They were looking good when I walked in, but it all went to hell-in-a-hand-basket quicker than a bodice is ripped from a well-endowed Southern maiden in a romance novel. The line of customers had 12-15 people waiting. Four uniformed clerks were working, and one in street clothes announced a couple of times that if anyone was there to pick up packages or mail to come to end of the counter. She served a couple of people. Then it all broke down. With three people waiting, two clerks closed their stations and commenced to do some kind of paper work important, I assume, to the Postal Service. They did this without checking what the other two clerks might be doing. One was serving a customer with a big carton (it originally held ten reams of office paper) full of large brown envelopes, each one of which had to be individually weighed and a postage sticker printed and posted on it. The other clerk was doing her best to handle all the other customers. Within minutes the waiting line of three customers had swelled to almost 20. When I left the Post Office it was two clerks closed down for paperwork, one continuing to work the box of large brown envelopes and one soldiering on. The person in street clothes had disappeared. Why do they act like this? If they must close down and do that all-fired important paper work, they ought to go in the back room and not stand there ignoring customers. No cell phone usage was noted.

New Police Chief-Former OSI

Gregory G. Mullen, a former special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Deputy Chief of the Virginia Beach (VA) Police Department, has been selected as the new police chief in Charleston, SC, America’s most historic city. Mullen was selected by Mayor Joseph P. Riley after a nation-wide search and consideration of 137 applicants. Riley interviewed Mullen three times before selecting him “as an agent of change” for a city recently gripped by gun violence.
Mullen worked in Virginia Beach for 21 years, starting in 1985 as a beat cop and working his way up to Deputy Chief. His OSI service preceded his long career in Virginia Beach. He retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2002 after 22 years of active and Reserve Service.

Under cover of darkness

After the sun went down and brought on the dark of night, 230 cheapies in the House of Representatives couldn’t do the right thing and simply increase the minimum wage for the first time since 1997; no these avaricious panderers had to crank in some tax breaks for the richest families in the United States and exempt all estates below $10 million dollars (for a couple) from taxes. The package deal increases the minimum wage to $7.25, up from $5.15. Not many individuals can live on that, much less support a family. (By the way, this same Congress recently voted themselves a pay raise of more than $3,000 annually.)

(The favorable vote included 196 Republicans and 34 Democrats. The “no” votes were Democrats 158, Independent 1 and Republicans 21. Twenty-two did not vote and one voted “present”.)

The estate tax changes will likely cost the treasury an estimated $268 billion over the next ten years, and diminish chances to lower the deficit which grows daily due primarily to costs associated with the war in Iraq. Three Republican members of the South Carolina delegation, Henry Brown, Bob Inglis and Joe Wilson, voted for the legislation. They will soon be home for the August recess and probably bragging how they struck a blow for the common man and senior citizens. They ought to be ashamed to masquerade as fiscal conservatives, which is how they campaigned. It is no wonder they waited until after midnight to cast their votes and slip out of Washington.

The legislation now goes to the Senate where it faces strong opposition from some committee chairmen whose feathers have been ruffled by combining the wage hike with estate tax and private pension reform (employers will have to more fully fund pension plans.) The allure of the minimum wage increase and the pension reforms may be too much for senators to ignore and a majority may hold their noses and vote for the House measure. The rest of us will have to tolerate the smell.

50th Anniversary of our Church

The official observance of the 50th anniversary of our church, Divine Redeemer Catholic Church, in Hanahan, SC, took place July 18 with the Most Reverend Robert J. Baker, Bishop of Charleston, celebrating Mass at 7 pm. Over 400 people crowded into the church and following the Mass went to the school auditorium for a reception. Father Jerome C. Powers was appointed pastor of the parish on June 15, 1956; early Masses were held in an athletic field clubhouse owned by the Paper Company (Westvaco) and later in a trailer donated by a benefactor. Ground was broken for the church on July 14, 1957 and the first Mass in the church was celebrated by Father Powers on February 23, 1958. Following Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the church had to be re-built, almost from the ground up and today continues its 50-year old role as the spiritual centerpiece of Catholic life in Hanahan. Father Edward W. Fitzgerald is the current and tenth pastor.

Representation by cheapos

A majority of our Congressmen and women have refused to raise the minimum wage again (the last time was nine years ago) but have agreed to take another 2 percent over their current $168,500 for themselves. Is there no shame in this Republican controlled Congress?

For a family of three, the (annual) minimum wage of $10,700, set in 1997, is now more than $5,000 below the federal definition of poverty. In that same time, a lawmaker’s salary rose $31,600— better than 20 percent — while the purchasing power of a minimum-wage earner deteriorated by 20 percent. (From The New York Times editorial, Earning That Congressional Raise, July 13, 2006).

A raise in the national minimum wage to $7.25 per hour would go a long way for the poorest of the poor who struggle daily in this great land of opportunity. In my opinion, the argument that such a raise would break the backs of the small businessman and woman in America doesn't hold water, except in, apparently, this Republican controlled Congress. It is an embarrassment to be represented by such cheapos.

The Room

The building at 34 East 62nd street in New York which was destroyed by an explosion on July 10 was built in 1882 and was once site of The Room, a secret hideaway complete with a mail slot and an unlisted telephone number. It had no full-time occupant. Access was limited to a select few successful, rich, powerful and patriotic Americans. These were friends, neighbors and confidants of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, both Republicans and Democrats, who kept the President informed on world affairs, carried out intelligence duties for him and delighted in playing secret agent man. It is easy 70 years later to laugh and dismiss these businessmen, bankers, lawyers, and publishers, but in the 1930s and until World War II the United States had no OSS, CIA, DIA or other national intelligence service. (The FBI’s overseas intelligence activities in South America would not come into play until after WWII started.) One of the early visitors to The Room was William Donovan, a Republican lawyer, and contemporary of FDR’s at Columbia Law School. He undertook missions for the President in the mid-thirties, served as Coordinator of Information, director of the Office of Strategic Services, and is remembered today with a life-size statue in the lobby of the CIA headquarters. Members of The Room, it has been reported, gave President Roosevelt, among other things, secret access to banking information and telegraphic communications – similar to two intelligence gathering efforts the current President is catching hell for.

The latest waterfall

Having tried to improve the postal service (see preceding blog), I turned my attention to my pond and its waterfall. Since I built the pond in March 2001, I've had a narrow waterfall in various configurations and earlier this year a daughter-in-law told me about a commercial spillway with a wide (18 inches) throat. This presented two problems: how to position it so the water would drop directly into the pond (and avoid loss of water into the rock and soil) and also camouflage the black plastic appearance. I could not achieve both objectives satisfactorily with the rip rap stone wall I preferred so I built a 20 inch wide spillway using cedar (which should eventually turn grey and blend with the rip rap). I positioned the commercial spillway in the rear of this to regulate the flow of water through the cedar spillway into the pond. The water is pumped from the pond through a Laguna UV sterilizer to suppress algae. To the rear of the pond I cleaned out the brush, laid in some weed suppressant cover and topped this with a layer of cedar chips. The waterfall offers a soothing sound both while sitting on the back porch or sleeping with the window open, and it helps to oxygenate the water for the more than 35 fish in the pond.

About the postal service: A supervisor called to say that signs (Please turn off cell-phones) are on order from Washington and another clerk will be called from the back room when the line builds in the service area. We will check on this and report back.

On improving the Post Office

Recently I visited the local branch of the United States Postal Service. This is one of those 38,000 beleaguered outposts of citizen service that our congress years ago in its infinite wisdom simultaneously put under the control of something called a Board of Governors and washed its hands of the only service in the United States that was (is) more hard-pressed than the DMV. (That is if you don’t count the welfare office in New York.)

Only two counter clerks were working and my wait time was between 20-25 minutes. The clerk who serviced me said another clerk was on vacation, something I could appreciate. What I don’t understand is why one of the 100,000 part-time workers who back up the 800,000 full-time workers couldn’t be pressed into service at our local post office. Look at the numbers: 38,000 post offices, 100,000 part-time workers, an almost three to one worker ratio.

And another thing. Every one of sound mind and body agrees that smokers do not have the right to pollute our air space. During my wait at the post office I had to listen to a blond haired woman in tight jeans and wearing high heels, about 50-55 years old, with a German accent, talk on her stupid cell phone to another female dimwit on the other end and dispense advice on to how to correct, improve and put up with some male dimwit who had the unfortunate luck to be connected somehow to these two female dimwits. She was two customers ahead of me and only stopped talking on the cell phone when she was next to being called to the counter. Cell phone usage in post offices by patrons should be outlawed until the wait time is reduced to two minutes or less.

I have communicated these views to the Postal Service and I am sure they will be on the agenda at the next meeting of the nine-member Board of Governors. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Weather

Last night on the local news (Charleston, SC) we had a substitute weatherman who said the regular guy was on vacation and the weather would be good for a couple of weeks. This brings up two questions: Did the regular guy arrange the weather to accommodate his vacation schedule and if the weather is going to be good why do we need a substitute weatherman?

We miss you, Duke

Died: June 11, 1979
Born: May 26, 1907