On this Day in History

On this day the flag was raised on Iwo Jima, some 4 days after the Marines had landed on the island, although the battle for the island would continue on for more than 30 days.
The numbers are staggering when you think about, 110,000 Marines on 880 ships, nearly a quarter of those troops were casualties, with nearly 7000 Marines dead.

I wonder what America today, would do with these casualty rates.

If you have not had a chance to see Flags of Our Fathers or Letters from Iwo Jima, I would highly recommend that you do. Both movies give a telling snapshot into lives of Marines and Japanese Soldiers and what they endured.

TO ANSWER A QUESTION

Over the past few weeks and months I have been asked by people about running again this year for City Council, my answer has been usually maybe.

After some considerable thought, I will not run for the Ward 1 Council seat against Kevin Butler.

Lakewood Mayor's Race

The race for Mayor has officially begun as I had stated some time ago, Ed Fitzgerald announced in the Lakewood Observer and Sun Post that he will seek the seat defended by Tom George.

His platform is essentially the same as what he ran on in the '05 At-Large Council race, which is "... presenting plans to stabilize the city's precarious financial position, bolster the housing stock, improve public safety, and spur economic development."

Of course Tom George without pausing at all launched into an attack on Fitzgerald on the Observer and on the Lakewood Buzz about his lack of a record (true) and his running for several different offices over the past several years (also true). Then proceeded to crow that he has been endorsed by the Cuyahoga Democratic Chair/ County Commissioner Jimmy DiMora.

All I can say is BIG DEAL!

Finally, these two can act like the 5 year olds in public instead of behind closed doors.

I am not sure if this race will be fun or just plain pathetic, neither of these two politicians should be elected, they really have no real great records to run on.

Unless someone else steps up and throws their hat in the ring, this the choice the voters will have to make in 2007.

God Help Us!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It is getting late and Santa is getting near North America to deliver his presents to all the good little boys and girls.

But for me, this is not a Christmas I am enjoying there are a few members of my extended family who are not here this Christmas Eve, because they are wonderful people were taken from us way too soon!

As I look into the sky this wonderful and magical night I think about those who have gone before and hope they are watching over us. Then I think about the men and women of the US Armed Forces who protect us here and abroad, but I also think about the men and women who day in and day out protect us as firefighters and policemen.

All I can say is THANK YOU!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I think it is proper to invoke the US Marine Corp motto; Semper Fidelis or Always Faithful



To My friends, family and occasional readers

Merry Christmas and Thank you for being there for me!

Kucinich has Decided the 10th District needs No Congressman

Dennis Kucinich has told the voters of the 10th District that he doesn't view them as important enough as turning his party to his views of the handling of the Iraq War.

So he is going to run again for the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination.

I find it truly amazing that with the Democratic Party becoming the Majority in the Congress, he would abdicate his "power" to benefit Northeast Ohio and run for the President.

He seems to confirm the 40% of the voters opinions that he was not worthy to represent the 10th District and the other 60% well, I just don't know what they were thinking!

I was reading the Observation Deck forum at the Lakewood Observer site, there was a fair amount of fawning over Dennis and his being the man of the people and being involved in the various meetings on issues and causes, but I keep coming back to the fact that Kucinich has not put forth a solid piece of legislation together that would benefit the people or businesses here in Northeast Ohio since I have moved back in the 10th over 7 years ago.

I wish the Plain Dealer had stood their ground and not endorsed Kucinich for Re-Election, the Editors seemed to have tired of his escapades. Hopefully there will a candidate from either party that put together a campaign with lots of money and backing of the Unions that would beat Kucinich.

This District is in dire need of leader.

12/15/06 UPDATE: The Lakewood Sun Post agrees with me, their Editorial in Thursday's Edition stated that Kucinich "should rethink his decision"

IRAQ STUDY GROUP

I downloaded the Report and this is what appeared



It's hard to read, but the window says:
There was an error in opening this document. This file is damaged and couldn't be repaired.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!


MAY THIS HOLIDAY BRING YOU JOY AND HAPPINESS

As you sit around the table giving thanks, please remember the men and women of our Armed Forces serving and protecting us around the world!

Blackeye State

If you were a Republican in Ohio yesterday, that is what we got on Election Day!

Let's see I was wrong:

Governor

U. S. Senate

Attorney General - (Incredible to me that a guy with his record got through!)

U.S. Congress 10th District -
Very much wishful thinking on part, since the District is 60% Democrat.

Issue 2 -
Still can't believe that one - Will make Strickland's job harder to promote business growth here!

Ah heck, let's face it I was wrong more times than I was right!

Ladies & Gentlemen, what you witnessed last night was an ole' fashion "throw the bums out" election.

What's next, time to re-group and begin figuring out who will run in 2007 for Lakewood Mayor and the 4 Ward Council seats.

Memo to Dennis Kucinich - Better start fundraising, someone has already begun to campaign against you in 2008!

While you are waiting for the votes to be tallied

Bill Whittle of Eject!Eject!Eject has a thought provoking essay on George W. Bush and the efforts to defeat terriorism. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and click on the headline.

End U.S. Imperialism Now!

Can I just take another quick second of your precious time to put this one to bed once and for all?

It is a staple of the left to accuse the US of “Imperialism.” That so many people can level such a charge with a straight face is a testament to the efficacy of forty years of standards-free education reform here and around the world.

An “Empire” is defined as a nation state that has political control over other nation states, and uses that political control to extract the wealth and resources from the subjugated country.

The United States of America does not have any political control over any other sovereign nation on the face of the Earth. We have influence, but influence is to control as a rich uncle is to a prison warden. That’s all you need to know. The entire idea of American Empire and U.S. Imperialism is dead on its face after that. No control means no empire. Period.

But we do have a large footprint in the rest of the world, and have military bases all across the globe. Is that a form of empire?

Look, the whole point of having an empire is to take the wealth out of the colonies and return them to enrich the home country. The US not only does not pull in the resources of other nations…it does exactly the reverse. We pump billions and billions of dollars annually into those nations that host our facilities, and the minute any one of those nations decides we are no longer welcome, we pack our bags, leave and turn those billion-dollar institutions over to the host country. (Look up Subic Bay and Clark AFB in the Philippines for some recent examples)

This is not “imperial behavior.” It is, in fact, the precise opposite of imperial behavior. I guess somehow STOP U.S. ANTI-IMPERIALISM just doesn’t have the same snap somehow for the North Korean-backed International A.N.S.W.E.R. crowd. Color me shocked.

There are millions of people – actually, probably billions now – who genuinely believe that the wealth of the US was stolen from third world countries. This is one of the great perks of living a life free of the ability to think critically and do a little research. I have heard this slander repeated so many times I decided to look into some actual numbers to see if there is anything to this charge. This is a perfect example of how critical thinking allows you to see the unseen. That attitude, Google and ten minutes is all you need to shoot lies like this down in flames.
Okay. The US Per capita income is $41,300. That of a poor, third world country –Djibouti, say -- is $2,070.

Now it gets interesting. The US gross domestic product – the value of everything we produce in a year -- was last measured as $12 trillion, 277 billion dollars (hundreds of millions of dollars being too insignificant to count in this economy).

The GDP of Djibouti is 1 billion, 641 million US dollars.

A little basic arithmetic shows me that US has a GDP 7,481 times greater than Djibouti. A 365 day year, composed of 24 hours in a day, yields 8760 hours per year. Hang on to that for a sec.

Now, let’s suppose the U.S. went into Djibouti with the Marines, and stole every single thing that’s produced there in a year…just grant the premise and say we stole every goddam thing they make. If we hauled away all of Djibouti’s annual wealth, how long would it run the U.S.

Economy, which is 7,481 times greater?

Well, 8,760 hours divided by 7,481 gives you an answer of 1.17 hours. In other words, it takes the U.S. 1.17 hours to produce what Djibouti produces in a year.
If the US really did go in and steal everything that the bottom thirty countries in the world produce, it might power the US economy for two or three days.
Conversely, the billions and billions of dollars the US spends annually in aid, rent, etc. – plus uncounted billions more from private American charities – would supply the entire GDP of Djibouti for hundreds of years.

Where’s your Imperialism argument now?

Polls are open!

Well we are here, the course of the State of Ohio and the Nation will be set at the end of the day!

If you have not voted yet, think of the following things:

1) What is the Democrats definition of "Re-deployment of the Troops in Iraq?

2) Do you believe that the money you earn should stay in your pocket, instead of going to the Government

3) If you live in Ohio, and are paid at or near Minimum Wage, are you prepared to have your personal information available for anyone to see when requested.

4) If you are an Employer of Minimum Wage Workers, are you prepared to have your books opened to verify that you are paying everyone at least the Minimum Wage as proscribed by the edicts of the Constitution of the State of Ohio? Are you prepared to maintain those records for at least three years after an employee has left your establishment?


Ladies and Gentlemen,

If you believe that the definition of Re-Deployment is total withdrawal from Iraq before the job is done, then honor the Men and Women who have paid that ultimate sacrifice by VOTING REPUBLICAN;

If you believe that the money you earn should stay in your pocket, then VOTE REPUBLICAN


If you do not want you personal information available to anyone who requests it then VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2

If you are an employer who doesn't want the company payroll records to be reviewed by anyone for someone who doesn't work for you anymore, then VOTE NO ON ISSUE 2


If you want a solid leader in the Governor's Chair then Vote J. Kenneth Blackwell for Ohio Governor!