JamesSlusher.com

I never get tired of showing her off. Here’s one that shows just how much you have to concentrate to get the blue crayon shading just right.

Lately it seems that Americans have decided that WWII was an example of a well-waged war and that we did everything right. I have heard many times (sorry I can’t cite any specific instances) that there wasn’t any dissent and that Americans just all pitched in and did their part. With that comes the implication that it was a well-waged war because there was no dissent.

But, heretical though it may be, might I point out that if someone had dissented at that time, there might not have been any Japanese internment camps.

My Mom gets these goofy right-wing chain mails all the time and then forwards them on to me. Here is the latest:

This is interesting.

Mom

—– Original Message —–
From:
To:
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 7:14 AM
Subject: This must be war with the Muslim Terrorists

I believe this is worth your careful consideration. Ted

Received from Ken Loposer:

I think this is an outstanding article, and should be read carefully by every U.S. citizen. I would then hope that, having read it, each reader would take it upon him/herself to continue the dissemination. We, as citizens, have got to stop looking at this war as an inconvenience which is running up our national debt, inflating the price of gasoline, annoying and delaying us at airports, increasing our taxes, destabilizing the stock market, etc., etc., and look at it for what it really is — a war of survival of our country, our freedoms, and our way of life. We must willingly give up, temporarily, some of our constitutional rights to help us defend our borders and our way of life, lest those borders crumble and our way of life disappear. I, too, am a pro-Bush Republican (surprise, surprise), but I agree with the author — the task before us transcends political parties. The main thing, regardless of who wins, is to continue all effort to polarize the country against the Muslim threat, to combat it with all our strength, and to never give up. God willing, we will be able to do that. God knows, we must do that. May God continue to bless America. He has given us the resources and strength to win. The rest is up to us.

Ken sends.

THE WORLD SITUATION * A LETTER TO MY SONS

This was written by a retired attorney, to his sons, May 19, 2004.

Dear Tom, Kevin, Kirby and Ted,

As your father, I believe I owe it to you to share some thoughts on the present world situation. We have over the years discussed a lot of important things, like going to college, jobs and so forth. But this really takes precedence over any of those discussions. I hope this might give you a longer term perspective that fewer and fewer of my generation are left to speak to. To be sure you understand that this is not politically flavored, I will tell you that since Franklin D. Roosevelt, who led us
through pre and WWII (1933 - 1945) up to and including our present President, I have without exception, supported our presidents on all matters of international conflict. This would include just naming a few in addition to President Roosevelt - WWII: President Truman - Korean War 1950; President Kennedy - Bay of Pigs (1961); President Kennedy - Vietnam (1961); [1] eight presidents (5 Republican & 4 Democrat) during the cold war (1945 - 1991); President Clinton’s strikes on Bosnia (1995) and on Iraq (1998). [2] So be sure you read this as completely nonpolitical or otherwise you will miss the point.

Our country is now facing the most serious threat to its existence, as we know it, that we have faced in your lifetime and mine (which includes WWII). The deadly seriousness is greatly compounded by the fact that
there are very few of us who think we can possibly lose this war and even fewer who realize what losing really means.

First, let’s examine a few basics:

1. When did the threat to us start?

Many will say September 11th, 2001. The answer as far as the United States is concerned is 1979, 22 years prior to September 2001, with the following attacks on us: Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979; Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983; Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983; Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988; First New York World Trade
Center attack 1993; Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996; Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998; Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000; New York World Trade Center 2001; Pentagon 2001.
(Note that during the period from 1981 to 2001 there were 7,581 terrorist attacks worldwide). [3]

2. Why were we attacked?

Envy of our position, our success, and our freedoms. The attacks happened during the administrations of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush 2. We cannot fault either the Republicans or Democrats as there were no provocations by any of the presidents or their immediate predecessors, Presidents Ford or Carter.

4. Who were the attackers?

In each case of attacks on US they were Muslims.

5. What is the Muslim population of the World?

25%

6. Isn’t the Muslim Religion peaceful?

Hopefully, but that is really not material. There is no doubt that the predominately Christian population of Germany was peaceful, but under the dictatorial leadership of Hitler (who was also Christian), that made no difference. You either went along with the administration or you were eliminated. There were 5 to 6 million Christians killed by the Nazis for political reasons (including 7,000 Polish priests). (http://www.nazis.testimony.co.uk/7-a.htm ). Thus, almost the same number of Christians were killed by the Nazis, as the 6 million holocaust Jews who were killed by them, and we seldom heard of anything other than the Jewish atrocities. Although Hitler kept the world focused on the Jews, he had no hesitancy about killing anyone who got in his way of exterminating the Jews or of taking over the world - German, Christian or any others. Same with the Muslim terrorists. They focus the world on the US, but kill all in the way - their own people or the Spanish, French or anyone else.. [5]

The point here is that just like the peaceful Germans were of no protection to anyone from the Nazis, no matter how many peaceful Muslims there may be, they are no protection for us from the terrorist Muslim leaders and what they are fanatically bent on doing– by their own pronouncements — killing all of us infidels. I don’t blame the peaceful Muslims. What would you do if the choice was shut up or die?

6. So who are we at war with?

There is no way we can honestly respond that it is anyone other than the Muslim terrorists. Trying to be politically correct and avoid verbalizing this conclusion can well be fatal. There is no way to win if you don’t clearly recognize and articulate who you are fighting.

So with that background, now to the two major questions:

1. Can we lose this war?

2. What does losing really mean?

If we are to win, we must clearly answer these two pivotal questions. We can definitely lose this war, and as anomalous as it may sound, the major reason we can lose is that so many of us simply do not fathom the answer to the second question — ‘What does losing mean?’. It would appear that a great many of us think that losing the war means hanging our heads, bringing the troops home and going on about our business, like post Vietnam.

This is as far from the truth as one can get. What losing really means is:

We would no longer be the premier country in the world.

The attacks will not subside, but rather will steadily increase. Remember, they want us dead, not just quiet. If they had just wanted us quiet, they would not have produced an increasing series of attacks against us over the past 18 years. The plan was clearly to terrorist attack us until we were neutered and submissive to them.

We would of course have no future support from other nations for fear of reprisals and for the reason that they would see we are impotent and cannot help them.

They will pick off the other non Muslim nations, one at a time. It will be increasingly easier for them. They already hold Spain hostage. It doesn’t matter whether it was right or wrong for Spain to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Spain did it because the Muslim terrorists bombed
their train and told them to withdraw the troops. Anything else they want Spain to do, will be done. Spain is finished.

The next will probably be France. Our one hope on France is that they might see the light and realize that if we don’t win, they are finished too, in that they can’t resist the Muslim terrorists without us.

However, it may already be too late for France. France is already 20% Muslim and fading fast. See the attached article on the French condition by Tom Segel. [6] (not attached -Ted)

If we lose the war, our production, income, exports and way of life will all vanish as we know it. After losing, who would trade or deal with us if they were threatened by the Muslims. If we can’t stop the Muslims, how could anyone else? The Muslims fully know what is riding on this war and therefore are completely committed to winning at any cost.
We better know it too and be likewise committed to winning at any cost.

Why do I go on at such lengths about the results of losing?
Simple. Until we recognize the costs of losing, we cannot unite and really put 100% of our thoughts and efforts into winning. And it is going to take that 100% effort to win.

So, how can we lose the war?

Again, the answer is simple. We can lose the war by imploding. That is, defeating ourselves by refusing to recognize the enemy and their purpose and really digging in and lending full support to the war effort.
If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. If we continue to be divided, there is no way that we can win.

Let me give you a few examples of how we simply don’t comprehend the life and death seriousness of this situation.

President Bush selects Norman Mineta as Secretary of Transportation. Although all of the terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim men between 17 and 40 years of age, Secretary Mineta refuses to allow profiling.

Does that sound like we are taking this thing seriously?
This is war. For the duration we are going to have to give up some of the civil rights we have become accustomed to. We had better be prepared to lose some of our civil rights temporarily or we will most certainly lose all of them permanently. And don’t worry that it is a slippery
slope.
We gave up plenty of civil rights during WWII and immediately restored them after the victory and in fact added many more since then.
Do I blame President Bush or President Clinton before him? No, I blame us for blithely assuming we can maintain all of our Political Correctness and all of our civil rights during this conflict and have a clean,lawful, honorable war. None of those words apply to war.

Get them out of your head.
Some of us have gone so far out in our criticism of the war and/or our Administration that it almost seems they would literally like to see us lose. I hasten to add that this isn’t because they are disloyal. It is because they just don’t recognize what losing means. Nevertheless, that conduct gives the impression to the enemy that we are divided and weakening, it concerns our friends, and it does great damage to our cause.

Of more recent vintage, the uproar fueled by the politicians and media, regarding the treatment of some prisoners of war, perhaps exemplifies best what I am saying. We have recently had an issue involving the treatment of a few Muslim prisoners of war by a small group of our military police.

These are the type prisoners who just a few months ago were throwing their own people off buildings, cutting off their hands, cutting out their tongues and otherwise murdering their own people just for disagreeing with Saddam Hussein. And just a few years ago these same type prisoners chemically killed 400,000 of their own people for the same reason. They are also the same type enemy fighters who recently were burning Americans and dragging their charred corpses through the streets of Iraq. And still more
recently the same type enemy that was and is providing videos to all news sources internationally, of the beheading of an American prisoner they held. Compare this with some of our press and politicians who for several days have thought and talked about nothing else but the “humiliating” of some Muslim prisoners — not burning them, not dragging their charred corpses through the streets, not beheading them, but “humiliating” them.

Can this be for real?

The politicians and pundits have even talked of impeachment of the Secretary of Defense. If this doesn’t show the complete lack of comprehension and understanding of the seriousness of the enemy we are fighting, the life and death struggle we are in and the disastrous results of losing this war, nothing can.

To bring our country to a virtual political standstill over this prisoner issue makes us look like Nero playing his fiddle as Rome burned– totally oblivious to what is going on in the real world. Neither we, nor any other country, can survive this internal strife. Again I say, this does not mean that some of our politicians or media people are
disloyal.

It simply means that they absolutely oblivious to the magnitude of the situation we are in and into which the Muslim terrorists have been pushing us for many years. Remember, the Muslim terrorists stated goal isto kill all infidels. That translates into all non-Muslims — not just in the United States, but throughout the world. We are the last bastion of defense.

We have been criticized for many years as being ‘arrogant.’ That charge is valid in at least one respect. We are arrogant in that we believe that we are so good, powerful and smart, that we can win the hearts and minds of all those who attack us, and that with both hands tied behind our back, we can defeat anything bad in the world. We can’t.

If we don’t recognize this, our nation as we know it will not survive,and no other free country in the World will survive if we are defeated. And finally, name any Muslim countries throughout the world that allow freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of religion, freedom of the Press, equal rights for anyone — let alone everyone, equal status or any status for women, or that have been productive in one single way that contributes to the good of the World.

This has been a long way of saying that we must be united on this war or we will be equated in the history books to the self inflicted fall of the Roman Empire. If, that is, the Muslim leaders will allow history books to be written or read.

If we don’t win this war right now, keep a close eye on how the Muslims take over France in the next 5 years or less. They will continue to increase the Muslim population of France and continue to encroach little by little on the established French traditions. The French will be fighting among themselves over what should or should not be done, which will continue to weaken them and keep them from any united resolve.

Doesn’t that sound eerily familiar?

Democracies don’t have their freedoms taken away from them by some external military force. Instead, they give their freedoms away, politically correct piece by politically correct piece. And they are giving those freedoms away to those who have shown, worldwide, that they abhor freedom and will not apply it to you or even to themselves, once
they are in power. They have universally shown that when they have taken over, they then start brutally killing each other over who will be the few who control the masses. Will we ever stop hearing from the politically correct, about the “peaceful Muslims”?

I close on a hopeful note, by repeating what I said above. If we are united, there is no way that we can lose. I believe that after the election, the factions in our country will begin to focus on the critical situation we are in and will unite to save our country. It is your future we are talking about. Do whatever you can to

preserve it.

Love,
Dad

[1] By the way on Vietnam, the emotions are still so high that it is really not possible to discuss it. However, I think President Kennedy was correct. He felt there was a communist threat from China, Russia and North Vietnam to take over that whole area. Also remember that we were in a ‘cold war’with Russia. I frankly think Kennedy’s plan worked and kept that total communist control out, but try telling that to anyone now. It just isn’t politically correct to say so. Historians will answer this after cool headed research, when the people closest to it are all gone.

[2] As you know, I am a strong President Bush supporter and will vote for him. However, if Senator Kerry is elected, I will fully support him on all matters of international conflict, just as I have supported all presidents in the past.

[3] Source for statistics in Par. 1 is http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001454.html .

[4] The Institute of Islamic Information and Education. http://www.iiie.net/Intl/PopStats.html

[5] Note the attached article by Tom Segel referred to in Foot Note 6 infra, the terrorist Muslim have already begun the havoc in France.(The note was not attached to the e-mail I received. Gene)

[6] I checked this article with two sources - Hoax Busters and Urban Myths. It does not come up as a Hoax on either. I also then e-mailed Mr. Segel and he confirmed the article was his.

[7] “I don’t think the Army or any branch of service runs any type of war any more. It’s done by senators and congressmen. There are too many civilians involved.” Returning Iraq veteran, Sgt. 1st Class Greg Klees as quoted in the Cedar Rapids, IA Gazette on May13th, 2004.

[8] There are 64 Muslim countries. This does not count countries like Spain that are controlled by the Muslim terrorists.

Whew. Get all that?

Here is my reply:

My first question is where do you get this nonsense from and why do you keep
giving it serious thought? This is in no way a “real letter”. If it is
real it is incredibly scary, but I find it impossible to believe that a man
wrote this to his sons and then wrote 8 footnotes at the bottom of it.

But let us ignore its dubious authenticity. Let’s you and I pretend it is
real. Do you think that giving up some of our civil liberties is the way in
which we will win this “War on Terror”? That’s hooey. We want to protect
our way of life so we should give it up? Does that honestly sound right to
you? The only possible way for the terrorists to win is for us to do such a
thing. If you think that the America is a good place and the Middle East
has many more problems, it would make more sense to Americanize the Middle
East than to Middle Easternize America, yes?

I think another question is, are we really at war with terrorists? It’s
asinine to think that “terror” or “terrorists” can be defeated en masse.
Sane people only wage a winnable war. Terror attacks are simply crimes on a
grand scale. You can’t wage war on crime or criminals as there is a
never-ending supply of both. The same is true for terrorists.

Terrorists aren’t all Muslim, by the way, don’t forget that the 2nd biggest
terror attack on the U.S. was done by white Christian U.S. citizens.
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Reynolds wouldn’t have been caught by profiling.

You can, however, make yourself more secure. You do this by screening
airline passengers, putting in the same sort of checks and security systems
in entry portals as most European and Asian countries already have.
Actually enforcing more of the current immigration and naturalization laws
that are in place would do a great deal towards securing us from further
domestic attacks.

The whole idea of profiling makes me cringe. I have heard estimates that
the number of operatives in all of the world’s terrorist organizations
combined would be less than 50,000. If 25% of the world is Muslim (likely)
and all terrorists are Muslim (not even close) that would mean that 1 in
every 30,000 Muslims is a terrorist. How accurate do you think any
profiling is that could catch that 1 in 30,000 guy without getting lots and
lots and lots of innocents?

I would think that if this guy were a real Christian he would take a lesson
from Christ. Sometimes you can do everything right and still get crucified.
But if you do it for the betterment of all, it is a noble thing and you have
lived a good life.

I love you, quit listening to frightened little people. Especially goofy,
frightened, racist forwarded spoof e-mails.

James

So I’m vested. Whew. Now what?

Like a complete idiot I volunteered for overtime Tuesday night. I’m wore out now and still have 2 days to go. What an idiot.

For the most part, I love Comedy Central’s programming. Chappelle’s Show and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are two of my all time favorites. But Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn is another matter. It sucks. First, Colin himself is about as funny as a leg cramp. His complete inability to read the teleprompter convincingly only accentuates the fact that he is not doing his own material.

One of his common “guests”, Nick Di Paolo is highly irritiating, with his “angry manly man” schtick. His continued presence in the standup circuit only shows the complete lack of talent out there right now. Nick tries to steal Denis Leary’s self-destructive machismo mannerisms, only he does it without the aid of Leary’s intelligence and charisma. Also, as in the case of Hollywood Squares, you get the feeling people that are on there alot are just there because they aren’t working.

I think that Tough Crowd’s premise is valid, with a variety of comics sitting around discussing current events, but they need a better host. Preferably someone that can read.

I vest in 2 more days.

I’m torn between “Wow, 5 years have gone really quick” and “OMG, I’ve wasted 5 years of my life”. Since it doesn’t appear that I will be going anywhere (career-wise) soon, there will be many more wasted years I’m sure.

Of course, I mean these in a totally employment related way. The vast majority of things that have happened in the past 5 years have been wonderful. Especially marrying my wife and having our daughter. That’s good stuff.

Something not entirely related to baseball has convinced me that the first round of the playoffs is complete bull. The best 3 out of 5 allows for too much luck and statistical blips to be a realistic assessment of who should eventually be champion.

I have mentioned before that I play baseball seasons of Freecell. That is, I play 162 games and if I have a high enough win/loss ratio, I play as if I am in the baseball playoffs. First the 3 of 5 series and then two 4 of 7 series. Well, this last “season” I ended with a 131-31 record and never lost more than 2 games in a row. I then proceeded to lose 3 of the next 5 games. Just out of spite, I kept going without resetting the stats. I have now played 200 games, still have won 79 percent of all the games and still have never lost more than 2 in a row. In fact, that was the only time in the entire run that I lost 3 out of 5. The only one. And it is a load of crud. I can’t believe I lost. Baseball ought to do away with the first round crap shoot and make it a 4 of 7 series.

…way too much time at the computer. But I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t or can’t engage in other pastimes. So here I am.

Went to the Dr today, got x-rays on my arm which has been aching and there were no problems there. So she took blood to check for arthritis (in all its wondrous forms). If that is negative we will get an MRI done.

I had a number of the symptoms of an appendicitis last night and I have to go in and get checked for that in the morning, too. I’m turning into an old man. Bummer.

I am so very, very tired now.

I have said in the past that I am very impressed with Medtronic Minimed and BD as companies. Well today my admiration for them grew even a bit more. I received a new Medtronic Paradigm Link Glucometer (made by BD)in the mail for free. Now BD has been having its problems with test strips and whatnot having to be recalled. My guess is that they were going to have to recall the glucometers too and just decided to beat everyone to the punch and send them out. Which is very smart. That way you get a lot of feelgood out of it rather than a stigma against your quality.

The really cool thing is that they threw in a free Blockbuster DVD rental and a bag of microwave popcorn. Really.

Thank God I grew up in America and not Japan. If they did stuff like this here, I wouldn’t have survived high school, let alone college.