Blood on Reid’s Hands

Reprinted from the New York Times

REID’S BLOODY HANDS

April 24, 2007 — Fresh from his declaration that “this war [in Iraq] is lost,” Senate Demo cratic leader Harry Reid is moving quickly to hasten America’s unilateral surrender.

And to cast the Middle East into murderous chaos.

Reid yesterday promised that the Democratic-controlled Congress will within days pass legislation requiring U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq over the six months starting Oct. 1.

Never mind that such legislation:

* Likely wouldn’t pass either house of Congress . . .

* . . . and, even if it did pass, certainly wouldn’t survive a veto.

So the point must be not to make policy, but to send a message: That Harry Reid’s Democratic Party is against war in the Middle East, maybe?

Or that war in the Middle East is OK – so long as no Americans are fighting?

Or, maybe it’s all about politics?

To be sure, Reid won’t risk calling for an immediate pullout. He cautioned his party’s bug-out-now wing to be patient, despite “the restlessness” of those who “voted for change in November [and] anticipated dramatic and immediate results in January.”

The problem, said Reid, is that “George W. Bush is still the commander-in-chief – and this is his war.”

And there’s the real problem: From the start, Reid and the Democrats have seen the war in Iraq as a partisan opportunity.

They refuse to present a unified front to the rest of the world – especially to America’s enemies – because, in their pinched view, to do so would be to weaken their own prospects for retaking the White House in 2008.

No, Reid didn’t repeat his declaration of defeat during yesterday’s speech from the Senate floor.

It probably has dawned on him just how big a political blunder he committed – witness Sen. Chuck Schumer’s gentle contradiction of the majority leader over the weekend, insisting that “the war is not lost.”

Then again, Reid didn’t have to repeat his original remarks – because the imposed timetable he announced, if enacted, would bring about precisely the same result.

That is, a precipitous U.S. withdrawal from the region – if Reid thinks the bug-out would stop at Iraq, he’s dumber than he sounds – followed by:

* A rapid, al Qaeda/Iranian-driven descent into regional chaos.

* Most likely, a general war.

* And, almost certainly, a Mideast nuclear-arms race as Saudi Arabia, Eygpt and (probably) Turkey rush to arm themselves in anticipation of an Iranian bomb.

At the very least, Reid has to understand that his rhetoric can only encourage short-run insurgent attacks on Americans in Iraq.

Their blood stands to be on his hands.

And that’s a terrible price to pay for a political payday that’s so tentative that even an instinctive gut-fighter like Chuck Schumer recoils from the risk.

Harry Reid needs to put a cork in it.

Today.

 

Sedona Arizona

Sedona is located in Northern Arizona in Red Rock Country.
Red Rock country is an area of maybe 10 miles square, very beautiful and as you might guess the rocks and ground are red.
Once you are out of this area, the terrain varies considerably. It is approximately 90 miles north of Phoenix and 40 miles south of Flagstaff.

The terrain is not unlike southern Indiana, hilly and it has trees such as oak, maple, sycamore and others along Oak Creek, it is in the high desert.
Sedona is a city of about 11,000 people, it is very small townish,with no industry, it is mostly supported by tourism and most of the people living there are involved in the arts, or esoteric studies.

Almost all of the artists living there are very high caliber and some very high caliber art work can be purchased there, most of which is  western art ,as well as things of a  metaphysical nature.

A lot of people come because of the esoteric influence.

There are five major energy vortices in the area. Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte, Airport Mesa, Boynton Canyon, and Cathedral Rock. A vortex is a power spot where large amounts of energy is emitted from the earth, there are many vortices on the earth, but Indian legend states that there are four major areas, two positive, Sedona and Kauai, Hawaii, and two negative , the Bermuda Triangle and Sussex County in England. They are not positive and negative as in good and bad, but as in a battery, as there is no good or bad, that is only in the human mind.

The area has been seen in many old western movies of the 40s and 50s, the area is still used to film videos, commercials, and ads for magazines.

The Indians that live in the area , their legends all say that they came from a land to the west that sank and that they escaped to the red rock country.

Some of the legends describe seeing the land sink and people getting into boats and sailing east, either that or the people were standing on cliffs and watched the land to the west sink.
 
Legends state that Lemuria sank four different times, the third of which was 80,000 years ago and the final cataclysm took place 12,000 years ago, which roughly corresponds with many Indian legends from all over the world as the time of a great flood and mass migration of many peoples, our own bible also speaks of a great flood. It also corresponds within the same time frame as the sinking of Atlantis.

All in all it is a very interesting and beautiful place to visit , being within driving distance of the Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest, there is plenty to keep someone busy for several days.

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Global Warming ,In Jest!

This is a real letter to the editor from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
newspaper. Just how stupid are people? This stupid:

Daylight exacerbates warning*
You may have noticed that March of this year was particularly hot. As a
matter of fact, I understand that it was the hottest March since the
beginning of the last century. All of the trees were fully leafed out and
legions of bugs and snakes were crawling around during a time in Arkansas
when, on a normal year, we might see a snowflake or two. This should come as
no surprise to any reasonable person. As you know, Daylight Saving Time
started almost a month early this year. You would think that members of
Congress would have considered the warming effect that an extra hour of
daylight would have on our climate. Or did they ? Perhaps this is another
plot by a liberal Congress to make us believe that global warming is a real
threat. Perhaps next time there should be serious studies performed before
Congress passes laws with such far-reaching effects

My follow-up

After spending all night contemplating this great dilemma, I have made some startling discoveries!
 
Sometimes it takes years of research and discovery to unlock the great mysteries of life!
 
Several years ago Wes, Ron , and I were driving back from Brookville after playing golf. Wes and I began discussing how the corn always grew taller in Kentucky than Indiana. After much discussion we realized that it was due to the fact that Kentucky observed Daylight Savings Time. We concluded that if the average day of sunlight was 12 hours, than an extra hour would give them  an extra day every twelve days or approximately 2 1/2 more days per month. In six months that would be an extra two weeks of growing time. I noticed that Ron had a deer in the headlights look. Some people just can’t comprehend things of a complex nature.! (Guess he didn’t drink as much truth serum as we did.)
 
Moving ahead several years , while living in Arizona, which doesn’t observe Daylight Savings Time, I realized that the reason is that Arizona doesn’t need DST, it gets too much sun the way it is. They actually tried it for one year but the cactus started dying from too much sunlight.
 
This wise lady from Arkansas has stumbled onto a solution to one of the worlds greatest problems, however it took the our great minds to unlock the mystery!
 
Al Gore is barking up the wrong tree, the real Inconvenient Truth is that Daylight Savings Time is creating Global Warming!!
 
Combine the above facts with the afore mentioned thoughts and you have an answer to the problem.
 
Ever since Ben Franklin first proposed DST over 200 years ago,the earth has been on a collision course to a melt down. However well meaning he might have been, it has been a disaster for the planet!
 
The only solution that I can see that would work is that when October comes and the time changes, everyone should set their clocks back two hours. That would give us 4 extra weeks of darkness and cooler weather per year, it wouldn’t take many years at all to reverse the effects of 200 years of climate disaster .
 
This measure may sound extreme, but the only other alternative we have is to follow the advice of Cheryl Crow and only use one square of toilet paper when we use the bathroom.
 
It’s amazing how many of the worlds problems have been solved by drinking truth serum!
 
Next time I will discuss why Harold  and I never bought a doughnut shop, one of the reasons being that you knead too much dough.
 
One major problem we encountered never was solved.
 
Albert , Art  and I were having lunch one day at The Ship, (man that goes back in time), Art mentioned the fact that the state of Arkansas produced more eggs than any other state in the union, he went on to say that more chickens came from Georgia than anywhere else. After contemplating this for a while we wondered how all the eggs could come from Arkansas if all the chickens were in Georgia.
 
Albert had that same afore mentioned deer in the headlights look. I’m not sure why some people just don’t get it!!!
 
We discussed that problem for years and consulted many others in the restaurant, but no one ever came up with an answer,now I fear that Art has passed on without ever knowing the truth!
 
If anyone has the answer I would appreciate being enlightened.

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Learn “The Secret” !

Experience A Modern Day Walkabout!!

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Education

Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly

Free Speech

Just because you have the right to free speech,  doesn’t mean that what you are saying  is the right thing to say.

Designs in Time

I create and sell photo clocks of photos I have taken from around the world.
www.thetimelymanor.com
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Honeymoon Destinations

Probably one of the most appealing honeymoons for most people is a trip to a tropical Caribbean island. And one of the easiest ways for the soon to be newlyweds to plan their after wedding trip is to look at all-inclusive Caribbean honeymoons. There is one little problem though.

How do you choose which Caribbean island you want to spend your honeymoon on? After all, there are over 7000 Caribbean islands that you can choose from. Well, not all 7000, not all of them are inhabited, but that’s still a lot of possible destinations to choose from. And each of these islands, whether big or small, has its own cultural flavor that will have an appeal for just about everyone. And the best part is almost all the islands boast at least one all inclusive resort that is ideal for a honeymoon.

There are three easy steps to follow when it comes to planning an all-inclusive Caribbean honeymoon.

1. Choose an Island – As mentioned above there is a lot to choose from but somewhere in that group of islands is one that will be a perfect fit for the newlywed couple. With such a wide diversity of islands available no matter what the couple likes to do they will find one that fits what they are looking for. Of course all of them are great if you like lounging on the beach, enjoying water sports and just plain relaxing.

If you are looking for the total Caribbean honeymoon experience then Jamaica may be the way to go. It is a big island with large cities that offer everything more metropolitan areas are known for, including shopping and clubbing until all hours of the morning. You can also get away from it all by taking hikes in lush tropical forests and climbing warm cascading waterfalls with deep plunge pools for swimming. Jamaica also has an abundance of all-inclusive resorts that make honeymoon planning very simple.

If intimacy and seclusion are more of what is needed then any of the number of smaller islands will fit the bill. Culebra and Dominica are two such islands that are off the beaten path. There isn’t a whole lot to do there other than enjoy the warm Caribbean waters and lounge the days away in blissful peace with each other.

2. Choose an All Inclusive Resort – Just as there are many islands to choose from so are there resorts to choose from. One thing to look for is adults only or couples only resorts that cater exclusively to couples getting away for romantic holidays. You can also be assured that if you do choose a couples only resort that you will not have to deal with families and rambunctious kids during this romantic time together.

3. Get packing – Once the reservations are set and the trip is paid for all you have to do is get your bags packed and ready to go. That’s the beauty of all-inclusive Caribbean honeymoons; everything is included in the price of the package. This includes meals, drinks, resort activities, beach privileges and water sports, entertainment and a whole lot more.

Taking all-inclusive Caribbean honeymoons is easy. The hard part is figuring out which island to go to and then ultimately which resort offers the amenities and activities, or lack thereof, the newlywed couple is interested in. But no matter which island and resort you choose taking a Caribbean honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort is one of the most romantic and intimate settings you can find.

To Plan Your Next Vacation or Cruise

 The author has been a writer/ photographer for over 20 years, specializing in nature, landscapes and studying native cultures.Besides visiting most of the United States, he has traveled to such places as Egypt, the Canary Islands, much of the Caribbean. He has studied  the Mayan Cultures in Central America, and the Australian Aboriginal way of life.Photography has given him the opportunity to observe life in many different parts of the world!

He has published several books about the various cultures he has observed.

For more information and a link to his hard cover and Ebooks, and contact information: please check his website.www.journeysthrulife.com.com

Your comments appreciated

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It doesn’t take long to discover that Belize is a land of contrasts. From the poverty and disarray of the cities to the quiet countryside, many differences are soon found. With poverty and crime running rampant in cities such as Belize City and Belmopan, the traveler has to be constantly aware of his surroundings and protect whatever is being carried. Remember,that camera hanging around your neck is worth more than the average Belizean earns in a year. All that aside, the Mayan people are wonderfully warm people many of whom go out of their way to please visitors. Traveling into the countryside one discovers thatch roof homes with no doors or windows. Because of the warm climate , they can live comfortably all year with a gentle breeze flowing through the open windows and doors. I was struck with the concept that although no utility lines were visible, a lot of homes had a satellite dish in the front yard.