Okay, so I am impressed

with this article.

He has ten reasons, but this one (number 8) was the one of most poignant interest to me:

It is hard to think of a single foreign policy success for the Obama administration, but there have been plenty of missteps which have weakened American global power as well as the standing of the United States. The surrender to Moscow on Third Site missile defence, the failure to aggressively stand up to Iran’s nuclear programme, the decision to side with ousted Marxists in Honduras, the slap in the face for Great Britain over the Falklands, have all contributed to the image of a US administration completely out of its depth in international affairs. The Obama administration’s high risk strategy of appeasing America’s enemies while kicking traditional US allies has only succeeded in weakening the United States while strengthening her adversaries.

I'm not going to start on a rant against Obama, or even avid praise of Nile Gardiner. But, I'll say this.

One of the most striking things (to me) about Obama's role in the presidency has been his failure to act like a leader. He talks (a lot) to these people and those people, about this thing and that thing. He talks like every nation, race, religion, sect, foreign opinion is equally right and deserving of gratifying attention. It's like he is trying to hold his hands out to everyone and appease them all. The result may be that everyone will hate him. When you try to please everyone, your friends feel betrayed and your enemies no longer respect you.

While many people disliked the decisions of George W. Bush, at least he made them and stuck by them. (He changed some in his later years, but that's a different story.) He was a leader.

An Exercise in Story Telling

As Carolyn, Ethan, and I were riding back from the Hoyt reunion in Jason's car, I decided to do an activity with them that involved writing a story together. Starting it out, I wrote one paragraph and then handed it to Carolyn, who wrote another. She passed it to Ethan, and then he, in turn, passed it my way and we made another round. This was the result:

Mousas was a Villanese rat, simple, yet clever. He lived under the wooden floor of a house set on a hill. The life he led was not very complicated. His main occupations were finding his daily food, avoiding the pathetic attempts of his human neighbors to trap and poison him, and leaving a confusing trail for his only real predator, the people's dog.

One of his favorite pastimes was to use his spare time to take long walks. These walks took him down the hill into the fields below, crisscrossed by occasional irrigation ditches. Mousas did not always return from these strolls with something worth saving, but when he did, his talents enabled him to make useful inventions and contraptions, which saved him from some of his daily efforts.

One day, when he was walking along, he saw an animal by one of the irrigation ditches. It was a snake. It saw him before he saw it. It rushed over at him at top speed.

To his horror, Mousas was watching a vicious reptile come at him. Although the scaly beast was only about twice his size, the large rat was nevertheless truly surprised at this new enemy. Not only did he have to mentally add to his list of roving threats, but also he had to develop and implement a defense strategy in a matter of a second or two. Quickly noting the features of the snake so that he could avoid such a creature in the future, Mousas simultaneously developed a plan to defend himself, carefully noting the snake's approach velocity, the wind speed, and the air's humidity.

He pulled from the pack on his back a rope, something which he was, luckily, never without. Even more luckily, the rope had a slip-knot in it already. Using his rapidly made calculations, he lassoed shut the snake's comparatively large jaws. Pulling with the strength that a life-threatening situation can give, Mousas leaped into the flowing current of the ditch, pulling the creature in after. Unfortunately, this sudden strength took little time to be spent, and Mousas found himself in a worse predicament than before, now being in danger of drowning as well.

He was switching gears to swimming when he saw a four-foot pike rushing at him. Quickly, he pulled out his fully automatic assault rifle with water-vision goggles and scope. He stitched the pike across the stomach and swam ashore.

The danger past, our hero dragged his soaked body out of the water and up onto the ditch's muddy bank. He sighed a great sigh, mentally running through the particulars of his fearful adventure. Yes, songs would be sung about this one day. “But, in the meantime”, thought the rat, “it was all in a day's work, and life must go on.” Using his assault rifle as a crutch, he hauled himself upright, unaware that the ribbon hanging down from his neck was stuck under the butt of his firearm. Pulled tight, the ribbon loosened and came off his neck, causing his head to drop to the ground. In this manner, the life of Mousas the Villanese rat ended.

I've always been rather stalwart against illegal immigration...

but, this video is rather hard to advocate.

In fact, I think it is insulting.

But, you're welcome to disagree if you like.

Delicious!

The best steak is the one you have cooked with love.

Entertained.

Designing your computer on NewEgg is nearly as fun as doing it for real. You haven't made your choice yet, so you're options aren't closed. You haven't been faced with the bill yet, so you don't have qualms about looking at the name brand merchandise. What's not to love?

What has happened to Pelosi?

If Pelosi is talking like this, I will wonder if her party has any chance in the fall. And, I may be even more surprised if people do not wonder out loud about Obama's integrity.

I mean you don't just open the door for your opponent to find out well-kept secrets by acknowledging something exists there. Maybe, it's a new strategy. Be direct, be bold, and stop them in their tracks. Or, maybe she thinks people aren't suspicious yet.

"'Subpoenas and investigations'"? Oh no! Don't even mention the idea. What would your political opponents do that for?

It is possible that many a Republican has refrained because they do not have the majority. I would like to believe it (and yet, it would probably do little for my opinion of their allegiance to truth and justice), but I kind of doubt it...

Move slowly and wait for the turtles.

This is something else.

Okay, its bad enough that in Iowa, you aren't supposed to kill bats that you find sharing your residence with you.

And, yeah, its bad enough that in Colorado you have to have a bear visit you twice before you can take lethal action.

But turtles? Is anybody aware how slow those things move?

While I like to think I am no animal lover (a tree hugger, but with an eye instead on anything from cute, furry creatures to ugly, hide-your-face beasts), reckless abandon is another kind of animal treatment. We should care about the Creation that has been put under our dominion. Indeed, turtles are so cute... who would want to hit one anyway. But, sometimes, bureaucracy amazes me to no end... (and the states' version is more funny, partly because it is less agonizing)

If anything, this policy is going to bring a whole new meaning to the idea of falling asleep at the wheel.

Elections.... bah!

So, as the primaries approach in Iowa, I thought I would take up on one of my favorite agenda topics: voting.

...

Before everybody thinks they know what I am going to say, let me say this, "Relax, I'm not going partisan today."

When I think of voting (and all its attendant woes, both in choice and influence), I recall some peoples' conclusions in 2008 when we (supposedly) had such bad choices. In such a situation--when people assert their choice to be only the lesser of two evils--they start to get frustrated with the whole idea of voting and would rather forgo it. I can hardly tell you what I feel when I hear of this reaction.

But, I will keep myself under control.

Practically needless to say, there are never only two choices in any election. (However, the assumption is just one more reason why I loath the two party system.) Usually, there are a handful of minor parties with candidates who often may capture our ideas better but who are also so highly unlikely to win, we think it is unwise to vote for them or that it is a vote for the guy we really want to stop from winning.

Not only that, there are also all those independents the media keeps trumping up (by alternately almost never mentioning the minor party candidates).

Besides, one can always enter an alternate name in the ballot--someone who is not even on the list. You could vote for Stephen Hawking, Rick Warren, George Clooney, Jason the Awesome... the possibilities are endless.

Yes, there is no excuse for complaining that there is no one to vote for.

So, please don't let me hear this year, in two years, or any time, that there is no point in voting because of the choices. Actually, I believe (and dare to express this belief) that it is the duty of every eligible American citizen to vote.

I realize that the primaries are only just now coming on us. Things are not quite that desperate yet (assuming they ever are to begin with). Perhaps, though, if people vote now in the primaries, they might have some choices in the fall.

Worth thinking about.

Maybe next time, I should talk about the difference between a smart vote and a needing-more-thought vote. Heh heh.

Let me introduce a colleague.

In case any of you were wondering what the deal was with Trallferd and whether I had finally lost my mind...

Trallferd is a troll. A little green troll. We share similar beliefs, and if I may say so myself, get along fairly well. He is my colleague and scribe. Thus, each post is in his name. Nevertheless, most of the time, I am the author. But, only most of the time...

So this is how it has come...

Another Hoyt blogger.

Yes. But, bear in mind, my readers, that I intend to delve into new depths and blaze new paths in the science of blogging.

Perhaps, several from my family will recall that I had often talked about getting a blog. They will also recall that I intended to use it for different purposes (different, that is, than what everybody else in my family has used it for). Yes, what is the good of running a blog, when you can't use it for discussion...

argument...

intellectual exploration...

and yes, everyone's favorite... propaganda.