DUDE, REIN-O!

The Prophetic Carpenter was at it early this morning, while The Foreman and I discussed the failing economy and his desires to see all the Republicans run out of Washington, The Prophetic rocked back and forth in his plywood chair.

“Russia is sending an armada over to our side of the Atlantic.  They’ve joined forces with Venezuela.  Hundreds of submarines, in OUR waters!”  he chuckled in a sinister way.

I just had to do a fact check, and found this article from September 8.  This may have missed the MSM.

Russian Fleet Plans Joint Exercise with Venezuela

Neil Richard Leslie | September 08, 2008

Russia and Venezuela may stage joint naval exercises around Venezuelan territorial waters this November when four Russian warships arrive in the Caribbean, according to BBC reports.  Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has welcomed news of the Russian fleet’s proposed visit, dismissing US concerns about Russian enroachment in the area.  Mr Chavez said: “Russia’s naval fleet is welcome here. If it’s possible, we’ll stage an exercise in our Caribbean waters.”  It will be the first time such an exercise has been undertaken in the Americas.

Despite American concerns, Russian foreign ministry spokesman, Andrei Nesterenko, inisisted the move had no connection to events in Georgia, and was in no way directed against any third country. President Chavez, who has already called for a strategic alliance between Venezuela and the Kremlin, supported the Russian intervention in Georgia, and has accused the US of being scared of Moscow’s “new world potential.”

So it is true.  It is very scary.

“Putin…never…bluffs.”  he said.   And Chavez is crazy enough to instigate something with the U.S.  He keeps a low profile.   While the “President Ahmadinejad Show” continues to tour the news circuits, Chavez is secretly hatching this mischievous scheme against the United States, by making an ally of our former “#1 Enemy.”

Hey may even try to turn the rest of Latin America against us.  That is when we will need our brothers and sisters from Mexico, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.  The very same immigrants that many Americans despise may be our only hope.  Unfortunately, most of their governments are already corrupt (supposedly, the President of Mexico draws a higher government salary than the President of Los Estados Unidos).

When these governments go to war, no working class person of any race or nationality will be spared.

IMG_0051, originally uploaded by Adam Reiner.

I took this photo back in the spring time, from the hill below my house. In the foreground, on the far right, is Mt. Sopris.  It is 12,953 feet tall and has a larger vertical rise of any mountain thousands of miles away from the Pacific Coast.  A climb of it is a classic mountaineering experience.  I have not done so.

Of to the left in the background is the knife-shaped ridge of Capitol Peak, named for its resemblance of the U.S. Capitol Building.  I climbed it in the summer of 2007.  To the left of Capitol is Mt. Daly.

Sopris can be seen prominently from all parts of the lower valley.  From the first turn out of Glenwood Springs, the mountain is in your full frame of vision.  The snow has melted by September, but soon some light precipitation will dust the upper heights.

Obama mocks McCain in Nevada stops

“And if they tell you that, ‘Well, we’re not sure where he stands on guns.’ I want you to say, ‘He believes in the Second Amendment.’ If they tell you, ‘Well, he’s going to raise your taxes,’ you say, ‘No, he’s not, he’s going lower them.’ You are my ambassadors. You guys are the ones who can make the case.”

This quote sums up the problems with Obama’s campaign. There is an old man on my job who seems like a down-home, Tennessee raised, red-blooded conservative. A few weeks ago, he barged into our office and said “You better get yourself a large dry box, put all your guns in it, and buy it in the ground, because when Obama gets elected, he’s going to take them all away from you.”

He most likely has no clue what Obama’s stance on gun control is. I can’t say I do either.  According to this article, his supporters are supposed to say “He believes in the Second Amendment.’ But what does that mean, and why must his supports be in the faces of the uninformed? Why can’t both candidates just come on TV with a commercial that simply describes one single issue and where he stands on it, instead of all the confusing attack ads?

Bush says he’s working hard on economic turmoil

What is going on lately? The government is buying up all these companies. Yes…THE GOVERNMENT.

At the start of this week, the Federal Reserve rescued American International Group Inc., an insurance giant, from bankruptcy by granting an emergency $85 billion loan. In the historic bailout, the government gets almost an 80 percent stake in the company, a vastly far-reaching intervention.

Eighty percent? Now that the Fed. owns it, will it ever even be sold back? Possibly, if the U.S. Government ever needs to be bailed out in the future. But who will buy it then? Another Nation? China? India? Mexico? So then we will have another nation’s government controlling the insurance of all the businesses in America.

Every single immigrant worker in this country sends all his earnings back to his home country. Millions of U.S. Dollars are flowing out of the country on a daily basis. What happens when the ratio of dollars out exceeds dollars in? Pretty soon there really won’t be any more money. Its all gone, left the country.

The stock market crashed.  Clark is freaked out.  He kept giving reasons for going back to the shop room, to listen to National Public Radio tell him when to load up on ammunition.  I’ve never been laid off before.  I wouldn’t know what to do.  Clark says its nothing to worry about, and you can collect unemployment.

“But you gotta get laid off.  You get fired, you get nothing.  You quit, you get nothing.”  So you just float your way through the job all day, just hoping the boss man says “see you tomorrow” at the end of the day.

But if not, “You just move out of your apartment, get yourself a P.O. Box for your mail and a bank account for the unemployment deposit, and you go out in the desert and search for Dinosaur Fossils!”

Apparantly a Saber Tooth Tiger skull is worth $100,000 on Ebay.  I wonder what a T-Rex will get?

When I was a little boy, all I wanted to do all day was sit in the sandbox or beach and look for dinosaur fossils.  Could I have the chance to fufill my childhood dreams?  What kind of trial is this, to come in every day waiting for the bossman to hand you your check and release you from servitude?  I wonder if that day will ever come.

I woke up hella late this morning.  It was the most rainy mountain morning I’ve experienced in a few months.  As I tuned into the Fox News headz on Sirius, they were talking about a 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon.  I was surprised, because I hadn’t heard about such memorial ever before this morning.  Why today, out of nowhere?

Then the morning show newsman informed me “…as we spend today, 7 years after 9/11.”

Oh yeah.  After all, yesterday I was so happy to be celebrating 10 months with Vanessa, as we laughed about going at it for “double digits”.  I didn’t think about connecting September tenth to September eleventh, until now. I have to admit that I feel ashamed.

I DO remember that day.  I was living in room 21 of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity house at 919 Greenbrier Rd.  It was the third week of classes, in my Junior year, and I had an 8:30 chemistry class to go to.  Naturally, I slept in.  When I finally stirred near 9:00, I heard a commotion outside my room.  Then a knock.
“Reiner?!” my brother Obed said.  “What are you doing?  Are you awake?  Its world war three, man.”

I still remember those words.  I called my mother.  “Are you watching TV?  What’s going on?”  I asked.

“I don’t know, Adam, but whoever did is filled with a lot of hate.”  Her voice was comforting but trembling.

I spent the rest of the day at the fraternity house, sad, scared, and confused.  I feel blessed to have had the comforts of my friends and family on that day.

…

As I drove upvalley on this rainy morning, I silently listened to the readings of the names of the victims.  I learned something new this morning, that in addition to all the Americans that perished that day, citizens of 90 countries also died.  During the name readings, every single county was represented by a friend of family member of the victims.  (I had heard Colombia and Hong Kong).

Then I listened to a little bit of President Bush’s speech.  He reinforced his prime responsibility: to prevent another attack on American soil.  Say what you will about his attempts to capture Bin Laden, but he has so far succeeded in keeping us safe.  I give him props for that.

I was also happy to see the two campaignes cease fire for the day.  It is a good thing for the country.  However, it did not stop the pundits from referencing the event.  In the morning, I read an article by Keith Olbermann, and later listened to commentary by Glenn Beck and, separately, Sean Hannity.  Even the metal station on Sirius was paying tribute with classic songs about heroes.

What about you?  Did you remember this morning? If so, good for you.  If not, don’t feel bad.  We are only human, but we can give thanks to others for reminding us never to forget September 11,  2001.

Many of the video and images used to remember this day have been criticized as being too sensitive or controversial.  I have chosen an image that cannot be argued to be anything but positive and a fitting tribute.

(From bloomberg.com)

Al-Qaeda Chief in Pakistan Killed by Missile, Al-Jazeera Says

By Ed Johnson

Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) — Al-Qaeda’s newly appointed leader in Pakistan, Abu Haris, and two commanders were killed in a missile attack in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan, al- Jazeera reported.

At least 25 people were killed in the attack two days ago, when a drone fired a missile on a housing compound near a religious school in North Waziristan, the Qatar-based broadcaster cited unidentified security officials and Pakistani villagers as saying.

The school, near the town of Miran Shah, was founded by Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, whose sister-in-law was injured in the attack, according to the report. Haqqani wasn’t present at the time and was probably in Afghanistan, al-Jazeera said.

U.S. intelligence agencies say al-Qaeda has established bases in Pakistan’s tribal region from where it supports and directs the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda hasn’t commented on the missile attack, according to the report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.

I heard this on NPR this morning but actually had to search to find it.  Why?  Because the major media outlets available to most of us are too busy talking about Sarah Palin’s lipstick and a bunch of scientists on a big particle accelerator.

I guess I too have to admit getting caught up in the election drama, but I’ve paused for a bit to give much props to the U.S. forces in this victory. Well done.

The only source of information I have on the election is the talking heads on the Sirius radio cable news channels, and my friend the liberal intellectual from Calumet City.  Most people don’t have such friends in the know, so we all rely on the news media to explain the play-by-play of this scripted entertainment show.  Yes, scripted…the election for the President of the USA is anything but a reality show.  The media are quick to tell us every single little nuance in the campaigns, and why that will affect OUR vote.

On one side, the republicans have written a tale of the All American boy, who who went to war and almost died on behalf of the Stars and Stripes.  Just like George Washington…what a hero.  We should all rally behind him and bask in his glow. Their Vice President pick reminds me of my mother, and your mother, and everybodys mother!  Who wouldn’t vote for her?  She’s going to take care of you.  Her speeches are witty…remember: girls are always smarter than the boys.  In fact, you could probably break down every punchline and attribute it to crack team of late night talk show writers.  She comes off as the ultimate smart girl and the ultimate smart ass.  Oh did we mention her baby has Downs Syndrome?  Did you hear it from the 5th talking head on FOX News?  Lets get a close up picture of the baby.  How cute.  (What the hell is a newborn baby doing in a massively loud concert auditorium full of 50,000 people?)  Now lets get a picture of the 72-year old POW war hero with the cute baby.  Careful, he can’t move his arms very far because he got the shit beat out of him by the Viet Cong for five years.  Country First.

On the other side, the Democrats have bought out the full committee.  You’re not just getting the smooth talking young idealist, and keenly witty, yet sometimes outspoken wife.  They’ve got two kids too.  They’re not handicapped.  Just little black girls with braided pigtails.  You can’t get much cuter than that.  Experience?  Who needs it, when you have the 42nd President in your corner?    He was the favorite President of our times, we should be ecstatic at the chance to have him right behind the young President.  He’s brought his wife, the Power Senator, and the Senate Majority.  You get the package deal.  Vote for us, give us ultimate power and we’ll fix what’s wrong with this damn country.  Even good ol’ Ted Kennedy is on board this ship.  Vote for us, we can erase everything Bush did.  It will be like the last eight years never happened.  United We Stand.

Speaking of authoritarian power, what the hell is going on in the Soviet Union?  Yes, the Soviet Union. We never defeated those guys, they just lurked away for a while.  Where is Reagan with his cowboy hat?  All I can find are a bunch of college girls with Cowboy hats at the RNC.

The media heads have us sucked in.  The Russian president is it out shooting siberian tigers and blaming another People’s War on the election in America.  Better vote for the war hero.  Where is Patton when we need him?

Lets not forget about the hurricanes.  They all have cute names, too. just like all the pretty children of the candidates.  Here’s Hanna, and Ike.  They’re coming.  They’ve stopped for a drink in Cuba.  We don’t know what their plan is, but we’ll keep you updated.  In between all the politics.

Wait!  Put it all on hold.  Here come the New Yawk Football Giants.  Politics?  What are they?  How is my fantasy team doing?

Okay, now good ol’ Mayor Guiliani has me thinking.  He’s pointed out that Obama cast an awful lot of ‘present’ votes while in the Illinois legislature.  That is neither a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’.  One thing I feel that a president must be strong in  is his firm decision making.  Bush has been pretty good at that.  While I may not have always agreed with his decisions, he has not been a ‘flip-flopper’.   But to not make a decision at all?  That is a trait that we cannot have in a president.

Rudy’s speech is good, but he’s taking a few cheap shots, like “Obama thinks that Sara Palin’s hometown isn’t ‘cosmopolitan” enough.  Please…the ‘celebrity’ attack is played out.  You’re better than that, Mr. Mayor.  Finish up your speech because we miss seeing your face on the jumbotron at Yankee Stadium.

Wildnernest Camper, originally uploaded by Adam Reiner.

This is how Vanessa and I camp in style! It is a rare “Wildernest” folding camper, which fits snug as a bed topper for my F-250 Powerstroke Turbo Diesel.