I haven't seen it yet, since it's dark. But I can FEEL it. Now. Now that it's late in the night, and the concerts are over and the booze is starting to wear off. So I'm trying to put what little booze I have left in me so it won't hurt QUITE so much when I go to bed. It still hurts despite a 3500 peso bar bill (relax, that's only $35 bucks in USD).
I put on 30+ sunscreen before we went to the beach this afternoon. I KNEW what I was in for, and I'm so WHITE I could blind folks when I take off my shirt. But when you don't get up until 11:30, and lunch is breakfast, and you have two beers instead of orange juice, and then take two beers out of the fridge to the beach, and while you're standing there talking to the guys you came down here to see sing for an hour, and then go buy FOUR beers in a bucket, and you drink THOSE while talking to the nice young couple you shared a table with last night, and you're not really UNDER the water as much as IN the water. Well, shit happens.
And Lisa has SUCH a pretty smile. I just can't wait until I get home and can share a picture of her and her husband at tonights concert with you...
So by the time we came back to the condo to take a shower and get dressed for tonights concert, I had drank 8 beers and at least one glass of rum. Might have been two. I came back to call my mom and wish her a happy mothers day from Mexico, and chances are, I refilled that glass.
So, yeah, today I spent most of it standing up to my neck in The Caribbean, drinking beer. I usually, now that I'm old, can't finish TWO beers. But today, I drank eight of them. THEN went to concert in a bar. Pina coladas? Yep. Two of those. For ME. One for Deb. Then, double Anjeo' on the rocks. Two, or was it four? For ME. Deb was drinking a Diet Coke by this time. And a bottle of augua puerifcata.
And the boys were SINGING! They were awesome. Mark Mulligan brang an old friend of his over to our table and asked if he could sit with us. Sure. His name was Rudy, and he is a journalist who now writes for, "The USA Today" out of Cancun! I had a great time talking to him. Even smoked a cigarette with him, and I quit those ten years ago. He was a great guy. I should have asked his last name, but at the time? It just didn't seem important.
While I was getting shitfaced and sun burned this afternoon, I was talking to a nice lady from Florida out in the ocean. She was really interested in our trip to Cuba and wants to go there, so I gave her some advice. We had a nice conversation for about an hour. While it appears, I was FRYING!.
I spent some time, as it appears, FRYING talking to Kelly, Mark and James while standing in the ocean. But it was time well spent.
Now, I might have to pay the price in the morning. But at least I didn't sun burn my FEET! Every time we come down here, I do that and the rest of the week sucks because all my shoes hurt my feet. Not this time. My feet are great. The entire, rest of me? Not so much.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, May 7, 2011
First World Refugee, Day Three
I called on Apple today to see why I can't do chat or post pictures to the blog or FB. To their credit, they did call me right back, but the fix they offered (I should quit listening to my kids who have iPODS and, iTOUCH'S and not install any, "APPS" for them on my iPad) only let me delete a quick connect to FB, but it didn't solve the problem. Still can't send you a picture or post any to FB. I have a feeling this problem won't solve itself until I'm back in SLC. And when it does, I promise to post a LOT of pictures.
That being said, today was a pretty good day. Since we were up all night with our new friends, we slept in all morning! I finally rolled my ass out of bed about 11:30 local time and we went to breakfast at noon.
After breakfast, Deb went to the beach. I went into town. I had to find her some band aids for her foot since her sandle repair is rubbing her wrong. Get some more rum, and change some more money into Mexican money. Since this is stll the one place in the world where THEIR money is worth less than OUR money. God only knows why. Got two out of three.
The, "Super Express Mercado" in the middle of town, which is the only real, grocery store in town has a pharmacia in front, and they had bandages. The Pharmasist spoke better English than I did. She was very helpful. Then I bought the rum, had a case of, augua purificada delivered to the condo and went looking to change some money.
From our previous trips here, I knew there was a Combia, or money changer, right around the corner from the, "Super Mercado" on the walking street. But it was closed. I asked the nice young girl in the store behind it why it was closed, and she didn't speak enough English to help me, and I didn't speak enough Spanish to know what the fuck she was telling me. But I understood, "He's closed". When I asked her, "For today, or for how long? Can I come back later?".
"He's closed". Big smile. "Muches Gracias, Seniorita." And I left. I walked the three or four blocks back to the condo and didn't see another Combia! The first two times we were here, they were on EVERY corner. I think. And since it's Saturday, the couple of banks on the island are closed.
Thats not all bad. After all, the exchange rate at the Combia is 10.95 Pesos for one USD. If you have American dollars at the bar, or the restaurant, they will exchange it for 10/1, meaning you get ten pesos for a dollar. In the LONG run, if you're exchanging THOUSANDS of dollars at one time? You might be better off at the Combia. If you can't get there, and want a beer? You're losing 9 tenths of a dollar on the deal. Gas still sells for whatever and 9/10 of a dollar. Mexico is a better deal, even if you don't exchange your money at a Combia, than buying gas in the US.
Spent the afternoon swimming in the, "Carib" and the water was great. I had forgotten about the translucent, skinny fish that frequent this beach, but they were cool to see.
And then, when I was through, I came back to the condo, and smoked a Cuban Cigar, while drinking Mexican rum and listening to, Radio Margaritaville on the patio and screwing around with Facebook.
Later, went less than 100 yards away to listen to the guys we came to see (man, I WISH I could post pictures on this) and spent about four hours hanging around with them and listening to them play. What a great evening.
Beach music, beach music, all through the night...
To quote, Buffett.
Isla Mueres is about as awesome a place as you can spend your time. If you have the time to spend.
One of Mark's songs tonight was, "I Came For The Weekend (25 Years Ago)".
Oh, I can see THAT happening for, Deb and I.
That being said, today was a pretty good day. Since we were up all night with our new friends, we slept in all morning! I finally rolled my ass out of bed about 11:30 local time and we went to breakfast at noon.
After breakfast, Deb went to the beach. I went into town. I had to find her some band aids for her foot since her sandle repair is rubbing her wrong. Get some more rum, and change some more money into Mexican money. Since this is stll the one place in the world where THEIR money is worth less than OUR money. God only knows why. Got two out of three.
The, "Super Express Mercado" in the middle of town, which is the only real, grocery store in town has a pharmacia in front, and they had bandages. The Pharmasist spoke better English than I did. She was very helpful. Then I bought the rum, had a case of, augua purificada delivered to the condo and went looking to change some money.
From our previous trips here, I knew there was a Combia, or money changer, right around the corner from the, "Super Mercado" on the walking street. But it was closed. I asked the nice young girl in the store behind it why it was closed, and she didn't speak enough English to help me, and I didn't speak enough Spanish to know what the fuck she was telling me. But I understood, "He's closed". When I asked her, "For today, or for how long? Can I come back later?".
"He's closed". Big smile. "Muches Gracias, Seniorita." And I left. I walked the three or four blocks back to the condo and didn't see another Combia! The first two times we were here, they were on EVERY corner. I think. And since it's Saturday, the couple of banks on the island are closed.
Thats not all bad. After all, the exchange rate at the Combia is 10.95 Pesos for one USD. If you have American dollars at the bar, or the restaurant, they will exchange it for 10/1, meaning you get ten pesos for a dollar. In the LONG run, if you're exchanging THOUSANDS of dollars at one time? You might be better off at the Combia. If you can't get there, and want a beer? You're losing 9 tenths of a dollar on the deal. Gas still sells for whatever and 9/10 of a dollar. Mexico is a better deal, even if you don't exchange your money at a Combia, than buying gas in the US.
Spent the afternoon swimming in the, "Carib" and the water was great. I had forgotten about the translucent, skinny fish that frequent this beach, but they were cool to see.
And then, when I was through, I came back to the condo, and smoked a Cuban Cigar, while drinking Mexican rum and listening to, Radio Margaritaville on the patio and screwing around with Facebook.
Later, went less than 100 yards away to listen to the guys we came to see (man, I WISH I could post pictures on this) and spent about four hours hanging around with them and listening to them play. What a great evening.
Beach music, beach music, all through the night...
To quote, Buffett.
Isla Mueres is about as awesome a place as you can spend your time. If you have the time to spend.
One of Mark's songs tonight was, "I Came For The Weekend (25 Years Ago)".
Oh, I can see THAT happening for, Deb and I.
Friday, May 6, 2011
First World Refugee
Day two as a First World Refugee. Day one of Mark Mulligans Island Fest. And who was the first person we met this morning while having breakfast? Mark Mulligan! What a nice guy. introduced us to his lovely wife, Elsa.
We spent the day in the golf cart, driving around the island, seeing how much it has changed. And to my surprise, not much. Coming in on the boat yesterday, I could have sworn there were a lot more new, high-rise hotels. But from the roads on the island, and in the town, it's not that different. There is a new one right behind us that's supposed to be awesome. And a couple of new ones on the western side of the island, but I couldn't see them from the road, and I have no idea how to get to them.
I took a ton of pictures today, and would love to share them with you, but for some reason, the function that is supposed to allow me to add them to this blog won't let me pick pictures from the iPad. Won't let, "BROWSE" come up. So I will try to post some on Facebook later.
And I can't get the, "chat" function on FB on this machine. And on top of that, it's telling me right now that I have no service and I'm listening to streaming audio from Sirius/XM, so that can't be right. Oh, and it changed from Mountain Daylight Time to Eastern Daylight Time when we went from Salt Lake to Atlanta over night, but now, here in Central Daylight Time, it still thinks I'm in the Eastern Time Zone.
I don't know if this is, "Pilot Error" on my part, or the machines fault. But if I'd picked up the instruction booklet for the iPad that I THOUGHT I was grabbing, instead of the one for the remote key board I actually picked up, I might have some answers to these questions. But I digress. On with the story.
Tonights show was on the beach in front of The Sunset Grill at, Nautibeach. Wish I could share those pictures. And it was beautiful. Perfect weather, The problem with having dinner on, Playa Norta is that the sand is SO soft, that when you sit down at your table you get the feeling of being a kid having dinner at, "The Grown Up Table". You sink so far into the sand, that you plate is at your neck. A small price to pay, granted, but still, they could have warned you that if you lean too far back when you sit down you might roll right into the ocean.
The music was great. We got to meet, "Sunny Jim". Walking back to the table we bumped into him before the show started and I introduced Deb and I. He said, "Nice to meet you, I'm, James". When we got back to the table, Deb said, "Who was that?" I had to tell her, "You have all his stuff on your IPod. You didn't know who you were meeting?" Which is not as dumb as it sounds, since before tonight, neither one of us had seen a picture of this guy. We just liked his stuff. So it wasn't that she couldn't see, it was that she didn't make the connection of why I was introducing her to this random guy on the beach in Isla Mujeres. Now, she gets it. He found that story funny when I told it to him at intermission.
There were less than 100 people at this thing tonight. And everyone was drinking. Heavily. After all, you're living on, "island time" so getting up in the morning is just not something you worry about. And as much as that matters on a big island, the effect is, "cubed" on an island that is only five miles long, and less than one mile wide. You don't have to get up early to get ANYWHERE on THIS island in a hurry, so why bother?
Hell, tomorrow nights concerts are about 100 yards from here, and don't start until seven o'clock. And that's why we're here. I got ALL DAY to sleep tonight off.
You know how you can tell you have had too much to drink in Mexico? When your waiter comes over and asks you, in perfect English while clearing tables if you would like another beer, and despite the fact that you DON'T speak Spanish, you answer, "Si! Uno mas cerveza, por favor!"
Just some advice. Heed it or don't. I'm just saying...
The guys did a great show. They all know each other's stuff, and each other, well enough to goof on themselves and others. And in this small a group, the fans. Seems that Deb and I have now joined a group of people who follow these guys to all sorts of beach concerts. And that's not a bad thing.
The music these guys write and perform is amazing. Mark Mulligan did a song from his latest album about Mexico. It was so beautiful and melodic, I turned to Deb and told her, "If Kenny Chesney did this song, it would sell a million copies" and she agreed.
"Sunny Jim" did a song called, Research, where I swear, he was channeling the ghost of, Steve Goodman. He even sounded like him.
I told, Mark after the show about my feelings about the song, and he was very appreciative. I told him, "If Kenny Chesney does this song, you could have a pool in your backyard made of Unicorn bones! You should shop it out to him." He laughed at that, but I was serious. I don't like pop country. I think it sucks. But if a guy like this can one hit by someone like, Chesney, Keith, or McGraw? Set for life.
As the show was ending and they were closing up the bar, the waiter came by and asked if we were doing ok or needed anything. I said, "Muy bueno. Gracias."
God Damn it! I can't help myself!
We spent the day in the golf cart, driving around the island, seeing how much it has changed. And to my surprise, not much. Coming in on the boat yesterday, I could have sworn there were a lot more new, high-rise hotels. But from the roads on the island, and in the town, it's not that different. There is a new one right behind us that's supposed to be awesome. And a couple of new ones on the western side of the island, but I couldn't see them from the road, and I have no idea how to get to them.
I took a ton of pictures today, and would love to share them with you, but for some reason, the function that is supposed to allow me to add them to this blog won't let me pick pictures from the iPad. Won't let, "BROWSE" come up. So I will try to post some on Facebook later.
And I can't get the, "chat" function on FB on this machine. And on top of that, it's telling me right now that I have no service and I'm listening to streaming audio from Sirius/XM, so that can't be right. Oh, and it changed from Mountain Daylight Time to Eastern Daylight Time when we went from Salt Lake to Atlanta over night, but now, here in Central Daylight Time, it still thinks I'm in the Eastern Time Zone.
I don't know if this is, "Pilot Error" on my part, or the machines fault. But if I'd picked up the instruction booklet for the iPad that I THOUGHT I was grabbing, instead of the one for the remote key board I actually picked up, I might have some answers to these questions. But I digress. On with the story.
Tonights show was on the beach in front of The Sunset Grill at, Nautibeach. Wish I could share those pictures. And it was beautiful. Perfect weather, The problem with having dinner on, Playa Norta is that the sand is SO soft, that when you sit down at your table you get the feeling of being a kid having dinner at, "The Grown Up Table". You sink so far into the sand, that you plate is at your neck. A small price to pay, granted, but still, they could have warned you that if you lean too far back when you sit down you might roll right into the ocean.
The music was great. We got to meet, "Sunny Jim". Walking back to the table we bumped into him before the show started and I introduced Deb and I. He said, "Nice to meet you, I'm, James". When we got back to the table, Deb said, "Who was that?" I had to tell her, "You have all his stuff on your IPod. You didn't know who you were meeting?" Which is not as dumb as it sounds, since before tonight, neither one of us had seen a picture of this guy. We just liked his stuff. So it wasn't that she couldn't see, it was that she didn't make the connection of why I was introducing her to this random guy on the beach in Isla Mujeres. Now, she gets it. He found that story funny when I told it to him at intermission.
There were less than 100 people at this thing tonight. And everyone was drinking. Heavily. After all, you're living on, "island time" so getting up in the morning is just not something you worry about. And as much as that matters on a big island, the effect is, "cubed" on an island that is only five miles long, and less than one mile wide. You don't have to get up early to get ANYWHERE on THIS island in a hurry, so why bother?
Hell, tomorrow nights concerts are about 100 yards from here, and don't start until seven o'clock. And that's why we're here. I got ALL DAY to sleep tonight off.
You know how you can tell you have had too much to drink in Mexico? When your waiter comes over and asks you, in perfect English while clearing tables if you would like another beer, and despite the fact that you DON'T speak Spanish, you answer, "Si! Uno mas cerveza, por favor!"
Just some advice. Heed it or don't. I'm just saying...
The guys did a great show. They all know each other's stuff, and each other, well enough to goof on themselves and others. And in this small a group, the fans. Seems that Deb and I have now joined a group of people who follow these guys to all sorts of beach concerts. And that's not a bad thing.
The music these guys write and perform is amazing. Mark Mulligan did a song from his latest album about Mexico. It was so beautiful and melodic, I turned to Deb and told her, "If Kenny Chesney did this song, it would sell a million copies" and she agreed.
"Sunny Jim" did a song called, Research, where I swear, he was channeling the ghost of, Steve Goodman. He even sounded like him.
I told, Mark after the show about my feelings about the song, and he was very appreciative. I told him, "If Kenny Chesney does this song, you could have a pool in your backyard made of Unicorn bones! You should shop it out to him." He laughed at that, but I was serious. I don't like pop country. I think it sucks. But if a guy like this can one hit by someone like, Chesney, Keith, or McGraw? Set for life.
As the show was ending and they were closing up the bar, the waiter came by and asked if we were doing ok or needed anything. I said, "Muy bueno. Gracias."
God Damn it! I can't help myself!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A Long Day Rewarded
It's now a quarter to 12 Mountain Time. But not where I am right now. I'm living on Central Daylight Time for the next week. And it wasn't easy to get here.
We left Salt Lake this morning at 0100 hours. Otherwise known as one o'clock Thursday morning. So that meant staying up all night on Wednesday, and hoping that once the plane was airborne, you could catch some sleep. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.
We got to Atlanta at six thirty THEIR time. And then had three hours to kill. Breakfast at McDonalds in the airport, and I had enough time to figure out what my kid did to my new iPad, so I could download the app to get sirius/xm radio on it. Good thing. I might have killed him when I get home otherwise. I bought the damn thing to I could do THIS from HERE and still listen to radio on line. It's working, but I can't do it from inside the condo. I have to sit on the patio. But it could be worse.
It's 86 degrees, and I'm listening to the waves crash into, Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico. If I was to stand up, I could see, Cancun from my patio. It was a 20 minute ferry ride from there this afternoon.
So, as Deb and I were watching the sunset over the Yucatan tonight, standing on one of THE best beaches in the world, toes in the sand, drink in our hand, talking to Texas singer/songwriter, Kelly McGuire, the long hours in the plane, siting in airports, and having to be up for 24 hours plus was kind of worth it. And for the next six days? We get to do that every day.
It's still 86 degrees here. I've rented a golf cart for the next 24 hours. So we can go to the store and lay in supplies and tomorrow? We're going to drive around the island. Because it's not the same island we first discovered in 1999. This place has been DEVELOPED!
When we were first here, the light house outside our room was the highest thing on the island. Now? Not so much. I honestly thought that when it left the dock, we were on the wrong ferry. We could't be heading to MY isla Mujeres! There were no high rise hotels on MY, "Isla"!
But here we are. And it's different, but sort of the same. The folks are friendly. The food is awesome. The views are spectacular.
And I'm not just talking about the beach and water. While Deb and I were standing on the beach talking to, Kelly three beautiful, young girls came out of the water. Topless. Oh, yeah! I'd forgotten about THAT being common down here. Deb didn't see it, and wouldn't have cared anyway. Oh, Isla. Just when you think it's going to change for the worst, it shows you that it hasn't changed much after all.
Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday, concerts on the beach. It's going to be great.
So for, Deb, the cancer worries, tests, endococpy's to come, problems with her mother are all something thousands of miles away.
We left Salt Lake this morning at 0100 hours. Otherwise known as one o'clock Thursday morning. So that meant staying up all night on Wednesday, and hoping that once the plane was airborne, you could catch some sleep. Sometimes you can, sometimes you can't.
We got to Atlanta at six thirty THEIR time. And then had three hours to kill. Breakfast at McDonalds in the airport, and I had enough time to figure out what my kid did to my new iPad, so I could download the app to get sirius/xm radio on it. Good thing. I might have killed him when I get home otherwise. I bought the damn thing to I could do THIS from HERE and still listen to radio on line. It's working, but I can't do it from inside the condo. I have to sit on the patio. But it could be worse.
It's 86 degrees, and I'm listening to the waves crash into, Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico. If I was to stand up, I could see, Cancun from my patio. It was a 20 minute ferry ride from there this afternoon.
So, as Deb and I were watching the sunset over the Yucatan tonight, standing on one of THE best beaches in the world, toes in the sand, drink in our hand, talking to Texas singer/songwriter, Kelly McGuire, the long hours in the plane, siting in airports, and having to be up for 24 hours plus was kind of worth it. And for the next six days? We get to do that every day.
It's still 86 degrees here. I've rented a golf cart for the next 24 hours. So we can go to the store and lay in supplies and tomorrow? We're going to drive around the island. Because it's not the same island we first discovered in 1999. This place has been DEVELOPED!
When we were first here, the light house outside our room was the highest thing on the island. Now? Not so much. I honestly thought that when it left the dock, we were on the wrong ferry. We could't be heading to MY isla Mujeres! There were no high rise hotels on MY, "Isla"!
But here we are. And it's different, but sort of the same. The folks are friendly. The food is awesome. The views are spectacular.
And I'm not just talking about the beach and water. While Deb and I were standing on the beach talking to, Kelly three beautiful, young girls came out of the water. Topless. Oh, yeah! I'd forgotten about THAT being common down here. Deb didn't see it, and wouldn't have cared anyway. Oh, Isla. Just when you think it's going to change for the worst, it shows you that it hasn't changed much after all.
Tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday, concerts on the beach. It's going to be great.
So for, Deb, the cancer worries, tests, endococpy's to come, problems with her mother are all something thousands of miles away.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
This Doesn't Smell Right
The other night, one of the, "Talking Heads" on TV, and I don't remember which one said something about the information that got Ben Laden came from intelligence originally obtained from prisoners at GITMO. Then later, I heard it stated that it came from GITMO, and was obtained using, "enhanced Interrogation" (torture). And now, I'm seeing stuff on Facebook about how it's a great deal we tortured those guys, or we wouldn't have gotten OBL.
I don't know if it's the Cop in me, or the debate club president from high school, but this just seems to have a lot of holes in it.
I don't know, because I haven't researched it, but are we still putting NEW prisoners in GITMO? Or have all THOSE guys been there ten years or so?
That question leads to this one. If the information came from a guy who's been in Cuba for ten years, how could he have useful, current information that would have gotten us where we were on Sunday night? And if it IS old information, why did it take so long to act on it?
Leading to this question. If it came from a new guy, the information, if obtained using torture, had to be at LEAST three years old, because the Obama Administration stopped using, "enhanced interrogation" when they took office. So why did we wait 3 years to act on the information?
And who made the announcement that it was obtained using, "enhanced interrogation"? The current White House wouldn't say that, even if it were true, because they said we don't torture any more. And they would look foolish if they announced that, "Hey, we were just kidding! We still water board the SHIT out those guys!".
So, it sounds to me like this piece of information might not be true. It sounds like it came from someone who would LIKE it to be true.
And since I'm leaving the country in about 24 hours for some serious beach time, and despite the fact that I paid for a new ipad 2 more than a month ago, it hasn't arrived yet, I'm not going to be spending a lot of time trying to figure out where it came from.
I'm just guessing, but I'd wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to not be true.
I don't know if it's the Cop in me, or the debate club president from high school, but this just seems to have a lot of holes in it.
I don't know, because I haven't researched it, but are we still putting NEW prisoners in GITMO? Or have all THOSE guys been there ten years or so?
That question leads to this one. If the information came from a guy who's been in Cuba for ten years, how could he have useful, current information that would have gotten us where we were on Sunday night? And if it IS old information, why did it take so long to act on it?
Leading to this question. If it came from a new guy, the information, if obtained using torture, had to be at LEAST three years old, because the Obama Administration stopped using, "enhanced interrogation" when they took office. So why did we wait 3 years to act on the information?
And who made the announcement that it was obtained using, "enhanced interrogation"? The current White House wouldn't say that, even if it were true, because they said we don't torture any more. And they would look foolish if they announced that, "Hey, we were just kidding! We still water board the SHIT out those guys!".
So, it sounds to me like this piece of information might not be true. It sounds like it came from someone who would LIKE it to be true.
And since I'm leaving the country in about 24 hours for some serious beach time, and despite the fact that I paid for a new ipad 2 more than a month ago, it hasn't arrived yet, I'm not going to be spending a lot of time trying to figure out where it came from.
I'm just guessing, but I'd wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to not be true.
Monday, May 2, 2011
And.... Here It Comes.
"This is NOT a victory for, Obama!" "Thank God for, George W. Bush!" "Odummy isn't so smart after all". "Thank God Obama didn't close Gitmo or we wouldn't have been able to get, Osama!" Plus the usual calling me, "a left wing nut ball" for being a Liberal. A title I embrace, by the way. If you think you're saying bad things about me by calling me a Liberal? I have news for you. I truly believe I'm a Liberal because I'm smarter than you, so thanks for the compliment. I mean, after all, if you work for a living and earn an hourly wage and still vote for Republicans, you're not very bright.
The nastiest vitriol came from my, "friend" who is an ex-pat American who deserted this country for France, but won't tell his life story, so I have no idea where that's coming from. He accuses me of having no memory. Well, I remember the USSR getting it's ass kicked in Afghanistan and not knowing when to get out. I'm just saying, now that OBL is dead, can't we come home? Leave that crummy country to govern itself and not get any more Americans killed looking for OBL?
I'm glad he's dead. The SEALS are America's new SWAT team, good for them! I support the troops. I think it was the right thing to do to go into Afghanistan looking for OBL after 9-11. What else do you want me to say to prove I'm an American?
Now that we are done over there, lets get out and come home. And we are done in Iraq, too. So lets come home. And why do we still have troops all over the world? Why can't they come home, too?
If you think killing Osama is going to make the USA safe from terrorism, you're not paying attention. It was a symbolic gesture, at best. An important one, but it won't solve the problem. Our foreign policy is the problem. And the truth be known, in the Arab world? They will hate us as long as we support Israel. I'm not saying we shouldn't, but it's why the Arabs hate us, and we just have to accept that we can't change that.
The Muslims don't hate us for, "our freedom". They hate us because we like the Jews better than them.
And I still don't think that terrorism in THIS country can be prevented by the military. I believe it's a law enforcement problem. You can get at the leaders, like we did yesterday, in foreign lands, but keeping plots from being carried out on our soil is up to the LEO's.
And I think I need to make note of one more observation that no one else has made, at least on the news programs I've been watching.
Bill Maher got fired from a network job a few years ago, when he said that the guys who flew the planes into the towers were a lot of things, but you couldn't call them cowards. And I agree. They were NOT afraid to die. The were every other bad thing you can say about them, and they were totally evil. I believe that anyone who would take your life in the name of religion is. But they were not cowards. They died for their convictions.
Osamma Ben Laden was a complete and total coward. A chickenshit, spoiled rich kid from Saudi Arabia who had the ability to whip young, devout, religious zealots into a frenzy to the point that they would strap on explosives and blow themselves up to further HIS sick and twisted world view. And he was this right up to the end when he tried to hide behind a girl when the bullets were flying. He doesn't even deserve to be a martyr to his OWN cause because all the kids who died for HIM? They wouldn't be able to expect him to die for them!
Oh there will be some who say he did. After all, someone has to be in charge, right? Bullshit. He was hiding out in a mansion, never missing a meal.
There was even a rumor a few years ago, and I haven't gone to look and see if it's true, so I don't stand behind it, but I'm just sayin... That he was paying family's of kids who agreed to be suicide bombers. Even if that is NOT true, I would have to ask every family who's loved one blew themselves up with a suicide bomb, or flew a plane into an American building, or otherwise lost their life because Osamma Ben Laden told them to, if it was worth it? Do you feel better now than you did before when you saw the footage of your Leader firing an AK47 that made him look like he was actually on the front lines, leading terrorists against, "The Great Satan"?
Do you believe that America is not as strong, and vibrant as it was before 9-11? That your child's death really bothered the average American, or changed their political views, or made them think twice about your religion maybe being the RIGHT one? Because it didn't. And we have the physical force to back up our position. And you DAMN sure know we will use it. You're family is saddened by it's loss, and to tell the truth? So are we. We all have family.
But you were duped. He had no intention of putting HIMSELF at risk. He used your kids to further his agenda. Lots of people bought his bullshit, in the name of religion.
So the coward is dead, and that's a good thing. Now, bring the troops home. And get American business to quit sending all the jobs overseas so these guys can earn a living when they get back. Just a thought.
The nastiest vitriol came from my, "friend" who is an ex-pat American who deserted this country for France, but won't tell his life story, so I have no idea where that's coming from. He accuses me of having no memory. Well, I remember the USSR getting it's ass kicked in Afghanistan and not knowing when to get out. I'm just saying, now that OBL is dead, can't we come home? Leave that crummy country to govern itself and not get any more Americans killed looking for OBL?
I'm glad he's dead. The SEALS are America's new SWAT team, good for them! I support the troops. I think it was the right thing to do to go into Afghanistan looking for OBL after 9-11. What else do you want me to say to prove I'm an American?
Now that we are done over there, lets get out and come home. And we are done in Iraq, too. So lets come home. And why do we still have troops all over the world? Why can't they come home, too?
If you think killing Osama is going to make the USA safe from terrorism, you're not paying attention. It was a symbolic gesture, at best. An important one, but it won't solve the problem. Our foreign policy is the problem. And the truth be known, in the Arab world? They will hate us as long as we support Israel. I'm not saying we shouldn't, but it's why the Arabs hate us, and we just have to accept that we can't change that.
The Muslims don't hate us for, "our freedom". They hate us because we like the Jews better than them.
And I still don't think that terrorism in THIS country can be prevented by the military. I believe it's a law enforcement problem. You can get at the leaders, like we did yesterday, in foreign lands, but keeping plots from being carried out on our soil is up to the LEO's.
And I think I need to make note of one more observation that no one else has made, at least on the news programs I've been watching.
Bill Maher got fired from a network job a few years ago, when he said that the guys who flew the planes into the towers were a lot of things, but you couldn't call them cowards. And I agree. They were NOT afraid to die. The were every other bad thing you can say about them, and they were totally evil. I believe that anyone who would take your life in the name of religion is. But they were not cowards. They died for their convictions.
Osamma Ben Laden was a complete and total coward. A chickenshit, spoiled rich kid from Saudi Arabia who had the ability to whip young, devout, religious zealots into a frenzy to the point that they would strap on explosives and blow themselves up to further HIS sick and twisted world view. And he was this right up to the end when he tried to hide behind a girl when the bullets were flying. He doesn't even deserve to be a martyr to his OWN cause because all the kids who died for HIM? They wouldn't be able to expect him to die for them!
Oh there will be some who say he did. After all, someone has to be in charge, right? Bullshit. He was hiding out in a mansion, never missing a meal.
There was even a rumor a few years ago, and I haven't gone to look and see if it's true, so I don't stand behind it, but I'm just sayin... That he was paying family's of kids who agreed to be suicide bombers. Even if that is NOT true, I would have to ask every family who's loved one blew themselves up with a suicide bomb, or flew a plane into an American building, or otherwise lost their life because Osamma Ben Laden told them to, if it was worth it? Do you feel better now than you did before when you saw the footage of your Leader firing an AK47 that made him look like he was actually on the front lines, leading terrorists against, "The Great Satan"?
Do you believe that America is not as strong, and vibrant as it was before 9-11? That your child's death really bothered the average American, or changed their political views, or made them think twice about your religion maybe being the RIGHT one? Because it didn't. And we have the physical force to back up our position. And you DAMN sure know we will use it. You're family is saddened by it's loss, and to tell the truth? So are we. We all have family.
But you were duped. He had no intention of putting HIMSELF at risk. He used your kids to further his agenda. Lots of people bought his bullshit, in the name of religion.
So the coward is dead, and that's a good thing. Now, bring the troops home. And get American business to quit sending all the jobs overseas so these guys can earn a living when they get back. Just a thought.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead...
So they finally got Osama Ben Laden tonight. Great. Only took ten years and billions of dollars and thousands of American lives. Or did it?
After September 11, 2001 when it came to light that the bandit we were looking for was OBL, and he might be in Afghanistan there was not anyone in this country who didn't support going after him. Nuke him until he glows and shoot him in the dark! Going into Afghanistan was the RIGHT thing to do.
Of course, invading Saudi Arabia to stop his funding and go after his family would have been a much better idea. But no, the Bush family has close ties to the Saudi Royal Family. Hell their one son, who was Ambassador to this country was known around Washington DC as, "Bandar Bush" because, Prince Bandar was so close to the Bush family. Used to smoke cigars on the White House balcony with, "W".
Still, going into Afghanistan was a good idea. Until it wasn't.
Shortly after we went THERE, we were sold a big bag of bullshit, that the REAL problem was Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He was developing nuclear weapons. He has weapons of mass destruction. He was aiding Alqeda by hosting terrorist training camps. He was going to invade or bomb Israel. He had weapons that could reach the United States!
All bullshit But he DID sit on top of the second largest oil reserve in the world. And we would use this as an excuse to go after it, and reclaim American interest in the infrastructure that was taken from Shell and Exxon/Mobile and the rest when, Hussein nationalized the oil industry when he took over.
Who had the BIGGEST oil reserves? The Saudis. The friends of, "W" who spawned Ben Laden, and the terrorists who committed the atrocities of 9-11. But we won't go after THEM!
So we go into Afghanistan for GOOD reasons, and Iraq for all the WRONG reasons and end up stuck in TWO wars we really didn't NEED to fight. But hey, it's OK. It's only going to last six months right? Just ask, "Rummy"!
Well, sometime in 2002 or 2003 information starts to leak out that our Special Forces have OBL cornered in the Bekaa Valley of Afghanistan. They could take him out. But were told not to by the White House. Why would they do that?
Because if they killed him THEN, there would be no reason to continue the War in Iraq and get the oil back for the American oil companies! DUH!
So they let him go.
And who didn't know that he went right to Pakistan from there? Really? Do you read as little as, Sarah Palin? Are you that stupid? Really?
Our intelligence forces DID know it. Why do you think there were so many drones dropping missiles into Pakistan for all these years?
Now, the, "Packi's" can claim we violated their sovereignty by coming over the boarder without permission, but they are full of shit. They might have, "The Bomb" but they got no way to get it HERE. And they know that if we thought, for even a minute they would try to use it on us, or India we would wipe them off the face of the earth.
So tonight, with an American Presidential Election coming right up, we get word that the, "Packi's" (yeah, I know it's a raciest term in England. But I'm using it on purpose. Fuck em) "helped us" get, OBL. Helped us? Right.
They had to know that given the political situation in this country right now, the current President knew that OBL was in Packistan. And he would be happy to use that intelligence to bomb the shit out of the place and gain MEGA political clout with even the MOST right wing nut balls in this country just before the campaign starts.
Well played, Mr. President. Well played.
Now, can we just please, please, bring the troops home? From Germany!
And Japan, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan?
Did we learn nothing from the fact that the Russian's spent 10 years in Afghanistan and couldn't win? Get out, get out now, and call it a, "retreat with honor" or some other bullshit, but get out! We got Ben Laden. Now, lets go home! That country sucks, and we can't change it, so let them govern themselves how ever they want.
Same goes for Iraq. We killed the evil dictator for them. Now? Bring everyone home and let them get on with their lives. Hell, we killed, by some estimates, almost a million of their civilians. I think we have done enough there.
Germany is pretty stable now. The Soviet Union is gone. Why are we still there?
Japan? It's getting on OK. We can quit sending troops to rape school girls in Guam and probably still be safe.
Korea might still be a problem. What with, "Lil' Kim" threatening to invade. But if we brought MOST of the troops home, we could still get there in a few days if anything happened and we had an interruption in our supply of cheap ass cars that LOOK like Audi's but aren't.
The first time Deb and I were in Grenada, we took a bus tour of the island. It's a beautiful place. I asked the tour guide what the locals thought of the, Ronny Ray-Gun invasion of the country in 1983. The pretext being that the Cubans were building an airport that would allow Soviet planes to land there and become a Communist outpost in the Caribbean.
He said, "We were glad you came, Mon. But you stayed too long, you know?"
This last trip to Grenada, we took a tour with the Markham's on the day there were there. Saw that airport. The shot up Russian plane (yes, singular. Plane) is still where is was when we shot it up in 1983.
So, ding dong, the witch is dead, the wicked witch, the witch oh witch. Ding dong the wicked witch is dead. What took so fucking long! Now, can we get out of the middle east, bring all the troops home and quit trying to be an empire? Ask England about how well THAT works out.
And if we had all our troops home? We might have been able to turn Libya into a democracy and steal THEIR oil, all at the same time!
As the events of tonight unfolded, I couldn't help but think about Robin Williams comedy special on HBO a few years ago where he was talking about the hijackers getting their 70 virgins. He claimed there was a mistake and it was actually 70 Virginians. So right now, if there is a heaven and hell, OBL is is being made a, "Prison Bitch" by George Washington, Andrew Jackson and Robert E. Lee. And with any luck at all? Micheal Vick's former dogs.
After September 11, 2001 when it came to light that the bandit we were looking for was OBL, and he might be in Afghanistan there was not anyone in this country who didn't support going after him. Nuke him until he glows and shoot him in the dark! Going into Afghanistan was the RIGHT thing to do.
Of course, invading Saudi Arabia to stop his funding and go after his family would have been a much better idea. But no, the Bush family has close ties to the Saudi Royal Family. Hell their one son, who was Ambassador to this country was known around Washington DC as, "Bandar Bush" because, Prince Bandar was so close to the Bush family. Used to smoke cigars on the White House balcony with, "W".
Still, going into Afghanistan was a good idea. Until it wasn't.
Shortly after we went THERE, we were sold a big bag of bullshit, that the REAL problem was Saddam Hussein in Iraq. He was developing nuclear weapons. He has weapons of mass destruction. He was aiding Alqeda by hosting terrorist training camps. He was going to invade or bomb Israel. He had weapons that could reach the United States!
All bullshit But he DID sit on top of the second largest oil reserve in the world. And we would use this as an excuse to go after it, and reclaim American interest in the infrastructure that was taken from Shell and Exxon/Mobile and the rest when, Hussein nationalized the oil industry when he took over.
Who had the BIGGEST oil reserves? The Saudis. The friends of, "W" who spawned Ben Laden, and the terrorists who committed the atrocities of 9-11. But we won't go after THEM!
So we go into Afghanistan for GOOD reasons, and Iraq for all the WRONG reasons and end up stuck in TWO wars we really didn't NEED to fight. But hey, it's OK. It's only going to last six months right? Just ask, "Rummy"!
Well, sometime in 2002 or 2003 information starts to leak out that our Special Forces have OBL cornered in the Bekaa Valley of Afghanistan. They could take him out. But were told not to by the White House. Why would they do that?
Because if they killed him THEN, there would be no reason to continue the War in Iraq and get the oil back for the American oil companies! DUH!
So they let him go.
And who didn't know that he went right to Pakistan from there? Really? Do you read as little as, Sarah Palin? Are you that stupid? Really?
Our intelligence forces DID know it. Why do you think there were so many drones dropping missiles into Pakistan for all these years?
Now, the, "Packi's" can claim we violated their sovereignty by coming over the boarder without permission, but they are full of shit. They might have, "The Bomb" but they got no way to get it HERE. And they know that if we thought, for even a minute they would try to use it on us, or India we would wipe them off the face of the earth.
So tonight, with an American Presidential Election coming right up, we get word that the, "Packi's" (yeah, I know it's a raciest term in England. But I'm using it on purpose. Fuck em) "helped us" get, OBL. Helped us? Right.
They had to know that given the political situation in this country right now, the current President knew that OBL was in Packistan. And he would be happy to use that intelligence to bomb the shit out of the place and gain MEGA political clout with even the MOST right wing nut balls in this country just before the campaign starts.
Well played, Mr. President. Well played.
Now, can we just please, please, bring the troops home? From Germany!
And Japan, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan?
Did we learn nothing from the fact that the Russian's spent 10 years in Afghanistan and couldn't win? Get out, get out now, and call it a, "retreat with honor" or some other bullshit, but get out! We got Ben Laden. Now, lets go home! That country sucks, and we can't change it, so let them govern themselves how ever they want.
Same goes for Iraq. We killed the evil dictator for them. Now? Bring everyone home and let them get on with their lives. Hell, we killed, by some estimates, almost a million of their civilians. I think we have done enough there.
Germany is pretty stable now. The Soviet Union is gone. Why are we still there?
Japan? It's getting on OK. We can quit sending troops to rape school girls in Guam and probably still be safe.
Korea might still be a problem. What with, "Lil' Kim" threatening to invade. But if we brought MOST of the troops home, we could still get there in a few days if anything happened and we had an interruption in our supply of cheap ass cars that LOOK like Audi's but aren't.
The first time Deb and I were in Grenada, we took a bus tour of the island. It's a beautiful place. I asked the tour guide what the locals thought of the, Ronny Ray-Gun invasion of the country in 1983. The pretext being that the Cubans were building an airport that would allow Soviet planes to land there and become a Communist outpost in the Caribbean.
He said, "We were glad you came, Mon. But you stayed too long, you know?"
This last trip to Grenada, we took a tour with the Markham's on the day there were there. Saw that airport. The shot up Russian plane (yes, singular. Plane) is still where is was when we shot it up in 1983.
So, ding dong, the witch is dead, the wicked witch, the witch oh witch. Ding dong the wicked witch is dead. What took so fucking long! Now, can we get out of the middle east, bring all the troops home and quit trying to be an empire? Ask England about how well THAT works out.
And if we had all our troops home? We might have been able to turn Libya into a democracy and steal THEIR oil, all at the same time!
As the events of tonight unfolded, I couldn't help but think about Robin Williams comedy special on HBO a few years ago where he was talking about the hijackers getting their 70 virgins. He claimed there was a mistake and it was actually 70 Virginians. So right now, if there is a heaven and hell, OBL is is being made a, "Prison Bitch" by George Washington, Andrew Jackson and Robert E. Lee. And with any luck at all? Micheal Vick's former dogs.
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