Where's the Outrage?

I really am having a hard time listening to these debates. When everyone is spouting the same talking points what’s the point of the debate? The biggest deal was Sam Brownback, one of the greatest Republican talking heads, attack on Mitt Romney. Romney, who has changed every position so that he can appear to be more conservative, has changed his position on abortion. Is this a big deal? No. In the whole scheme of things, who cares? A bigger point would be why did Romney run as a moderate in Mass. and now he is running as a conservative? Why did Romney try to link Iraq with 9/11, again?

GOP Debate [ 5:27 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Domestic Issues, Party Politics by ecthompson md
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So, driving for 18 hours isn’t as much as it was when I was in college.  I was sacked out for hours. 

Missing weapons?  This isn’t the first time that we have lost weapons.  There were those large stock piles that we found at the beginning of the Iraq War then we didn’t guard them.  Those stock piles so how got lost.  Now, we handed out weapons to “Iraqi soldiers” and low and behold we didn’t account for them and now they are lost.  When the military doesn’t follow its own procedures there is something really wrong. 

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From CNN.com:

The Pentagon cannot account for 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, or about half the weapons earmarked for soldiers and police, according to a government report.

The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, said in a July 31 report to lawmakers that the Defense Department also cannot account for 135,000 items of body armor and 115,000 helmets reported to be issued to Iraqi forces as of September 22, 2005.  (more…)

Missing weapons [ 4:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Countdown, Iraq, Military by ecthompson md
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Hot as hell in Cincinnati.

Why does my quite liberal father want to watch Fox News?

”Neil, I want a damned car chase.”

20 minutes later a car chase comes on from Los Angeles.

The chase moves into Brentwood.

My father demands OJ.

”Where the hell is OJ?”

One so-called news helicopter can be seen below another news helicopter.

“Don’t crash, man” 

A report comes on about 190,000 missing AK-47′s and other guns supplied by Americans to Iraqi forces.

“Hey Neil, I want one of those guns to protect myself from the terrorists” 

The mine owner from Utah holds a lengthy press session about his collapsed mine.

“Lying bastard mine owner.”

Fox News always has something on to provoke a reaction. I guess this is one reason why people watch. With Dad it is all tongue-in-cheek. As for the rest of the people……I can’t be so confident.

Need a report on the massive American retreat in the face of Mao’s invasion of North Korea in 1950 or about the deadly 1938 New England hurricane?

Leave your question in the comment space and Dad will give you a good report. He was there in both cases.

As I type this Dad is mad at Nixon.

“How many did he kill in Vietnam? But don’t worry, Billy Graham said it was okay.”

Every day is a good day. I’m lucky to have Dad around as I approach 40. He gets most things right.

Tags: General by Neil Aquino
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I just got in from 17 hours of driving.  Da bed is calling.  Will post some good stuff tomorrow.  Love Elton’s first post.  Mack Robinson – I had never heard of him.  I’m looking forward to more from Elton.

Tags: General by ecthompson md
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Standing in the Shadows

Errington and I went to college together and he’s been like a brother to me ever since. So I have license to say that he’s always had stars in his eyes and that he has aspired to political prominence for years. I’ve secretly envied that quality because I have always been most comfortable in a supporting role near the top, and I’ve found those types of people to be fascinating.  After being inspired by Errington’s recent series, I am starting an occassional one of my own called Standing in the Shadows, named after the movie about the Motown band “The Funk Brothers” (subject of a future post).

Matthew “Mack” Robinson

Mack Robinson was 0.4 seconds and a bit of genetic luck from being a household name.  Born in Cairo, Georgia, he and his siblings were transplanted to Pasadena, California by their single mother, where they encountered the Southern-style prejudice which was so common in the 1920s and 30s.  However, Mack’s athletic prowess earned him a scholarship to the University of Oregon, and he qualified for the 1936 Olympic team.  In front of Hitler in Berlin, wearing a set of well-worn track spikes, he finished second by a step, officially 0.4 seconds, to Jesse Owens.

Like Jesse, he found that his silver medal didn’t nullify his black skin when he returned to the United States.  He took a variety of odd jobs, including helping to build the Rose Bowl Stadium where his brother Jackie later starred as an athlete at UCLA.  Jackie later broke the color barrier in major league baseball, the 60^th anniversary of which was celebrated this year.

Mack never showed bitterness about being so close to achieving fame, instead saying, “I was lucky to be a part of what they did.” He and Jesse staged a series of youth athletic games through the years, and Mack’s passions became fighting street crime in Pasadena and having a monument to his brother built in the town where they grew up. In 1997, The Pasadena Robinson Memorial was erected across from city hall to honor the accomplishments of both Jackie and Mack.

I find one of his quotes particularly relevant today: “With all the intelligence in today’s world, I would like to see people sit down at a conference table and deal with one another as human beings.  Why can’t all countries respect each other instead of killing people and suppressing people? Maybe it is impossible because of greed. Among athletes, real animosities don’t exist. Athletes learn to win, and they learn to lose. Most important, they learn to congratulate each other.”

Tags: Race, Sports by ecbowen
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