Perspective

Happy Donut Day folks.  That's right...somehow today is Donut Day.

How did this happen?  Let's face it, Donut Day is a holiday honoring the overweight, morally bankrupt children of the men who stormed Normandy, France all of those seventy years ago.


Somewhere along the way we have lost our way.  Then we were a nation that would face down evil.  As the world sat on its hands all those years ago and watched the systematic extermination of Jews, gypsies, poles, and other "inferior" races the German high command found unacceptable, America and England finally stood up under the leadership of Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt.

They stood up against a regime of oppression.

I hate to question some of our Hallmark and promotional holidays, but what gives?  I realize it is the first Friday in June, but boys and girls in marketing you should have thought this one through a little better.  That means it is possible to interact with this day every few years.

I wonder how many donuts the GIs had as they stormed off their amphibious assault ships to face down German MG42s and Panzershrecks.  Today is the 70th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, not Donut Day.  Today is a day to find an elderly veteran and buy him a cup of coffee (if he will take it) and say thank you, not fill your stomach with fat, sugary dough.

The Family Radio Was Rocking...

It is hard to put a positive spin on a time that was so terrible for America, but it was also our finest hour.  I am speaking of course of D Day - The Normandy Invasion - where America and Great Britain demonstrated in Churchill's words “Never in the face of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.”  He was right.

In a few moments...seventy years ago, a land invasion of epic proportions was about to take place.  18000 paratroopers had already fallen across the French countryside to support the coming invasion.

Two thousand soldiers would lose their lives at Omaha.  The beaches of Gold, Juno, Sword, and Utah were successes for America, Britain, and Canada as they caught the Axis "sleeping."  It is hard to believe that all this history happened seventy years ago, but instead of being on your Samsung or MacAir reading this, you would likely be around your family radio listening to news accounts of what was the invasion that might have saved the world.

Today, American showed its ability to partner with her allies for good.  America showed it stood for good over evil.  For me, today is a day to celebrate as Hitler was dispatched to the ash heap of history.

In any case, enjoy the Andrews' Sisters and the Bugle Boy of Company B and if you get the chance, thank a veteran, but particularly a veteran from World War II.

Feel Safe Yet?

Maybe no one told me, but when did America begin negotiating with terrorists?

Okay, I know the answer is since forever.  Regardless of claim it certainly happened during Iran-Contra when Oliver North & Co. decided they would be better off doing their own thing negotiating with moderates to get back American hostages.  While it is well know I love Reagan as a President, that was certainly a blemish on his administration.

Worse, a major difference between then and now is it appears Bowe Bergdahl is less a hostage than a willing participant.

Sgt. Josh Korder, described Bergdahl "at best a deserter..." and according to the Daily Mail may have taught Taliban fighters ambush and bomb making skills.  I am not sure they needed this information as among the five who are leaving US custody include Mullah Mohammad Fazi, the Taliban Army Chief of Staff, and Mullah Norullah Noori, a senior Taliban commander, both of whom are wanted by the United Nations for war crimes.  Given the Obama administration's reluctance towards unilateral action I am shocked that if these men were to be turned over to anyone it would not be the UN.

The move is not only creating a groundswell of discontent amongst the American public, but is also fueling anger in Afghanistan where it is believed these terrorists will return home to attack the government there once American leaves.

Another concerning development is the tweet since deleted by Robert Bergdahl which makes it look like America is ready to free those prisoners that attacked American pre and post 9/11.

If you think your flights will be safer or your freedoms more secure with these fellas on the street, you are hallucinating.  America is in greater danger now than ever before and the dilettante American President has put us there.

Be Careful When You Drop This One...

Nearly fifty years ago today, an American B-52 suffered a mid-air collision with a KC-125 tanker plane during an airborne alert mission.  Three of the seven person crew lost their lives as did the entire four person KC-135 crew.

Of further interest was the loss of an American B28RI hydrogen bomb into the Mediterranean Sea while three others found their way into the Spanish countryside.  Woops.  You may remember a "reenactment" of the bomb's recovery in the movie Men of Honor.  What the movie does not show though is a B52 drink.

The drink itself is a concoction of equal parts of Kahlua, Bailey's Irish Crème, and Grand Marnier.  Unlike the pilots in this episode, a careful hand will be able to layer the ingredients in such a way as to provide a drink whose lines are crisp and clean.  I have also seen this done, less as a shooter, in a martini glass though I am not sure that much of this combination of liquors makes sense.  Nonetheless, enjoy the rest of your evening and be careful should you drop it...you will have spilled your drink which is far better than losing a nuclear weapon.