Island Dave's View

In response to this post from andante, I wanted to post my reply here for all to read.

andante--The memory loss is such a tough thing to watch. I saw my grandfather go through similar with Parkinsons for almost 5 years before he died earlier this year. It is really sad.

But in a really strange way (am I getting metaphysical here?), his memory loss made it all the more important for me to pick up some of the things he found most important.

For example, he was a fanatical HAM operator, and though I've been an Internet junkie since my first BBS in 1989, I didn't really use it to communicate, just mostly for information and, you know, the usual...(cough) porn (cough)....But now, especially over the past year or so, I've gotten heavily into networking and communicating with lots of people, much like his HAM connection.

Also, he was a diehard Democrat. As a kid, I can remember his rants against Reagan and Iran-Contra. Didn't mean anything to me at the time, but for some reason, as I matured and his memory problems got worse, I began to find politics addicting. I saw why he got so upset over the way things were run. He influenced my views on health care, and especially on pro-worker, pro-union priorities since he was a perfect example of someone who worked hard and retired with a good pension. The way the union-labor relationship was meant to work.

He also loved wine. It was his passion, and over the past couple of years, I've developed quite a passion for red wine.

Could it be a coincidence? Maybe a simple personal desire of mine which already favored those things? Or is it something more? I'd generally put my religious tenor somewhere between agnostic and atheist. I believe that even if morals are human-created and not deity-mandated, this fact does not give them less power or consequence. That said, what I may have experienced is that nexus region between timelessness and immediacy as my grandfather slowly lost his faculties and I somehow matured my own...

Something to chew on, anyway...

Not a political blog, but My Cat Hates You is one of the funniest sites I've ever seen. I can't stop laughing. Click on the Latest Cats Posted link, then check out the pics on the left.

CLAPS, SLAPS, AND THE MIDDLE FINGER

Claps to the 1,100 Iraqis who showed up at a provincial meeting to protest the military assault in Najaf. Exercising the true freedoms of democracy, the protestors were able to peacefully bring an amazing shift in policy toward the situation, one which will likely leave American officials scratching their heads in wonderment. While still a fledgling democracy, Iraq is quickly becoming a hotbed of free expression and appropriate outrage at military operations in Najaf and other cities. It is becoming clear that U.S. intervention should diminish quickly as Iraqis, while still existing in political turmoil, must determine their own course of action. This meeting sparks a new belief in the Iraqi people's strength, though a backlash at American soldiers is unfortunately a likely result. Yet another reason to get the hell out of Hell, and bring our boys and girls back home before we lose another one to senseless warfare.

Slaps to John Harris, staff writer for the Washington Post, for showing he knows just how to blow the President when he really needs to take a load off. Harris's fluff piece in Monday morning's edition provides absolutely no news, no information, and basically serves as a Sunday School primary for potential Bush visits. Lets all just grab a beer and sit around with the "shirtsleeves" President as he smirks that Kerry "might change his mind", all the while, our troops fight bloody battles in dozens of Iraqi cities. Amazing how a decent paper such as the Post can employ such a moronic, unintelligent, and clearly non-creative jackass as Harris for a piece which appears on page 2. Oh, wait, then again, this is the Washington Post...should we expect anything else?

My Middle Finger goes once again to U.S. military planners who ignorantly believe killing Sadr will end insurgent and terroristic attacks on American soldiers. As fighting rages on, the U.S. readies for an all-out assault on Najaf in an attempt to slaughter the Cleric's army once and for all. But as pointed out in Claps, there is strong opposition to U.S. actions there, and further violence will only grow the opposition, not diminish it. As was seen with the growth of terrorist cells in Iraq after the American invasion, eliminating a strong, central figure will simply open the door for greater demand for violence. The U.S. must pull back, abandon Najaf for the time being, and allow Iraqis to control their own destiny. We cannot allow our soldiers to sacrifice their lives in a power-struggle over a city rightly claimed by incumbent Iraqi citizens. This senseless, ignorant aggression must end, and it must end now. Sadly, it is not to be...

Sorry for the delay, folks, its been one helluva weekend. With the Hurricane coming through, many people were unable to clean rentals, so Tiffiney and I worked through the storm and put in 13 hours on Saturday. Then we had skinny-dipping priorities to attend to :), so no Saturday blogging. Much the same today, lots of work.

Everything is fine in Emerald Isle, no damage, not even any trees down. We witnessed a few small tornadoes staying up in the clouds, but nothing major. Mostly, we just got heavy winds and rain for a couple of hours, some local flooding, and a flicker of power or two, but all-in-all, not too bad.

The people down in Florida were not so lucky. See Andante's site for some links if you would like to help. There are thousands now without homes after this destructive storm.

Of course, we may need to brace for round 4 (Alex, Bonnie, Charley all came through NC in one form or another), now Earl is heading on the same path Charley took.

Anyway, a pic or two here, and many, many more on my photoblog. On the photoblog, you can enlarge the pics for better viewing, but I'm just linking to them here.


View out the car window as Charley was picking up.