Disco Ball

Recent Design

Farm Morning

Even more Macro maddness

Goebbels says he believed in Bush as war started

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says he didn't object to the way the war in Iraq was sold to the American people at the time because he, like other Americans, gave the president the benefit of the doubt.

McClellan says in his new memoir that he came to realize that the war was sold with propaganda that inflated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. He says administration officials didn't deliberately lie — but they became wrapped up in trying to shape the story to their advantage, and ignored intelligence that didn't fit the picture.

You're only as young as you feel

One of the few things about winter that is easier than summer is getting your kids to get ready for bed.

“Annamarie, time to get in the bathtub!” I called to our three year old the other night.

“No Dad, it not even night time,” came her reply.

Glancing at my watch, I told her that it was indeed after seven and reminded her that bedtime was supposed to be eight o’clock.

“Dad look,” she pointed out the window, “it isn’t even dark, look Dad, the sky is still blue.”
How was I supposed to argue with such logic?

“You’re funny,” I told her.

“No I am’nt,” she protested in three year old grammar.

I realize that the correct contraction is “aren’t” but at least she didn’t say “Aint.” However, unless I’m mistaken, “aint” has be officially recognized as a legitimate word (much to the chagrin of my eighth grade English teacher), whereas, “am’nt” is pretty much Annamarie’s very own invention.

With her older sister finishing kindergarten, beginning to read and doing things like playing soccer and riding bikes and her oldest sister undergoing nine excruciating months of intensive therapy for her double-vision and therefore reaching her own milestones in balance, reading, writing, actually catching and hitting a softball… well, I guess that s lot of Annamarie’s life changes have been flying by.

Whatever you do, don’t ever call her a “little” girl, she’ll correct you, “No I am’nt! I’m BIG.”
Don’t try to pour the milk on her cereal for her “I kin doo it, I kin doo it!” she’ll say as she wrestles the gallon jug away from you, “Look! I kin doo it, I’m STRONG,” she’ll say, as she sloshes milk on the table.

Everybody tells me to enjoy them while they’re young, and they’re constantly warning me about how I should expect trouble with boys once they’re older. We already have a big problem with imaginary boyfriends.

“Dad,” Annamarie likes to tell me, “You’re my best fwend.”

“Aw shucks, thanks honey, I love you too.”

“But Dad, I have to tell you sometin,” she’ll explain, getting very serious.

“What is it, is something wrong?” I ask.

“It’s my boyfwend. You know my boyfwend, Jacob?”

“Jacob who?” Who is this guy, some kid at the babysitter?

“Jacob Brownie, my boyfwend!”

“Oh, THAT Jacob, what happened?”

“He died.”

“He died? Oh my goodness, you must be devastated.”

“yeah, but only now I have a new boyfwen.”

“Oh, already? Who is he?”

“Jacob.”

“But I thought Jacob died.”

“Not THAT Jacob, my new boyfwend is Jacob Marshmallow, not Jacob Brownie, Jacob MARSHMALLOW!”

She’s only three and I already can’t keep up. But I know she won’t be three forever.

The other day, I had all three girls in the van on the farm when we saw a farmer park a tractor, followed by his year old son moving his pickup. After living here in Iowa the better part of a decade now, I’ve gotten used to the idea of 10-13 year old boys helping move vehicles to help with planting and harvest. Be that as it may, my girls were all impressed with their very impressive. Ellen, who’s six asked how she’ll have to be before she can drive.

“Well, when you get into eighth or ninth grade you can take Driver’s Ed class and get a learner’s permit when you’re 14 or 15 and then you’ll be able to get your license when you’re 16,” I explained.

“I’M SIXTEEN!” announced Annamarie from her car seat.

“When did you turn sixteen? I could’ve sworn you were just three?” I said.

“I pooped in the big girl potty today and now I’m sixteen!”

The first Irises

WHY would she say something like THAT?!?!

Remember

Homer Hall American Legion Post #66 Post Comander Melvin Neddermeyer, a Vietnam Veteran salutes the colors during the 21 gun salute and playing of "Taps" on Main Street as part of Memorial Day observances in Charter Oak, 2008

State Representative Clarence Hoffman delivered the keynote address and praised the Charter Oak-Ute Community Schools for producing such a successful music program.

Hoffman explained that he knew of a long list of success stories from CO-U,.

“Small schools achieve great things,” said Hoffman.

Hoffman cited a famous quote of President Theodore Roosevelt at Charter Oak's Memorial Day services,

“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Hoffman explained that we need to appreciate our veterans because they have shown how much they care.

“Thank you for how much you care,” he told the veterans in the audience.

Hoffman, who founded the first Hoffman Agency insurance store in Charter Oak in 1964, recently completed ten years of serving District 55 in Iowa’s House of Representatives.

Post Commander Melvin Neddermeyer asked everyone present to recognize Hoffman for his years in the legislature and service to Charter Oak. They responded by giving him a standing ovation.

Send me your news tips

Yeah, it's that time of year again- school's out and I need something to do besides painting parts of my house and reorganizing my basement.

If you have any story ideas, or events for me to cover for the Mapleton PRESS this summer, please let me know. Send me names, phone numbers, or email addresses of people I should contact.

I'm especially interested in covering Charter Oak and Ricketts, but will be glad to write about Soldier and Ute too. For that matter, if you have ideas for Schleswig, Castana, Mapleton and Danbury I will be glad to pass them along to the PRESS office.

I am also looking for great ideas for Charter Oak Achievement Days AND anyone from the Missouri Valley area who has any story ideas about RAGBRAI.

Just look for the "Contact Me" button on the right side and it should automatically open your email program. Thanks and see you at Achievement Days!

Steve King endorsed Jason Schultz; THAT ought to tlll you something- VOTE for Don Friedrichsen

I don't know what our problem is that we can't seem to get a Democrat to run for the Iowa House of Representatives here in District 55. Just too dang "red," I guess.

-Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

I for one believe that whoever replaces outgoing Clarence Hoffman needs to focus on the needs of rural, Western Iowa. They should support small schools and encourage economic development in this part of the state.

-Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

One Republican candidate thinks he should concentrate on amending the state constitution to ban gay marriages and abortion and denying rights to anyone for whom English is a second language. And he's obviously got plenty of money to put up huge signs all over the countryside to make sure people have enough name-recognition to check off his name when they vote in the primary June 3.

-PLEASE Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

While I'm not in the habit of using this very progressive blog to further the fortunes of Republicans, I'd feel neglectful if I failed to draw at least a little attention to that candidate's opponent, Don Friedrichsen. If you haven't figured it out yet, I want to give HIM some free name recognition if I could. Notice, I never name the other guy.

-Vote for Don Friedrichsen-

Don C. Friedrichsen (Republican)- for district 55

He is a farmer and active school board member in his 14th year on the local school board and in his 9th year on the Iowa Association of School Boards. He is from Holstien.

www.idacountycourier.com/site/ - Published on: 8/1/2003

Don Friedrichsen The 56-year-old has been farming crops and livestock since 1971. He and wife Linda are the parents of three children, Alan, a partner in the family farm operation; Mary, a marketing coordinator for DTN in Omaha, Neb.; and Dale, a partner in the family farm operation.

In addition to farming and his school board position, Friedrichsen is a member of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Holstein, the Holstein American Legion, Ida County Cattlemen's Association Board of Directors, Beef Promotions of Iowa Board of Directors, Ida County Pork Producers, Ida County Farm Bureau, Iowa Association of School Boards Board of Directors and Iowa Schools Joint Investment Trust Board of Trustees.

He is also the Ida County Legion treasurer and Ida County Fair swine superintendent.

"The youth of today is our future. Having been on the school board for three terms, I hope that my influence has made the education of our youth a more rewarding experience for them. Sometimes being a member of the school board has been frustrating for me; however, seeing young people achieve can be a very rewarding experience. These are the experiences that you build upon," said Friedrichsen.

Memorial Day is about more than beer and barbecues

Every Memorial Day and Fourth of July I cry. Maybe I’m a sap, or maybe I just have a deep affection for our country and the ideals it’s supposed to be founded on.

I realize that I have a tendency to rock the boat sometimes with the opinions that I air in this column. Each and every one of us holds unique perspectives on every event and every issue. Sometimes our opinions come between us which is too bad. Some say ‘my country, right or wrong, love it or leave it.’ I prefer to think of patriotism as a relationship that you participate in, not just blind loyalty. My country right or wrong, but when she’s wrong, try to right her.

Yes, “God bless America”, but also “stand beside her, and guide her thru the night.” I don’t know about you, but I want my country to be a blessing to all the other nations of the world, not a curse.

Here are some of the words that make me tear up whenever I hear them.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

What did Lincoln mean by that? I think he meant ALL men, rich or poor, black or white, European or Latin, African or Asian. Liberty means the freedom to make decisions about the laws that affect us. It means the right to participate in society. Jefferson put it this way-

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

You could say we get the government we deserve. You could say we have met the enemy and he is us. What you should always remember is that we ARE our government. That’s the great experiment. It started in 1776 and countries around the world tried to copy it. By the 1860’s there were some who thought that the experiment was failing.

“Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure,” Lincoln recognized.

Lincoln summarized what the true purpose of Memorial Day would be, “We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.”

“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate,” he admitted, “we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”

We often hear people say that our soldiers are fighting for our “freedom.” What freedoms are important to Americans? The First Amendment guarantees us the freedom to practice our own religion and the freedom from having any single official religion opposed on us. It promises freedom of speech, freedom of the press, do we exercise those rights? Do we bother reading and writing and speaking up for what we believe in, or do we take our freedom for granted? The First Amendment includes freedom of assembly and petition, and freedom of association. How often are we afraid of people getting organized, or people who protest? How do we impose guilt by association?

What was it that was being tested by the Civil War? That dedication to liberty and equality. That experiment where we are all in this together, that we’re here for each other, or as it says in the Constitution-

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”

I think that the most important part of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address is not merely recognizing the noble sacrifices of the dead, it’s his admonishment for us to keep working for those ideals.

“It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”

“…for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Amen.

I ♥ Doonesbury

This year's Senior Gifts

Graphic Design

Here's the new banner for my prayer blog, inspired by summer blockbuster movies. I think it's pretty fun. They don't let me design stuff for Vacation Bible School because I'd make it too scary!

Look what's new!

All of my blogs have undergone an overhaul. 3 biggest additions;

1. a navigation bar with links from each blog to all the other blogs
2. contact button for getting in touch and
3. subscribe button- especially good for this column blog and mycartoon blog- get an email every time there's a new cartoon!

Altered Macro Panzi

A few unusual views

Steve King wastes gas

The House and Senate both passed a temporary hold on putting oil into the federal oil reserves to allow more oil to enter the market to help stabilize gas prices, and (yet again) Steve King isolated himself from the Iowa Delegation and the interests of the 5^th district. He was one of only 25 member to vote against the measure (It passed the senate with only 1 vote against).

http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=3BE045B0F052F7F9FABF37AD99788E8E?diaryId=2338

Although this move is not a magic bullet in lowering gas prices, I believe it will help keep prices from rising drastically. We all know the increases we face in fuel…all of us except King of course, who fuels his gas guzzler at tax payer expense .

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10329257

Conservatives vs. Progressives

Not long ago , this Schultz character who's a Republican candidate for our state legislature (District 55) got my Irish up. He's a fellow Lutheran, but he opens every campaign pitch with a Evangelical Religious Right wing diatribe about gay marriage, abortion and teaching evolution and prayer in public schools, while getting government off our backs, out of the social welfare business, stop giving health care to illegal aliens etc. etc.

After a few weeks time to cool off and reflect, it occurs to me that we're both right (and wrong) but also both as sincere as can be. He thinks that it's up to churches and charities to help the poor and disaster victims- not the government, whereas I think it's up to the churches and parents to teach about God pleasing personal and moral choices and to encourage and model prayer- not the government.

However you feel about it, whether you think that government is a means to reform society in preparation of the second coming, like Conservative Evangelicals (Restorationists & Calvanists), or whether you think that government is an instrument for achieving social justice or continuing Jesus' ministry to the poor, the sick, the widows and the aliens, like the Liberation-Theology (AME & Liberal Catholics) you have to admit that the convergence of faith and politics can be very sticky.

You also have to admit that Americans don't know the meanings of our own words. But then, so much of language is semantics.

I thought what follows was a fascinating discussion:

"The labels are somewhat oxymoronic if not paradoxical.

Progressives, for example, like to conserve nature, and historical buildings.

Conservatives like to put up new and more modern buildings after demolishing the old.

Conservatives mostly want to retain historical morals and ways of being: against stem-cell research, and abortion, and gay marriage, and want to retain the Judeo-Christian heritage based on the Ten Commandments.

Progressives want to retain historical cultures, and want the Native Americans to remain Native Americans, and want African tribes to remain tribal, and want each culture to retain its originality, even to the point of not being quite able to stand for women's rights in places like Afghanistan.

Conservatives (like Reagan) wanted to mainstream American Indians, bringing them up to date with the latest developments. Bush wants to mainstream Muslim countries, pushing them into the Democratic 21st century, where dictators disappear, and voting appears, and women have universal rights.

I'm sure there are many other ways in which the two terms aren't exactly adequate to what the supposedly rival groups claim to actually want.

And of course the two great streams have lots of crosscurrents within them.

But every time I hear the terms I giggle to myself at how inadequate they are.

Conservatives actually want progress on certain fronts: they want universal human rights based on Lockean Christianity, and they want to build an aggressive economic sphere that looks to the future.

Progressives actually are quite conservative on certain fronts: they want to retain each culture's wisdom, based on a Unitarian belief that Diversity of ideas is a good thing, and must be retained, and they want to retain the look of the 19th century even in the midst of our business spheres so that some kind of link to our history remains."

Posted by Kirby Olson on http://lutheransurrealism.blogspot.com

How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler

Prescott and son George Herbert Walker Bush in the 50's; A legacy of looking out for themselves, and lining their own pockets.

How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power
World news | The Guardian

So, George W. Bush, grandson of Prescott Bush (NAZI sympathizer) standing in the Knesset itself, comparing Obama to Neville Chamberlain! That's PRICELESS!

Well, okay, he just inferred that Obama was antisemitic, he let McCain actually stick Obama's name onto the Republican fear smear theme of those who would "appease" terrorists.

Point being, who's been eliminating Constitutional rights and violating international convention for the last 8 years? Who's promoted the interests of corporations over those of individuals (the basis of what Mussolini called fascism)? And who's got plans for a home and moving most of his assets to Dubai when he leaves office?

Please read this article about how Prescott Bush helped Hitler come to power. Americans need to know, traditional conservative Republicans need to know, that Bush and the "Neoconservatives" are hurting America.

Commencement Address 2008

Students, parents, friends, and distinguished members of the class of 2008, welcome to the annual commencement column.

You live in an amazing time of fantastic discoveries and advancements. When I was in high school, the best computers had about 128 kilobytes of memory, today you can get a memory card for your digital camera or a flash drive with as much as 4 gigabytes. Just imagine how much memory your cell phones will have by the time your 20th class reunion comes around in 2028!

Why, when we in the class of 1988 were Seniors in high school, we had to satisfy ourselves with egg McMuffins because they were just beginning to introduce the breakfast burrito, no one had even dreamed that someone wound conceive of something so fantastic as a breakfast pizza. Imagine what your children will be eating on their way to school in the morning.

When high school students came home from school in the eighties, we watched a phenomenal new development called Mtv. Yes, you’re familiar with it, but what you probably didn’t know was that the M stood for music. That’s right, instead of unrealistic “reality shows” that follow the sleazy lifestyles of melodramatic adolescents with borderline personality disorders and substance abuse problems, Mtv used to show a thing called “Music Videos,” sort of like you watch on the computer on YouTube, Yahoo music and MusicJesus. Just imagine what your kids will be watching on their phones during class, instead of listening to their teachers when you’re my age!

Speaking of cell phones, I bet you wish your parents would fork out the $399 to get you your very own iphone for graduation. 5 oz, 8 hours of talk time, hold songs and pictures, and can access the internet, even watch streaming video. I know I was disappointed when my folks failed to buy me a Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, it was a 13 inch brick that you could talk on for almost a half an hour before needing to recharge. And the DynaTAC was a steal at just $3,995. Just imagine, someday your kids’ principle won’t be able to confiscate their cell phones because they’ll be implanted in side of their heads.

Twenty years ago we were trying to get everyone to quit smoking because it causes cancer. Just this last month teenage girls were clamoring to get as much time in the tanning bed as they could before prom, in spite of the fact that that it causes skin cancer. We were all drinking caffeine free diet cola because pop was bad for us, you’re all lugging three or four energy drinks with twice the sugar and caffeine of regular pop in your back packs to school everyday but you still sleep through class. Just imagine what it will take to make you look good and feel normal when you’re in your 30’s or 40’s. Sheesh!

The year that most of you were born, dictator Saddam Hussein accused Emir Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah the third of stealing Iraq’s oil by drilling sideways. So he invaded Kuwait, which was the fourth richest country in the world per capita. The U.S. President, a man named George Bush thought we should go to war to get Iraq out of Kuwait. Bush had become an oil millionaire through the Zapata and Dresser Corporations in Texas in the 1950’s and 60’s. By the time you were three or four years old, the Dresser Corporation was the third largest oil-services company in the world. When you were in second grade, a man named Dick Cheney negotiated a $7 billion merger between Dresser and a company called Halliburton. You may have heard of Mr. Cheney. When George Bush went to war against Saddam Hussein in 1991, he was our Secretary of Defense.

When you were in seventh grade, George Bush’s son, also named George Bush, decided that he wanted to go to war against Iraq too. We weren’t sure why because we were already in a war in Afghanistan, trying to catch the man who planned the attack on the World Trade Center, back when you were in fifth grade. Halliburton and its subsidiaries, including KBR and Blackwater received billions of dollars in no-bid government contracts to help build military bases in Iraq. Coincidently, Dick Cheney was the second President Bush’s Vice President. Weird huh?

When I was graduating from high school, the average price for a gallon of gas was ¢96. Makes you wish you were born in another time doesn’t it?

Just imagine what the world could be like twenty years from now. Now, imagine what you think it SHOULD be like twenty years from now. Now, enjoy the ceremonies and the cake and cards and parties this weekend, then please start doing your best to make this world the way you imagine it SHOULD be.

Thom Hartman is a writer, speaker and radio host who's also been a psychotherapist and an advertising consultant. Hartman reveals how the middle class, nurtured as the backbone of democracy by our Founding Fathers, is being undermined by so-called "conservatives."

http://www.thomhartmann.com/

Democracy is Dead

The year that most of this year’s high school graduates were born, dictator Saddam Hussein accused Emir Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah the third of stealing Iraq’s oil by drilling sideways. So he invaded Kuwait, which was the fourth richest country in the world per capita.

The U.S. President, a man named George Bush thought we should go to war to get Iraq out of Kuwait.

Bush had become an oil millionaire through the Zapata and Dresser Corporations in Texas in the 1950’s and 60’s. By the time you were three or four years old, the Dresser Corporation was the third largest oil-services company in the world.

When the class of 2008 were in second grade, a man named Dick Cheney negotiated a $7 billion merger between Dresser and a company called Halliburton. When George Bush went to war against Saddam Hussein in 1991, he was our Secretary of Defense.

When this year’s Seniors were in seventh grade, George Bush’s son, decided that he wanted to go to war against Iraq too. We weren’t sure why because we were already in a war in Afghanistan, trying to catch the man who planned the attack on the World Trade Center, back when they were in fifth grade.

Halliburton and its subsidiaries, including KBR and Blackwater received billions of dollars in no-bid government contracts to help build military bases in Iraq this time around. Coincidently, Dick Cheney was the second President Bush’s Vice President. Weird huh?

Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Neo-Conservative, Progressive, Moderate, Liberal, Independent- I don’t care who you are. It has to bother you that gas was only $1.46/gal in 2000 and it’s $3.59/gal. Especially when this past quarter, Exxon-Mobile reported the highest profits ever recorded by any company in the history of the world.

It takes only seconds for the numbers to fly by as you’re filling your gas tank. Just think, Exxon made $1,287 of profit per second in 2007. How long does it take you to make that kind of money? A week? Good for you, a couple of weeks? A month?

Meanwhile Chevron and Shell made their all time highest profits too.

Doesn’t this all seem at least a tiny little, teensy weensie bit wrong to you?
I think it’s obscene, but what do I know, I’m just one of those slimy, traitorous, bleeding heart, “American-hating” liberals.

Sum of the problem

I once asked a reporter back from Vietnam: 'Who's telling the truth over there?'

'Everyone,' he said. 'Everyone sees what's happening through the lens of their own experience.'

~Bill Moyers

When I read this, I had to post it since my column this week mentions similarities between Iraq and Vietnam.

Homecoming is a relief for Iraqi vet

A year or two ago critics of the continuing U.S. occupation in Iraq tried drawing parallels between this conflict and Vietnam. It was difficult for me to see sometimes. One’s a desert- the other’s a jungle. One had a draft, the other has extended deployments and stop-gap redeployments of National Guard units.

But there is at least one thing that Iraq now seems to have in common with Vietnam, and 2008 has in common with 1968. Both Republicans and Democrats are angry with the way the White House has handled things.

“Hawks” think that we may have gone in too soon, with too few allies, too few troops, insufficiently armed and supplied and without adequate planning for what to do after Saddam Hussein was removed.

Most “Doves,” of course, think we shouldn’t have gone in at all, but agree with too few allies and the inadequate planning. And both Hawks and Doves agree that we can’t blame the workers for a botched job. If there’s only one lesson that we seemed to learn from Vietnam, it’s that we should support our troops no matter how much we disagree with their Commander-in-Chief. At lease we’re agreeing on SOMETHING.

I know a young man who aspires to the discipline and prestige of the United States Marine Corps. He wants to make something of himself and he doesn’t see that happening at home on the farm. His girlfriend doesn’t want him to go but she’s so young that she’s not quite ready to wait for him either. He’s determined, even though he’s scared.

Sounds so cliché that I could’ve made it up doesn’t it?

One of my former students cam back from Iraq last week and came to see me. His stories were amazing. Being fired upon almost daily, having to return fire, not knowing when someone with a weapon is serving in a friendly force or an insurgent one. Bureaucratic headaches and personality conflicts all along the chains of command. Troops secure a territory on their patrol, but rather than staying there, they return to base and as soon as they leave, the insurgents return. Come to think of it, Iraq does sound a lot like Vietnam, doesn’t it?

He told me about how instead of trip wired for booby trap mine, now we call them improvised explosive devices (IEDs), they’ve taken to using those infrared or laser activated sensors like stores have in the mall, so that if you pass between the sensors you set off the bomb.

He told me about how the guardsmen worked on humanitarian projects to help the Iraqis in their neighborhoods and how he befriended the kids there. But it’s not the Army or the Guard that’s directly involved in these projects. The soldiers do it when they’re off duty. Sure, we finance things like community soccer fields, but according to this vet, there’s not much accountability. “You hand the Sheik $50,000 for the dirt work and see him driving by in a new car the next day, a week later he comes back and says that they got the dirt work done, but now they need another $70,000” and so on.
Story after story led me to believe that veterans of other wars who’d written anti-war books like Joseph Heller’s Catch 22, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 and Richard Hooker’s MASH were not such absurd satires as they were accurate memoirs.

He had a buddy who covered a shift of guard duty for him who was shot and wondered if it should’ve been him. He misfired an ordinance he hadn’t been properly trained on which led to policy memos prohibiting anyone in the unit from “wasting” that particular type of ammunition.

He was on the phone with administrators who wanted a full, detailed damage report for a fire fight, WHILE the battle was going on. Difficult to do when you’re one of only two guys in the guard tower being shot at.

And of course there were stories of the chaos, the anarchy, the trash and the heat. Three Baghdad suburbs surrounded their part of Camp Victory and all three hated each other, even though two were both Sunni and only one was Shiite.

We talked a little bit about how we take care of our veterans, like about the Veteran’s Administration and the new G.I. Bill that’s been proposed in Congress. He seemed absolutely thrilled to be home, although through a paperwork SNAFU he was gypped out of a great deal of college funding. Despite that he’s applying for a full time job with the Guard.

I gingerly broached the subject of post-traumatic stress. He confided that there are nightmares, but not about battles or even being over in Iraq. The only dream that troubles him is the one where they call him back.

Darker side of golden, erotic art deco

Klimt's dazzling demons | guardian.co.uk Arts

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art...

It was all over. The Reich was finished, Hitler dead, his charred jaw bone all Russian pathologists could find of him in the smouldering ruins of Berlin. Hundreds of miles to the south, in Austria, an SS unit prepared to stage its own private apocalypse.

Very interesting story about lost art, Freudian sex, and the NAZIs. Indiana Jones would have loved this!

Sweet Georgia

I'm teaching both my Jr Hi Survey Art class and my High School Painting class about Georgia O'Keefe and her flowers. Then what do ya know I spotted the first flowers to bloom in my in-law's garden out on the farm. So, I couldn't resist putting the old macro setting on the camera and getting down on my knees to shoot a few. I like these so well, I may just have to paint one of them!

Molly Ivans

Mort Sahl

Jeff MacNelley

Hunter S. Thompson

Mike Royko

Like the American middle-class way of life? Thank a Liberal.

A Day in the Life of Joe Conservative

by Anonymous

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance -- now Joe gets it, too.

He prepares his morning breakfast: bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.

In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.

He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.

If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment checks because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression.

Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the taxpayer funded roads.

He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans.

The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved conservatives have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

Moral: Want to be able to live like a Republican? Vote like a Democrat.

Does May 1 holiday make you a basket case?

As I understand it, the tradition used to be that the May basket was supposed to be left on someone's doorstep. When you ring the doorbell, you are supposed to run away. Where I grew up, that’s not what kids left on your doorstep when they rang the bell and ran away.

What I remember about May 1 were scenes on the evening news of the Russians holding big parades where tanks rolled by and the red army marched past a bunch of really old men from the Kremlin. It looked like it was their 4th of July or something. Growing up in the cold war, that certainly didn’t seem like a holiday that any red (er, uh, red, white, and blue) blooded American kid would want to be a part of.

The truth of the matter is, May Day is an American invention. It’s supposed to be about the little guy, the blue collar, working class regular Joe who puts in his 8, 10, or 14 hour day trying to make a decent living for his family. But like so many things that began here, May Day has become an international celebration. And like a lot of things, Americans decided that we couldn’t like it if Europeans did.

Back on May 4, 1886 there was a rally in the Haymarket of Chicago. Workers were protesting low wages and unfair treatment. They wanted the right to organize unions that would be able to bargain collectively, on behalf of employees, with business owners and management.

Someone threw a bomb at the cops who were trying to disperse the crowd and things got out of hand. No one really knows who actually threw it, but eight agitators were arrested and tried for the murders. Four were put to death, and one committed suicide in prison. Five of the eight were German immigrants. Their sentencing set off a huge growth in unions in Europe. And concern for how America treats it’s immigrants.

Okay, okay. May Day isn’t really all that American. Germans and Scandinavians celebrated it long before Christianity came to Europe. May first is the day, according to legend that the Tunic god Oden (the Norse knew him as Thor) died in order to discover some secret magic power from some people called the Runes or something. Europeans celebrated by lighting bonfires, going on runs, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and dancing around poles. American college students do the same thing only they call it Spring Break.

Neo-Pagans have been trying to bring it back. They call the holiday “Walpurgisnacht,” probably another reason it doesn’t get celebrated her in the states. Can you imagine wishing people “Merry Walpurgisnacht?” Happy Walpurgisnacht. have you made any resolutions for Walpurgisnacht? What are you doing Walpurgisnacht Eve?

As much as I admire the working man, I’m not much for celebrating pagan holidays, so once again (remember February) I would like to offer readers an alternative (if somewhat obscure and esoteric) holiday for the first week in May. Cartoonist Appreciation Week, May 3-10.

National Cartoonist Day is every year on May 5. The very first comic strip, The Yellow Kid, appeared in a newspaper on May 5, 1895. But this year they decided to have it on May 3. I think because they couldn’t get Congress to make it a federal holiday, nobody can get the Monday off, so cartoonists wanted it on a Friday night so they can party.

A highlight of Cartoonist Appreciation Week is Free Comic Book Day, also May 3. Participating comic book specialty retailers around the world give away free comic books to any unsuspecting kids who make the mistake of entering their stores. Sort of like how drug dealers give you the first hit for free because they know they’re going to get you hooked.

If it’s that important to you to hold on to the old holiday’s connection to labor unions, you might be interested to know that cartoonists have their own union. The National Cartoonists Society is the world's largest organization of professional cartoonists, Founded in 1946, one of their goals is "to stimulate and encourage interest in and acceptance of the art of cartooning by aspiring cartoonists, students and the general public." I’m not a member because I can’t afford the dues. Maybe someday.

If you happen to know a cartoonist, you may want to send them a card or something. Preferably with a generous gratuity inside. Or perhaps you should bake them a pie, or a plate of cookies. Chocolate chip or oatmeal would be nice, but cartoonists don’t usually like raisins very much. Or marshmallows. Cartoonists hate marshmallows.

The lease you could do is leave a comment on this blog post and say hi, or maybe an email or poke them on Facebook. You COULD at least visit http://tedstoons.blogspot.com and leave some comments on some of those cartoons.

By the way, the distress call “Mayday, Mayday” has absolutely nothing to do with the first day of May. It comes from the French phrase “venez m'aider,” meaning “come to my aid!” Thought you’d like to know.

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'Ted's Column' has appeared weekly in the Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper since 2002 and the Schleswig Leader since 2004. In 2007 the Mapleton PRESS, which published both of the smaller paper, "absorbed" both the Leader and the NEWSpaper. But the PRESS is not exactly a major metro daily, it runs once a week and has an official circulation of 2130 with an estimated total readership of around 4260. So if you're ever in Western Iowa, at a gas station on a Thursday, buy a copy, we appreciate your support.

This week, he REALLY wants you to come see all of Ted's cartoons, some even in color at http://tedstoons.blogspot.com

Design for next year

Just playing around with some possible ideas for possible tee- shirts, stationary, web work

Surrealism

Teaching my photography kids about how to make composite images in Photoshop today, so I threw this together.