Devaluation and Thievery

The dollar is losing value. I know most people don't even have a clue about what this means, but they're being what only can be described as "robbed", and their own government is part of the scheme.

The government spends more money than they have? They print some more. It's like adding water to milk. There's a point where there is a lot of water and no milk, which eventually leads to a point there is a complete loss of faith with the milk supplier. At that point, the ability to trade may end due to a lack of confidence. If it's a currency, the final outcome may mean a collapse of the economy of an entire nation, if not most of the world.

Economists can dazzle with charts, trends and projections, but the root cause of this thievery is greed and unbridled power. The effect is that no matter how much anyone makes, their wealth is constantly being eroded by the devaluation of the dollar, which makes times like today even worse. Not only are raises being frozen, the lack of extra money to offset the loss of spending power means people are losing every day. If you don't believe me, look at the price of food, gasoline, electricity and services. Do a little thinking and remember what you paid as little as four years ago. Don't think too long, you'll realize how irritated you are and want to choke the first politician you see today.

I Remember the Stories

I didn’t serve in the military. There wasn’t any one reason, but at the time I was of age, Viet Nam was ending and there wasn’t any attraction. I’ll never know if it was the right decision, but I do know of the stories I’ve listened to over the years, which were of those that came home, or served their duty in sometimes mindless boredom.

My father’s stories were few, and I wish I had realized he would be taken before I had enough sense to spend the time listening. He served in two wars: WW2 and Korea.

My father didn’t serve in combat in WW2. He was too young, so when he left boot camp, the war was over and the Coast Guard was involved with occupying Japan. I never knew exactly what he did, but it was with electronics, which were radios and radar at that time. He must have had many a tale to tell, but I only heard a comment about visiting Hiroshima. He had photos at one time. I haven’t been able to find them.

During Korea, he served on a destroyer in the Navy. I don’t know why he went back to the service, but he did and I remember his recollection of sailing through a typhoon and steaming up and down the Korean coast waiting for the North Koreans to wheel antique cannons from  caves in the cliff and fire at the passing  destroyer. They never came close, but the ship was under orders to not fire unless fired upon, so by the time they had the chance, the shells hit the empty cliffs after the cannons were wheeled back into the caves.

I had two brothers serve in the military. One was in the Coast Guard and the other was in the Air Force. Their stories weren’t of combat, but they had plenty to tell. The brother in the Coast Guard was involved in drug seizures and the other brother couldn’t tell me where he went when they told him to dress in civilian clothes and lose his identification.  

I had a close friend, who moved home with his family and I never heard from again. He served in the cavalry in Viet Nam. He wouldn’t speak with many about his experience, but I guess he felt comfortable with me, so he told me of his night during Tet in 1968.

He had a compulsion to add an extra case of grenades to his hooch the night before the Tet Offensive. He had over half a case, but something urged him to add a full case. I asked what happened and he told me the story.

It was midnight, and the fire base was asleep, except for those on guard duty. Trip flares started going off on the perimeter and the 105’s started popping illumination rounds. Looking out the firing slit brought a scene he described as ants crawling on the side of a mound. There were hundreds, if not thousands of the enemy attacking the base. They started shooting, and spent the next few hours fighting for their lives. It reached the point he was only rolling grenades out the firing slit, which exploded and kept the enemy from getting too close and returning the honor by throwing a grenade into the hooch.

Going outside was a mistake, which I figured meant the perimeter was breached, or the soldiers were not going to take the chance and shot anything moving.  The 105’s were now shooting straight ahead and using beehive rounds. The noise must have been almost unbearable, which would have only added an oppressive addition to the raw fear.

I finally asked how it ended. My friend said that the F-4’s arrived at first light with napalm. Within minutes, the battle was over and peace returned to the base. The only thing left was the assessment and cleanup. My friend pulled some pictures from the photo album he never showed to anyone. The jungle looked like a meat market. The beehive rounds had shredded and pinned the enemy to the trees in the jungle.  

He had other stories, including days “humping through the bush” and being kicked from a Huey by a nervous door gunner. My friend had 80 pounds of gear on at the time and he said it took days before he could walk without pain.

All in all, his stories were reflected in his wife’s eyes. She had a haunting stare when she described losing her brother to a tank explosion and waking one night when my friend had a flashback, awoke and finally snapped from his delusion to find he was trying to choke his wife. She was part of his service too. Nobody escapes, even those that don’t go.

So, what am I trying to say? Nothing you do, or say, will ever change what has passed. You can only observe and try to put the pieces together. You never know what occurred, or completely understand the coworker, that was caught by the enemy and tortured.  They did come home, but many didn’t. Monday is the day we honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. Remember their service and honor them with your thoughts.

Back to Space

The Dragon capsule is in the process of docking at the International Space Station. Otherwise, the United States can be proud of a manned space program once again. We're back, which is a good thing, but it needs to be better.

An analogy would be developing the fastest, safest automobile known and then having to hitchhike to get across town because there wasn't any money to keep the damned thing running. This is par for government bureaucracy, but now that the private sector is involved, maybe this backwards method of realizing the potential of the best the United States can offer will end, and the unbridled efforts of entrepreneurs will open up another frontier.

For those that don't realize the importance of this event, mark it down in your calender. This is history and the future is looking brighter.


As I've thought about this post, I revisited the past, when the space program was new and the astronauts were venturing into something that the human race never encountered. 


If you didn't live during this time, you'll never understand the infatuation and pride we felt. John Kennedy threw down the gauntlet, and the United States proved it could arise to any challenge. We not only put people in space, we put people on the Moon and were allowed to wear this feather of achievement with pride. 


After the last shuttle flight, I had a moment where it was as though I was touched by a ghost. The past sacrifices by so many, including the deaths of astronauts, were only memories and the future only held uncertainty. I was appalled by the end and wondered how the United States could fail to insure a place in space without the permission of other countries. 


Needless to write, I'm proud of this moment. Maybe we can be blessed by little interference from the government and tremendous contributions by the private sector.  

My Imagination is on Vacation....I Guess

That's how it feels. I hope it doesn't decide to move.

Election Observation

Everyone running for office is a bad choice. If you don't believe it, listen to the ads. Nobody has any redeeming qualities and if you make the mistake of voting for any candidate, you'll regret your decision.

...and they wonder why we don't trust politicians and the media.