So, If We Go to War With Syria, Who Do We Send?

For starters, we need to send John Kerry. Of course, he'll need some training, since he won't be on a boat; he'll get an infantry platoon, filled with Congress folks. He should do well - for the first 12 hours in country. After that, I have the feeling he'll have a grenade for his morning sabbatical and I'm betting Nancy Pelosi will pull the pin.

Next is the President. He'll need a lot of training. A typical time in basic, with a little advanced training, should prepare him for the front lines. He needs that experience to learn how it feels to be sent to a place where everybody is the enemy and your only friends are watching your back.

Lindsay Graham can go, also. He doesn't appear to be very physical, so he needs to be taught some Arabic, after basic training. He can act as interpreter as the troops wander between houses and hope their asses aren't blown off by some kid with a few pounds of C-4 strapped to his ass.

Hillary needs to go. She doesn't need any training. We just parachute her into the middle of the fray. I have the feeling she'll scare them so bad, they'll run. I know I would.

So, there's a good start. There's plenty more to send, although I have the feeling they'll be hard to find when they realize they can't say no to being sent.  Harry Reid will be the best. Vegas will be betting on the day he's found and sent. I'd put a few hundred on that bet. It would be money well spent.

So What's The Deal?

Back in 2009, John Kerry broke bread with Assad.  This was after almost a decade of a very unhealthy relationship with Syria; including military clashes along the Syrian/Iraq border and their continuing help to terrorists.

So, why was then Senator Kerry sitting down and eating with an enemy? Was he hoping to slip him some poison? I doubt it. We'll never know the entire conversation, but I have a strong feeling it had ties to a political agenda and the quest by the Democratic Party to get foreign powers on board; even soliciting some money if necessary.

I'm guessing the current effort to destroy Syria with U.S. forces is backed by a guarantee Assad is given sanctuary in some villa away from the worries of the world. Whatever he was up to is complete, or he's refusing to play any longer. Either way, if he doesn't keep his mouth shut, his next step is a silenced bullet in the temple one autumn morning.

Blue Tops

Decades ago, after the layout crew drove the stakes to alignment and grade, they took a piece of blue lumber crayon and marked the top of the stake. This gave the stake a distinction when the earth, or base finally reached grade. Without it, the wood stake was damned near impossible to discern among the similar colored material.

While this helped to locate the stake, the motor grader operator still needed a helper. That helper "ran the blue tops" with the operator to keep them exposed and tell the operator how much high, or low, they were with the grade.

I had the "opportunity" to run blue tops; even for long periods of time. Others avoided it, but I relished it over other labor work. No heavy lifting was required and it gave me the opportunity to work with the survey crew when they were setting new, or replacing stakes. Learning how to set grade was a step up from grunt work and I intended to move beyond just being a laborer.

So how was it? There was a lot of running; especially when you had a good operator. As he motored along adjusting his machine, I would quickly uncover the stakes as he passed, or tap them back into the hole, if he managed to pull one loose. After that, I had to run to get in front, gauge the amount of fill, or cut, and signal the operator.

As we worked, the compactors worked along behind. The constant weight was steadily compacting the material, which would eventually reach the required density.

 A good operator would pass over the stake almost on grade, which would only require a quick swipe with my boot to uncover the stake and hurry to the next.

A bad operator could cover the stake with enough material to make it hard to find. Uncovering the stake took longer, which meant a sprint to the next stake to keep up.

With an asphalt road, the base grade would eventually be so close, the stakes weren't really relevant. At that point, the operator's skills came into play. They would set the blade, hardly touch the controls and the "ride" was established. While the stakes were important, the final profile of the road was more important. The operator would remove the final imperfections of grade stakes and the final compacted material was sprayed with an asphalt prime. After that, either a seal coat or asphalt was placed.

I'm guessing I was in the best shape of my life at that time. Considering I was getting paid to be running in the outdoors, the trade of physical fitness for money was a pretty good deal. Other than the pay, I'm thinking there are people - stuffed into a cubicle - that wish they had the same opportunity.

Grappling With a Thought

I've been trying to write about the feelings of helplessness, loss and sadness when an older loved one reaches the point they will never become better. It's been tough to put the thoughts into words, but I will. I think it's important to relate the experience and let those that will one day face the same feelings know what it's like to care for someone at an advanced age.

A Little Analysis

Sarin is some bad stuff. The good thing about it is it's unstable and doesn't last very long, which means it requires special efforts to purify and contain it.....or it's use could be accidental, such as a group of fanatical rebels that acquired the recipe, mixed some haphazardly, spilled it on their clothes, ran into the surrounding crowded streets, and caused the deaths of thousands.

Wait! Am I suggesting that might have happened in Syria?

Well, I can't fool you, can I? Of course that's what I'm suggesting.

Meanwhile, while politicians are rattling their swords, spouting copious amounts of horseshit and trying on their big-boy pants, Iran is purifying uranium at an accelerated rate and some international banker is salivating at the possibility of another world conflict. After all, the last one was long ago and these younger bankers want their chance at the money making opportunity.

If the politicians want to practice at being humanitarian, they should start by lowering the taxes on working stiffs, trimming from the obese ass of the government, allowing our economy to grow and letting the world know our system works and they can follow our example.

It's not that I don't have any compassion for foreign citizens. I think we could help, but a few rounds at a U.N. get-together would be cheaper and yield much better results.