Saturday, November 28, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Add Cookeville to Logo
Tom Baxter and/ or Bombdog,
Is there a way to add " Cookeville " to the TPN Logo on the cover page?
Thanks,
Doyle
Is there a way to add " Cookeville " to the TPN Logo on the cover page?
Thanks,
Doyle
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Arrivederci New Orleans
A recent court ruling in favor of six families who filed a law suit against the US Army Corp of Engineers claiming negligence in preventing the flood damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, now is poised to escalate into a class action suit that could make the government liable for damage to hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses. If this happens, the financial liability is estimated to be approximately 100 billion dollars assuming all claims were settled.
Apparently the suit claimed that the Corp of Engineers knew of the risk posed by a hurricane more powerful than category 3, but did nothing further in advance to protect the city from a direct hit of a storm such as the category 5 Katrina.
The city of New Orleans likes to trumpet its French history and culture, but recent events stemming from Hurricane Katrina may suggest that its residents begin to take a few lessons from the Italians, specifically, the residents of Venice.
The city of Venice Italy is built on some 400 small islands extending into the Bay of Jesolo on the Adriatic Coast. It was constructed for the most part between the 9th and 15th centuries using foundations of wood pilings that were driven into the ground using middle-ages construction techniques powered by human and animal muscles. The building structures themselves are built largely of Italian marble, granite, brick, stone, and in later times, stucco and cement. Massive buildings such as the Doge Palace and the Basilica of San Marco are estimated to weigh thousands of metric tons. Over time, the underlying rock strata of the islands and the relentless tides from the Adriatic Sea have weakened the foundations of Venice. Additionally, the city also has some 400 canals that allow water to flow around the islands upon which the city stands. Venice is frequently flooded to a depth of one foot or more over its walkways especially in Winter and scientists who study these problems have agreed that the city is slowly sinking be it ever so gradual.
None of these concerns have caused the residents of Venice to abandon their city. Many buildings, however, no longer have shops or apartments on the first floor of the structures because those areas on occasion will be damaged by rising water much of which is polluted especially around the canals of the inner city. The residents of Venice understand this situation. They choose to live there and not only accept the risk involved but they take specific precautions against water damage. There is no such thing as flood insurance in Venice. There is also no such thing as claiming that the Italian authorities knew the city was sinking but did nothing to prevent it. In fact, there are many initiatives by government and private organizations to look for ways to save Venice, but none of that can be construed into a case of negligence against the Italian government for which Venice should receive liability compensation. No one is forced to live in Venice and there are plenty of available places to live on the dry mainland of Italy.
So, the question arises "Why should the US taxpayers be held liable for hundreds of thousands of people and businesses that chose to remain in the lower regions of New Orleans even though a natural disaster such as a hurricane had always been acknowledged to be a destructive possibility for those below sea level? Is there no personal responsibility for the decisions made by such residents to assume any risk for their actions? Should large sections of the City of New Orleans now be put off limits and should building permits be denied by
the government to preclude anymore habitation in New Orleans? And if a class action suit is settled and 100 billion dollars paid, what will happen should another
category 5 hurricane strike New Orleans? How much of your personal freedoms
and responsibilities do you wish to entrust to the government to protect you from any and all financial loss no matter what the risk caused by your own actions?
Apparently the suit claimed that the Corp of Engineers knew of the risk posed by a hurricane more powerful than category 3, but did nothing further in advance to protect the city from a direct hit of a storm such as the category 5 Katrina.
The city of New Orleans likes to trumpet its French history and culture, but recent events stemming from Hurricane Katrina may suggest that its residents begin to take a few lessons from the Italians, specifically, the residents of Venice.
The city of Venice Italy is built on some 400 small islands extending into the Bay of Jesolo on the Adriatic Coast. It was constructed for the most part between the 9th and 15th centuries using foundations of wood pilings that were driven into the ground using middle-ages construction techniques powered by human and animal muscles. The building structures themselves are built largely of Italian marble, granite, brick, stone, and in later times, stucco and cement. Massive buildings such as the Doge Palace and the Basilica of San Marco are estimated to weigh thousands of metric tons. Over time, the underlying rock strata of the islands and the relentless tides from the Adriatic Sea have weakened the foundations of Venice. Additionally, the city also has some 400 canals that allow water to flow around the islands upon which the city stands. Venice is frequently flooded to a depth of one foot or more over its walkways especially in Winter and scientists who study these problems have agreed that the city is slowly sinking be it ever so gradual.
None of these concerns have caused the residents of Venice to abandon their city. Many buildings, however, no longer have shops or apartments on the first floor of the structures because those areas on occasion will be damaged by rising water much of which is polluted especially around the canals of the inner city. The residents of Venice understand this situation. They choose to live there and not only accept the risk involved but they take specific precautions against water damage. There is no such thing as flood insurance in Venice. There is also no such thing as claiming that the Italian authorities knew the city was sinking but did nothing to prevent it. In fact, there are many initiatives by government and private organizations to look for ways to save Venice, but none of that can be construed into a case of negligence against the Italian government for which Venice should receive liability compensation. No one is forced to live in Venice and there are plenty of available places to live on the dry mainland of Italy.
So, the question arises "Why should the US taxpayers be held liable for hundreds of thousands of people and businesses that chose to remain in the lower regions of New Orleans even though a natural disaster such as a hurricane had always been acknowledged to be a destructive possibility for those below sea level? Is there no personal responsibility for the decisions made by such residents to assume any risk for their actions? Should large sections of the City of New Orleans now be put off limits and should building permits be denied by
the government to preclude anymore habitation in New Orleans? And if a class action suit is settled and 100 billion dollars paid, what will happen should another
category 5 hurricane strike New Orleans? How much of your personal freedoms
and responsibilities do you wish to entrust to the government to protect you from any and all financial loss no matter what the risk caused by your own actions?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sowing the Seeds for Terrorism in America
If you were to ask any of our country's recognized experts in national security, either actively serving or recently retired, if the United States is likely to see another terrorist attack on its soil similar to 9-11, the vast majority would tell you that it is not a matter of "if" but "when" such an attack will happen.
A few such voices expressed that concern soon after the carnage at the World Trade Center and Pentagon. They said so just as the Bush Administration took Herculean efforts to create the Department of Homeland Security, establish a terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and launch the invasions of the second Iraq War and Afghanistan. They were fueled by the fear that Saddam Hussein might be developing crude weapons of mass destruction at the worst or be building terrorist training camps for future attacks at the least. Although WMD's were never found in Iraq, the point is still made that terrorists would absolutely seek to possess them and use them if it were possible. The current fear is that if the government of Pakistan falls because our efforts in Afghanistan fail then the likelihood of terrorists obtaining such weapons is almost certain. Since 9-11, our intelligence activities and defense organizations have intercepted several plots to perform terrorist activities and arrested some individuals attempting to again use commercial airplanes as instruments of destruction. But our ability to obtain such information and sustain such defenses has been seriously damaged.
Since the election of Barack Obama, we have de-classified the procedures used to detect terrorists before they can act and we are in the process of closing the only safe and secure location to isolate high value suspects outside of our borders. On top of this we have shown only weakness in dealing with terrorist states like North Korea and Iran by simply attempting to appease them or to substitute endless talks for their continued advances toward greater threatening capabilities.
At the time of the 9-11 attacks the nation was at a peak of economic strength which continued until mid 2006 when the current economic depression began that is now affecting so many Americans. But in April of 2003, only 19 months after the 9-11 attacks, a new young country-western singer rose to national
popularity with his song "Have You Forgotten?" Daryl Worley captured a key
ingredient to the long term success of any terrorist organization: the loss of a national will to defend itself. In 2003 Americans were already shifting their focus from the sacrifices necessary to ensure our future defenses. Once the current economic downturn took hold in 2008 the nation's rallying cry had changed to "It's the economy, stupid!" despite the threats posed by global terrorism.
Just as Lot's wife looked back with a longing for her former easy life while ignoring the impending destruction that soon awaited her, Americans have again forgotten the higher priorities that ensure the survival of our nation and prefer to look back toward the "good old days" while ignoring the warnings of 9-11.
All Americans bear a general level of responsibility for these misplaced priorities. At another time President Harry Truman asserted the responsibility of his office by saying that "the buck stops here." Unfortunately that only works for America's good when the office holder maintains an American perspective to issues and seeks an American solution. Barack Obama does neither. He does not have a traditional American world view, but interestingly as a liberal, he still thinks that countries and peoples of the world will respond positively to us because he comes across as "a nice guy" and wants others to assume that "we won't hurt them if they don't hurt us." This approach reveals a totally naive mentality and one that is completely out-of-place in foreign relations. There is nothing at all in this kind of performance that will restrict our enemies from inflicting harm upon us any way they can if given an opportunity.
Just as the terrorists of 9-11 exploited existing weaknesses in our intelligence and defense networks for several years prior while training for their attack, the conditions now are ripe for another terror scenario to eventually unfold. The
seeds of the next terror plot have been planted and they are growing now in
American soil.
We need to harvest these weeds and burn them before they multiply, but instead our current policies are watering and fertilizing them to grow larger.
Our founding fathers envisioned that the government's first priority was to defend itself against enemies foreign and domestic. They knew that a limited federal government was most likely to succeed in this task rather than one which was
bloated and scattered to dozens and dozens of countless priorities. Our citizens are distracted and inclined to short-term issues rather than having a sense of the whole as it applies to our country. We seek a personalized health plan than places most of its burden on others and we appear to support a system of wealth distribution based on socialist principles rather than wealth creation based on free-enterprise. And all this before we take care of job one which is to ensure the safety and survival of our citizens. We have lost our national vision and focus.
Knowing the television and entertainment industry as I do, perhaps now would be the time for Daryl Worley to come out with a sequel to his first album and
entitle it "Why Have You Forgotten?" Surely our memories will be reminded
when the seeds of terrorism grow to produce the next national disaster in America. It is only a matter of time, and sadly, it is also avoidable and preventable, but only with American leadership applying American values and principles to our problems. I don't see any of those characteristics in our current President and only in a minority of our Congress. I wish it were not so, but it appears that once again if we do not learn the tragic lessons of our history we will be condemned to re-experience them.
A few such voices expressed that concern soon after the carnage at the World Trade Center and Pentagon. They said so just as the Bush Administration took Herculean efforts to create the Department of Homeland Security, establish a terrorist detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and launch the invasions of the second Iraq War and Afghanistan. They were fueled by the fear that Saddam Hussein might be developing crude weapons of mass destruction at the worst or be building terrorist training camps for future attacks at the least. Although WMD's were never found in Iraq, the point is still made that terrorists would absolutely seek to possess them and use them if it were possible. The current fear is that if the government of Pakistan falls because our efforts in Afghanistan fail then the likelihood of terrorists obtaining such weapons is almost certain. Since 9-11, our intelligence activities and defense organizations have intercepted several plots to perform terrorist activities and arrested some individuals attempting to again use commercial airplanes as instruments of destruction. But our ability to obtain such information and sustain such defenses has been seriously damaged.
Since the election of Barack Obama, we have de-classified the procedures used to detect terrorists before they can act and we are in the process of closing the only safe and secure location to isolate high value suspects outside of our borders. On top of this we have shown only weakness in dealing with terrorist states like North Korea and Iran by simply attempting to appease them or to substitute endless talks for their continued advances toward greater threatening capabilities.
At the time of the 9-11 attacks the nation was at a peak of economic strength which continued until mid 2006 when the current economic depression began that is now affecting so many Americans. But in April of 2003, only 19 months after the 9-11 attacks, a new young country-western singer rose to national
popularity with his song "Have You Forgotten?" Daryl Worley captured a key
ingredient to the long term success of any terrorist organization: the loss of a national will to defend itself. In 2003 Americans were already shifting their focus from the sacrifices necessary to ensure our future defenses. Once the current economic downturn took hold in 2008 the nation's rallying cry had changed to "It's the economy, stupid!" despite the threats posed by global terrorism.
Just as Lot's wife looked back with a longing for her former easy life while ignoring the impending destruction that soon awaited her, Americans have again forgotten the higher priorities that ensure the survival of our nation and prefer to look back toward the "good old days" while ignoring the warnings of 9-11.
All Americans bear a general level of responsibility for these misplaced priorities. At another time President Harry Truman asserted the responsibility of his office by saying that "the buck stops here." Unfortunately that only works for America's good when the office holder maintains an American perspective to issues and seeks an American solution. Barack Obama does neither. He does not have a traditional American world view, but interestingly as a liberal, he still thinks that countries and peoples of the world will respond positively to us because he comes across as "a nice guy" and wants others to assume that "we won't hurt them if they don't hurt us." This approach reveals a totally naive mentality and one that is completely out-of-place in foreign relations. There is nothing at all in this kind of performance that will restrict our enemies from inflicting harm upon us any way they can if given an opportunity.
Just as the terrorists of 9-11 exploited existing weaknesses in our intelligence and defense networks for several years prior while training for their attack, the conditions now are ripe for another terror scenario to eventually unfold. The
seeds of the next terror plot have been planted and they are growing now in
American soil.
We need to harvest these weeds and burn them before they multiply, but instead our current policies are watering and fertilizing them to grow larger.
Our founding fathers envisioned that the government's first priority was to defend itself against enemies foreign and domestic. They knew that a limited federal government was most likely to succeed in this task rather than one which was
bloated and scattered to dozens and dozens of countless priorities. Our citizens are distracted and inclined to short-term issues rather than having a sense of the whole as it applies to our country. We seek a personalized health plan than places most of its burden on others and we appear to support a system of wealth distribution based on socialist principles rather than wealth creation based on free-enterprise. And all this before we take care of job one which is to ensure the safety and survival of our citizens. We have lost our national vision and focus.
Knowing the television and entertainment industry as I do, perhaps now would be the time for Daryl Worley to come out with a sequel to his first album and
entitle it "Why Have You Forgotten?" Surely our memories will be reminded
when the seeds of terrorism grow to produce the next national disaster in America. It is only a matter of time, and sadly, it is also avoidable and preventable, but only with American leadership applying American values and principles to our problems. I don't see any of those characteristics in our current President and only in a minority of our Congress. I wish it were not so, but it appears that once again if we do not learn the tragic lessons of our history we will be condemned to re-experience them.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Death by Diversity
The recent murderous rampage by Army Major Hasan at Ft. Hood, Texas that took the lives of 13 people and wounded 31 has been identified by the Army as the worst case of "soldier on soldier" violence in history. But, in fact, it more accurately can be described as a pre-meditated terrorist act committed by an Islamic fanatic who is anything but an American soldier. He actually carried business cards listing himself as a member of "SOA." Letters standing for
"Soldier Of Allah" More incredibly, this traitor left a six year trail of sub-standard performance at the Army's premier medical facility: Walter Reed Medical Center as a practicing psychiatrist. Incredibly, his record there was so bad that other doctors refrained from referring patients to him because of his suspect attitudes and displays of anger that periodically surfaced. But no one did anything to cause this deviant to be examined nor questioned his fitness to continue performing in this charade. As such the U.S. Army Medical Corp psychiatric community verified Edmund Burke's statement that "all that is needed for evil to survive is for good men to do nothing."
The Army's atmosphere to ensure an environment of political correctness in its personnel management certainly made possible the career advancement of Hasan to the rank of Major, despite his non-qualifications, as well as his ability to commit a deranged act of mass murder even while masquerading as a functional psychiatrist! How did such an individual manage to enlist in the US Army? Believe it or not, such enlistments are possible because of the national homage being paid to the god of political correctness.
Last Sunday, ABC TV's George Stephanopolous interviewed Army Chief of Staff General George Casey and asked if Hasan "represented a case of pre-meditated murder or if he just snapped?" General Casey hesitated to offer any "speculation" and then made the mind boggling statement that: "This terrible event would be an even greater tragedy if our diversity becomes a casualty." Is he for real?
Since when does diversity contribute to strength when individuals are not assimilated into a common bond? Since when did the old adage "a house divided against itself will fall" become falsehood? Since when did America's history of forging many peoples into a new nation through a melting pot of common ideals change into compromising a hodge podge of conflicting values into a country of isolated and polarized individuals? Is that what is happening within the United States Army? And when such instances occur are they being officially tolerated even at long length rather than risk taking corrective action?
The military has long been described as a microcosm of American society. If so, the recent events at Ft. Hood are more frightening than when they first appeared. The specter they offer is a society that will sacrifice our uniquely Christian and American values to suffer a slow death by diversity for any creed or motto.
America is a country willing to take in those who would assimilate our ideals and way of life but we have nothing to gain from those who harbor an agenda of hate and desire only to make us conform to their twisted world view. If we do not learn to confront and condemn the attitudes that made Major Hasan's atrocities possible we will be forced to witness a repeat of such actions by similar maniacs in the future.
"Soldier Of Allah" More incredibly, this traitor left a six year trail of sub-standard performance at the Army's premier medical facility: Walter Reed Medical Center as a practicing psychiatrist. Incredibly, his record there was so bad that other doctors refrained from referring patients to him because of his suspect attitudes and displays of anger that periodically surfaced. But no one did anything to cause this deviant to be examined nor questioned his fitness to continue performing in this charade. As such the U.S. Army Medical Corp psychiatric community verified Edmund Burke's statement that "all that is needed for evil to survive is for good men to do nothing."
The Army's atmosphere to ensure an environment of political correctness in its personnel management certainly made possible the career advancement of Hasan to the rank of Major, despite his non-qualifications, as well as his ability to commit a deranged act of mass murder even while masquerading as a functional psychiatrist! How did such an individual manage to enlist in the US Army? Believe it or not, such enlistments are possible because of the national homage being paid to the god of political correctness.
Last Sunday, ABC TV's George Stephanopolous interviewed Army Chief of Staff General George Casey and asked if Hasan "represented a case of pre-meditated murder or if he just snapped?" General Casey hesitated to offer any "speculation" and then made the mind boggling statement that: "This terrible event would be an even greater tragedy if our diversity becomes a casualty." Is he for real?
Since when does diversity contribute to strength when individuals are not assimilated into a common bond? Since when did the old adage "a house divided against itself will fall" become falsehood? Since when did America's history of forging many peoples into a new nation through a melting pot of common ideals change into compromising a hodge podge of conflicting values into a country of isolated and polarized individuals? Is that what is happening within the United States Army? And when such instances occur are they being officially tolerated even at long length rather than risk taking corrective action?
The military has long been described as a microcosm of American society. If so, the recent events at Ft. Hood are more frightening than when they first appeared. The specter they offer is a society that will sacrifice our uniquely Christian and American values to suffer a slow death by diversity for any creed or motto.
America is a country willing to take in those who would assimilate our ideals and way of life but we have nothing to gain from those who harbor an agenda of hate and desire only to make us conform to their twisted world view. If we do not learn to confront and condemn the attitudes that made Major Hasan's atrocities possible we will be forced to witness a repeat of such actions by similar maniacs in the future.
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