The Mess in the Middle East

I cannot believe the audacity of some of our politicians. They have the gall to criticize Israel and their military actions in the Middle East. I expect this from Kofi Annan and his "Messengers of Peace" who specialize in doing nothing, but I would hope that our government would not have forgotten the horror and pain of the World Trade Center attacks so soon. Now, I do not think that war should be entered into lightly, but Israel has been patient enough. We launched a war against the Taliban and essentially took over Afghanistan (which I completely agreed with) one month after being attacked on September 11.

Israel, on the other hand, has been attacked mercilessly by Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. Not a week goes by that Israel does not experience some type of hostile action against them. Other than suicide bombers, the terrorists are also using short range missile systems and car bombs to target crowds of civilians. They target shopping centers, restaurants, busy sidewalks, and night clubs. Each time these events hit the news, there is an obvious silence about in the media. No senators denounce Hezbollah; no European leaders demand an end to the killings; the U.N. takes no actions to help Israel.

Israel is now fighting back by targeting known terrorist hideouts in Lebanon. On Sunday, the Israeli air force destroyed a building that was being used by Hezbollah as a base from which they were launching missiles into northern Israel. Fifty six people, mostly women and children, died when the building collapsed in the bombing. The world was outraged, and was quick to criticize the killing of civilians. No one mentioned the cowardly actions of the Lebanese guerrillas who fired from the building, knowing that it was full of innocent people and that their actions might bring retaliation from Israel. That may have even been their motivation: either to use the civilians as a shield or to use it to fuel the fires of hatred for Israel in the Middle East.

No one in America, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, has any right to criticize the actions of the Israeli government. They have finally taken a stand or their people. They have a strong military and could dominate the Middle East at any time if they saw fit. Instead, they have patiently withstood the attacks until now.

The President needs to continue to support Israel in their fight against terrorism as they supported us in ours; The U.N. needs to help with the fight, or mind their own business; and we need to pray for Israel.

Project #154,325

My project over the weekend was to build a bookcase to fit under the window in my study- a space about 2' tall and 6' wide. Sarah and I put it together and put one coat of stain on it on Saturday. Today I added the second coat of stain and one layer of poly. I will finish it and bring it in tomorrow sometime. It's made of birch plywood and the trim on the front is poplar and maple ( I ran out of poplar).

We will still have some books packed away even when this bookcase is filled. My eventual plan is a floor to ceiling unit in my study to the left of my desk.

I also went over to Matt's house and we worked on installing his whirlpool tub. I'm sure he'll be adding pictures of this weekend's progress to his blog soon . . .

Her First Mistake

I always thought that Sarah was perfect until today. She was been the perfect girlfriend, fiance, and now wife, but she made a little mistake today. She gave me my birthday present (a little early)- a hammock. That is wonderful! The problem is that we have a lot more projects left on the house. She cannot possibly believe that I will be able to motivate myself to work around the house now that there is a perfectly comfortable hammock in the shade of the cedar tree in our backyard. To top it all off, next month is the annual "Very Good, Very Big, Very Cheap Book Sale" here in the Upstate and after that I will have a large supply of books waiting to be read as well. The combination of the two will be hard to resist.

Oh well, the projects will still be there this winter when it is too cold to sit outside and read. I can always get around to them then. Until then . . . if I don't answer the phone when you call, it's because I'm out on my new hammock relaxing and I didn't bring the phone with me. Don't worry, though; eventually my iced tea will run out and I'll have to come back inside for more.

My thoughts exactly

"I am a Yankees fan," a first-grade teacher explains to this class. "Who likes the Yankees?"
Everyone raises their hands except one little girl.
"Janie," the teacher says, surprised. "Why didn't you raise your hand?"
"I'm not a Yankees fan."
"Well, if you're not a Yankees fan, then what team do you like?"
"The Red Sox," Janie answers.
"Why in the world are you a Red Sox fan?"
"Because my mom and dad are Red Sox fans."
"That's no reason to be a Red Sox fan," the teacher replies, annoyed. "You don't always have to be just like your parents. What if your mom and dad were morons? What would you be then?"
"A Yankees fan."
-www.rd.com

Barbaro

After watching the news these last few weeks I can't believe how trivial we've become as a society. The horse that won the Kentucky Derby, Barbaro, broke his leg in the Preakness a few weeks later. Now his owners are trying to keep him healthy enough to be used as a stud since his racing career is obviously over. Barbaro's recovery has not gone so well and his broken leg is now infected as is his other rear leg.

The shocking part of this story is America's response to the horse's plight. The news said that every day thousands of get well cards and apples arrive to comfort Barbaro. The University of Pennsylvania, whose School of Veterinary Medicine is overseeing Barbaro treatment, has set up an online message board where you can leave "well wishes" for Barbaro.

One person wrote: "You have touched my heart and the heart of our Nation. Bravery, in the face of adversity, must be praised and honored and you have shown this to us." Bravery?

Another wrote: "You are our nation's symbol of greatness, courage, and love this summer."

A lot of kids left sweet messages on there and I can understand them picturing Barbaro's vet sitting by Barbaro's side and reading him these words of encouragement from his fans; but many of those who left comments on there, including those who left the comments I quoted above, were adults.

What do they think happens to their emails? Babaro is sitting quietly in his stall, mired in depression from the reality of never being able to race again, almost ready to give up his will to live when suddenly his owner comes running in holding a print-out from the University of Pennsylvania's website. "Barbaro, hang in there! We just received a letter from Susie P., 57, in Delaware who said that you are her inspiration to her and her family. Don't give up." Barbaro lifts his head high; he has a new resolve; he has a duty to the American public . . .

Get a grip people. I'm going to start sending care packages to Barbaro, with Elmer's glue inside so he can get used to the idea. No, I'm not that mean. I just don't see how people can be so trivial and so concerned with the plight of a horse when there is so much else going on in the world that merits attention. Maybe it's a good distraction for people who don't want to read the rest of the news. I don't know.

(The editor would like to add that anyone whose comments may have been quoted in this posting should not take offense at the author's mockery of their words. They should also not bother to sue the author or the editor, since neither of them have enough money to bother suing for. Also, picture courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania's website.)

Happy Birthday Melissa

Today is Melissa's 26th birthday and since I worked last night I made sure to call her shortly after her birthday started- about 1:15. She wouldn't answer the phone so I called back a few more times. She still didn't answer so I left a message. I wonder what she was doing that was so important . . .

Happy Birthday anyways Mel.

Stayin' on Sarah's Good Side

The last room to have its flooring installed was the laundry room. I laid the tile today and will grout it on Thursday when I return from work. I actually enjoy laying tile; the mortar is not as messy as the adhesive used for the wood floors and tile goes down much faster. I had been putting this off for a while but finally got it out of the way today.

The color of the laundry room was not what we intended it to be. It will be repainted soon to a more mellow color.

The Grillmaster

Well, I haven't been doing a very good job at updating my blog recently; but I have an excuse. In addition to work and lots of yard work, I have been busy playing with my new grill, much to Sarah's delight. I've had it for about two weeks now and I have been having a blast with it. I got a cookbook with it that has everything in it from steaks and burgers to vegetables and desserts, all on the grill.

Carina likes my grill because there's more room on the porch than in the kitchen so I'm not tripping all over her while I'm cooking(regardless of what her diary says).

Here is my favorite dessert recipe from Weber's Real Grilling. My mom wanted the recipe so I figured I post it here for her in case anyone else wanted it.

Grilled Peaches with Blackberry Sauce

Sauce
1 cup washed blackberries
2 tablespoons sugar


2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon sugar
4 medium peaches, firm but ripe, halved and pits removed

1. Sauce: In a food processor, puree the blackberries with 2 tablespoons water. Add the sugar and puree until smooth. Strain seeds out if you desire.

2. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Brush the peach halves all over with the butter mixture.

3. Grill the peach halves over medium heat until they are browned in spots and warmed throughout, 8 minutes, turning them every 3 minutes or so. Serve the peaches warm with the blackberry sauce and vanilla ice cream.