Not that I am counting, but I have been away from home about 85 days and have about 77 left.

I saw the coolest mountain bikes today. They were both in the new multicam and the bikes looked like a good way to get around. I have seen others with the ACU and a few other paint schemes, but the multicam looked the best overall. It may not even have the actual multicam, but it looked a lot like it if it wasn't. I wonder if New Belgium Brewing Co can send me a Fat Tire bike so I can also look cool riding around? If they could find a way to smuggle Fat Tire in it that would be even better.

Not much new since yesterday other than that. The men's bathroom and showers in my area ran out of water again. It makes it hard to take a shower and brush your teeth. There are also some issues with people using the restrooms when the toilets can't be flushed, but there aren't many portapotties near us, so I guess they do what they have to.

I have spent the past couple of days looking for cobras and checking my room to make sure there are no mice or snakes. Mice don't bother me and I don't have much they can get in to, but there was a cobra found in one of the B-huts recently and it was apparently after mice. They say it was a small one but I am not sure I consider a 6-foot long snake that will chew on me while it is injecting venom that could kill me quickly small. I already had my encounter with a rattlesnake when I was in the Army at Fort Carson. I stepped on one and I think the only thing that kept me from getting bitten was that it was as surprised as I was. I think I woke it up and it took it a minute to realize some jerk stepped on it while it was sunning and I got a little distance between us while it was deciding what to do about it.

One of my roommates in my half of the B-hut heads back home in 8 days or so and my half will be mostly empty most of the time. Of the 4 rooms, one is occupied by me, one by a soldier that spends a month at a time on missions, one room will be reserved for a unit from Nevada when they have people coming through here on leave, and one is SSG Downs and he will be leaving. They may assign someone else to it, but I was thinking about knocking down the wall separating them before they do and make a suite. I say wall, but it is really plywood that doesn't go to the ceiling and has gaps on the floor and along the wall. The top of the wall is about forehead level for me. The wall separating my half of the B-hut from the back half is taller, but there are still gaps and you can hear everything the person on the other side is doing.

Much Metta!

Greetings from Bagram August 30 Edition

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Today was a pretty big day for me. I went to the Saturday bazaar which is really a tryout for vendors looking to get into the larger bazaar when it starts back up. There is a lot of lapus lazuli there and it is apparently pretty common in Afghanistan. It is very blue and some nice things are made out of it. My favorite things there besides the hand-carved Buddhist chess set were the items carved from granite and marble. They had a mini-keg type thing carved from granite and goblets and tea sets of all kinds. I would look like a king or a classy pirate with those things.

I also got a new mattress today. The master sergeant who has been staying on my B-hut waiting for his unit to head out to their FOB and saw people unloading new mattresses and asked how he could get one. He was told that he could get 2 mattresses for his unit patch and so he came in with 2 mattresses and I got one of them. I didn't get much sleep today because of the bazaar, moving in the mattresses and then some Air Force guys dropped off a lot of cases of paper for the master sergeant and them throwing them around sounded like we were getting shelled, but when I was in bed in was very nice, at least compared to my old mattress that had springs that poked me in various places. It isn't a Denver Mattress Company pillowtop.

On the other side of things, it has been a busy time down south with a lot of fighting. That makes it pretty busy at the hospital and the day staff here does a good job of getting over there whenever they hear of new wounded. Their last visit was hard for them with a lot of wounded and several serious injuries. Two guys who they say are maybe 20 both lost their legs. One was intubated and started to cry and they did what they could to comfort him. Most of the ones who came in yesterday got flown to Germany last night on a special plane for critical care. I am waiting to here if more have come in from the staff over there and if they think any of them could use a visit and care package bag and then maybe I will stop by tonight if it is slow or tomorrow morning. It is odd; I both look forward to and do not look forward to those visits. My first visit was pretty easy with mostly illnesses, but they won't all be that way.

Since we got here I have worked over 700 cases. That is a lot of death, illness and an occasional birth. Some of the more humorous parts of cases I have worked on are unit's locations and addresses occasionaly in the messages. I had a message tonight for Cannd Jar, Afghanistan (Kandahar), worked on ones previously for Camp Leatherneck that came in for Weatherneck and Leathernecker and apparently there is a Bagraham Airfield someplace over here. Those are just the ones that stick with you; there are lots of other problems due to phonetics and such.

Last night I traded a Red Cross coin for a combat patch for the 2 Battalion 503 Infantry 173 Airborne. He said he was here when Restrepo was being filmed. He had an advanced copy he said the director sent everyone who was there and we tried to watch it, but my queues were too busy and we didn't get it done. We had to stop it when they started talking about "Operation Rock Avalanche." I have no idea if he was there or not, but I have no reason to think he wasn't, so I choose to believe he was. He seemed to know a lot about all the people and what went on. But you never can tell. I have been telling people things from "The Unit" as what I did when I was in the Army.

Much Metta!

Greetings from Bagram August 29 Edition

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Anna Karenindone!

Yay me! I finished "Anna Karenina" and have now read "Crime and Punishment," "Anna Karenina" and "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" since I got to Bagram. I think I like Tolstoy a little more than Dostoyevsky, but there were both pretty good. Tolstoy was a lot easier to get through. My next decision is between "Great Expectations," "War and Peace" or "The Brother Karamazov." I am leaning towards "Great Expectations" because it is shorter. I need to build up my endurance for the other two.

Other than that it has been fairly quiet and I am still not sure I like it. Not that I want anyone shooting us, but I don't like that they fired rockets at us 3 times in 4 days and now there hasn't been anything for 2 weeks. Maybe that means they have given up in this area since they cannot win, but it could also mean they are saving up for a grand finale. They can't really get close enough to hit most of the post, but there are areas they can hit and they know where they are. I am not in those areas, but a lot of people are. Let's hope for the best though and that everyone is starting to get tired of fighting and maybe we can move forward to improving things without the constant threat of violence and death. A boy can dream.

Tonight is pretty cool out. There was a little rain and it has been pretty cloudy so some would probably think it was cold, but it is nice. The moon is full, but you can't see it. Today the sun came out about an hour later than normal, but that is because it was blocked by some clouds over the mountains. I think without the mountains, the sun would rise here about 3 AM.

Unfortunately, although it has been calm in our area, other areas have been fairly active and there have been several deaths and a lot of injuries. I can't even really say it has been quiet here since a lot of people come through the hospital here and they are almost never looking for something to do over there at the hospital.

Much Metta!

Greetings from Bagram August 26 Edition

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Greetings from Bagram

It has been a fairly quiet last few days here. I don't think we have had any rockets fired since Tuesday and I am not sure if that is good or bad. The hospital has been busy and the people down south deal with regular attacks and unfortunately injuries and deaths that will probably only increase during the coming months. The hospital and medical staff here are almost always busy.

I went on my first hospital visit today. The ICU/ICW was full, but it was mostly illness or none-combat injuries like back problems. There were a couple of service members who had lost legs and an Afghan who lost a leg. There was also an Afghan with serious burns to the face and body, but I am not sure what happened. There was also a beautiful Afghan girl, maybe 10 or so, who the nurses seemed to love. I didn't see any injuries on her so she may have been brought in with someone or her injuries were minor.

We handed out our little Red Cross bags with things like socks, shampoo, body wash, M&Ms, phone cards and such and talked for a while. I think we were there about two and a half hours. I went with Michael since he knew the nurses from previous visits and we took a new volunteer with us. Overall, it was a good trip and I hope to go more. My schedule doesn't always match up with when they have time for us to wander around. Many of the people we visited today were supposed to be heading to Germany tonight, but judging from the news, they will be getting more in shortly.

I have taken a few days off from my workout, at least the running portion of it until I get some running shorts. I wonder what happened to the times when I probably could have run naked with no problems. I guess that was a few pounds ago, but I am working my way back to a Dutch god physique. I am not sure if Dutch gods look like Greek gods or not, but maybe you will see me next to David someday.

Much Metta!

Greetings from Bagram August 23 Edition

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Greetings from Bagram

Not only did I get to hear my first RPG explosions on Saturday night/Sunday morning, but they fired a few more at us last night (Tuesday). I was heading out to eat and heard it and my first thought was "shit, I am going to have to shelter and will miss dinner." Then I had to decide where I wanted to head. I chose to go to the Red Cross to shelter in place. I watched part of the Cubs game and some of "Mission Impossible 2" with some others who also chose to shelter here. The rockets ruined "Ladies Night" at the Red Cross when women get to choose the movies.

As far as where the rounds hit and where they came from, I have no idea. It is hard to say in this bowl we live in. They could have hit anywhere and been fired from anywhere. I just know I didn't see or feel any explosions. The ones that hit on Saturday we could feel in our office and even those weren't real close to where I am. Michael though is still the most diligent of us regarding getting his armor and heading to the bunker, but I think that is because he was an RA. He always says "there is no such thing as a false alarm" as far as how you respond to them. I did what the giant voice in the sky told me to do and I sheltered in place. I was mostly just glad they hit after I was done in the shower. To take a phrase from Michael, "it would be a war crime if I ran out without getting dressed first."

The UAE siren sounds kind of like an ice cream truck and its voice sounds a lot more excited than the one over here. Ours is a recording that always sounds like it just woke up.

I probably had my best overall workout last night before the rounds hit. I think having gum in my mouth to keep it from drying out helped. I still didn't keep up with the Marine next to me, but I also didn't look like I was going to die so that is good. 2 of the 4 treadmills are now dead and the big weight station with the pullies is down because the cables broke. Luckily I have my exercise bands in my room that I like for a lot of exercises.

Much Metta!

Greetings from Bagram August 18 Edition

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Last night I got to hear my first 2 RPG round impacts. I was talking to someone in the office and we heard an explosion and were kind of asking what is going on and was that incoming or outgoing. While we were deciding that it had to be incoming the second round came in. We then decided that the correct procedure was to go stand on the deck and see what was going on. That was all there was to it so we went back to work.

The people here keep changing. I have had 9 different people staying in my half of the B-Hut and only one other and myself have stayed the same. He will be leaving shortly too. The people we call messages to also seem to change a lot. I get used to someone and they leave. It kind of feels like a good friend moving away even though I have only been here a month or so. You learn a lot about people and their families when you are on the phone calling messages out.

I sent a box of things to a Marine I call a lot with messages. We have a good time on the phone giving each other a hard time. The whole top half of the box has feminine hygiene and "girly" body washes, deodorants and soap. I don't think he has gotten it yet because I imagine I would have heard from him. I have gained a new respect for the Marines. I have always thought of them as hardcore and a little crazy, but they are professional, polite and always look put together. They make me think about pressing my uniform.

I have still been hitting the gym almost everyday. I took a couple days off last week because my knees were hurting, but I still did resistance band workouts in my room. I like the bands. I may run a 9.11K on September 11 and a 5K in honor of the "Black Hawk Down" incident, but I am still deciding. I have to make sure someone in worse shape than I am also runs so I don't finish last.

Much Metta!

Boom Shake Shake Shake the Room

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As I get ready to complete my first 30 days at BAF (Bagram, Afghanistan) here are some things I have learned:

1. Even though there are those loud as Air Force jets taking off and landing all the time, trucks of every sort driving around, doors slamming and outbound artillery fire, the thing that will keep you from sleeping is a buzzing sound from the air conditioner


2. People need to take more naps


3. People need to tell their friends and families their units and other information to get messages if there is an emergency. If you need to get a message to someone and say that your son is a Marine in Afghanistan with no other information, you are wrong. If you say they are an engineer in the navy and that is all, you are wrong


4. Steak and lobster are not always gourmet or even good


5. I learned that my boss resigned at my chapter back home. I wonder if that means I will learn that I don’t have a job when I get back. Anyone need a high paid assistant with disaster response experience who has deployed to Afghanistan? Maybe I will call Senator Franken


6. The Cubs aren't any better when you are in Afghanistan


7. I miss sleeping in my bed with my wife. I even miss being crowded on a king size bed by two dogs who seem to expand in size at night


8. Tolstoy is easier to read than Dostoyevsky


9. I am not allowed to put on here what I think about the people who don't think homosexuals should be able to serve in the military, but have girlfriends or boyfriends on the side


10. Even if you are going to Afghanistan, do not buy the cheap sheets at Target. They can be used as files for fingernails and calluses


11. Hot is relative. Kuwait is hot. Everywhere else I have been is mild


12. People from South Carolina refuse to accept that Minnesota has more people and they think we are all simpletons without electricity or Internet like the "big" cities have


13. The laundry service here can shrink anything. Maybe I will see if they can work on my gut


14. Marines do smile and joke around occasionally. But, I do not enjoy working out in the gym when it is full or Marines, they are crazy. I keep doing it though in case I get in better shape by just watching them


15. I may run the Mogadishu 5K in October. I am not running the 75K or 50K. As much as I would like the t-shirt for doing it, that is a long ass way


16. Some people take themselves too seriously and make everyone around them tense


17. Not all Air Force people are fat and lazy aristocrats


18. I am sure there are some other things, but I am not very witty tonight

I think I will start doing hospital visits this week or over the weekend. It is one of those things I am most and least looking forward to. Besides just visiting with people, we also try to bring phone cards when we have them in and sometimes items like shaving kits and such. I think I will try to find someone to play cribbage with. I don't have a cribbage board though so if you have an extra one around and feel like sending it to Afghanistan, let me know.

I won't use names, but I am pretty sure one of our teammates over here is crazy. I think she is going to have PTSD from things that haven't actually happened. I am not sure if it is an overactive imagination or insanity, but if her stories were what were reported as what was going on over here, people would think that there are constantly Taliban gunmen on base and every operation is some secret special forces thing that only she knows about. It would be humorous and I laugh at her a lot, but it is also scary because I think she believes herself. She wasn't even here on May 19 when the Taliban tried their attack, but her view of the event is more like Tet than reality.

Michael is my favorite coworker. He started working nights with me and seems to be convinced that every door slamming or outbound round is the start of some large scale assault on BAF. I want to make a video of him when the sirens go off though and dub over the part from "Monty Python" where they are yelling "run away." It is good that he takes it all very seriously, but it is excellent for comedic relief.

All in all, things are going well as can be. I am adjusting to living in a closet and my room looks mostly organized. I am on my third book and have worked on 300 messages as of last night. I am an expert bread maker and have started adding a pinch of cinnamon when I make coffee, but I am not sure anyone has noticed.

Much Metta!

Lessons of Month 1

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I think people should be able to send messages through the Red Cross with positive things like Jimmy got an "A" in physics, Susie hit for the cycle, Christian said his first word and it was Hawkeyes, or today was a good day and I didn’t cry. Instead, most of what we get to deliver are deaths, illnesses, accidents, miscarriages and pregnancy complications. It does kind of get depressing, but it makes those occasional birth messages we get to deliver all the more enjoyable. I think it would also be nice to get a leave extension request not for something not good, but maybe a request saying I would like an extension of two days because my husband/wife wants to spend the day in bed and not get dressed. Maybe I will talk to General Petreaus about changing message policies.

Speaking of General Peteaus, I was pretty sure that things would turn around quickly once him and I assumed command in Afghanistan. It is taking a little longer than I expected, but I am sure we will stabilize everything and start a long period of peace and joy in the region. The general sent me an email that I needed to drink more tea with the Afghans so maybe I will work on that. I wonder if they like Stash Organic white tea with mint or organic vanilla chai. But really, who doesn't.

If they would let me bring over some Absolut Citron, Fat Tire or a good scotch, I am pretty sure everyone would be in love by the end of the night. We would all be friends sitting around telling each other how much we love each other and that we are best friends and all those things you say when you have had a little too much to drink. Maybe pass around the "peace" hookah also and we can have everyone home by Christmas. Then I will turn Bagram Airbase into a lovely resort. It is surrounded by mountains and ruins of ancient cities so book your stay early before it fills up.

Much Metta!

Always Bad News

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As much as I want to write more and update everyone on what is going on, every day for me is pretty much the same here. It is seriously like "Groundhog's Day" for me here. I go to work around 2200 and work until 0600 or so, I go to the little Internet cafe and Skype with my wife for an hour or so, I go to the gym for 30-60 minutes on the treadmill and some weights, I drink my protein shake, take a shower, read, try to get to sleep, wake up, go to dinner, read and then back to work. I do regularly talk to one of my roommates, SSG Roosevelt Downs, because he is pretty interesting. He is from South Carolina and we spend a lot of time talking about barbeque, grilling and chili. I wish I could make some of my chili here, but it is probably best that I don't in such close quarters.

I did work on my first SPA (suicide prevention action) case a couple of days ago. He was online with his soon-to-be ex-wife and said some things that worried her. The 1SG walked in and took his gun and then they took him to command to meet with a chaplain. I don't know what happened beyond that because we only stay on the line until they tell us the person is secure so that we can tell the family.

I worked on my second SPA case 2 days after the first. It was a lot more time consuming since we did not know much information about the person. It was 3 hours of stress and then when they finally found him, they broke the lock on his room and he was asleep. His mom had called and said she talked to him and that he said he was going to commit suicide and had mental issues. When they woke him up, he said that he hadn't talked to him mom in months and that he was fine. I suppose it is better to wake a bunch of people and be wrong then to wait and be too late though. I can say that the military takes these suicide threats very seriously and they will wake up anyone they need to so that they can track down the person.

I am about to finish "Crime and Punishment" and must decide which book is next. Do I go with "Anna Karenina" or "Great Expectations?" Such are the decisions over here.

One of our coworkers gave us all dream catchers that were made by a relative of hers back home. Hopefully it will keep the evil spirits out of my room. I got one in Santa Fe years ago, but I lost it so this is perfect. When she was giving it to me, she asked me if I was a believer and I was worried that I was going to get another lecture on why I am a sinner and heathen for not considering myself a Christian any longer, but luckily she just wasn't sure if I believed in dream catchers. My dream catcher is currently hanging in my room next to a little Buddha and a bird ornament Dick & Judy Pike got me on one of their adventures.

No excitement is good over here and although it has been quiet for me in my little world, many others are in much more dangerous situations and are getting hurt or killed. It is strange and also kind of reassuring to be in a place where everyone has a loaded weapon or two except for you. Maybe this is what living in Texas or other places where everyone seems to have a gun feels like. I think my unofficial truce with the Taliban where they won't do anything silly while I am sleeping is still holding up. I just wish the Air Force would keep the noise down too. I am not sure noise cancelling headphones would do any good.

I am also occasionally not sure if the Taliban is attacking or if it just the wanker on the other side of my wall coming home. He slams doors, throws stuff around and is always mad at someone. Last week he was going to kick some SSG's ass because he wanted the SSG's room. Then he was mad at someone for who knows what. He also is the only person of the 8 rooms that watches TV without headphones and does it loud. I have asked him through the wall if he would be a little quieter, so I am sure he has also talked about me. Damn E-2s! They are like second lieutenants because they both think they have learned it all in their 6 months in the military. The only thing that doesn't make the guy next to me angry is the 300GB of porn he has on his computer. Luckily, I don't hear that since I assume he keeps it quiet due to it is very much not allowed over here.

I suppose I should get back to work. Some people are in our lounge area watching "Entourage" and I should check the queue and if nothing is there, do some paperwork that I always let build up.

Much Metta!

Deja Vu All Over Again

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I have terrible news. It appears the Taliban or some other organization that hates freedom has stolen the a goalie, a forward and the ball from our foozball table. It also appears that no one is interested in investigating this war crime. I smell cover-up. Maybe the USO is behind this.

Much Metta!

Breaking News From Afghanistan

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I am going to try and blog about what is going on over here while I am in Afghanistan. There is apparently a lot of stuff I am not supposed to talk about or take pictures of, but I will just talk about my experiences.

I work the night shift and it is usually the busy shift for us since it is daytime back in the US. We mostly deliver messages if there is an emergency back home like a death or serious illness, but we also have some things in our office not related to that part of the job. We have a TV and DVD player to watch movies and get AFN satellite channels. Apparently the exciting news about AFN is that they are going to start showing "mature" HBO programming in August on it. We also have a fairly large collection of DVDs and books that have been donated or purchased by the Red Cross that can be checked out to watch on their own if they don't want to watch here.

My favorite part is the bread maker. I have made bread twice. The first time was alright, but I made cinnamon raisin bread yesterday and it not only smelled good, but it tasted good. Don't ask me the recipe though because like any good chemist, I don't measure anything. Apparently the smell of baking bread is magnetic here because a first sergeant came running in and said that someone from her unit came by and told her it smelled like the Red Cross was making bread. I didn't hear if she liked it or not.

Tonight I heard my first firefight. I am not sure where exactly it was, but it was loud. It sounded like fireworks and I don't believe it was incoming since that probably would have been even louder, but it could have been at one of the guard towers I guess. All I know is that for about 20 minutes or so, someone was shooting and blowing something up big time. The alarms never went off for us to seek cover or for people to take their fighting positions, but it was an interesting experience. There were 2 women outside on the deck at out office. They had their body armor and kevlar on with their weapons waiting for the alarm to sound. It never did, but I thanked them for coming over to defend our deck.

Whatever was going on, it was over fairly quickly and several jets and helicopters took off, but it has been quiet since. It is kind of weird though being one of the few people without a gun. If I figure out how, I will try to post pictures of my B-Hut and the Red Cross office.

My room is about the size of a big closet. I have a desk lamp that heats up the room so I often resort to using a string of Christmas lights to light the room. I can't read using them, but it is better than adding heat to the room since the air conditioner sometimes decides to take a break for a day or so and the windows are supposed to be sealed so the inside kind of gets like a sauna without the moisture. I guess it is kind of like an oven when it doesn't work. So far, the highlight for me has been getting a fan from Amazon.com.

Speaking of ovens, Kuwait sucks. I think the average temperature was 130 while we were waiting for a flight to Afghanistan. I don't know if I so much got sunburn as I did get overcooked. It was insane. You know that feeling when you first open your oven while it is cooking, that is what it felt like all the time.

That is all for now. I am working on a few cases and hope to get them done before the next shift comes in. They never really stop coming in and there is not really such a thing as being caught up, but at least it helps time move faster.

I also want to scratch my shoulder where they gave me the smallpox vaccine. It is a very unpleasant looking thing and itches like hell.

Much Metta!

My Travel Agent Sucks

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I figured it has been a while since I have been on here, so I decided to post something short just to see if I remembered how.

I will be heading out for Afghanistan to work at the American Red Cross office at Bagram Air Base. It will just be a short tour when compared to what the members of the military are doing, but I will get to enjoy the same heat and dust as they do.

Peace and Such!

Afghanistan

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This debate over "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is making me angry. They are gays in the military now, so I don't understand why we need to have a law that says they can't be themselves. I would think that we would want our gay service members to be able to focus on their jobs without the distraction of being outed, but apparently I am an idiot for believing that.

People say, "why allow gays in the military if what we have is good now" and I say "there are already gays in the military and they are not hurting the quality of our armed forces," but apparently they just ignore me and keep to their talking points.

They also say that DADT is working and doesn't need to be changed, but fail to see that many service members have been tossed out and many more have to worry about someone coming after them.

I don't have a problem with people with legitimate concerns about disruptions, but many of the people have no real stake in the argument since they are not going to serve. They fail to recognize that there are already gays in the military and they seem to think that all gay men are drag queens with limp wrists and lisps who couldn't focus on the people trying to kill them because they are too focused on the soldier's ass in front of them.

I was on out local "newspaper(?)" story chat on DADT yesterday and people kept ignoring my comments as someone who was in the military and accepting comments that I argued against as if I didn't exist. It is one thing to have an opposing view, but it is something entirely more ignorant to ignore valid arguments because they are against what you believe. And it happens in every debate from people on every side of the spectrum.

I do not think our political climate should be considered "post-racial" or "post-partisan," but instead should be considered "post-intellectual."

Peace and Such!

DADT

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If it wasn't for those darn homosexuals wanting special rights all the time, shit like this would never happen. First they wanted it to be a crime when someone beat them up or killed them. Then they wanted to be able to not be fired just for being gay. Then they wanted to take showers and sit in foxholes in the military. And now they want marriage equality.

Poor Senator Ensign. If only the gay marriage debate hadn't weakened the institution so much that he slept with someone who was not his wife. The value of marriage has been so tainted, that even "gods fearing" people who would never have done this type of thing are forced to have affairs. At least it was with his friend's wife though. A stranger would have been awkward.

Peace and Such!

Stupid Gay Marriage

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Are these deaths the results of terrorism?

To quality reporters like myself and those at Fox News, this is the only thing that makes sense. It all links together pretty simply. The robes were made in Pakistan, al Qaeda is in Pakistan, therefore, al Qaeda must have made the robes.

I am also pretty certain that President Obama and Senator Al Franken are responsible for appeasing terrorists and letting them make weapons of mass combustion.

Peace and Such!

Terrorism?

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I did not take the decision to leave Christianity lightly, but it is things like this shite that reminds me that I made the correct decision. What is wrong with people? When they ask themselves what would Jesus do, how do they come up with the answer that he would destroy property or hate others?

I must have read a different Bible then many out there who proclaim their Christian values the loudest. I am of the opinion that many organizations such as the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family are little more then fascist hate groups akin to the Klan. They try to intimidate and belittle those they do not like and not to spread any message about Christ, but for their own power and profit.

In the case of the article above, the culprit is probably some douche bag kid with a mullet hopped up on wine coolers. I have been trying recently not to judge, but it is getting frustrating that people just can't let others be if they are different. When did hatred become a value? Maybe I will go meditate on that and see what answers I find inside me.

Peace and Such!

I am sure Jesus would be proud

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I am not sure which makes me more unhappy, the Cubs, the economy, or not being chosen again for the Supreme Court. There is not much I can say about the Cubs, but maybe I should be thanking them. AT least this year they are letting the fans down early and not getting hopes up. It only hurts more when they make you think it could happen and then crush your will to live. They could still turn it around, but I may have to lower my preseason win total for them this year from 84. I thought 84 was being too conservative, but maybe it was optimistic. Maybe the Cubs should get a federal bailout.

I did not get chosen as the nominee for Supreme Court, but with President Obama's track record of nominees, I probably still have a few more opportunities to get selected. What could be more diverse for a nominee then a 36 year old white man with no legal experience who made the decision to leave the Catholic church for Buddhism?

And the economy. What is left to say? When gas prices increase more then pay, what can you say that hasn't been said? I may request a bailout for myself.

Peace and Such!

Fuschnickens

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Sadly, my lack of blogging has gotten me dropped from Larry Schumacher's Saint Cloud Times blog I was going to write something last week about Michelle Bachmann and the Supreme Court, but I couldn't even remember my password. That is how long it has been.

It was time to make my first pitch to the Obama administration for an open spot and I want them to know that I am still available to serve on the Supreme Court. What the court needs is more diversity and where can you find more diversity then with a white male that used to be Catholic but is now Buddhist. When I am on the Court, there will no longer be arguments and there will instead be group meditations to find the answers.

I was also thinking about running for Congressperson Bachmann's seat net time, but an incident last night will hurt my chances. One of our wanker neighbors called the police because our dog was barking and the cops showed up at my house. I was going to tell them that due to swine flu pigs cannot come within 100 feet of me, but I decided not to. Anyway, even though there were several dogs barking, ours was singled out and now I am getting a letter from the city that they can impound the dogs next time like they are nothing more then property. My "unnamed neighbor" is going to test my belief in non-violence.

Apparently she doesn't even have to have proof, she just has to say they were bothering or harassing her and since we have the warning, it will be a petty misdemeanor with a fine up to $300 per animal and the city can impound them and charge us more to get them out. If they do get impounded, we may just see how quickly a small fire pit spark can light a house on fire. Maybe I will run for mayor or city council and make the laws make sense.

Anyway on Bachmann, she is not even worth talking about. She is a kook elected by kooks and idiots who are so filled with hate and spite that they would vote for Hitler if he talked about lower taxes and the evils of homosexuality. "Minnesota Nice" is a slogan that means about as much as the Cubs fans favorite mantra of "this is the year."

I will try to write more, but the Red Cross job keeps me pretty busy. It turns out that there are not less disasters or a slow down period in the disaster and military businesses.

Peace and Such!

My dogs and I are criminals

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I was reading this CNN article about the Office of Faith Based Initiatives and the controversy around it. I am not a religious person and think that a lot of so called religious people are frauds and crooks, but religious people and ideas have done good things.

I have to look more into it, but I wonder if there are any Buddhist groups involved in the faith based initiatives. I have read of mindfulness meditation practices being taught in prisons, schools, and other places and there being some success doing it. The programs don't try to convert people to Buddhism, just teach them some things about mindfulness and meditation practices.

I believe you can belong to any organized religion you want or even none at all and still benefit from some Buddhist practices. I consider myself a Buddhist and did leave Catholicism, but it was not because Buddhist teachings say I had to, it was because I think many Christians wouldn't know the meaning of teachings of Jesus if he were standing in front of them telling them.

Office of Faith Based Initiatives

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I have thought a little about politics and the country lately, but my main focus has been on our military program here since we have several units deploying in the next couple of months. I got a small grant for some things and turning the ideas into actions takes a lot of time since it not only has to work for our schedule, but also service members and their families.

I have decided that I can no longer stand Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. They seem almost as bad as the conservatives commentators I don't like. Plus, they didn't wait a day before they started having guests on talking about how President-Elect Obama is screwing liberals. I am probably as liberal as anyone on many issues, but I think a good leaders should surround themselves with people who are as smart and have different ideas. I just hope that after debate, the good leader does what he thinks is best regardless of who else is in the room. I don't care if he appoints VP Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld to every position as long as he uses their advice as just that and not law.

I also think the Senate should just seat Roland Burris. Sure the governor of Illinois is a crook, but if they threw out everyone with ethical issues, we would have no Congress at all. And until impeached or convicted, the governor is still the governor.

I am a blogging slacker

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