National Defense by James Fallows; 1981;Random House, New York; 204 pages; UA 23.F343/0-394-51824-1; Inter Library Loan from Nicholson Library, Linfield College, McMinville, OR; 11/18-11/27
A study of national defense in the late 70’s and early 80’s. However not much has changed in the last 25 years, the Pentagon is still a center for careerism and procurement. The military cannot be viewed as just another job, it is a special skill that must be a specialized career. The military budget continues to expand not because of good, but because weapons and such keep becoming platforms for more pork. A weapon is designed for one purpose and then things are added to change the mission and obliterate the original mission of the weapon. Also the Pentagon has become just another ticket on the way to the top, officers are not about serving the men and the country but just about pleasing those above them in the chain of command and trying for that next rank. I would like to read more from Fallows and see if he has updated this. RRR
Hello, I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not
This weekend has had it’s highs and lows. Definitely more highs than lows, but the low is why I am writing at 5:35 in the morning instead of having my head on my three pillows. I did something to my knee this weekend and it hurts to even bend it. Ruth Ann, my lovely and helpful wife/nurse had to slide the leg into bed cause it to bend it even a little. I have been awake since 3:30 and decided to beat Kelly out of bed today. It is amazing the number of little things we do bending our knees that we take for granted until you can’t do them. Every time I try to bend my knee it like the army is having bayonet practice in that particular space. I thank God for the gift of pain though, imagine the damage I could do if I couldn’t tell something is wrong.
Wednesday the Title Wave (where I work) closed early so that we could shelve a whole bunch of new stuff and get ready for our big customer appreciation sale. That went extremely smoothly with the exception of one whole book truck going over sideways and hurling books to the floor. Luckily the books all stayed in order. After I came home and chilled with my homies, Bunny and Hokkbair. Then we took Hokkbair to spend the night with a friend and Bunny and I came home and watched Polar Express, before stumbling upstairs to hibernate overnight in our comfy lair.
Thursday morning dawned, sometime I guess, I slept in until after the lights had come on outside. I figured once I got up I would be kept moving going places and getting things. I was right, I got up got dressed fixed a couple of things around the house, went to the grocery store (at least twice) and went up and picked up Hokkbair from a flag football game in the mud. He was disappointed cause he wanted to play tackle. Once he got home and got cleaned up, we headed up the road to St. Helens for turkey day festivities. Bunny’s niece Lisa and her family live there and invited us up. It was very good and fun with lots of people, 14, ranging from 3 to 90. Luckily everybody brought something so Lisa did the turkey and let everyone else worry about everything else. We left there came home, showered and went to bed around 10, cause we knew we had to get up at 3:45 AM.
The alarm goes off at 3:45 to some Christmas song that I couldn’t place. We got up and went off on our adventures. Bunny and Hokkbair dropped me off at the Title Wave cause we were opening at 5:30 for our annual Customer Appreciation Sale, 55% off everything. Remember this is a used bookstore that only sells library discarded material. At 5:30 there were twenty people on the stairs waiting to get in and by 5:45 there were probably between 75 and 80 people in the store. We were busy from about 6:00 on at the register, and we closed at 4:00. We probably did around $6k in business, a normal day is between $500 and $750. After we got everything wrapped up there around 5 we went over to our friends, the Edigers to pick up Hokkbair and they invited us to stay for dinner since someone had given them a honey baked ham. So we stayed and that is when my knee really started to hurt was there, prior to that my quadricep had hurt, but now it is my knee. We came home and I went to bed at 7:30 and woke up at 3:30 and here I am writing to my imaginary friends. According to my statistics lot of people come and visit but i guess they are all the strong silent type, since no one ever says anything. Well I am going to get a book (big surprise) and read until it is time to go to work again. Good night Mrs. MacGillacudy wherever you may be.
Dreams From My Father, A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama; 1995, 2004; Three Rivers Press, New York; 453 pages; B Ob11d/1-4000-8277-3; 11/11-11/18
An autobiography by a Senator from Illinois from his days at Harvard. This is 12 years old but the version I read had the entire keynote address from the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama is distinctly different from most of our recent Presidents. He is the product of a mixed marriage, has lived in several parts of the country and seen more than most politicians. He has worked with those in extreme poverty and visited his fathers family. He has more perspective on issues than I believe most people do. If he is elected he will bring much that is to be desired to the table and may not be a tool of the military industrial complex like some of our former presidents. I would vote for him if the election were tomorrow. I am looking forward to his newest book “Audacity of Hope.” RRRR
Barack Obama, Working to Make a Difference by Marlene Targ Brill; 2006; Millbrook Press, Minneapolis; 48 pages; jB-Ob11b/0/225-3417-7; 11/11-11/11
A young adult biography of Illinois Senator Barack Obama. I didn’t know anything about Barack Obama, so I looked to find a biography about him. This was the only thing I could find, that wasn’t an autobiography. That is what I am reading now. This small book is very comprehensive, covering all of Obamas’ life and his political views and even touches on his faith. It is a good quick read about someone who has recently come on the national scene and maybe more so in the years to come. RRR
The Art of War by Sun Tzu, translated by John Minford; 2006; Penguin Books-Great Ideas, New York; 101 pages; 355.02 S958am/0-14-303752-8; 11/9-11/11
In so much of what I have read about the military this book is often referred to by the authors and it has influenced many of the great military minds of the ages. It is a book that reads like poetry and seems to state the obvious, and at the same time causes great thought. This should be required reading (it may already be) at West Point, Annapolis and Colorado Springs. Also all congressman, representatives and all Presidents should have to read this and answers all the questions it poses before sending anyone into harms way. RRRR
