Author's Notes

Its been a while to say the least. Life can sometimes interfere with the pursuit of dreams or for me its "your kids college education", cha ching, ouch. Well worth it though, the oldest will be a professor of WWII history in a couple of more years. Youngest is just getting started with becoming a OBGYN. I continue to write, just haven't published any books. I am looking at putting all the books on the site, not sure how to do it yet. Friends continue to read and edit for me, such as Smitty and Big Chuck. Thanks guys.

Eric Stone has released a greatest hits cd and it is truly superb. He is living his dream in the Virgin Islands. Singing and sailing the tropical days away.

Lastly my friends, if you pass someone serving in our military please stop them and say thank you. It's Vietnam all over again for our men and women. They are having their hands tied behind their backs and that in no way to win and save American lives. I thought we had learned our lesson thirty plus years ago in a forgotten place called Vietnam. Please pray daily for our troops, God Bless them.

This is the link for Latitudes & Attitudes new Trop Rock music site. So click on the picture and then one more time when you get to Latts & Atts web site and then get ready for great beach music. You will here many of Eric Stones best songs, along with Rob Mehl, Mark Mulligan, Brent Burns and many others.

Here's another suggestion, Brent Burns has a new song and video. "Pain at the Pump", follow the link and enjoy it. The song hits the nail on the head with the price of gas at $4 a gallon. http://www.brentburns.com/

Coast Guard Top 10 Drug Busts

The Coast Guard and its partners interdicted more than 9,000 pounds of cocaine and 250 gallons of liquid cocaine in September 2007. Each gallon of liquid cocaine can be made into approximately 4.4 pounds of pure cocaine.

Its time to get off your butts and head to the Keys. if you don't want to travel that far, my friend has a house on Sanibel he rents.

Islamorada's rich sport fishing heritage is to be highlighted during the Islamorada Sport fishing Festival set for Friday through Sunday, Sept. 26-28.

Poker Run Bikers to Travel Florida Keys' Overseas Highway. Motorcycle enthusiasts from around the U.S. are to travel the Keys' scenic Overseas Highway from mainland Florida to Key West to raise money for charity. Stops are arranged throughout the Keys with a final celebration in Key West.. Sept. 18-21

Mercury Redbone Celebrity Tournament. This the first of the annual fall Redbone Trilogy events that raise money to fight cystic fibrosis. Top anglers and celebrities will attempt fish for tarpon, permit and bonefish with light tackle. Sept. 5-7.

Herman Lucerne Backcountry Fishing Competition. Up to 100 anglers will be competing for snook, tarpon, redfish, sea trout, snapper, bonefish and black drum, with the backdrop of Everglades National Park. Sept. 12-14

Florida Keys Birding & Wildlife Festival. The peak of the fall birding season, this event includes presentations, field trips focusing on education and conservation as they relate to Keys birds and wildlife, and an environmental fair. Sept. 26-28

Billy Craig has just released "This Side of Somewhere" a folkrockcountry CD as he calls it. So go to Billy's web site by clicking on the link above and enjoy the samples of his songs. I have addedd his music to my growing collection.

There is no place like the United States of America. May God continue to bless our country.

I have changed around the drug awareness page, so that the law enforcement has its own page. I have deleted my daughters section in order to male room for the "Enforcement Page".

I continue to write and my plans are to release Book 3 in late fall or around Christmas time.

I came across the poems below during some drug awareness reading on the net one day not long ago and thought I would share them with you.

Some people call me Old Glory, others call me the Star Spangled Banner, but whatever they call me, I am your Flag — the Flag of the United States of America.

Something has been bothering me, so I thought I might talk it over with you, because you see, it is about you and me.

I remember some time ago people lined up on both sides of the street to watch the parade and, naturally, I was leading every parade, proudly waving in the breeze. When your daddy saw me coming, he immediately removed his hat and placed it against his left shoulder so that his hand was directly over his heart — remember?

What happened? I’m still the same old Flag. Oh, I have a few more stars since you were a boy and a lot more blood has been shed since those parades of long ago.

But now I don’t feel as proud as I used to. When I come down your street and you just stand there with your hands in your pockets, I may get a small glance and then you look away. Then I see children running around and shouting — they don’t seem to know who I am.

I saw a man take his hat off, then look around. He didn’t see anybody else with theirs off, so he quickly put it back on. And what about that night at the ball game, when they played the “Star Spangled Banner” and I waved so proudly in the breeze, but nobody bothered to sing? Oh, they stood up, all right, as sort of a mild patriotic gesture, but then they talked among themselves about the game and weather, but they did not sing. I felt hurt.

Is it a sin to be patriotic? Have you forgotten what I stand for and where I have been? Anzio, Guadalcanal, Korea, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf. Take a look at the memorial honor rolls sometime — names of those who never came back — who gave their lives to keep this republic free.

I may not be coming down your street for a long time, as it seems that patriotic parades are a thing of the past. But when I do, will you do me a big favor?

Stand up straight, place your right hand over your heart, and if they play the “Star Spangled Banner,” sing out loud and clear. I will salute you by waving back.

For more than eleven* score years I have been the banner of hope and freedom for generation after generation of Americans. Born amid the first flames of America’s fight for freedom, I am the symbol of a country that has grown from a little group of thirteen colonies to a united nation of fifty* sovereign states. Planted firmly on the high pinnacle of American Faith my gently fluttering folds have proved an inspiration to untold millions. Men have followed me into battle with unwavering courage. They have looked upon me as symbol of national unity. They have prayed that they and their fellow citizens might continue to enjoy the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, which have been granted to every American as the heritage of free men. So long as men love liberty more than life itself; so long as they treasure the priceless privileges bought with the blood of our forefathers; so long as the principles of truth, justice and charity for all remain deeply rooted in human hearts, I shall continue to be the enduring banner of the United States of America.

During the time frame of September to December 2007, I have worked diligently to get the word out about the evils of drugs to elementary students. With the help and financial backing of my Elks lodge I have been able to visit many elementary schools in our county and city. It has been a great pleasure to meet and help the counselors of the schools. I have a new found respect and a great deal of admiration for the school counselors. They go wide open from the time they walk into the school until they leave each day. I don’t see how they do it. It takes a very special person to be a school counselor, but I am truly glad that we have them and that they are dedicated to their work.

In talking with the counselors I have learned that not every student/child had the parents that I was lucky to have. Parents, who love you, take care of you, feed you and nurture you. There are many that don’t do this. I wouldn’t even give them the name of parent. It’s heart breaking to know that the human race are giving birth to a child and then not take the responsibility to raise them. The biggest blessing and pleasure I have been given in my life time was the birth of my two daughters.

One counselor in particular told me that the school was like a real home for some of the students. It was a safe place for them, a place to receive love and to be fed. The school was a place to come and stay warm and out of the cold during the winter months if only for a few hours a day. Students who show up to school in shorts, when its 40 degrees outside and not even a coat.

It has been an eye experience to see the gratitude from a student who was given a dictionary for their very own. To have them say it’s the first book they have been given. I and my kids grew up with shelves of books to read. It is puzzling to say the least that a parent wouldn’t want to have books available for their children to read. Reading is by far the most important thing a human being on this earth needs to be able to do. You can’t learn without reading and comprehension. If you can’t learn then you can’t succeed in life. How else can you take care of yourself or your family?

It’s a technology world in this day and age. Without a good education you cannot compete. The good jobs go to the ones who have the best qualifications. The same can be said for being educated about drugs. How can anyone make the right decision about drugs, if they don’t know what they can do to your body and mind? I’ve never heard anyone who is successful say they can think their drug abuse for their success. It just doesn’t happen. What a drug addict will say is that their life was ruined because of drugs. That it was a long and terrible fight to get off of drugs and that they hurt their loved ones deeply by their drug addiction. Hum, it makes you think doesn’t it?

There is actually a politically party that thinks drugs should be legalized. That what you do in your own home is your business. What about the child who takes “meth” accidentally, that their parents have in a cup with fruit juice. When the drug stops their heart and their turn blue, it’s still the right of the parent to do drugs. Anyone with a brain and a heart would have to say NO to this way of thinking. Our children have to be protected from this way of thinking if you want to call it thinking. I see no intelligence with this thinking. It’s scary to say the least.

What about the parent who gives their kids drugs to keep them from reporting them? It happens, and quite often. I did have one counselor tell me that they didn’t have to worry about drug awareness. Their school kids were protected and shielded. It was a private school I had recently visited. I was actually dumbstruck by that statement and lost for words. What do you say to someone with that kind of naïveté?

Its time to wake up and pull our heads out of our little worlds and see what is happening. If we as adults and citizens in our counties and cities don’t care, then who will? Our children are being targeted by the Mexican cartels. I have been told this by federal law enforcement. So what are WE as adults going to do about it? Will you talk with your kids and I don’t mean just once, but weekly or monthly. Let them know you care. Will you support organizations like DARE to educate your children about drugs and what they do to their bodies and mind? Besides taking them to church its one of the most important things you can do for your children.

Who said it would be easy to raise a child. There is no playbook to go by. Its blank pages and you learn and fill it in as you go. If you truly love them then take the time and effort to educate them.

Is suicide the most selfish of acts a human can do? How do they get to that point in their life that killing themselves will be better than living? If that choice is taken, then how can you ever know if things will get better? If your life is that low of a point, then wouldn’t it be logical to think that it would have to get better from that point in time. Life ends when the heart stops beating.

Stop and think about your loved ones instead of yourself. Think of the pain that you will cause them from taking your life. If you realize this, then you can bounce back and stop such a terrible act. Most of all remember there is all ways someone to talk to and to pray to for comfort.

Over the last several years, millions of Americans have rededicated themselves to pushing back against illegal drug use. As a result of the balanced anti-drug strategies being implemented at the Federal, State, and local levels, there are 860,000 fewer young people using drugs today than there were in 2001.

According to the latest Monitoring the Future Study (MTF), long-term trends of decreasing youth drug use have continued from 2001 to 2007:

When we push back against illegal drug use, youth abuse of other substances decrease as well:

Use of alcohol, including binge drinking, and cigarette smoking have decreased by 15 and 33 percent, respectively According to the latest Monitoring the Future Study (MTF), long-term trends of decreasing youth drug use.

In the context of the continuing long-term progress, there are still challenges that remain:

ü Overall, youth prescription drug abuse is second largest category of abuse, only behind marijuana.

MTF has been conducted by the University of Michigan since 1975. The 2007 Study surveyed 48,025 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in a nationally representative sample of 403 public and private schools. www.WhiteHouseDrugPolicy.gov

Here is an update to start the New Year. I hope that all you had a safe and happy New Year. Mine as usual is spent with family and a time for being thankful and reflection. I never make any resolutions. I prefer to work towards being a better father, husband and citizen each year.

I will be adding a short story to the update in about a week. I wrote it over the past couple of days. Just needs to be edited and loaded to the web site. It’s just a day in the life of Simon, my main charter. I will be writing short stories about once a month this coming year, since I won’t publish the third book until next year at this time. Both New and Old Tides will continue to be available through all the same outlets. I will also continue to advertise with the best sailing magazine Latitudes and Attitudes. If you are not a subscriber and you enjoying sailing, it is a must….

There is some good information from SAMHSA in this update about drinking and driving, especially with teens.

I want to congratulate my friend Ron Russell, (Bertie’s drummer) for his playing drums in a gospel band called Redeeming River Band.

“Prayer is love raised to its greatest power; and the prayer of intercession is the noblest and most Christian kind of prayer because in it love-and imagination-reach their highest and widest range.” Robert J. McCracken

Operation Ramen Noodle culminated on December 13 in Los Angeles and resulted in the indictment of 10 members of a methamphetamine and ecstasy trafficking organization that did business in Vietnam, Australia and Canada. Timothy L. Landrum, Special Agent in Charge of DEA's Los Angeles Division said the indictments followed an 18-month investigation, multi-agency investigation that successfully identified members of a high volume narcotics distribution ring operating throughout Southern California, Canada, Australia, and Vietnam.

As a result of the operation over 55,000 pills of MDMA, 18 pounds of methamphetamine and over $2 million in cash were seized by agents.

U.S. federal, state and local authorities were assisted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Australian Federal Police throughout the investigation.

Over $27 Million Seized In Two Operations that Targeted Mexican-Based Trafficking Organizations

DEA has arrested 47 people and seized over $27 million in cash as a result of two operations that targeted Mexican-based trafficking organizations that used the Atlanta area as a base for their drug smuggling activities.

Operation Shooting Star and Operation Latitude Adjustment, both initiated in 2006, culminated in early December with a fury of arrests and seizures. In the first week of this month alone, 111 kilograms of cocaine, 17 pounds of crystal methamphetamine, approximately $8,000,000 to $10,000,000 in cash and at least 32 firearms, including handguns and assault rifles have been seized.

Investigators determined that the targeted organizations regularly transported large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana from the Mexican states of Nuevo Leon, Guerrero, and Michoacan to the Atlanta area, and then transported currency accumulated from the sale of the drugs back through Atlanta to be smuggled across the Southwest border to Mexico.

DEA and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced the extradition of Hussein Karimi, an Iranian national previously living in Romania, on charges relating to the importation of heroin into the United States from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Karimi was extradited from Austria to New York and faces life in prison if convicted of the charges.

"For nearly a decade, Hussein Karimi Rikabadi ran an international drug conglomerate suspected of distributing heroin in the Middle East, Western Europe and North America," DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. "His organization moved hundreds of millions of dollars worth of heroin from Pakistan and Afghanistan through Iran and Turkey. Now this globetrotter's journeys have taken a detour to a courtroom in the Southern District of New York where he will face American justice."

Kenneth Cortez Minor, 46, of Washington, D.C. was sentenced on December 3 by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to 14 years in prison followed by four years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. According to his guilty plea, Minor was part of a drug trafficking conspiracy which operated in Montgomery County, Maryland throughout 2005.

Minor was arrested on February 2, 2006 after a joint investigation by DEA and the Metropolitan Police Department. However, he did not go quietly into custody as he fired two shots at police officers before barricading himself inside his bedroom for over an hour. In addition to Minor, three of his co-conspirators also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking offenses. They all received sentences in excess of 10 years apiece.

Julio Cesar Lopez-Pena, a high-ranking member of the notorious Norte Valle Cartel in Colombia, was found guilty of conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S. on December 5, 2007, following a six-day jury trial in Manhattan federal court. Lopez-Pena, who worked closely with Norte Valle Cartel leader Wilmer Alirio Varela, participated in the shipment of multi-ton quantities of cocaine, worth an estimated $100 million dollars between 1998 and 2003.

The offense carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, although the United States provided assurances to Colombia as part of the extradition process that a life sentence will not be sought. Therefore, Lopez-Pena faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years in prison.

To facilitate the Norte Valle Cartel's cocaine importation operation, Lopez-Pena used violence, including kidnapping and murder, bribery, extortion, and various methods of counter-surveillance.

Research shows that alcohol abuse costs the United States an estimated $184.6 billion a year, due to crime, medical consequences, lost earnings, lost productivity, motor vehicle crashes, and other social consequences. A large part of that can be attributed to the costs incurred by the criminal justice system—estimated at 6.2 billion. Here, Linda Chezem, a trial court judge by profession and former special assistant to Dr. Ting-Kai (T. K.) Li, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), explores the impact that alcohol abuse has on the court system and how community coalitions can help lessen that impact.

Q. As a former trial court judge, about how many of the cases that you saw were alcohol-related?

A. The courts are awash with alcohol-related cases. While I can’t quantify the

exact number of cases that I saw related to alcohol abuse, some estimates say that about 80 percent of the criminal caseload involve alcohol in some way. Alcohol seemed to be the underlying cause for many of the cases we saw.

Q. What were the most common reasons people with alcohol-related issues would end up in the criminal justice system?

their parents were unwilling to get sober to care for them. We would see everything from children being hit by parents in a drunken rage to alcoholic parents neglecting their children.

Q. What are some things that could enhance the way cases involving alcohol abuse are handled in court?

A. We need to figure out a way to increase judges’ knowledge about the science of alcohol abuse and treatment. Judges and lawyers need access to the science research and they need it in ways that will enable them to apply it in their cases.

Q. What can community coalitions do to lessen the impact of alcohol on the justice system?

A. Community coalitions and other advocates can do a number of things. In terms of the law, they can look at how their local ordinances related to alcohol issues match with their state laws. They can identify discrepancies and push for policy changes. Community coalitions can also work with their local courts to ensure that the courts have the necessary materials and resources available for people who enter their court in need of treatment for alcohol abuse disorders. For example, it’s important to determine what the court has available for parents who are about to have their parental rights terminated because they are abusing alcohol. Also, the courts are involved in a lot of cases involving children and youth, so it’s important that coalitions work closely with their local courts to ensure that the judges are taking the necessary actions to prevent youth from developing alcohol use disorders. There are strategies that have been proven to decrease the possibility of a child developing an alcohol use disorder. Let’s make sure that the courts know what these strategies are.

Q. What are some of the biggest challenges or problems you saw with the justice system?

A. I went on the bench in 1975 and the first six months I started to see the same people in my court for DUI or public intoxication. I wondered why the same people kept coming back. I soon realized that these people did not have access to treatment. It just wasn’t available then. So, in 1978 I applied for and received a grant to start a court alcohol program, the first alcohol program accredited by the division of addiction services. I was then able to work with the local community mental health center to provide therapists to treat individuals with alcohol use problems who went through my court. To this day, treatment that’s available through the justice system is not at the level of quality that it should be, so access to treatment continues to be a problem. Data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) shows that only about 25 percent of those who have alcohol use disorders are able to get into treatment, and I don’t think that includes people who are going through the criminal justice system. I think that if more people had access to treatment programs, fewer people would end up in the criminal justice system.

Q. What can the community do to ensure that people in court for alcohol-related issues have access to the necessary treatment?

A. Community organizations can work with the courts to ensure that their community has treatment facilities available that are geographically accessible and economically accessible. This is particularly important for people in rural area. Coalitions can help identify good treatment programs and link the courts to these programs. Coalitions can also help shed the stigma associated with people who enter the criminal justice system. Not everyone who enters the criminal justice system is a bad person. They may be making bad decisions, but it’s often because of an untreated alcohol use disorder not because they are choosing to be jerks. We can’t lock everybody up just because they have an alcohol use disorder and coalitions can help increase awareness about this. After all, sending someone to jail doesn’t mean they will be alcohol free. We have other options, like treatment programs or the fellowship of alcoholics anonymous. Coalitions are in a good position to ask the hard questions and identify ways to make our criminal justice systems work better.

Linda Chezem, J.D., has been an educator, influential judge, and public health issues advocate for more than 30 years, and her work continues to create educational outreach opportunities that connect health-related research, justice systems, and communities. She recently completed a term as special assistant to Dr. Ting-Kai (T. K.) Li, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). She is also a professor of Youth Development and Agricultural Education at Purdue University and also serves as a part-time professor with the Indiana Alcohol Research Center at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is a retired appeals court and circuit court judge.

Large numbers of American adolescents are putting themselves and others at great risk by driving while under the influence of illicit drugs or alcohol, according to a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In 2006, 30 percent of high school seniors reported driving after drinking heavily or using drugs, or riding in a car whose driver had been drinking heavily or using drugs, at least once in the prior two weeks. These findings are based on data from the Monitoring the Future study, in which nationally representative samples of high school seniors have been surveyed annually since 1975. The data analysis is published in the November issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

"These findings are another wake-up call that we cannot afford to be complacent about this great public health risk," said Elias A. Zerhouni, NIH director. "This study shows that not only are too many teens putting themselves and others at risk by driving under the influence of drugs, but that there has been little improvement in the past six years."

Although there was some progress between 2001 and 2003, with rates declining from 35 to 31 percent, between 2004 to 2006 rates leveled off at just under 30 percent.

Dr. Patrick O'Malley, the lead author of the study observes that, "Driving under the influence is not an alcohol-only problem. In 2006, 13 percent of seniors said they drove after using marijuana while ten percent said they drove after having five or more drinks."

"Most teens are aware of the dangers of drinking and driving, yet many ignore it. And many don't seem to recognize the dangers of driving after using illicit drugs, including marijuana." said Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA director. "Educational efforts need to be targeted to include the dangers of both drinking and drugged driving."

To inform prevention efforts, the researchers also sought to examine what demographic and lifestyle characteristics were associated with these behaviors. For example, males were more likely than females to drive after heavy drinking or marijuana use. And although there was little correlation between impaired driving and socioeconomic status or geographic region, individual lifestyle factors such as high religiosity, good grades, low truancy, or having two parents living at home were all associated with a lower likelihood of engaging in risky driving behaviors. For example, only 20 percent of those students with an A or A- GPA exposed themselves to these situations as opposed to almost 39 percent with a GPA of B- or below.

"Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 20," added Dr. Volkow. "Combining the lack of driving experience among teens with the use of marijuana and/or other substances that impair cognitive and motor abilities can be a deadly combination."

A growing trend among college students is to mix alcohol with energy drinks, such as Red Bull, but now a new study conducted by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center finds that this combination can put students at a higher risk for injury and other alcohol-related consequences.

The researchers found that students who consumed alcohol mixed with energy drinks were twice as likely to be hurt or injured, twice as likely to require medical attention, and twice as likely to ride with an intoxicated driver, as were students who did not consume alcohol mixed with energy drinks. Students who drank alcohol mixed with energy drinks were more than twice as likely to take advantage of someone else sexually, and almost twice as likely to be taken advantage of sexually.

For their study, Wakeforest researchers administered web-based surveys to 4,271 college students from 10 North Carolina universities. Of students who reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, 24 percent said they consumed alcohol mixed with energy drinks.

The study notes that mixing energy drinks with alcohol is a highly dangerous combination, because the stimulant can mask the effects of the alcohol so students may not realize that they are intoxicated, and continue to drink. This study comes after a report released earlier this year by the Marin Institute raised concern about prepackaged energy drinks that contain alcohol, such as Spykes.

“Students whose motor skills, visual reaction times, and judgment are impaired by alcohol may not perceive that they are intoxicated as readily when they’re also ingesting a stimulant,” said Mary Claire O’Brien, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and public health sciences and lead researcher on the study.. “Only the symptoms of drunkenness are reduced – but not the drunkenness. They can’t tell if they’re drunk; they can’t tell if someone else is drunk. So they get hurt, or they hurt someone else.”

Compared to current drinkers who did not consume alcohol mixed with energy drinks, students who did drank significantly more during a typical drinking session (5.8 drinks versus 4.5 drinks/typical session). They reported twice as many episodes of weekly drunkenness (1.4 versus 0.73 days/week). The greatest number of drinks in a single episode was 36 percent higher for students who reported drinking energy drinks with their alcohol (8.3 versus 6.1 drinks.)

Researchers are calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the health risks of energy drink cocktails, and recommend that students be made aware of the dangers as part of efforts to reduce high-risk drinking.

SAMHSA Releases 2006 Data from National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released findings from the 2006 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS).

N-SSATS is an annual census of substance abuse treatment facilities that provides data on the location and characteristics of alcohol and drug abuse treatment services throughout the United States. It also provides information on how widely these facilities and programs are used.

Nearly 13,800 facilities participated in the survey, reporting more than 1.1 million clients in treatment on March 31, 2006. Facilities operated by private non-profit organizations made up the bulk of treatment facilities (59 percent). Private for-profit facilities made up 28 percent of these services in 2006, with the remaining facilities operated by local governments (7 percent), state governments (3 percent), the Federal government (2 percent) and tribal governments (1 percent).

The 2006 N-SSATS shows that a growing proportion of patients are being treated in private for-profit facilities (from 26 percent in 2002 to 29 percent on March 31, 2006).

Eighty-nine percent of clients in treatment on March 31, 2006 were in outpatient treatment programs, 10 percent were in non-hospital residential treatment programs and 1 percent were in hospital inpatient treatment settings. These proportions are nearly the same as they were in 2002.

Nearly 92,000 clients in treatment on March 31, 2006 were under age 18 – roughly 8 percent of all clients in treatment that year. This proportion was consistent with data going back to 2002.

Nearly half (46 percent) of all clients were in treatment for both alcohol and drug abuse on March 31, 2006. Approximately one third (35 percent) of clients were in treatment for drug abuse only, and 18 percent were in treatment for abuse of alcohol only.

Ninety-one percent of all non-hospital residential beds and 90 percent of all hospital inpatient beds designated for substance abuse treatment were in use on March 31, 2006.

The majority of treatment facilities (59 percent) received Federal, state, or local government funds for the provision of substance abuse treatment services.

Copies of this report and all its detailed findings are available on the Web at http://oas.samhsa.gov/DASIS/2k6nssats.cfm. They may also be ordered free of charge by calling SAMHSA’s Health Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727). Request inventory number SMA06-4296. For related publications and information visit the SAMHSA Web site at http://www.samhsa.gov/.

It’s been a while since my last update. I continue to edit Book 3 and finish up chapter 5 of Book 5. With Red Ribbon week just taking place I haven’t put much effort in the books. Working with the counselors of our local schools has been more important. Teaching kids about the dangers of drugs is one of the most important tasks an adult can do for their community or so I believe.

I had the pleasure two weeks ago of setting up a drug awareness tent at a fund raiser with two activist who belong to “BAM”, Bartow Against Meth. It is a group that was founded to help combat the meth problem in our county. One of the most important things I learned from talking with Tom and Betsy was that only 3% of people who are addicted to meth can be cured. One other interesting fact brought up was that meth is used by all and genders. White, black, rich or poor, and age, It doesn’t discriminate. Meth reminds me of cancer.

Last weekend I attended a drug awareness seminar in Atlanta, sponsored by the Elks. The guest speaker was an agent fro the Atlanta division of the DEA. Agent Thornton was a powerful speaker and my knowledge of what is taking place in my state and country is scary to say the least. Below I will list some facts, but first I want to mention a couple of things first. Apparently Atlanta is now the Mecca for drug trafficking thanks to the state having such a large group of illegal aliens. The facts are there to prove it. More drug arrests and seizures took place in Atlanta in 2006 than any other state in our country.

Something else Agent brought up was the fact that the country has a lousy group of parents. Who ever said parenting would be easy. There is no playbook. You live it every single day.

D) 4,348 adolescents ages 12 to 17 try an illegal drug for the first time. It could be your child. Think about it and talk to them.

H) Due to the crack down of meth labs in homes and trailers, Meth is now being made while people are driving around in cars. The way the agent described the danger was, “It’s like having an IAD inside a car.”

I) The most important thing Agent Thornton mentioned was this. The drug cartels want to go after 10 year olds. The want to start of children on drugs as soon as possible. He showed us a picture of a young pretty 15 year old girl and then when she was 16. In one years time she looked 50.

J) Last thing I want to bring up is the groups in our country who want to legalize drugs. Marijuana doesn’t help the side of affects of Chemo or radiation treatments. It’s all a big lie. I have been through cancer treatments and my doctors prescribed medication that helped most of the time. You just have to suck it up and deal with it. Praying is comfort.

K) There are some new buzz words out there. It’s called HARM Reduction. They have conservatively dressed people who are nothing more than pimps for illegal drugs, going to governments and school boards trying to say its best to legalize drugs. Here’s a cold hard fact and its one that comes from a European country that has already legalized illegal drugs like cocaine. Instead of 2 million cocaine addicts, the country now has 20 million.

It was a busy week with working on Elks drug awareness issues. Calling school counselors and talking to teachers about the poster and essay contests. All of my drug awareness information is on a first come basis.

On Friday I met with the Commander of our local State Patrol barracks and talked about the dangers to 16 year old drivers. Commander Fowlers statistic's were eye opening and scary to say the least. They will be listed below. We have an outstanding group of troopers who have to cover two counties. They are undermanned by about 9 troopers and they have quite a daunting task. More equipment is needed an it looks like our governor has let the State of Georgia down. Our county commissioner needs to step up to the plate also. Commander Fowler said he hoped to move into a new and more up to date barracks in the near future. Their present barracks is around 50 years old. The best possible location would be right on I75.

Saturday the Bartow Against Meth "BAM" held a big rally at the park. I met with many of the activist/volunteers who are working hard to stop the rampage of meth in our county. Our Sheriffs department was also present. They work hard to stop the making and distribution of meth in our county, but they are short manpower also. Its time for our local and state governments to prioritize the business's of the voters and citizens. The streets aren't' safe for our children. Its as simple as that.

Worked the first part of the week editing the first chapter of Book 3. Its time to get it ready for publishing before my agent at AuthorHouse quits emailing me. Its been a good week with meeting with Investigator Richie Harrell of Bartow County's DARE unit. He and Investigator Morgan do an outstanding job of getting the word out about drugs to our kids in the school system. 200 Drug Awareness comic books promoted by the Elks and Marvel comics were donated to 5th graders in the city school system.

I have also received as of this afternoon Elk Drug Awareness pamphlets dealing with subjects ranging from marijuana, meth, steroids, drinking and tobacco. I also a a guide called A Parents Guide to Inhalant Abuse. This has become a serious problem in the past couple of years. A bonus was receiving a 1000 coloring books to get out to the elementary schools.

Inclosing this update please take the time to talk with your kids about drugs and the effects that can have on them. They are dangerous regardless of what the pro-drug organizations, rock stars try and spout. We are born with only one brain.

I have loaded quite a bit of information to my drug awareness page with lots of web sites to go to in order to be informed.

I received Eric Stones long awaited new CD in the mail this week. His newest work is called Trinidad to Tortola. It's his best work so far and I highly recommend it to all you trop rock listeners, pirates and beach goers. It's been on the CD player for three days. So sit back with a boat drink, close your eyes and take a musical journey from Trinidad to Tortola. Eric is a true troubadour of this century. You can order Eric's latest and all his other CD's from his web site. Go to my link section for a quick click to Eric's web site.

In the past week I have been to a clinic for Drug Awareness chairpersons for the BPOE. I will be receiving a large quantity of brochures in the mail shortly dealing with Inhalant Abuse, Steroids, Meth, and many other illegal and legal drugs. I will be glad to send a packet to anyone who would like one, free of charge. Please remember that as parents its up to you to be informed and to always talk to your kids. I will also keep a few of the Marvel comic books available also. Go to the the drug awareness page to see the cover of the comic book.

SAMHSA has just reported that drug use among our youth has been cut by half since the 1980's and continues to be on the decline. This drastic reduction in illegal drug use is because of education, prevention, law enforcement, treatment and our communities becoming active. Drug use has never declined where a nation has legalized drugs. in fact there is an increase in drug use.

This is something I feel strongly about and takes precedent over the books I write or the beach. The youth of this great nation has to come first. If we don't take this kind of stance then how can we continue to be a leader in the free world.

My friend and fellow Elk Steve S. called me the week before last and ask if I wanted to go with him to his place on Sanibel Island. He had some things to take care of and would I ride shotgun. Steve has a two bedroom home located in the center of Sanibel Island. It’s within 500 feet of Bowman Beach. Take a left by the Sanibel Fire Station and go 100 yards and park. It’s another 100 yards to the beach.

I told Steve sure why not and that I would be glad to drive. I wanted to try out my new Toyota Tacoma on a long ride. It would be a nine and half hour ride to the southwest Florida Island. We left out last Thursday morning July 19^th at 6:30 in the morning. Traffic was light and we made it to the Georgia –Florida border by 11:00. Stopping for gas and Red Bulls we took off for the last leg of the long trip. I would pull into Fort Myers on fumes at three o’clock in the afternoon.

The truck rode superbly and we arrived fresh and ready to hit the beach without feeling beat. We crossed several brides to get to the island and Steve’s home was just off the main road which is the Sanibel - Captiva Road. The home is a very nice rental property and I recommend it to anyone who wants to get away for a week or more. It has a rustic look with all the vegetation surrounding the home. The house will sleep up to six people. You also have the choice of showering inside or outside. There are more than enough trees and vegetation to give you total privacy and the privacy fence surrounding the shower gives added privacy. Before heading to the beach I fixed us a Smirnoff Ice with a slice a lime and to the beach we went.

Sanibel itself has the feeling of an uninhabited island with the way the local government keeps growth to a minimum. You have to be careful when driving along Sanibel-Captiva Road or you will miss Steve’s home or many other places. It’s very tropical and there is a unique quietness to the island. You don’t need your valium if you go to Sanibel. It is absolutely tranquil.

A third of the island is a wildlife refuge by the name of J.N. “Ding” Darling covering ¼ of Sanibel Island. You have the choice of driving your personal vehicle, walking or biking through the 4 mile refuge. There is an additional two mile bike path inside the refuge. It is one of over 540 wildlife refuges around the country. It stretches over 95 million acres. It includes both land and water ways which can be navigated via a small boat or canoe.

Steve took me to a small restaurant-bar called the Lazy Flamingo the first night. The beer was ice cold and the grilled grouper sandwich was about the best I’ve ever eaten. We ate at Doc Ford’s for lunch the next day having a Bacardi Mojito and another grouper sandwich. The restaurant is owned by the best author in the book business today, Randy W. White. Great atmosphere at the place with a couple of antique wooden canoes hanging from the ceiling and of course you can get all of Randy’s books. We ate at place called Timberland’s the last two meals and it was good eating with a crab cake sandwich and steamed shrimp to finish of the weekend. A fee bottle of white wine was thrown in by the restaurant.

We left Sunday morning at 4:15 and I almost wiped out a family of Raccoons, but Steve’s good eye sight stopped me just in time. It was a great 4 day weekend.

I wanted to share this with you today. Once again our country takes care of its fallen service members. My God Bless the Di Salvo family and the closure they now have.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Pfc. Domenico S. Di Salvo, U.S. Marine Corps, of Akron, Ohio. He will be buried July 12 in Seville, Ohio. In late November 1950, Di Salvo was a member of Company F, 2^nd Battalion, 5th Regiment, of the 1st Marine Division then deployed near Yudam-ni on the western side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. On Nov. 27, three Communist Chinese Divisions launched an attack on the Marine positions. Over the next several days, U.S. forces staged a fighting withdrawal to the south. Di Salvo was lost on Dec. 2, 1950, as a result of enemy action near Yudam-ni. He was among several in his company buried by fellow Marines in a temporary grave near the battlefield. During Operation Glory in 1954, the North Korean government repatriated the remains of U.S. and allied soldiers. Included in this repatriation were sets of remains associated with Di Salvo's burial. That year, U.S. officials identified five of these individuals. One repatriated individual could not be identified at that time and was buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Hawaii. In November 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) exhumed remains from the NMCP believed to be those of Di Salvo. Among other forensic tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC used dental comparisons in Di Salvo's identification.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners: men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall and straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of the declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: Freedom is never free! I hope you show your support by sharing this with as many people as you can. It's time we get the word out that Patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

I want to start off with telling you about a new friend. His name is Russell and he is a Mobile Bay, Cajun. He and his father have been shrimping for 100 years. Russell and his father are the true Bubba Gump's of shrimping. He was a virtual story book of stories about living off the Gulf of Mexico waters. Its a hard way to make a living, but the office is beautiful.

Russell cooked a low boil at a family get together just outside of Birmingham, Alabama and it was exceptional. He uses fruit in his low boil which gives it a different set of flavors. Russell uses oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes along with a spicy mix. When he was finished with his low boil there was 50 pounds of potatoes, 50 ears of corn, and 85 pounds of colossal size shrimp (10 to the pound). Russell also brought along 100 pounds of the next size shrimp and for $6 a pound I came home with 35 pounds of (10-12 count) shrimp. it was a great weekend and I leaned something new for my own low boil.

I also want to thank Mike and Pat for having all of us at the farm. It was kind of them and its really hard to find the right words to sat thanks to them.

Also in this update I am including pictures in the "recipe section" of different recipes I have been cooking lately. You can also find more recipes hidden at the bottom of the recipe page. I haven't had time to hyperlink them to the menu section.

This is a new book by my friend and coworker Brian. He has been apart of Electroherbalism movement for over a decade and is well known in the community of alternative medicines. His web site is listed in my link section. It's taken me many years and lots of discussions with Brian to become a believer in Electroherbalism.

The Electroherbalism Frequency Lists, Third Edition, contains frequencies that people use for electrotherapy instruments such as EMEMs, Rife machines, Rife-Bare devices, function generator pad devices, Hulda Clark function generators, Tesla therapy devices, and other alternative bioelectronic instruments. This compilation includes the Consolidated Annotated Frequency List and the Non-Consolidated Frequency List, also known as the CAFL and NCFL, and the newly revised CAFL Cross Reference List (CAFL XREF) as well as the chapters "Introduction to Alternative Bioelectronic Therapy Devices," "Electrical and Frequency Effects on Pathogens," and James Bare's "Understanding Our Frequencies Through Harmonic Associations." The Electroherbalism frequency lists are some of the most-used references for frequency researchers the world over.

D.A.R.E. America announces its new partnership with Life-Prints Solutions, a provider of software that aids in child abduction prevention.

Life-Prints child safety software allows parents to keep an up-to-date, comprehensive profile of their children to transmit to authorities in case of an emergency.

A very tasty marinade for beef or chicken dishes. I have used this marinade many times on shrimp and grilled them. With shrimp only marinade two hours or they can become mushy.

When to marinate: For flavor only, marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. For tenderizing, marinate for at least 6 hours.

Ø Turn meat occasionally during marinating so that all sides are equally exposed to marinade.

Ø Allow 1/4 to 1/2 cup marinade for each 1 to 2 pounds of beef. This recipe yields approximately 1/2 cup.

Ø Place all sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well, and set aside until later.

Ø Gently place the scallops in the pan. Use a spatula to turn scallops with. Be careful. Allow the scallops to cook undisturbed for at least two minutes before attempting to turn them. While scallops are cooking, season them with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Ø Remove cooked scallops from the pan and place on a paper towel while you prepare the sauce.

Ø Pour sauce into same pan over medium high heat. Stir continuously for one minute. Just long enough to lightly cook the garlic and turn the chili (or red bell pepper) bright red. Do not over cook.

Ø Place the seared scallops directly in the pan with the sauce. Gently turn the scallops to cover with sauce.

Ø To serve, remove scallops out of the pan and place on a serving plate. Now pour the rest of the sauce from the pan over the scallops.

Tampa based Odyssey Marine Exploration announced this past week that they have found and retrieved what could be the richest find in treasure hunting to date. Seventeen tons of gold and silver coins from the colonial era were brought up from the sunken ship. Each coin could be worth of to $1000 each. The ship dates back to the seventeenth century. “WOW”

Here’s a tidbit of information on sea trout. Surveys tell us that the spotted sea trout is the most sought after fish in many southern coastal states. Sea trout are members of the drum family – a distant relative to a redfish. There are several close varieties, including spotted sea trout, yellow mouth, sand, silver, and several varieties of weakfish. They all use their air bladder to “drum”, making grunting noises that scientists believe relate to schooling and spawning behavior.

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What we are so unhappy about?'' Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U. S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me?

Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it...... are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O. J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way...... Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative." "With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" Jay Leno

I read an article this past weekend about the immigration bill that is about to go through our Congress and Senate and will eventually be signed by the President. They are going to sell out the working men and women of this country. Social Security is bankrupt and they want to add to the scrolls with twenty million more people. That’s a brilliant idea, “not I think”. I guess its time to vote in some new people.

Gas is at an all time high and there is 200 years worth out in the Gulf of Mexico. There is more oil in Alaska and wouldn’t that make us independent to the Middle East. Seems like a “no brainer” to me.

One political party says they should add a 50 cent tax to gas. Boy that really helps the working class doesn’t it. President Reagan said many years ago that the Democratic Party left him. I can now say the same thing about the Republican Party. Our country is in trouble and there is no one to lead. Being a leader was never easy but it has to be done if you take the job or so I thought.

Another article caught my attention in the last couple of weeks. In the city of Opa Locka, Florida which is a few miles north of Miami. The city now has the reputation of Bagdad West. Most of the violence takes place in the North West section of Opa Locka in a 9 block radius. Six killings in one month and one of the victims was shot eleven times by a fifteen year old drug dealer. This type of brutality and violence reminds me of the early eighties in Miami when I was in my mid-twenties and living in South Florida. That was when the cocaine cowboys ruled Miami. Once again this proves that drugs do nothing positive for our society. They only give us misery.

Washington suffers a massive eruption, killing 57 people and devastating some 210 square miles of wilderness.

Called Louwala-Clough, or "the Smoking Mountain," by Native Americans, Mount St. Helens is located in the Cascade Range and stood 9,680 feet before its eruption. The volcano has erupted periodically during the last 4,500 years, and the last active period was between 1831 and 1857. On March 20, 1980, noticeable volcanic activity began again with a series of earth tremors centered on the ground just beneath the north flank of the mountain. These earthquakes escalated, and on March 27 a minor eruption occurred, and Mount St. Helens began emitting steam and ash through its crater and vents.

Small eruptions continued daily, and in April people familiar with the mountain noticed changes to the structure of its north face. A scientific study confirmed that a bulge more than a mile in diameter was moving upward and outward over the high north slope by as much as six feet per day. The bulge was caused by an intrusion of magma below the surface, and authorities began evacuating hundreds of people from the sparsely settled area near the mountain. A few people refused to leave.

On the morning of May 18, Mount St. Helens was shaken by an earthquake of about 5.0 magnitude, and the entire north side of the summit began to slide down the mountain. The giant landslide of rock and ice, one of the largest recorded in history, was followed and overtaken by an enormous explosion of steam and volcanic gases, which surged northward along the ground at high speed. The lateral blast stripped trees from most hill slopes within six miles of the volcano and leveled nearly all vegetation for as far as 12 miles away. Approximately 10 million trees were felled by the blast.

The landslide debris, liquefied by the violent explosion, surged down the mountain at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The avalanche flooded Spirit Lake and roared down the valley of the Toutle River for a distance of 13 miles, burying the river to an average depth of 150 feet. Mudflows, pyroclastic flows, and floods added to the destruction, destroying roads, bridges, parks, and thousands more acres of forest. Simultaneous with the avalanche, a vertical eruption of gas and ash formed a mushrooming column over the volcano more than 12 miles high. Ash from the eruption fell on Northwest cities and towns like snow and drifted around the globe within two weeks. Fifty-seven people, thousands of animals, and millions of fish were killed by the eruption of Mount St. Helens.

By late in the afternoon of May 18, the eruption subsided, and by early the next day it had essentially ceased. Mount St. Helens' volcanic cone was completely blasted away and replaced by a horseshoe-shaped crater--the mountain lost 1,700 feet from the eruption. The volcano produced five smaller explosive eruptions during the summer and fall of 1980 and remains active today. In 1982, Congress made Mount St. Helens a protected research area.

Mount St. Helens became active again in 2004. On March 8, 2005, a 36,000-foot plume of steam and ash was expelled from the mountain, accompanied by a minor earthquake. Though a new dome has been growing steadily near the top of the peak and small earthquakes are frequent, scientists do not expect a repeat of the 1980 catastrophe anytime soon.

That’s all for now readers. This note section had a little of everything. As the summer nears and school ends, it will be time to head to the beach. Be careful and enjoy the time together with your family and friends. Life is short so live it to the fullest.

It’s been a while since I last wrote an update. The passing of my friend AL Weimer really set me back. It’s taken quite a bit of time and soul searching to get my ducks in a row. I should have released the third book by now, but am just getting started on the editing. There is no release date tat I can realistically set at this time. It will be published when I can get it edited.

I came across this organization in an email update. I was immediately drawn to it. I don’t think we ever do enough for the men and women who serve as our Police Officers. It is a thankless job at times. The “news outlets” are ready to crucify them a moments notice. We seldom hear as citizens anything positive about what law enforcement does for our communities. Here is the link to the web site founded by Carolyn Duren. She started Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.

Law Enforcement Appreciation Day is an advocate for law enforcement officers by providing national recognition for their dedication and a showcase of their accomplishments.

Law enforcement officers place their lives on the line every day to protect the citizens of their community. L.E.A.D. allows citizens to acknowledge with gratitude the hard work, dedication, selflessness, and courage it takes to become and serve as a law enforcement officer.

On this day in 1787, delegates to the Constitutional Convention begin to assemble in Philadelphia to confront a daunting task: the peaceful overthrow of the new American government as defined by the Article of Confederation. Although the convention was originally supposed to begin on May 14, James Madison reported that “a small number only had assembled.” Meetings had to be pushed back until May 25, when a sufficient quorum of the participating states--Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia—had arrived..

As the new United States descended into economic crisis and inter-state quarrels, the new nation’s leaders had become increasingly frustrated with their limited power. When in 1785, Maryland and Virginia could not agree on their rights to the Potomac River, George Washington called a conference to settle the matter at Mt. Vernon. James Madison then convinced the Virginia legislature to call a convention of all the states to discuss such sticky trade-related issues at Annapolis, Maryland. The Annapolis Convention of September 1786 in turn called the Philadelphia Convention, “to devise such further provisions as shall appear to them necessary to render the constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the exigencies of the Union.”

Between Madison’s initial call for the states to send delegates to Annapolis and the presentation of Madison’s Virginia plan for a new government to the convention in Philadelphia, a fundamental shift in the aims of the convention process had taken place. No longer were the delegates gathered with the aim of tweaking trade agreements. A significant number of the men present were now determined to overhaul the new American government as a whole, without a single ballot being cast by the voting public.<History Channel Update>

On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland. Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans. The attack aroused considerable indignation in the United States, but Germany defended the action, noting that it had issued warnings of its intent to attack all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain.

When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States, a position that the vast majority of Americans favored. Britain, however, was one of America's closest trading partners, and tension soon arose between the United States and Germany over the latter's attempted quarantine of the British isles. Several U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines, and in February 1915 Germany announced unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Britain.

In early May 1915, several New York newspapers published a warning by the German embassy in Washington that Americans traveling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so at their own risk. The announcement was placed on the same page as an advertisement of the imminent sailing of the Lusitania liner from New York back to Liverpool. The sinking’s of merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area or take simple evasive action, such as zigzagging to confuse U-boats plotting the vessel's course. The captain of the Lusitania ignored these recommendations, and at 2:12 p.m. on May 7 the 32,000-ton ship was hit by an exploding torpedo on its starboard side. The torpedo blast was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship's boilers, and the ship sunk in 20 minutes.

It was revealed that the Lusitania was carrying about 173 tons of war munitions for Britain, which the Germans cited as further justification for the attack. The United States eventually sent three notes to Berlin protesting the action, and Germany apologized and pledged to end unrestricted submarine warfare. In November, however, a U-boat sunk an Italian liner without warning, killing 272 people, including 27 Americans. Public opinion in the United States began to turn irrevocably against Germany.

On January 31, 1917, Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, announced that it would resume unrestricted warfare in war-zone waters. Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and just hours after that the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. On February 22, Congress passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill intended to make the United States ready for war. In late March, Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships, and on April 2 President Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. On April 4, the Senate voted to declare war against Germany, and two days later the House of Representatives endorsed the declaration. With that, America entered World War I.<History Channel Update>

On this day, Union and Confederate troops clash at Resaca, Georgia. This was one of the first engagements in a summer-long campaign by Union General William T. Sherman to capture the Confederate city of Atlanta. The spring of 1864 saw a determined effort by the Union to win the war through major offensives in both the eastern and western theaters. In the east, Union General Ulysses S. Grant took on Confederate General Robert E. Lee, while Sherman applied pressure on the Army of the Tennessee, under General Joseph Johnston, in the west.

The Atlanta campaign was dictated by the hilly terrain of northern Georgia. Sherman would try to outflank Johnston on one side, but Johnston would move to block him. Sherman tried the other side, and Johnston blocked again. Johnston was losing ground, but he was stalling Sherman's advance, and fanning the discontent in the North as the election of 1864 loomed.

On May 9, part of Sherman's army under James McPherson captured Snake Creek Gap. McPherson did not push further, however, because he ran into Confederates fortified at nearby Resaca.

The Union army would not assault Resaca until May 14, triggering two days of combat. On the first day, the Federal troops gained important ground but failed to break the Confederate lines. The second day also saw no result. But because the Confederates maintained their position and thwarted the Union offense, the Battle of Resaca was considered a tactical victory for the South.

In the days after the battle, Sherman sent McPherson's men on another swing around Johnston's left flank. When these troops crossed the Oostanaula River south of Johnston's army, he had to withdraw further south. The armies inched closer to Atlanta.<History Channel Update>

The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites sign a treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states.

The Warsaw Pact, so named because the treaty was signed in Warsaw, included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members. The treaty called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military command under Marshal Ivan S. Konev of the Soviet Union. The introduction to the treaty establishing the Warsaw Pact indicated the reason for its existence. This revolved around "Western Germany, which is being remilitarized, and her inclusion in the North Atlantic bloc, which increases the danger of a new war and creates a threat to the national security of peace-loving states." This passage referred to the decision by the United States and the other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 9, 1955 to make West Germany a member of NATO and allow that nation to remilitarize. The Soviets obviously saw this as a direct threat and responded with the Warsaw Pact.

The Warsaw Pact remained intact until 1991. Albania was expelled in 1962 because, believing that Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev was deviating too much from strict Marxist orthodoxy, the country turned to communist China for aid and trade. In 1990, East Germany left the Pact and reunited with West Germany; the reunified Germany then became a member of NATO. The rise of non-communist governments in other eastern bloc nations, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, throughout 1990 and 1991 marked an effective end of the power of the Warsaw Pact. In March 1991, the military alliance component of the pact was dissolved and in July 1991, the last meeting of the political consultative body took place.<History Channel Update>

Here’s a little information about Pirates that I came across. I don’t if it was time in which I would care to live in. It may be romantic to think it would be but it was a harsh way to live sailing around the Caribbean dodging the English and Spanish war ships.

Pirates have loomed large in literature, movies and music as men with peg legs, parrots and buried treasure. In reality, piracy is more complex than the lore about eye patches, gold earrings and walking the plank. Pirates have been around as long as people have sailed the high seas. In ancient times, the Phoenicians often combined piracy with more legitimate seafaring business. From the 9th through the 11th centuries, the Vikings pillaged western European coasts and waters. Meanwhile, Muslim rovers terrorized the Mediterranean Sea, mixing naval warfare with thievery and the abduction of slaves.

Following Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the New World in 1492, Spain and its powerful navy became a dominant force in the Caribbean, a region teeming with gold, silver and other valuables. During the 16th and 17th centuries, England, France and the Netherlands endorsed the use of privately owned ships, known as privateers, to fight battles, conduct raids, disrupt trade and harass the Spaniards, in order to gain a foothold in the area, known as the Spanish Main, without having to fund a real navy there. Privateers would often split the booty they seized with the countries who commissioned them. One of the most famous figures of this era was Welshman Henry Morgan, who was commissioned by the British government of Jamaica to carry out attacks against the Spanish. Morgan and the buccaneers in his command captured and plundered settlements in Cuba, Panama and Venezuela. He earned a reputation as a skilled but brutal military strategist who would hang men by their genitals to make them give up their possessions. Morgan was later knighted and appointed lieutenant governor of Jamaica.

The lure of Spanish treasure was strong and the line between privateering and piracy, in which sailors’ actions aren’t sanctioned by any nation, was easily blurred. During the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean, in the late 17th century and early 18th century, a number of legendary pirates emerged, including Edward Teach, a former English privateer who became known and feared as Blackbeard. Other notables in the pirate world included Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts, who captured hundreds of ships in his short career, and Captain “Calico” Jack Rackham, nicknamed for his colorful attire and remembered for a crew that included two female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Calico Jack was hung for his crimes in 1720 in Jamaica; the women in his crew avoided the same punishment by claiming to be pregnant.

Another notorious name is Captain William Kidd, who was born in Scotland and executed for piracy in London in 1701. Despite his conviction, historians have debated whether Kidd was really a pirate or strictly a privateer. Some of Kidd’s buried treasure was found on Gardiners Island, at the eastern end of Long Island, New York, and legend has persisted that more loot was hidden in other nearby locations.

Pirates were lawbreakers by nature of their work, but they were not without their own code of conduct. Pirate crews elected their own captains, based on leadership and naval skills. Captured loot was distributed equally among crew members and stealing from a crewmate could result in the guilty party being marooned. Pirate ships flew red or black flags, known as Jolly Rogers, which typically featured skulls and crossbones to symbolize death and intimidate their enemies. Contrary to popular myth, there’s scant evidence to suggest that pirates buried their treasure as standard practice. More likely, they’d spend it. Port Royal, Jamaica, became a safe haven for pirates, a place of great wealth and debauchery known as “the wickedest city on earth.” There’s also little evidence that pirates made people walk the plank as a common form of punishment. This notion likely gained popularity with J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, which debuted as a novel and a stage play in the early 1900s and featured a pirate named Captain Hook.

Piracy’s Golden Age ended by the 1720s, when pirates were outmatched by European military forces in the Caribbean. Despite the term “Golden Age,” a pirate’s life was hardly glamorous. Ships were smelly, uncomfortable and infested with rats and bugs. Food and fresh water were limited. Disease and periods of boredom were other unwelcome aspects of life onboard these vessels. And not all pirates chose such lives in the first place. Some men were kidnapped and forced to serve on pirate ships.

Piracy in general declined throughout the late 18th century and early 19th century with the development of the steam engine and the growth of the British and American navies. However, piracy never disappeared completely. In recent years, cargo vessels have been targets of modern-day pirates, who have developed an arsenal of techniques for preying on these ships and usually come heavily armed. Today, the waters off Indonesia and Somalia are among the worlds most dangerous.<History Channel Update>

Greetings from Panama!

Do You Wanna Go Fishing? What if host Matt Eastman bumped into you and asked you that very question? What if he told you that you had two phone calls and five minutes to decide if you wanted to go to the end of the earth for the fishing experience of a lifetime? They could travel any place in the world. Whether it's Black Marlin off the coast of Panama (Tropic Star Lodge airs Sunday May 13th at 8:00am est), giant Tuna in the Mexican Pacific, or trophy Tarpon in the Florida Keys, "Wanna' Go Fishing," a new TV series on ESPN2, will make your dream come true if you've "Got the Guts to Go."

"Wanna' Go Fishing? Presented by West Marine" is an innovative new ESPN television show that brings reality-based programming into the outdoor genre. Matt Eastman travels across the country searching for the ideal guest to join him for the most incredible saltwater fishing action in the world. It could be as far as the coast of Africa or as near as the Florida Keys, that's what makes the show so exciting- the guests never know their ultimate destination!

Visit TropicStar.com for fishing reports, galleries, streaming videos and everything you need to know about the Robb Reports' #1 rated fishing resort in the world!

I have included this ad as part of the update. I get an update from the Tropic Star lodge every so often. They will send you a great DVD on the lodge and fishing. I’ve been saving my quarters so I can spend a week there in the near future.

It’s been a few weeks since I have updated the "notes" section. So here are a couple of interesting history facts and a update on the war on terror. I also include an interesting fact about the cost to taxpayers for drug abuse. It appears that it’s not as the Libertarians think. What someone else does in the privacy of their own home does affect the rest of us.

Also my friend Ron Russell who is the drummer for Bertie Higgins has started a “my space” page. It is a great web site with plenty of information and facts about the life of a rock and roll drummer. So take a look at Ron’s site at www.myspace.com/rondrumsinatl .

We have been loosing Manatees to the after affects of “Red Tide”. Apparently the toxins are absorbed into the sea grass which the manatees eat long after the Red Tide has disappeared.

The term "red tide" is most often used in the United States of America to describe a particular type of algal bloom common to the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and is also called "Florida red tide". This type of bloom is caused by a species of dinoflagellate known as Karenia brevis, and these blooms occur almost annually along Florida waters. The density of these organisms during a bloom can exceed tens of millions of cells per liter of seawater, and often discolor the water a deep reddish-brown hue.

The most conspicuous effects of red tides are the associated wildlife mortalities among marine and coastal species of fish, birds, marine mammals and other organisms. In the case of Florida red tides, these mortalities are caused by exposure to a potent neurotoxin produced naturally by Karenia brevis, called brevetoxin. The growth of marine phytoplankton is generally limited by the availability of nitrates and phosphates, which can be abundant in agricultural run-off.

**Did you know that every American family pays $1500 in taxes each year to cover drug-related costs to society? Twenty seven manatees have died this year from eating the contaminated sea grass.

All of us pay a high price for Americans' drug use—not only in lives lost, but in social costs. Over 26,000 individuals died from drug-induced causes in the United States in 2002, seven times more than those killed in all of the September 11 attacks. Direct costs include those for drug treatment, health care, costs of goods and services lost to crime, law enforcement, incarceration, and the judicial system fees. Indirect costs are those due to the loss of productivity from death, human suffering, drug abuse-related illnesses, victims of crime and crime.** <DEA WEB Site>

At 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the British ocean liner Titanic sinks into the North Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada. The massive ship, which carried 2,200 passengers and crew, had struck an iceberg two and half hours before.

On April 10, the RMS Titanic, one of the largest and most luxurious ocean liners ever built, departed Southampton, England, on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The Titanic was designed by the Irish shipbuilder William Pirrie and built in Belfast, and was thought to be the world's fastest ship. It spanned 883 feet from stern to bow, and its hull was divided into 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight. Because four of these compartments could be flooded without causing a critical loss of buoyancy, the Titanic was considered unsinkable. While leaving port, the ship came within a couple of feet of the steamer New York but passed safely by, causing a general sigh of relief from the passengers massed on the Titanic's decks. On its first journey across the highly competitive Atlantic ferry route, the ship carried some 2,200 passengers and crew.

After stopping at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, to pick up some final passengers, the massive vessel set out at full speed for New York City. However, just before midnight on April 14, the RMS Titanic failed to divert its course from an iceberg and ruptured at least five of its hull compartments. These compartments filled with water and pulled down the bow of the ship. Because the Titanic's compartments were not capped at the top, water from the ruptured compartments filled each succeeding compartment, causing the bow to sink and the stern to be raised up to an almost vertical position above the water. Then the Titanic broke in half, and, at about 2:20 a.m. on April 15, stern and bow sank to the ocean floor.

Because of a shortage of lifeboats and the lack of satisfactory emergency procedures, more than 1,500 people went down in the sinking ship or froze to death in the icy North Atlantic waters. Most of the 700 or so survivors were women and children. A number of notable American and British citizens died in the tragedy, including the noted British journalist William Thomas Stead and heirs to the Straus, Astor, and Guggenheim fortunes.

One hour and 20 minutes after Titanic went down, the Cunard liner Carpathia arrived. The survivors in the lifeboats were brought aboard, and a handful of others were pulled out of the water. It was later discovered that the Leyland liner Californian had been less than 20 miles away at the time of the accident but had failed to hear the Titanic's distress signals because its radio operator was off duty.

Announcement of details of the tragedy led to outrage on both sides of the Atlantic. In the disaster's aftermath, the first International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea was held in 1913. Rules were adopted requiring that every ship have lifeboat space for each person on board, and that lifeboat drills be held. An International Ice Patrol was established to monitor icebergs in the North Atlantic shipping lanes. It was also required that ships maintain a 24-hour radio watch.

On September 1, 1985, a joint U.S.-French expedition located the wreck of the Titanic lying on the ocean floor at a depth of about 13,000 feet. The ship was explored by manned and unmanned submersibles, which shed new light on the details of its sinking. <History Channel Update>

At 7:22 a.m., Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, dies from a bullet wound inflicted the night before by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer. The president's death came only six days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox, effectively ending the American Civil War.

Booth, who remained in the North during the war despite his Confederate sympathies, initially plotted to capture President Lincoln and take him to Richmond, the Confederate capital. However, on March 20, 1865, the day of the planned kidnapping, the president failed to appear at the spot where Booth and his six fellow conspirators lay in wait. Two weeks later, Richmond fell to Union forces. In April, with Confederate armies near collapse across the South, Booth hatched a desperate plan to save the Confederacy.

Learning that Lincoln was to attend Laura Keene's acclaimed performance in Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater on April 14, Booth plotted the simultaneous assassination of Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward. By murdering the president and two of his possible successors, Booth and his conspirators hoped to throw the U.S. government into a paralyzing disarray.

On the evening of April 14, conspirator Lewis T. Powell burst into Secretary of State Seward's home, seriously wounding him and three others, while George A. Atzerodt, assigned to Vice President Johnson, lost his nerve and fled. Meanwhile, just after 10 p.m., Booth entered Lincoln's private box unnoticed and shot the president with a single bullet in the back of his head. Slashing an army officer who rushed at him, Booth jumped to the stage and shouted "Sic semper tyrannis! [Thus always to tyrants]--the South is avenged!" Although Booth had broken his left leg jumping from Lincoln's box, he succeeded in escaping Washington.

The president, mortally wounded, was carried to a cheap lodging house opposite Ford's Theater. An hour after dawn the next morning, Abraham Lincoln died, becoming the first president to be assassinated. His body was taken to the White House, where it lay until April 18, at which point it was carried to the Capitol rotunda to lay in state on a catafalque. On April 21, Lincoln's body was taken to the railroad station and boarded on a train that conveyed it to Springfield, Illinois, his home before becoming president. Tens of thousands of Americans lined the train's railroad route and paid their respects to their fallen leader during the train's solemn progression through the North. Lincoln was buried on May 4, 1865, at Oak Ridge Cemetery, near Springfield.

Booth, pursued by the army and secret service forces, was finally cornered in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia, and died from a possibly self-inflicted bullet wound as the barn was burned to the ground. Of the eight other persons eventually charged with the conspiracy, four were hanged and four were jailed. <History Channel Update>

Earth Day in New York, 1970The first Earth Day was held in communities all across the country. Earth Day was the creation of Senator Gaylord Nelson. As he describes it, a number of senators were concerned about the state of the country's environment in the early 1960s. In a move intended to bring national visibility to the issue of environmental deterioration, the Senators persuaded President Kennedy to take on a nationwide conservation tour, "spelling out in dramatic language the serious and deteriorating condition of our environment." The tour was a failure. Senators Hubert Humphrey, Gene McCarthy, Joe Clark, and Nelson himself accompanied Kennedy on the first leg of his trip to Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Though the tour failed to rouse interest of any significant level in the environment as a political issue, Nelson credits the mission with being the seed from which Earth Day would eventually flower. The idea for a grassroots effort gestated in Nelson's head until July of 1969, when, according to Nelson, the anti-war teach-ins of the Vietnam era inspired him to conceive of a nationwide environmental "teach-in." Nelson returned to Washington and began to raise funds for the event. In addition, he and his staff sent letters to 50 governors, and to the mayors of all major cities requesting them to make Earth Day proclamations. In a speech in Seattle in September of 1969, Nelson formally announced that a nationwide environmental teach-in would take place in the spring of the coming year. All of the major wire services ran the story, and the response was dramatic. From that point on, says Nelson, Earth Day was the product of the populace. By December, the response of inquiries had so overwhelmed Nelson's Senate office that an Earth Day Clearing House was set up in Washington to plan for the event. In the end, an estimated 20 million people participated in Earth Day events of some kind. Ten thousand grade schools and high schools, 2,000 thousand colleges, and 1,000 thousand communities across the country held official events. Earth Day is responsible for establishing the efficacy of grassroots environmental advocacy. A by-product of Earth Day that directly affected the automobile industry was the public's heightened awareness of the environmental dangers of gasoline exhaust emissions. <History Channel Update>

News from the war on terror. Our men and women continue to get the job done. How they continue to keep their morale so high when the politicians are selling them out back home. It speaks volumes of our military.

April 22, 2007 Coalition and Afghan forces killed two and captured 12 militants in separate raids yesterday.

Combined forces killed one and captured nine in an early morning raid on a militant compound in Nangarhar province. The militants are suspected of coordinating several suicide attacks in recent weeks.

In another early-morning raid yesterday in Helmand province, coalition and Afghan forces killed an armed suspect.

Coalition and Afghan forces in Khowst province detained three men yesterday at a compound where militants are linked to the Haqqani network and suspected of extremist activities. One suspect was armed and was subdued by combined forces without incident.

On April 20, Afghan locals from the Qaleh Shahi Village, Nangarhar province, reported a munitions cache to Afghan National Police and coalition forces. The weapons cache, hidden in a vacant compound in the village, stored 15 82 mm recoilless rifle rounds and 62 various models of rocket-propelled-grenade rounds.

In the past three weeks, munitions caches have been found in 75 percent of the districts in Nangarhar province,

Iraqi national police stopped a suicide bomber operating in the Sadr City neighborhood in eastern Baghdad at about 2:30 p.m. yesterday. Elsewhere, Iraqi and coalition forces captured numerous suspected terrorists and found several weapons caches.

The bomber, driving a Toyota Costa bus, detonated the bomb as Iraqi police began searching the vehicle when it was stopped at an Iraqi national police checkpoint. The bomber was killed, and another Iraqi civilian was injured.

In other operations in Iraq yesterday, coalition forces captured 13 suspected terrorists in raids in central Iraq. Coalition forces captured two suspected of having ties to al Qaeda southeast of Baghdad, and 11 suspected terrorists were captured in raids west of Taji, north of Baghdad.

In operations April 20, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers captured a suspected al Qaeda leader north of Tarmiyah in an early morning raid. The soldiers, working off of tips from local residents, also detained 14 suspected insurgents. No U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded in the operation. All 15 suspects were detained for questioning.

Another suspected al Qaeda leader was captured in Nineveh province. With coalition advisors present for support, Iraqi forces raided the village of Fadiliyah and captured the suspect.

Iraqi forces also detained 46 suspected insurgents during the operation. The suspected leader is believed to be a mid-level member in the al Qaeda leadership responsible for the flow of foreign fighters in northern Iraq from Syria. No Iraqi or coalition forces were injured during the operation.

Five suspected insurgents were detained when explosive device-making materials were found in the home of a suspected militia leader. Soldiers from a military transition team found the materials.

Paratroopers from Troop A, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, found ammunition and detained the six suspects at a cache site south of Baghdad. The cache stored five charges for mortar rounds, two boxes of machine gun ammunition, and a box of various rounds of ammunition.

Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers found a weapons cache containing 10 155 mm artillery rounds while on a joint patrol in Jisr Diyala. Iraqi police also discovered a cache there containing 100 155 mm shell casings. All suspects are being held for further questioning. <American Forces Press Service>

I read an article about the big predator sharks, bull, hammerhead, etc starting shrink in numbers along the Atlantic coast. After watching the movie JAWS is it a bad thing to think if they are being over fished. What is it a predator shark does for the oceans of the world? As usual though you had one side saying this is a terrible thing, but couldn’t back up their facts. The other side is thumbing their noses and giving lame excuses. More meetings and nothing gets done. Has this become the American way? So who is right and who is wrong and what should be done about the sharks. Can you hear the music playing?

For me there was no better President for this country than Ronald Regan. To this day he has been the best in my lifetime. I think many have forgotten the state this country was in during the late seventies. Our country truly needs another leader of this magnitude. The eighties were good times for the working middle class in this country.

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by a deranged drifter named John Hinckley Jr.

The president had just finished addressing a labor meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel and was walking with his entourage to his limousine when Hinckley, standing among a group of reporters, fired six shots at the president, hitting Reagan and three of his attendants. White House Press Secretary James Brady was shot in the head and critically wounded, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy was shot in the side, and District of Columbia policeman Thomas Delahaney was shot in the neck. After firing the shots, Hinckley was overpowered and pinned against a wall, and President Reagan, apparently unaware that he'd been shot, was shoved into his limousine by a Secret Service agent and rushed to the hospital.

The president was shot in the left lung, and the .22 caliber bullet just missed his heart. In an impressive feat for a 70-year-old man with a collapsed lung, he walked into George Washington University Hospital under his own power. As he was treated and prepared for surgery, he was in good spirits and quipped to his wife, Nancy, ''Honey, I forgot to duck,'' and to his surgeons, "Please tell me you're Republicans." Reagan's surgery lasted two hours, and he was listed in stable and good condition afterward.

The next day, the president resumed some of his executive duties and signed a piece of legislation from his hospital bed. On April 11, he returned to the White House. Reagan's popularity soared after the assassination attempt, and at the end of April he was given a hero's welcome by Congress. In August, this same Congress passed his controversial economic program, with several Democrats breaking ranks to back Reagan's plan. By this time, Reagan claimed to be fully recovered from the assassination attempt. In private, however, he would continue to feel the effects of the nearly fatal gunshot wound for years.

Of the victims of the assassination attempt, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and D.C. policeman Thomas Delahaney eventually recovered. James Brady, who nearly died after being shot in the eye, suffered permanent brain damage. He later became an advocate of gun control, and in 1993 Congress passed the "Brady Bill," which established a five-day waiting period and background checks for prospective gun buyers. President Bill Clinton signed the bill into law.

After being arrested on March 30, 1981, 25-year-old John Hinckley was booked on federal charges of attempting to assassinate the president. He had previously been arrested in Tennessee on weapons charges. In June 1982, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. In the trial, Hinckley's defense attorneys argued that their client was ill with narcissistic personality disorder, citing medical evidence, and had a pathological obsession with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, in which the main character attempts to assassinate a fictional senator. His lawyers claimed that Hinckley saw the movie more than a dozen times, was obsessed with the lead actress, Jodie Foster, and had attempted to reenact the events of the film in his own life. Thus the movie, not Hinckley, they argued, was the actual planning force behind the events that occurred on March 30, 1981.

The verdict of "not guilty by reason of insanity" aroused widespread public criticism, and many were shocked that a would-be presidential assassin could avoid been held accountable for his crime. However, because of his obvious threat to society, he was placed in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a mental institution. In the late 1990s, Hinckley's attorney began arguing that his mental illness was in remission and thus had a right to return to a normal life. Beginning in August 1999, he was allowed supervised day trips off the hospital grounds and later was allowed to visit his parents once a week unsupervised. The Secret Service voluntarily monitors him during these outings. If his mental illness remains in remission, he may one day be released. <History Channel Update>

I wanted to include this in the notes for today. It is beyond my capacity of thought to try and understand why our country was so bigoted at one time. WE are Americans whether we are white, black, red or yellow. There is so much hate and jealousy in the world against us as American’s that we must stand united or we may fall. WE must be a color blind nation!!!

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2007 – Before a U.S. aircraft broke the sound barrier, the Tuskegee Airmen overcame a daunting social hurdle: breaking the Air Force's color barrier.

In the Capitol Rotunda here today, President Bush and Congress awarded the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen, more than 60 years after the 332nd Fighter Group's World War II achievements that were made bittersweet by the racial discrimination they endured after returning home.

"I thank you for the honor you have brought to our country, and the medal you are about to receive means that our country honors you," Bush said to the roughly 300-member audience of surviving airmen, Tuskegee Airmen widows and other relatives, before presenting the congressional award.

Bush said he has a strong interest in World War II airmen because one raised him.

"(My father) flew with a group of brave young men who endured difficult times in the defense of our country. Yet for all they sacrificed and all they lost, in a way they were very fortunate," he said. "They never had the burden of having their every mission, their every success, their every failure viewed through the color of their skin; ... nobody refused their salutes."

The Tuskegee Airmen fought two wars -- one in the European theater and another in the hearts and minds of the nation's citizens, he said.

Saying he wanted to "offer a gesture to help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities," Bush held his straightened right hand to his brow and saluted the airmen. After returning his salute, the airmen remained standing and applauded.

Speaking on behalf of the Tuskegee Airmen, Dr. Roscoe Brown, a former commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, thanked Bush and the House and Senate for "voting unanimously to award this medal collectively to the pilots, bombardiers, the navigators, the mechanics, the ground officers, the enlisted men and women who served with the Tuskegee Airmen."

"Over 60 years ago we were flying in the skies over Europe defending our country, and at the same time fighting the battle against racial segregation," he said. "Because of our great record and our persistence, we inspired revolutionary reform which led to integration in the armed forces in 1948. As the president said, (this) provided a symbol for America that all people can contribute to this country and be treated fairly."

Brown, a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient and the first U.S. pilot to down a German Messerschmitt jet, said that the Tuskegee Airmen are very pleased to have been in the forefront of the struggle for freedom and justice in this country.

Sen. Carl Levin and Rep. Charles Rangel were the chief congressional champions in the House and Senate to get the medal awarded to the airmen.

"Nobody, white or black, in this country can understand how God has given you so much courage," Rangel said, addressing the airmen. "From a nation that had rejected you because of your color, said you couldn't fly, said you just weren't worthy, you had to go out there and prove to them just how wrong they were.

"And how tragic was it to see, ... after you came back to this great country, how German prisoners of war were treated better than you were on your return?" he said. "But somehow, whatever God had given you, it didn't cause you to stop. Every one of you in the different towns that I've been to are still continuing to protect this great country, though perhaps not in the skies, but in the battles on the streets, talking to the kids, giving them self-esteem."

Levis listed some of the airmen's feats: 15,000 combat sorties flown, 260 enemy aircraft destroyed, 1,000 black pilots flew missions, 150 Flying Crosses and Legions of Merit earned, and more than 700 Air Medals and clusters earned.

Recognizing other African-American groundbreakers, former U.S. Secretary of State and retired Gen. Colin L. Powell named the Golden 13, the Montford Point Marines and the 555th Paratroopers -- the Tuskegee Airmen's naval, Marine, and Army counterparts, respectively.

"I benefited from what you and so many others did. It is a rich history," he said. "I stand so proudly before you today but I know in the depth of my heart that the only reason I'm able to stand proudly before you today is because you stood proudly for America 60 years ago." <American Forces Press Service>

I thought this was worth putting in the notes section. With what’s taking place in our country with the war on terror. To this day I don’t know if the war was right or wrong. What I do know is that to spit on our troops and treat them like crap when they had no choice but to go with the draft. What I see are the brave and the cowards. Its good thing we didn’t have such a large population of these defeatist when we founded this country. They would have sold George Washington and out founding fathers out I do believe.

Two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement, the last U.S. combat troops leave South Vietnam as Hanoi frees the remaining American prisoners of war held in North Vietnam. America's direct eight-year intervention in the Vietnam War was at an end. In Saigon, some 7,000 U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees remained behind to aid South Vietnam in conducting what looked to be a fierce and ongoing war with communist North Vietnam.

In 1961, after two decades of indirect military aid, U.S. President John F. Kennedy sent the first large force of U.S. military personnel to Vietnam to bolster the ineffectual autocratic regime of South Vietnam against the communist North. Three years later, with the South Vietnamese government crumbling, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered limited bombing raids on North Vietnam, and Congress authorized the use of U.S. troops. By 1965, North Vietnamese offensives left President Johnson with two choices: escalate U.S. involvement or withdraw. Johnson ordered the former, and troop levels soon jumped to more than 300,000 as U.S. air forces commenced the largest bombing campaign in history.

During the next few years, the extended length of the war, the high number of U.S. casualties, and the exposure of U.S. involvement in war crimes, such as the massacre at My Lai, helped turn many in the United States against the Vietnam War. The communists' Tet Offensive of 1968 crushed U.S. hopes of an imminent end to the conflict and galvanized U.S. opposition to the war. In response, Johnson announced in March

1968 that he would not seek reelection, citing what he perceived to be his responsibility in creating a perilous national division over Vietnam. He also authorized the beginning of peace talks.

In the spring of 1969, as protests against the war escalated in the United States, U.S. troop strength in the war-torn country reached its peak at nearly 550,000 men. Richard Nixon, the new U.S. president, began U.S. troop withdrawal and "Vietnamization" of the war effort that year, but he intensified bombing. Large U.S. troop withdrawals continued in the early 1970s as President Nixon expanded air and ground operations into Cambodia and Laos in attempts to block enemy supply routes along Vietnam's borders. This expansion of the war, which accomplished few positive results, led to new waves of protests in the United States and elsewhere.

Finally, in January 1973, representatives of the United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Vietcong signed a peace agreement in Paris, ending the direct U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. Its key provisions included a cease-fire throughout Vietnam, the withdrawal of U.S. forces, the release of prisoners of war, and the reunification of North and South Vietnam through peaceful means. The South Vietnamese government was to remain in place until new elections were held, and North Vietnamese forces in the South were not to advance further nor be reinforced.

In reality, however, the agreement was little more than a face-saving gesture by the U.S. government. Even before the last American troops departed on March 29, the communists violated the cease-fire, and by early 1974 full-scale war had resumed. At the end of 1974, South Vietnamese authorities reported that 80,000 of their soldiers and civilians had been killed in fighting during the year, making it the most costly of the Vietnam War.

On April 30, 1975, the last few Americans still in South Vietnam were airlifted out of the country as Saigon fell to communist forces. North Vietnamese Colonel Bui Tin, accepting the surrender of South Vietnam later in the day, remarked, "You have nothing to fear; between Vietnamese there are no victors and no vanquished. Only the Americans have been defeated." The Vietnam War was the longest and most unpopular foreign war in U.S. history and cost 58,000 American lives. As many as two million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed.

Great news from the war on terror. Our military is kicking butt as usual. God Bless them and keep them safe.

WASHINGTON, March 29, 2007 – Coalition forces in Iraq this week killed four suspected terrorists, captured 67 others and netted scores of weapons in various operations, military officials reported.

After receiving fire from a group of armed terrorists in Mosul, coalition forces returned fire and killed four enemy fighters. Troops also detained two suspects allegedly involved in several improvised-explosive-device attacks in the area.

During an operation in Baghdad, coalition forces detained nine suspected terrorists allegedly involved in al Qaeda-related foreign fighter facilitation.

Forces raided a foreign fighter safe house northwest of Haditha, netting two suspects.

During a raid south of Fallujah targeting al Qaeda finance operations and foreign fighter facilitation, coalition forces detained two suspects.

"Successful coalition operations continue to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq operations, restrict the flow of foreign fighters, and reduce the terrorist organization's manpower pool," Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesperson, said.

In Iraq earlier this week, Iraqi and Multinational Division Baghdad forces detained 38 suspected terrorists and discovered an improvised explosive device and five weapons caches south of Baghdad on March 27.

Soldiers of 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, participated in Operation Eagle Thunder III, an operation intended to deny terrorists safe haven within the southern region of Iraq.

Two suspects detained in the raid were wanted for ties to terrorism, five were carrying illegal weapons, and four others were in a vehicle that contained an AK-47 assault rifle, four magazines and a hand grenade.

The weapons caches discovered during the operation contained enemy propaganda, an insurgent information booklet, two bags of homemade explosives, a rocket-propelled-grenade launcher with five rockets, a 122 mm projectile, a propane tank, and various small-arms ammunition.

During the operation, troops discovered a command-wired IED near a road close to the al QaQaa weapons facility, southwest of Yusufiyah.

The contents of the cache were destroyed during a controlled detonation conducted by the explosive ordnance disposal team, and the detainees are being held for further questioning.

Elsewhere in Iraq March 27, 2nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division soldiers and Hillah Iraqi police, worked together to conduct a cordon-and-search operation to confiscate unauthorized weapons, detain 14 insurgents and secure bomb-making materials in Hillah and outlying areas.

More than 700 Iraqi security personnel took part in the operation, and a military transition team from 425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, assisted in command and control.

The confiscated weapons included 124 AK-47 assault rifles, 15 various 7.62mm rifles, 15 pistols, one shotgun, 84 AK-47 ammunition magazines and 10 pistol magazines. In addition, 18 sticks of C-4 explosives were found and secured.

Jimmy Buffett mentions this nuclear accident in one of his songs from long ago. Can you remember which one? I was twenty -one at the time and living on the other side of the world. I don’t even think I heard about this until I came back to the good old USA in late Fall of “81”. I also missed the eruption of Mount Saint Helens.

For all the nervousness the word “nuclear” achieves when we as Americans here the word. It’s actually the cleanest and best way to produce our electricity. There are those who would like to do away with all our power generation. I guess we could all sit in the dark and chant. Maybe that would be better than sitting in front of my computer.

Oh well it takes all kinds to make up the mad cap world of ours. All political sides need to be more tolerant of each other. Even though it is naïve to say it in the world we live in, I like the old adage “Make love not war.”

At 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979, the worst accident in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close. Cooling water, contaminated with radiation, drained from the open valve into adjoining buildings, and the core began to dangerously overheat.

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant was built in 1974 on a sandbar on Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River, just 10 miles downstream from the state capitol in Harrisburg. In 1978, a second state-of-the-art reactor began operating on Three Mile Island, which was lauded for generating affordable and reliable energy in a time of energy crises.

After the cooling water began to drain out of the broken pressure valve on the morning of March 28, 1979, emergency cooling pumps automatically went into operation. Left alone, these safety devices would have prevented the development of a larger crisis. However, human operators in the control room misread confusing and contradictory readings and shut off the emergency water system. The reactor was also shut down, but residual heat from the fission process was still being released. By early morning, the core had heated to over 4,000 degrees, just 1,000 degrees short of meltdown. In the meltdown scenario, the core melts, and deadly radiation drifts across the countryside, fatally sickening a potentially great number of people.

As the plant operators struggled to understand what had happened, the contaminated water was releasing radioactive gases throughout the plant. The radiation levels, though not immediately life-threatening, were dangerous, and the core cooked further as the contaminated water was contained and precautions were taken to protect the operators. Shortly after 8 a.m., word of the accident leaked to the outside world. The plant's parent company, Metropolitan Edison, downplayed the crisis and claimed that no radiation had been detected off plant grounds, but the same day inspectors detected slightly increased levels of radiation nearby as a result of the contaminated water leak. Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh considered calling an evacuation.

Finally, at about 8 p.m., plant operators realized they needed to get water moving through the core again and restarted the pumps. The temperature began to drop, and pressure in the reactor was reduced. The reactor had come within less than an hour of a complete meltdown. More than half the core was destroyed or molten, but it had not broken its protective shell, and no radiation was escaping. The crisis was apparently over.

Two days later, however, on March 30, a bubble of highly flammable hydrogen gas was discovered within the reactor building. The bubble of gas was created two days before when exposed core materials reacted with super-heated steam. On March 28, some of this gas had exploded, releasing a small amount of radiation into the atmosphere. At that time, plant operators had not registered the explosion, which sounded like a ventilation door closing. After the radiation leak was discovered on March 30, residents were advised to stay indoors.

Experts were uncertain if the hydrogen bubble would create further meltdown or possibly a giant explosion, and as a precaution Governor Thornburgh advised "pregnant women and pre-school age children to leave the area within a five-mile radius of the Three Mile Island facility until further notice." This led to the panic the governor had hoped to avoid; within days, more than 100,000 people had fled surrounding towns.

On April 1, President Jimmy Carter arrived at Three Mile Island to inspect the plant. Carter, a trained nuclear engineer, had helped dismantle a damaged Canadian nuclear reactor while serving in the U.S. Navy. His visit achieved its aim of calming local residents and the nation. That afternoon, experts agreed that the hydrogen bubble was not in danger of exploding. Slowly, the hydrogen was bled from the system as the reactor cooled.

At the height of the crisis, plant workers were exposed to unhealthy levels of radiation, but no one outside Three Mile Island had their health adversely affected by the accident. Nonetheless, the incident greatly eroded the public's faith in nuclear power. The unharmed Unit-1 reactor at Three Mile Island, which was shut down during the crisis, did not resume operation until 1985. Cleanup continued on Unit-2 until 1990, but it was too damaged to be rendered usable again. In the more than two decades since the accident at Three Mile Island, not a single new nuclear power plant has been ordered in the United States.<History Channel Update>

To start off this week update I have been working on a song of sorts called Tropical addiction. Here is a sample of my madness.

“The death of hot summer days has come once again in the form of winter weather. I shiver with the coming winter days and my soul yearns for hot summer days.

Leaves change from green to gold and eventually to brown. They fall to the ground as the cold winter wind plucks them from their homes. They dance with the wind one last time before resting upon the ground.

Bright sunny days become bleak and overcast. The weather forecaster says with a gleam in his eye that snow is on the way. People rush to the grocery store for milk and bread. I’m in a state of depression.

I have this tropical addiction. My soul screams for warmer weather and white sandy beaches. Packing my bags I point my car south and leave the cold winter days behind.

This photo below was sent to me by a friend today. It was taken at a high school in California. The students were protesting our immigration laws. I can't think of anything to say except it speaks for itself and the people who disgraced our flag. Are they citizens?

WASHINGTON, March 23, 2007 – The British government is demanding the immediate and safe release of 15 sailors whose boats were surrounded by Iranian navy vessels and escorted into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf this morning.

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command officials said the Royal Navy sailors were engaged in routine boarding operations of merchant shipping in Iraqi territorial waters in support of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1723 and the government of Iraq.

The boarding party had completed a successful inspection of a merchant ship when they and their two boats were surrounded, officials said.

The Iranian ambassador was summoned to the British Foreign Office, and the British government is demanding the immediate and safe return of their people and equipment, officials said.

Royal Navy forces operate as part of Combined Task Force 158. CTF 158's mission is to maintain security and stability in Iraqi territorial waters and to protect the Iraqi oil terminals, under the U.N. mandate set out in the Security Council's resolutions on Iraq.

CTF 158 is commanded by Royal Navy Commodore Nick Lambert and operates as one of three coalition task forces in the Combined Maritime Forces under the leadership of U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and the U.S. 5th Fleet. < American Forces Press Service>

I thought this was an interesting article to share. Decades change into centuries and with the changing come’s a new dictator that tries to outdo the last dictator in power. Why the world puts up with these blood thirsty megalomaniacs I have no answer. When was the last time the United Nations did anything worth while? Why do we as Americans need to be apart of such an ineffectual group of politicians. It doesn’t take the brains of a rocket scientist to see that the “UN” doesn’t support America and its interest.

Is having NATO so important for this country of ours. Can Europe not take care of itself? There is no USSR anymore to pose the threat as it once did. It would seem that we need all our assets to fight the war on terror. Common sense you would think.

On March 24, 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commences air strikes against Yugoslavia with the bombing of Serbian military positions in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. The NATO offensive came in response to a new wave of ethnic cleansing launched by Serbian forces against the Kosovar Albanians on March 20.

The Kosovo region lay at the heart of the Serbian empire in the late Middle Ages but was lost to the Ottoman Turks in 1389 following Serbia's defeat in the Battle of Kosovo. By the time Serbia regained control of Kosovo from Turkey in 1913, there were few Serbs left in a region that had come to be dominated by ethnic Albanians. In 1918, Kosovo formally became a province of Serbia, and it continued as such after communist leader Josip Broz Tito established the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945, comprising the Balkan states of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Macedonia. However, Tito eventually gave in to Kosovar demands for greater autonomy, and after 1974 Kosovo existed as independent state in all but name.

Serbs came to resent Kosovo's autonomy, which allowed it to act against Serbian interests, and in 1987 Slobodan Milosevic was elected leader of Serbia's Communist Party with a promise of restoring Serbian rule to Kosovo. In 1989, Milosevic became president of Serbia and moved quickly to suppress Kosovo, stripping its autonomy and in 1990 sending troops to disband its government. Meanwhile, Serbian nationalism led to the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation in 1991, and in 1992 the Balkan crisis deteriorated into civil war. A new Yugoslav state, consisting only of Serbia and the small state of Montenegro, was created, and Kosovo began four years of nonviolent resistance to Serbian rule.

The militant Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) emerged in 1996 and began attacking Serbian police in Kosovo. With arms obtained in Albania, the KLA stepped up its attacks in 1997, prompting a major offensive by Serbian troops against the rebel-held Drenica region in February-March 1998. Dozens of civilians were killed, and enlistment in the KLA increased dramatically. In July, the KLA launched an offensive across Kosovo, seizing control of nearly half the province before being routed in a Serbian counteroffensive later that summer. The Serbian troops drove thousands of ethnic Albanians from their homes and were accused of massacring Kosovo civilians.

In October, NATO threatened Serbia with air strikes, and Milosevic agreed to allow the return of tens of thousands of refugees. Fighting soon resumed, however, and talks between Kosovar Albanians and Serbs in Rambouillet, France, in February 1999 ended in failure. On March 18, further peace talks in Paris collapsed after the Serbian delegation refused to sign a deal calling for Kosovo autonomy and the deployment of NATO troops to enforce the agreement. Two days later, the Serbian army launched a new offensive in Kosovo. On March 24, NATO air strikes began.

In addition to Serbian military positions, the NATO air campaign targeted Serbian government buildings and the country's infrastructure in an effort to destabilize the Milosevic regime. The bombing and continued Serbian offensives drove hundreds of thousands of Kosovar Albanians into neighboring Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro. Many of these refugees were airlifted to safety in the United States and other NATO nations. On June 10, the NATO bombardment ended when Serbia agreed to a peace agreement calling for the withdrawal of Serb forces from Kosovo and their replacement by NATO peacekeeping troops.

With the exception of two U.S. pilots killed in a training mission in Albania, no NATO personnel lost their lives in the 78-day operation. There were some mishaps, however, such as miscalculated bombings that led to the deaths of Kosovar Albanian refugees, KLA members, and Serbian civilians. The most controversial incident was the May 7 bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which killed three Chinese journalists and caused a diplomatic crisis in U.S.-Chinese relations.

On June 12, NATO forces moved into Kosovo from Macedonia. The same day, Russian troops arrived in the Kosovo capital of Pristina and forced NATO into agreeing to a joint occupation. Despite the presence of peacekeeping troops, the returning Kosovar Albanians retaliated against Kosovo's Serbian minority, forcing them to flee into Serbia. Under the NATO occupation, Kosovar autonomy was restored, but the province remained officially part of Serbia.

Slobodan Milosevic was ousted from power by a popular revolution in Belgrade in October 2000. He was replaced by the popularly elected Vojislav Kostunica, a moderate Serbian nationalist who promised to reintegrate Serbia into Europe and the world after decade of isolation.

Slobodan Milosevic died in prison in the Netherlands on March 11, 2006, shortly before his trial for crimes against humanity and genocide was due to end. <History Channel Update>

Happy Saint Patty's Day. Don't forget top wear your green and remember when to say "NO" to drinking that last green beer when you are already in a festive mood.

First let me welcome Ron Russell the drummer extraordinaire (Bertie Higgins drummer) to the North Georgia hills. He has moved from the Tampa area to settle down with his new wife Sue. Congratulations and I wish him and Sue all the best.

I started getting the Herald Tribune newspaper updates which covers southwestern Florida a few weeks ago. It covers SARASOTA, VENICE, MANATEE, EAST MANATEE, CHARLOTTE, NORTH PORT, and ENGLEWOOD. In my reading the articles I came across a journalist by the name of Kate Spinner.

Kate has a degree in English with minors in environmental studies and biology. Her knowledge shows in the articles she writes. They are to the point, factual and with no bias which is what I like when reading about an issue. The article that got my attention was about the Peace River and the loss of wetlands over the years due to phosphate mining. If I remember correctly it was in the range of 60,000 acres.

The Peace River empties into the Charlotte Harbor which in turn empties in the Gulf of Mexico. (Red Tide???) Apparently the mining for phosphate takes place along the river. Lots of meetings by environmental groups and politicians, but nothing is being done to correct the problem.

I would think in this day and age that we as humans could come to an agreement on how to extract the minerals, oil, and coal that we need to make our lives better and not trash the earth in the process. If a company digs a whole in the ground to mine. Then they should be required to fill it back in and make the landscape as it once was. What's so hard about that. Drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico, but make sure the technology is there to control the mishaps.

Let's put some common sense in our environmental protection of the world. We have the technology to do it. Fanaticism is needed whether its religion or environmentalism.

Is life is really so simple that making a choice is that easy. Is there ever any regrets?

Can you have common sense and still be an environmentalist? Where is the half way point of agreement from both sides. Can there ever be common ground?

Where does one person rights began and another's ends? Now that's a good question to go hummm over.

If a meeting takes place and action items are given. Then shouldn't you work the items and complete the task's so there aren't any more meetings.

I've recently read where PETA called mom's "chicken killers" and now they have set their sites on our dads. A picture of dear old dad holding a fish and large knife. My opinion would be this type of attitude is fanatical. If I want steak and seafood, that is my business and right. If you want to be a vegan then be one, but don't tell me I have to be one.

When does freedom of speech go to far or does it ever go to far. It is the "first amendment" and wow, what comes after the first the second? Many citizens want to get rid of the second amendment. You might ask what is the second amendment, "right to bear arms". DO we as Americans get to pick and choose what amendments our fore-fathers created. I think not. ALL of the amendments are important to Americas citizens.

I also read this week where the Manatee population has grown to over three thousand. Positive news for a change. There were 82 deaths by boaters last year which only accounts for 25% of the deaths for the gentle giants of the water.

Common sense would dictate that if you want to go fast then take your blame boat out past where these gentle creatures live. Don't have that terrible disease of having your head up your butt. They were in the Florida waters first.

***This bill continues to protect our oceans from over fishing up to two hundred miles off the coast of the Untied States. Good job Senate, House and the President for protecting our marine fisheries and recreational saltwater fishing.***

Today, President Bush Signed The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation And Management Reauthorization Act Of 2006. By signing this bill, the President reaffirmed our commitment to protect America's fisheries and keep our commercial and recreational fishing communities strong. This Act will end over-fishing in America, help us replenish our Nation's fish stocks, and advance international cooperation and ocean stewardship.

The Signing Of The Magnuson-Stevens Act Completes A Goal From The Administration's 2004 Ocean Action Plan – And Caps Two Years Of Accomplishment In Ocean Conservation. In 2004, the Administration released its Ocean Action Plan to promote an ethic of responsible use and stewardship of our ocean and coastal resources. Since its release, the plan has produced good results:

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument: In June 2006, President Bush signed a proclamation establishing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, the largest single conservation area in the history of our country.

Gulf Coast Regional Plan: The Administration worked with the five Gulf Coast states in their effort to establish a regional plan – released in March 2006 – to enhance water quality and protect our coastal habitats.

U.N. Resolution To Stop Destructive Fishing Practices On The High Seas: In November 2006, America worked with other countries on a new U.N. resolution to help stop destructive fishing practices on the high seas.

Conservation Plan For The Dry Tortugas: In December 2006, the Administration finalized its work with the State of Florida to create a conservation plan for the Dry Tortugas – an important nature preserve in the Florida Keys.

Additional Legislation: In December 2006, the President signed into law a bill to create the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and a bill to help identify and prevent marine debris.

Advancing Research: The Administration developed a ten-year Ocean Research Priorities Plan and Implementation Strategy to guide science and technology development.

Promoting Ocean Literacy: In June 2006, the White House supported a Conference on Ocean Literacy concerning the ocean's importance to our national heritage, economy, and security.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act Builds On The Administration's Progress Implementing Its Ocean Action Plan

The Act Sets A Firm Deadline To End Over-Fishing In America By 2011. Over-fishing occurs when more fish from a species are caught than is sustainable, endangering the species' long-term existence. This Act directs Regional Fishery Management Councils to establish annual quotas in Federally-managed fisheries to end over-fishing by 2010 for fish stocks currently undergoing over-fishing and by 2011 for all other Federally-managed fish stocks.

The Act Uses Market-Based Incentives To Replenish America's Fish Stocks. The Act will help us double the number of limited-access privilege programs by the year 2010. Limited-access privilege programs assign specific shares of the annual harvest quota to eligible fishermen, fishing communities, and regional fishery associations. Increasing the number of these programs will end the race for fish, improve the quality of catches, and protect those who earn their livelihood from fishing.

The Act Strengthens Enforcement Of America's Fishing Laws. Under the Act, those who break the law can lose their individual fishing quotas. The Act also expands cooperation between State and Federal officials to ensure our fishing laws are fully enforced, and it encourages the use of the latest technology in vessel-monitoring to aid in the real-time tracking of fishing boats.

The Act Improves Information And Decisions About The State Of Ocean Ecosystems. The Act creates several programs to improve the quality of information used by fishery managers and establishes regional registries for recreational fishermen. It also provides for improved assessment of the effects of proposed fishery management actions through timely, clear, and concise analysis that is useful to decision makers and more effectively involves the public.

The Act Provides New Tools To Improve The Administration's Cooperative Conservation Efforts. The President believes that to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century we must bring together conservationists, fishermen, sportsmen, and business leaders in a spirit of cooperation, and we must continue to listen to the needs of States, communities, and local citizens. This Act promotes community-based efforts to restore local fish habitats by helping Federal agencies partner with State and local organizations. (White House Release)

Mucho Big Thanks to Billy Peoples (Number 1 Parrothead and web ring admiral) for his help with asking Sunny Jim and Jack Mosley for permission to use their Cd's covers in my music section. (I just didn't have the "stones" to ask them.) Continued thanks for the photos of parrots used in music section.

I have updated the music page with special things and that can also be said for the Favorite Authors section. I thought putting the CD covers with the songs kicked it up a notch. "Tacky" comes to mind, but I think ya'll will enjoy the pages as there is still more to come.

Kelly McGuire has a new CD out titled Boat In Belize. It's his third CD and his best by far. Go to his web site to order a copy. It's been in the CD player since its arrival Monday.

Not much in the news this week that grabbed my attention. Our service men and women continue to serve our country with honor and dignity. What a volunteer military we have. God Bless them and their families. May the war end so normalcy can return to all who serve.

Its the weekend and I sit here trying to figure out a way to get out of working the extremely long honey do list. Crap!!, who ever thought up that list should be kicked in the ....

This update is about something I know nothing about. It caught my attention since it dealt with cancer. I have lost family members and I also happen to be a cancer survivor. You can go to TVC (Traditional Values Coalition) for the full story and many links dealing with this topic.

Merck, the giant drug company, has come under fire in recent weeks over its lobbying efforts to have their drug, Gardasil, forced upon public school girls throughout the nation.

Traditional Values Coalition is calling upon the Department of Justice to investigate the behind-the-scenes scheming that Merck has done to influence the votes of state legislators to push mandates of this drug on girls.

If this isn’t the sort of activity which interstate commerce regulation and federal racketeering statutes were designed to prohibit what is?

The public outcry has gotten so loud that Merck announced on February 20 that it would stop its lobbying campaign to persuade state legislatures to mandate this HPV vaccine for all girls as young as nine years old. It was doing much of its lobbying through an organization called Women in Government.

This decision to stop lobbying for mandating this vaccine is clearly intended to put off any possible investigation of the company or the drug itself. TVC wants to know how many politicians were influenced by political contributions by Merck. How much money has Merck dropped into the political campaigns of politicians both Republican and Democrat in order to buy favor in state legislatures. Clearly, having a drug mandated for grade school girls is a gold mine for Merck, who will reap billions in profits each year.

Merck’s lobbying turnaround is suspect – and should not be considered a victory. Legislation on forced mandates are still being considered in at least 20 states where Merck has already gotten a foothold. The National Conference of State Legislatures has a detailed report on the progress of legislation in states to mandate the vaccine for grade school girls.

The fact is that the American public is poorly educated about HPV and its relationship to cervical cancer. According to the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, Women’s Health Policy Facts, “In the U.S. cervical cancer is relatively rare, but there are nearly 10,000 cases and 3,700 deaths from cervical cancer annually.” Moreover, according to the CDC, HPV infects approximately 20 million people in the U.S. with 6.2 million new cases each year. (Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, HPV Vaccine report, February 20, 2007)

The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation is on target when it says that cervical cancer in the U.S. is relatively rare with only 10,000 cases annually out of a potential population of 20 million who are infected with HPV already.

According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, there are an average of 3,700 women in the U.S. each year who die from cervical cancer. Women in developing countries “account for about 85% of both the yearly cases of cervical cancer (estimated at 493,000 cases worldwide) and the yearly deaths from cervical cancer (estimated at 273,500 deaths worldwide).

While these 3,700 deaths are a tragedy, this is not a national health crisis nor does it require that states like Texas should rush to mandate an HPV vaccine upon girls. Mandatory vaccines should only be required when outbreaks of polio, tuberculosis or other easily transmitted diseases may threaten a school or community.

HPV is contracted through sexual contact and is not contagious. Therefore, almost all cases of HPV could be prevented through responsible sexual behavior, including fidelity in marriage and abstinence outside of marriage.

The mandating of a vaccine such as Gardasil sets a dangerous precedent. What other drugs will be mandated for our children in public schools? And, who must pay for them? Who will be criminally liable if a girl becomes disabled or dies from a mandated drug? (Excerpt from TVC email dated 2-25-07)

U.S. Congressman Phil Gingrey, M.D. today introduced the Parental Right to Decide Protection Act, legislation that prohibits federal funds from being used to implement mandatory state human-papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs. As HPV is a sexually-transmitted disease and not a communicable health concern, mandatory vaccination oversteps the government’s role and overrides the decisions of patients, parents and physicians. Since the FDA’s approval of an HPV vaccine, at least 22 state legislatures have introduced bills to make the vaccination mandatory for sixth-grade girls attending school.

“As an OB-GYN physician, I understand the importance of protecting Americans from sexually transmitted diseases, and I applaud the development of an HPV vaccine,” said Gingrey. “But for states to mandate vaccination for young women is both unprecedented and unacceptable. States should require vaccinations for communicable diseases, like measles and the mumps. But you can’t catch HPV if an infected schoolmate coughs on you or shares your juice box at lunch. Whether or not girls get vaccinated against HPV is a decision for parents and physicians, not state governments.”

The Parental Right to Decide Protection Act would prohibit all federal funds from supporting mandatory HPV vaccination programs. The legislation does NOT prohibit federal funds from supporting optional vaccination programs, and any state with an optional program could use Medicaid and education dollars to provide vaccinations to students.

During the bloody Battle for Iwo Jima, U.S. Marines from the 3^rd Platoon, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Division take the crest of Mount Suribachi, the island's highest peak and most strategic position, and raise the U.S. flag. Marine photographer Louis Lowery was with them and recorded the event. American soldiers fighting for control of Suribachi's slopes cheered the raising of the flag, and several hours later more Marines headed up to the crest with a larger flag. Joe Rosenthal, a photographer with the Associated Press, met them along the way and recorded the raising of the second flag along with a Marine still photographer and a motion-picture cameraman.

Rosenthal took three photographs atop Suribachi. The first, which showed five Marines and one Navy corpsman struggling to hoist the heavy flag pole, became the most reproduced photograph in history and won him a Pulitzer Prize. The accompanying motion-picture footage attests to the fact that the picture was not posed. Of the other two photos, the second was similar to the first but less affecting, and the third was a group picture of 18 soldiers smiling and waving for the camera. Many of these men, including three of the six soldiers seen raising the flag in the famous Rosenthal photo, were killed before the conclusion of the Battle for Iwo Jima in late March.

In early 1945, U.S. military command sought to gain control of the island of Iwo Jima in advance of the projected aerial campaign against the Japanese home islands. Iwo Jima, a tiny volcanic island located in the Pacific about 700 miles southeast of Japan, was to be a base for fighter aircraft and an emergency-landing site for bombers. On February 19, 1945, after three days of heavy naval and aerial bombardment, the first wave of U.S. Marines stormed onto Iwo Jima's inhospitable shores.

The Japanese garrison on the island numbered 22,000 heavily entrenched men. Their commander, General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, had been expecting an Allied invasion for months and used the time wisely to construct an intricate and deadly system of underground tunnels, fortifications, and artillery that withstood the initial Allied bombardment. By the evening of the first day, despite incessant mortar fire, 30,000 U.S. Marines commanded by General Holland Smith managed to establish a solid beachhead.

During the next few days, the Marines advanced inch by inch under heavy fire from Japanese artillery and suffered suicidal charges from the Japanese infantry. Many of the Japanese defenders were never seen and remained underground manning artillery until they were blown apart by a grenade or rocket, or incinerated by a flame thrower.

While Japanese kamikaze flyers slammed into the Allied naval fleet around Iwo Jima, the Marines on the island continued their bloody advance across the island, responding to Kuribayashi's lethal defenses with remarkable endurance. On February 23, the crest of 550-foot Mount Suribachi was taken, and the next day the slopes of the extinct volcano were secured.

By March 3, U.S. forces controlled all three airfields on the island, and on March 26 the last Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima were wiped out. Only 200 of the original 22,000 Japanese defenders were captured alive. More than 6,000 Americans died taking Iwo Jima, and some 17,000 were wounded.<Excerpt from History Channel email update>

I have come across a couple of tidbits I thought were interesting. The first was about the Donner Party. How hungry do you have to be to eat another human. A group of Uruguay soccer players found out when their plane went down in the Andes Mountains in Chile for 70 days.

The second article is not really an article but a poem of sorts. I was sent it in a email and it was unknown as to who the writer was. Its quite moving and deals with our soldiers.

Donner Party, a group of California-bound emigrants stranded by snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In the summer of 1846, in the midst of a Western-bound fever sweeping the United States, 89 people--including 31 members of the Donner and Reed families--set out in a wagon train from Springfield, Illinois.

After arriving at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, the emigrants decided to avoid the usual route and try a new trail recently blazed by California promoter Lansford Hastings, the so-called "Hastings Cutoff." After electing George Donner as their captain, the party departed Fort Bridger in mid-July. The shortcut was nothing of the sort: It set the Donner Party back nearly three weeks and cost them much-needed supplies. After suffering great hardships in the Wasatch Mountains, the Great Salt Lake Desert and along the Humboldt River, they finally reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains in early October.

Despite the lateness of the season, the emigrants continued to press on, and on October 28 they camped at Truckee Lake, located in the high mountains 21 kilometers northwest of Lake Tahoe. Overnight, an early winter storm blanketed the ground with snow, blocking the mountain pass and trapping the Donner Party. Most of the group stayed near the lake--now known as Donner Lake while the Donner family and others made camp six miles away at Alder Creek. Building makeshift tents out of their wagons and killing their oxen for food, they hoped for a thaw that never came.

Fifteen of the stronger emigrants, later known as the Forlorn Hope, set out west on snowshoes for Sutter's Fort near San Francisco on December 16. Three weeks later, after harsh weather and lack of supplies killed several of the expedition and forced the others to resort to cannibalism, seven survivors reached a Native American village. News of the stranded Donner Party traveled fast to Sutter's Fort, and a rescue party set out on January 31. Arriving at Donner Lake 20 days later, they found the camp completely snowbound and the surviving emigrants delirious with relief at their arrival.

Rescuers fed the starving group as well as they could and then began evacuating them. Three more rescue parties arrived to help, but the return to Sutter's Fort proved equally harrowing, and the last survivors didn't reach safety until late April. Of the 89 original members of the Donner Party, only 45 reached California.<Excerpt from History Channel email update>

The average age of the military man is 19 years old. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never collected unemployment either. He's a recent High School graduate. He was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155 mm howitzer. He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues. He washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime. He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking. In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is now a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood. And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so. As you go to bed tonight, remember this shot. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets

Sitting at my computer on a dismal Saturday working on my web site. I look out the window and it reminds me of thirty years ago when my father died. It was the same kind of day when he passed from this world to the next. Its cold outside and looks like it could snow any minute. There are very few leaves that are left on the big oak trees and they are brown. They remind me of death. The entire day looks like death. Reaching for my favorite hand made coffee cup. It has a herbal hot herbal tea in it this morning to sooth the soul. The phone rings........

I was informed this morning by a fellow ELK that a good friend of mine died from a massive heart attack. Al Weimer was on a cruise and was in Honduras when it happened. To say I was shocked doesn't come close. We had just talked the week before as we did most weeks. We are Elks and both have positions within our local lodge "1969". Al was secretary, as I am drug awareness chairman. Al had been gracious enough to do the first reading of my third book, he had also given me book marks for the DARE Investigator. When we said our goodbyes I wouldn't have dreamed it would be our last conversation.

It was only five short years ago when I first realized how valuable Al was to the lodge. I had become the Exhaulted Ruler for the year and I couldn't have done it without his help. There wasn't a by-law the man didn't know. He made the year of leadership in the lodge an easy one. Al's passing will leave a void in the lodge and as my friend. I also want to extend my heart felt condolences to his wife Betty.

I have added a drug awareness page to my site. I don't want the importance of drug awareness to be lost in the "ranting's and thoughts" page. If you are like me and down to watching only a few minutes of news a day, before getting on with your life. Please sit down and talk with your kids and see what's happening in there lives. There's are just as important as our daily confrontations at work are. Be there to listen. Part of being a good parent is listening.

When you finally have an hour to yourself in the evening. Please don't forget to grab a book and read it. Along with a good book (there are many great authors ) enjoy your favorite beverage and listen to some good Trop Rock. It will cure what ails you!

Another MIA has been found and identified. I also added some good news from the war in Iraq. Is it selfish of this American to say that I would rather have all the bad guys “terrorist” going to Iraq and fight us over there than to have another 9/11. I don’t think I could stand to see a couple of more towers fall from blatant hatred towards us by terrorist. No matter what they are called. A terrorist is a terrorist regardless of race, creed or color.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is U.S. Army Cpl. Jimmie L. Dorser of Springfield, Mo. He will be buried tomorrow in Lake Forest, Calif.

Representatives from the Army met with Dorser's next-of-kin to explain the recovery and identification process, and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army.

Dorser was a member of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division (organized into the 31st Regimental Combat Team). The RCT was engaged against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces along the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea from Nov. 27-Dec. 1, 1950. The unit was forced to retreat to the south and many men were reported missing in action under the intense enemy fire.

In 2002, a joint U.S. and Democratic People's Republic of North Korea team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, excavated a mass grave on the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir. The remains of five individuals were recovered.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA and dental comparisons in Dorser's identification. The additional remains cannot be attributed to specific individuals at this time and will undergo further analysis.

For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO web site or call (703) 699-1169. <American Forces Press Service>

Feb. 16, 2007 Coalition forces destroyed a munitions factory, detained two suspects and found scores of weapons in operations around Iraq over the past three days. Coalition forces cordoned off an area in Salman Pak, Iraq, and conducted a controlled detonation of an improvised-explosive-device factory. U.S. Army photo

Coalition forces destroyed an al Qaeda in Iraq improvised explosive device factory yesterday during a controlled detonation in Salman Pak. While searching the factory, coalition forces found a large amount of IED-making material, including 1,000 pounds of various types of explosives. An explosive ordnance disposal team determined that the material was too unstable to remove. Ground forces cordoned off the area and moved local citizens a safe distance from the site before it was detonated.

Also in Iraq yesterday, soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army Division, with coalition advisors, targeted specific terrorist cells in the Jazzie neighborhood of Muqdadiya as part of an ongoing operation. Combined forces detained two suspected terrorists during the operation, and discovered 12 weapons caches. One detainee leads a sub-group responsible for emplacing IEDs and conducting kidnappings, military officials said. "The discovery of the weapons caches and the elimination of terrorist cells is credible evidence to the progress of the 5th Iraqi Army Division," Col. David W. Sutherland, senior U.S. Army officer in the Diyala province and commander of 3rd Battalion, 1st Cavalry, said.

Two caches contained IEDs that were fully prepared for detonation. The other caches included several anti-tank mines and IED-making materials, such as mortar rounds, propane tanks and other explosives. "As we continue to discover these caches, a significant impact is made on the enemy's ability to target the security forces and the people of Diyala," Sutherland said.

Two car bombs detonated south of Baghdad yesterday, killing four Iraqi residents and injuring 30 others. Iraqi police responded to the explosions and cordoned the area to prevent further casualties. Paratroopers from 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, assisted in the recovery and secured the area following the attack.

Combined forces found nine unexploded 57 mm rounds and one unexploded mortar round at the site. The ordnance was recovered for a controlled detonation. Elsewhere, Multinational Division Baghdad forces found several large weapons caches along Iraq's Mulla Fayad Highway near the Rushdi Mullah village Feb. 14. Soldiers of Company C, 4th "Polar Bear" Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, were burning reeds along the highway to deny terrorists the chance to use them for concealment when they heard explosions caused by the fires.

Upon investigation, they discovered a directional charge loaded with explosives, four empty directional charges, five tank rounds, a burned AK-47 assault rifle with two magazines, two 60 mm mortar base plates, and 300 rounds of AK-47 ammunition. The remainder of the cache was destroyed with a controlled detonation.

Later that afternoon, a patrol from Company C found five more caches in the same area. They contained four 120 mm tank sabot rounds, Russian tank rounds, a sack of 12.7 mm heavy machine gun rounds, 15 empty directional charges, five explosive-packed directional charges rigged with detonation cord, a 105 mm rocket round and homemade explosives. "We took 25 improvised explosive devices off the street today," said Army Maj. Web Wright, a spokesman for the 2nd BCT. "We are definitely making an impact on the al Qaeda and former regime members' freedom of maneuver, as well as their weapons stockpiles."

Coalition forces found three weapons caches today and detained two suspected terrorists in operations around Afghanistan over the past three days. A villager informed coalition troops about a nearby weapons cache location in Khost province this morning. Explosive ordnance personnel destroyed the cache, consisting of two rockets with triggering devices. A coalition patrol was searching a known enemy firing location when it found three rockets with a booster mechanism around noon in the Perch district of Konar province today.

Coalition forces discovered the third and larger cache about one hour later in Zabul province. The cache contained one 60 mm mortar round, one 107 mm rocket, 11 cases of anti-aircraft artillery rounds, and 20 cases of heavy machine gun rounds. The mortar and rocket were detonated in place, and the rounds were secured.

An improvised explosive device detonated, injuring three Afghan construction workers yesterday in southern Nuristan near the border of Laghman province. "This is another example of how the Taliban work to purposely injure local hard-working Afghan citizens who choose a better way of life by supporting the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and ISAF to make their province a better place to live in," Army Maj. Eric Zenk, a Task Force Spartan spokesman, said.

The three Afghan workers were taken to the hospital to receive treatment for their wounds. During an operation Feb. 14 near Jalalabad, in Nangarhar province, Afghan and coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists with ties to suicide attacks and heroin production. At least one suspect is believed to have ties to reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar and has been involved in anti-government and anti-coalition activities in southern and eastern Afghanistan, military officials said. <American Forces Press Service>

I know its Valentines Day and I hope it’s a happy one for all. Just as soon as I finish this update of “rants & thoughts” I will have a brandy and put Atlanta Rhythm Section on the turn table, Dog Day’s. It’s an oldie but goldie. My wife and I will talk about the concert we went to see when they played in the Rome Auditorium in 1975. It was a good time to be a teenager. My father was still alive, the Vietnam war was over and gas was cheap. Only fifty cents a gallon. There were no worries only young love or would it be lust.

So here it is. I received this in an email from Traditional Values Coalition today and couldn’t believe what I was reading. What’s 30 million in a yearly trillion dollar budget? The word “Humanity” comes to mind. But I tend to be logical in my thinking. Maybe I was a Vulcan in another life. Beam me up Scotty if the cornstalks can covert to energy.

Below this update I have also included Ryan Whites Testimony before the Presidents Commission on AIDS. It appears to me that our Politian’s only champion causes when it suits them and if they can get political mileage out of it. Whatever happened to doing the right thing because it was the right thing to do for humanities sake? In this case for little babies, newborns!!!!

Liberals in the Senate and House are using their control of the agenda in Congress to attempt to eliminate a $30 million program that encourages states to test newborns for HIV.

The program was authorized under the Ryan White Early Diagnosis Grant Program and has been successful in reducing the numbers of babies who become infected through their mothers. The HIV test costs $10 and the treatment to prevent HIV infection in a baby delivered by a mother with HIV costs $75. By comparison, it costs at least $10,000 per year to treat a newborn with HIV. An infant with HIV has a life expectancy of more than 23 years. Lifetime care could exceed $250,000.

Liberals have decided, however, that this program is an “earmark” or special pork barrel program that should be eliminated. This funding is included in the omnibus spending bill that has already passed the House. The $30 million has already been appropriated for this program, but liberals have introduced Section 20613(b) of House Joint Resolution 20, that prohibits funds going to the early diagnosis program. This money will revert back to the CDC’s other HIV/AIDS activities.

One of the few worthwhile programs to actually fight pediatric AIDS is being eliminated by liberals in both the Senate and the House! In New York, for example, there was a 78% drop in infected newborns between 1997 and 2002 because of the baby AIDS program.

According to Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), after his state implemented a baby AIDS testing program -- of the 213 babies born to HIV-infected mothers in 2002, only one baby was confirmed as HIV positive! Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) is a medical doctor and expert on AIDS. He has introduced amendment (SA 234), which will restore the $30 million in funding for the baby AIDS program. Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to block any amendments offered by Republicans to the omnibus spending bill!

****The Senate is expected to deal with this issue by the close of business on February 15^th.****

My name is Ryan White. I am sixteen years old. I have hemophilia, and I have AIDS.

When I was three days old, the doctors told my parents I was a severe hemophiliac, meaning my blood does not clot. Lucky for me, there was a product just approved by the Food and Drug Administration. It was called Factor VIII, which contains the clotting agent found in blood.

While I was growing up, I had many bleeds or hemorhages in my joints which make it very painful. Twice a week I would receive injections or IV's of Factor VIII which clotted the blood and then broke it down. A bleed occurs from a broken blood vessel or vein. The blood then had nowhere to go so it would swell up in a joint. You could compare it to trying to pour a quart of milk into a pint-sized container of milk.

The first five to six years of my life were spent in and out of the hospital. All in all I led a pretty normal life. Most recently my battle has been against AIDS and the discrimination surrounding it. On December 17, 1984, I had surgery to remove two inches of my left lung due to pneumonia. After two hours of surgery the doctors told my mother I had AIDS. I contracted AIDS through my Factor VIII which is made from blood. When I came out of surgery, I was on a respirator and had a tube in my left lung. I spent Christmas and the next thirty days in the hospital. A lot of my time was spent searching, thinking and planning my life.

I came face to face with death at thirteen years old. I was diagnosed with AIDS: a killer. Doctors told me I'm not contagious. Given six months to live a being the fighter that I am, I set high goals for myself. It was my decision to live a normal life, go to school, be with my friends, and enjoying day to day activities. It was not going to be easy.

The school I was going to said they had no guidelines for a person with AIDS. The school board, my teachers, and my principal voted to keep me out of the classroom even after the guidelines were set by the I.S.B.H., for fear of someone getting AIDS from me by casual contact. Rumors of sneezing, kissing, tears, sweat, and saliva spreading AIDS caused people to panic.

We began a series of court battles for nine months, while I was attending classes by telephone. Eventually, I won the right to attend school, but the prejudice was still there. Listening to medical facts was not enough. People wanted one hundred percent guarantees. There are no one hundred percent guarantees in life, but concessions were made by Mom and me to help ease the fear. We decided to meet them halfway:

Even though we knew AIDS was not spread through casual contact. Nevertheless, parents of twenty students started their own school. They were still not convinced. Because of the lack of education on AIDS, discrimination, fear, panic, and lies surrounded me:

My school locker was vandalized inside and folders were marked FAG and other obscenities

I was labeled a troublemaker, my mom an unfit mother, and I was not welcome anywhere. People would get up and leave so they would not have to sit anywhere near me. Even at church, people would not shake my hand.

This brought on the news media, TV crews, interviews, and numerous public appearances. I became known as the AIDS boy. I received thousands of letters of support from all around the world, all because I wanted to go to school. Mayor Kock, of New York, was the first public figure to give me support. Entertainers, athletes, and stars started giving me support. I met some of the greatest like Elton John, Greg Louganis, Max Headroom, Alyssa Milano (my teen idol), Lyndon King (Los Angeles Raiders), and Charlie Sheen. All of these plus many more became my friends, but I had very few friends at school. How could these people in the public eye not be afraid of me, but my whole town was?

It was difficult, at times, to handle; but I tried to ignore the injustice, because I knew the people were wrong. My family and I held no hatred for those people because we realized they were victims of their own ignorance. We had great faith that with patience, understanding, and education, that my family and I could be helpful in changing their minds and attitudes around. Financial hardships were rough on us, even though Mom had a good job at G.M. The more I was sick, the more work she had to miss. Bills became impossible to pay. My sister, Andrea, was a championship roller skater who had to sacrifice too. There was no money for her lessons and travel. AIDS can destroy a family if you let it, but luckily for my sister and me, Mom taught us to keep going. Don't give up, be proud of who you are, and never feel sorry for yourself.

After two and a half years of declining health, two attacks of pneumocystis, shingles, a rare form of whooping cough, and liver problems, I faced fighting chills, fevers, coughing, tiredness, and vomiting. I was very ill and being tutored at home. The desire to move into a bigger house, to avoid living AIDS daily, and a dream to be accepted by a community and school, became possible and a reality with a movie about my life, The Ryan White Story.

My life is better now. At the end of the school year (1986-87), my family and I decided to move to Cicero, Indiana. We did a lot of hoping and praying that the community would welcome us, and they did. For the first time in three years, we feel we have a home, a supportive school, and lots of friends. The communities of Cicero, Atlanta, Arcadia, and Noblesville, Indiana, are now what we call "home." I'm feeling great. I am a normal happy teenager again. I have a learner's permit. I attend sports functions and dances. My studies are important to me. I made the honor role just recently, with 2 A's and 2 B's. I'm just one of the kids and all because the students at Hamilton Heights High School listened to the facts, educated their parents and themselves, and believed in me.

I believe in myself as I look forward to graduating from Hamilton Heights High School in 1991.

Ryan Wayne White died April 8, 1990. Peace, comfort and ever lasting life are his now.

Today's up date is just a picture. Its been a round for quite a while being passed around in many emails. I have no idea who took it or where in Iraq it was taken. I think it speaks for itself. May God Bless these solders, their families and of course this great country. There is no better place in the world.

The update for today is about the Medal of Honor and the few Americans that have earned the Medal in the last ten years. Not many you will notice in the past decade. There are many more recipients dating back to the Civil War. You can go to the web site listed below to view all the Medal of Honor citations.

What makes a person put his brain on hold and perform the “ultimate sacrifice” for his fellow soldiers? Only the men and women who serve this great country would understand that split second decision. The protestors that infest this country definitely wouldn’t understand such gallantry. They enjoy the freedoms that have been earned by those who have scarified so much since the creation of the United States.

The first formal system for rewarding acts of individual gallantry by the nation's fighting men was established by General George Washington on August 7, 1782. Designed to recognize "any singularly meritorious action," the award consisted of a purple cloth heart. Records show that only three persons received the ward: Sergeant Elijah Churchill, Sergeant William Brown, and Sergeant Daniel Bissel Jr.

The Badge of Military Merit, as it was called, fell into oblivion until 1932, when General Douglas MacArthur, then Army Chief of Staff, pressed for its revival. Officially reinstituted on February 22, 1932, the now familiar Purple Heart was at first an Army award, given to those who had been wounded in World War I or who possessed a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate. In 1943, the order was amended to include personnel of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Coverage was eventually extended to include all services and "any civilian national" wounded while serving with the Armed Forces.

Although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, the idea of a decoration for individual gallantry remained through the early 1800s. In 1847, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, a "certificate of merit" was established for any soldier who distinguished himself in action. No medal went with the honor. After the Mexican-American War, the award was discontinued, which meant there was no military award with which to recognize the nation's fighting men.

Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed to General-in-Chief of the Army Winfield Scott. But Scott felt medals smacked of European affectation and killed the idea.

The medal found support in the Navy, however, where it was felt recognition of courage in strife was needed. Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy medal of valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. The medal was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war."

Shortly after this, a resolution similar in wording was introduced on behalf of the Army. Signed into law July 12, 1862, the measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldier like qualities, during the present insurrection." Although it was created for the Civil War, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration in 1863. Almost 3,400 men and one woman have received the award for heroic actions in the nation's battles since that time.

Rank and Organization: Corporal, United States Marine Corps
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham's squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander's convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Rank and Organization: Sergeant First Class, United States Army
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003. On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.

Rank and organization: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army. Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia. Entered service at: ----- Born: Lincoln, Maine. Citation: Master Sergeant Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fires from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army. Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia. Entered service at: ----- Born: Newville, Pennsylvania. Citation: Sergeant First Class Shughart, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Sergeant First Class Shughart provided precision sniper fires from the lead helicopter during an assault on a building and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. While providing critical suppressive fires at the second crash site, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the site. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After their third request to be inserted, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader received permission to perform this volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader were inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Sergeant First Class Shughart pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Sergeant First Class Shughart used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers while traveling the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Sergeant First Class Shughart's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

I want to thank Mr. Al for his help on Book 3 "High Tides". He has done the first reading and editing for me. Lots of work for me to do now. I hope to have the book ready for AuthorHouse in a couple of months and out for you readers by June if all goes well. Usually all doesn't go well and it could be July before its release.

I have put a somewhat edited version of Chapter 2 of "High Tides" in the Book Preview section. I hope you like it. It gives you a good idea of the plot for this book. I also hope to have Book 4 "Storm Tides" Prelude very soon.

Below is a list of gun safety tips. If you as a parent have guns in your house, then you should teach your child gun safety. Its your responsibility as a parent. I found the safety tips on the H&K web sight.

It took 40 years but America got another one of its son's back. My heart felt condolences go out to Navy Cmdr. Peter Mongilardi Jr. family. At long last there is closure.

A friend sent me an email on the "TET Offensive" and like wise for the "Ode to a Veteran". I hope you find today's reading's not a rant like the last update. But what is life without passion, wouldn't life be rather boring. Whether it is politics, religion or more importantly your significant other and family. Live life to the fullest each day like there is no tomorrow. Remember to always "hugem and lovem" when it comes to your children. Never take them for granted.

As I waited for the call today from my wife about my 15 year old daughter Lauren and the possibility of breast cancer. I realized how unimportant so much in my life is when it comes to my baby girl. I wish I wasn't on the wagon, I would have a large taste of brandy to celebrate the good news. Instead I will pray and give thanks.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office DPMO announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Navy Cmdr. Peter Mongilardi Jr., of Haledon, N.J. He will be buried on April 11 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington D.C.

On June 25, 1965, Mongilardi departed the USS Coral Sea in his A-4C Skyhawk on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. His flight encountered bad weather and enemy fire over Thanh Hoa Province, causing the wingman to lose visual and radio contact with Mongilardi. Contact was never re-established and the aircraft failed to return to the carrier.

In 1993, a joint U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) archival team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), obtained information concerning the crash while researching documents, artifacts and photographs at the Central Army Museum in Hanoi. Later that year, another joint U.S./S.R.V. team conducted an investigation in Thanh Hoa Province. The team interviewed two local Vietnamese citizens who recalled the crash and said the pilot died in the impact. The men then led the team to the crash site.

In 1994, another joint team excavated the crash site and recovered human remains and pilot-related items, including a belt tip, boot heel, pieces of flight boot and other items worn by the pilot.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used nuclear DNA in the identification of the remains.

U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release

On this day in 1968, as part of the Tet Offensive, a squad of Viet Cong guerillas attacks the U.S. embassy in Saigon. The soldiers seized the embassy and held it for six hours until an assault force of U.S. paratroopers landed by helicopter on the building's roof and routed the Viet Cong.

The Tet Offensive was planned as a massive, simultaneous attack on the major cities and provincial capitals of South Vietnam. It was scheduled to take place during Tet, the Vietnamese lunar New Year celebration, which was traditionally a time of decreased fighting. In December 1967, following an attack on the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh, 50,000 American troops were sent in to defend the area, thereby weakening U.S. positions elsewhere. This American response played into the Viet Cong’s strategy to clear the way for the surprise Tet Offensive, in which Communist forces attacked Saigon, Hue (the imperial capital) and over 100 other urban areas.

The timing and magnitude of the attacks caught the South Vietnamese and American forces off guard, although they quickly recovered and recaptured the occupied areas. Militarily, the Tet Offensive was a disaster for the Communists, who suffered devastating losses. However, while the offensive was a crushing military defeat, the Communists scored a huge psychological victory that would ultimately help them win the war. The graphic images of U.S. casualties suffered during the offensive helped stoke anti-war sentiment among the American people, who had grown tired of the long conflict (active U.S. combat troops had been in Vietnam since 1965; the U.S. first sent in military advisers in 1961). The public was disillusioned by earlier overly optimistic reports of progress in the war and disenchanted with President Lyndon Johnson’s handling of it.

Johnson, frustrated with his inability to reach a solution in Vietnam, announced on March 31, 1968, that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election. General William Westmoreland, commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam, requested an additional 206,000 troops to finish off the weakened enemy forces. Johnson denied Westmoreland’s request and replaced him with General Creighton Abrams. In May 1968, the U.S. and North Vietnamese began peace talks in Paris and reached a formal agreement in January 1973. Fighting between the North and South continued in Vietnam before the war finally ended on April 30, 1975, when Saigon fell to the Communists and the last Americans left Vietnam. <Excerpt from History Channel email update>

He was getting old and paunchy, and his health was failing fast, and as he sat around the Legion telling stories of his past. Of the war that he had fought in, of the deeds that he had done. In his exploits with his buddies, they were heroes, everyone.

And though sometimes to his neighbors, his tales became a joke, all his buddies listened, for they knew where of he spoke. But we'll hear his tales no longer, for 'ole Bob has passed away, and the world's a little poorer, for a Veteran died today.

No, he wasn't mourned by many, just his children and his wife, for he lived an ordinary, very quiet sort of life. He held a job and raised a family, quietly going on his way; and the world won't note his passing, though a Veteran died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state, while thousands note their passing, and proclaim that they were great. The papers tell of their life stories, from the time that they were young. But the passing of a Veteran goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of this land, some jerk who breaks his promise and cons his fellow man? Or the ordinary fellow, who in time of war and strife, Goes off to serve his country and offers up his life?

The politician's stipend and the style in which he lives are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives. While the ordinary Veteran who offered up his all, is paid off with a medal and perhaps a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them, for it is so long ago, that our Bobs and Jims and Johnny’s went to battle, but we know. It was not the politician, with his compromise and ploy, who won for us this freedom that our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger with your enemies at hand would you really want some cop-out with his ever waffling hand, Or would you want a Veteran, who has sworn to defend, His home, his kin, and Country, and fight until the end?

He's just a common Veteran and his ranks are growing thin, but his presence should remind us, we may need his like again. For when countries are in conflict, we find the Veteran's part was to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor, while he's here to hear the praise, then at least let's give him homage, at the ending of his days. Perhaps a simple headline in the paper that might say, Our Country is in Mourning, for a Veteran died today.

I came across this in an email sent to me wanting me to support these two border Agents. The opinions are mine and don't reflect anyone else's opinion on this web site. Every now and then I just get ticked off at what's going on in this country. I try to leave the game of politics alone. I think its truly a lost cause. There isn't one political party for the hard working men and women in this country. Men and women who go to work try and earn a living to support their families. Raise their kids to be good citizens with morals and strong work ethics. You end up having to borrow against your retirement so your kids can go to college. And all you get form your politicians is you don't give enough and they continue to take more and more!!!

I condensed the email below, but it is easy to find more information through various search engines.

Two U.S. Border Patrol agents were sentenced to prison terms of 11 years and 12 years for shooting a drug-smuggling suspect in the buttocks as he fled across the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Cardone in El Paso, Texas, sentenced Jose Alonso Compean to 12 years in prison and Ignacio Ramos to 11 years and one day despite a plea by their attorney for a new trial after three jurors said they were coerced into voting guilty in the case, the Washington Times reported. A federal jury convicted Compean, 28, and Ramos, 37, in March after a two-week trial on charges of causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and a civil rights violation.

(How does an illegal alien have civil rights in this country? This is a man who was smuggling 800 pounds of marijuana into our country. Drugs that could be sold to our children!!!!)

Ramos is an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Naval Reserve and a former nominee for Border Patrol Agent of the Year. Behind the wheel of the van was an illegal alien, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila of Mexico. Unknown to the growing number of Border Patrol agents converging on Fabens, Aldrete-Davila's van was carrying 800 pounds of marijuana.

(In a move that still confuses Ramos and Compean, the U.S. government filed charges against them after giving full immunity to Aldrete-Davila and paying for his medical treatment at an El Paso hospital.)

At trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Kanof told the court that the agents had violated an unarmed Aldrete-Davila's civil rights.

"The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled it is a violation of someone's Fourth Amendment rights to shoot them in the back while fleeing if you don't know who they are and/or if you don't know they have a weapon," said Kanof. Kanof dismissed Ramos' testimony that he had seen something shiny in the smuggler's hand, saying that the agent couldn't be sure it was a gun he had seen. Further, Kanof argued, it was a violation of Border Patrol policy for agents to pursue fleeing suspects. "Agents are not allowed to pursue. In order to exceed the speed limit, you have to get supervisor approval, and they did not," she told the Daily Bulletin. Those shell casings Compean picked up were described to the jury as destroying the crime scene and their failure to file an incident report – punishable by a five-day suspension, according to Border Patrol regulations – an attempted cover up. The Texas jury came back with a guilty verdict. Conviction for discharging a firearm in relation to a crime of violence has an automatic 10-year sentence. The other counts have varying punishments.

"How are we supposed to follow the Border Patrol strategy of apprehending terrorists or drug smugglers if we are not supposed to pursue fleeing people?" said Ramos, who noted that he only did on that day what he, had done for the previous 10 years. "Everybody who's breaking the law flees from us. What are we supposed to do? Do they want us to catch them or not?"

"This is the greatest miscarriage of justice I have ever seen," said Andy Ramirez of the nonprofit group Friends of the Border Patrol. "This drug smuggler has fully contributed to the destruction of two brave agents and their families and has sent a very loud message to the other Border Patrol agents: If you confront a smuggler, this is what will happen to you."

Jan. 28, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 14 terrorists and captured dozens of suspected insurgents during operations conducted in Iraq today and over the past week, officials said. Coalition troops nabbed 21 suspected terrorists, including a senior al Qaeda in Iraq courier, an improvised-explosive- device cell leader, and a foreign-fighter facilitator during operations across Iraq today. In Baghdad, coalition forces captured three individuals with ties to senior al Qaeda in Iraq leadership. During operations in Karmah, coalition troops captured 11 suspected terrorists, including a high-level al Qaeda courier who is a known associate of several senior al Qaeda in Iraq personnel. He also is known for assisting in the movement of senior al Qaeda agents in the region.

Three suspected terrorists were detained in Ramadi, including the leader of an IED producing and emplacement cell. In Bayji, four suspects with ties to foreign fighters were detained. Coalition forces killed 14 terrorists, detained two suspected terrorists and destroyed a known foreign fighter safe house yesterday during a raid conducted south of Baqubah. Intelligence reports indicated that a foreign fighter facilitator responsible for conducting multiple attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces was operating in the area. Ground forces called for close air support resulting in 14 enemy fighters killed during the air strikes. The air strikes also destroyed the building to prevent it from further use as a terrorist safe haven.

U.S. soldiers from the 759th Military Police Battalion and Iraqi police from Nahrawan Police Station found a large weapons cache during a joint patrol conducted in east Baghdad Jan. 26. The cache consisted of 55 80 mm mortars, 50 60 mm mortars, 15 120 mm mortars, two mortar tubes, 60,000 PKC rounds, 50,000 AK-47 rounds, 30 sticks of TNT, 10 pounds of gunpowder, multiple charges and fuses, shotgun ammunition, 10 hand grenades, a 14.5 mm machine gun, 400 rounds of 14.5 mm ammunition, a crush wire initiator, three RPG launchers, four PKC spare barrels, a mortar sight, flak vests and military uniforms. Two people were found in a building near the cache and were detained after testing positive for explosives.

Special Iraqi Security Forces found a terrorist bomb factory during operations with coalition advisors conducted west of Baghdad near Hit on Jan. 26. The operation targeted a terrorist cell suspected of conducting attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces in the area. Iraqi forces discovered a building believed to be used by terrorists as an IED factory. Iraqi forces confiscated two completed IEDs, two 155 mm artillery rounds, a rocket, several pounds of explosives and additional components used to construct IEDs. The building was destroyed to prevent its future use by terrorists in constructing bombs. There were no Iraqi civilian, Iraqi forces or coalition forces casualties.

Soldiers of the 2nd Iraqi Army Division captured the suspected leader of a terrorist bombing cell during operations with coalition advisors in Mosul, Jan. 26. The detainee is allegedly responsible for coordinating and participating in multiple mortar, small-arms and IED attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. The cell leader also allegedly was involved in an IED attack against an Iraqi police convoy in Mosul last year. An additional suspect was taken into Iraqi custody for questioning. Special Iraqi Police captured the suspected leader of a terrorist bombing cell during operations with coalition advisors in northern Babil province near Haswah, Jan. 25. The cell leader is believed to have al Qaeda ties and is responsible for coordinating IED attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces in the area. Iraqi forces detained eight additional suspects for questioning. Iraqi Army and coalition force troops nabbed 21 suspected terrorists and cleared and secured a known insurgent hotbed in the center of Baghdad during Operation Tomahawk Strike 11, conducted Jan. 24-25. The operation disrupted insurgent activity on Haifa Street and was led by 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division with support provided by Multinational Division Baghdad.

In other news from Iraq, a 5-year old Iraqi girl was wounded during an insurgent attack on coalition forces operating in Baghdad's al-Doura district today. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment and 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Cavalry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, were conducting a security patrol in the area with an Iraqi army platoon when they were attacked by a rocket-propelled grenade, followed by small arms fire. The girl received multiple gunshot wounds to her legs and arms during the attack. Soldiers provided emergency medical treatment and evacuated the girl and her neighbor to the International Zone, where she received further treatment for her injuries. Also, Special Iraqi Army Forces and coalition advisors saved an Iraqi family that was being threatened by al Qaeda operatives during a Jan. 25 operation conducted near Taji. Iraqi forces evacuated all six family members to the safety of an Iraqi Army compound in Baghdad. One person was taken into Iraqi custody for questioning.

On Jan. 24, coalition troops rescued eight Iraqis who had been tortured while being held hostage in Arab Jabour. The hostages had been tied up and hidden in an underground bunker, officials said. They'd also been tortured, beaten, deprived of food and water and told they were being held for ransom. One of the hostages reported he had been held hostage for 50 days, and another for 47 days. Another hostage indicated the terrorists had captured other Iraqis and tortured them before receiving ransom payments.

Military medical personnel provided on-scene first aid to the liberated hostages after which coalition troops transported the men to a medical facility for further treatment. Seven of the men have since been released to their families; the eighth hostage, who had been held for 50 days, had to be carried out of the bunker. He is undergoing medical treatment and will be released to his family, officials said. While searching the scene, coalition forces found IED-producing materials, multiple shotgun shells, mortar primers, machine guns, military-style uniforms and boots. Also, coalition forces discovered an insurgent torture house with blood-stained walls and freed three victims found inside as part of a security operation conducted southeast of Fallujah Jan. 22-23. Troops also detained 10 individuals to add to 11 others captured earlier in the operation. Fifteen of these detainees were sent to a detention facility. Seven of those detainees were identified as known al Qaeda operatives, and seven others were identified as known insurgents or criminals. The rescued victims identified several of the detainees as members of the torture house.

1/7/07 More than 600 Texas National Guardsmen were activated by the state's governor Jan. 22 to support a surge operation targeting crime and international drug and human trafficking along the state's 1,200-mile border with Mexico. The soldiers are activated in support of Operation Wrangler, an interagency law enforcement operation that involves 6,800 federal, state and local officials, according to a release by Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office.

These soldiers are in addition to the 1,700 Texas Guardsmen federally activated in support Operation Jump Start, a beef-up of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico border aimed at stopping illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. Airmen from the 204th Security Forces Squadron from Fort Bliss, Texas, will play a major part by supporting with trained and experienced security force airmen and the rest of the forces will be provided by smaller units from throughout the state, said Army Col. Bill Meehan, Texas National Guard's state public affairs officer. The majority of the 604 activated are Army National Guardsmen. The Guardsmen will remain on state activation for the next several weeks, Meehan said.

The Guardsmen will form 12 armed security platoons and man traffic crossovers along the Rio Grande River. Each platoon will be accompanied by a Border Patrol agent and a local police officer, according to a release by the governor's office. The Guardsmen are issued weapons, but whether they carry them will depend on the mission, Meehan said. The 204th Security Force Squadron is uniquely qualified for its role of reinforcing local law enforcement as the only heavy weapons security force in the Air National Guard, Meehan said, and troop support is strong for this new mission.

The National Guard has its roots as a voluntary organization, and all of our soldiers and airmen know this, Meehan said. We have not seen a problem with recruiting and retaining fine Army and Air guardsmen in any of the years that we have answered the call to respond to the citizens of Texas or the United States. Morale continues to be high, Meehan said. This is reflected in Operation Jump Start. Every (Texas) soldier or airman in Operation Jump Start is a volunteer. Operation Jump Start Guardsmen work in direct support of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection under a federal activation, Meehan said. The majority of the soldiers and airmen activated for Operation Wrangler already have seen either state or federal duty, or both, Meehan said.

In the past five years, more than 8,000 Texas Guardsmen have been activated on federal orders, Meehan said. Even more have been activated for state missions, such as hurricane and flood relief, he said. Just yesterday, 400 Texas Army National Guard soldiers returned home after serving a one-year deployment to the Sinai, in Egypt, Meehan said. The group served as the command cell for Multinational Force and Observers 49. The command cell was led by the 1st Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, out of Waco, Texas. Some 250 Texas Guardsmen were activated to assist during the winter storm that swept through the state Jan. 15-17. The soldiers were stationed in Abilene, Corsicana, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Waco, Terrell and Tyler to support the Texas Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement in west central Texas.

Also, 1,500 are serving in Baghdad. The 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, from Austin, deployed in August and controls a 2,500-person brigade that represents troops from 44 states. Texas has 21,000 Army and Air National Guard soldiers and airmen.

Canned beer makes its debut on this day in 1935. In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger's Finest Beer and Krueger's Cream Ale to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia. Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light to further production.

By the late 19th century, cans were instrumental in the mass distribution of foodstuffs, but it wasn't until 1909 that the American Can Company made its first attempt to can beer. This was unsuccessful, and the American Can Company would have to wait for the end of Prohibition in the United States before it tried again. Finally in 1933, after two years of research, American Can developed a can that was pressurized and had a special coating to prevent the fizzy beer from chemically reacting with the tin.

The concept of canned beer proved to be a hard sell, but Krueger's overcame its initial reservations and became the first brewer to sell canned beer in the United States. The response was overwhelming. Within three months, over 80 percent of distributors were handling Krueger's canned beer, and Krueger's was eating into the market share of the "big three" national brewers--Anheuser-Busch, Pabst and Schlitz. Competitors soon followed suit, and by the end of 1935, over 200 million cans had been produced and sold.

The purchase of cans, unlike bottles, did not require the consumer to pay a deposit. Cans were also easier to stack, more durable and took less time to chill. As a result, their popularity continued to grow throughout the 1930s, and then exploded during World War II, when U.S. brewers shipped millions of cans of beer to soldiers overseas. After the war, national brewing companies began to take advantage of the mass distribution that cans made possible, and were able to consolidate their power over the once-dominant local breweries, which could not control costs and operations as efficiently as their national counterparts.

Today, canned beer accounts for approximately half of the $20 billion U.S. beer industry. Not all of this comes from the big national brewers: Recently, there has been renewed interest in canning from microbrewers and high-end beer-sellers, who are realizing that, cans guarantee purity and taste by preventing light damage and oxidation

I have updated the recipe page with a section on Food Safety and about beef and the best ways to cook it.

Here are a couple of interesting articles that do show we are concerned about what Colombia is doing to fight the growing and trafficking of illegal drugs. It has been a long war just as the Cold War was. How long did that last?

In the 2005 United Nations World Drug Report, the value of the global illicit drug market for the year 2003 was estimated at US$13 billon at the production level, at US$94 billon at the wholesale level , and at US$322billon based on retail prices and taking seizures and other losses into account.

The war on drugs can be won. Besides the millions of dollars spent yon deterrence by our country. The most important thing we can do as a civilized country you is to educate its citizens, starting with our children first and foremost. If we don’t use drugs then there is no market for it. Programs like DARE do this.

BOGOTA, Colombia, 1/20/07 The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff thanked Colombia's leaders here yesterday for using their country's long experience in its counter-drug effort to help the Afghan government fight a similar battle.

"I should thank President (Alvaro) Uribe and the entire government here in Colombia for the way that he and his leaders have reached out to (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai and his government to provide experience, to provide teams of experts, to go sit and talk with President Karzai and the folks he has working the counter-drug (issue)," Marine Gen. Peter Pace said. "It's been a very helpful contribution by the Colombian government."

Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manual Santos, who joined Pace and Gen. Freddy Padilla, commander of the Colombian armed forces, at a joint news conference, pledged continued support for Afghanistan. The Colombians have sent National Police members to train Afghan army and police forces in both counter-drug and counter-insurgency operations.

Pace said Colombia has set a model for countering drug trafficking and narco-terrorism that could work for Afghanistan, too. Under that model, Colombia's armed forces have cleared specific areas of terrorists, and the government has followed in those areas with projects that have brought electricity, water and jobs to the people, Pace said.

“But another important part of the model is an amnesty program for members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, to leave terrorist activity behind, the general said. Under that program, FARC members can come forward, lay down their weapons and, with the help of a government-supported education process, become productive members of society.”

"I think those kinds of outreach programs by the Colombian government are a good model for President Karzai to consider as he looks at how to reduce the amount of drug trafficking in his country and to provide stability and jobs for his citizens," Pace said. The chairman expressed optimism that U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Wood, who was nominated Dec. 18 to become the ambassador to Afghanistan, will lend his experience to helping further the two countries' cooperation. "I know you will bring the same strength and determination to that position that you have here in Colombia," he said in congratulating Wood.

BOGOTA, Colombia, 1/20/07 The success of relationship between the United States and Colombia is having a direct positive impact on the security and stability of the entire region and hemisphere, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said here yesterday.

Pace spoke to reporters at an early-afternoon news conference yesterday, and then he addressed military officers at Colombia's War College during a subsequent session. In both events, Pace said that the close relationship benefits both countries. This is a two-way street, Pace said at a joint news conference with Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manual Santos and Gen. Freddy Padilla, commander of the Colombian armed forces.

The fact that the United States is able to help Colombia inside Colombia is a good thing for Colombia, but it is also a good thing for my country. And the fact that your country is fighting against drugs-a great deal of which come to the streets of the United States is your country helping out to help my country, Pace said. So these are friends helping friends.

Pace, who wrapped up his two-day visit here last night, thanked his Colombian counterparts for their open discussions about how the two countries can better cooperate as they work toward mutual goals. The discussions focused on ways to continue that partnership to strengthen the democracy here in Colombia, which in turn strengthens democracy in the United States, he said. The chairman praised progress the Colombians have made in improving their military and facing off against narco-terrorists and other threats.

"I can't tell you how incredibly proud I am to be just a very small part of the enormous success that is obvious here in Colombia," he said. The work that has been done by your government to bring governance to all of Colombia, to bring criminals to justice and to provide a better way of life for all Colombians is truly remarkable.

Addressing Colombia's future military leaders at the War College, Pace said he's observed "a complete change in mental attitude and outlook" in Colombia from five or six years ago. He congratulated the officers for what they have helped accomplish and continue to work toward. "What you have done to date has made an enormous difference in the vitality and future strength of your country," he said.

Colombia's strength and adherence to democracy is critical, particularly in the face of Venezuela and other regional countries exhibiting anti-democratic tendencies, he noted. So when you look at our partnership here in Colombia, it just strengthens my belief as a military man that what we are doing here in Colombia is the correct thing to provide peace and stability for Colombia and in so doing, to provide examples for others in the hemisphere, he said. What everyone in the region needs to understand is that there are countries like Colombia that will fight for their freedom and that there are countries like the United States that will stand beside them, Pace said. We all want for everyone in this hemisphere to live in peace and to respect their neighbors and their neighbors' sovereignty.

United States and Colombia have a longstanding friendship that continues to mature, Pace told reporters at the news conference. We've been good friends for literally hundreds of years," he said. "We will be good friends for the next several hundred years, and I am glad to be here to figure out how to do that in the most efficient and effective way.

BOGOTA, Colombia, 1/20/07 Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recounted yesterday to Colombian military officers his initial doubts about the U.S. military going "joint," but he said he was firm in his conviction two decades later that the armed forces are better off when fighting together as a team.

Pace told students at Colombia's War College that he was a lieutenant colonel when Congress passed the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986 mandating joint military operations and he had many questions and concerns at that time. I remember thinking, I don't know what joint is, but I need some, Pace said, drawing laughter from his audience. During his initial joint command assignment, in Korea, Pace said he got his first real sense of the high caliber and capabilities of the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as his own Marine Corps.

But the U.S. military's move toward jointness didn't happen overnight, he told the group. It took letting go of a service-centric mentality to embrace other services' strengths and capabilities. It also required developing a sense of trust between the services. "Once all of us learned to trust each other, then things started to happen really quickly," he said.

In fact, Pace said commanders started to realize that by looking across the broad spectrum of military capabilities, not just their own services', they could be more effective. They were able to give much more support to those who needed it most, he said. Applying that concept on the battlefield took a lot of trust and a leap of faith, Pace acknowledged, but once we tried it out, we really liked it." Joint war fighting makes for victory much sooner, Pace said.

He pointed to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and the speed in which the military was able to close in on Baghdad. "It took three weeks, which was incredibly fast, and could not have been done if we had not had a joint command that was allocating resources for everything--and the Marines on the right, the Army on the left, and all kinds of airplanes up above, all fighting together to get to Baghdad," he said. "It took 20 years...to get to the point that we truly appreciate the strength of jointness," Pace said.

The chairman encouraged the Colombian officers to strive to develop trust in each other and each others' services so they, too, can benefit from the advantages of jointness. "I encourage you to get trust right now in the schools, apply that trust on the battlefield and allow the senior people wearing the various color uniforms to allocate those resources where they are needed," he said.

Its a new year and I decided to put a longer thought or short story in this update. I am also going to work on adding the first chapter of Book 3 "High Tides" in the Preview section and should have it loaded by the weekend. It will be a rough draft, but several friends wanted a taste of the next book.

I still haven't figured out the best way to layout the tribute page to my father. It's taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I am also trying to decide the best way to go about editing the next book. The release date could be six months or more away depending on what I decide. Lastly, I finally started back with writing Storm Tides. Its been resting on the hard drive of my laptop for the last two months. Enjoy the short story below.

A solitary man stood at the shoreline gazing out at the turquoise blue water. He was a man alone in his thoughts tuning out the world around him. The few people who walked past him could see the sad look upon his face. As he stood there his mind was like a slide show flipping from one memory to the next. None of the memories were fond ones.

He had gone through a nasty divorce only a year ago and his only son was dead from a auto accident. His son's death had lead to the divorce not that it wasn't inevitable anyway. They had grown apart over the years and now here he stood thinking dark thoughts. The final straw was his retirement from government service the day before. A cheap gold watch was he reward for thirty years of service as a DEA agent.

As the sun began to set and change the sky to streaks of red and orange colors the solitary man looks first left and then right down the beach. "Finally everyone was gone" he thought. It was time for the tourist to eat supper and the beach had emptied rather quickly.

Sighing, he makes up his mind and begins to walk into the turquoise blue water until he is waist deep. He then dives under and comes up for a breath and starts to swim towards the setting sun. Within a few minutes he is a hundred yards from shore and stops for a moment floating in the warm tropical water. There are no waves and he is able to float with no effort. He looks back at the beach one last time and continues to chase the setting sun.

Another hundred yards passes by and the solitary mans begins to labor in his swimming. His breath is ragged, but he continues on. His mind is made up and the solution isn't to far ahead of him. He is now three hundred yards from shore and the water has turned cold. Shivering slightly at the temperature change he swims slowly into the setting sun. The orange and red fireball is now three quarters settled into the faraway horizon. darkness is creping up but the man continues his chase.

Just as the last rays of the sun slip away his arms become like lead weights and he stops. Using his legs to stay afloat he says a small pray of forgiveness and then dives down into what is now dark water. When his lungs begin to burn like fire he takes a deep breath and starts to choke. Within seconds he was dead floating along with the currents in the dark abyss. The men he had killed over the years in the name of his country are waiting for him at the gates of hell.

I am running late on updating the site, so here its is at last. I have added a few pictures of the Christmas tress in the upstairs and downstairs rooms. My favorite project each year is the village I have also done some research on Brandy and included a couple of tasty recipes.

A little history in Brandy and Cognac, excellent sprits for this time of the year, cheers. I have included a couple of easy recipes at the bottom of this update. Merry Christmas to all and please be safe and never ever drink and drive. Stay at home!!!

One last thing, I want to wish Mark Mulligan and his boys a very Merry Christmas. They been through so much this year with the tragic death of Adela, mother and wife. God Bless you my amigo.

The word Brandy comes from the Dutch word brandewijn, ‘burnt wine’, which is how the Dutch traders who introduced it to Northern Europe from Southern France and Spain in the 16th century described wine that had been "burnt," or boiled, in order to distill it. The origins of Brandy can be traced back to the expanding Moslem Mediterranean states in the 7th and 8th centuries. Arab alchemists experimented with distilling grapes and other fruits in order to make medicinal spirits. Their knowledge and techniques soon spread beyond the borders of Islam, with grape Brandy production appearing in Spain and Ireland by the end of the 8th century.

Brandy is an agricultural spirit. Unlike grain spirits such as Whisky, Vodka, and Gin, which are made throughout the year from grain that can be harvested and stored, Brandy is dependent on the seasons, the ripening of the base fruit, and the production of the wine from which it is made. Important Brandy-making regions, particularly in Europe, further differentiate their local spirits by specifying the types of grapes that can be used and the specific areas (appellation) in which the grapes used for making the base wine can be grown.

Cognac:

Cognac is the best known type of Brandy in the world, a benchmark by which most other Brandies are judged. The Cognac region is located on the west-central Atlantic coast of France, just north of Bordeaux, in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac is double distilled in pot stills and then aged in casks made from Limousin or Troncais oak. All Cognacs start out in new oak to mellow the fiery spirit and give them color. Batches that are chosen for long-term aging are transferred to used or "seasoned," casks that impart less of the oak flavor notes while the Brandy matures. Virtually all Cognacs are a blend of Brandies from different vintages, and frequently, different growing zones. Even those from single vineyards or distilleries will be a mix of Brandies from different casks. As in Champagne, the production of local vineyards is sold to Cognac houses, each of which stores and ages Cognacs from different suppliers and then employs master blenders to draw from these disparate Brandies to create continuity in the house blends. Because there are no age statements on Cognacs, the industry has adopted some generally accepted terms to differentiate Cognacs. It is important to note that these terms have no legal status, and each Cognac shipper uses them according to his own criteria. V.S./V.S.P./Three Star: (V.S., very superior; V.S.P., very superior pale) A minimum of two years aging in a cask, although the industry average is four to five years. V.S.O.P.: (very superior old pale) A minimum of four years cask aging for the youngest Cognac in the blend, with the industry average being between 10 and 15 years.

California Brandies:

Brandy production in California dates back to the Spanish missions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In the years following the Civil War, Brandy became a major industry, with a substantial export trade to Europe by the end of the century. For a time Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University, was the worlds largest brandy producer. Phylloxera and National Prohibition almost shut down the industry in the 1920s. Soon after the end of the war the industry commissioned the Department of Viticulture and Oenology at the University of California at Davis to develop a prototype "California-style" brandy. It had a clean palate, was lighter in style than most European Brandies, and had a flavor profile that made it a good mixer. Starting in the late 1940s, the California brandy producers began to change over to this new style. Contemporary California Brandies are made primarily in column stills from table grape varieties such as the Thompson Seedless and Flame Tokay. California Brandies are aged for two to 12 years in used American oak. The more expensive brands will usually contain a percentage of older vintages and pot-distilled Brandies in the blend.

Fill a short glass with ice. In a shaker combine:1 oz. Brandy, 1 oz. triple sec 1 oz. lemon juice, Ice, Shake and strain into the glass.

Fill a short glass with ice. Add: 1 oz. Brandy 1 oz., white crème de menthe, Stir and serve.

Before I get started on tasty recipes I wanted to let ya'll trop rock listeners know that Mark Mulligan is releasing his new CD on Wednesday the 22nd. "A Bar Down In Mexico". Go to my links section for his web site. Rumor has it that its Mark's best!!!!!!!

Here are a few recipes for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays are the only time of the year that I eat Turkey. The most important rule when eating Turkey is to: never, ever, eat undercook turkey. The second most important rule is to thaw in the refrigerator. Getting food poison from under cook Turkey can put a big damper on the holidays.

I have also put a few adult drinks for you to try while you prepare the turkey and once it’s in the oven. You can sit by the fire and toast your better half.

Irish coffee: 1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey, 1 tsp Brown sugar, 6 oz hot Coffee, heavy cream Combine whiskey, sugar and coffee in mug and stir to dissolve. Float cold cream gently on top. Do not mix. Whipped cream can also be used instead of heavy cream.

Irish coffee II : 8 oz’s Coffee, 2 oz’s Baileys Irish Cream, 2 oz’s half & half, 1 teaspoon sugar. Mix and drink. Don’t forget the whip cream.

If using a frozen turkey, start thawing it in a pan in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days before roasting, depending on its size. 2) For large turkey line pan with heavy-duty foil. I do this anyway because it makes for easier clean up. 3) For a 10-13 lb. turkey (weight with giblets): Bake in a 350° oven for 1 1/2-2 1/4 hr. For a 14-23 lb. turkey (weight with giblets): Bake in a 325° oven for 2-3 hr. For a 24-27 lb. turkey (weight with giblets): Bake in a 325° oven for 3-3 3/4 hr. For a 28-30 lb turkey (weight with giblets): Bake in a 325° oven for 3 1/2-4 1/2 hr. Yield: Allow 3/4 pound uncooked turkey per serving, at least 1 pound if you want leftovers

Remove and discard leg truss from turkey. Remove giblet, neck and save for Giblet gravy. Rinse turkey inside and out; pat dry. Rub turkey all over with butter or oil. 2) Place turkey, breast up, on a V-shaped rack in a 12- by 17-inch roasting pan. The pan should be at least 2 in. longer and wider than the bird. Insert a meat thermometer straight down through thickest part of breast to the bone. If using an instant-read thermometer, insert when checking temperature. 3) Roast in a regular or convection oven until thermometer registers 160°. Never, ever, eat undercook turkey.

Turkey Glaze, ½ cup Bourbon, 1 cup orange marmalade, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Combine ingredients in saucepan. Cook over high heat, stirring until mixture boils. Then simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until glaze is reduced to 1 cup, stirring occasionally. For best results, sprinkle the inside of your turkey with 3 tablespoons your favorite brand of Bourbon during preparation. Prepare your turkey as usual, sprinkling half of the glaze over the turkey immediately before roasting. Brush on the remaining glaze during the last hour of roasting.

1 Turkey, 1/4 cup olive or salad oil, 2 tablespoons Chinese Five-Spice, Jamaican Jerk, Southwest Chili Rub.

Remove and discard leg truss from turkey. Remove giblets and neck; save for Giblet Gravy. Rinse turkey inside and out and pat dry. 2) If stuffing the turkey: Just before roasting, place turkey on work surface breast side down; lightly fill neck cavity with dressing. Bring neck skin up to cover opening. With a metal skewer, fasten neck skin to back, threading skewer in and out several times through neck and back skin. Turn turkey over and loosely pack body cavity with dressing. If turkey has tail attached, tuck tail into cavity. If there's enough skin to overlap at opening, thread a metal skewer in and out several times to close. Lightly tie ends of drumsticks loosely together with cotton string to keep them from spreading apart or leave untied to allow heat to reach thigh joints more easily. 3) Rub turkey all over with oil. Rub spice mixture evenly over skin and inside neck and body cavities. 4) Place turkey, breast up, on a V-shaped rack in a 12- by 17-inch roasting pan. 5) Roast in a 325° regular or convection oven until a thermometer inserted through thickest part of breast to bone registers 160°, Never, ever, eat undercook turkey.

Jamaican Jerk Rub: In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger; 1 teaspoon each ground allspice, dried thyme, cayenne, and black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt. Southwest Chili Rub: In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon ground ancho or California chili and 1 teaspoon each ground cumin, ground cayenne pepper, and dried oregano. Chinese Five-Spice Rub: In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon ground ginger, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon crushed anise or fennel seed,1/2 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

I prefer to smoke just the breast now days. It doesn't take as long as a whole turkey. But the picture is of a turkey done last year. I rub the turkey with olive oil, Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning and Garlic Salt.

God Bless and remember to always hug um and love um when it comes to your kids. They grow up so quick.

1 Part Rum, 3 parts Club Soda, 12 Mint Leaves, 1/2 Lime, 1/2 Part Sugar. ~ Muddle mint leaves and lime in large pitcher. Cover with Simple syrup and fill pitcher with ice. Add Rum and club soda, stir well. Add crushed ice to tall glass pour mojitos over ice and garnish with lime wedge and mint.

A mojito-like beverage may have existed as far back as the late 1500s. Legend has it that Richard Drake, an English pirate, concocted a beverage similar to the mojito by mixing aguardiente ~ unrefined rum~, sugar, lime, and mint. He coined the drink El Draque meaning ~ the dragon ~ after the nickname of his Captain, Sir Francis Drake, who made a career of terrorizing South America and the Caribbean.

Drake used Cuba as a base island, which is possibly how the drink arrived there. The Draque cocktail can also be found in some other Latin American countries, including Mexico, Columbia, and Venezuela. Likely a tribute to Drake's plundering of those countries. El Draque also referred to as the Draquecito or little dragon, became a popular drink among the working-class in Cuba as far back as the early 19th century. Cuban story-teller Ramón de Palma referred to the Draquecito in an 1838 book; the main character drank one of the cocktails daily as a preventive medicine.

Some historians suggest that slaves working in Cuban sugar cane fields in the late 19th century invented the mojito. In fact, this story seems to be related to or more likely, confused with the origin of the daiquiri. The popular Cuban cocktail made with rum, lime juice, and sugar.

Nevertheless, African slaves may have played some part in the mojito's history: the slaves seemingly contributed to naming guarapo ~ sugar cane juice ~, the sweet nectar that is so vital to the taste of the mojito. African slaves working in Cuban sugar cane fields longed for a drink from their homeland, made from corn and yucca. As a substitute, they crushed sugar cane stalks, releasing and drinking the sweet liquid.

The Spanish referred to this juice as jarabe, meaning nectar or syrup. The Africans, not knowing Spanish, understood this word as "garapa." Thinking that the slaves were saying "guarapo," the Cubans created this Spanish word for sugar cane juice. Apart from drinking jarabe, or the newly-termed guarapo, slaves often drank aguardiente as an escape. The stories attributing the invention of the mojito to slaves who were said to have mixed aguardiente with guarapo likely confuse these two anecdotes. The origin of the mojito has also been confused with the origin of the daiquiri, which some say was invented by engineers working in Daiquiri, a beach near Santiago, Cuba.

As sugar cane production modernized, guarapo was fermented and purified with lime (the mineral, not the fruit!), resulting in the modern form of guarapo. Cubans drank guarapo served over ice as a refreshing drink. Enjoyed throughout many Latin cultures, guarapo is still served in many Latin cafeterias.

Guarapo is also the forefather to rum, because juice pressed from sugar cane can be distilled into rum. Since sugar cane (and eventually rum) were widely available in Cuba, the country understandably became known for its sweet, rum-based drinks, like the daiquiri. Interestingly, in Havana, the daiquiri, not the mojito, was the drink of choice. The daiquiri became popular in Havana before the mojito, even though the mojito's predecessor, the Draque, was being knocked back long before the daiquiri entered the scene.

Since the daiquiri consists of rum, lime juice, sugar and shaved ice, some suggest that the mojito simply evolved from the daiquiri. Some of the bars popular in Havana at the time of the Cuban dawn of the mojito were La Floridita ~ most famous for the daiquiri ~, Sloppy Joe's, and Hotel Sevilla. The bars that served the daiquiri eventually offered the mojito. Although the ingredients are similar, the preparation of the mojito and what makes it so special is very different from the daiquiri.

Other counts of the drink's inception consider the mojito an offspring of Kentucky's mint julep, which is made with bourbon, sugar, and mint. The first mint julep was made with rum, not bourbon. In Stanley Arthur Clisby's 1937 book, Famous New Orleans drinks and ~ How to Mix 'Em ~ He provides a recipe for a rum mint julep, calling it the original mint julep that arrived in Louisiana in 1793 at the same time white aristocrats expelled from San Domingo settled in New Orleans.

The earliest "mojito" recipes we have found are from 1931 and 1936 editions of a Sloppy Joe's Bar Manual. Cuban story-teller Federico Villoch also mentioned a recipe for the mojito in a 1940 book. Angel Martinez opened La Bodeguita del Medio in 1942 as a general store and later converted it into a restaurant and bar in 1946, where the mojito is claimed to have gained popularity in Havana. Frequenting the bar were students, musicians, and soon-to-be celebrities, including Ernest Hemingway, Bridget Bardot, and Nat King Cole. The bar is now a popular tourist stop in Havana.

Just 90 miles from Cuba, Key West eventually embraced the mojito. Due to their geographic proximity, there was a history of people traveling between Cuba and Key West. The rise of the Cuban cigar industry during the late 19th century in Key West and the transportation of beer and rum from Cuba during Prohibition. Perhaps Ernest Hemingway, a supposed mojito drinker, was partly responsible for introducing the drink to Key West, as he moved to Key West in 1928 and was known to have spent a great deal of time between Cuba and Key West in the 1930s.

Happy Halloween, the gremlins have visited me and crashed my site in the last couple of days or is it my web provider. I will act civil and ask ya'll to be patient. I have to await for the return of Mr. Fred. He has decided a trip to Texas on his broom was more important. before that he was in Seattle sipping coffee in the morning and bar hoppin gin the afternoon. he's entitled though. The man keeps our labs up and running and there is no better computer geek, guru.

Much to the dislike of my better half, (I will take my social restriction with grace and dignity) but I couldn't help myself and went to Amazon again and order the GFR greatest hits. For those who didn't grow up and ROCK in the seventies its GRAND FUNK RAILROAD. Now that was rock & roll at its best. The CD has GFR's best and its a great buy. There was one other good buy that I couldn't resist and that was the best album of GFR's twenty year dominance and that CD is E PLURIBUS FUNK. Remember "I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home. The only song that comes close would be Locomotion or American Band.

I also bought Hot Chocolate's Best. Yes its a stretch in my normal taste, but you have to be well rounded. They were an exceptional band for two decades. I also added to the basket the Best of Three Dog Night and Glenn Frey's Best. What can I say I am a music junky. I have to have the music going when I write.

The first part of this month notes are with levity and fun. I have a snack recipe and a couple of drinks to try. You the reader may choose you own favorite brand of alcohol to mix them with.

I ordered the Miami Vice sound track from the recently released movie with Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. I thought is was a great movie and did the television series justice. After searching around Amazon I went ahead and ordered the two CD's from the television series also. Lots of good music from the eighties.

3 pounds little smokies sausages, 8 oz's bourbon (Jim Beam), 6 oz's grape jelly, 6 oz's BBQ sauce. Mix indigents, put in a crackpot and turn on high for one hour. Cut up French beard to eat with.

Bahama Mama:

1/2 fluid ounce rum ,1/2 fluid ounce coconut-flavored rum ,1/2 fluid ounce grenadine syrup ,1 fluid ounce orange juice ,1 fluid ounce pineapple juice ,1 cup crushed ice

DIRECTIONS:

Combine regular rum, rum with coconut flavoring, grenadine, orange juice, pineapple juice and crushed ice in an electric blender. Blend until the drink's consistency is slushy.

1/2 oz lemon juice,2 oz orange juice,2 oz pineapple juice,1 1/2 oz rum,1 oz coconut rum,1/2 oz Heering® cherry liqueur,1/2 oz grenadine syrup

DIRECTIONS:

Shake ingredients with cracked ice. Serve in a 12 oz. glass. Garnish with a cherry and 1/2 slice orange in a tooth pick.

I've been working on Book 5 (Low Tides) lately when time allows. I think it will be my biggest book yet. If my guess is right the book will be close to 500 pages. It's a whopper. I finally picked a cover picture for the third book. At least I think its the one I want. I still have to have it edited and then sent to Authorhouse for publishing. At this time I am not sure when I will release it. Work and my long weekend travels are slowing me down for now.

I missed the chance this past weekend to meet a true legend in the music business. Ron Russell was in the area visiting his future wife. Ron played drums with Jimmy Hendrix the last year before his death and then played with the Greg Allman Band. In 1993 Ron joined Bertie Higgins and has been his drummer ever since. What empresses me most about Ron is his spirtualness.

Billy Peoples put out the email I will put below about a benefit fundraiser for Mark Mulligan. Billy is the web master for the Parrothead webring. The fundraiser will be October 14th. You can go to the links listed below and check out the details.

Mulligan Family Benefit Raffle

The Internet Raffle for Mark Mulligan's kids has received many nice donated
items. To become a winner of any of these terrific gifts you need to send
funds and get tickets! The majority of funds received so far are from clubs
or individuals who do not desire tickets so those who have tickets have an
excellent chance of winning.
The winners on the Internet raffle will be posted and notified prior to the
event at Rapscallions (www.rapscallions.net/ ) on 14 Oct, so only a month
remaining to donate funds and possibly become a WINNER!
For complete information and details on the event, please visit the Webpage
www.billypeoples.com/raffle.htm.
Please help Mark's kids by passing this on to anyone who might like to help.

Thanks to all who have donated items or funds.
Finz,
Billy

Its the first of September and high school football has started. Unfortunately for my youngest daughters school they forgot to hire real coaches. Cartersville blew the Wildcats away. I lost count of the score after 48 points had been scored. It reminded me of a tree in a hurricane. I guess a bit symbolic since the Cartersville football team nickname is the Hurricanes.

Cross Country also starts up and Coach Lance Marvel has a top team once again this year. This will be the first time in eight years that a "West" want be on the team. I do look forward to catching a few races this year. Its impressive to see young ladies run their hearts out.

Its sad but a fact of life that my daughters racing careers are over with. I think the biggest adjustment as a parent is to watch your kids grow and leave the house. It's hard to let go but it has to be done or you can end up with them in your house till you die an old person. Now that to me is truly sad. There is so much to see and do in life and being under your parents wings is sad, don't hide from the world. Live life, love it and grab it with both hands.

I've added a couple of pictures from my 30 year reunion and my oldest daughter had some poems she wanted added. So enjoy.

I turn 48 years old on Tuesday September 5th. I have cheated death for another year. My daughters and wife are stuck with me for another year it looks like.

Went to my reunion this past weekend and it was a blast from the past. The ladies looked just as good now as they did thirty years ago. That comes from the heart. Beauty never changes when it's both on the inside and outside. The group of classmates who put it together did a superb job. You ladies (Susan, Twyla, Lisa, Jane, Marka, Tamie and Molly) deserve Big Kudos for your hard work. I kick myself big time for not taking the time to go to the other reunions.

It was great to see my two close friends from years past Joe and Al. I will ad the bonus of meeting their wives. Both friends are truly blessed to have such great partners in life.

The food was excellent. Someone knows how to smoke pork butt. The beer and wine was cold and we had great bartenders. The music played was our classes music from the seventies. It sure has changed in thirty years and for the worst I fear except for the new independent trop rock that I listen to nowadays. A table was set up for our lost classmates. It was a touch of class. "Cookie", my heart will always have a sad place in it with your passing. You were a great friend during the short 19 years I knew you and called you my best friend.

Last thing for this update tonight. I heard from Mark Mulligan and son Marcus will have his body cast removed today. His son Luis is still having a hard time dealing with the death of his mother. A great deal had been piled upon Marks back and his boy's and I pray for them everyday.

Gary cheer up you've been blessed with a great voice and not to bad of a surfer dude to be over fifty. You are after all in Southern California. Waiting patiently for you next CD.

One last thing, Ron Russell played behind the drums for the first time in months after his stroke, this weekend in Florida. Bertie's first concert back in Florida in quite a while and Ron was there to pound out the rhythm. "Break a stick" and God Bless my friend. The first one is on me at the end of September.

Great couple of day's on the beach. Read Bob Bitchin's book Emerald Bay. Bob has come up with a great character by the name of Treb Lincoln. Read it in one day sitting on the beach and listening to Eric Stone's music. I also read Randy W. Whites newest book, Dark Light. I am a little behind on my reading, what can I say. Randy is the master when it come's to action mystery. Like the song say's nobody does it better. It was a good trip and a great way to end the summer.

I was digging around through some old stuff and found a worn piece of paper in the back of my mother's bible. It was the first time since she died nearly nine years ago for me to look through her things and I can give no reason for why I found it now and not nine years ago. Could it because I know have a daughter who is starting college and have been worried about her staring a new path in her life. I think this poem can be used for either daughter or son and I thought I would share it with you.

It may be to paths I have never trod or ships on the sea leading to unimagined lands afar.

I know for very truth there is a way for each to walk, a right for each to choose, a truth to use.

I leave for Destin this weekend to take a short sabbatical and to charge the batteries up to start the 5th book. I also hope to take that one special picture for the cover of the next book (High Tides). Its almost time to start getting it ready for publishing.

Of course I will make a trip to Sextons to buy pounds and pounds of shrimp and several grouper fillets for sharing with friends and family when I return to my humble home and the confines of my office down stairs referred to as the "Dog House".

I received an email from Gary Sealer concerning Mark Mulligan and his boy's Marcos and Luis.

Mark is strong. He has his moments both in private and around his loved ones but is resolved to get his boys back on their feet and healthy again. We talked long, we prayed, we cried, walked the beach next to his home, and even found time to have a cold one with Mike Hathaway as we swam in San Carlos Bay. He's making plans for the future and will be sharing those soon. The boys each have things they are dealing with. My buddy Marcos (he loves my pathetic magic tricks) has a 1/2 body cast with his legs spread. Only his feet are free from casting and they hurt him. Massaging his feet is something that really helps. Luis had his best night yet the first night I was there. He smiled laughed and giggled as we all played ball together with he and Marcos and their little cousin Stephanie. Though their hearts ache missing their Momat different moments throughout the day and night I see both boys are strong just like there Daddy is in this difficult time, especially Marcos. What a little champ. Mark has two angels by his side day and night. Chrisantha (Adela's sister) is there 24 hours a day to help with all chores especially with Luis. Mike Hathaway (Mark's nephew from Tucson) had been there for several weeks before the accident working on a mission to help build houses in the poorest section of Guaymas, Mexico. When the accident happened Mike moved his diligent services to Mark's home and is there to do all the chores that anyone asks of him. These two people would bring tears to your eyes if you just saw the honest love and energy they bring to Mark's family. Both of these two people are real life miracle workers. God has blessed Mark and the boys with these two and two loving families. Mark's brother John showed up Wednesday night, his 2nd trip in 5 days down from Phoenix. He's another great Mulligan!!! There are many other family members helping out daily. I only met a few... say25 or so, that's how many people are there for them locally... they are all trying to help everyone get through this. Mark and I had to go and get the legal release on the Adela's car on Wednesday and we saw both vehicles involved. The one thing I came away with after seeing both cars is this; these two boys survived and it's honestly a miracle. Mark will share the facts of all of this as he sees fit in the weeks to come, but as I stood there looking at Adela's car with us both unable to talk, I prayed and thanked the Lord for sparing the boys. The other driver was at fault and he also died. Mark said, "he has felt so much love from all of this he is just overwhelmed." He hasn't read the stack of cards and emails yet because he wants to do it when he can focus on who and what is being said and he simply has had zero time since all of this happened. He'll be getting back to you in the next few weeks I promise, and I also believe you will see him back up on the stage soon. He said he wants to get back up there as soon as possible. I hope I'm there at his first show...

In closing I want to thank you all. So many of you sent emails to me concerned about me, knowing Mark is a brother to me. I felt so much love over these past two weeks it kept me focused and resolved to go to him, listen, and pray for strength, for many. You all helped me get through this with your wishes hopes and prayers. I'm so proud to have Mark for my friend & brother and I'm so blessed to have you all in my life. Through the tears there is a smile. A big appreciative smile.

I was sent the unfortunate news this week that Mark Mulligan's wife Adela was killed in a car wreck. Mark and Adela's two young sons Marcos and Luis survived the accident but with serious injuries. Mark was in Nashville mixing tracks for his newest CD when he received the terrible news. Mark is a talented singer song writer living a tropical dream. But he is also a great humanitarian. Taking the time to raise money for the underprivileged that life has left behind. Never asking for praise, just doing what we all should do as God's children. It's so hard to comprehend why things like this happen and I have never been able to come to grips with the "Why". All I know is it breaks my heart.

Why is it that we always loose the good ones. The ones who are positive and make this world such a better place. The ones who have love in their hearts and give it so freely to others. Mark's wife Adela was of the good ones. She was Mark's positive life force and rock in a world that is getting harder to understand. Standing beside him, Adela supported his dream of being a singer-songwriter. Helping him chase the illusive dream but always there with words of encouragement.

We seem to be stuck with the bad ones and continually loose the good ones. The ones who cause misery and pain for the good ones in this world. The ones no one would ever miss. Is God giving them one last chance. Is that why were stuck with them instead of Adela and my parents and so many other good souls.

Why are children's parents taken from them whether it be by accident or sickness. My question has never been answered in all the years of burying my family and friends. (My dad, mother, good friends like Steve, Billy and Brain. My oldest daughter friend Lauren Doyle who was killed last year at the age of 16). It so hard to keep the faith when its constantly tested and the answer of "Why" is never given. When our time comes will we ask our creator the big question or will it finally be forgotten after a life time of asking. Is it because we are finally with our loved ones and friends again and the question doesn't matter anymore.

I can only hope that Mark's pain will ease in time because my mother always told me times heals everything even the pain of loosing a loved one. The world will lose a magnificent singer songwriter if Mark looses the dream and the flame. All I can say is God Bless you my friend. Love and hug them boy's and remember you can see Adela in them. it's the one blessing God does give us.

I have added photos from my time in the Navy that I found in a old flight bag recently. It was during the height of the Cold War and the Navy chased Soviet ships from one end of the Mediterranean to the other. The aircraft used was the P3C. I also came a cross a picture my dad took of a volcano he flew over on the big island of Hawaii. The Kilauea is still active today and has flowed many times since 1945. I also found a menu my father kept from a restaurant dating back to 1949 in Daytona Beach. He lived there after WWII ended for several years before moving to Georgia.

Other tidbits of updates are coming as I can get to them. Billy Peoples manager extraordinaire for the Parrot Head web ring took time from frying crappie for friends and family to send me his wife's Banana Pudding recipe. More recipes are coming and I am trying my best to prepare for a joint venture cook book late in the fall. I smoke a 12 pound beef brisket for the fourth of July for ten hours and it turned out to very, very tasty.

Mark Mulligan is in studio as I write putting tracks down for his next CD. When Eric Stone stops long enough from sailing. He is also talking of a greatest hits CD. Eric also has a great web radio station on 365. Its Island Tunes Radio. I just read where Gary Seiler is doing a live album and so is Jack Mosley. Lots of great music coming out late in the summer. I have also come across a Steve Winwood CD on the web that I liked when I was living in Sicily. ARC of the Diver is a great CD and some of you will laugh at this next purchase, but I like the Don Johnson CD he made during his Miami Vice Days. Couldn't help myself had it to the collection. Just happen to have the CD cranking through the Big Sansui speakers. those puppies can bring down the house at 300 watts.

My 30 year reunion is approaching and with nervousness and apprehension I prepare to go to it. I have never been one to dwell in the past. I like living present day and looking forward to the future. But I do find myself truly looking forward with the idea of seeing old friends, some of who I went through 13 years of school with starting with kindergarten. Its been way to long and I count the days till I see old friend. Al and Joe I look forward to seeing you once again. I would like to thank Marka and Susan for thinking of me.

In June of 1776, Thomas Jefferson was asked by the government committee of which he was a part to write a draft document outlining the reasons why the 13 United Colonies should be free of British rule. When it was completed, Jefferson, along with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, edited the document, and released it to Congress for their approval.

We as Americans celebrate July 4 as Independence Day because it was on July 4, 1776, that members of the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, adopted the final draft of the Declaration of Independence. The connection with Great Britain was broken. The declaration was read to people throughout the colonies, and it was well-received.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain [George III] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor

I've been busy since the last update. Went to Destin and had the great pleasure of seeing Eric Stone play live and then have a ice cold boat drink with him and talk in between sets with both Eric and his wife Linda. It was a great spring break. Thanks Eric.

The last part of May two things happened. It was the one year anniversary of my oldest daughters friend, Lauren Doyle being tragically killed and also my oldest "Jessica" graduation high school with high honors and distinction. (Bragging a little). When my daughter was born I had no idea how quick life would speed up and fly by. My oldest has left the nest. Fly high and free my big girl, Daddy loves you.

Thanks to Doctor Andy Tripp for the tour of his Animal Hospital and taking a few minutes his busy day to chat with me and have a cup of coffee. The procedure on the cat was interesting. Thank you so much Andy.

Old Tides is selling well and I have received good feedback, so I must on the right track. I should finish (Strom Tides Book 4) by the end of June I hope. I will hold off on writing Low Tides (Book 5) or at least that's what I am thinking of calling it for a few months. Its about young girls being abducted and sold into slavery. Simon will try and rescue a young woman who helped him when he needed it most. Stay tuned.

I have been asked to work on a cook book, with a good friend JR Harris. It will be titled "Shoot it and Smoke it". JR is an outstanding Taxidermist, as well as my Author Rep. I look forward to working on something different from my adventure books.

For a signed or unsigned copy of either New Tides or Old Tides and don't want to use a credit card to order by. You may send me a money order for the amount for the cost of the book and I will send you a copy. I will pick up the shipping cost. Please make sure you include your full address. The address to send the money order to is to: Tide Series, 19 Whistle Stop Drive, Cartersville Ga, 30120

Ahoy, fellow book readers, the 2nd book OLD TIDES in now for sale. By next week I will have a picture of the book that you can click on and will directly link you to the book, until then you will have to go directly to the AuthorHouse main page and type in Old Tides. You can also go to any of the on line book stores, starting in 15 days. It takes a few weeks to get the information out to all the dot com sites.

I am working on setting up a pay pal account so you can buy it directly form me and have it signed if you so choose. It will be several more weeks before I get it up and running.

Thanks to Atlas maps www.worldatlas.com and John O. Moen for letting me use their maps of the Caribbean and the Bahamas in the second book. I hope to use their excellent source of maps in future books. I think it adds to the books and gives you landlubbers a better idea of where the many tropical islands are. There are also maps by worldatlas in the photo section, that relate to future books and past books.

I want to thank once again Mike “Red” Skeleton for his constant support on my book team and Mr. Fred who helps me with my web site. Also thanks to my new acquaintances Mark Mulligan, Rob Mehl, and Eric Stone. These three guys are excellent singer songwriters that have trop rock down to a fine art. Mark bounces back and forth between Mexico and Arizona and the west coast. Rob has the west coast covered and Eric has the run of Florida. I’m a big fan of all three and all have web sites, so take a look.

I will be advertising with Latitudes and Attitudes magazine and their web site. It’s a great sailing magazine published by Bob Bitchin. So take a look when you’re not reading one of my books.

Big bunches of kudos to my wife Teresa for having several more of her blankets that she makes for the Linus Foundation get in the hands of kids who lost their fathers in Iraq. It’s a great group of women making blankets for kids all around the country who are in need. More kudos to Mark Mulligan and the work he does for the kids in San Carlos, Sonora Mexico with Castaway Kids. A web site is coming soon, Mark says.

As far as the books go, I stopped working the 4th book Storm Tides and went ahead and wrote the 5th, Low Tides is the name for now but it could change. It was floating around in the brain matter, so I went ahead and put it down on writing tablets. It has to do with female slave trading (which has become a growing concern in the U.S.). Simon will also be coming to terms with …. (You’ll have to wait and read the book). Book 3 is being passed around to the crew and will be released in 9 months give or take a month. It’s a big one at 400 plus pages.

The past week, I had the honor of joining the Parrothead web ring. The ring locater is at the bottom of the first page of the web site. Please check it out when you’re out surfing the web. If you’re a Jimmy Buffet fan or trop rock fan you will enjoy the many web sites. Thanks to Billy Peoples for accepting me and check out his web site while you’re at it.

Lastly, I would like to talk for a minute about the bad guy characters in my book and the portrayal of certain races. Every race has its good and bad. I am not picking on any particular race when it comes to who my bad guys are. I respect all races because that’s the way our God intended for us to be toward one another.

I chose to use Mexican and Colombian drug cartels because they are real and very few people in the world don’t know about them. My actual drug cartels are fictitious, although I do mention real names of drug cartels in my books from time to time. The DEA web site is a great source of information if you want to now more about the illegal drug trade. It’s a very sobering web site to search. I still believe nothing good comes out of using drugs. There is short term happiness, if you can even call it that. Stick to the grapes or barley and hops if you want to relax to slip away for a while or better yet go to the beach, read a book and listen to trop rock. You’ll feel better in the long run.

It's been a while since my last update, but I promise you I haven't been goofing off. I have re-edited "New Tides" and have added over 30 plus pages to the book. I think you will find it to be a better book overall. I know I like it.

If you like the picture of Destin at the beginning of the site. Scott Jackson took the picture in October for me. He has a great web site and does great aerial photography.

Along with the re-editing I have assembled a team of friends to help me with future books. Basically a beat up the book group and to help me with editing. I have enlisted the help of several law enforcement friends also to lend a hand. I spend as much time now researching as I do writing.

"Old Tides" will be available by mid April. I will be turning it into AuthorHouse this week. Its taken many month's to edit and tweak and tweak and tweak. I would like to thank my wife Teresa for her continued support and help. This rookie author couldn't continue writing if it wasn't for my better half's help. I have included the first chapter in the Preview section of the site. There are several new pictures in the Photo Gallery also.

Another thank you goes to Mike "Red" Skelton and his never ending friendship, I couldn't ask for a better friend. Thanks for going to Destin and taking several hundred pictures, when it had to be colder than the great white north that particular weekend. But we did get a good front and back cover picture for Old Tides. The oysters on the half shell and grilled grouper sandwiches weren't to shabby either.

I have made a couple new friends in the music world and have added them to the music list. Mark Mulligan and Rob Mehl are great independent singer songwriters. So be sure to check out their web sites and buy a CD or two.

I plan on finishing the fourth book "Storm Tides" in the next two months now that the first two are on autopilot. I've got the outlines ready for the next two books and plan own writing them by the end of the summer if all goes well. More than likely Storm Tide swill end the saga of the Ramirez Cartel for a while.

Lastly thanks to Mr. Fred for his continued help with the web site. One of these days I might be able to give you a couple of nickels. The site itself is a never ending and expanding creation and the recipe section still has lots of work.

I came across this speech of Abraham Lincoln’s declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday. As the holidays approach each year, I always become thoughtful and thankful for what I have.

President Lincoln was looking for a way to unite our country during the midst of the Civil War. It was such a terrible time during our history pitting family member against family member and friend against friend. So many died for their beliefs thinking that each was right in what they were fighting for.

I see what is happening in our country now with so many divided over the war in Iraq and other issues. The times change but the division never seems to fade. Added to the war, was a year never seen before as Mother Nature pounded our Gulf Coast in the form of hurricanes. So many homes destroyed and families misplaced.

As I think back over the last year, I am still thankful for my health, my friends, and family. That I can live in a country where hard work can allow you to fulfill whatever dream you can come up with. That I can speak freely and worship as I so choose without fear of persecution from anyone.

Our faith helps prepare us for the bad things that can happen to us at any given time in our lives and also gives us the strength to rebuild and start over.

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Hello readers and web surfers. I thought it was about time to send out an update of sorts. I have been very busy over the last several months with the release of my first book “New Tides” and starting this web site.

Many, many thanks and kudos to Fred Denny for his help, knowledge, designing and support with the creation of this site. It will be an ever changing and expanding site that I hope all of you will enjoy. I couldn’t have done it without you Fred.

So where do I begin, plans are being made to do a few book signings and to also get the book out into stores in mass. Come see me at a store near you. If your favorite book store doesn’t have it, ask for it.

I just finished up the third book “High Tides” two weeks ago and am extremely excited about it. It’s nearly four hundred pages of action and adventure taking place in Destin, Colombia, the South Caicos Islands and Miami. Lots of research and imagination went into this book. During my research I have come to learn and understand a great deal about the drug cartels and Guerillas groups who plague Colombia and my heart goes out to the people of that country. I have set it a side for now, to let it cool down, while I now go back to the second book “Old Tides”.

I have enlisted a new editing person to help me now, and will be working through the summer to get ‘Old Tides” ready to send to publishing in September or sooner. This book will be a remarkable improvement over the first book.

“Old Tides’ will continue the saga of Simon, friends and new family. There will be a new villain who was barely mentioned in the first book that will come back to haunt and taunt Simon. Simon killed his brother in the first book and now Ernesto Guerrero wants revenge. There will be a second villain or villainess. Alexandra will be as deadly as a rattlesnake and beautiful too. More recipes will be mentioned and a surprise or to for Simon at the end of the book. I don’t want to say much more for now. I will release the first chapter probably to the site in September or do a summary like the one for ‘New Tides”.

In between all that is going on now, I have started fleshing out the chapters for book four. It will be called “Red Tides’. A lot will change with this book. So far about six chapters have been laid out. I can’t wait to get this one started.

Lastly a tragic event happened just a few short weeks ago, that affected my daughter’s personally and made both me and wife realize how fragile our existence on this planet is. I decided to put my thoughts and feeling’s into words. It is titled “A Parents Worst Nightmare”. For anyone who reads this and has experienced this tragedy, my heart goes out to you.

On a mild late spring evening at 5:45 pm on Wednesday May 11^th 2005 Lauren Doyle was killed in a tragic auto accident. Lauren was 16 years old, soon to be 17. The Doyle’s lived only a few houses down from us.

Lauren was a good student and athlete playing basketball, soccer, and running track. But above all else she was a Christian. Her love of life and for her parents, sister, fellow students, and friends will be a vacuum for years to come. The sudden and tragic loss of Lauren will fill all our hearts with pain for years to come also. It wasn’t until the funeral on Sunday afternoon that we all realized how many hearts and souls she touched. Close to 1200 parents, students, teachers and coaches from schools around the county, came together to say goodbye to a beautiful young girl. So full of life and energy and she always had a kind word for all.

Her sister, Shelby, was also in the accident and was taken to Floyd Medical Center in Rome. Thanks to the professionalism and quick action of the paramedics, Shelby will be fine with only minor injuries except for the loss of her big sister. The power of prayer and the amount of people praying for Shelby was awe-inspiring. Prayer networks were quick to start and the kids at both Woodland High and Middle schools held morning pray vigils before school Thursday morning. Shelby was at the funeral for her sister in a wheelchair.

Finishing our supper at 6:30pm Wednesday was about the normal time for our family. By the time everyone got home from school and work for the day and the meal was prepared and woofed down so homework, talking with boyfriends or just friends on the computer, book writing, or making blankets for kids who were less fortunate in life began for the evening. Over the last several months our TV family time together had fallen off considerably.

There aren’t enough fingers to count how many times over the last several years my daughters and I have piled up in the lazy boy or the couch and watched Harry Potter movies over and over again down stairs in what is called the “Dog House”. Tonight was supposed to be like any other night in the West house as of late.

The discussion of the evening at the supper table was about taking cell phones to Florida when we went on vacation this summer. As was the norm, I was at odds with my daughters over the cell phones being taken, especially with my oldest Jessica. I am not sure where she gets her stubbornness from, but she has a very ample supply of it. We each left the table all huffy about the subject. I just couldn’t understand why she had to have her phone with her for the week. Nothing earth shattering could happen in a week’s time, right!

Jessica’s cell phone rang and a school friend of hers called to say that Lauren Doyle had just been in a car accident and died. My daughter came down the stairs crying hysterically and extremely upset. Once Jessica got her emotions under control she told us what happened to her friend our hearts sank. It was the worst thing a parent could hear in their lifetime, a child had died. Jessica and my wife immediately left for the hospital to be with family and friends. Not more than ½ hour later Jessica called me to say they were driving to the hospital in Rome to be with the Doyle family since that’s where the younger daughter Shelby had been moved. The pain of losing a close friend was very evident in her voice. I could only think to say that I loved her. I could find no other comforting words. Words at a time life these are so hard to find. Maybe its better just to be close to those going through something like this, and not try and find words that can end up sounding hollow.

Since the day my oldest started driving a large knot has been in both mine and my wife's stomach. The toughest thing so far in my life as a parent was to watch Jessica back out of the driveway and head towards the corner and disappear down the road. My wife and I stood on the front porch watching while saying a silent prayer. Maybe for a lot of parents this isn’t such a big deal but for us it is.

My youngest daughter whose name is Lauren asked why did God take her! I had no answer for my daughter then and I still have no answer now. We all have our opinions as to “WHY”. I think the one answer I have heard most over the past forty-six years that I have been in this world is “It was their time and God wanted them”.

Why does God take the good ones and leave the bad ones behind. Is it because he is giving the bad ones, one last chance? Is it divine will or free will? It’s evident that we pay for our mistakes with our lives in this world. But it doesn’t stop the hurt and pain so very deep down inside us for years afterwards, that we all feel when losing one of the good young ones.

I have found myself in the last several days hugging my girls more, a kiss on the forehead or saying I love you. Several times I have had to go down to the ‘Dog House” and wipe away a tear, so big deal why can’t a man and father shed a tear. The façade of being a man and not showing emotion, always being the rock, has its limits at times.

Sometimes, I wonder if our kids really understand that we were all kids once, just like them, that we only became parents when they were born into this world. And we don’t know everything and we make mistakes, because it is human nature and it’s the way God made us. But we were given a brain and it is the most advanced in this world, and along with that brain is also a soul. We know right from wrong as humans, we bleed when we are cut and can hurt deep down inside. Our soul’s scream in pain when we lose the people we love and care about.

So when it’s all said and done we die and go back to the dust that we originated from when God made us in his image thousands of years ago.

I will pray for the Doyle’s for the rest of my life and hope that their pain and sadness will ease over time with the loss of their daughter Lauren. It has changed me and how I think about my work and now it doesn’t seem to be the most important thing in my life anymore. You can’t take it with you. The most important things are Teresa my wife, Jessica and Lauren, my family. It’s sad that someone so precious has to die for the rest of us to learn a lesson in life.

My daughter Jessica can carry her phone to Destin. What does it matter as long as she’s with me? It’s trivial and just doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things in life.

As an after thought, it came to me that “The true worth of a human being is first and foremost whether they are a Christian and secondly if they have a good soul. When you witness a two hour wait by friends and family to view a young girl and pay their last respects to her. To have such a large group of people do this when she wasn’t a movie or rock star. Who didn’t commit suicide or die from a drug overdose ,but died tragically (Then doesn’t that tell us when someone, a human being is worth so much to the human race and this world when her loss reaches so many of us).

A scholarship has been set up in her name at the high school she attended and loved so much. You can contact the main office at Woodland High School (Cartersville Georgia) and ask about donating to the scholarship for Lauren Doyle.

The first time my parents took me to the beach at the age of four spoiled me for the rest of my life, especially for the beaches of Florida. There are many beaches around the world and I have visited many of them in past years, from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean to the Hawaiian Islands. But my passion and love is for the beaches of Florida. After leaving South Florida in the mid eighties to get married and start raising a family, the trips to the beach became fewer. Mainly for that one or two week vacation each year. About the time you relaxed and did the “brain dump” it was time to leave and head back to the real world. Usually a week after you were back at your job sitting in your white collar cubical you wondered if you ever went on vacation at all.

It is because of my parents spoiling me at such a young age that this suburban beach bum decided to write books dealing with characters that live in Florida, along with the fact that I am an avid reader and collector of Florida author’s books or authors who have books and characters that live in Florida. For me there is nothing better than heading to the beach with several books and sitting in the sun and reading. I hope you will find the same enjoyment as I do when I read whether it’s at the beach or sitting in your recliner on a cold day or the back porch during a spring day.

Lastly, to all readers of the Tides series, the second book is complete and will be out in six to eight months. “Old Tides” will take you to places like Miami and the Bahamas and back to Rome again. Simon’s life will change drastically with having his girls move down to Fort Walton Beach and he finally marries Lori. Several new characters will be introduced and Simon will lose a couple of close friends. Old adversaries will come into the story line along with a very deadly individual who will take Simons skills with a knife to the ultimate test. The third book “High Tides” which is presently being written will deal with fictional cartels in Colombia and Mexico and several more tropical islands. There will be some background on real cartels and guerilla groups that plague Colombia. Simon will be pushed to his limits with this book as the cartels come after his family. I will update this page more as I complete the third book and get ready to release the second. Ideas, notes, possible plots for the fourth and fifth books are already being entered into my notebook, along other ideas thought of last year while sitting on the beach in Destin.