The View From My Back Porch

The Failure of the United Nations

2005-09-17T11:09:00.000-05:00

I like the concept of the UN. I liked the idea of the League of Nations; I loved the concept behind the Kellogg Briand Pact.

But reality is a long way from concepts and ideas and flirtation with mans inherent ability to refrain from killing each other for any number of reasons. Land, politics, religion or whatever reason our collective deviant minds can come up with.

The problem is that these noble concepts do not seem to work in any of the formats we have tried.

After 60 years I think the UN Model has also proved it self to be unworkable and we should get out of it and take care of our own.

This does not mean that we stop looking for the venue to pursue the principles that we desire and have searched under these organizations and agreements.

But the United Nations has proven itself to be a failed model.

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The Greatest of All Disappoinments

2005-09-15T13:56:00.000-05:00

First I have to apologize for ignoring this Blog of mine for so long. There have been many distractions both internal and external that have kept me from it. But now that there seems to be a moment that does not have some sort of disaster again both personal and external happening, I can return to this endeavor on a full time basis for as long as I am able.

What I have seen over the past several months has, as I am sure has many millions more saddened me. From a war that is being fought far away to our own disaster in New Orleans, Louisiana and Mississippi that left so many of our fellow Americans suddenly reduced to the status of Third World Refugees.

It is not so much the loss of property or lives that saddens me as much as seeing the same old evils raising their ugly heads again with even more ferocity than they were before.

The ugly face of a government lying to its own people as why we are going to war is something that I thought we had gotten over after the Gulf of Tonkin Incident had been proven to be a fabrication The tactics of using the fear of a Madman with Weapons of Mass Destruction has proven to be as much a lie as PT Boats attacking our ships in the South China Sea. Why did our government seem to think that they had to come up with this fabrication to justify a war?

The moral outrage throughout the world against Saddam Hussein was enough to justify his removal for actions he took against the Kurds, Kuwaitis, and the Shiites in his area of influence in the world. If nothing else, there was a feeling that we had stopped too early after the first Iraq War and we would just be finishing up what needed to be done. But due to someone’s bad perceptions they made our righteousness into a lie and we now as Americans look upon this “Noble War” with embarrassment and we stand before the world ashamed of our leaders and question our values once again.

Another of the ugly heads that has raised itself into full view is our racism. Thanks to the fury of Hurricanes Katrina’s winds and destruction a façade has been once again been ripped away to expose one of the ugliest components of our society. Suddenly we were bombarded with images of dark skinned people wading through filthy chest deep water with their possessions on their heads looking all the world like a scene from a Third World African Nation. Not to imply that the only people that were in the same situation were Afro-American, but it is noted that there were very few Caucasian faces among the constant barrage of images of “Looters”. If there is one set of photographs that prove this point is a picture of a White Couple wading through the water with groceries in tow with the caption that this couple was able to “find” food and an almost exact photo of a black couple was captioned that they had just “looted” food.

How after all these years and all the money and the shifting sentiment towards race relations by Generations that followed the Baby Boomer Generation that fought for Equal Rights in the 50’s and 60’s this type of racial socio-economic disparity still exists in this country is one of the great disappointments of my life.

JUST A MOMENTS REFLECTION

2005-02-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

It seems that in recent months that we have been criticizing the Russian President for perceived “pull backs” of personal freedoms in Russia. Has anybody read the Patriot Act lately? There is an old adage about glass houses.

It would be good if the loudmouths preaching Neo Conservatism remember it.

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YOU JUST CAN'T BE A HERO ANYMORE

2005-02-22T19:26:00.000-05:00

You know.... that if you were college in the 60's and 70's you more than likely experimented with something. For some the experiment goes on to this day and for some it does not.

Does the President want to admit that he did drugs? Of course not! Why would he? Why would we want him to admit it in the first place? It has nothing to do with anything today.

You know we talk about no role models. We all know that the people that make the Role Models were not perfect. Washington and the cherry tree, Please! The Babe...not a good choice. People have flaws. Clinton, well not exactly what the kids needed for a role model, but you got to admit the whole Monica thing was pretty funny. And for those that think he got away free. May I remind you that the Poor poor bastard sleeps with Hilary and has to listen to her? Any of us guys out there want to live with their wives after we screwed up like that and been caught? I rest my case. Have some mercy.

So we get the Prez to admit he smoked pot. The child we are trying to prevent from starting now says why not?

The Prez has indicated that he used to drink more than socially. He stopped that. I think that I can rest assured that they are not rolling fat ones and drawing lines out on the oval office desk. Even though again there is a certain Cheech and Chong Humor in the visualizations.

You know sometimes we can make people too real. And that makes for lousy role models.

I had a Father in law once that used to say that there was only one perfect man on this earth and we crucified him.

Not that I am Christian at all, but I saw the wisdom in what he said. Seems we are still all too willing to crucify anyone that tries to do a good job. I guess it is just the jealousy.

I know somewhere out there is the argument going on, "Well the election went okay in Iraq. I guess this vindicates him a little." and the response of "Oh hell no, he used to smoke pot and won't admit it." out of some foaming at the mouth anti-Bush Zealot. "He is a monster trying to ruin the world."

Come on lighten up. We got real work to do.

Gosh you folks are funny.

Freedom Has A Taste To It That The Protected Will Never Know

2005-02-17T13:12:00.000-05:00

My main argument is this.
We try to have a fair, moral, compassionate society here....

I believe that if we are going to be who we say we are, it goes beyond Nationalism.

If I see a child being raped do I stop to think what the International or Domestic ramifications are before I act to prevent it?

Of course not.

If I see Innocents being lined up to be shot and dumped in some mass grave do I worry about what the French are going to think of my actions?

You see I want to be an American that just will not put up with that type of behavior from anyone....

It is a question of whether or not I am a man.
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Some Pure Truths That Hurt

2005-02-17T13:00:00.000-05:00

Hi there Folks,

Took a few days off and attended to personal obligations, but I really would like to get back into this.

I spend time on a local Blog that is Administered by the local Newspaper here in St. Augustine and I get some interest responses and challenges to my thinking that I want to share with you.

First I would like to address Whiterobe. It is like this, if you have ever had the opportunity to actually "HUNT" a human being, (an experience I got more than enough of in Viet Nam) you will understand just how difficult that is, (were you a Field Medic or a REMF?), especially in view that there are a few million people watching this guys back for him and providing him with everything he needs to stay on the loose.

Secondly Usama Ben Laden does not want to be caught. Simple enough? Now add to that the challenges of terrain, language, etc, and I am not surprised we haven't caught him.

Do you really understand how much universally incredible dumb luck went into find Sadam? That is all it was. Yes there was some intelligence as to his general location. But think about what happened when that scared, bored, tired infantryman kicked that rug aside and thought that a piece of Styrofoam was under it was a tad odd. I feel sorry for that infantryman he is never going to win the Lottery. He used the pure dumb luck in his life all up.

Hope this helps you understand why we haven't caught him. Yet...

As to your question are we spending enough? If we get hit again in this Country, then No we are not spending enough. If we do not get hit, then yes we are and that does not mean we get to reduce what we spend until we are just barely above the amount needed to keep us from getting hit again.

We will and soon. And badly.

Is the Military Industrial Complex making money on this war? Come on be real. Of course they are. Haliburton. Colt. Whoever makes uniforms, rations, and bullets, whatever? Yes the MI Complex is doing quite well. Be a realist about this stuff and it don't quite suck so bad. Whoever would have thought it that Eisenhower would nail this group right to the wall in the late 50's.

See, here is the thing. Uncle Sam turned me into a warrior a long time ago. Some people gasp at the fact that I would say that. But the reality of it all was I was very good at my job and I came home, albeit full of holes and nightmares, I understand a truth. The truth is that there is a Man with a Gun over there to quote a song. And he wants me to stop living the way that I like or he just wants me to stop living.

As long as he is out there, I or one of my guys is going to be out there with a gun to prevent that. Do I wish it were otherwise? Yes!! Of course! I am a real warrior. I have known Combat and I like it. But I hate what is left afterwards. I pray more than anything else that this world would get to a place where people like me are not needed ever.

But until I wake up one morning and I hear a fully voluntary all-inclusive participatory, universal Koom-Ba-Ya going on in the world. I and my ideas and the ideals of those that have gone before me and those that will come after me that look upon our countrymen and those of true peace as wondrous beings that need to be protected in spite of themselves. We cherish your dreams and yearn for them more than you can imagine. But we will live in hell to try to provide you with peace.

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

2005-02-01T15:12:00.000-05:00

Just imagine, in the first ten days surrounding the Crowning of George Bush XXXXIII, we got a real taste of what kind of four years we have coming from the Senate and the House of Representatives. The confirmation hearings for Secretary of State Appointee Condoleeza Rice were just such a glimpse. The Democrats found it necessary to childishly take a slap at the President by refusing to confirm Secretary Rice until after the Inauguration even though the vote was predetermined.

I find that I must profess that Bush was not my choice in either election and I really do not think that there was any more voter fraud taking place by either party than has been traditional in elections since the beginning of this nation. It is traditional that the dead rise every four years at shuffle of to the voting booths to cast their votes all over this county. It is all kind of reminiscent of the Zombie scene from "Thriller". We deal with it. Anyway, I am not sure if voting in someone’s spirit is all that bad. (Just kidding).

I do want to state for the record that I did not vote for this President. I do, however, feel that once the votes are counted and the President is determined, whether it is the person I voted for or not, I feel that it is my duty as a citizen of this country to support the President and his Cabinet. But I have the Right to judge his performance as do my fellow citizens. We can take actions as a people if enough of us do not like what we see. Our experiences with those two Great :eaders Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton have have shown us thatlike old time gunfighters, I can get my Special Prosecutor out of my holster faster than you can.

Even more so now in this time of war against an enemy that is bent on this countries ultimate destruction we have to be vigilantlest some outsider try to interrupt our nations march towards the Manifest Destiny, (Man, we like that phrase) of freedom for all the peoples of earth.

But an even nastier and more devastating occurrence has slipped by the Public eye, what with our War on Terror, Nation Building, Tsunami Relief, etc and etc while we were out being "Stingy"

Friends, Americans, Countryman, People”. The President of Venezuela dis’d our very own “Sister…eh, Secretary of State, Condee” How dare he and by what right does he think he can do that? This is an in house discussion we are having and no Third Rate Sunglass Wearing, Mustachioed, Uniformed, Self-Proclaimed Comic Opera, Pompous George Washington of South America wannabe can be making the following statements which were widely reported in different world wide medias.

“Chavez of Venezuela referred to Dr. Rice as, "ignorant and illiterate.” and then he crossed the line. During another instance the following exchange took place. It went as follows: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez mocked Dr. Rice on state television. Minutes before his comments, a presenter on a Venezuelan government television program had joked that Dr. Rice "wants it badly or is in love with Chavez."

When President Chavez heard the comment, he screamed that he was going to ask "Condolence" for marriage. When the audience screamed, "No", he yelled: "too bad she doesn't know what she's missing."

Okay, what kind of Bullshit is this! President Hugo Chavez? Where did this guy come from? A real honest to God 1960’s Marxist, Che Guevara T-Shirt wearing, Simon Bolivar Megalomaniacal, Cuba-centric Communist of the Old Order. Got to love the retro fashion statement.

Just as we were getting used to the idea we would not have our friend Fidel to kick around any more, up pops "Hugo". I know let's just call him "Hug-o". He's adorable! A Banana Republic Dictator with an overdose of machismo. You have got to love it.

Boy, there is going to be a lot of hemming and hawing when Hug-o starts looking for the yearly Most Favored Nation Status and the Foreign Aid checks and guess wwho he is going to have to ask for the money from. That's right. "Condee." I want tickets to that meeting.

Well at least a South American Dictator is something the CIA is experienced in. Maybe they should concentrate their efforts there and let the Pentagon do its own intelligence work in the Middle East. The CIA has such a fine record in El Salvador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Panama, the assassination of a duly elected leader of Chile and our favorite war against the dangers and ravages of Communism, Cuba. It will give them something to do.

After all Our Secretary of State’s honor has been besmirched! It must be avenged!

And to our South American friends we make this observation:

Hugo no tiene Huevos!

And anytime you feel the least bit froggy, Go ahead. Jump. I dare ya’.

A POEM TO THE RETURNING SOLDIER

2005-02-01T08:54:00.000-05:00

This is in response to the country's realization that when a soldier comes home from war they are never the same as they were when they left.When I came home from Viet Nam many years ago, no one would admit that PTSD exsisted. Now they do. To those coming home, Welcome Home and that is meant with all sincerity. But when the dreams come and the rage and fear for no reason raises in you understand what it is and know that you are among one of the most unique and elite fraternity in this country, The Combat proven Warrior. There are many of us out here. Seek us out when you need to just sit with someone that truly understands.

A Welcome Home From Iraq From One Combat Vet to another:

"Welcome home from the fields of war,
You withstood the worst in shot and shell.
You watched your brethren die in your arms as well.
Welcome home my comrade;
Now starts your time in hell."

- Marcus Nevacoff, Veteran
11-Bravo Light Weapons Infantry, Vietnam 1968-71

FREEDOM'S LITMUS TEST

2005-01-20T17:48:00.000-05:00

The easiest way to determine whether a nation’s people enjoy Freedom is to observe whether or not its military is turned outward in defense of its people, or facing inward to control them. – Marcus A. Nevacoff, January 2005

YOU HAVE JUST GOT TO LEARN WHEN TO PULL OUT

2005-01-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

It Is Time To Come Home

The National Discussion on Iraq has now entered a new phase. When are we going to pull out? This is a question that should not be decided by the American Government in a unilateral way. We have the safety and the wishes of the Iraqi people to consider. I contend however that with the upcoming elections about to take place it may be time for us to consider packing up and heading home if the reasons we gave, sans WMD, are truthful.

We wanted to eliminate the Sadam Hussein government. We took care of that. We wanted to capture or eliminate Sadam and his sons. We did that as well. We wanted to insure that there was the opportunity for the people to have elections. That is in the works and the first of these elections will be held, as of this writing at the end of January 2005.

After these elections take place it is time for us start giving the country back to whoever won these elections and head for home, because we have provided the Iraqi People with the basics of self-government and that is self-determination. We cannot dictate who or what their government will be.

Self-determination is the gift that we helped them have the ability to exercise. Self-determination is the one basic freedom that once it is secured it is then up to the population that has it to actually uses it for their own benefit. This again does not mean to their own benefit as long as the United States approves of what is decided, but what the majority of the people that inhabit that country want it to be and that takes work and an effort to have understanding of your opposing fellow countryman. The basic lesson that has to be learned is that just because the man next to you does not totally believe in what you do is no reason to kill him. This is one of the few hard lessons we have learned in this country.

No one in their right mind thinks that after the elections in Iraq the losing party will shrug their shoulders and say, “Well, if the majority really wants it, I guess I am wrong and I will let it go and do my best to support the duly elected government.” This just isn’t in the cards for this round. This is the election that will set off in all probability a Civil War in Iraq between the Shiite and the Sunni Factions no matter what peaceful avenues are pursued. With all our faults that the world sees in us there is one thing that can not be denied and we have tried to get other nations to this point. We have taught the world and that is that we can have a change a government in this country with a minimum of gunfire.

Civil War is probably the most horrific type of war there is. When fought by the actual principles and not supported and pushed ahead by outside influences, funding, and intervention, though they can be of the shortest and most effective on outlining a path for a nation to follow. There is something that puts a finality to the argument although one has to wonder out loud as to the wisdom of our species that we cannot seem to learn from lessons learned and avoid this type of conflict.

After this election it will be time to begin our withdrawal and let the people of that country have their self-determination as they see it, not as we would like to see it.

Our Enduring Violent Legacy or "Fill Your Hands You "Sonofabitch"

2005-01-17T15:07:00.000-05:00

Having dinner with friends the other night, one of the participants was a woman from England who has lived here in the United States for many years and finally decided to become a citizen after driving the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave” for quite a while on a test drive and giving each of our principles a swift kick. I have been anxious to get her perspective on America as someone that has viewed our culture from without and within. The question of the difference in the societies of America and Canada came up and the question of why Canada had so few murders per capita witht their population having a large gunownership and we as a nation seem to live in a violent gun ridden society where we gun each other down in the streets. What has made the difference? Why are we as a nation prone to settling differences with violence? Why as a nation do we believe that we can do anything that we set our minds to as long as we use such terms as conquer, the fight against, the struggle for, etc, etc. It is a basic underlying influence to our national daily lexicon as we use it to conquer, space, the War on Poverty, the battle against cancer, or the struggle against, whatever cause you care to end that phrase with. Where did this come from and why is it so American? This embedded use of violence defines us around the world in other people’s eyes as and paints us as both Satan and a Savior.

My argument is that entered and the won the Revolutionary War, this was the beginning of this national identity of violence and an embracing of violence as the ultimate legitimate and accepted adjudicator of human conflict. Our Forefathers were stirred by the words of John Locke, who in his Second Treatise offered the following observation to all people for the justification of violence in securing, individual peace, liberty and freedom. “Men living together according to reason without a common superior on earth, with authority to judge between them, is properly the state of Nature. But force, or a declared design of force upon the person of another, where there is no common superior on earth to appeal to for relief, is the state of war; and it is the want of such an appeal gives a man the right of war even against an aggressor, though he be in society and a fellow-subject. Thus, a thief whom I cannot harm, but by appeal to the law, for having stolen all that I am worth, I may kill when he sets on me to rob me but of my horse or coat, because the law, which was made for my preservation, where it cannot interpose to secure my life from present force, which if lost is capable of no reparation, permits me my own defence and the right of war, a liberty to kill the aggressor, because the aggressor allows not time to appeal to our common judge, nor the decision of the law, for remedy in a case where the mischief may be irreparable. Want of a common judge with authority puts all men in a state of Nature; force without right upon a man's person makes a state of war both where there is, and is not, a common judge”.

This is one of the main thoughts behind the statement that all men are created equal for it states that there is no “common superior” to judge who is right or wrong.

What American child has not heard the words, of Patrick Henry, when he rose to make his speech and stated a principle that would guide us and our thinking as a nation for nearly two and a half centuries? “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

A group of farmers, merchants, backwoods scholars and philosophers had risen up and beaten the most powerful nation the greatest army on earth. No other colony of any European Nation had ever accomplished this feat using our tactics of open rebellion and armed not only resistance, but aggression had their independence been obtained. The Americans had not only accomplished this, but did it soundly, albeit with assistance from Britain’s bitter rival France.

This victory became the muse by which we would aspire to greatness in this nation. With the rallying cry’s of our Forefathers and even written authority in the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights we moved forward towards building a society of acceptable levels of violence to insure our personal freedoms.

Even the simple priority placement in the Bill of Rights of the topic in the form of the Second Amendment, The Right to keep and bear arms, indicates in twenty-seven words, the shortest of any amendment, the acceptance and even expectation continued violence within our society. With the urgings of national leaders like Thomas Jefferson that ” Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state. " And of course the other famous pronouncements such as,” A little rebellion now and then...is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government” to be followed by, “The tree of Liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”. Even outside observers of the American society commented on our acceptance of this paradigm as a nation. Alexis de Tocqueville noted in his observations of America that, “The whole life of an American is passed like a game of chance, a revolutionary crisis, or a battle”.
The Bill of Rights when read in a different light is a fascinating document from the perspective that in the First Amendment we establish who we are and what we will allow. The right to a free press, the right to assembly, the right to your religion, the right to voice your opinion, this declares at the absolute start that are and what we are going to be all about.

The Second Amendment is the directions for how to maintain the principles of the First and the following eight outline what we were not as a people put up with from anyone, let alone our government. Beyond the right to bear arms is the basic principle that was one stated so eloquently by Rodney Dangerfield. "I don't have to take shit from no one!

This ideal that Might Makes Right and the might has to be retained by the people was the paradigm we chose because it was the one that people had experienced which actually gave them the Individual Freedoms that people had never be granted by any government to its people. Now it was the people granting government certain powers, an unheard of proposition up until this point in the annals of civilization.

With these basic beliefs in hand, we as a nation turned inward towards our continent and began the Western Expansion that was to extend for over a century without serious note of the European Powers. During this time we utilized this Might Makes Right philosophy to stretch across the unsettled lands with our mandate of Manifest Destiny and the Rallying Points of The War of 1812, Remember the Alamo, The Indian Wars, The cry of “Fifty-four Forty or Fight” in our relationship with Canada regarding our mutual borders, The War With Mexico, The Range Wars of the West, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, The Missouri Compromise, and the bloodiest and most uniquely American high principled dispute, The American Civil War, Remember The Maine, The War to End All Wars and the Greatest Generation.

Abraham Lincoln, at the beginning of his first campaign for the Presidency as a Republican in a Speech in New York City addressed the position of the Southern States on the issue of slavery and States Rights. In this speech he posed the question and offered the following thoughts, …”Thinking that it is right, as they do, they are not to blame for desiring its full recognition as right; but thinking it as wrong, as we do can we yield to them? Can we cast our votes with their view and against our own moral, social, and political responsibilities? Can we do this?”

“If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively…neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government nor of the dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty and understand it.”

Here again was the call to sacrifice upon the altar of freedom and justice in keeping with the early thoughts of the Founding Fathers the firm conviction that whoever wins the gunfight is the one that had the blessings of God and they were correct in their thinking. Even into his second term, after 4 years of bloody confrontation, the belief of the country can be summed up by this passage in his inaugural speech, “Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn by the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." The fact that the Union emerged victorious and the institution of slavery, which by any stretch of the imagination is repugnant and the securing of freedom, liberty and preservation of the United States did nothing, more than reaffirm our convictions that violence was the absolute judge between right and wrong, and was the true path of righteousness.
We accept the violence that accompanied these events. We accepted the violence that accompanied the Civil Rights Movement. We even accepted the violence of the Anti-War Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, for these were “Righteous Causes”. On the outside as a nation we wrung our hands in despair and decried the violence that was taking place, but deep in our national psyche we accepted that this violence was necessary for our culture to make a definitive statement that we would all understand. “For the tree of Liberty still needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of Patriots and Tyrants.” God may have created man, but it finally was Sam Colt that made them equal and righteous in America and in the tradition of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr conflict resolution through violence will go on and the ood or the bad will continue. But one must consider violence is a passion and passion while in the pursuit of freedom and liberty cannot be determined evil.

We are Americans! Be not ashamed of our image, for it is a righteous one. We stand in the dust of the Main Streets of the world and face tyranny and wrong. We stand with the sun to our backs and our hats pulled low our guns tied down, talking loud and drawing a crowd and saying in a clear loud voice to those that oppose us and exploit the innocent, "Fill your hands, you son of a bitch!*

This is our legacy.

* John Wayne in the movie Rooster Cogburn

THE POLITICS OF MY FOREFATHERS

2005-01-07T14:36:00.000-05:00

The argument has raged for many years as to whether America is a nation of Conservatism or Liberalism. This argument is alive and well today. After concluding an election that tilted the vote towards, what is referred to as, a more Conservative ideology under the assumed leadership of the Republican Party. These self-proclaimed Conservatives are touting the “Mandate” that the American Voters gave them and speak of the ethics and morals of our Forefathers. However, they seem to downplay the fact that this was one of the smallest of majorities of the popular vote that has elected a President in many years. With a miserly 3% majority in the Popular Vote it was more like a field goal kicked in the last 10 seconds of the game than a Mandate.

There is a hue and cry for us to return to the Conservative Values of our Forefathers and Founders of the United States by the Conservative Right. The more I thought about it and investigated my Forefathers the more I liked their lifestyle. I have decided that if these are the role models offered for me to follow, I will take up these Values and pass them on to my descendants for the continued betterment and advancement of the American way that has allowed us to be the most progressive, richest, most respected, most despised, most loved, most feared nation on earth.

Our Venerable and Beloved Pilgrims, whom we all were taught came to America to escape religious persecution, in actuality numbered only 32 Puritans among the other passengers on board the Mayflower. These religious zealots were trying to escape religious persecution under the Laws of the Church of England and the English Government that felt they were too out of touch and a detriment to acceptable Society. These were people considered too Liberal in their thinking to fit into the accepted norms of their society as it was in 1620 and these were the “Puritans”. I mean how much fun was England if the Puritans were too liberal? The rest of the 102 “Pilgrims” or passengers on the Mayflower were criminals, ne’r do wells, adventurers, sailors and other assorted human flotsam and jetsam from the slums and the dockyards of English Seaports and cities throughout Western Europe. This gives credence to a statement made by the Actor Bill Murray in the movie “Stripes”. “We're all very different people. We're not Watusi, we're not Spartans, we're Americans! With a capital 'A,' huh? And you know what that means? Do you? That means that our forefathers were kicked out of every decent country in the world.” and “that’s a Fact Jack!”

Even then there was discontent among those that came to the New World to give their Liberal Ideals some breathing room. This was the attraction and the blessing of the New World that was absent in Europe. The ability and the right to move if you didn’t like the way things were going where you lived or if your neighbor got on your nerves. The term that I have always liked was ”Elbow Room” and the New World had plenty of it.

William Penn decided to take this option when he decided in his own Liberal way that the Folks in Massachusetts Colony were a little too Conservative for his tastes and headed out for what is now Pennsylvania. The Puritans in Massachusetts thought his Religious Tolerance was offensive. Think about it. He was a Quaker and he was doing the Liberal thinking in those days. What a partying place Massachusetts must have been for Ol’ Bill Penn to think it was too Conservative for his liking. It kind of makes sleepy little town of St. Augustine Florida look like Vegas.

Then there were the Forefathers who were the architects of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Men like George Washington, who instead of living the good life up on the Potomac River on his plantation in Virginia spent a great deal of time wandering around Constitution Hall in Philadelphia everyday during the First Continental Congress in full uniform complete with sword, looking for an Army to lead and doing a good impression of “Put me in Coach. I’m dressed for the game”. Meanwhile the rest of the delegates debated the wisdom of picking a fight with the most powerful nation on earth. You have got to admire the man’s determination and his tailor and Congress’s scrappiness.

The Adams Boys, Sam and John were busy up Boston way doing a mess of Liberal thinking. John successfully defended in court the British troops who had taken part in the “Boston Massacre”, choosing not the politically correct road, but the high moral road on the issue. Brother Sam in the meantime was fermenting ale, throwing Tea Parties with him and his friends dressed like the Indian Chief from the Village People and just busting the British’s chops in Boston, Concord and Bunker Hill.

Ol’ Tom Jefferson, down there in Monticello growing hemp and peas, having an affair with Sally Hemmings in the warm Virginia sunshine, while dreaming up a new form of Government with that firebrand Patrick Henry over more than a few tankards just down the hill from Tom’s digs in Charlottesville at Michie Tavern. Tom was so Liberal he thought we ought to have a Revolution every 20 years just for the heck of it just to keep it real.

Tom Paine, son of an 18th century version of a Victoria’s Secret Magnate, revolutionary, author of “Common Sense”, renowned for his writing of “The Rights of Man”, and advocate for progressive taxation, family allowances, old age pensions, maternity grants, advocate for the abolition of slavery, and part of Ben Franklin’s posse as he “went a whorin’” by Ben’s own words, in England and France.

And speaking of that Wild Man Ben Franklin; Premier International 18th Century Bon Vivant, World Class Partier, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Naturist, Naturalist, Author and Printer of Underground Subversive Newspapers and Pamphlets. Papa Ben as he was lovingly referred to, who spent a great deal of his life doing parlor tricks in the Royal Courts with his new found toy, electricity and cavorting with the ladies of these Courts all over the European Continent. It was he who suggested that Tom Jefferson change the first line of the Declaration of Independence to “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal”, in a time of slavery and women being considered chattels. Acclaimed as one of the finest minds of his time anywhere in the world. The kindly Grandfather figure whose Mistresses husbands wrote him letters saying how sad they were to see him leave, begging him to stay in France for their wives and families would never be the same after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783 ending the Revolutionary War as he prepared to return to the newly formed United States after an exhaustive decade. Got to admire the guy’s chutzpah.

Danny Webster, Federalist, the Great Orator, Anti-War Activist (the war of 1812), champion of American nationalism who held court at the Union Oyster House in Boston where he had a reputation because, “It was at the Oyster Bar that Daniel Webster, a constant customer, daily drank his tall tumbler of brandy and water with each half-dozen oysters, seldom having less than six plates.” Who is remembered for saying "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" Kind of like oysters and Brandy. I also believe he came up with the often-heard line, “okay, one more and then I got to go home”. How do we answer him today when his ghost booms out the question, “How stands the Union?”

This cast of ruffians, intellectuals, tradesmen, clergy, inventors, drunkards, philanderers, our venerated Forefathers lead the struggling American Colonies and invented a form of government while sitting in taverns mixing equal parts of Ale, Rum, Brandy, John Locke, Voltaire, Plato, Cicero, Julius Caesar, the Magna Carta and dreaming up a system of government that had never before been imagined on the face of the earth. Methinks it just wasn’t tobacco they were smoking in those clay pipes. What did all these Great Men have in common? Why they were all to a man good Church attending Christians of course!

The problem is that the Republican Party of today does not reflect the ideals of our Founding Fathers. Today we are burdened by such people as Trent Lott and our resigning Attorney General John Ashcroft, defender of American Rights and Freedoms who was so embarrassed at the sight of the classic statue of Justice in the lobby of the Department of Justice because she was topless that he had her covered up. Now I don't really want to label him, but, "Out Of Control Prude" comes to mind. I guess he thought she was having a Janet Jackson Wardrobe Malfunction right in front of God and everybody. But then again what can you expect from a politician who lost his bid for the Senate to a Dead Guy. The man needs serious professional help.

The Republicans do not represent the party of my Founding Fathers. Mine is the Party of the Giants of American History. The Paines, the Jefferson’s, the Washington’s and the Adams’s and all the rest of our revered Founding Fathers. Give me that party and I will definitely show up for it. Heck I will even bring the beer.
Amen

WOULD YOU MIND CLEANING UP AFTER YOUR DOGMA?

2005-01-02T13:25:00.000-05:00

I would like the Public to be aware of a grave and serious public health risk and a threat to all of us, and yea, even unto the Nation itself. There is an abundance of Dogma Droppings lying around and I am getting really tired of stepping in them.

What are Dogma Droppings? They are the term we use for certain statements and ideas that are commonly equated with the byproduct excreted by a male bovine. What sets them apart from each other is the fact Dogma Droppings smell worse, lasts longer and accumulate in an exponential manner. They are all over and you cannot scrape them off your shoes easily.

Examples of Dogma Droppings that can be found lying around right now:

A.) The United States is a Christian Country

What? Was everybody asleep in Civics Class in High School? This is a country where you are free to practice your religion. That’s it. None of you religious psychopaths can claim this country for your own. It is a country where a heck of a lot of Christians decided to settle and practice their beliefs as what they feel is God. But no one has given them the ownership papers. This place belongs to all of us. Christians, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus, Native Americans, Believers in the Wizard of Oz or the Grand Wazoo, or any other permutation that you can fabricate to assist us in making one’s life seem a little less futile as it has a tendency to become from time to time and we need to get some answers to those questions we ask of ourselves. "What is this all about and what do I have to do with it?"

One Other thing. Who made GOD Christian? Last time I looked the Supreme Being was non-denomonational. You know Christians claiming the Supreme Being as their own and no one elses is just a slight bit presumptive, don't you think? Also one other flash for you. Jesus was a Jew not a Christian. I always have been of the opinion that She was Black and Jewish.

So come on Evangelicals prove me wrong.

B.) It is a Christmas Tree you idiot.

Now this has gotten to be a stupid argument. It is a Christmas Tree and not a holiday tree, a seasonal tree, a tree of lights or anything else you want to call it in order to be Politically Correct and it does represent the Christian Religion. For my whole life the Christmas Tree was a very big part of the year. People changed under its influence. It was a great time of the year and I am Jewish. We had a Menorah for our celebration of Hanukkah. Both holidays are at about the same time3 of the year. It was like one big Judeo/Christian Party. We have not changed the name Menorah to the “Seasonal Candelabra” so we do not annoy our Christian, Islamic and Hindu neighbors, so why should the Christians have to change the name of the Christmas Tree? Oh yeah and by the way, Christians, I got a flash for you. You’re celebrating the birth of a Jew.

Recently the New York City School District banned the Christmas Tree or the Cross in its schools because it was religion based. The Menorah and the Crescent and the Star that sat alongside the Cross were considered not to be a religious influence! If they are not religious symbols, what are they? Logos?

C.) Having a Manger Scene on Public Property is a Violation of Church and State and it is a Christian symbol or an insult to others.

Will someone please get a life? The Manger Scene in case you all forgot was basically a group of Jews bringing a Jewish child into this world in the depths of poverty and political turmoil. There were no Christians at the Manger of that I am sure. There were no Christians at the time. But in this one scene there is a common bond between the three religions that believe in the same God kind of. Here in lie the stories and teaching of the Jews, the Christians and the followers of Islam. All three evolved from the same Beginnings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So you folks and them folks and us folks over here are all Kin in a way. Doesn’t that shed an interesting light on it?

If you feel uncomfortable when you see it a religious symbol of any sort that does not correspond with your thinking don’t look at it. You may have deeper problems than you think. Seek professional care immediately and try to remember the quote of Robert Heinlein “What is one man’s religion is another man’s belly laugh’.

Next Year we will not Celebrate Hanukkah, instead we can celebrate the 1st Annual Jam for Yahweh in partnership with the Christmas Tree Lighting Committee and a Special Appearance by the 10 Commandments. Now that ought to make everyone happy. Happy Kwanzaa.

Oh yes one other observation about Manger Scenes that I want to note. How come many of the characters portrayed wear crosses at Jesus' birth? Did they know something that they were not letting the kid in on? Or were they willing to sacrafice this child right from the beginning to start a cult? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm?

D.) Stem Cell Research is killing unborn babies.
This one is too bizzare to even think about, let alone comment on. The fact of the matter is this. Within our present day technology, methods have been developed to provide what would otherwise normally be impossible opportunities for good loving adults that want to be parents more than any thing else in the world to conceive invirtro. This is a good thing most reasonable people might tend to agree. Smiling Moms and Proud Papas, doting Grandparents, birthday parties and all of that. Pretty smart of us as a species to come up with that.

Now that Little Billy or Mary or whoever are in the world and everyone’s maternal and paternal instincts are sated everything should be just wonderful. It is at this point the Dogma Droppings hit.

To make one going, giggling, spitting up child, crying wonderful gift of life that a newborn child is it takes thousands of attempts at fertilization of the human egg by millions of human sperm and from this you end up with a great many Zygotes. Thousands of chances to become more of those going gurgling bundles of tax deduction than are actually needed, but we in our wisdom at least realize that we cannot bring them all into the world. So, consider what is done with these other chances of life. Why they are flushed down the sink, run through a garbage disposal. They are destroyed. That protocol the Right to Life Folks has no problem with. What they have a problem with is that some scientists believe that this is a good place to harvest the cells they need for research to cure many diseases, like diabetes, Alzheimer’s, spinal cord damage, repair injuries that now can leave a child or adult paralyzed or worse and in time generally do some possible serious good for all of humankind before we flush them down the sink. Seems fair to me. But there are those that are dead set against this and would rather these cells be destroyed because in their minds it is better to kill a viable organism in the sewer than it is to utilize the good that it can provide before we dispose of it.

E.) America Is Evil

I want to use the line, “You can’t handle the truth.” but that isn’t fair. I think people do not want to know the truth. Hungry children. Air too foul to breath. Bone numbing poverty. Genocide. We as a people do not want to know about that. But we had better wake up people! In the world those conditions are the Rule not the Exception and the folks that live in that are getting sick of it and want their share. We as a nation do not want to know about it and have it upset us during dinner and distract us from the nationalism that they want us to have as our new savior and religion, so the government lies to us about it. Ever wonder why they have the Save the Children Advertising on in the Middle of the Night and not during dinner hour?

These desperate people in our minds and truly do become terrorists and followers of what we consider evil people. Need I remind everyone that Terrorists founded the good old USA? We taught the world how to go about achieving self-determination. They are just copying our Forefathers techniques. To quote the Sage of the Okefonokee Swamp, Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” What are we as a nation guilty of? Allowing people all over the world to dream of Freedom, but not helping them achieve it unless it is in our interest and according to our terms.

I once had a well-educated, well-bred delightful woman say to me that she found the plight and the poverty of the boat people of Hong Kong, “Magical”. She said it innocently with no malice and no realization of what she had actually said as we dined on our steaks, and she was serious. But she reflected a view of the world that we are all taught and some actually believe what they are taught. I will never forget that comment. Nor will I forget the Hong Kong Boat People that I spent many evenings with.

We need to accept a large helping of the responsibility. If for no other reason than we change our view of the world and maybe they might see us different.

We are not evil as a people. We are just dumb. We are in the dark as to why people do not have what we have. Lately, I have been hearing a lot about how evil we are from people that live here citizens and foreigners. Well to the foreigner that are here that see us as evil, but not evil enough to go back to their countries and straighten out their own affairs. I say don’t let the screen door hit you.

How about those Americans that do not like it here? Go on down to the beach in Florida and borrow an inner tube from the Cuban, Haitian or Jamaican that just risked their lives and the lives of their family to get to American no matter what the cost to find a better life. Then just sit your rear end down and let it dangle like shark bait and paddle off to where you think it is better. You are taking up the space a useful person who wants to be here could use.

All I ask is that you clean up after your Dogma please so others can enjoy the country without this din of stupidity that seems to be broadcast from every sector, factor, belief, paradigim, focus group pundit, politician, conservative, liberal and comedian. I would enjoy a few moments to think about all this myself now. Thank you. Your cooperation is would be appreciated.

I would like the Public to be aware of a grave and serious public health risk and a threat to all of us, and yea, even unto the Nation itself. There is an abundance of Dogma Droppings lying around and I am getting really tired of stepping in them.

OLD SOLDIERS

2005-01-02T13:17:00.000-05:00

It’s a chilly morning here on Anastasia Island.
The Beach is almost frosty this morning. For the first time in many months I feel chilled as I start out on my morning bike ride. It will warm a bit as the sun rises a few more degrees in the October Sky. But now the air is fresh and crisp and wiping away the sleep from my eyes in a way that is vaguely remembered. A time and a place many years ago.
With my thoughts almost immediately beginning to drift away as I have 70’s rock & roll blasting away in my ears. I notice my neighbor standing in front of his house on this brisk morning before beginning his days labors.
Today, I stop. For it has been a while since we have taken the time to more than nod in each others direction as we pass during the day.
We are not close friends or even neighbors in the traditional sense of the word. Ours is a kinship of battle. We are brothers from another time and another reality. Never before in our lives had we laid eyes on each other until about eighteen months ago. It was not the small Purple Hearts on our license plates that identified us to each other. We recognized the weariness in each others eyes. We are Old Soldiers. Warrior survivors of one of Dante’s Circles of Hell called Vietnam.
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother;”
It is fitting that we talk this day. For now I know what this nagging familiarity of the morning is. I am back on a hilltop graveyard where I had slept for the night. For only the graves were on dry ground in a land of rice paddies. Very rarely one had to sleep in the mud once we learned this trick. People had been dying in that country for many years. It is strangely peaceful sleeping among the dead.
Shivering in the morning cold. A blanket around our shoulders. A tin canteen cup, or a cup made from favorite C-Ration can grasped in filthy, cracked, and callused hands. A liquid posing as coffee heated by a pinch of plastic explosive, held closely for its warmth. Staring into a fire of C-Ration boxes. Thinking thoughts about a life thousands of miles away that we wished we were living instead of the one that we were living in the bone chilling cold of the morning jungle.
Now we stand together staring down into the ground as though the flames of that long extinguished fire were in front of us. Talking of things only Old Soldiers speak of.
Of our lives and loves lost and found. Of our utter amazement that we are still alive after all of these years; Our shame for being alive while so many of our brethren lie cold in the ground; The things that only warriors say to each other when they are in the autumn of their lives.
We notice the small things so quickly. Old habits never die. The new growth on a near dead oak tree which has seemed to have found new life over the summer months. Of the flash of color and movement which is a woodpecker hopping from branch to branch looking for good things for breakfast among the dead limbs.
We talk of our homes we have built for those we love and cherish. But most noticeably we speak in tones of weariness.
A neighbor approached finishing his morning constitutional. The same age as us, but not one of us. He was never the warrior. He has no knowledge of that which we warriors carry in our minds, our souls, and our hearts. “And Gentlemen in England now a-bedShall think themselves accursed they were not hereAnd hold their manhoods cheap while any speaksThat fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”We stand as two bearded incantations of the Norse God Heindall guardian of the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard, who according to legend needed less sleep than a bird, could see a hundred leagues, and could hear grass growing in the meadows and wool growing on the sheep. Protecting our private Asgard where we dwell, until we are finally called forth into our own Valhalla to join our brethren. Now our beards are gray. Our middles thick. Our flowing hair sparse. But our demeanors are ones of assurance. Our visages quiet and thoughtful. We use few words with each other. We speak to each other of mundane things for the most part. But occasionally we speak of our confusion and frustration at growing old and infirm. We mention, but do not speak of comrades no longer with us. But those words are few, for we share the same fear and prayer. That soon we will join our warrior brethren once again. We have the eyes that have seen too much. With ears that have heard too many screams of pain caused and suffered by ourselves; Eyes that one gets only when the screams of pain are of your own suffering and of your own making. We have tired eyes. We have the eyes of predators. We have the eyes that hold a wisdom only those who have faced their own deaths many times over ever acquire. We have sad eyes. So, on this fine chilly October morning, we stand in the shadows under a tree. Looking down into a fire that is not there. Our hands clasping for the comforting memory of that tin cup and coffee. Remembering the warmth and security of that cup in our hands. Now, again, dreaming of a life thousands of miles away. Missing the life that we had been living in the bone chilling morning in the tropics. Wishing we were back in the Jungle as warriors once again. For there we had the one thing that we can not have now, but would pay any price to have. Our youth. “He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbors, and say tomorrow is Saint Crispian; Then he will strip his sleeve and show his scars.And say,“ these wounds I had on Crispin’s day.” - ” Henry V”, Act 4 Scene 3, Wm. Shakespeare It‘s a chilly morning here on Anastasia Island. St. Augustine Beach, FloridaOctober

2000Copyright, Marcus Nevacoff, October 2000

CONFLICT RESOLUTION 101

2005-01-01T13:17:00.000-05:00

To define Conflict Resolution and to put it in a context that most of us can understand, (And if you still cannot after reading this then you are useless and there is no hope. There are however plenty of opportunities in the food service industry with funny hats and name badges and all you have to remember is to ask “Would you like fries with that?), it is the art of picking the battles that one needs to fight in life and the wisdom to identify and walk away from situations that you really cannot impact and really do not need to be impacting anyway. There is a huge problem in this country of Blessed Free Speech. The problem comes from the fact that most of the speech that is made under this freedom is stupid, idiotic, off the mark, uninformed and none of your damned business in the first place and about as worthless as used sheep dip.

Not that I resent the Freedom of Speech. This is the most sacred of our freedoms. I have and will always have as my credo, “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend your right to say it.” But come on people; let’s say something intelligent. Damn, I have found myself defending some real stupid statements, theories, ideals, political positions, and other assorted flotsam and jetsam that spews from some peoples mouths under this right and it is getting a little stale and I am getting too old to defend the touched in the head. It seems at times it has gotten to be a near impossibility to sort the horseshit from the bullshit and find the nuggets of truth and rationality.

Who is to blame for this? WE ALL ARE! We all do it. Me, you, that guy over there, that blathering talking head on TV, that writer, that educator, that theologian, that evangelist on television with the$500 haircut and the $3,000 suit crying alligator tears over not getting enough money from the rubes to continue his version of the Supreme Beings Divine Plan and God himself only speaks to him to tell us what God has in mind like some liposuctioned, tooth whitened, libido enhanced, Moses. And since God only speaks to and through him or her God now allows them charge by the word and you have got to pay the preacher to hear THE TRUE WORD, Hallelujah!! Can we get an AMEN here? And order the Ferrari.

We need constructive dialogue. We have some serious problems and if we do not address them they are going to reach out and bite us in the ass while we worry whether it is acceptable for two people who love each other to declare that they are a union in mind body and soul to the rest of the world.

For instance, there is a group of folks that are desperately hungry, poor, dirty, I-Pod-less, desert folks, that want the whole world to live by 15th Century Religious Law and Customs, that have nukes, who are not very fond of us at the moment. Now, in my mind, this is more important to me than whom someone is married to. You think Gay Marriage will destroy the American Fabric? Wait until you see what a few little nukes can do to screw up your shopping experience at Wal-Mart.

Of course, we are reassured by spokesman from the government that all is well and that we should not worry about it and go about our introverted lives, but I say let’s take a for instance. The smart folk like to call them Scenarios, I will call them "for instances." For instance, these are the same folks that decided that we should not see the people hand in hand jumping from the top of the World Trade Center on 9-11 in order to, and I love this, “not to inflame passions”. Are they out of their minds! The passions demand to be inflamed! The dead demand that they be avenged. Righteous fury should be the mood of this nation. Let slip the Dogs of War. Run; do not walk into harm’s way. They attacked us. They killed some of us. They killed our women and children. They did not make war on our armies. They made war on our children. Take due revenge in a manner that they, our enemies will never again even conceive of attacking this country and its citizens. Let the world shudder at the size, ferocity and intensity of our wrath! Let the world fear us.

Then let the world see our compassion after we bury and avenge our dead that will not only equal our wrath, but also exceed it. For we are truly, a compassionate people. We have demonstrated this many times before. We have a tradition of trying not to start wars, but we finish them. Our past-vanquished enemies now live under some of the highest standards of living conditions on earth. But does being compassionate mean that we are a weak people? Not at all. What this shows is our strength of what our country and our ideals are.

This needs to be done before some of the folks that find blowing themselves up so that they can go to the garden and be serviced by Virgins of an indeterminate number decides to sail a freighter in to the Hudson River with just a small nuke on it right near Wall Street. Not even a megaton, just a little designer suitcase couple of kiloton number and set it off. No discussion. No advance threats. No demands. Just comes in and decides to open his own can of Whupass on us. That is something that I really think we, as a nation needs to seriously discuss and not waste time and money on whether or not almost seeing Janet Jackson’s nipple has scarred me for life. (For the record, it did not. I have seen way better and way worse.)

It is time for us as a people to stop all the idiot ranting and raving and come on in and sit down at the kitchen table leaving our egos and prejudices out on the stoop and talk about this like the family we try to portray. A cup of coffee and light up a smoke, (to the Anti Tobacco people, “Shut up. A cigarette is not going to give me lung cancer any quicker than Strontium 90 floating around in the air will. I deny you the satisfaction of counting me as another senseless tobacco death when I am taking in a big nose hit of “Mushroom Cloud U-238”…good stuff!), and decide what we are going to do now.

I know scholars and fine smart people that I admire and in many ways respect that would still make the one stupid suggestion that sounds like this. “First we have to identify the problem”.

Identify the problem! We know what the problem is! Some folks are trying to kill us! Does that statement clarify the problem enough? They, and by they I mean anyone that takes a mind to do it, are going to come over here and blow us up big time. September 11th will fast disappear out of our memories the day that we have to bury not just 3,000, but 3,000,000 from a single event. That is the problem and unless we get that through our collective heads you can make book on it’s happening and the scary part is the folks that tell us not to worry know it. Do I look like Alfred E. Newman? Of course I am worried.

I am more willing to be damned for saving our children’s lives than being damned for wasting them. With that said, now can we get down to getting some serious discussion underway on what course we are to take and Resolve this Conflict before we have to bury a city?

Schomburgers In Paradise

2002-10-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

The hamburger joint on the beach has become as elusive and rare as beach-blanket movies-gone the way of beehive hairdos, polka-dot bikinis and Marlboros rolled up in the sleeves of guys' T-shirts. But the Beachcomber endures, at the end of A Street on Florida's St. Augustine Beach-gently reminding us what the beach is for: watching the sun rise out of the sea to glisten gold and red upon a becalmed ocean, at breakfast time; its peace undisturbed but for squadrons of pelicans performing their aerial choreography over Anastasia Island. This is a place where a beach walker can find that morning cup of coffee while pondering his position in the cosmos, or a table from which to watch the natural kaleidoscope of waves and changing light, proclaiming the new day. A place with stools inside for the regulars, and a television over the bar switching between the sports and stock market reports-where by your third visit, the staff really does know your name. Classic rock & roll plays softly in the background. The bill of fare is what one would expect of such an establishment, but with a twist that is the Beachcomber's own: Gator tail and oysters by the mound, to shuck and wash down with beer; curried coconut shrimp with guava barbecue sauce; (my favorite); and Mexican Lasagna, to name a few. It is a place to find friends, among the staff as well as the customers. During the two weeks each winter when it closes down you will find the regulars wandering aimlessly up and down the beach in the morning, wistfully eyeing the closed doors. It's one of those rare places where prospective Hemingway’s still come to dream of Great American Novels yet to be written. To sit and read the newest attempt to capture that title, to study the human condition or pen a short story. A place for honeymooners to plan the rest of their lives sitting at those salt- and sun-bleached tables. A place for couples who may have honeymooned here many years ago, back now that the kids are grown and on their own. It is a place to grab a beer after working on a roof in the blazing sun all day. A place to catch the latest in beachwear fashions. A place to feel the ebb and flow of life around you. Like neighborhood taverns elsewhere, it is also the bastion of the working-class hero. An idiosyncratic stop on the tour of the Oldest City in America; a place where the vagaries of politics are not worth a damn; a paradigm from a simpler and perhaps better time: This is the Beachcomber. Can I get fries and a Mimosa with that Schomburger? And, oh yeah! A basket of tail!