Combine two rogue super spies, Russian spys, the Russian mob, the CIA, Homeland Security, Mexican drug runners, Colombian drug runners, an all-knowing Balinese woman, alchemy, and an ultra-secret society that wants to control the world and you have the framework for Eric Van Lustbader’s
The Bourne Objective
Last fall the sports world was in high angst when a South African athlete was accused of being more that met the eye. Caster Semenya, an 18 year old runner won the gold medal in the 800 meter run at the World Athletics Championships. Semenya won the woman’s title in a fantastic performance capping a rapid improvement over the past year.
In radio lingo the “morning drive” is the period when you may be listening to their radio station as you commute to work. These are often the times when put on some of their most desirable shows and if they can attract enough of you listeners they can charge more for advertising.
I recently took a job (it actually turned out to only be a job…too bad) where my morning drive lasted just under one hour. I always had the radio on, but I generally took much of time planning my day or as the stress level increased at work I used the time to figure out how to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks. This explains why it turned into just a job.
I drove past the gas station the other day and was pleased that the price had gone down…to $2.69 per gallon. Since I drive nearly 30 miles to work each way gas prices are always on my mind. It is funny how gas prices at one time reached four dollars a gallon and then eventually came back down, but never all the way back down. I find it sad that I am now content with prices under $3.00 and get tense when it creeps up.
Bunker Hill, Trenton, Antietam (Sharpsburg for you southerners), Cold Harbor, Gettysburg, Argonne , Iwo Jima, Midway, Utah Beach, Inchon, Hamburger Hill, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan should mostly be familiar to you as sites where America found glory while many of its sons and daughters gave their last full measure.
These famous battles could not have been won without dedicated military leaders. You know the guys who would lead the charge up that hill, up the beach, or across that field. It always intrigued me about how soldiers follow their leaders even though many know that death awaits. Medals are often given to those that die or are wounded, but not enough is given to those who simply follow and fight.
News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…
Brief 1: The Democrats and Obama have been making some noise about providing subsidies for the dead tree media. Maybe this is a quid pro quo since most newspapers have been propping them up for decades and Obama for the past few years. Before you get all freaky on this concept, remember that it has been used quite successfully in other countries. The United States would join the ranks of Venezuela, China, Russia (they’ve gone a step further and have actually “cancelled” some journalists to decrease supply), North Korea and Nazi Germany.
Around television ratings weeks investigative reporters pull out their eye-raising stories that are typically about government waste and abuse. They often use “gotcha” tactics to surprise government workers who are not really working. A favorite is the story about some item that you or I could buy at the local Home Depot for under ten dollars, but our government has paid hundreds or even thousands for. I, like many have asked why the government pays so much for stuff and even more for any work that it wants performed.
The joke goes; A Brit, a Canadian, a Croatian, a Frenchman, a German, an Irishman, a Mexican, a Romanian, a Dutchman, a Norwegian, a South Korean, and a Swede rush out of a bar one day. Barry the bartender says “What’s the hurry? Did someone spill something?
The joke unfortunately is on us as our federal goverment has refused the help of these nations to control and clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Many of us seriously have our doubts that the White House was on top of things from “day one,” but the linked article provides a glimpse into the fact that many of our allies offered help in our hour of need. The Dutch, in particular, offered help almost from DAY ONE. Here we are nearly two months later and the Obama administration is still refusing help from other countries.
News briefs are a collection of interesting news stories…
This session is all about our Organizer-In-Chief:
Brief 1: Dorothy Rabinowitz wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal yesterday peering into the inner workings of Obama’s mind. Rabinowitz describes him as “the alien in the White House” since he is more in tune with his ideology than average Americans. As President of the United States he is, perhaps, the leader of the free world and he seems to gravitate to that role yet forgetting that his is our President first.
