Carmichael's Position

A Year Ago Today!

JCAS — 2008-10-09T08:08:53-06:00

Update: Due to some server problems comments were not being accepted for awhile... We think we have corrected this problem, but in the process this post had to be republished... This post as actually published on October 6, 2008 (our real anniversary)...

Hard to believe that a year has already past since I stated before God and Friends "I do!" What's more amazing is that she "I Do'd" too!

Ginger and I have been together over 11 years but married for only one now, and I have to confess, I'm liking the married life all the more, but I cannot begin to tell you why.

I just love introducing Ginger as "My Wife, Ginger" and am still taken off guard when I hear Ginger introduce me as her Husband. Good stuff never the less.

I have been traveling extensively the past week and a half, first to Grand Junction for the Airshow and Tailhook Party, then this past week I spent in New York on business. I finally returned Friday evening for a brief stay at my own abode. I say brief because my lovely Bride took the reigns and made arrangements for she and I to enjoy a one night escape to the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs Saturday night.

Our all too short excursion to this 5 Diamond resort was spectacular! They absolutely know how to take care of their patrons! Ginger had reserved a very nice room overlooking the lake and the mountains, and had arranged for the two of us to enjoy a romantic dinner at Penrose Room.

Dinner easily lived up to its 5 Diamond rating! The veal I had was tremendously tender and flavorful, literally melting in my mouth! After enjoying a wonderfully tart apple sorbet desert, we returned to our room to a complimentary bottle of champagne on ice and a note congratulating us on our 1st anniversary. I cannot recommend enough the Broadmoor for a special stay!

I am so thankful to have Ginger in my life, not just because she takes actions like booking us in the Broadmoor when I cannot break away from the job... but for all the things she brings to my life the other 364 days per year! Her devotion and love are undeniable and very much appreciated! She keeps me in line when I most need, and allows me to hang myself when I need that more! She is easily my intellectual superior (not tough I know...) and overall a wonderful addition to my life.

I love you Gin... here's to One of many more to come!

-John

Grand Junction Airshow 2008... A photo essay...

JCAS — 2008-10-04T14:54:55-06:00

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of attending the Grand Junction Airshow. This one is always a fun one for me as not only do we go to a great airshow, but we also attend one of the coolest Tailhook Parties of the year, Hans and Kathy Schmoldt's Cattle Barons BBQ! More on that in a later post.

This year had some added perks, as editor of the Tailhook Daily Briefing (The Tailhook Association's Blog) I was afforded a few extra opportunities this year.

Thanks to Darlyne Merkel, the official airshow photographer and Julie Schafer the marketing coordinator of the show, I had the opportunity to Interview and photograph the Blue Angels, and was granted access to the entire practice day at the field. I cannot thank these two wonderful ladies enough!

And none of this would have happened without the help of Kathy Schmoldt who reached out to Darlyne to assist me in attaining access to the show. Thank you Kathy you are always there for we Tailhookers!

So, below are some of my favorites from this year's show, I have more on my smugmug account and I'll be posting an article about my interview with the Pilot of "Fat Albert," Marine Captain Brendan "Cletus" Burks over on The Tailhook Daily Briefing.

Enjoy...

Colorado at 75 Miles Per Hour

JCAS — 2008-09-28T20:44:23-06:00

Returning from a great weekend in Grand Junction with the Tailhook Association for an Airshow and the Cattle Barons BBQ, I thought I'd provide y'all with a taste of Fall in the Colorado Rockies. The Aspens have indeed exploded with their brilliant gold!

Please note that some of the image quality of these is slightly degraded as one, it was a bit cloudy and... two, I jacked up the shutter speed to take these pics while we traversed I-70 at 75 miles per hour. But, good stuff never the less.

And now as a tease for the blog to come...

Really... Can't Make this Stuff Up!!!

JCAS — 2008-09-23T18:36:18-06:00

Now most of you know that I'm a card carry'n member of PETA (WBBQS)!

That's People Eat'n Tasty Animals (with BBQ Sauce!)

But I don't even know how someone can think this a remotely good idea... Here's the letter sent today from the EVP of PETA to her fellow "Off the Reservationists" Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the creators of "Ben & Jerry's" Ice Cream! Maybe she thought she had a willing ear???

September 23, 2008
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Cofounders
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.
Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,
On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's.
Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers-and cows-would reap the benefits.
Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease-America's number one cause of death.
Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.
And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.
The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President

The response from Ben & Jerry's was quick... THANK GOD!

"We applaud PETA's novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child," said a spokesperson for Ben and Jerry's.

But... out of curiosity... what would you call that flavor? Just Askin...

Ha! And you think your wife gives you grief when you drive!

JCAS — 2008-09-23T18:06:51-06:00

Anyone care to ask Ex F1 driver Riccardo Patrese what he thinks of his wife's side seat driving?

Someone PLEASE Cut "Chatty Kathy's" String!

Favorite Season

JCAS — 2008-09-22T10:34:40-06:00

A friend of mine, having a bit of a Yogi Berra moment, once commented to me, "Ya know... fall is one of my four favorite seasons!"

Hard to argue...

Fall is my favorite season, I love the transition of it. The warm summer reluctantly gives way to the crisp fall chill and the colors bring life to a time considered to be a twilight season. Here in Colorado we are already seeing the trees present their gold leaves (and begin to shed them as well) and the birds have begun their fall harvest in preparation for the cool winter. For me fall begins the time of reflection, of the year, of my current lot in life, my ambitions etc... It is the beginning of the time of family, the holidays are coming!

Looking forward to the season... I hope your fall is an enjoyable one filled with friends, family and warm memories!

The Harvest Moon

JCAS — 2008-09-15T22:56:58-06:00

This beautiful, just past full, moon this evening is officially the "Harvest Moon" as it is the nearest full moon to the Autumnal Equinox.

Thought I'd try again with the new camera and lens. The above image is taken with a Nikon D80 on a tripod (target special) with a Nikkor AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens at full zoom (all 300mm of it!) 1/125- f5.6. I then, using Adobe Raw flooded the vibrancies and bumped the saturation to get the above image.

This treatment really brought out the Mare and some of the more prominent craters. That big splatter crater in the 5:46 position is Tycho, and the one almost in the center (just to the 9:00 position) is Copernicus. Just to the south of Copernicus, along the Moon's Equator, on 19 November 1969, one of my favorite crews, Pete Conrad and Al Bean of Apollo 12 landed in an area known as Oceanus Procellarum or the Ocean of Storms. That's Al in the NASA image above.

The famous Apollo 11 astronauts landed in the "Sea of Tranquility" or Mare Tranquilitatis about the 1:00 or 2:00 position from the center... then in the lower left corner of that darker bluish sea.

I've always been fascinated by the moon. Growing up I remember a number of the Moon landings and watching live as Shepard, Young, Cernan, Scott and numerous others explored the surface of this desolate yet beautiful companion. It is too bad that we stopped and now have to start over again. I would have welcomed the opportunity to be one who would colonize the moon. Now I guess I, and all the rest of us have to leave it up to Stu's kids. More about the Apollo Missions can be found here: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo.html

If you would like to briefly explore the moon I've included the image below that maps out the more prominent locations on the surface, it even includes where the various Apollo landings were. (Note in my image above the axis is tilted counter-clockwise approximately 26 degrees). [Full Size Here]

Enjoy...

Krauthammer Hammers Charlie Gibson!

JCAS — 2008-09-12T19:45:33-06:00

I watched the ABC interview the other night where Charlie Gibson so glibly, and patronizingly sought his Gotcha in the spotlight with the new shining star of the Republican Party, Sarah Palin.

In one quite condescending exchange, one the New York Times describes Gibson as "sounding like an impatient teacher," Palin was grilled with the ambiguous question "Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?"

Sarah, like me and thousands of other well read and politically astute historians naturally balked at such a half baked question. Me? I would have responded with,

"Which one Charlie? There are reputed to be four derivations or refinements of his doctrine over the course of his term... are you referring to his most recent doctrine of focusing on spreading liberty and democracy as a fundamental right of all nations?" Or are you stuck in the past referring to his preemptive domain and our stated right to attack an enemy if deemed prudent in protecting the Citizens of the United States and denying you ass-clowns in the media of the opportunity to ever accuse a president of not taking action to protect these United States Citizens like you revisionist J-school-turds have been doing for the past 7 years?... Which one Charlie?"

But that's just me.

Sarah, responded in a more forgiving and polite fashion, "In what respect, Charlie?"

I'll defer to Mr. Krauthammer here:

Sensing his "gotcha" moment, Gibson refused to tell her. After making her fish for the answer, Gibson grudgingly explained to the moose-hunting rube that the Bush doctrine "is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense."

Wrong.
I know something about the subject because, as the Wikipedia entry on the Bush doctrine notes, I was the first to use the term. In the cover essay of the June 4, 2001, issue of the Weekly Standard entitled, "The Bush Doctrine: ABM, Kyoto, and the New American Unilateralism," I suggested that the Bush administration policies of unilaterally withdrawing from the ABM treaty and rejecting the Kyoto protocol, together with others, amounted to a radical change in foreign policy that should be called the Bush doctrine.
Then came 9/11, and that notion was immediately superseded by the advent of the war on terror. In his address to the joint session of Congress nine days after 9/11, President Bush declared: "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime." This "with us or against us" policy regarding terror...became the essence of the Bush doctrine.
Until Iraq. A year later, when the Iraq war was looming, Bush offered his major justification by enunciating a doctrine of preemptive war. This is the one Charlie Gibson thinks is the Bush doctrine.
It's not. It's the third in a series and was superseded by the fourth and current definition of the Bush doctrine, the most sweeping formulation of the Bush approach to foreign policy and the one that most clearly and distinctively defines the Bush years...It was most dramatically enunciated in Bush's second inaugural address: "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world."

This is the doctrine that should have rightfully been assumed when discussing the "Bush Doctrine"!

Not the Gibson doctrine of preemption.
Not the "with us or against us" no-neutrality-is-permitted policy of the immediate post-9/11 days.
Not the unilateralism that characterized the pre-9/11 first year of the Bush administration.

And oh how I covet Mr. Krauthammer's eloquence in prose as he concludes his expose' of the condescending Gibson...

Yes, Sarah Palin didn't know what it is. But neither does Charlie Gibson. And at least she didn't pretend to know -- while he looked down his nose and over his glasses with weary disdain, sighing and "sounding like an impatient teacher," as the Times noted. In doing so, he captured perfectly the establishment snobbery and intellectual condescension that has characterized the chattering classes' reaction to the mother of five who presumes to play on their stage.

Nuff Said!

UPDATE: Or maybe not enough said... I know my more liberal readers will not be inclined to connect the following dots, but the boys over at News Busters have an interesting revelation about what we Americans DID NOT SEE AND HEAR in the Palin-Gibson interview. One of the worst things a free press can do is not tell a whole story in their effort to slant a story! These guys are becoming quite disingenuous! Wouldn't you like to know that this candidate has a larger understanding of the global relation the US needs to have with Russia?

Read it all here http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/09/13/abc-news-edited-out-key-parts-sarah-palin-interview

As to what was left on the cutting room floor, Damn... this sure would have made Palin look.... um.... uh.... Good?

Sickening...

Forgot My Coffee!

JCAS — 2008-09-12T09:45:04-06:00

Ha! I love these type of determined folks! As my buddy Jeff says in his post that I'm stealing this from...

"Ya can't keep a Redneck down!"

Jeff would know, he... like me, embraces his "keep it simple" heritage.

With news of hurricane Ike bearing down on the good folks of Texas fresh on my mind, it is good to see Americans pulling them selves up... dusting them selves off after taking a beating by a force of nature, and "gett'n on with gett'n on!" But what I liked the most is the need for COFFEE!!!

Bastards!

JCAS — 2008-09-11T09:09:37-06:00

Nope, not something I'll ever forget, or forgive!

No, I do not have concern or feelings for those who perpetrated or support those who did, by direct aid or philosophical proxy.

I offer a continued thank you to all of you who are continuing to take the fight to the all of the Bastards that do not recognize the rights we believe ALL Humans have, despite your nationality, race, sex, age or RELIGION! The Tyranny of fear needs to be stopped.