Cobra II

Have you read the book Cobra II? It is a historical novel of the Second Gulf War that I found very intriguing. I recommend it to those Historical War Book fans. It reminded me a great deal of the Ambrose books in the portrail of actual events. Everything is cross-referenced and footnoted so you can determine where the author obtained the information.

One fact that struck me.....

Throughout the book were several specific instances of individual soldiers that were wary of inflicting civilian casualties even at their own mortal peril. One struck me (page number pending) where a soldier called his commanding officer on the radio and asked what he should do about a man with an AK-47 shooting at him. The officer responded simply "kill him". This tanker knew there were civilians in the area and yet did not shoot from the hip, was clearly calm in requesting direction, and ultimately was ordered to do what anyone else would have just done immediately.

To me, this is the glaring difference between the good guys and the bad guys. The bag guys are the one's that explode bombs indiscrimanantly in a market place where children and families are gathered. The good guys are constantly conscious of what would happen if they shot at the bad guys with families and innocents around. To one group, innocents are to be protected. To the other group, innocents are to be exploited and hid behind. How a culture could sink to such depths of fanatical disregard for human life is beyond my simple thinking.

McKinney Aplogizes

She apologized but refused to acknowledge her mistake of striking a Capital Hill Police Officer. Did she really expect him to just let a person, unknown to him, walk around the metal detector and enter the congressional building without being confronted? Is she on crack?

Have you seen the pictures of her? Can you say a cross-breed of Don King and Tickle-Me-Elmo? I'll bet they are related.

I'm hoping for an indictment just so I don't have to look at her picture on the web without bars in the foreground.

Kings were CRUSHED !!

I can't describe a 6 to 2 loss better than CRUSHED !!

We've got two games against San Jose to try and make up lost ground. Beating Calgary will help too. One additional game in Anaheim to try and save face next week.

This is going down to the last game.

Kings Are Not "Done" Yet

Well, well, well.

The first two games of their final nine, they win both 1 - 0. Dallas and Vancouver. No pushoevers there...!

They are just getting my hopes up to dash me at the bottom of the cliff like the prior couple years. It all goes back to that year of 1989-1990 when they had the best record in the league only to lose to Calgary in the first round 4 games to 0. Calgary won the cup that year. I was disappointed that year and also in 1993 with Montreal. Then again in 2001 when we beat Detroit in the first round. Too many years against Colorado and too many agains good teams like Detroit.

Kings can't catch a break with injuries either. The Olympics always hurts LA and it didn't go unnoticed again this year losing Pavel Demitra for 25 games due to an orbital bone and a follow-up concussion.

Players like Roenick are the heart of the Kings. He's here for one year and already I like his grit and determination in spite of his series of injuries this year. Luc is pretty much done. He's doing well point wise, but the gritty nature and grind in front of the net have worn him down. You can see it on the ice. I did not like Roenick when he played for other teams, but now I admire him.

The youngsters really don't know how good they have it in LA. Many forgot how hungry they were when Murray started coaching them and got them motivated enough to overcome a 2-0 games deficit against Detroit. I only hope the team can pull together to scrape out a playoff berth this year. The chemistry was good last night and with Dallas. Keep that chemistry and we can do some damage in the playoffs. We have potential that will be wasted if I end up on the rocks below.

Sharon Stone

I used to think Sharon Stone was so hot. But now she's a has been.

After One Year of Mite Hockey

Salt Lake County has a great MITE Hockey program. This is the 5-8 year olds. We skipped the first year and my son really settled in for the his first year but second year of eligibility. We've learned a great deal. The following are the tips we can provide:

• Get a skating coach outside of practice. Twice per week for a half hour each session is invaluable and greatly increases the childs skill level and confidence in his/her skating ability.
• Attend every practice even if scheduling is difficult. Find a way. The ice time is too important and the the drills / coordination if also extremely valuable.
• Make sure it stays "fun". I always ask if my son wants to continue because sometimes I get a feeling he is tired of playing or not having fun.
• Get the best equipment you can find. Skates and helmets are the most important single pieces of equipment you can own. Make sure the skates fit properly and buy the best you can afford. Even if you have to buy new one's every 8-10 months due to growth. The skates will allow your child to progress more quickly if they fit right and are not destroyed by some prior user if used.
• Force the child to use the correct length of hockey stick. My son prefers a longer stick, but he what he gains in reach, he gives up in coordination. Get the stick to the right size.
• Get practice socks and jersey's. The gear stinks after practice and games. You need the extra gear for practices so you have plenty of time to get them cleaned on those days with back-to-back games and practice.
• Even though your team is being crushed or delivering serious goal action, keep in mind, there are other parents in the stands feeling the opposite of you and instigating something with your reckless cheers or jeers can be bad form.
• Make sure your coach knows what he is doing. Some coaches waste a large amount of practice time with the kids standing around. This is wasted time. Don't let it happen. I don't have advice on preventing this, except to confront the coach.
• Be prepared to spend more money that you want. All the extra ice time and coaches, clinics, camps, equipment, etc. costs lots of bucks. Be prepared for it.
• Think about what your childs steps should be as they progress in skill level. Travel teams are very pretigious but expensive. This may not be the best method to get your child exposure. Think about alternatives. We are exploring playing on two teams in two separate counties.

Why Newspapers Fail

Let's see -

10. Because I can't stand reading the opinion page drivel from left wing editors controlling what gets in their opinion pages.
9. Because I can get the important scores any time of the day or night without paying for it or waiting for that late paperboy.
8. Because I don't have to pay another bill in the mail with the web version.
7. Because they are all pretty much owned by the same half dozen corporations that are major democratic party contributors.
6. Because there is only about 2 pages of news, 50 pages of adds, and 20 pages of blowhard left wing propaganda.
5. Because you can read it anywhere you travel direct from your laptop.
4. Because they lie to support their owner/editor/political party agenda (Dan Rather case in point).
3. Because they have moron reporters that take their stories direct from the AP or Reuters without doing any work themselves and end up repeating the same lies.
2. Because you still get black fingers after all these years of perfecting ink quality.
1. Because they let me read their paper for free on the web (can't be any dumber). Why pay for the paper when you can get it for free on the web.

Jill Carroll not Laura Carroll

So what !! I got her first name wrong.

It would have been excellent of her to provide some info to the authorities to possibly narrow the area where she was held so we can catch these guys. After all, they shot one of her co-workers in the head several times (once must not work very well in Iraq or they have poor aim).

But I'm still convinced she's caught in the Stockholm Syndrome thingy, like Patty Hearst.

LA Kings Update

Swirling, swirling, swirling.

Down the bowl they go.

Where they'll stop I don't want to know.

They lost to Vancouver,

They lost to Calgary,

They were crushed by Edmondton,

Now've they've got 8 games to go and 5 pts to make up.

Down, down, down.

Swirl, Swirl, Swirl.

The Mouse in My Wall

I've been trying to concentrate all day but with the persistent scratching inside my office wall, it is difficult to make fun of the demoncrats reaction to the Capital Hill Police imminent arrest of Representative Cynthia McKinney. I was hoping to see the arrest live and have her walk the media gauntlet all the while exclaiming the bias of the capital hill police because they are men, white, republican controlled, henchmen for the President, meat eaters, uniformed nazis, violating her free speech rights (right to punch anyone she wants), that her arm is bruised from being detained, her ears are bruised from the partisanship of the capital hill police.

There is the scratching again.

Now I hear Danny Glover will hold her hand and pout that she was treated differently because she is black. REALLY !!??!! I'll bet its the other way around and it actually her who treats people differently because of the color of her skin. She is either delusional or clearly caught the mumps. Have you seen the pictures of her? She must have visited Iowa recently and caught the mumps.

10 to 1 odds - charges are dropped after she humbly apologizes.

3 to 1 odds - she never apologizes and continuously claims "passing the metal detectors while black" (PMDWB - Pouting Moaning Discourteously Wailing and Bossy). BUUZZZZZZ - DING DING DING DING - I turned out to be pretty close - She claimed late Friday night that she was "a congresswoman while being black". HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH

Go figure the double standard. She' d have demanded any republican's head on a pike. Let's monitor this closely. It cracks me up.