...G-d, no.
https://mwi.usma.edu/pentagon-planning-occupation-iran-even-though-nightmare-scenario/
I mean, I get the gist of the article. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.
The United States is ill-equipped from a national unity standpoint to go through another long term occupation. Even with the magic well of cash that is the Federal Reserve System, eventually the Piper must be paid. This is especially so with the nation led by the current administration which has less than stellar support of about half the country.
Invading Iran would be less fun than the invasion of Iraq. Could we beat the Iranians? Sure. Could we destroy the Iranian government? Sure - there isn't a lot of love for the Mullahs. The Occupation is the problem - the occupation always has been the problem, and we - the Americans aren't good at it.
We still act like good guys, even though, increasingly, in the eyes of the occupied - we aren't.
Crazed American, out.
25 July 2018
24 July 2018
Signs
...of the coming apocalypse?
In the past I had used that phrase ironically, or is it sardonically? Something weird and unexpected, or something commonplace, but frequently unpleasant would get labeled by me a sign of the coming apocalypse.
Today - a region of Russia larger than England, dark as night in the middle of the day. No offical explanation.
Athens, Greece - Hell on Earth.
Wildfires here at home.
Hell here at home - cooking in the heat - the grid is in danger.
Oh, and it looks as though there might be bit of action 'round the ol' Cascadian Subduction Zone.
This is an INTERESTING time to be alive!
Take care of yourselves - drink water in the heat. Call your older relatives, make sure what preparations you deem appropriate are topped off. Got a feeling.
Crazed American, Out.
In the past I had used that phrase ironically, or is it sardonically? Something weird and unexpected, or something commonplace, but frequently unpleasant would get labeled by me a sign of the coming apocalypse.
Today - a region of Russia larger than England, dark as night in the middle of the day. No offical explanation.
Athens, Greece - Hell on Earth.
Wildfires here at home.
Hell here at home - cooking in the heat - the grid is in danger.
Oh, and it looks as though there might be bit of action 'round the ol' Cascadian Subduction Zone.
This is an INTERESTING time to be alive!
Take care of yourselves - drink water in the heat. Call your older relatives, make sure what preparations you deem appropriate are topped off. Got a feeling.
Crazed American, Out.
17 July 2018
People...
Gentle Reader, I work with the General Public. I work in the hospitality industry.
I know. It's my cross to bear - this is my witness.
Dear G-d, are people so very clueless. People wander around in a fog, and need to be hand held to do the smallest things. No attention span.
The Public is fickle, it is petulant. It wants what it wants, when it wants it.
Take for example, an interaction I had with a guest who wanted to secure some lodging. They wanted it for one night, but wanted to checkout EXTREMELY late the following day.
When I told him that we could accommodate that, he would just need to pay the full amount for the following nights rental, he went a bit ballistic.
Didn't matter to him that we couldn't turn the room for the following night, didn't matter that our housekeepers are very hard working, but only work until 4pm. By the sound of his voice over the phone, I would estimate him to be in his late 50's or early 60's.
This man, older than I, threw a tantrum over the phone.
When he had calmed down a bit, I said he was welcome to check out our competitors in the area, but they all have similar late checkout policies (as does EVERY lodging institution on the planet - from the ultra-swank to the No-Tell Motel).
I, as proud member of the hospitality industry, am very serious about you getting what you pay for.
Operative term: Pay. My superiors get very cross when something happens and there is no money to cover it. As with most lodging options in the developed world you get the use of a unit from the check-in time to the checkout time. Early check-in and late check-out are never guaranteed. It is the staff doing you a favor. If we say no, 99 times out of a hundred it is not us being mean. We do reserve that 1% if you've been an entitled, clueless prick. We're only human, after all.
My advice to every person in the developed world: Ignorance is now less of an excuse for anything than it ever has been, in the history of man. Most all of us carry around more computational capacity in our hip pockets than generations before even dreamed of (including us). You have access to the sum total of human knowledge. People whose job it is to assist you are always happier when you've made even the slightest effort of research. We also tend to be much quicker to lend a hand or help out.
You're the one who has spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars to take a vacation. The term, "couldn't find a map" don't cut it when you then get a text on your thousand dollar internet enabled supercomputer in your pocket. Help us help you. We tend to be friendlier, and not pity you quite so much.
He wanted something for free. My job is to help you have a place so that you can have a good time, while separating you from as much of your money as possible. That is what I am paid to do. Sorry (not sorry).
Lodging staff is a dying breed, thanks to advances in technology and the AirBnB. I personally prefer it to traditional hotels. Our employers know it, we know it. We're not even asking for special treatment - just have a bit of a clue, maybe just for laughs have an idea of what you're paying for. Ask questions if you have to after looking up the place you're going on the internet. Most of us can internally roll our eyes at you, but most of us will give you a friendly answer.
If you come across a tiny resort convenience store miles away from the closest town, don't get pissed at the schlep behind the cash register when you don't have the very specific item you want. You might be the first person who's ever asked for it.
I miss the days when people treated strangers and service industry employees with at least a modicum of respect. I still do, and try to instill it into my children.
Anyway. End of message
Crazed American, out.
I know. It's my cross to bear - this is my witness.
Dear G-d, are people so very clueless. People wander around in a fog, and need to be hand held to do the smallest things. No attention span.
The Public is fickle, it is petulant. It wants what it wants, when it wants it.
Take for example, an interaction I had with a guest who wanted to secure some lodging. They wanted it for one night, but wanted to checkout EXTREMELY late the following day.
When I told him that we could accommodate that, he would just need to pay the full amount for the following nights rental, he went a bit ballistic.
Didn't matter to him that we couldn't turn the room for the following night, didn't matter that our housekeepers are very hard working, but only work until 4pm. By the sound of his voice over the phone, I would estimate him to be in his late 50's or early 60's.
This man, older than I, threw a tantrum over the phone.
When he had calmed down a bit, I said he was welcome to check out our competitors in the area, but they all have similar late checkout policies (as does EVERY lodging institution on the planet - from the ultra-swank to the No-Tell Motel).
I, as proud member of the hospitality industry, am very serious about you getting what you pay for.
Operative term: Pay. My superiors get very cross when something happens and there is no money to cover it. As with most lodging options in the developed world you get the use of a unit from the check-in time to the checkout time. Early check-in and late check-out are never guaranteed. It is the staff doing you a favor. If we say no, 99 times out of a hundred it is not us being mean. We do reserve that 1% if you've been an entitled, clueless prick. We're only human, after all.
My advice to every person in the developed world: Ignorance is now less of an excuse for anything than it ever has been, in the history of man. Most all of us carry around more computational capacity in our hip pockets than generations before even dreamed of (including us). You have access to the sum total of human knowledge. People whose job it is to assist you are always happier when you've made even the slightest effort of research. We also tend to be much quicker to lend a hand or help out.
You're the one who has spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars to take a vacation. The term, "couldn't find a map" don't cut it when you then get a text on your thousand dollar internet enabled supercomputer in your pocket. Help us help you. We tend to be friendlier, and not pity you quite so much.
He wanted something for free. My job is to help you have a place so that you can have a good time, while separating you from as much of your money as possible. That is what I am paid to do. Sorry (not sorry).
Lodging staff is a dying breed, thanks to advances in technology and the AirBnB. I personally prefer it to traditional hotels. Our employers know it, we know it. We're not even asking for special treatment - just have a bit of a clue, maybe just for laughs have an idea of what you're paying for. Ask questions if you have to after looking up the place you're going on the internet. Most of us can internally roll our eyes at you, but most of us will give you a friendly answer.
If you come across a tiny resort convenience store miles away from the closest town, don't get pissed at the schlep behind the cash register when you don't have the very specific item you want. You might be the first person who's ever asked for it.
I miss the days when people treated strangers and service industry employees with at least a modicum of respect. I still do, and try to instill it into my children.
Anyway. End of message
Crazed American, out.
16 July 2018
Dear Lord
So... for the first time in my life I am utterly clueless as to where this government is taking us.
POTUS obviously gets off on press, good and bad. Really. I mean it.
This tete a tete with Czar Vladimir (in Helsinki) could not have been worse from an optics stand point.
Why is he poking the bear? Not Czar Vlad, I mean the American public.
He could not be more polarizing if he tried.
Having said that, I'm thinking if the economy holds, he wins again in 2020.
Something's coming. Something not good.
Musing-ly -
Crazed American, out
POTUS obviously gets off on press, good and bad. Really. I mean it.
This tete a tete with Czar Vladimir (in Helsinki) could not have been worse from an optics stand point.
Why is he poking the bear? Not Czar Vlad, I mean the American public.
He could not be more polarizing if he tried.
Having said that, I'm thinking if the economy holds, he wins again in 2020.
Something's coming. Something not good.
Musing-ly -
Crazed American, out
04 July 2018
4 July 2018
Greetings gentle reader,
I have determined, through extensive experience, that modern Americans are lazy and incompetent, dumbed down through the modern Military-Industrial-Media-Educational Complex into ductile proles. We're tax slaves.
Take me, for instance. I live my life at the minimums of expense, but at the maximum of return. I simply want to spend time with my wife and kids. I like to ski. I got a job that is flexible, not to challenging, and when I am not at my job I don't have to think about it. Little stress, little responsibility, little money, but that's OK. I have enough to pay the bills, keep a roof over my head, pay for my families needful stuff, and sock a little away for hard times. I've been quite fortunate in the real estate arena, and am contemplating a move away from my mountains in order to realize some profit on my rapidly appreciating house.
I pay my taxes pretty much so I don't go to jail. I'm not a huge fan of the current state of governmental affairs in this hemisphere. If taxes were voluntary, at this point, I'd not be paying them. Oh well, cost of doing business.
What is important to me is TIME. Time with my children, time with my wife, time with my family (parents, brother, cousins, in-laws). Quality time. Prior to working in the mountains, i worked for an at the time, special company. It became less special as time went on. I worked stupidly hard, made my employers a ton of money. Sixty hours a week was light. Things went south, and I departed on "good terms" (two weeks, sign off from HR, etc. all tickets punched). Having said that, I never want to see those people again. If I do, I will be polite, but that's it.
Alas, I digress - the point is this, I am willing to do without all of the newest and most modern of conveniences in exchange for time for my home life. I became very sour on making somebody else a lot of money, so until an opportunity for wealth and success comes along, I am happy to spend time with those that I love.
I've done a lot of things in this life. Father, husband, son, brother, leader, follower, soldier, actor, mercenary, tinkerer, dreamer, manager, clerk, writer, podcaster, blogger. I've built some things, destroyed some things. I've helped people, I've hurt people. I've been blessed with a variety of experience. Climbed mountains (skied down them) and been beneath the sea. I've done some things better than others, and I've a few regrets, but pretty happy with where I'm at, especially now that movement is in the future (probably in the year -range). I have to a better job at the first four of those. If I do a good job and take care of those I love, I trust the rest will fall in line.
Sitting here at 8200 feet, feeling mighty reflective on this Independence Day 4 July 2018. I have independence, mostly. Gotta give Ceasar what is his, afterall...
Love wins,
Crazed American, out.
I have determined, through extensive experience, that modern Americans are lazy and incompetent, dumbed down through the modern Military-Industrial-Media-Educational Complex into ductile proles. We're tax slaves.
Take me, for instance. I live my life at the minimums of expense, but at the maximum of return. I simply want to spend time with my wife and kids. I like to ski. I got a job that is flexible, not to challenging, and when I am not at my job I don't have to think about it. Little stress, little responsibility, little money, but that's OK. I have enough to pay the bills, keep a roof over my head, pay for my families needful stuff, and sock a little away for hard times. I've been quite fortunate in the real estate arena, and am contemplating a move away from my mountains in order to realize some profit on my rapidly appreciating house.
I pay my taxes pretty much so I don't go to jail. I'm not a huge fan of the current state of governmental affairs in this hemisphere. If taxes were voluntary, at this point, I'd not be paying them. Oh well, cost of doing business.
What is important to me is TIME. Time with my children, time with my wife, time with my family (parents, brother, cousins, in-laws). Quality time. Prior to working in the mountains, i worked for an at the time, special company. It became less special as time went on. I worked stupidly hard, made my employers a ton of money. Sixty hours a week was light. Things went south, and I departed on "good terms" (two weeks, sign off from HR, etc. all tickets punched). Having said that, I never want to see those people again. If I do, I will be polite, but that's it.
Alas, I digress - the point is this, I am willing to do without all of the newest and most modern of conveniences in exchange for time for my home life. I became very sour on making somebody else a lot of money, so until an opportunity for wealth and success comes along, I am happy to spend time with those that I love.
I've done a lot of things in this life. Father, husband, son, brother, leader, follower, soldier, actor, mercenary, tinkerer, dreamer, manager, clerk, writer, podcaster, blogger. I've built some things, destroyed some things. I've helped people, I've hurt people. I've been blessed with a variety of experience. Climbed mountains (skied down them) and been beneath the sea. I've done some things better than others, and I've a few regrets, but pretty happy with where I'm at, especially now that movement is in the future (probably in the year -range). I have to a better job at the first four of those. If I do a good job and take care of those I love, I trust the rest will fall in line.
Sitting here at 8200 feet, feeling mighty reflective on this Independence Day 4 July 2018. I have independence, mostly. Gotta give Ceasar what is his, afterall...
Love wins,
Crazed American, out.
01 July 2018
Civility... A conclusion.
We've past a tipping point there in these United States, folks. There is a lot wrong with the situation.
This may be a continuing series. I put it out to you, gentle reader, not entirely just to vent and bitch about the worrying trends in American Culture, but to respond tot he adage, "the first step in solving a problem or problems is first to identify
For a goodly number of people, PARTICULARLY on the left side of things - civility is not seen as anything they want any part of. Civility is what you have when people who may disagree, still want a calm framework in which to exist.
Yeah - people don't want that. People want struggle, apparently. They want strife. They are firmly convinced that their brand of resistance will usher in their particular brand of aforementioned (last post) utopia. People all around this country are sanctimoniously convinced of their own correctness. Their way is the only way. Only rubes or evil Nazis (a term very freely used by both sides) could possibly think another way than their enlightened path. If only those who disagree with my OBVIOUSLY correct stance on all issues, would shut up and embrace the true faith, we'd all get along swimmingly. We don't care that you were brought up a certain way or have a different set of opinions, that you formed through a lifetime of differing experiences to mine. You should shut up and do as I say or I'll scream in your face.
That's what a lack of civility entails. Not, "hey we obviously disagree, here are my points, and if you don't like them, you don't have to talk to me ever again" - it's "hey f--kface, you suck and I hate you because of reasons. Nazi, libtard, rethuglican, et al".
Gone are the days (if they ever truly existed) of the marketplace of ideas. Of civil discourse. Now we have social media echo chambers that are causing Americans to factionalize. Where do we think this all might go? Do we think that not being civil to people you disagree with is somehow going to magically change their opinion? Calling people names, threatening them, demeaning them will somehow bring them over to your side of thinking?
The left and the right do this all of the time. As a "principled non-participant" in the two party system, it would be comical, if it wasn't so scary. My Facebook page is a microcosm of the nation as I have "friends", friends and family on both sides of our nation's political divide.
There are a lot of us out here in "flyover country". Not all of us are knuckle dragging imbeciles with our MAGA hats on. There are a lot of independent thinkers who don't want to spit on people with MAGA hats on.
Trump is a bad, bad man. No doubt. I didn't vote for him, but I couldn't vote for his opponent either. I did vote my conscience, which in a republic is all we can do, aside from saddling up and running ourselves. Problem is, our system is so dirty, so corrupt, it's moral foundation so riddled with voids and gaps, no "good" people can run. Anyone that runs for national office at this point is a borderline psychopath in my opinion. We'd be in this place no matter who won in 2016. It's the system, the framework. We don't even pay the Constitution lip service anymore. We live in a country dominated by a corrupt Military-Industrial-Media-Educational Complex.
So what to do in a country that has effectively declared Civility a thing of the past? I am going to do what I think every American should do. Concentrate on things that I can have effect on. I will plan for my future, raise my children, love my wife and brother and parents and in-laws. I'll take care of my extended family in ways that I can. I will plan for the worst, and hope for the best. But we're at a point in time that it's hard to divine the future. I pray for the continued laziness of the American people, it's what I'm going to bet on. Civil War (a frequent result of escalating incivility and factionalization - simple, recent history - see the Balkans in the 1990's) is HARD work. Modern Americans can't even find their houses on a non-electronic map, much less plan a modern infantry engagement. Modern Americans are helpless. They want what they want, when they want it and they are not used to not getting their way. I work with the general public and most of them, even with their modern conveniences (phones, computer, internet) What to do? Don't be helpless. How that works in your life is up to you. Food and water are pretty important - start there.
I will continue to be polite to every person I meet in life. I am not withdrawing from Social Media, because it is becoming far to interesting, and there are people on the internet that I once knew in-person, and still care about. I'm there for news about them. But if you post more than a few party-line political posts in a row, you just might get unfollowed for a while.
Civility is easy for a people that wants to be a people. It's coming apart, people. History says it will.
Pray that we build something better out of what came before.
Love is the only way to win,
Crazed American, out.
This may be a continuing series. I put it out to you, gentle reader, not entirely just to vent and bitch about the worrying trends in American Culture, but to respond tot he adage, "the first step in solving a problem or problems is first to identify
For a goodly number of people, PARTICULARLY on the left side of things - civility is not seen as anything they want any part of. Civility is what you have when people who may disagree, still want a calm framework in which to exist.
Yeah - people don't want that. People want struggle, apparently. They want strife. They are firmly convinced that their brand of resistance will usher in their particular brand of aforementioned (last post) utopia. People all around this country are sanctimoniously convinced of their own correctness. Their way is the only way. Only rubes or evil Nazis (a term very freely used by both sides) could possibly think another way than their enlightened path. If only those who disagree with my OBVIOUSLY correct stance on all issues, would shut up and embrace the true faith, we'd all get along swimmingly. We don't care that you were brought up a certain way or have a different set of opinions, that you formed through a lifetime of differing experiences to mine. You should shut up and do as I say or I'll scream in your face.
That's what a lack of civility entails. Not, "hey we obviously disagree, here are my points, and if you don't like them, you don't have to talk to me ever again" - it's "hey f--kface, you suck and I hate you because of reasons. Nazi, libtard, rethuglican, et al".
Gone are the days (if they ever truly existed) of the marketplace of ideas. Of civil discourse. Now we have social media echo chambers that are causing Americans to factionalize. Where do we think this all might go? Do we think that not being civil to people you disagree with is somehow going to magically change their opinion? Calling people names, threatening them, demeaning them will somehow bring them over to your side of thinking?
The left and the right do this all of the time. As a "principled non-participant" in the two party system, it would be comical, if it wasn't so scary. My Facebook page is a microcosm of the nation as I have "friends", friends and family on both sides of our nation's political divide.
There are a lot of us out here in "flyover country". Not all of us are knuckle dragging imbeciles with our MAGA hats on. There are a lot of independent thinkers who don't want to spit on people with MAGA hats on.
Trump is a bad, bad man. No doubt. I didn't vote for him, but I couldn't vote for his opponent either. I did vote my conscience, which in a republic is all we can do, aside from saddling up and running ourselves. Problem is, our system is so dirty, so corrupt, it's moral foundation so riddled with voids and gaps, no "good" people can run. Anyone that runs for national office at this point is a borderline psychopath in my opinion. We'd be in this place no matter who won in 2016. It's the system, the framework. We don't even pay the Constitution lip service anymore. We live in a country dominated by a corrupt Military-Industrial-Media-Educational Complex.
So what to do in a country that has effectively declared Civility a thing of the past? I am going to do what I think every American should do. Concentrate on things that I can have effect on. I will plan for my future, raise my children, love my wife and brother and parents and in-laws. I'll take care of my extended family in ways that I can. I will plan for the worst, and hope for the best. But we're at a point in time that it's hard to divine the future. I pray for the continued laziness of the American people, it's what I'm going to bet on. Civil War (a frequent result of escalating incivility and factionalization - simple, recent history - see the Balkans in the 1990's) is HARD work. Modern Americans can't even find their houses on a non-electronic map, much less plan a modern infantry engagement. Modern Americans are helpless. They want what they want, when they want it and they are not used to not getting their way. I work with the general public and most of them, even with their modern conveniences (phones, computer, internet) What to do? Don't be helpless. How that works in your life is up to you. Food and water are pretty important - start there.
I will continue to be polite to every person I meet in life. I am not withdrawing from Social Media, because it is becoming far to interesting, and there are people on the internet that I once knew in-person, and still care about. I'm there for news about them. But if you post more than a few party-line political posts in a row, you just might get unfollowed for a while.
Civility is easy for a people that wants to be a people. It's coming apart, people. History says it will.
Pray that we build something better out of what came before.
Love is the only way to win,
Crazed American, out.
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