Perhaps the time has come...

Stardate 64046.4

I've been mulling over what to put here for a few days now, ever since seeing the headline "Japanese Prime Minister Seeks More Equal Relationship With US".  Part of that was the desire to find a "better" place for the US bases on Okinawa.

The combination of the two got me thinking.

The United States has military facilities in the following countries: Bahrain, Bulgaria, Columbia, Djibouti, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guam, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait,  Japan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.  And we have a joint intelligence facility in Australia.

Not one of those countries has a military base on US soil.  Only one military facility, the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, is jointly operated with a foreign power: Canada.  In fact, it's quite common for a Canadian General to command the facility.

Granted, these bases were established either during World War II, the occupation of Europe and Japan or during the Cold War, yet they continue to serve as forward operating bases for US actions overseas.

So why can't our allies establish bases on our soil?  We certainly have enough such bases already built.  Fort McClellan, for example, still stands and would make an excellent forward/training base for the British SAS.

NAS Brunswick could easily be taken over by the RAF for their Nimrod ASW flights.  Of course, they couldn't bring their sandwiches with them (a friend of mine was a ASW specialist aboard Nimrods, and they warned them that, should they ever go down near US waters, to "eat their sandwiches first")...

And Naval Station Ingleside in Texas could be jointly operated by all of NATO's sea forces.  Imagine, instead of the USN, there could be a base where Royal Navy, Spanish Armada and even Deutsche Marine vessels would be commonly based.

Fort McPherson could be used by the Israelis to help train forces from all over the world in urban warfare.

It's not like any of these countries would ever be at war with us.  And these don't have to be front-line bases.  Most of our bases in Europe are relegated to training and support of operations elsewhere.

Some people will read this and say, "but they can already do this stuff on our bases!"  This is true.  Military units from all over the world visit US facilities for special training.

But the stigma remains.  We have bases on their land.  For example, Rammstein Air Force Base is a US Air Force base, despite the fact that it also serves as a NATO facility, and has units from multiple countries based there.  But it is still a United States air force base.

Now, I will admit that Japan presents a sticky situation.  For historical reasons, and due to the fact that the Japanese Constitution forbids them from maintaining an actual military (the country does have a small defense force, but it is strictly confined to Japanese territory, with a few humanitarian exceptions), it would be impractical or unwise to establish purely Japanese military bases, but I could see one or two small training bases jointly operated by the US and Japan on one or more of the smaller Hawai'ian Islands (the chain has 130 islands, after all).

We've been using other nations' lands to base our military for close to sixty-five years now.  Don't you think it's time to return the favor?

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

Boneless Wings to say goodbye to 2009...

Stardate 64002.1

2009 is now gone.

Good riddance.

It was a year of bad economy and worse politics.  Not to mention a bout with the H1N1 flu and a relapse of symptoms due to a secondary infection.

There were also a few good things that happened.  I made some new friends and even had one of them put me on her cell phone plan, allowing me to switch to an essentially unlimited plan (including unlimited data, web and even TV and radio, not to mention a really cool phone) for only $5 more than I was paying Net10 for a basic nothing phone.

So, to say goodbye to 2009, I ordered some boneless wings from the local Pizza Hut, which finally started offering their Wing Street wings.  As my sinuses are clogged due to the aforementioned secondary infection, I decided on the "Blazing Hot", which won the blue ribbon at the 2007 Buffalo Wing Festival.

I should have known something was wrong when the driver pulled up with a lit cigarette in his (or was it her?  It was hard to tell) hand, stopping in an active traffic lane.  Five minutes later than the estimated time.

They did smell good, which I guess is a plus.

Then I took my first bite.

HOLY SHIT!!!

I felt like I'd bitten into a fusion reactor at 120% rated power.  And it just got hotter from there.  Each bite was like licking the surface of the Sun.

To my body's credit, the endorphins flowed quickly, and the pain faded.

Next time, I'll stick to mild... or maybe spicy Asian... or Cajun.

Or maybe I'll just switch to Dominos.

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

Nothing to see here...

STARDATE: SUPPLEMENTAL
Just stopping in for a moment to see if mobile blogging works. No real content, just testing... Move along.

The Christian Right, the Liberal Left, EMpower.com and a Purple Dinosaur

Stardate 63867.0

Yesterday, I got into an argument on Facebook about the merits of a "family-friendly" editing service called EMpower.com, which I contend is just another substitute for parenting.  EMpower takes movies and TV shows and removes all of the "morally questionable material", making them safe for family viewing.  Of course, this often removes the plot as well, and shortens a standard two-hour blockbuster to approximately twelve minutes.

Needless to say, that friend did not remain one.  Anyone so willing to let someone talk them into using a parent substitute like that is someone I don't want to know.

But that got me thinking, and a while later, I had a conversation about it with a friend of mine, who reminded me of the cartoons we watched when we were young.  Think about it.  Shows like GI Joe and the original Transformers showed outright combat and even cold-blooded murder.

And then we considered the cartoons our parents watched.  I mean, if you closely watch a Road Runner cartoon, you'll realize that it's incredibly violent!  And Tom & Jerry is no better.  That cat and mouse have done stuff to each other that, if produced for TV today, would have protesters marching on the studios.

And when we go back another generation, we find things like The Three Stooges and Little Rascals.  Shows in which assault and battery were common occurrences!  And the sex scandals...  Look up Fatty Arbuckle, and you'll see stuff that makes today's porn industry look tame.

Of course, one can't discuss children's television without touching on PBS.  Since its creation in 1970, it has been a bright beacon of "safe" shows, free of the violence endemic of commercial TV, focusing instead on pure education.  Any American over 40 knows exactly what I mean when I say the words "Sesame Street" or ask the question "Won't you be my neighbor?"

That's not to say that they didn't deal with sensitive subjects.  Fred Rogers often answered viewer questions about some of the trials of growing up, such as divorce and death.

Which brings me to the Purple Dinosaur.  Anyone who has never heard of this threat to humanity should consider themselves exceedingly lucky.  In 1992, Barney & Friends premiered nationwide on PBS.  In its seven years of production, the show has shown itself to be the ultimate in Politically-Correct, Liberal Indoctrination of the pre-K set.  There was no conflict and no education.  The entire show was all about feeling good and being politically correct.  It's hard to believe that Disney teen stars Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato once appeared on this abomination.

The real danger of the purple thing was that the political correctness it espoused spread quickly as the children grew up and their parents started believing the bullshit.  The result was things like the Parents Television Council, the V-chip and the runaway ACLU we know today.  And EMpower.  And yet just as many conservatives as liberals ate it up.

Christian Conservative censorship in the name of "family values" meets Liberal political correctness in the name of "self-esteem" in the form of a Purple Dinosaur... and together they run amok.

It's the Barneyfication of America, and it must be stopped, lest we all be doomed.

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

A reminder: The Declaration of Independence is a HISTORICAL document, not a LEGAL one.

Stardate 63803.2

I was watching Fox News' Strategy Room webcast yesterday, and Eric Bolling, the host of the 3 o'clock hour asked Democratic Strategist Bob Beckel where in the Constitution the government was given the right to provide universal health care.

Beckel replied with the words "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness".

Umm...  Mr. Beckel, those words are not in the Constitution of the United States.  They are in the Declaration of Independence, a document that, for all its historical significance, has no legal standing, having been superseded by the Constitution.

The thing is, both the left and the right use the Declaration of Independence to justify their various positions.  Those on the right use the words "endowed by their Creator" to justify their Taliban-like religious imposition, while the left use the words "Pursuit of Happiness" to justify all sorts of social engineering.


Personally, I think the left comes out ahead on this one, much as I hate to say it.  At least there's language in the Constitution itself that could be used to justify their position, whereas there are ZERO references to God or any other deity in the Constitution.


That language?  It's in the Preamble.  Specifically, the words "Promote the General Welfare", which is one of the goals the founding fathers listed for the new United States of America.


True, the Preamble has no more legal standing than the Declaration of Independence... but it's at least part of the Constitution.


That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

A whole new world... of talk radio.

Stardate 63733.6

I have discovered a new voice in the wilderness of talk radio. Well, I can't say it's a new voice, since he's had his show for a while now, but I'm a fairly new listener.

The voice belongs to a man named T.J. McCormack. Depending on whom or when one asks, he's a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, husband, father, recovering alcoholic or conservative talk radio host.

It is as the last that I know him. I first encountered him when he was a guest on Fox News' Strategy Room webcast. I thought I'd recognized him from somewhere, but it wasn't until much later that I realized I'd seen him on an old episode of An Evening at the Improv dating from sometime in the 90's... or was it the late 80's?

No matter. Shortly after seeing him on Strategy Room, I discovered his Internet radio show, The World of T.J. McCormack.

So what makes this show so different?

For one thing, T.J. is not your standard talking head. He doesn't toe the conservative line the way people like Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh do. He's pro-gay marriage, for example.

For another, he books guests that one might not expect, and gives them much more time than they would have elsewhere. Just today, he brought back Dr. Robert Melillo, author of the book Disconnected Kids and one of the founders of the Brain Balance Centers, along with his business partner, William Fowler. Both men had been on his show two days prior. And, on both shows, they were given nearly a full hour, almost completely bumping another guest on Tuesday.

But the thing that makes the show most appealing is that it's totally interactive. Since LA Talk Radio uses Skype as their phone system, T.J. is able to monitor a chatroom that we, the fans, have established, and often replies and comments in real time. Indeed, he's also held a conference call with those of us who frequent the chatroom to continue the discussion, and the idea of making such conference calls a regular occurrence has been brought up.

Love him or hate him, the one thing that makes T.J. McCormack so easy and fun to listen to is a very simple fact: He's real.

You can hear The World of T.J. McCormack on LA Talk Radio from 10 AM - Noon Eastern (7 - 9 AM Pacific, 1400 - 1600 UTC) weekdays. If you are interested in joining the chatroom fun, please leave a comment. T.J. also has a personal website at http://www.tjstalking.com, as well as a presence on Facebook.

Hmm... I did a bit of radio, way back when. I wonder if I could guest-host... Probably better if I didn't. ;)

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.

Dr. Ablow, to Sensitivity Training... STAT!

Stardate 63639.8

I am calling out Dr. Kieth Ablow.

During his last "Hump Day House Call" on Fox News' "Strategy Room" webcast, the host, Harris Faulkner, read the following email:

As a child, I was put on forced diet after forced diet, none of which did anything other than make me miserable.


When I hit 18, I made a vow to myself to never let anyone put me through that kind of misery again.


Unfortunately, most of the medical community seems to think its their duty to badger me into that very thing. I have to tell every healthcare worker I encounter about that vow.


How do I get people to just stop talking about my weight?

The first words out of his mouth were, "Perhaps he should lose some weight."

Wow, Doc... Are you always this insensitive? The guy wanted to know how to stop people from badgering him to lose weight, not have you join in!

He then went on to assume that the emailer was using food as a substitute for the affection he never received. Wrong again, Doc!

Let me tell you who wrote that email. I wrote it. And no, I do not want to lose weight.

Yet, almost universally, people assume that I do want to lose weight. Why? Are you all so size-ist that you simply assume that all fat people automatically want to be thin? Are you so bigoted that you think it's your moral responsibility to tell us that we shouldn't be ourselves???

Nor do I use food as a substitute for anything. Food is fuel. What's it to you or anyone else if I eat a bit more than average? It doesn't automatically mean that I wasn't held enough as a child or didn't have any friends.

The only part he got right was that he could do an entire show just on me.

Dr. Ablow, you didn't help me last Wednesday. You simply reinforced the bigotry I see every day.

You need to report back to sensitivity training, STAT!

That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it.