Sussex Central Vs. Middletown (or is that Little-town) tonight!

GO CENTRAL!

A Dan Gaffney Show audio pep ralley.  Listen here (3.5 minutes).

Thanks Mari Lou

A couple of days ago another missing college student was reported. The photo shows a 18-years-old, all american college girl, cute and innocent looking. I’m always horribly disturbed when I hear of any young girl missing. I don’t know why that bothers me than other stories. It just gets me. It reminds me that there is evil in the world. But, then a different kind of evil started showing up in this story. The cut-throat media. I labored over why was I so bothered by this story. Turns out the missing girl had an Interet site where she took off her clothes for money. Well, boy howdy… How the 24 hour news cycle leeched on to that little tidbit. No longer were we looking for a missing girl… we were looking for a missing PORN STAR! (not hardly, what she did was more akin to being a stripper than a porn star) - Every news outlet.. Every Network.. Every Web site “missing college girl leads double life as PORN STAR” — They then forgot that this was a real person and not some juicy information the public can salivate over — “Oh, Henry… did you hear about that missing porn star? She had some internets sites.” — I’m horrified. It took me a little bit of time to realize why I was so bothered by the story. The police said that the media’s rabid attention on her Internet activity had nothing to do with the crime.. but, also that the media’s obsession “greatly inhibited” the investigation. Right, salivating dogs no longer wanted to help find her… they wanted to know what her Web site was… “Really, where can we send pictures too.” — Now, come 24 hours later… They may have found her body. I’m sick over the emerging details of the crime… and what will the media say “Figures, Porn Star found dead.” — Sure, she made a bad decision to do that site… but, you’re tarnishing life as a whole to focus on what someone does not who someone is.

1. We’ve heard many times how our troops have been fighting Al-Qaeda over in Iraq so that we don’t have to fight Al-Qaeda here. This is a good strategy, except how do we know Al-Qaeda terrorists, suicide bombers and sleeper cells aren’t already in the United States? The border situation has me wondering.

2. I’ve also heard it said: “There hasn’t been any major terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11.” That’s true, but how do we know something as bad and even bigger isn’t currently in the planning stages? There were several years between the two World Trade Center attacks. President Bush’s Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend was one of the ones who had mentioned how America has been free of major attacks since 9/11, and also stated that Osama Bin Laden is ”a man on the run in a cave who is virtually impotent.” Well, he could be more than impotent—he could be dead. But does that mean the threat is gone and that his followers will all of a sudden stop trying to carry out attacks?

3. We’ve heard about the decline in violence in Iraq, but could part of the reason be that the terrorists are regrouping? It was reported back at the end of August that Radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his dreaded militia to stop attacks on US-led forces as part of a six-month suspension of the militant group’s activities. “I direct the Mahdi Army to suspend all its activities for six months until it is restructured in a way that helps honour the principles for which it is formed,” Sadr said in a statement issued by his office in the city of Najaf. The AFP reports that in December last year, the Pentagon identified the militia as the biggest threat to stability in the war-ravaged country, even ahead of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the local affiliate of Osama bin Laden’s network.

4. While going on the offensive in Iraq may have put a dent in Al-Qaeda, what about Afghanistan in the Tora Bora region and the area in Pakistan, where they believe Bin Laden is hiding out? Shouldn’t there have been more of a focus on these areas?

5. Even if we wiped out every terrorist and every terrorist cell, does that mean all the evildoers are gone? As long as there are evil ideologies, radical Islam, and violent radicalization, it is likely that new ones will pop up.

I’m sure this all sounds rather pessimistic, but what is really going on here? Lastly Senator Joe Biden this week told New Hampshire voters that they have the Bush Administration to thank for the rising costs of oil. Biden called the temporary increase of troops in Iraq a “fantasy” saying that there is no evidence that it’s working. As reported from the Associated Press and as posted in WGMD News, Biden says the uncertainty in Iraq and Iran are adding an extra 30 dollars a barrel. I heard this week that global warming is being blamed for everything. It sounds like the Iraq war is also getting blamed for a lot of things that have gone wrong.

 

Ed Hudgins is a smart man.  He is with The Atlas Society and The Cato Institute.  He has made many television appearances and is a frequent guest writer for many newspapers on subjects such as ADA.  Here is one of his pieces about the disabilities act:

http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/reg18n2e.html

 And check this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT2YET6sg5I&feature=related

Sorry to keep playing the Grinch, folks, but these websites more than back my claims about paper bags in landfills:

 

http://www.reusablebags.com/facts.php?id=7

 

http://www.goodmagazine.com/section/Portraits/paper_not_plastic

Don’t the animal welfare groups say “don’t give a puppy as a Chritmas gift”?  I wonder what they would say about auctioning off a puppy to raise funds for Delaware Republicans?

CHRISTMAS GALA @ BAYWOOD,  open to the public, will be held on December 5, 2007 from 6 pm to 9 pm.  Cost is $75/person.  The spectacular Live Auction will include such items as a registered black lab puppy, a signed and numbered print by Abraxas, a 2000 year old oil lamp, a golf package, a trip to Jamaica, art by Peter Sculthorth, a 16 X 20 portrait session, President?s Box Seats to NASCAR.    The Silent Auction items will keep you bidding!  

Music, an open bar and heavy hors d?oeuvres will keep everyone happy.  Whether you are a Republican, Democrat, Independent or have no political party affiliation, please JOIN US for a festive party evening!  
 

Sponsored by the The Sussex County Republican Party and The Republican State Committee of Delaware.  
 

Reservations:  Checks payable to Republican State Committee, mail to Christmas Gala at Baywood,

P O Box 2905, Wilmington, DE 19805

.  Telephone Credit Card Reservations will be taken at 302- 651-0260. 

Someday government may not be available to assist your every need.  It’s a bit like losing your parents.  Mine have been dead for some years now and during lean times I can no longer ask them for a handout.  Yet I never did put the bite on them.  I didn’t believe they had enough for themselves much less me and they also made it clear they didn’t run a hotel, bank or charity.  So I guess I was taught to survive and be prepared for the day when times could be very, very tough.  After all they survived depression and war and were subjected to deprivations I still can’t imagine. 
 

Yesterday two people took great exception to my program.  When I get to 20 complaints daily perhaps I can rest easily and assume I’m getting the job done correctly.  The first angry email came from a woman I’m guessing is hitting the bottle during the day.  Believe me I’ve met some listeners who’ve got a good bag on by 5:00 o’clock most afternoons.  In retrospect I can’t even fathom the woman’s pique other than she believes I didn’t respect her Brahmin caste? 
 

The second email was a bit more jarring.  It came from a friend and a self-proclaimed conservative.  He’s upset because I agreed with a caller that the Americans with Disabilities Act became an intrusion into the lives and works of American business.  The man writing me has a disability.  It should be noted he favors cuts in assistance to poor families.  The ones with hungry young children and the man won’t support expansive government healthcare programs.  He does support all government programs directed for his benefit.  He’s also a veteran and there was an issue with something labeled post traumatic stress disorder.  Let me note my support of government programs for those who once wore or currently wear the uniform.  It’s a covenant we must honor.  If we don’t someday there may not be anyone willing to defend us.  The man also has a second disability and it’s not service related.  It was caused by a drunk driver.  This is tragic and it’s the reason I’ve not climbed behind the wheel of a car myself after a night of howling at the moon since 1986.  The drunk driver owes my friend an indemnity.
 

Government on the other hand, well, I’m not at all sure about this one.  The disabilities legislation closed a great many small businesses.  There were exclusions for the really tiny merchants.  Interestingly these were the local stores where most disabled people, I imagine, would shop.  As a small shopkeeper it probably would’ve occurred to me that one way to compete with Lowe’s and Home Depot would be to make my store accessible to the disabled.  It’s because the disabled also spend money.  It’s probably why a great many small storekeepers did make some changes without government edict.  It’s also why the very large chain stores and restaurants did the same.  As for those smaller businesses that weren’t exempt and didn’t have the money to appease coercion, it’s why many businesses folded.
 

Let’s make it clear.  One special interest group lost its livelihood to appease another. 
 

Several years ago I snapped my left leg in a fall and spent a great many weeks in a cast and on crutches.  My leg never fully recovered but it was sure a relief to get back on both legs and walking about.  Crutches are misery writ large on self-esteem.  So many “normal” things I was doing just days before and suddenly found myself greatly diminished.  After one week I ventured out into winter and driving and shopping.  I couldn’t just set in a chair waiting it out.  One day I was struggling to open the door of a bakery as I wanted to buy some bread for my visiting mother and sister.  It was windy and the door wasn’t cooperating and my balance was precarious and then a man from inside opened the door for me.  He asked what I needed and he filled my order and made change at the door.  Then he spoke to me in heavily Italian accented English.  “When you gotta bad wing you need help flying”, he said.  He helped me.  The government didn’t.  An immigrant may not realize there was a time in this country when we all pitched in for our neighbors and the government didn’t intrude. 
 

Don’t come to me criticizing government programs that help the neighbors you no longer assist.  Don’t come to me and say you want their programs eliminated but demand that government be all things for you.
 

A contemporary of my parents stated it bluntly.  “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country”, were his words.  Oh, and he had a service related disability.  It didn’t interfere with his rise to the most powerful position in the country.
 

My dad admired the dead President and in later years when my old-man was confined primarily to hospitals, one room at home and often a wheel-chair he still managed to get out and play a role in his community.  And he refused to park in any spot marked “Handicap”.  Easy, no, his choice, yes.

I see Cape Henlopen School District is out of school in December for “winter break“.

Indian River School District is observing Christmas!!! Here

Winter Break again at Sussex Tech

Milford Schools take a “winter break” on the 24, and the 26, but they don’t know what to call the 25th of December!  See here.

Seaford Schools observe MLK JR, Veterans, and Thanksgiving, but it’s “spring” and “winter” for the big breaks. Here

Merry Christmas!!!!

An anonymous caller to WGMD said this week that he was abused as an inmate at The Sussex Correctional Institution and talked about his experiences on and off the air. He claims he is among several former SCI inmates who were brutally tortured by guards. There was actually a story about one of these cases in the News Journal earlier this year:

http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dgrfjsw8_144f2n9cb

The anonymous caller claims he had 18 smashed ribs, ruptured muscles and intestines, a punctured lung and threats of sexual torture made against him. He added that there is a recent case this fall, in which an 18-year old guy was arrested and taken in completely healthy, but he left crippled. One of them was said to have had as many as 400 stitches from dog bites. The caller says there is litigation right now that involves nearly a dozen others who say they were abused by guards. One guard was reportedly busted. This is Sussex Correctional Institution now, not Abu Ghraib. This man, who I believe is in his 50’s, stated that this stuff was and is going on in the pre-trial building and claimed that the abuse over there is worse than Abu Ghraib. I am not sure about the extent of all of this, but the reputation surrounding Delaware’s prison system in terms of health care isn’t particularly good. Here is the News Journal’s history of stories in the last few years about “Delaware’s deadly prisons.”

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/NEWS/50923004/1006&theme=PRISONDEATHS&template=theme

Here’s another report from Human Rights Watch from last year. Note that Delaware is included in the list of states:

http://www.safetyandjustice.org/info/nation/story/947

Is there a cover-up here? Is there more going on than we think? Are these allegations of abuse true? These are guards now, not just inmate attacking inmate. You may happen to know an inmate or may even have a friend of yours in prison. You probably can’t trust the other inmates, but can you trust these guards? I plan to follow up on all of this to try and find out what is really going on.

Dawn broke cold at Long Neck.  The Weather Channel offered a temperature in neighboring Millsboro of 24 degrees.  It also offered a matching temperature at Buffalo International Airport.  While it wasn’t my prime motivation for moving here the promise of a better climate played a role.  It was my plan to spend this cold weekend in the upper reaches of New York State but my daughter’s split family provided a different outcome.  With but a few hours I could spend with her and calculating a cost for gasoline and tolls of 100 dollars I deferred our holiday together.
 

Instead I drove Saturday morning to Berlin, Maryland for an oil change.  Sure, it’s a hike as well but I know some fellows who can keep the cost in line, rotate my tires and not insist that I need to rebuild my low mileage 3 year old car.  My co-worker, Wayne Cannon, tells me if I plan to become a permanent resident of this wooded peninsula that worse choices could be made than Berlin.  He was also the first person telling me it was where a movie named The Runaway Bride was filmed.
 

Berlin isn’t a money magnet like nearby Lewes and Rehoboth but it sure could be the picture used to illustrate that loosely invented word “Americana”.  Some big colonial and Victorian homes line some of the streets.  One of the big Victorians is for sale.  The house and not any actual person living or once living is implied.  There are also some streets where the houses could be described as plain but it’s sure a pleasant ordinary.  The shopping district is red brick.  All of it red brick.  And mostly antique shops with a few scattered stores selling quilts. 
 

There is a small tavern on one street and I believe the name is “Goober’s”.  I didn’t go inside.  I’ve given up beer but from outside the windows it looked like the place to catch some good college football.  Or if not then the Maryland Terrapins.  There were two diners I visited for breakfast.  At the first I was offered a seat at the only available table, which was abutting a table where a family was already seated.  While reading the Washington Post I was asked who had won the Hawaii-Boise State game.  I sighed and offered Hawaii.  The family also sighed.  Boise State may be the real “America’s Team”.  The family got its breakfast.  After I got coffee nobody ever came to take my food order.  I went to the counter and mentioned this as I was going to pay for the hot drink.  Instead I was given the coffee at no cost and offered an apology.  One block away I found another restaurant, an ice cream shop really, serving breakfast.  So I ordered blueberry pancakes.  The waitress explained there weren’t any blueberries.  So I ordered plain pancakes.  My coffee came black.  When I asked for cream it was explained to me that cream should be ordered before the coffee is served.  Also there wasn’t any cream but I could have some milk.  When the pancakes arrived I was provided with a thimbleful of syrup.  It was explained there wasn’t any more syrup available.
 

This report could end on these sour notes but the pancakes weren’t sour even if not perfect. 
 

I spent most of the day after breakfast wandering the village streets.  It’s just magnificent. 
 

I walked Berlin’s streets until late in the day.  Then I went to a local burger joint on the end of town.  A place that shames any fast food restaurant I’ve ever visited.  It’s the type of place I’d have wanted to hang around in as a teenager and I could see myself in twenty years seated there on some Friday night, whiling away the evening with some local talk and a chicken dinner. 
 

My drive home was of the meandering variety, I mean.  Where am I going in any hurry?  It took me through Ocean Pines.  Very pretty and I’m sure it would be a nice get-a-way for a week in summer or weekend in late September or early April but it all looks too planned for me.  And you really can’t walk to mail a letter or fill a prescription or to a church.  At least from what I saw today. 
 

The day did warm before it was over.  Somewhere in the low 40s I’m guessing.  Cool weather doesn’t slow life here.  The shops along the beaches were busy as I drove home along Route 1.  Even the bicycle shop at Bethany Beach was doing a brisk business. 
 

Then I closed the day at church.  It strikes me there will be a time when I can no longer see new things.  God’s glory is on display, always has been.  It’s just that I didn’t always look in the right places.  Thanksgiving Day I went to a morning church service and then had two hours before I had to go to work.  I raked leaves under a sunny sky and with a thermometer reading of 71 degrees.  There was a hawk perched not far away in a tree.  A neighbor pointed it out to me.  Then the bird raised its wings and soared.  In circles and figure eights and it looked like a kite dancing on wind.  Last year at Thanksgiving I wasn’t employed and was approaching residence at a Rescue Mission.  What a God-given turn of events.