Author Archives: Timmer

About Timmer

An Active Duty Master Sergeant in the USAF who spent four and a half years at Loyola University, Chicago, studying to be a starving actor. It worked. He was starving. Now a husband, a father, a stepfather, a dog-walker, a practitioner of Tai Chi and Disc Dogging, he's looking forward to his retirement from the Air Force in Summer of 2007 and finding the answer to the eternal question, Now what?

Prediction (100706)

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At some point in the next year, SecState Clinton will resign in protest over something or another and announce that she’s running against President Obama.

Five Six Reasons:  James Carville has come out at least twice with great ferocity against President Obama’s inaction on the BP oil spill.  President Bill Clinton is openly backing a non-Obama candidate in a local election.  SecState Clinton doesn’t strike me as the patient sort.  Two years out and the Republicans don’t have a recognizable candidate to rally around.  I’ve heard people from both sides of the political spectrum express the sentiment, “ANYbody but Obama!”  Hillary has got to be pissed off that President Obama is giving her job to everyone, including NASA.

Another, Really?!! Moment

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With all the other things going on:  President Obama’s running away from Washington to Chicago; This administration making post-Hurricane Katrina look successful; The Obama Presidency throwing former President Clinton under the bus in the Sestak sleaze-fest.  You may have missed this bit of news yesterday.

I received this from the HQ NORAD/NORTHCOM GROUP on Facebook and…and…I had to laugh.  Yesterday the White House released their National Security Strategy.  On the White House Blog, the title of the post that announces the release of the strategy is, and I couldn’t make this up myself if I wanted to:

“A BLUEPRINT FOR PURSUING THE WORLD THAT WE SEEK.”

What amazes me is that we all know that there were meetings about this.  There was brain-storming.  If nothing else, this administration knows the value of a well-turned phrase so they WORK at it.  THIS is what they came up with.  It’s the best they could do.  So basically, they’re not even doing the image thing very well anymore.

An Obama, Really?!, Moment

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President Obama today stated that “taking the fight to the enemy seemed to be changing the momentum of the insurgency.” Yes Mr. President, actually fighting the enemy usually works better than letting them attack you without a response. Are you SURE you spent time in Chicago?

Woops

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Ya know for two days I’ve been looking at pictures of Elena Kagan and wondering why all the news agencies kept posting pictures of this doffus looking guy.  I finally read closer today.  Ummm, sorry ma’am, in my defense I DO have an eye doctor’s appointment on Friday.

You’re Doing What?

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That seems to be the response from people who met me later in life.  People who knew me when I was younger, think it’s kind of normal.

Last week I started a program at a local medical vocational college to become a certified massage therapist.

It has a lot to do with this mind/body/spirit thing that I’ve stopped a started over too many years of my life.  I’ve begun down the road to get those three pieces parts of me integrated and then I let one thing or another distract me off that path.  I’m starting to feel like I’m at a point in my life that it’s now or never.  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and now that I’m closer to 50 than to 40, so I’m becoming very aware that one of these days I’m going to run out of tomorrows.

I’ve been pretty good the past three months about keeping my commitment to do some T`ai Chi or Chi Gung every morning before I get ready for work.  I’m pretty sure that I’ll be adding Yoga to that here pretty soon as well.  I’ve got arthritis well throughout my lower back, knees and ankles, the result of years at a desk and of doing stupid things with my body and not listening when I was told to “let things heal before you etc.”  Beautiful Wife and I both go to a massage therapist when we can afford one and for both of us, the results have been the same.  A massage therapist has done more for what ails us than any doctor ever has.  This way I can get my wife on a table more than once a month and I may be getting a new career.  I may not do it full time but I can see me doing it part time.

I have to tell you the truth, it’s pretty hard.  This may very well be the hardest thing I’ve ever taken on.  It’s sort of like the NCO Academy in that it’s information with a firehouse and there’s a LOT of material.  I’m exhausted, pretty sure I’ve taken on too much, and I haven’t been this happy in years.  I’ve spent too much time in the past couple of years, coming home, turning on the TV and falling into my recliner.  I don’t know much, but I do know that kind of behavior is pretty much what took my Dad out.  I’m much better when I’m doin’ something.

Saturday Morning Grumbles (100327)

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Sorry it’s taken so long, life’s been busy and about to get busier. Sometimes I have things to say that are longer than what Facebook allows.  Most days that’s a good thing.

What I do know is that I’m getting more worried for our country as I watch President Obama and his merry band take away more freedoms and take over more private industry.  The banks and car companies were bad enough.  The current Health Care Bill, while not as bad as we first saw it, is still bad enough and now we’re talking very personal information in the hands of the people who bring you the post office.  It’s a cliché I know, but have you had to deal with a front line Federal Customer Service Rep lately?  In any department?  OMFG!  I swear sometimes I think that all those mental health patients that were released years ago, all went to work for the Feds.

What truly creeps me out, what sends an icy chill down my back, is that all my wanna-be hippie friends from high school in the 1970s who were all about “freedom from the man” and “man, read “Animal Farm” and “1984” before the Republicans take over” are now telling me to calm down and just listen to Obama.  Things are fine.  Relax.  Don’t panic.  Everything is fine.  It’s for the greater good.  I’d like to gather them all into a room and Leroy-Jethro-slap each and every one of them.

I work in Agriculture for the state where we retired.  In just the past year and a half, I’ve learned that we’re basically getting more and more of California’s “Happy Cows” because their regulation on dairies has become so restrictive, the farmers have picked up and moved over here.  We’re expecting an influx of their egg farmers here soon as well.  California’s animal rights people don’t like how egg farmers coop their chickens so…the egg farmers will move out and come over here and our state will get all that tax base goodness.  Ya see, if you make things too hard for a business, if you add too much regulation, they’ll just move away and not come back.  Especially if the people doing the regulating have NO clue about what they’re talking about.  You want to make a farmer’s eyes go blank?  Start talking about the individual rights of an egg layin’ chicken.  Hell, I’ve just met chickens casually and I’ll look at you like you’re a fool if you speak about their rights.

Now people…I’m sorry, but people have rights.  Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.  They’re not just words to me.  I’m very fond of those rights.  Liberty is “a big fucking deal” to me.  It’s not just some “concept” or “catch phrase left over from the 1700s.”  When I was in the Air Force I signed over some liberty.  Can’t have a military that’s “too” free.  Nothing would get done.  I’m not in the Air Force any longer and there are things I can say about the Commander in Chief that I wouldn’t have said in uniform.  First and foremost, I believe that he believes that he’s doing the right thing.  I’m absolutely serious.  And at first glance, I’m right there with him.  Dammit, we’re a wealthy nation, everyone damn well SHOULD have health care.  The problems are, and this is where my high school chums get lost, that the government should NOT be able to dictate what that health care is going to look like.  They should NOT be able to dictate who my doctor will be.  They should NOT be able to dictate what a doctor can charge for his services.  They also should damn well NOT be able to dictate how much I need to spend on a plan that’s going to take my money away without any input from ME.  And yes, I use the word “dictate” to redundancy because it’s important that we understand what’s happening.  The Federal Government, in the past year, in the guise of “the common good,” has begun to dictate.  They’re taking over the banks, they’re taking over industry, they’re taking over health care.  And again, I’m absolutely positive that the President believes he’s doing the right thing.  I’m absolutely positive that he’s wrong.

Check…One-Two, Check-Check…This Thing On?

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Yawns…stretches, cracks knuckles, cracks neck, cracks lower back “ow-ow-ow…sigh.”  Sips coffee.  Thinks.  Alrighty then.

So an “old HS Friend on Facebook” posts that he’s joined “The Coffee Party” (giggle, really?  The best they could do?) and so I come over here to see what Mom’s got and apparently she’s been writing up a storm and then I figure I’d see if my sign-in still works and lo and behold it DOES and so I started thinking about some stuff and what I might want to write about and…deep breath…why yes…yes MY coffee is particularly strong this morning, why do you ask?

Things that Make me Giggle (090707)

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The reaction to the death of Michael Jackson.  Seriously?  With everything going on in the world, THIS is where our attention is focused?  I know, I know, circus provides distraction when times are tough, but can we find something less creepy?  Also, the hypocrisy of some networks (COUGH–Fox News–COUGH).  They basically crucified the man during the child molestation trial and now “Shep” is all broken up and O’Reilly is concerned about the manner of his death?  And the guy from NBC who said with great gravitas, “Michael Jackson will never die again.”  Wow…that was so…wow.

The sign on the fence of a propane gas business near our house:  “Tank heaven for little grills.”  It cracks me up every time.

The new SyFy show, Warehouse 13.  Decent writing, but come on, how about an effects budget?  Video feedback?  Really?

And while we’re at it.  What’s with the “SyFy” thing?  This is an improvement…how?

When I read about what’s going on in Afghanistan.  Okay, maybe not giggle, chuckle cynically maybe.  Does anyone else remember what happened to the Soviets when they tried to go heavy back in the 80s?   What.  The.  HELL?

“Humanizing” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  Look, either leave the gays and the lesbians the hell alone, or ban them from serving.  Quit pretending that it’s anything more than a majority of Christians in the military who simply think, “It’s gotta be wrong, it’s in the Bible.”  You know it.  I know it.  Stop pretending.  Stop it.  It’s over.  No one buys the “Good order and discipline.” thing anymore.  We’ve all served with gay and lesbian people.  No one lost their minds over it.  No one started over-decorating the barracks and the girls didn’t all flock to the softball team or start starring in “Girls gone wild.”

Top 40 radio.  There’s just nothing with any substance there.  I’ll give you Black Eyed Peas, but when Michael Jackson is back on the charts with songs from the 80s and 90s, the industry has GOT to be wondering where the new music is.

Al Franken is a U.S. Senator.  Deeply funny, deeply deeply disturbing.

Sarah Palin resigning.  Not funny, kind of sad really.  The poor lady honestly believed that she could make a difference while bucking both the entrenched liberals and Republicans.  I didn’t agree with her on everything, but I really liked her.  She was about the only interesting person in the last election and they destroyed her for it.  I was surprised she didn’t fold up her tent and head home after the Presidential race.  After the beating she and her family took, I’m laughing at the shocked politicos who are wondering, “Why?”

An Estimated 2500 Show for Boise’s Tea Party

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News reports here and here.  I don’t think ours was quite a non-partisan as others and the petition to put the bible back in schools seems out of place, but all in all, a LOT more people than I expected.  Boise’s not know for it’s “activism.”  Unless the Feds move in and shoot someone’s dog and then, well, all bets are off.