Two news items caught my attention today, especially since the stories were released on the same date. In reading one of them, I shake my head and wonder if we will ever learn from the mistakes that we have made in history. The President of the United States primary responsibility is that of Commander In Chief. You do not lead by playing to your political party, you do not lead by campaign promises, and you do not broadcast your intentions in regards to deployments and strategic plans when you have troops in the field. The first rule that should be applied is "lead or get the hell out of the way".

On Friday, President Obama announced "he will end combat operations within 18 months and open an era of diplomacy in the Middle East." "By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end" he further states. According to President Obama, he inherited the war. I believe he was in the Senate for a very short period of time, but there long enough to support funding the troops. Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, serving as Senators from the concept of the invasion of Iraq, approved the decision to go into Iraq. The same two previous Senators also voted in favor of the surge that eventually tipped the scales of success in Iraq. They each also criticized Senator Obama for his military stance during the primaries. Senator Obama voted against the surge. All of the troops will not be withdrawn from Iraq in 2010 it is planned to leave 35,000 to 50,000 troops. Although that sounds like a large number, the majority of these troops will not be combat trained ground troops but support personnel.

Right now, Iran on one border of Iraq and their puppet country of Syria on the other border, are making their plans to "annex" Iraq on September 1, 2010. Following that annexation, Kuwait is right across the southern border with no military. Iraq and Kuwait would provide Iran with the majority of the oil stakes in the Middle East. Between now and then, Iran will talk with our diplomats but we know how far they can be trusted. Since Iran is also one of the greatest contributors to the terrorists, ole Bin Laden is sitting back and smiling as he counts down the days to get his people back into Iraq.

This week, President Obama also made the announcement that Dover Air Force Base would once again be opened to the news media so they could take pictures of our military men and women being returned home in a casket. President George Bush stopped this practiced during his tenure in office. President Bill Clinton adopted the same policy during his eight year tenure as Commander In Chief. President George W. Bush upheld the same policy during his eight years in office. Thirty days into the new administration, President Obama changes the policy that had been in effect for twenty years. Perhaps, payback to the news media that supported his candidacy.

The second news item that got my attention today. After three and one half years, the National Guard is pulling out of New Orleans. Why haven't we heard the screams to withdraw troops from New Orleans? As quoted by a store owner in New Orleans, "I don't know if crime will go up after these guys leave. But I know a lot more of us will be packing our own pieces now to make sure we're protected." New Orleans had 210 murders in 2007, making it the murder capital of America, with the highest per-capita rate in the country.

So, within the past twenty four hours two major announcements of troop reductions were made. If you look between the lines it is relatively easy to see the concept. This year, the President is planning to reduce the Department of Defence budget by 10%. With the reduction of troops in Iraq in 2010, that will provide the second opportunity to justify the cutting the budget of the Department of Defence an additional 10 to 20 per cent. I was in the Navy when President Carter was in office and made drastic cuts in the military budget to the point that Navy ships could not leave the dock because they did not have enough personnel to man the ships. Believe me, from experience you do not want our national defense to lapse into this situation again. Not in this day and terror filled age.

"The Farther Backward You Can Look, The Farther Forward You Are Likely To See" ~ Winston Churchill~

For a good number of years, about thirty years to late, I have been on a campaign to learn more about my historical past in order to pass it onto my children (4), grandchildren (12), and my two young great granddaughters. Yes I do have very productive children. I have been relatively successful in documenting my fathers side of the family.

Recently, I have discovered a great source for information pertaining to my Grandmother Harrington's side of the family, the Baker family. I would like to thank Dr. Roy Baker for his assistance and the valuable information that he has provided me in my search.

Currently, I am working several "family projects" at the same time. Consequently, my paper file system is becoming overwhelming. I will maintain a paper trail and documentation, however to keep me from having to write additional narratives for the book that I recently wrote. I will document the pertinent information on this new blog site. You will then be able to print it if you so desire and insert it into the book.

I am not at all pleased with the new site. However, after working on it for two days trying to download a blog template from another source other than blogspot, I finally had to give up in frustration and revert to a standard download template from blogspot. Perhaps, when the professional "tinkers" are in the area, I can get one of them to refresh the site with the template that I want to install.

I have found it a great way to release tension from the Stimulus Plan, Academy Awards, and Politics in general.

The address for the new site is: HARRITAGE.BLOGSPOT.COM

I must admit that when our Legislative and Executive Branches of the Federal Government pushed through a $787,000,000,000 deficit bill in a matter of 48 hours, I was very concerned.

I must also admit, that when our elected delegations in the House of Representatives and Senate adopted the $787,000,000,000 Stimulus Bill after having five hours to read an appropriation bill that contained over 1,000 pages, prior to voting on passage, I was very, very, concerned.

I also admit, that I was very, very concerned when Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV) were the primary authors of this bill.

I was also very, very, concerned if not just a touched bit of upset that upon adoption of this bill, these same elected legislators spread to the far corners of the earth on "official visits" within a few hours following the passage of the bill.

I was also very, very, concerned, when this Appropriation Bill was past because it was a "Crisis" and then sat on the desk of the President from Friday through Monday.

I was also very concerned and really upset (better word for it but not quite appropriate to use) when I discovered that this 1,000 page appropriation bill that allocates $787,000,000,000 was being taken to Denver, Colorado for the President to sign into law. It really upset me when I considered the cost of launching Air Force One to fly to Denver for a signature and photo opportunity. Not only did this cost upset me, but the cost to the City of Denver and the State of Colorado also upset me. I figure that the President's trip to Denver to sign this bill cost the tax payers roughly $3.5 million dollars. What was wrong with a nice little setting in the Rose Garden or perhaps even the Oval office? The only justification that I can see in using Air Force One, a Boeing 747, to fly this bill to Colorado for signature is that it was the only aircraft that had the capabilities of hauling the sheer weight of the 1,000 page bill.

As you can see, I spent the better part of my last week, very concerned.

But on this beautiful, clear but cold Sunday morning I feel much better about the entire Stimulus Package, I now feel stimulated. In front of me, I have a copy of some of this Stimulus Money that will possibly affect the local communities of Alaska. As indicated, a total of 2,799 jobs are going to be created in our local communities from funds provided by the Stimulus Package. Presently, a total of $415,682,000 is allocated to community stimuli in Alaska. Using my little pocket calculator, I figure that is only a cost of $148,563.97 for each job created. That is a stimulating figure.

I am even feeling overly stimulated when I discovered the disbursement of these funds and the list of projects that are being requested. From the allocation of $415,682,000 dollars the City of Anchorage is going to receive only $415,682,000 dollars as part of their stimulating projects. Again, using my little pocket calculator, I compute that to mean that ~ oh no, there is zero balance for the remaining 731 communities in Alaska! Who is that new Democrat Senator that was elected last November to represent the State of Alaska? I am not sure, but I think he was the Mayor of Anchorage at sometime in his political career. What a coincidence!

Looking at just a few new jobs being created in Anchorage, there is an allocation of $318,000 for the Anchorage Domestic Violence Prevention Project which will create three (3) jobs. The Greenbelt Trail Resurfacing and Bridge Repair project that is allocated $3,000,000 but it is going to create 20 jobs. How about a new Bus Warm Storage for Expanded Fleet, that is only going to cost $20,000,000 and create 40 jobs. However, it will not be going to waste because $7,700,000 is going to be spent for bus replacement with zero jobs created. The list continues but just those examples are enough to stimulate me.

In my hometown of Anchor Point, we are going to also stimulate our economy, on Tuesday I understand we are going to have a cookie sale in order to raise enough money to buy a new flag for our school. Nothing more stimulating than a fresh baked chocolate cookie.

Abraham Lincoln is most likely the most popular and most quoted President in the history of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was sworn into the office of the Presidency of the United States on March 4, 1861. The Civil War commenced early into his administration. The war between the states would conclude just prior to the completion of his term in office. The best estimation of the casualties from the Civil War is 620,000 Americans although some computations raise the total casualties as high as 700,000.
In the closing days of the war, an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth developed a scheme to kidnap President Lincoln, holding him hostage in exchange of Confederate Prisoners of War. Booth was an agent of the Confederacy. Because of his popularity as an actor, he had easy access through the lines of defense. He used this popularity primarily to smuggle medical supplies from the north to the southern states. In his scheme to kidnap the President, he selected a group of eight individuals to assist him. On the evening of the planned plot, President Lincoln had a change of plans and the attempt was thwarted. President Lincoln would be elected to a 2nd term in office and delivered his Inauguration Speech on March 4, 1865, forty-two days prior to his assassination.
With the defeat of the Confederacy by the Union Army and the reelection of Abraham Lincoln, the hatred of John Wilkes Booth for the President escalated to new levels. He assembled the original group that he had picked to kidnap the President, however this time it was to assassinate the President. However, he also wanted to throw the country into chaos and perhaps revitalize the Confederacy. By accident while visiting Ford Theater, where he often performed on stage he was told by a stage hand that the President would be in attendance at a performance. Knowing the layout of the theater, it was an ideal place to carry out his assassination plot. This plot also consisted the assassination of Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary William H. Seward. He assigned Lewis Powell to kill the Secretary of State and George Atzerodt to assassinate the Vice President, who lived in a hotel. Each of the assassination were to occur simultaneously. History tells us that President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the back of the head from a 44 caliber derringer shortly after 10:00 p.m. on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. Mortally wounded, he was carried across the street to a hotel, where he passed away at 7:22 a.m., April 15, 1865. Secretary William Seward was spared assassination, although he was stabbed before assistance arrived, several others were also cut before the assassin Powell escaped on horseback. George Atzerodt who was assigned to kill the Vice President arrived at the hotel as scheduled however after having a few drinks at the bar, changed his mind and left the scene.

Barack H. Obama assumed the office of the President of the United States on January 20, 2009. He announced his candidacy for this office on the steps of the capital building in Lincoln, Illinois. The home state of Abraham Lincoln. Throughout his Presidential campaign for the two years leading up to his election, he has compared himself to Abraham Lincoln. Taking every opportunity for photo ops involving statues or photos of Abraham Lincoln. At his Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 2009 he took the Oath of Office of the President of the United States while his left hand was resting on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln took this same oath. Since his Presidency has just commenced, it is still to early to see if he is tough enough to make the hard decisions that faced Abraham Lincoln. However, his first Executive Order as President was enacted within hours of assuming the office, the closing of the terrorists prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This Executive Order also halted all Military Tribunals that were currently taking placed or scheduled to commence. Perhaps, President Obama should read a little more American History pertaining to Abraham Lincoln and the plot to assassinate him.

John Wilkes Booth Booth would be found hiding in a barn on April 26, 1865 by Union soldiers. Booth's companion would surrender Booth refused to come out so the barn was set on fire, a soldier at the rear of the barn shot and killed Booth.

A large number conspirators were arrested and held for a period of time. Ultimately, the conspiracy narrowed down to eight individuals. Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Dr. Samuel Mudd, Michael O'Laughlen, Lewis Powell, Edmund Sprandly, and one lady, Mary Surratt. The eight suspects of this little terrorist group were tried by a Military Tribunal.

The trial lasted for about seven weeks with 366 witnesses testifying. The verdict was given on June 30, 1865 with all defendants being found guilty. Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt were sentenced to death by hanging. Dr. Samuel Mudd, Samuel Arnold, and Michael O'Laughlen were sentenced to life in prison. Dr. Mudd escaped execution by a single vote, the Tribunal voting 5-4 to hang him. Edmund Spangler was sentenced to six years in prison. Spangler had given Booth access to the back door of the theater. Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was also a conspirator in the plot to kidnap the President. He repaired the broken leg that Booth received when he jump for the Presidential Box to the stage. Mary Surratt owned the boarding house where meetings took place for both the kidnapping and assassination plots. Her boarding house was used to house the group, hold meetings, and store arms and supplies.

The four sentenced to death by hanging were executed on July 7, 1865. Mary Surratt was the first woman to be hanged by the U.S. Government.

Corn prices, which usually means the price of corn futures are ultimately tied to energy prices, because corn is used to make ethanol, an additive to gasoline. Corn prices peaked in June 2008 with the Iowa floods with corn prices around $7.88 per bushel. The prices fell in the fall of 2008 as commodity prices, in particular oil prices declined as a result of the slowing economy.

In December 2008, corn prices are at a two year low and farmers are anxious about any sign of rebound. In the week of 15 - 19 December 2008, prices rallied to $3.89 per bushel. Although this is an increase of more than 30%, farmers say the prices need to reach $4.00 per bushel to cover the cost of producing the crop. Many farmers are putting their crop in storage rather than bringing it to market, in hopes of higher prices to come. The latest market price quoted at the close of business was $3.73 on Friday 2/13/2009.

Now you are wondering to yourself, why is he talking about corn prices? The primary purpose, it has to do with history, recession, and depression. The last two words have been used quite frequently as of late. The majority of us were born after the Great Depression. We have no concept of the hardships that the "Great Generation" went through during this period of time. Our historians can discuss it in great detail, however, it has little impact or importance to us because we cannot relate.

But when you hear it from the written words as it was being experienced it really has meaning because you can relate to it. Today, my cousin Dr. Roy Baker of Lincoln, Nebraska was kind enough to send me a series of letters pertaining to my family when my father and mother were first married. These letters covered a period of a couple of years and written by my Great Aunt Esther Black Baker. The men mentioned in her letters are my Great Uncles who were farmers in Nebraska. Unfortunately, I never met any of them, however, I grew up listening to my father and mother talk about my fathers uncles.

In a letter of 24 February 1934 she writes, "Will is going to borrow on his corn & stop some of his interest. I don't think Clyde or Wayne are going into it. I don't know whether you understand this business, I don't know much about it myself. But the crib must have a good floor & good roof. Then the Government agent inspects it, measures it, & seals it up (I don't know how) and you can draw 40 cents a bushel on it, If I get it right, if the price of corn gets above 40 cents you can shell & sell it & pay off your loan. If it don't get above 40 cents it belongs to the Government." She is talking price per bushel of corn.

She then writes in the same letter which is very appropriate today: "This is a good time to buy land if anyone has the money to invest, for land is bound to go up as soon as the depression lets up a little. Many have lost their farms, there are some farms listed for sale that were mortgaged while times were good and they mortgaged for more than the land is worth now. Some moneyed town guys are out grabbing up farms. I think it is disgusting, a sin & shame." Does that paragraph sound familiar to anyone, despite it being written seventy five years ago?

For my children, she mentions your Grandfather in her letters often. One particular story she relates which I thought you would enjoy. Dad and his Uncle Earl had hiked to Iowa to husk corn. So many men showed up for work that no one made any money, but she writes "I don't know what Laverne made but he belonged to the hobo class, he would sleep anywhere, he laughed about going into a bakery when he got into Sioux City, laid a dime on the counter & told them that was all the money he had & asked them to give him as much as they could for it. He said they filled a large bag with cookies, doughnuts, rolls, etc., enough for 2 -3 days. The things were not fresh, but good."

From reading these letters I gained two things beside additional knowledge of my family. The first being that the term of "Depression" is presently being over emphasized to describe our current down turn of the economy. The second being, despite the down turn we still have a higher standard of living than anyone in the world. Our current unemployment rate is 7.5%. When you relate it to the "Great Depression" the unemployment in 1931 = 15.9%; 1932 = 23.6%; 1933 = 24.9%; 1934 =21.7%; 1935 = 20.1% and 1936 = 17.0%.

Despite the scare tactics, we still have it pretty good, except a can of corn sells for .98 cents in the store and there is only 14.75 ounces of corn, not a bushel.

New Posting on American Profile: "Alaska's Aircraft Carrier"

This an a very early entry into the "Think Green" Program. This particular picture was brought to our attention by "John Da Plumma" in his research of vintage aged automobiles. However, this particular car was designed, developed, and marketed a half century prior to any emphasis on "Green". This is a Messeerchmidt Kabinroller and was developed in the early 1950's in Germany. It may have had a "four on the floor" but it only had three wheels on the ground. Has the design of this vehicle been compromised and once again appears in this era of fuel efficiency and environmental friendliness. I will let you be the judge.

This is a Aptera 2e. As quoted, "a soon to be produced electric vehicle whose shape is slipperier than a Teflon coated salmon on glare ice". You will not have to wait long to purchase this car, but I would suggest that you get on the waiting list as it is filling up rapidly. Reportedly Robin Williams is already on that waiting list. Four thousand (4,000) deposits have been received by the company. These cars are scheduled to roll off the assembly line in Vista, California this October for a yet determined price between $25,000 and $40,000. You can fuel this car up from an extension cord plugged into a 110 volt outlet overnight. It is claimed to have a range of 100 miles. With the rotary shifter clicked to D3, the most aggressive setting, you can expect 0 - 60 mph in under 10 seconds and 90 mph top speed.

Now, lets get serious. If I were a true believer in "Green" and purchased one of these cars. My normal four hour commute to Los Anchorage from Anchor Point, would take slightly over two days. In the vicinity of Cooper Landing, if I am lucky and have not been wasting my batteries by speeding, I am going to have spend a night in a Kenai Princess Lodge to charge my batteries.

Now, I have no concept an aerodynamics and quite honestly I still do not understand how an airplane flies. However, I can relate to sleek figures and curvy lines. This little death trap is designed to become airborne without wings. I can just picture running across the Kenai Burn, trying to make up some loss time on the straight away. With just a little headwind, you are going to catch air under your bow, where you land or how hard is not within your control. Never, never, ever stick your arm out the window. One wing does not work well when it comes to flying.

While driving this marvel that is going to save our planet, you must also be watching out for F.O.D. (foreign objects on deck) as you have probably noted the clearance does not permit you to crawl under the vehicle. At the same time, you may want to watch out for a wandering moose, for that matter a average size snow shoe hare, if you should encounter one while three wheeling down the Sterling Highway at 55.5 mph. However, do not be to concerned, it does have an airbag! How stable will it be when driving on snow or ice. Well, that could be a problem, that single rear wheel may try to pass you but not to worry. If you land in the ditch, it only weighs 1,700 pounds so I am sure someone can push you out, as long as your battery is charged.

O.K., so this car is not ideally suited for Alaska, I think we can all agree on that. It is designed and manufactured in California. Without stereotyping anyone, we know that is one of our "greener" states. Have you ever driven the freeways in California or even Interstate 5 in Seattle? Now picture yourself heading down the interstate or freeway in this stylish little "green car" at 70 mph. You glance into your rear view mirror, all you can see is the bumper of this big Peterbilt truck and trailer.

With trembling hands you grasp the "rotary shifter" and twist it up to D3 wanting to put some distance between your little rear end and that big chrome plated, fully illuminated front bumper of the truck. Reaching warp speed of 85.6 mph you can now see the smile on the face of "Bubba Billy Bob" the trucker in your rear view mirror just as he flicks on his turn signal and moves into the next lane to pass you. It is not going to be pretty. You have a long haul driver that has been popping pills to stay awake, passing you at 91.3 MPH in a rig that is at least seventy feet long with the tractor and trailer. Again, the theory of aerodynamics play a role in your demise. You are now into a wind tunnel with tornado force winds of which is going to propel you in any number of directions and altitudes.

But not to worry, most truckers are friendly and very courteous. I am sure "Bubba" will be on his CB radio, "Hey good buddy in that mobile gasoline station coming on at entrance number 24, you may want to be on the look out for flying debris in the shape of an aeroplane without wings, Bubba out" Shortly the reply is heard, "that is a big 10-4 Bubba, just saw it pass overhead south bound in the north bound lane, I've got your backdoor, let her roll, I will see you at Mabel's Diner for joe and pie".

I will let you be the judge. I only provide the "thoughts to ponder".

When you enter the "Golden Years" of your life, some changes in your life patterns will slowly evolve. At first, they are alarming because you start thinking to yourself, "god I am just like my parents". Little things in life become more important. Like enjoying a cup of coffee with friends to discuss the daily politics, sports, and resolve most of the problems in the world in less than an hour. Sometimes there are disagreements, but the one thing that is always agreed upon is that "damm kids of this generation are going to hell, wasn't like this when I was a kid".

Other items that you find yourself enjoying, which to yourself you readily admit that you never cared about in your youth. You find yourself feeding the birds in the dead of winter, skipping the essential foods that you personally enjoy in order to off set the cost of the bird food. Looking up at the stars in amazement, as if they had just suddenly appeared in the heavens. All of a sudden, you discover the love of history, something that you may have detested during your school years. It is different now because you can relate to it. There are so many things to enjoy, like giving your dog a good massage or brushing, not just a pat on the head.

Then of course, anytime you get two people similar in age together, there are always the hot topics to discuss. For some reason, health is one of those topics. I normally shy away from this subject however do not get me on the subject of weather. I love weather and normally check my arsenal of weather gauging data at a minimum of a dozen times a day. I readily admit, there is nothing that I can do about it, but at least I may be prepared for something that might not happen. Weather is important, you need it to plan your day.

One of my favorite data recorders to see if I am going to have to plow snow in the next 24 hours or in the summer if I can go fishing without a raincoat, I check my Doppler Radar Site. As you can see from the picture posted, it is snowing on the west side of Cook Inlet, westerly of my location. Go to the next radar site out of Illiamna, that will scare you because there is allot of snow showing. Fortunately it looks like it will go west of Anchor Point and hit Los Anchorage.


To see if I should put on a extra pair of long underwear, I refer to this site. This is a cloud temperature site. As you can see by the graph colors, a good cold front is moving in from the Bristol Bay area, right behind the heavy snow from the Doppler Radar. However, I am prepared, tomorrow I pick up a load of firewood for the Hole In the Wall. I would divert the load of wood to my house but I do not have a wood stove or fireplace. Having a wood stove would have a negative impact my "senior citizen energy allocation" from the local electric and fuel oil distributors. (I wish there was such a program)


Of course, no good weather bureau could operate without a satellite picture of the Pacific Region and those fronts that are moving in which could impact the temperature and Doppler site. I use this site to verify these sites. As President Reagan said about the Russians, "trust, but verify", I feel the same way about weather, don't rely on just one site and especially television weather reports.


This winter, I have one additional site to keep an eye on. Redoubt is always fun to check on, the web cams are great when it is not snowing or during the dark period of the day. But the center is doing a good job in keeping information posted. They are driving the national news media crazy, they want to see a big explosion so they have something to report on. I am sure that it will eventually do something, until then the merchants are loving it. They have had face masks sitting in their inventory for the past five years, now they have sold out. Redoubt has been a great "stimulus package" for merchants.

Ever need a local weather report, feel free to contact but please do not attempt to contact me between 2 PM and 4 PM, that is my nap time. Also between 4PM and 7 PM, that is my news time. On typical days I am also hard to reach between noon and 2PM because that is my "coffee clutch" time. The "golden years", I love them!

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