OT: Monday Morning Quarterbacks

[Guest guest]

Yo Dale,

 

> Too bad we don't have IM Butch!

 

Hawhawhaw .. No M'am! I had it .. had two different kinds. Took'em off

when they become a liability. I can reply to posts at my leisure and

take my time when preparing a reply .. but I've found that with IM some

folks try to anticipate what you will say and send a reply before they

read what you've written. Its almost like a race to see who can type the

mostest the fastest and it makes my fingers and mind tired. ;-p

 

> I understand your points. Especially re: the flag/statue/soldier

> event. And I know you will accept my disagreement.

 

Of course .. I'm a pussy cat. ;-)

 

> Yes, the soldier is young. Yes, it was an emotional moment. Yes, I

> believe our troops deserve to feel good for a job more than well done

> and I'll be there to welcome home or send welcome home wishes in NYC.

 

Good show .. glad to hear that.

 

> BUT I also believe we need to be sensitive to the Iraqi people's

> cultures/society/views.

 

I expect that young feller was feeling like .. some'a these bastards

been doing their best to kill me and my buddies since we hit the ground

and they succeeded in some cases .. so up their nose with a rubber hose.

If'n somebody has been in the midst of folks who were smiling and waving

and carrying white flags and then pulling a hidden weapon and trying to

put them under snakes .. the last thing they might think about is the

culture and views of those people.

 

Plus .. there are 7 major cultures in Iraq .. and lots of minor ones.

Similar to here in Turkey. Best one can hope to do after living there a

long time is not get'em confused when you cross a river. The way you

can tell the real bad guys is they are the ones shooting at you.

 

Those multi-cultural differences will be the biggest barrier to Iraq

building democratic institutions. Tito was able to hold Yugoslavia

together .. and Saddam was able to hold Iraq together. Of course, they

chose different ways to do it .. one used his head and the other used

his secret police. But now they gotta have a feller pull it together

who can really understand the multi-cultural differences .. and not let

things happen like executing Shiite clerymen .. like they did a few days

ago. And as long as the Kurds keep a separist mentality .. and Shiias

are an extension of the Iranian plan to export Islamism .. its gonna be

one big job fer'shur. Christians get along better with Sunni Moslems

than Shiia Moslems get along with Sunni Moslems.

 

> It's THEIR country, bottom line - to me anyway.

 

It is when we give it back to them .. but they didn't have the what for

to make it their country before. As a recent article in a national

Sports magazine stated .. in reference to why Iraq had no olympic entry

for years .. Uday said Iraq was HIS country .. and when a player or

team lost he tortured or killed them .. as a minimum he maimed them as

an example and to motivate other players. It backfired .. the athletes

tried to be bad enough to not be selected for olympic sports, Their aim

was to save their own butts .. not represent a land that was not their

country. That's the way the Saddam regime saw Iraq .. it was THEIRS.

 

I laughed at one young Redneck Marine 2d Lt. CNN interviewed him as he

and a Staff Sergeant were apprehending a couple'a dudes who had broke

into a bank and come out with pockets full of money. Young feller said

something like, " They went in and came out with a pocketfull of those

dinners or whatever they call that money .. so we call'em bank robbers

and that's the way it is. Seems to me these folks need to get together

and take charge of their own country. Like we did in the USA long time

ago. " Then the CNN reported recapped the interview with a smartass

note: " Trying to recreate them in our own image. " ;-p

 

> On another note...getting ready for a big 'ol All American baseball

> game here as a fundraiser for my kids' school. Faculty/Alumni vs.

> Parents.

 

Good show .. maybe you oughta suggest to the faculty and parents that

they may be the ones at fault in that young feller putting a flag over

Saddam's ugly puss. Uncle Sugar gets'em fresh out of high school and

mama and daddy's home .. he ain't had time to resocialize them yet. ;-p

 

> I'd like to make a small AT 'thank you' for everyone who signed up to

> play (40!!). Very basic would be a small rice pillow. Anyone have any

> other ideas for something simple I could make? Remember I'm the

> amateur who mainly uses AT for laboring moms.

 

I been playing 40 since I turned 50 but I didn't have no pillows made

from rice .. have some mighty nice Flokatis on the floor though.

 

> Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Dale

 

I'm not an amateur at playing 40 .. been doing it a long, long time and

I reckon its about time I started playing 50. ;-p

 

Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com