We think this means a state of Israel for the Jews and a state of Palestine for the Palestinians. US State Department is all in favor. Has been for years. Israel has given the idea a test run, in Gaza, and it hasn't worked out well. Israel removed the Jewish residents of Gaza, and turned the area over to the Palestinians. Since then, Gaza has been firing rockets over the border, which is an act of war in the real world. It got so bad the Israeli Army had to intervene last year, causing and taking casualties. I think they did stop the rockets.
With that background, Bebi said he would not favor the "two state solution" just before the Israeli election, which he won on Tuesday. Our State Dept went ballistic, and after the election, Bebi softened his words about the two state solution. I haven't bothered to look up just exactly what Bebi said each time. But I can understand where he is coming from. Gaza shows how bad the two state solution can be and surely plenty of Israelis don't want to have anything to do with it. Backing off a bit to mollify the American State Dept is also understandable.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
How many boots on the ground does it take?
Depends. Just a couple of guys, with laser designators and radios, and a BUFF full of smart bombs overhead, and great things can be accomplished. Ask the Northern Alliance. The Taliban had nearly wiped them out when 9/11 happened. A few days later, they got their couple a guys, and their BUFF, and that turned everything around. The Northern Alliance drove the Taliban clean out of Afghanistan and into hiding over the border in Pakistan within a matter of weeks.
Of course it can be pretty dangerous for the couple of guys. They have to be right up on the front line, where bullets fly, and bad things happen. But it can be fun, especially for guys who like making things go boom.
But you would think just a thin stiffening of American soldiers, and a mob of locals, Peshmerga perhaps, and plenty of air support, and ISIS could become toast. Say a few tank companies to show the way, a plentiful supply of guns and ammunition for the locals, supplies flown in by air, some decent intel from the locals, and a bit of luck and problem solved.
The way the newsies tell it, doing ISIS is as bad as doing WWI trench warfare over again. I don't think it's that hard.
With luck, in 2016, we could elect a president who understands these things.
Of course it can be pretty dangerous for the couple of guys. They have to be right up on the front line, where bullets fly, and bad things happen. But it can be fun, especially for guys who like making things go boom.
But you would think just a thin stiffening of American soldiers, and a mob of locals, Peshmerga perhaps, and plenty of air support, and ISIS could become toast. Say a few tank companies to show the way, a plentiful supply of guns and ammunition for the locals, supplies flown in by air, some decent intel from the locals, and a bit of luck and problem solved.
The way the newsies tell it, doing ISIS is as bad as doing WWI trench warfare over again. I don't think it's that hard.
With luck, in 2016, we could elect a president who understands these things.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Saving money on health care
Bring back "hospitalization only" insurance policies. Back before I became eligible for Medicare, there were two kinds of insurance policies. The pricey, $12K a year, covers everything, no deductibles policy. It would pay for doctor's office visits, yearly physicals, pills, everything. Or, the $3K "hospitalization only" policy which only paid for things serious enough to put you in the hospital. Everything else, doctor's office visits, pills, physicals, MRI's, you name it, you paid for it out of pocket. On the other hand, the $9K saving on the policy would pay for a lot of incidentals. If you were in decent health, and had some ready cash, the "hospitalization only" policy could save you a LOT of money.
Plus, since you were paying out of pocket, you tended to shop around, for good prices on pills, MRI's and the like. I even talked my doctor into changing some of my prescriptions to the $4 a month Walmart pills. You can cut costs noticeably when you have to pay them yourself.
Then came Obamacare, which wiped out the "hospitalization only" policies. Obamacare policies have to cover everything, chiropractic, maternity even for guys, eyeglasses, drug rehab, MRI's, CAT scans, head shrinking, you name it. The medics loved that part. So do the drug companies and the hospitals.
Plus, since you were paying out of pocket, you tended to shop around, for good prices on pills, MRI's and the like. I even talked my doctor into changing some of my prescriptions to the $4 a month Walmart pills. You can cut costs noticeably when you have to pay them yourself.
Then came Obamacare, which wiped out the "hospitalization only" policies. Obamacare policies have to cover everything, chiropractic, maternity even for guys, eyeglasses, drug rehab, MRI's, CAT scans, head shrinking, you name it. The medics loved that part. So do the drug companies and the hospitals.
Cannon Mountain Ski Weather. It's snowing again
A couple of inches of snow to day. Better that than rain. It is warm, pushing up to 32F, but it's still coming down as snow.
Monday, March 16, 2015
Words of the Newsies: Coronate.
Coronate. After talking about the upcoming "coronation" of Hillary Clinton, the newsies are using "coronate" as a verb, presumably meaning the act of placing a crown on a king, or a presidential candidate. Actually, the word they are looking for is "crown". To place the crown upon the head of the king.
My older 1969 American Heritage Dictionary does not list "coronate" as a word. Unfortunately, my newer, trendier, 1997 Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary does list "coronate" as a verb. I hold with the older useage "crown" as opposed to the wordier, newer, Latin "coronate".
My older 1969 American Heritage Dictionary does not list "coronate" as a word. Unfortunately, my newer, trendier, 1997 Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary does list "coronate" as a verb. I hold with the older useage "crown" as opposed to the wordier, newer, Latin "coronate".
Lincoln Reagan dinner, Grafton County
This is a fund raiser that we hold every year. For a lotta years we have been holding it at the Indian Head resort (fairly tony for northern NH) at Franconia Notch. I've been going to this event for quite a few years now, to the point where I know by name a lot of the guests.
Weather was miserable, it snowed all day, putting down 5-6 inches by 3 PM when it let up. Trusty Mercury charged out of the garage, up my steep driveway, and crashed thru the foot high snowdrift at the street. Getting thru the notch was tedious, lot of out of state cars creeping along at walking pace. The road was OK, but a tad slippery. Being New Hampshire, just about everyone showed up, dispite the weather, except the guest of honor, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was coming up from Manchester by car. Fortunately he had a native driver who got him upcountry all in one piece.
Cruz is sufficiently famous to attract TV troops with a satellite truck, which they parked out behind the Indian Head with the dish pointed up at a satellite and filling up with snow. Cruz is a good speaker. His English is plain American, no hint of a Texas accent, or a Spanish accent. Speaking to a Republican audience, he connected. He spoke of supporting freedom of religion, freedom from federal snoopers, local control of education as opposed to Common Core, the Constitution, love of country, his background. He did not propose any new federal benefit programs. He connected with the audience, and gained standing ovations. This guy is a good speaker. He would make mince meat of Hillary in a debate. He took questions from the audience. The questions were friendly, mostly asking him to expand upon themes he had previously touched upon. The questioners were all bone fide New Hampshire folk, known to me. He did not say anything about immigration, but given his background as the son of a Cuban refugee, I would expect him to be fairly sympathetic to immigrants. Anyhow, this guy is worth watching. He speaks well, he talks about concrete issues that matter to Republicans, he would be a very competitive Republican presidential candidate. He talked about conservative issues, but they are important issues, which many voters cherish. He avoided wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage.
Weather was miserable, it snowed all day, putting down 5-6 inches by 3 PM when it let up. Trusty Mercury charged out of the garage, up my steep driveway, and crashed thru the foot high snowdrift at the street. Getting thru the notch was tedious, lot of out of state cars creeping along at walking pace. The road was OK, but a tad slippery. Being New Hampshire, just about everyone showed up, dispite the weather, except the guest of honor, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who was coming up from Manchester by car. Fortunately he had a native driver who got him upcountry all in one piece.
Cruz is sufficiently famous to attract TV troops with a satellite truck, which they parked out behind the Indian Head with the dish pointed up at a satellite and filling up with snow. Cruz is a good speaker. His English is plain American, no hint of a Texas accent, or a Spanish accent. Speaking to a Republican audience, he connected. He spoke of supporting freedom of religion, freedom from federal snoopers, local control of education as opposed to Common Core, the Constitution, love of country, his background. He did not propose any new federal benefit programs. He connected with the audience, and gained standing ovations. This guy is a good speaker. He would make mince meat of Hillary in a debate. He took questions from the audience. The questions were friendly, mostly asking him to expand upon themes he had previously touched upon. The questioners were all bone fide New Hampshire folk, known to me. He did not say anything about immigration, but given his background as the son of a Cuban refugee, I would expect him to be fairly sympathetic to immigrants. Anyhow, this guy is worth watching. He speaks well, he talks about concrete issues that matter to Republicans, he would be a very competitive Republican presidential candidate. He talked about conservative issues, but they are important issues, which many voters cherish. He avoided wedge issues like abortion and gay marriage.
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Cannon Mountain Ski Weather. Snowing again.
Four to eight inches forecast for today. We have four inches down now and it's still falling. No rain. It's warm, 30F, but we are still getting snow, no rain.
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