Women the Root of All Evil!

A few weeks ago I was talking with a co-worker and was asked where we, humans, went wrong. Jokingly I said it all started with Eve in The Garden of Eden, when she gave Adam the forbidden fruit. We laughed and I said, "Women the root of all evil." I went on to say this would make a good blog, and was told, my life would be in danger if I did. Well, guess what, in honor of Mothers Day, here it is. Yes, Eve, according to the Bible took that fateful bite and did what women everywhere still do to men, tempt us. Men being the weaker sex cannot resist and hence we always find ourselves in trouble. Through out history the stories grow. Delilah and Sampson, Cleopatra and Marc Anthony, John and Pat Lambert. O.K. Maybe the third one is not as well known, but to me it is the most important. My wife, Pat is an extremely beautiful, intelligent, fun, wonderful woman and she has mesmerized me for almost 35 years. Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you about Pat. She has been, without question, the best part of my life. It may be overused , but she is my best friend. When anything happens, good or bad, she is the first person I want to talk to. We share laughs and on rare occasions anger, but always move on to the next episodes of our lives. She is the smartest person I know, partly because she agrees with me most of the time, and also because she disagrees with me some of the time. When she goes in an opposite direction, from me, usually there is something new for me to learn. As great a wife as she is, Pat is also the perfect role model for our two daughter, Jessica and Nicole. They have not always followed her lead, but when they do, they accomplish great things. Pat has always been nurturing and caring and loving for the girls. They have never worried about their Mom being there for them, because she is. Even today, as adults, they turn to their Mother for advise and friendship that goes far beyond the ordinary. As Pat and I have matured, nice way to say gotten older, we have adapted to the role of grandparents. She puts me to shame in this area at times. Place one of her grandchildren in her arms and forget it. You will not get them back. She holds them and gently kisses their heads over and over again, as if the first hundred kisses have not been enough. Have her walk into a room with our grandchildren and all you hear are delighted squeals of, "Grammy."  I know that according to the title, this blog went in a different direction then people expected, however I wanted people to know something about my fantastic wife. If I had started with, let me tell you something about Pat Lambert, how many would have read this. So on this Mothers Day I wanted the world to know, that the person I am today has more to do with the mother of my children then any other person in my life. I wanted to thank her for being a shinning example of womanhood, and a  role model for other women. To my Tish , I wanted her to know that she is, my love, my life my everything and I love you so very much.

The worst of the worst in corporate reputation

The 12th annual Harris Interactive U.S. Reputation Quotient Survey has been released and the results are not surprising. The title is a long description of a way that companies find out how the American public perceives them. The worst companies financial services, banks and oil. There are a couple of auto makers, an airline and a media giant. The bottom eleven are, AIG, BP, Goldman Sachs, Citi Group, Chrysler, Bank of America, General Motors, Exxon Mobil, JP Morgan Chase, Delta Airlines and Comcast. What does all of this mean? These are companies that do not care about the patrons they serve. They are large enough that they demand a presence in Congress, to sway actions on their behalf and against the interest of average American. As I look at the list, what jumps out at me is the fact that most of these companies do not provide a product. They do not invent something new and innovative. Their soul purpose is to make money. Now people will say there he goes again, not wanting people to make money. Wrong. On the best reputation companies there are names, like 3M, Johnson and Johnson, Apple, Intel, Google, etc. I will cover the best in another blog. The difference is, for the most part, the admired companies produce something and are leaders in innovation. I have no problem with these companies making money. They are not gouging the American public. The two auto makers are moving up, the right way, but have a distance to go, I am sure that there is still back lash from the auto bail-outs, for them. Financial service companies and banks are making huge profits again and the regulations we need to keep from having another financial mess, still have not been put in place. These companies helped to put us in the deep recession that we are now experiencing and they will do it again if left alone. The American people know the type of companies these are, now it is time for Congress to figure that out and act accordingly.

Release the Pictures of bin Laden.

Since Sunday night people have been talking about the killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden. Part of the conversation has been centered around, releasing the photos of bin Laden after he was shot. I say release them and do it now. This is not in response to the conspiracy theorists. This is not some morbid sense of curiosity for me. This is about showing terrorists the end result of them leading a lawless life outside the scope of humanity. This has the potential of making some young budding al-Qaeda recruit think about how they will end up. There is no entry into heaven with happiness. This is about two shots to the head. This is about blood and brain tissue and gore, not glory. Sure some people will look because of curiosity. Some will be repulsed. I do want to see them. I will not be harmed in some way because of the photos. You don't want to see them, don't look, but make bin Laden the poster boy for the fact, if you kill innocent people, you will be hunted down and killed like the monster you are. Period!

Thank You Navy SEALS!

Each day it is important that we remember the men and women who sacrifice so much for our country. Today though, I would like to send out a special thanks to Navy SEAL Team Six. These are the most highly trained and efficient warriors in the world and on Sunday they proved it. Over the next days and weeks the detail will come out and we can start to appreciate the job these men did in Pakistan. The SEAL team is under the JSOC, Joint Special Operations Command, based at Fort Bragg. They operate along with the Army Rangers, Delta Force and the Air Force 24th Special Squadron. Also available from SOCOM, Special Operations Command are the Marines Force Recon. Any of these groups could have been called upon to perform the operation into Pakistan and the killing of Osama bin Laden. All of them would have loved the opportunity. The SEALS got the call and performed above and beyond to accomplish the mission at hand. OUTSTANDING job. Thank you to each and every person involved. One last thank you to the President of the United States. This was a risky call, but one our President showed leadership to make. The war against terrorists will be fought in this fashion. We must remember that the outcomes are not certain and there will be times that we will loose our men in these actions, but this is the new warfare. Look at our own history to see the effect of smaller units in quick strikes. During the revolutionary war the British, had a larger force and the arrogance of the British, had them marching down the road in wide open spaces. The Americans with less troops and less firepower hid behind trees and fences. They did quick hits and moved. That is the way of the modern terrorist. They hit and hide. The only way to win this new war is to hit and hide. We poured large amounts of troops into areas, but al-Qaeda knew we were coming and moved. This time we went in quick, hit our targets and got out. This is what will work going forward. This is how JSOC and the elite Seals team 6 did their mission on Sunday. This is how they killed bin Laden and this is what I thank them for.

Conspiracy theorists are idiots!

As soon as the word spread that Osama bin Laden was dead, the morons who love conspiracy theories started their attacks on the U.S. Government. When Pearl Harbor was attacked, they talked about Roosevelt and the government, knowing, that the Japanese were going to attack us. When President Kennedy was assassinated, the theory was everyone from Lyndon Johnson to the CIA, to the mafia were involved. After 9-11 they came out in full force, to claim that President Bush and his administration knew and did nothing about the attacks. Does the word delusional mean anything to these people. They probably think the C.I.A. is following them and the best way to protect themselves from aliens is to wear tin foil hats. Let's get real. Instead of congratulating the President and the Navy SEALS, they want to see shadows in the room. Our people from the Commander in Chief, to his administration, to the fantastic special ops people that carried out the operation, deserve our admiration and thanks. The theorists point out the quick way that the body was disposed of. What did they what? A state funeral! An opportunity to make bin Laden a martyr. The idea that we would bring him back for a trail, is ridiculous. Imagine the sideshow that would have become. First we would have spent years and millions of dollars, just to determine whether to have a civil or military trail. The SEAL that fired the shots to kill bin Laden, was the judge, jury and executioner and I thank him for that. bin Laden is responsible for thousands of deaths and the only thing he deserved was death. The only conspiracy I see in this situation is the conspiracy, that idiots, want to believe that we did not kill bin Laden.

Osam bin Laden is Dead!

I am waiting for the President to talk about the death of bin Laden. It is never something of pleasure when a life is taken, but sometimes there is a sense of satisfaction. Osama bin Laden as everyone knows was the architect and master mind behind al-Qaeda and the attacks of 9-11. For a decade bin Laden has alluded capture or the taking of his life. At last his attempt to hide from world justice has ended. Let's not pretend that this is the end of terrorism, and in the short term we may face a considerable amount of risk, over the next several weeks, as al-Qaeda tries to stay relevant. This being said most people around the world will be almost celebratory as the news spreads. Death for anyone should never be joyful, but I hope people will forgive me, as I find Osama bin Laden death to be satisfying. More to follow. I want to listen to our President.

Is There Nothing Worth Fighting For?

In my last post I stated some of the things I feel strong enough about , that I am willing to stand up and fight. In response, I have been told on one hand there is nothing people will fight for and then told they will fight for individuals rights. I hope this does not mean, we have become a nation of narcissistic, self absorbed children. We are all part of the human race and when we become so cold and calloused, that the least of us are left to suffer, I am tempted to say the hell with this let me join another group. We have an imperfect government, so instead of fighting to make it better for all of us we want to use it to serve only our own interests. I am sure Danny will respond that I am making his point, but I am not. The items I fight for are not those things that are in my best interest, but for the benefit of the whole. Yes, I support single payer health care, to eliminate the middle man, otherwise know as the insurance companies. What service to they provide? We pay them. They take our money. They strip 30% or more for their costs, which include huge bonuses and salaries for the CEO. Then they decide to pay if we need health care. Danny, says the government is not capable of doing anything right and cannot be trusted to do this correctly and save us money. I say the government is the people and we the people have to be involved in ways to make the government, whether it is administering health care or any other service, do it right and at a fair and competitive cost. What better individual right is there then the right to be happy and secure. Health care and being healthy would promote this. I know, in my opinion, it is a broad interpretation of the Constitution, but I feel that when you look at the preamble, "promote the general Welfare, " and when you look at the "commerce clause" in Article 8, this is justifiable. I am going to write a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt, during a speech he gave in April, 1910. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds, could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. Whose face is marred by dust, and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcomings, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause, who at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory or defeat." I choose to fight for the less fortunate. I choose to fight for the children and the elderly. I choose to fight against the elite and corporate entities that are willing to destroy our nation, for greed. I choose to fight against inequities and racism. I choose to fight for education for all people , so they can climb out of the despair of poverty. I choose to fight whenever the powerful try to take advantage of the weak. If these are the windmills I choose to joust with. So be it, at least I know that when my time comes I can look back across my life and know that in the end I choose to enter that arena to fight, and if I fail I will also know that I strive to achieve something that had greater meaning then myself. This is what I choose. When you  are taking you last breath, will you be grateful for the opportunity you had  to fight or will your last moments be filled with regrets.