Thor’s Hall

Making a difference, one action at a time.  If you understand the desert sands to any small degree, this picture says a lot.

H/T Soliders Angels DE

More Rockin’ with Ted!

Today seems like a fitting day to remind each of you that there are some folks that are out there in some very undesireable conditions doing everything that is asked of them.  To top that off they are doing it for you.

Get your butt over to One Marine’s View, work your way to this post.  Follow the directions there.

The desert gets hot, sandy, and can get to be very isolated.   This is especially true if that desert is half a world away from your family.  There are a whole bunch of young men and women that could use a reminder that they are not alone, they are not isolated, and that the work they are doing is important to you.

Take a few minutes and craft a quick note to these folks.  Let ‘em know they, and the mission that they are performing is appreciated.

There are a lot of articles, and sides to the “gun control” issue as a whole.  While I doubt that this is the case, I seriously hope that much of that argument has been tabled with the recent Heller decision.  The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental individual right and “shall not be infringed” by government.  Enough said on that.

One of the debates that this now opens up is how one exercises that right.  There are long arguments and discussions to be had regarding the carry of weapons, open, concealed, not at all, etc.  Personally, I have no problem with any of those choices, it is and should be up to the individual and what they feel comfortable with given the situation.  I have worked on projects all over the world, and every situation and society is going to be different.  It becomes a matter of what is more important to you in the situation.

Personally, I can reach out and touch someone in excess of 1/2 km away but I don’t ever expect to have to exercise that skill ever again.  By the same token, I can take someone that is trying to start a physical altercation with me and fairly discretely inflict sufficient discomfort on them, to walk them out of the altercation location and most likely defuse the situation.  If it escalates, I can manage that too.

The carry issue really impacts that intermediate range threat.  How do you deal with an armed, or unarmed threat when you are in an auditorium of 500 people and your in the 20th row back from the threat?  How do you deal with that guy over there driving the bulldozer into the Saturday Farmer’s Market, similar to the event yesterday?

You may be thinking, nice setup, where is this whole post going?   Well over at Chuck’s place he put up his reasons for carrying a weapon.  I am certain that I could add a few more (as could he) but here is the one that haunts my thoughts, and has for sometime now…

2. if your daughter or wife were being raped, or your child abducted, would you rather I shoot the bastard, or call the police and give them a good description of the “suspect” and then help your wife or daughter to the hospital?

Go read the whole thing here.  Read the comments too, there are a couple of winners there.

Now couple that with the news from Vermont today.

Draw your own conclusions.

Last night I hit the “Black National Anthem” news note from a purely emotional standpoint.

This morning, over at Flopping Aces, they nailed this issue for me without the emotion.  I still feel the blood begin to boil when I read about this.  But again, they pulled it back into the bigger picture and into the context of current events.  This is one of those “duh, why didn’t I think of that” moments.  You need to go read the whole post for yourself.

One of life’s biggest lessons is learning not to repeat your mistakes.  Learning from the situation, recognizing the parameters that led to decisions and actions that produced the results that were less than optimal.  Then applying that lesson to achieve a different, hopefully better result.

For those that play a major role on the World Stage, less than optimal results can have extreme consequences.  In these cases it makes sense to use every bit of knowledge that we have developed over time to temper judgment, to learn from others actions, and make the best decisions possible in the circumstances.  Some of this comes from inherent wisdom / experience, some of it comes from study and knowledge, and the other leg that comes into play is surrounding yourself with others that can provide solid advice.

Over at American Thinker, Kyle Shiver has put together a piece that takes sound bites from Barack Obama and puts them in historical context.  You need to read the entire essay.  One of the most telling peices that I read from the piece was:

“If George Bush and John McCain have a problem with direct diplomacy led by the president of the United States, then they can explain why they have a problem with John F. Kennedy, because that’s what he did with Khrushchev.”

Now, if you don’t recall how that little face to face in the early ’60s you need to read the whole article.  If you do remember that’s great maybe that little history lesson needs to be factored into someone’s campaign.

Finally, you have to wonder about the folks that are counseling him.

Judgment, decision making skills, hiring skills, etc.  It all comes into play.  Gotta wonder