Horton Deakins's Blog, page 4

Oh, give me a home…

Buffalo feeding in short prairie grass in Wichita Mts. Wildlife Refuge

Took a road trip the other day.  These photos are some of my souvenirs.

Longhorn calf getting his dinner

Longhorn Bull

View east from top of Mt. Scott

Mt. Scott rises about 1000 feet above the surrounding plains in southwest Oklahoma.

Longhorn Feeding

The folks that manage the animals in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge have carefully selected breeding stock amongst the longhorn cattle, American bison, and elk.  The bison, or buffalo, once numbered around 60,000,000.  They had dwindled to a little over 500 animals before conservation methods began to increase the herds once again.  Once the buffalo were mostly killed off, hunters turned to harvesting the elk.  All the natural elk in Oklahoma were killed off, and the elk in this preserve came from other areas.

Me and my “Raiders” hat

I thought this hat was a perfect choice for my visit to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History.

 

What about the Sgt. Bergdahl prisoner exchange?

I’ve seen a lot of rah-rah about the recent release of Sgt. Bergdahl from the Taliban in exchange for five Taliban prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay. Let me be clear that I wish for no one to be held prisoner by such a criminal, terrorist organization. But the current Whitehouse administration is putting a lot of spin on this story. The Army has yet to release an official statement about any of the controversial information concerning Bergdahl, but let’s look at what his peers in the military have said.

First off, men in Sgt. Bergdahl’s unit say he was AWOL, that, when he walked away from his post in Afghanistan about five years ago, he left a note that stated his disillusionment with the military and with America in general, and that he might seek out the Taliban. This stands in stark contrast to National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s statements that he served both “with honor” and “distinction.” As a POW, he received two promotions and was and is eligible for all military benefits. As a deserter, he is subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and court martial. If he did indeed seek out the Taliban to join them, regardless of the final outcome, he carries the mark of traitor, as well. The Whitehouse has repeated many times that we “leave no one on the battlefield,” but all indications are that Bergdahl was captured after he went AWOL, and he was not taken during a military conflict.

Did you know that six men died looking for him? They were ordered to keep that low-key, but parents of one of the deceased, by the name of Andrews, have come out openly about this on TV.

It is illegal for the President to make such a prisoner swap without 30-days advance notice to and consent from Congress. According to Jay Carney, there was no 30-day window. Yet they fail to mention that there were two or three opportunities over the past five years to make a swap for Bergdahl.

And let’s not forget what was given up for Bergdahl. The five terrorists that were released from Guantanamo have been referred to as a “terrorist dream team,” and many have predicted that they will certainly kill again. This exchange was not supported by the intelligence community.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has defended this move on the basis of Bergdahl’s health. But how does this justify negotiating with terrorists, and releasing this extremely dangerous terrorist group? I think it is inevitable that more Americans will be put in jeopardy or even killed because of this swap. Many say this was an impeachable act. What do you think?

Another Quark from Award-Winning TIME PULLERS

The two APs placed the prisoner in front of the box, removed his handcuffs, and backed away. The prisoner knelt, lifted the box up onto one of the narrower sides, placed the palms of his hands gently upon the two larger sides, and then positioned his face directly over the box. He hesitated, straightened up, and said, “General, it is imperative that only a select few be allowed to see the contents of the boxes. If too many are allowed to view, then I may be unable to give the help for which I have come so far.”

Another Tidbit From TIME PULLERS

The general didn’t wait for an answer. “I am Major General Vega. I am the commander of this Air Logistics Center. You have stated that you would open your boxes if I would meet with you. Well, I’m here. And if you will turn your attention to that screen over there, you will see the other boxes. Those little cakes on them are high explosives, and those wires are connected to detonators. If you do not hold up your end of the bargain, starting by opening this box right here, I am prepared to give the order to blow those boxes to kingdom come. You have exactly one —”


“Yes! Now I will show you the boxes,” the visitor said. “Please, do no harm to the boxes, for they contain the only chance for the survival of both your civilization and mine.”

— Excerpt from Sci-Fi TIME PULLERS , Chapter 1, by Horton Deakins

A paragraph from TIME PULLERS

“General, sir,” Major Danforth said, “there is no physical danger to your person, as he is both restrained and under guard. But we can’t speak to the boxes. We’ve been unable to tell anything about them other than the fact that there are 1432 of them, they’re all pretty much identical, thirty-by-thirty-by-fifteen centimetres, and they’re heavy for their size. Each weighs just over 45 kilos. And one more thing, sir, someone decided, against orders, to shake one of them, and it did rattle a bit.”

— Excerpt from Sci-Fi TIME PULLERS, Chapter 1, by Horton Deakins

Remember the Kung Fu TV series?

Avoid, rather than check.

Check, rather than hurt.

Hurt, rather than maim.

Maim, rather than kill.

For all life is precious, nor can any be replaced.

— Master Kan, to Disciple Caine, in the Kung Fu TV series

Christmas-colored Frozen Foliage

A little red and green for your Christmas

The Ice Man Cometh

These icicles were hanging from the roof over my garage door.  Quite the ice storm we had last night!

Sunrise on a Cold November Morn

November Sunrise

Red skies in the morning, sailors take warning. This is how the sunrise appeared out my back door this chill morning, November 24, 2013.  The sleet and snow is coming, and a hot cup of coffee and hot bath call to me.  Curl up with your best dog, if you are so blest to have one, and try to stay warm.  Open a window a bit if you are heating with coals or kerosene, lest the fumes overtake you. I hear ghosts wreaking havoc in my attic, so I must attend.