An American Foreign Legion

Recently I read that the US military is easing its requirements for enlistees. Under certain circumstances they are relaxing their rules about accepting people with a history of mental illness or drug use. This is a response to the difficulty they are facing finding people to fill their ranks. It seems that the popularity of recreational drugs and the poor physical fitness of America's youth has made finding proper soldiers quite difficult.

Our country also has a problem with defining a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. By looking at these two "problems" as "opportunities" and mixing in a bit of European history I believe our country can craft an elegant solution to both of these issues.

We simply have to form an Americanized version of the French Foreign Legion. We would recruit young men and women who want to become American citizens. They would enlist in the American Foreign Legion for a set period of time, say four to seven years. During this time they would be given classes in English and American values. They would also prove their dedication to becoming a good US citizen. At the end of their first "hitch" in the legion, they would be automatically become US citizens.

I see this as a Win/Win. America gets some new citizens who are willing to fight for a right to be part of the greatest military in the world and red blooded Americans. The young men and women would never have to face questions about their value to the US and their commitment to our values.  

Does the "Cheney Doctine" apply to the climate?

According to CBS News in the last 8 days over 2,400 high temperature records have been broken across the USA. The mercury hit a scorching 118 degrees in Martin Kansas. 2012 has been a "barn-burner" when it comes to record high temperatures. At this writing the US has broken 15,055 high temperature records. What is even more concerning is the ratio of record highs to record lows. In the hundred plus  years since records have been kept, there have been just about as many record lows as record highs, a 1 to 1 ratio. This year the ratio is 11 to 1, we have shattered 11 "highs" for every record "low." After the hottest spring on record, half of the nation is suffering from severe drought conditions threatening to push food prices through the roof.

I know many people feel this is natural and not the result of man made global warming. (The oil companies have spent millions to confuse the issue and plant doubt) This may be the case but can we afford to take the chance. As vice president, Dick Cheney championed taking a proactive stance toward any terrorist or military threat to the US. The "Cheney Doctrine" stated that we should respond decisively even if we were only "1%" sure that the threat was genuine. I am in favor of applying Mr. Cheney's approach to halting and reversing the potential threat of global warming. Well over 90% of the world's climate scientists believe the planet is warming and that human activity plays at least some role in this change. We can be far more than 1% certain that we are in danger and that we can do something about it. This warming and the fires, severe storms and agriculturally disruptive effects of climate change is a far greater threat to the people of the US than any foreign threat.

We have waited too long trying to find absolute proof that we have turned our planet into a toaster oven. I think we should apply Mr.. Cheney's approach and make a preemptive strike against WMD: Weather Mankind Destroying!  

A very new trick for a very old dog

Oh Brave New World of Blogging welcome this greybeard to your shining shores. Why does a man who drives a 20 old car with manual windows and who has a blacksmith forge in the backyard start a blog? I am basically computerphobic, I like machines where I can see the gears turn. I am about as far from a geek as one can be. What I am, is a "word nerd." I love ideas and stories, and lively discussions. I like connecting with people and I believe everyone has something interesting to say. I must confess that I prefer to get up close and personal with people. I like to look them in the eye, shake their hand and read their body language. I am a man who prefers walking into the bank, rather than punching the buttons of an ATM. I've never been able to make an ATM smile and and I think dispensing smiles is part of everyone's job description. That said, here I am, driving my creaking Amish buggy onto the information super highway. I am hoping that that some part of my personality will survive after my words are digitized into bits and bytes. I hope that I will be able to share something worthwhile with my friends and perhaps bring the occasional smile to their faces. New technology, old technology, life is about helping our fellow travelers...always was... always will be!

Thanks