I suspect Memorial Day at the end of the month will be a little more patriotic following the successful Navy SEALS operation and bin Laden's demise. President Obama, the Intelligence Services and our military deserve high praise.
The President made the right choice in not releasing the gory death photos. A release would have been like throwing gasoline on a fire. His approach was intelligent and professional.
Besides there no reason to view and gawk; there's plenty of violence in our culture, from games, to movies and television. Bin Laden, like all of us, at least in the Christian viewpoint, was still born as a man in God's Image and Likeness; what sense is there in demeaning a dead body?
As for what happens next, we need to remain vigilant and prayerful. The SEALS were able to seize valuable information from the garbage strewn “mansion”.
And an additional word of caution: do not open any emails which claim to be
photographs of bin Ladan dead. They very well could contain a nasty virus which will obtain much of your personal and private information. The warning comes from the FBI.
Some Native Americans were rightfully upset with use of
Geronimo . Hopefully, a lesson was learned.
While the Native American concerns represent a serious issue, the political debate over who should get mre credit Bush 43 or the President, sounds like grade school playground nonsense. Let's face it; Obama changed the course of action from Iraq to Afganastan and the ultimate elimination of the world's most wanted terrorist.
Now perhaps, the end of two very costly wars is somewhat closer.
Spring
Where are you? At least we had two nice days lately and I was able to overturn a raised bed for the onion. But the ground is still to soupy to plant. However, the weather forecasts are indicating warmer and drier weather for the upcoming week. Peas and lettuce will be the next adventure; the tomatoes inside are doing nicely but peppers need to get into flats.
Beware A Word of Caution – the weather is perfect for the appearance of late tomato blight which has already made an early appearance in some areas such as
North Carolina . If purchasing plants, shop at a reputable garden center or grow your own.
There are
several products available to spray on the plants (the late blight can also devastate potatoes). But the sprays need to be frequent and a spray program needs to be in place before the blight arrives. Even after a rainstorm, the spray should be used.
There are claims that a baking powder spray as well as manure tea sprays are effective.
Yard Clean-Up
Winter brought down numerous branches and even trees; it is making for some harder than usual clean up efforts. There is no sense to hauling the debris to a landfill or paying to have it hauled away. Think about building a
brush pile somewhere on the property. It is a project that can be done despite the soggy conditions.
There are many benefits. It provides an area of protection for small animals such as chipmunks, and rabbits, some birds will also nest or seek protection in a brush pile. It also can become a good habitat area for insects.
The brush pile doesn't have to look like a messy pile of old sticks. A few vines crops can be planted around the pile (if there is enough sunlight morning glory seeds can be used effectively) or other native wildflowers can be used.
Marcellus Politics and Money
Certainly, the
large deposits of Marcellus gas underneath Pennsylvania are an economic resources for many workers. However, Pennsylvania still has not taxed the drilling companies similar to every other state. Instead, to help ease the economic hard times of the Great Recession, Republican Gov. Corbett, has decided to cut
funding for many programs, including health insurance and education funding despite huge profits made by the tax exempt industry. Many politicians are also enjoying the bonanza and getting some large contributions which can be viewed at
MarcellusMoney.Org There been many other problems concerning
public safety issues and water quality. PennEnviroment and other groups are concerned about the short 200 foot distance between
schools, hospitals and nursing homes. Fracking is a dangerous process and there have been explosions and underground water has been seriously contaminated by the toxic chemicals used in the process.
In another twist, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will now allow some wells on ou
r public state game lands , unless it is deemed the area is environmentally sensitive. Sorry, hunters. Gas first.
In one of the latest developments, gas drillers are allowed to drill in
historic burial sites and ancient villages used by the Native Americans. Whatever clues which could be discovered about our past and insights into the future, are being quickly destroyed for mere profit.
It is a weird situation in Pennsylvania nowadays; citizens are asked to bow and worship and pay more money to the new “oil barons”.
For the Heck of It:
Get ready for the next doomsday scenario. Coming in November, from the
Toronto Star .
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