Salutations

There was a flap recently about Obama saluting while holding a coffee cup. Of course, he usually salutes properly, and pictures quickly surfaced of Bush Jr. trying to salute while holding his dog, and in other not-up-to-snuff methods.  I'd give them both a pass. Presidents are pretty busy, see the military a lot, and aren't required to salute anyway. Reagan started it, but he was an actor and probably did it mostly for appearances. (He was in the military... as an actor.)

I have extreme respect for what those serving do and have done. My brother was in the Army. My dad was too, and later worked for DOD. His dad was a Marine in WW1. My uncle and grandfather on the other side were in the Navy. I work with a guy who was a KC-135 crew chief.  I've always been around people who were vets.

I only wish conservative politicians had the same respect. I watched troops go into Iraq with inappropriate camouflage, insufficient armor, and nonexistent training and planning for the occupation. Those omissions showed Bush's complete lack of regard for the troops.

The issue here isn't really respect for the military. Conservative outrage was based on a lack of common sense and historical perspective. As with many other issues, they pull something out of context and pretend it means more than it does. Mental gymnastics trying to prove the doggie salute is proper while the coffee salute is not (while plenty of pictures show both Obama and Bush saluting properly too) only reinforce the point that conservatives are hypocrites.

I don't mind conversations with people who have different political views.  In fact, I enjoy them when the other person is well-informed and thoughtful; it can be educational, and maybe even make me change my mind.  What bothers me is ignorance (particularly my pet peeve, willful ignorance.)

Know your history.  Know the facts, and background, of what you're talking about.  Don't twist things.  Don't come to conclusions based on inadequate evidence, then get all pissy when people call you out (and when they don't come to the same conclusions, since your conclusions are not based on facts.)  Don't tell me some regurgitated crap from Fox which is the basis of your position. Start from reality.   Let's talk about actual issues.  Let's have an adult conversation about real things.

With just a bit of humor

Watching the skies

One of my first memories is of my dad taking me to the local airport and getting me a ride on a plane, at age 4.  I have vivid, visual, emotional memories of that. Probably before that, and definitely ever since, I've been interested in aviation. I worked in the industry for awhile, mainly as an aircraft fueller. I have my license, though I haven't flown in years.  Life intervened, and flying got more expensive.  I am interested in the history, the technology, the people, you name it.  I read, I go to museums, I fly when I can.  We live under the pattern for a major airport, so I spend some time looking up whenever I'm in the yard.  I have banned myself from having a sunroof because in the car I would be looking up as much as ahead (and Miss Mox wants my eyes on the road.)

I know quite a bit about planes, and the aviation industry.  Can't really call myself an expert, but I am a fairly well-informed amateur.  (I can't call myself an expert for two reasons: because I know how much I don't know, and because some people think experts are automatically biased and untrustworthy; they think it's better to listen to uninformed idiots.  These anti-intellectuals are often known by the slang term “conservatives.”) I follow news when it relates to aviation.  And lately there have been several stories that have made me shake my head.  I understand some peoples' fear of flying, and of planes after 9/11.  But so many twist their misunderstandings into pure silliness.  Under-research and overreact.

A couple of weeks ago there were “eyewitness” reports that some planes at the Tripoli airport disappeared around the time militants took it over.  The first report I saw said they had "stolen" the planes. Not really accurate; captured might be right.  The reports also said "commercial planes," which to most people implies airliners.  But the pictures showed fighters on a business jet, and destroyed airliners, neither of which would be very useful for malevolent acts.  Turns out some of the other planes left before the attacks, which is documented.  Many of the details were wrong, or sketchy, and yet people jumped to the conclusion that we were about to be attacked with airliners again, as on 9/11.  And of course some leapt to blame Obama, because why not?  Let's make political hay out of something we don't understand.  Fret and fulminate over what turns out to be not much of anything.

"Stealing" 11 airliners, or even business jets, is a big deal, if it happened.  And it would be an incredibly complicated undertaking.  Even if they were spirited away, it would still be hard to use them for attacks, particularly across an ocean in the U.S. (in Europe, it would be a bit easier.)  Many of those planes can only be fueled single-point, which requires special equipment.  Long runways are also needed.  People would notice.  I'm not saying an attack couldn't happen.  Just that it's extremely unlikely, because it'd be hard to pull off.  Plus, we tend to look back (hey, it's cool, I'm a history buff after all) and to think that what happened before will happen again, to “fight the last war.”  We can learn lessons from the past, of course.  But too often while we're planning to deal with what happened before, something new happens.  We need to learn from the past, and think ahead.  And we're not always good at either of those things...

Then there was the flap over the FAA banning flights to Tel Aviv.  There had been fighting in the vicinity, and rockets very close by.  After the Malaysian airliner was shot down the week before over Ukraine, most people were focused on air safety in war zones.  So, the FAA banned U.S. airlines from flying to Tel Aviv.  (They, and other aviation authorities, should have been more proactive about bans in Ukraine and other places; if they had been, maybe MH17 wouldn't have been shot down.)  Immediately Ted Cruz, known doofus, said that the ban was an attempt to punish Israel.  Wait, what?  This idiot knows, and cares, nothing about aviation safety.  He was just trying to score points against the president.  Other conservatives leapt on the bandwagon, and I had conversations with people who agreed with them.  With no knowledge of aviation, with no concern for passengers, they made wild accusations and spouted conspiracy theories. “Obama hates Israel!”  Not true, but why let facts get in the way?  “He's trying to hurt Israel's tourism trade!” Um, few tourists were going there just then and most airlines were cancelling flights to Tel Aviv anyway because, duh, there was a war on.  And of course Israel wasn't singled out- there were bans on U.S. airline flights over Iraq and Syria, those eternal holiday destinations...  “Kerry flew in, which proves it was safe!”  Uh, no.  Diplomats fly into war zones all the time, to try to end the wars.  Foreign service is a dangerous job.

Their political pressure got the ban lifted within a few days (which they perversely took as a sign that they were right about the reason for the ban.)  They wore their ignorance of aviation, of diplomacy, of the world in general as a badge of pride.

Not everything is a conspiracy.  Most things are just real life- complicated, mundane, confusing, etc.  Strange lights in the sky don't equate to alien abductions.  Planes "disappearing," even if true, does not equate to "flying them into buildings."  Those are ridiculous leaps of logic.  In both cases, leaps made most often by conservatives, who tend to be fearful of things they don't understand.  Which means most things, since there is so much they don't understand...

Banking, or leaning, left...

Weekend Getaway

After two years of blogging, I went to my first blogging conference last weekend.  Even though Miss Mox has been doing this for far longer, it was her first too.  And it was great.  Educational, fun, relaxing... We didn't want to leave.

It was at Cedar Point, which I assume everyone has heard of- but it's a big amusement park, if you haven't.  When I was a kid we lived pretty close, so we went fairly often.  All kinds of rides, shows, little things to do.  Expensive, of course, because once you're on the midway and your kid wants something to eat, those french fries will cost you.  Sometimes we packed lunch (there was an area out front to leave your cooler at a picnic table.)  I'd been a few times as an adult when my employer would buy out the park for an employee day.  That was great, because it reduced the crowds.  Still some expense for food and parking, but not too bad.

This time, we got in free.  When I think about it, going for the conference was almost free, because for our registration we got not only a day and a half of seminars, and a goodie bag, but 3 days of free park tickets and parking, a hotel discount, gift cards for restaurants, and other freebies.  So, yeah, it was worth it in several ways.  Paying full price would not be worth it, because I don't ride the rides anymore.  I used to love rollercoasters; I'd get off and get right back in line.  Nowadays, getting thrown around like that makes my neck and back hurt for days.  But this way, for essentially the price of a hotel room, we got to enjoy the milder side of Cedar Point.  The museum (of course,) some entertainment (they were having Halloween events,) peoplewatching (wow,) and just hanging out with my sweetie.

The hotel we stayed in has been there for more than a hundred years.  It's due for an updating, which it is getting.  The only real negative was the wifi.  You would think it would be great at a blogging conference.  It wasn't.  The free version was so slow it was unusable, and the faster (one hopes) version was $10/day.  Nope.  No thanks.

Oh, the conference?  You mean, the reason we went?  It was great.  It was geared toward "mommy bloggers" which neither of us are, but there were lessons for anyone who wants to blog.  Photography, ads, legal issues, travel, etc.  All with good speakers, in a nice setting.  It wasn't huge- someone said a couple of hundred attendees- so I wasn't overwhelmed.  A nice intro to blogging conferences; I'm sure there will be more.

It was a great weekend.  Of course, what really made it was going with my roadtrip companion, my partner in crime, the love of my life.  The fun, the frustrations, the socializing- all of it was made better by Miss Mox.

Pictured with the man who stole her heart for the weekend

Disclaimer: Yes, I got free stuff for going.  No, it didn't influence what I said.  No, I'm not going to start reviewing stuff for money.  I do it for free other places.  I say what I think.

Looking back, looking forward

History is in my blood.  Literally.  And in the blood of everyone.  I'm interested in history in terms of world events, and in peoples' individual histories, and in mine.  Also, I've done a little research into my family history, building on what my grandfather did, and collecting stories from others.  I made up a family tree, not going too far back.  I have a pretty good idea where my ancestors came from.  But there are plenty of holes, and I'm curious.  Sometimes family recollections can be inaccurate, too.  There's a story that we have some Cherokee on my mom's side, but lots of families have those stories and I have found no evidence.

I've been told I look Puerto Rican, Italian, even Chinese and Black (those last two kinda threw me.  I mean, I squint when I smile, and I tan well, but still...)  I'm sure I'm half Slovak, on dad's side.  Mom's side is a mix of German and English.  I sometimes say I'm hillbilly on both sides- southern Ohio and eastern Europe.

I recently signed up on Ancestry.com.  I've learned a little bit.  Really haven't gotten any farther back on my dad's side than I already knew- my great-grandparents all came from Slovakia, and maybe I need to go there to do more research.  On mom's side quite a bit has come up.  I'm back to my great-great-great-great-great-grandparents along one line, and finding more and more relatives.  There were some big families back then, and repeated marriages, and slightly unusual names.

I'll keep poking around, and hopefully learning more.  I sent for a DNA test, which I'm assuming will tell me I'm mainly northern European.  But who knows, there could be some surprises.  Plus, they don't just claim to tell you what area your ancestors came from.  They have a big enough database now that they can suggest other people on Ancestry.com who you might be related to.  There is always a degree of error, but then, there are often guesses in family trees too- it's hard to be sure the record you're looking at is actually your ancestor, especially if they have a common name.

My emotions have been up and down during all this.  At first, I was a bit melancholy, thinking of all the people in my family who are gone.  Wondering what my brother would be doing right now.  Wishing Miss Mox could have met my dad and grandparents.  I miss them.  But then, finding out more about yourself (and history in general) is always fun for me.  Plus, Miss Mox and I are starting to combine our family trees, and I've learned a lot about her family.

History is not just dates.  It's stories, it's people, it's our collective and individual pasts.  It's in us, and around us.  

The oldest family picture I have, my maternal great-great-great-grandmother.  I remember this picture hanging in the hall at my grandparents' house.

Take A Cold Shower

People will find something to bitch about no matter what.  I've seen some negative comments about the ALS ice bucket challenge, and you know, I do think it's a little silly and a publicity stunt, of sorts.  So I can understand a little skepticism.  It's for a good cause, though, so Miss Mox and I did it, and we're donating money.  It raises money, and awareness, for a disease that's often forgotten about. I remember hearing about ALS as a kid (as Lou Gehrig's disease,) and I assumed it was under control by now, even curable.  I was surprised recently to see how little money they were getting.

There are two aspects of opposition that I've seen.  One is "oh, they don't spend much on research and helping people."  But they actually do.  Salaries are a very small percentage of their budget, and probably now are even less since donations have increased by such a huge amount.

The other thing is, "we're wasting so much water on this."  Um, okay.  Yes, a little.  I used about a gallon; others use more.  And we do need to be careful with it, and there are places in the world that are desperately short of water.  How is my using a gallon of tap water in Ohio hurting anyone anywhere else?  Can I ship it to California?  Someone said "jeez, people in Detroit have water issues and this is such a waste."  Well, of course that's a different issue entirely.  But I still can't send them my water.  Everyone has to make compromises in their life.  I felt a gallon for a little awareness was a good trade.  I conserve water in general around the house, and we have a rain barrel for the garden.  I drive a very fuel-efficient car, try not to waste electricity, etc.  I could always do more.  So could everyone else.  We use lots of ice in this country at summer cookouts, and we water the heck out of flower beds.  I suspect some of these people whining about people needing water (that my water will not help with anyway) take long showers and drive SUVs.  So, please, take a close look at yourself before scolding others, especially when they're doing something to help people.

I've donated money for clean water initiatives; I want to help people in dry regions. But when you try tell me to look at the big picture, open your eyes a bit wider.  Be aware and realistic.  Put things in perspective.  I challenge you to look at your own wastefulness, and at how much all charities spend on helping people. These are all good things to think and talk about.