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Patty's Pointer Building a web site together is like taking a cross country trip in a big RV.  We both want to drive.

BOOK REVIEW                  Aug. 25, 2006                                                                                                                   American Theocracy As most of you probably know I am a registered Republican and have supported our war in Iraq in the battle against terrorism.  I am still a supporter of our troops and know that regardless of our reason as a Nation for being in Iraq we are stuck for the long haul.  However, after reading “American Theocracy,” by Kevin Phillips I now have grave doubts about the leadership ability of George W. Bush and the Republican party.  Kevin Philips is a former Republican strategist who has been a political and economic commentator for more than three decades. His has written 13 books including the New York Times bestsellers “American Dynasty,” “The Politics of Rich and Poor,” and “ Wealth and Democracy.” The subtitle of the book is “The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century.”  Phillips clearly demonstrates that every world dominating power has been brought down by an overlapping set of problems: a foolish combination of global outreach, militant religion, diminishing resources, and ballooning debt. We went to war in Iraq not to fight terrorism, we went to war at the bequest of the oil industry and the fundamentalists who have taken over the Republican party. George W. Bush sees himself as a  religious prophet sent to fight the Muslim holy wars and to lead the world through control of the oil resources. To quote from the book, “The Bush coalition has resulted in a dearth of candor and serious strategy -a paralysis of policy and a government unable to govern.” This administration thought we could get in and out of Iraq quickly, take control of the Iraqi oil reserves and drive the Mid East Oil cartel out of business, a strategy that obviously has not worked. Bush does not believe there is a global warming problem, in spite of all the factual evidence, because he is controlled by the fundamentalist and evangelical religious leaders in this country. It is there belief that we are coming to Armageddon and the world will end before we have to deal with the global warming problem so therefore it is not a  problem.   If you are a thinking person you should read this book. It explains a lot about our current gridlock in Washington.  Phillips documents how “Wall Street and business interests closely allied with Washington have discarded the principles of sound finance that once characterized Republican fiscal policy and have literally mortgaged the country’s economic health to financial speculation, accompanied by an unprecedented level of public and private dept.”   Somewhere, be it Democrat or Republican we must find the leadership to get this Nation back on track.  It is obvious we need a change of power in Washington as our present government is a failure.

Too Hot Not To Handle  HBO  4/24/06 This was a recent HBO show about global warming.  If you missed it make sure you see it when it is repeated.  It convinced me that there is a problem. Some facts; category 4 and 5 hurricanes have increased 50% since 1970, a warming ocean contributes to this.  Pictures in Alaska taken from the same locations today and 50 years ago show dramatic shrinking of the glaciers.  What will happen by 2015?  The United states has 5% of the worlds population and adds 25% of the worlds carbon dioxide.  50% of the worlds electricity comes from burning coal which produces the most carbon dioxide for the unit of energy you get.  There are solutions including hybred cars, bio-diesel, enthonal, wind power, solar power and geothermal energy.  We need to move from a carbon based economy to a new economy.  We don't need to destroy ourselves in making ourselves comfortable.  On our current course we are taking a risk with the life support systems of the Earth.  Pope John Paul II, in his letter  "The Ecological Crisis: A Common Responsibility," said "Modern society will find no solution to the ecological problem unless it takes a serious look at its lifestyle .... An education in ecological responsibility is urgent: responsibility for oneself, for others,and for the earth.  This education cannot be rooted in mere sentiment or empty wishes.  Its purpose cannot be ideological or political.  It must not be based on a rejection of the modern world or a vague desire to return to some paradise lost."  Are you up to the challenge?

Book Review "From Strength to Strength"   An Autobiography by Sara Henderson Experience the Australian life in the outback with Sara Henderson.  From side splitting humor to tender tear drops the tales of true determination of one strong woman.   "Create a dream and give it everything you have, you could be surprised just how much you are capable of achieving, and if you don't have a dream...borrow one! Any, which way... You mush have a dream."   Sara Henderson Thank you Margaret for this gift and this adventure in Australia.                                                                        Pat T.

Another Wine Recommendation    3/13/06 Another outstanding Chardonnay, "Penfolds Rawson's Retreat" Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia, vintage 2004.  This vineyard and winery was established in 1844 by Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold.  Still fully operational, the wine is named for the original family cottage.

Global Warming  4/18/06 I am beginning to wonder what the real story is.  Is it all a hokes of the media and the politicians or is it for real?  I read recently about "Scientific America"  articles in the 1970's where scientists were claiming that the world was getting much colder and that we were going to go into a long period of freezing and expansion of the polar ice packs.  I recall reading that at the time. Now scientists are saying that because of pollution we are burning holes in the atmosphere and are going into a warming period, shrinking ice packs and a raising oceans. On our recent trip to the Great Barrier reef we did see some evidence of this warming trend but I wonder if we are making too much of this.  Maybe it is just the cyclical way of nature moving over time from cold cycles to warmer cycles.  So is global warming a problem and if so how big a problem is it?  I don't know.

Comment 24 February 2006:   Its Concrete not Cement One  of my lifetime quests is to get people to properly use the words cement and concrete. I continually read in the newspaper and books about people pouring cement, and about cement walls and cement sidewalks. It was brought to mind again today on the front page of this weeks “Carmel Pine Cone,” in a front page article about the earthquake retrofit to the Carmel firehouse.  “ Cement will soon be poured for the upstairs deck…”  It won’t do much good if that is all they do. Cement is an ingredient in concrete which also includes sand, gravel and water. We pour concrete, not cement.  I wish those who speak English and produce our media could get it right.

Entry for February 20, 2006 This is the startup day for this site.  As a retired person with many years of experience ,whose letters to the newspaper never get printed , I decided this would give me a place to be heard or at least say what I think. I am sort of turned off on the Olympics this year.  Partly because I enjoy watching golf, either in person or on TV, more than any other sporting events.  Golf is a competition between a golfer and the course.  I think the Olympic athletes that adopt that mind set do much better.  As a nation we seem to get caught up with the medal count and lose site of some of the individual efforts.  Just being in the games representing your country is a major accomplishment.  Winning any medal is the next major step and of course gold is the goal.   And if you don't get gold then you are a failure which is not  true. Then we have the US Men's hockey team who think because they are professionals they can just get together and beat the world.  They are competing with teams that have played together at least a minimum of a month or more.  Our hockey team that beat the Russians in Lake Placid had played together for at least a year.  Team sports require teamwork not individual stars. We fail to understand that  as Thomas L. Friedman said  "The World Is Flat" and we have to develop new approaches to be competitive in the flat world.  If you haven't read his book you should.   That's my ramble for today, J.T.

John's Wine Recommendation   2/23/06 I recently found a great chardonnay from Australia, “Little Boomey Chardonnay.” I am particularly fond of Australian white wines.  This one comes from the Murray valley in South Australia and sells for around $6.00 per bottle, it is outstanding. Check out www.littleboomey. com if you are interested in finding out more about this winery. J.T.

Book Recommendations 2/25/06 I have three recent books that I just finished and recommend to one and all: “The World is Flat “ by Thomas L. Friedman “The Lighthouse,” P.D.. James’ latest Adam Dalgliesh mystery. “Category 5’ by Paul Mark Tag. This last one is written by a retired meteorologist from the Naval Research Lab who lives in Monterey. It is a fast- paced thriller set in the year 2007. J.T.

My Concrete Quest Continues   Mar 27 2007 The article to the left appeared in our local paper yesterday and the following is my response to calling concrete cement. Editor Herald, In today's paper the lead headline of Section B stated "Dennis will be stuck in cement."  My first thought was if that is the case it will be simple for someone to steal the statue again. Cement does not hold much as it is one of the ingredients in concrete.   It is true we have cement blocks as that is a main ingredient in block making but as the city officials stated toward the end of the article, Dennis will be embedded in concrete.  I am a 72 year old retired civil engineer and I have been trying all my life to get people to say concrete when referring to sidewalks, walls, driveways and foundations.  It is good too have Dennis back, stuck in concrete. John Totten

"THE LOOMING TOWER, AL-QAEDA AND THE ROAD TO 9/11" by Lawrence Wright I just finished reading this excellent book and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in why some in the Muslim world hate the United States.  It is interesting to read this book today when George Tenet, the CIA Director prior to 9/11 and through our invasion of Iraq, has just published his book "At the Center of the Storm My Years in the CIA."  Some of the facts that Lawrence Wright reveals include the fact that as early as 1998  the CIA withheld information on  Osama bin Laden and Al Queda from the FBI task force on terrorism. Information that could have prevented the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center.   George Tenet should be in jail not writing books trying to explain away is ineptitude. As Wright shows through detailed evidence, Osama bin Laden is an inept religious nut whom the United States government empowered by our unquestioning support of Israel and our quest for oil at all costs in the the Mideast.  Osama's goal was to suck the US into Afghanistan and Iraq so that his guerrilla warfare could overcome us.  The Bush administration has made him a hero. The book also points out that the Clinton administration also had opportunities to destroy Al Queda and failed to do so.  But what is much worse, their is ample evidence that before and after 9-11 we knew that Saddam Hussein did not support or fund Al Queda.  Further their were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.   This book is a must read for anyone who is looking for ways to deal wisely and effectively with the continuing terrorist threat.  One wonders if we have learned anything and if the nitty-gritty turf battles among U.S. intelligence agencies still exist.  Terrorists succeed when our Government does not operate honestly and openly with the peoples of the world. John Totten, 5/7/2007

I AM SUPPORTING OBAMA for PRESIDENT                     8/8/2008                           I have given up on the Republican party and their policies of destroying our economy and violating our constitution.  George Bush is solely concerned with himself and listens to no one.   Pat and I decided we had to make a statement so last Spring we registered as Democrats  so that we could vote in the California primary and have an impact on the future.  We can't let McCain get elected as he is just a regular Republican , a champion of the rich who cares less about hard working Americans.  His current campaign is all about attacking his opponent with false claims. What does he stand for, who knows?  At least in Obama's case you can read his books and know who he is. I can't understand how any hardworking American can vote for a Republican candidate.  Thanks to the policies of Bush and company they have lost their homes, their jobs and are now paying higher food and energy prices. McCain is just a clone of Bush and will continue the same failed policies that have made us a second rate nation in the world. We need change and we need to elect Barack Obama president.  I am so fired up about this that i have volunteered with the Monterey County Democrat Organization.  I am now keeping their web site calendar up to date, see www.montereydemocrats.org  We need a president that will bring the country together and end the gridlock in Congress.  Vote for Obama in November.

Some 2008 Book Recommendations: "The Bush Tragedy," by Jacob Weisburg. A well researched insight on George Bush, his stubbornness and his lack of respect for hies father.  This book goes a long way to explain why he has destroyed our nation. "The Audacity of Hope," by Barack Obama.  Raed this book and you will understand what he intends to do when he becomes President. "Dreams of My Father," by Barack Obama.  Gives you a great insight on the man and his beliefs. "City of Fallen Angels," by John Berendt, he author of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'" Set in Venice the story opens on the evening of January 29, 1996 when the Fenice opera house was destroyed by fire. It is a work of non fiction that explores the nature of life in Venice while gradually revealing the truth about the fire.