Midnight Nookyman

I have just finished reading a story in the local newspaper about a wife who stopped sleeping in the same bed with her husband of fifty years. The 69-year-old woman said she decided to move to another bedroom because her 77-year-old husband kept waking her up in the middle of the night wanting sex. She said, “Look! After fifty years of marriage and sex, I think I have done my duty.”

When asked if he missed his wife’s company in his bed, the husband said, “No -- just the nooky."

Now I ask you: What kind of fifty-year marriage was that?

The wife thought of sex as a marital duty, and the inconsiderate, sex-obsessed husband deprived his wife of her sleep in order to satisfy his needs.

Remembering a Happy-Headed Ho

The millions of Americans who visited Hawaii over the past 44 years were often entertained by Don Ho, who was up until recently performing in the Don Ho Show at the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel. He died last Saturday in Honolulu at the age of 76. Those who attended the show were guaranteed a night filled with laughter and song and enough memories to last a lifetime as they listened to Don croon, play the organ, give Hawaiian cultural lessons, and invite audience members on stage to participate in the fun.

Don Ho’s most famous song , introduced in 1966, was “Tiny Bubbles.” He became so popular and beloved over the years as a music legend that he eventually became known as the “King of Waikiki.” Some of the older bloggers on Blogstream will remember when he hosted The Don Ho Show (1976–1977) on ABC, and had cameo roles on such TV shows as The Brady Bunch, Charlie's Angels, Batman, and I Dream of Jeannie.

Don came from a family of entertainers, and still has relatives who are in show business in Vietnam.

He was a good Ho.

Why the United Sates Cannot Win in Iraq

The Peever from the blog titled “Leave It to Peever” has requested that Blogstream bloggers post something on Monday, April 16th that indicates their disapproval of the war in Iraq. As a way of supporting the Peever’s request, I am using this post that I wrote last year, with an updated introduction.

(When the Iraq Study Group report came out in December 2006, among the recommendations was that the United States should begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, followed by talks with Syria and Iran on stabilizing the region. President Bush chose not to follow the recommendations of that panel and instead ordered an increase in the number of troops in Iraq. Apparently, he still operates under the illusion of “winning” the war in Iraq. This post attempts to explain why winning that war will prove to be impossible).

Some of the information in this post has been gathered from an article written by military historian William Lind, Director for the Center for Cultural Conservatism at the Free Congress Foundation. He has also written many articles on military strategy and war. In essence, the article maintains that the United States will not be successful in winning the war in Iraq by “staying the course.” Let us now dwell upon the reasons he offers for that view.

William Lind states that warfare has gone through four generations from about 1650 to the present:

First Generation (1650-1850): Gather troops and weapons into an orderly formation and attempt to overwhelm the enemy with superior manpower and weaponry.

Second Generation (1916-1930’s): At the beginning of the war, First Generation warfare was employed, but technological advances in weaponry (machine guns, heavy artillery, tanks) made First Generation mass formations of troops and weaponry, as well as frontal assaults obsolete and “suicidal.”

Third Generation (Late 1930s--first employed and perfected by the German army): “Blitzkrieg” (lightning warfare) depended on speed, surprise, and maneuverability.

Fourth Generation(1960s-Present): Wars are fought between troops sponsored by a nation or nations and “non-state” terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah, or a sub-national group such as the Taliban. The United States so far has met defeat in Vietnam, Lebanon, and Somalia by these groups.

When the United States sent forces into Iraq in 2003, we used Third Generation warfare (“shock and awe”) in a kind of blitzkrieg to quickly defeat Saddam’s forces with great success. But now, just as in Vietnam, Lebanon, and Somalia, we are bogged down in our attempt to use Third Generation tactics to defeat those groups that use Fourth Generation weapons and tactics against us.

We still talk about “victory” and “staying the course” in Iraq, as though we are still fighting another nation. We even have trouble finding an enemy to fight; and when we kill members of their groups, they are quickly replaced by other recruits who are only too willing to die for Allah.

An American soldier, when asked who the enemy is replied, “It’s hard to say - the enemy can be any one of them at any time.” Since our troops can be attacked at any place and at any time, they are always on the defensive.

Fourth Generation Strategy and Tactics (used by our enemy in Iraq):

Don’t attempt to defeat any enemy who is better trained and equipped by engaging them in battle; instead, weaken the enemy by entangling him.

Use IED’s (improvised explosive devices) against the enemy. This tactic has been very successful against U.S. troops, accounting for two of every three battle deaths.

Don’t fear death. Allah will give you 72 virgins and permanent residence in Paradise for dying in His name.

Counter the effects of the “shock and awe” of the enemy’s weapons.

Use inexpensive, improvised “low tech” weapons against the enemy’s expensive, “high-tech” weapons.

I might add that we used “smart bombs," a Third Generation kind of warfare against al-Qaeda, only after they used smart people who used our own commercial aircraft against us, a Fourth Generation kind of warfare, in the very successful attack on the Twin Towers in New York.

According to military historian William Lind, we say that we must “stay the course,” but we are fighting an enemy who can outlast us - physically, mentally and, in the view of the enemy, morally. They believe Allah is on their side. Even Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said recently that it might take ten or more years to “win” the war. Some other military leaders have said it could require between thirty and thirty-five years to conclude the fighting.

We and the enemy operate with a different concept of time. We operate in a secular world where what happens over time can have an effect on our economy, upcoming elections and such. They operate on “Allah’s time.” They don't have to win. They believe the effect of continued stalemate, troop loss, and expense will eventually lead to the withdrawal of our troops.

In other words, if they don’t prevail today, they will prevail tomorrow.

FOOTNOTE (April 16, 2007):

The United States in 2007 is still preparing for a war with the Soviet Union, which no longer exists. We are spending nearly a half-trillion dollars every year on an army equipped with super-modern tanks, new fighter jets, new models of bombers, smart bombs and missiles; and yet we are meeting defeat once again, this time in Iraq against insurgents armed with $50 weapons. We have the best armed forces in the world when pitted against another nation's armed forces. But in an "asymmetrical war" in which the enemy makes an attack on our troops and then retreats into the general population, there is no enemy to pursue. That is the reality of the war on the ground in Iraq today.

In 1970, the United States had 543,000 troops in Vietnam and still lost the war to an enemy employing Fourth Generation warfare against the most modern and best-equipped army the world had ever seen. Do you think adding 20,000 more troops to the 140,000 already there will "win" the war in Iraq?

Just Horsing Around

A couple of days ago, my wife and I were invited to a different kind of birthday party. It was the annual birthday party for a horse that had nineteen candles on her birthday carrot cake. She is a purebred Appaloosa, a show horse belonging to a friend of ours. Our friend also owns two large mixed breed dogs.

The birthday party was held in a large, latticed room some distance from the main house and was decorated for the festivities. When we first arrived at the party, the dogs greeted us by engaging in a wrestling match with each other. They are the best of friends and remind us of a couple of kids who like to show off for the guests. After a few minutes of witnessing the wrestling match, we applauded the dogs and then went down to the party.

The Appaloosa (named “Boomer“) knew that something special was going on, and of her own accord strolled over to the lattice house where she was led in, all decked out with a big, red ribbon on her tail. Her owner had prepared a large pail filled with cutup apples and carrots, which Boomer went to immediately and began feasting. After finishing that treat, she was then given another pail, in which her favorite meal of Oatmo (a mixture of oats and molasses) was filled to the brim.

While Boomer was eating her meal, her owner brought out a large pizza and beverages for us to feast on. After we all got a big slice of pizza and a drink, Boomer suddenly decided that she might like pizza more than Oatmo. You might ask what a 1400 pound Appaloosa eats at a birthday party. Well, the answer is anything it wants. Suddenly, the huge head of this animal was within inches of my meal when both my meal and I were rescued by the owner, who led Boomer out of the lattice house with some more carrots.

It was a fun party. The horse apparently thinks she is a lapdog, albeit a 1400 pound lapdog. We sat around and chatted, and soon Boomer returned to the lattice house, unlatched the door on her own, and poked her head inside. Her owner said that the horse would try to inch her way back into the room, which she subsequently did, much to our amusement. Then we brought out the birthday carrot cake, sang “Happy Birthday” to her, and read the message on her birthday card to her. Her owner then apologized to us for Boomer’s poor party manners as the horse started to eat the birthday card. At that point, one of the two dogs, in a fit of jealousy over Boomer getting so much attention, tried to nip her on one of her forelegs. That had never happened before, so the dog’s owner really scolded him for his misbehavior.

After the party was over, Boomer’s owner led her back to a sunny area near her stall, where we took birthday party pictures. All in all, it was a fun afternoon of just horsing around.

Appreciating the Role of the Arts in Education

When students in public schools are asked what their favorite subjects are, the first picks for so many are art, music, theater arts, and creative writing. When school board members facing a financial crisis in spending are asked what their favorite subjects are for cutting out of the curriculum, their first picks are art, music, theater arts, and creative writing.

A recent ABC news report states that “31 percent of American students are dropping out or failing to graduate in the nation's largest 100 public school districts.” The same report said that it is estimated that about 2,500 students drop out of U.S. high schools every day. Among the nation's 50 largest districts... three graduate fewer than 40%: Detroit (21.7%), Baltimore (38.5%) and New York City (38.9%). In June of 2006, USA Today reported that when asked why they are dropping out of school, students often reply that it is because their classes are boring.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, students drop out of school for the following reasons:

* Dislike of school;
* Low academic achievement;
* Retention at grade level;
* A sense that teachers and administrators do not care about students; and
* Inability to feel comfortable in a large, depersonalized school setting (1999).

Despite research that reveals the invaluable benefits of creative learning, arts programs continue to be considered irrelevant and are first to be cut in most school districts. Thus, the students who are not scholastically talented, but excel in subjects where special talents in the arts can be developed, are left behind. Another problem emerges when fewer potential teachers specialize in the arts because of the fear of being unemployed when cuts are made.

As one who was a member of the school band where I attended high school, I can vouch for the skills, knowledge and behaviors that I developed in the band that assisted me in becoming a successful adult. I learned to follow directions, to improve my skill as a musician by disciplined practice, to cooperate with others in playing a composition, to march in intricate formations while playing an instrument, to develop friendships with fellow band members, to experience the pleasure and excitement of traveling to distant cities for participation in band festivals, and to feel pride in our band, our school spirit, and the sense of belonging to a community. The thought of dropping out of school never would have occurred to me. Had I dropped out of school, I would not have been able to remain in the band.

I was in a school play where I developed my language skills, reading skills, writing skills, verbal skills, and interpersonal skills. I felt the pleasure in performing in front of an audience. I developed emotionally and socially so that I was prepared to deal with school, life, and other people. Students in the creative drama and theater classes are offered an opportunity to develop their creativity in these areas. Many of the students in arts classes end up improving their overall academic performance and transform their learning environments. Finally, educational research has concluded that creative learning and arts programs have a positive impact on students’ cognitive development, confidence, and motivation.

The arts are more than just a feel-good exercise. They nurture us intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually as they help us grow and feel a sense of community. Used in conjunction with core academic subjects, they can not only foster learning, they can provide alternate avenues for education for students with learning challenges. And so many of those are the students who are dropping out of high school before graduation.

High school should be more than just a place where students have information pumped into them and then on cue are expected to regurgitate that information on multiple-choice tests. So many important aspects of a student’s education cannot be reduced to measurement by filling in circles on a multiple-choice test. High school should be a place where students develop their knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation, confidence, interpersonal relations, and perhaps most important of all , the feeling of pleasure and accomplishment that comes from being involved in a creative endeavor.