NFL Quiz: Who holds the record for most points in a single
season? Answer below.
Why I Dislike Cindy Williams
Actually, I have never met Cindy Williams. She is a research
fellow at MIT and a former assistant director for national security
at the Congressional Budget Office from ”94 to ”97. So I”m
reading the Washington Post on Wednesday and Ms. Williams has
penned an article in which she says that U.S. military personnel,
which are receiving a 4.8% pay raise this month, are already paid
enough. She bemoans the fact some in Congress are already
asking that the soldiers receive more. Well, Ms. Williams, if I
was in Congress I”d be one of those clamoring for as much as I
could get for our brave men and women. You, my dear,
are…well, let”s just say you”re way out of line.
Williams writes that wage data show that our troops typically
earn more than 75% of civilians with similar levels of education
and experience. After 4 months in the Army, an 18-year-old
private earns about $21,000 a year in pay and allowance. In
addition, Williams says he or she gets a tax advantage worth
about $800, because some of the allowances are not taxed (oh
boy). That works out to a whopping $10 an hour! What the hell
is she complaining about?
“A broadcast technician or communications equipment mechanic
might earn $20,000 to start but typically needs a year or two of
technical college.” Yeah, so what the heck does that have to do
with our Army private?
“A master sergeant with 20 years in the Marine Corps typically
earns more than $50,000 a year – better than a senior municipal
firefighter or a police officer.”
Williams also says that the Army”s current recruiting problem can
be improved by pumping up advertising, adding recruiters and
better focusing their efforts and expanding enlistment bonuses and
college programs. Yeah, Cindy, it”s just that simple. We”re
talking the Army here, you ignorant fool!! They are supposed to
be our nation”s finest and we expect nothing less than the best
from them. After all, we often ask them to make the ultimate
sacrifice. Oh hell, there is so much more I could write. But it”s
time to move on…
Grozny and Stalingrad
The other day I was watching a report on the action from Grozny
when the reporter compared the current action, where the
Chechens are putting up stiff resistance, to the action in the
climatic World War II Battle of Stalingrad. So, briefly, let”s go
over the facts about Stalingrad, the largest single battle in world
history.
The Nazis had launched their invasion of the USSR on June 22,
1941. The Soviets suffered an initial disaster with major cities
like Kiev falling in the first few months of the onslaught. By
November, the Wehrmacht was at the foot of Moscow. Stalin
needed help so he reopened the Orthodox churches which he had
all but annihilated, and appealed like Lenin before him for the
defense of Holy Russia.
At the start of 1942, Hitler decided to go after the oil-rich
Transcaucasin region. ”Operation Blue” began in the spring and
by mid-July the Germans were driving for Stalingrad. After just
two weeks of shelling, bombing, and bloody street fighting, the
Germans were in possession of most of the city. The Soviets,
however, had no intention of capitulating and the Germans had
failed to notice that in their haste to take the city, they were
entering the head of a noose.
Day after day, Russian Marshal Zhukov and his forces inched
round the German flanks, until, in one sudden movement, the
German General von Paulus saw his forces surrounded.
On November 19, the Soviets counter-attacked (”Operation
Uranus”), penetrating the German army from both north and
south. Now, suddenly, it was von Paulus who was besieged.
It was at this point that Hitler made his most grievous mistake.
Instead of having von Paulus attempt a breakout, and a strategic
retreat to fight another day, Hitler ordered him to hold his
ground. The expectation was that Field Marshal Manstein”s relief
columns would rescue von Paulus. But as the temperatures fell,
so did the reserves of food and ammunition. The Luftwaffe”s
attempt to supply Paulus” forces by air failed and Manstein never
made it. Hitler insisted that his troops fight to the last man.
Finally, on January 31, 1943, Paulus and the remnants of his army
surrendered. The best projections are that 200,000 Germans lost
their lives with another 100,000 taken prisoner. Russian
estimates of the number killed run in excess of 500,000. One
reputable source I read said a total of 1 million soldiers and
civilians died between Aug. ”42 and Feb. ”43. It”s simply
unfathomable.
News of Stalingrad flashed around the world. The Nazis were
not invincible after all. The anti-Nazi resistance was given heart.
*So today, it”s the Chechens who are playing the role of the
Soviets in the battle for the capitol of Grozny. They are using
their small forces to the highest effect by massing their troops in
selected areas, surrounding the Russian detachments, and then
creating killing fields. They are also making end runs to the rear
of the Russian forces and attacking the exposed outer ranks,
creating massive chaos as this is where the field hospitals are.
The Russian army is becoming demoralized, the same problem
they had during the ”94-”96 war. Of course, all of this can change
quickly.
[Sources: “Europe: A History,” by Norman Davies; “Russia: A
History,” by Gregory Freeze]
Weasels
Gather round, folks, to hear the tale of the weasel family,
specifically it”s scariest member, as we once again peruse Len
McDougall”s “The Complete Tracker.”
The weasel family is a diverse group of animals whose members
include such unlikely relatives as skunks, otters, badgers and
wolverines. All are mostly carnivorous. The most infamous is
the gulo gulo, or…the wolverine.
Weighing 18-42 pounds, the scientific name for wolverine means
“glutton,” for its insatiable appetite. Trappers also hated
wolverines for their cunning in stealing bait from traps – even
traps meant for them – without getting caught. They also have
the habit of eating already-trapped animals, “marking anything
they couldn”t eat with foul-smelling urine that not only destroyed
the pelt but also made it necessary to boil every tainted trap
before it could be used again.” Sorry, but that”s what they do!
At this point in the tale, it”s necessary to talk about our author,
McDougall. Here”s one of his personal accounts.
“When I was a boy and camped alone in the deep woods of
northern Michigan, I can recall spending an anxious night after
hearing on my transistor radio that local conservation officers had
reported a pair of mating wolverines headed in my general
direction.” Now, first off, I don”t think I want to know
McDougall that well. Anyone who goes camping by themselves
as a little boy is rather weird. Second, I”m having trouble
picturing two mating wolverines making much headway, let alone
having time to stop for a beer with some conservation officers.
Anyway, a single adult wolverine requires up to 1,000 square
miles of undisturbed wilderness in which to live (thus ruling out
Hoboken, NJ – the “Mile Square City.”) It has a ferocious
willingness to fight that”s unmatched among North American
animals. It has been known to take kills away from brown bears.
And a 40-pound wolverine can kill a moose (30 times larger).
[This can take place in deep snow where the moose may find the
going slow while the wolverine is able to kind of glide on top of
the snow because of the distribution of its weight.]
The wolverine is also a true dirtball (after all, it is a weasel). He
mates for a few days (perhaps at Club Wolverine), then goes off
to find a new mate, taking no part in the rearing process.
Wolverine young stay with their mother for two years,
incidentally, which McDougall points out displays just how
intelligent these creatures are.
Gene Simmons…on the political campaign
Thanks to Dan L., a notable KISS fan, for passing this tidbit
along. “Entertainment Weekly” recently asked Gene Simmons of
KISS his thoughts on the presidential campaign.
EW: “Who would look better in KISS makeup: George W. or Al
Gore?”
Simmons: “Bush would look good in Peter Criss makeup. Gore
has the pouting thing going, so he”d probably look good in Paul
Stanley makeup. Clinton would look good in Gene Simmons
makeup, because he”s a whore like me.”
Top 3 songs for the week of 1/10/70: #1 “Raindrops Keep Fallin”
On My Head” (B.J. Thomas) #2 “Someday We”ll Be Together”
(Diana Ross & The Supremes) #3 “Leaving On A Jet Plane”
(Peter, Paul & Mary).
Quiz Answer: Most points in a season – Paul Hornung, 176,
1960. 13 rushing TDs, 2 receiving TDs, 15-28 FGs, 41-41 XPs.
“THE SOPRANOS,” SUNDAY!! I am so psyched!
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
