Posted on 09/11/2001 4:22:34 AM PDT by Chairman_December_19th_Society
...looking for some information about the activities of the SeaBees here in the South Pacific during WWII. Specifically, I would like to know if the tale which Michener relates in Chapter 14 (Airstrip at Konora) of Tales of the South Pacific concerning the use of live coral is factual. Michener writes that live coral was dredge out of the sea and used as paving material for the runways. The thought was that, if sprayed daily with copious amounts of sea water, the coral would grow together and fill the interstices that develop. Is this story based on an actual runway and on which islands was this technique used?
Personally, I don't know the answer to that, though I know some of the runways used in the south Pacific were indeed made of coral. Does anyone else have any info?
I refuse to believe that.
The President is in Sarasota today.
I'm into government, history (post-Napoleonic), law, and meteorology. Engineering is far from my forte.
The news as reported in The Washington Times:
[Note – All links go to The Washington Times’ website.]
1. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has ordered Pentagon staff cut by 15% next year.
[Glad I’m not working there!]
( Pentagon staff to be cut 15 percent )
2. Russian military aircraft harass American military airplanes over the Pacific.
[I’m not convinced the Russians are our friends either. Just because they changed governments doesn’t necessarily mean their foreign policy has changed.]
( Russian warplanes harass U.S. craft over Pacific )
3. Arabs are upset with President Bush’s pro-Israeli stance.
[Oh well.]
( Bush 'tilt' to Israel provokes Arab world )
4. Demonflops are showing that in a sinking ship, rats jump. Increasingly, members of the demonflop party are bucking their leadership and proposing tax cuts – tax cuts deeper than even Republicans are suggesting.
[Keeping one’s job is a powerful motivator.]
( Democrats upstage Republicans on tax cuts )
5. Black leaders are calling the United States’ performance at the UN Conference on Racism – the US walked out – a debacle for the Bush Administration.
[On the contrary, it was a shining moment. The United States refused to be bullied by a UN conference.]
( Black leaders see Bush 'debacle' )
6. The Redskins, after an ugly loss last Sunday which included a benched quarterback and a fired player, are looking for some answers.
[Here’s one: GET THE BALL IN THE ENDZONE!]
( Lowly Redskins look for answers )
7. Fissures are coming to the fore in the Republican party over immigration.
[Once again, Washington tries to make something simple complicated. Either enforce the rules you have now, or change the rules. Simple.]
( GOP split over plans for reform on aliens )
We shall not rest until we have cut a swath 60-miles wide through the entire left - taking all that is before us with us as we go. We shall leave nothing to the enemy that may be of value to him. We shall show him that he may count on nothing and will be able to keep nothing, not his spirit, not his soul, not that upon which he shall feed. We shall not cease until the moment we have rent through their entire land and have arrived at the sea, with our glorious victory upon us.
Home Page of the December 19th Society
Now you have the info, go drive a liberal crazy.
That does it! This is the last time I visit this amateurish thread! </sarcasm>
No problem. Tomorrow it will be a professional thread. ;)
It was a political decision. I am sure if you ask the justices, they would not think so. But it was a political decision.
I hope there are some viewer calls.
Pfui!
Everybody who's ever followed Jeff George's less than stellar career knew it was coming. But, you mean to tell me that Schottenheimer and George couldn't even make it through the first game of the season before the "Blowup"?
Kaplan says the title refers to all the accidents involved in the election. Not as a slight to the President.
My personal opinion: this man is on Fox because of damage control. I do believe there are a lot of irate Newsweek readers. Ha!
Proof: he says he has no opinion on who should have won.
Jane..thanks so much for the report on Kaplan. I'm not sure if I could take it first hand...much better coming from you. :-)
In the main, I would not have a problem with Kaplan saying this, because it is factually correct - that is in the end what all decisions on the Constitutional merits of this or that become when they are before the High Court.
But in this particular instance I have two problems:
(1) The decision is done, yet Kaplan offers a surmise that somehow it has damaged our poliitical scheme that we use for elections. It has done no such thing. In November 2004, we will all go out and cast ballots for President, and if Mr. Kaplan wants to vote for anyone other than Mr. Bush for President on that day, that is his choice; and since it is his choice that is demonstrative proof the system is fine; and
(2) Mr. Kaplan clearly has an ax to grind because he fails to see the case in main that was before the Court: did a statewide exercise in ballot counting, where there were no objective statewide standards established as to the question of determining a valid vote, constitute sufficient grounds to question whether those votes would be counted consistently thus ensuring EACH candidate the opportunity to be treated equally under the law as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment?
Seven justices of the Court agreed that it did not.
Ironically, lost in Mr. Kaplan's diatribe on the issue is what the Supreme Court actually said. Five Justices concurring agreed that:
1. Statewide objective standards had to be established.
2. All parties in the dispute had to have the opportunity to review the standards.
3. All parties had to have access to the courts to settle disputes on the standards.
4. The standards had to be implemented in all counting jurisdictions before counting could continue.
5. The opportunity to dispute the counts in court had to be afforded to all parties.
6. The counting could, in fact, continue, but according to the previous guidelines.
7. Counting had to be finished by 12 AM, 13 December 2000.
8. CASE REMANDED TO SCOFLA FOR FURTHER ACTION NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THE RULING.
Now the last two are important and often forgotten in the whole mess. They were an aboslute and total rebuke of the FLA SC. Basically, as long as all the conditions were met, FLordia would be allowed to continue the ballot counting exercise. But they were given two hours to complete the task. Utterly impossible.
But what was also important was what the Supreme Court DID NOT do. It DID NOT deny anything to Algore - it DID NOT say Algore had to stop his quest for the White House. It DID NOT say that George W. Bush had won the Presidency.
It DID NOT do any of these things.
So how did we get from the Supreme Court decision to having a President Bush?
Simple - ALGORE CONCEDED THE RACE at that point!
All you demonflop lurkers, read that carefully. In fact I'll put it down again - in letters sufficiently large that you will not need your glasses to read or so that it will show up well even on monitors set to a high resolution:
ALGORE QUIT THE RACE!!
ALGORE ORDERED AN END TO THE CHALLENGE!!
So, Mr. Kapland and all of you demonflops, if you want to blame anyone - blame yourselves and your party's standard bearer.
As for the rest of us, we will continue to celebrate a President that, even with the passage of 234 days, has not had a single scandal. Not even an itty bitty one.
As I said, I've calmed down only a little bit.
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