The Captain presided at a funeral today.
Yes, I wore a necktie.
That fact was not lost on several people with whom I came into
contact over the last three days.
Some people naively think funerals are relatively simple
affairs. Not so for the immediate family – who must make a thousand irreversible
decisions within a few short days. And not so for the pastor, who must meet
with the family, provide comfort in their grief, prepare and deliver an appropriate
worship service (often for a person/family we do not know), and coordinate a meal
for the family to follow.
Have you ever driven in a funeral procession for 50 miles... at
40 mph?
So that was my weekend.
Lacking the mental capacity right now to think up something
really creative, the Captain will simply offer to you snippets of my reality.
Since last I wrote, the irritating rash I’ve suffered since May
is slowly going away. A visit to a dermatologist (finally!) resulted in a
diagnosis of “eczema”.
The First Mate is not convinced, but the prescribed ointment
has been effective.
Unfortunately, there is no “cure” for eczema, and small,
itchy spots continue to pop up. The rash appears to be migrating north, now
mostly affecting my face and scalp (although not as severely as it did my leg).
Fear not: it is not contagious.
Also since last I wrote, the world has lost some very precious
people:
Singer Aretha Franklin (8/16)
Playwright Neil Simon (Sunday)
TV personality Robin Leach (Friday)
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan (8/18)
And then there was Arizona Senator John McCain who died from
a brain tumor on Saturday.
McCain graduated from the Naval Academy and was a naval
aviator during the Vietnam War. His plane was shot down in October 1967 and he
was held prisoner until the war ended in 1973. Upon returning home, he entered politics
– first as a Representative, then as a Senator. He ran for President in 2008
against Barack Obama… and inadvertently unleashed upon the world Caribou
Barbie.
For whatever reason, McCain and President Trumpf never hit
it off; during the presidential campaign, Trumpf declared McCain was not a war
hero – because heroes don’t get captured! The relationship continued to erode
to the point that, upon McCain’s death, Trumpf refused to issue an official
letter of condolence from the White House and did not order flags to be lowered
to half-staff (although most people did so automatically); and McCain requested
former President Obama speak at his funeral… and Trumpf is not invited!
As Jim Wright over at Stonekettle Station noted, wouldn’t it
be ironic if Trumpf got the military parade he wanted… only it was the funeral
procession for John McCain!
Don’t expect lauds for McCain from the Captain, despite the Captain's rule, "The enemy of your enemy is your friend". People called the Republican Senator a “maverick”. In reality, he was simply
unpredictable, often voting with his party, but sometimes upsetting their
plans.
And finally, Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater – a paramilitary
security firm – is back in the news.
No, he didn't die.
The baby brother of Education Secretary
Betsey DeVos launched a media blitz (read: FOX News) trying to convince President Trumpf to turn over the malingering
Afghanistan War to him. He claims he could win the war quickly with 6,000 of
his specially-trained mercenaries operatives.
Think of all the money this would save us… out of our $700
billion defense budget…
Prince proposed a War Czar who would answer directly to the President…
to cut out all the red tape and expensive bureaucracy that burdens our military
forces.
Captain’s Note:
The U.S. government frequently employs private security firms to handle jobs
like protecting embassies, escorting dignitaries, etc. But as yet, none (to my
knowledge) have been used in front-line combat.
The Captain can see THOUSANDS of flaws with this idea, not
the least of which includes the numerous occasions in the past that Blackwater mercenaries
employees have ignored international laws and fired upon civilians.
With the above-proposed chain of command, who would hold
them accountable? And what other purposes might this President find for his own
private army?
As for cost-effectiveness, in 2007 the congressional Committee
for Oversight and Government Reform found that we were paying Blackwater $1,222
per day per guard ($445,000 per year) – six time the cost of a typical U.S.
soldier.
Captain's Note: If you do the math, 6,000 mercenaries would cost $7.3 million per day. A month-long campaign would cost $219.9 million. Annually, we would be out more than $2.6 billion.
And then there is the familial relationship between Prince
and Betsey DeVos.
The plan just stinks.
And that's coming from a Pirate!
Hopefully Congress will find a back-bone before turning over
its Constitutional powers of war-making to a group of mercenaries.
