Yes, it is great that President Bush got the proverbial ball rolling by lifting an executive order which prevented off-shore oil drilling in the U.S. I was astonished to learn as well that this order was authored by the first President Bush himself. That long ago?! I didn't know executive orders were allowed to be law for that long of time. Well, whatever I know or don't know about dictions from the executive office, I among many Americans know it should not have taken so long to rescind this order; and instead of telling the American people that we're addicted to oil, the order should have been lifted when the House and Senate were controlled by the Republicans. Oh what calamity may have been prevented!

     So what took so long? Well whatever the reason, the president has now put the ball in the court of Congress. What will they do with it? Well, given the comments from naysayers such as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, we probably should not hold our collective breaths for any type of action soon. What can we expect when we hear comments such as, "It'll be ten years before America benefits from this drilling." The continuing mantra will be ten years, ten years, ten years. Where did that arbitrary number come from. It's tantamount to telling a couple who want a child, "Why do you want a baby. It'll be nine months after it is conceived before it is born." Or perhaps telling Brett Favre, "Why do you want to come back to play football. You may never get back to the Super Bowl." Well we know the drilling is going to help. So let's drill, drill, drill!

     Look I don't want to be like communist China and ride a bike, a scooter, or even a tiny half-car to work. I passed one of those half-cars the other day while driving somewhere. Simply strange (In fact, I yearn for the day when those huge Delta 88's from Oldsmobile will make a comeback. Now that's driving brother.). Yes, strange as it may be, the globalists will continue to browbeat us into believing that if we simply sacrifice and drive such strange and wierd vehicles, we'll contribute greatly to the global good by doing our part in saving the Earth. And remember, we have our children's future to think about. Always throwing the children into the mix. Sure, we should always strive to conserve and to preserve. Striving always to make this a better world to live in. America has always been the best in doing this. However, let common sense reign.

     It's worthy to note that since President Bush rescinded said order, the price of a barrel of oil has dropped from about $147 to $128. Hmmm, seems like someone or something heeded this warning shot. It's also interesting to note, that the mainstream media gave not a modicum of credit to the president for the drop. Instead, it was China shutting down its refineries for awhile to prepare for the Olympics. Also, the American people using less gasoline. Well, that's fine and dandy. Seems like some sense of order has emerged from the chaos for now. 

     Was watching a couple of excellent programs that I had recorded on my TiVo. The first was called Mega Plane,  which was about the gigantic and cavernous C-5 Galaxy US Air Force transport airplane. The other was the The Fight for Fallujah, which documented the US Marines battle against the terrorists in Fallujah, Iraq in April 2004.

     I titled this blog "Remarkable Men" because the men portrayed in these programs definitely demonstrated the bravery and intelligence that they possess that required them to operate either heavy, complicated machinery or to fight in deadly battles. To see all the logistics and planning that it took to load the C-5, to fly it and then { as I was awestruck to see} the skill it took to refuel the plane while in flight. There could be no error as the fueling plane and C-5 flew closer and closer to engage in the fueling process. The pilots of both planes had to fly or maintain certain speeds  many times in very dangerous weather conditions to make sure there was no collision. Remarkable how accurate these pilots had to be in engaging the fuel line otherwise an unmitigated disaster would occur.

     I've always said that the US Marines were the bravest and  toughest soldiers in the world. However, I may have come to understand that marines usually don't like to be called soldiers. So I will simply correct myself and say they are bravest and toughest warriors in the world. In Fallujah, we continually see the remarkable resolve that these marines possess as they must go from house to house to root out these terrorists. As was stated in the program, these men were not second guessing their assignment even though the commentator of the program did indicate that the marines or their commanders would have preferred to just arrest the men responsible for killing four civilian security men a few days earlier and then hanging their charred bodies on a bridge. Despite miscommunications and politics, the US Marines simply went out and performed their job with the utmost professionalism. Remarkable, remarkable, remarkable.

     How can anybody not be in awe of such men and women. By titleling this article "Remarkable Men" in no way minimizes the role women play in defending our great nation. I just use "men" in the generic sense; but all this brings to light, as the Fourth of July holiday approaches, the continuous feeling of gratitude that we must convey to those that defend us and our way of life. Many salutations to our remarkable men.