Swofford Unleashed: Your Purchasing Power with the RNC and FunMeister Michael Steele

The last time I sent a donation to the RNC it was only a matter of days until the post office delivered a nice thank you note and a glossy picture of President and Mrs. Bush. But this ain't your Pappy's committee anymore. Let's take a quick peek at what your donation can purchase today under FunMeister Michael Steele.

*There is humanity. And then again, there is the cesspool of humanity. For a mere two thousand dollar donation you can send the "Young Eagles" of the Republican Party in search of a fetish. With a quick glance at the Voyeur West Hollywood site, it appears that the RNC hosted the Young Vultures. What with bondage themes, the chains, belts and couches not made to support Rubenesque women holding grapes, the joys of sexual slavery give the scent of psychological suicide and death. Hey, if you are into caves and Dominatrix bats, do it on your own dollar. If you are into viewing simulated lesbian oral sex, do it on your own dime. But please, refrain from using my donation. Now while some bloggers claim that Voyeur West Hollywood is an A-list destination for celebrities, most of us who choose to donate to the RNC are not celebrities. We live in a real world where family, our places of worship, and volunteer work dominate our lives. We have little time and no real desire to hang out at sex-theme venues.

*There is jewelry, and then there is Tiny Jewel Box, on Connecticut Avenue. Now while the RNC claims "office supplies" my overly active imagination thinks of Madeleine Albright. In the lovely book, "Read my Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box", she mentions the aforementioned boutique as a favorite place to purchase her jewelry. I would feel better if the RNC were purchasing office supplies at a bona fide office supply outlet.

Are these expenditures a shadow of larger looming issues? God, I miss Sarah Palin and her Farewell Picnics serving up the hot dogs.

The RNC is displaying a slipshod social architecture, lack of moral sense and certainly lack of concern for public conscience. There is immediate and ultimate responsibility. The staffer who took the Young Vultures to glut on the flesh of cesspool humanity has been fired. But what kind of an organizational culture was in place to allow such foolishness? I believe in chain of command. Mr. Steele is ultimately responsible for the RNC carnival. Will I send another donation to this organization?

Read my lips. Hell, no!

Tammy Swofford

Assisting our Fellow Officers in Iraq

Over the years many Americans have graciously shipped boxes of items to our soldiers in Iraq. The story which is not covered as well by MSM is the shipment of goods and supplies to our fellow Iraqi officers.

North DFW MOAA just received news that the initial shipment of six boxes of personal hygiene items and snacks arrived at the 1st Medium Artillery Regiment in Iraq. Our chapter sought donations at our last general meeting. My spouse and I were happy to assist with this need as were the others in our group. A member of our chapter functions as a Senior Advisor in Iraq and shot us a message of the need to assist the officers he is training.

The items were distributed amongst 49 officers who are newly transferred into the unit and their pay has not caught up with them yet. The antiquated paper system moves slowly, unlike our fairly streamlined process.

The soldiers are berthed in substandard housing. Americans can forget that the scaffolding of support and provision for the American in uniform does not mirror what troops in other nations receive in compensation. We are blessed. It is good to extend a helping hand.

Tammy Swofford

Female Suicide Bombers Strike Moscow

Certain things should make the stomach lurch a bit. The news coming out of Moscow is not good. The finger is pointing to the Chechen Republic as the seat of this most recent move into the asymmetrical battlespace.

My research has taken me to the Jihad writers of the Northern Caucuses many times in recent years. Many of the writers provide simple spin-offs and upgrades to the writings of Shamil Basaev. His "Book of a Mujahideen" resides in my files. Other cyber-jihadists gravitate to the writings of al-Maqdisi and al-Awlaki. As recently as yesterday, a message board posted a rather garbled rant attributed to Sheikh al-Awlaki. This site, is not the mother ship of the Caucuses but a satellite information-and-file-sharing endeavor. The lack of originality is made up by excessive fervor, misinformation and romanticism.

Can civilization survive when women become the cannon foddor of war? The two female suicide bombers were laden with bolts and metal rods when they removed themselves and over three dozen others from the bundle of the living, and injured greater than one hundred commuters. Sadly, emerging literature supports the use of women beyond supportive roles, beyond roles of self-defense - delegating them to the status of a human grenade.

Tammy Swofford

Your Love Broke Through

It is Palm Sunday.

I am grateful.

Song by Keith Green. Enjoy!


Smiling,

Tammy

At the Scent of Water

Yes, I know. They are just weeds. But isn't it amazing? Life finds a way to spring up and thrive in spite of stone walls and all manner of obstacles. This particular embankment of stone is at my favorite park. The scenery is etched on my heart because I walk and read here 5-6 days a week. So imagine my surprise to suddenly note the tiny signs of life between the previously bare crevices within the wall.

At the scent of water.... Our own life and struggles can mirror the photographs above. We need to punch through a wall or hike what seems an insurmountable peak. But at the scent of water.....

Job 14: 7-9 has a lovely reminder:

"At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant."

I love the smell of approaching rain. Just as the face of the earth craves renewal, so also our spiritual need - for the scent of water. Breathe in deeply. Rain is coming your way!

Tammy Swofford

tammyswofford@yahoo.com

America's Commander-in-Chief: Averse to our National Symbol of Military Service

We don't want Haiti. It is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. The government is run by bellicose politicians with very little to offer their own countrymen, much less the world.

Surely we cannot be conceived as an "occupation force".

Haiti sustained a devastating earthquake. America has tents, food, medical care and water purification systems. Simple enough.

When our military is tasked with humanitarian missions Old Glory is flown to display the goodwill of the American people toward those less fortunate. These recipients of our tax dollars and troop strength in time of need are deserving of a close look at our unfurled flag, the majesty of the red, white and blue.

I was a proud member of such a mission to Ghana, West Africa and stood silently and gratefully in rank as our flag was hoisted aloft at an Army Recruit Depot where we were stationed and received our berthing. It was one of the best moments of my life, the camraderie and traditions shared between members of the military of two nations.

My Commander-in-Chief ordered that the American flag not be flown in Haiti. A flimsy excuse was offered up. His behaviour continues to exemplify a man who is uncomfortable with the symbol of our national strength.

Tammy Swofford

A Nine Hundred and Forty Billion Dollar Brick

Whilst finding it truly un-American and distasteful that a few bricks have been chunked through windows of political office spaces in response to the new healthcare legislation, I pause to reflect....

It seems that a 940 billion dollar brick was just chunked through the windows of living rooms across America. The enormous burden of debt placed on the backs of taxpayers will cost a bit more than a few shards of broken glass.

As far as the vandalism, it cannot be justified. We are Americans. Our vote is our voice. We do not vote with our guns, our fists or bricks. We cast votes of conscience.

May our voice thunder in coming days as we show up at the polls to remove the men and women who voted for a massively flawed piece of legislation. America deserves better.

May all of them glance furtively at each other as they find themselves cleaning off their desks and dismissing staff members after the next two election cycles. May this day be one which they will look back on and remember with bitterness.


Tammy Swofford

tammyswofford@yahoo.com

The Joy of the Literary Experience

What is in your reading stack? If the reply is, "One magazine and my daily horoscope", let me make a suggestion.

I am currently reading a selection purchased from the WW I Museum (bookstore) in Kansas City earlier this month. The museum is excellent! But this book, "Anatomy of Courage" by Lord Moran is absolutely fascinating and will be reviewed on this page by next week. You may click on the link.

The Anatomy of Courage

The following selection will also receive a review in the near future.

The Nightingale of Mosul

Kaplan Publishing requested a review on the blog and I have the advanced uncorrected proof in my possession. It will be nice to read the thoughts of the daughter-in-law of one of the original "Band of Brothers". smile

Barack Obama's Health Care Nemesis: The United States of America

I determined something many years ago. If I choose to lie to you I will look straight into your eyes. It is then your opportunity to engage clarity of mind as you look into the clear blue "windows of my soul" and determine if a falsehood is presented. It is the minimum owed; that of the liar to the victim.

Channel surfing along this morning I caught White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, as he answered a question regarding the passage of the Democrats colossal health care Medusa. He averted his gaze downward and to the side as he answered the query. Spinning along with his scripted deception he noted that anytime such a large piece of legislation is passed there are bound to be lawsuits. Was that a snake I saw slithering across his neck?

The good news is that the Obama administration has found a nemesis. It's name is: The United States of America. Moments after President Obama placed his signatory authority on the bill-which-Americans-oppose, thirteen of our states used the delegated authority of their attorney general to file lawsuits challenging the constitutional breach against our liberties by the current administration and Congress. Many more of our fifty states are poised to do the same.

The Democrats have made a fatal error in calculating the wrath of their constituents. Their distaste for due political process and political passion caused them to label Americans as grotesquely ignorant creatures. We will indeed show our grotesque nature in coming days, but it will be the massive movement against the incumbency in Washington which will shake our foundations, but not the foundation which counts: Our United States Constitution.

The fruit of incompetence in the federal branch of government must be checked by the balance provided by the fifty states. Our Founding Fathers would surely smile today, could they see America in action.

Tammy Swofford

Abstract of Al-Buzjani

Abul Wafa Ibn Ismail al-Buzjani was a scholar noted for his expertise in both mathematics and astronomy. Born in Nishapur in 940 A.D., he later found his home in Iraq.

His mental agility with geometry includes the construction of parabolas by points, geometric solutions such as x4 = a and x4 + ax3 = b. ( O.K. I am already lost.)

Regarding trigonometry, he was the first to show the generality of the sine theorem relative to spherical triangles. He was the first to introduce the concept of secant and cosecant. He developed a new method of constructing sine tables and also calculated a table of tangents.

He was an Arabic translator and commentator of Greek words. His books include practical books on arithmetic, such as Kitab 'Ilm al-Hisab and al-Kitab al-Kamil. He wrote a book on applied geometry and produced commentaries on Euclid, Diophantos and al-Khawarizimi.

*My gratitude is extended to the Association of Muslim Social Scientists for the information on al-Buzjani and other noted Islamic Medieval scholars. As for myself, I need to take an aspirin. Just writing this gave me a headache. smile

Tammy Swofford

Zephyr's Gift

The Zephyr's gentle breath and billowing cheeks deposited the gift of a white cloak across the Dallas landscape last night. I awakened at four a.m. to take in the beauty and silence of creation, thanking God again for His wonderful gifts to man.

Already, the taskmaster of the sky seeks to paint a new landscape which comes with each new dawn. The cloud banks are moving and a light blue sky peeks from the corners, like a small child hiding behind curtains.

The sparrows are parading across the lawn and by mid-morning the luxuriant grey doves will also make an appearance. As for our own backyard habitat, the Rhode Island Reds are flitting across the yard somewhat senseless as ever - without an intelligent thought in their small crania - a reminder of God's love and care for His creation.

Each day brings new hope for renewal in our own lives as we stand in awe and contemplate, "What great things hath God wrought!"

Smiling,

Tammy Swofford

Barack Obama's Latest Porridge Bowl

Hell. What's in your wallet? It is going to amount to less and less if President Barack Obama and his administration (the Demoncraps) pass a 940 billion dollar "healthcare package".

Each new Porridge Bowl bill vaunted in the name of liberty is in fact the mask of tyranny. As the federal government finds new avenues to reach into the wallets of each working and taxpaying American citizen, the goal is not liberty but the goal is federal control. Economic liberty is foundational to all other liberties.

The poor and illiterate underclass are already controlled by the largesse of the government. But it is the taxpaying class which presents the danger of sensibility. How dare we voice a concern regarding our own financial liberty?!

Every capability to engage independent decision-making - whether healthcare, education for your child, amnesty for illegal immigrants - will reside in the laps of:

This man.

What will this latest porridge bowl cost your children in the end? They will be eating watery gruel in days to come. And our Congressman? Kobe beef for their offspring.

Remember, Swofford believes in the removal of all incumbents. It is time for a dramatic political change of fortunes and renewal of electoral activity for the greater good.

Tammy Swofford

tammyswofford@yahoo.com

Ron Washington's Arizona "Surprise"

Americans are fairly cognizant of the mechanics of the "October surprise" of our political seasons. As an editor once told me, "Inside the Beltway, everyone knows the crap on everybody else. But it is kept close to the chest until it is convenient to leak it to the media." Sadly, the Texas Rangers organization now has vermin of their own, a fired and disgruntled former employee who has spent his days leveraging a threat of blackmail against Rangers manager Ron Washington. What remains to be sorted out is whether the former employee is the drug dealer turned profiteer.

Ron Washington used cocaine. By his account, he used it one time. He ran the required bases, has come into the home stretch and the team wants to keep him on board. The decision to keep him is an honorable one if the indiscretion was the mistake of a lifetime as opposed to a continuing lifestyle of choice.

What needs to change is the manner in which corporations and organizations hold blackmailers accountable for their actions. A blackmail threat must be immediately turned over to the proper authorities for investigation. And when the evidence is sufficient to produce a conviction, the story then breaks. It becomes one of a blackmailer receiving his just reward and the trap snapping on his own neck. The story of the fall of a man, becomes a side note.

Empty Holster Protests: Banning Mary Poppins from a College Campus

U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means has upheld the right to freedom of expression and served a neatly delivered "slap-yo-mama" to TCC Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley this week. The campus had banned empty holster protests for two years. (2008, 2009) These nationwide student-led protests were the backwash from the Virginia Tech campus shooting in 2007. Personally, banning empty holsters on campus is equivalent to banning Mary Poppins - unless of course, she really sported an umbrella like the one used against Markov.

I remember the day when I was called to an elementary school campus to deal with a situation involving my own son, bent on criminal intent, awaiting his mother in the principal's office. The conversation started something like this:

"Ma'am, your son threatened to kill a lizard with a knife."

My little knight in shining armor had offered to kill a lizard in the classroom with a toy rubber knife which just happened to be safely secured at home. The teacher, sufficiently alarmed, had sent what she considered a future "Son of Sam" to the school counselor. The counselor with her hair on fire was sufficiently alarmed to send the new little "Jeffrey Dahmer" to the principal.

"Let, me get this straight, Sir. You called me to the campus because my eight year old wanted to kill the lizard with a rubber knife?"

The public school bureaucrat looked at me with his recessed little anencephalic eyes:

"We have a zero tolerance policy, Ma'am".

Thank God, Judge Means has zero tolerance for stupidity which infringes on our First Amendment rights. Carrying empty holsters on campus is about as dangerous as - Mary Poppins.

Article Link

Tammy Swofford

tammyswofford@yahoo.com

Love Looks Down

She was standing next to me at the area donut shop. Dressed in blue hospital scrubs I noted that she had only a few pennies clutched in her hand. My own order included a large selection of items. She watched as boxes were heavily laden with pastries and sausages as I made my purchase. It was my day to provide the goodies for the Sunday class.

Conversing with this lady she mentioned being en route to a home health visit for a sick client, buying a donut for herself on the way. She then stated simply, "It is my week to bring donuts to church, but I don't have the money at the moment. The lady here knows me and I think she will extend credit." She was not begging, it was not a supplication. She merely stated the fact of her financial condition.

Reaching into my purse I handed her ten dollars.

Love looks down.

Love looked down from a cross.

Throughout the generations, love continues to seek an outlet.

John 3:16

Tammy Swofford

End of Life Issues: The Cost/Benefit Paradigm

Yesterday I picked up our Business Week and read the article by Amanda Bennett. The title, "Lessons of a 618,616 Death" caught my attention. After reading the article my first reaction was one of surprise. The price tag for medical care was fairly small considering the saga which unfolds.

Recently, an acquaintance spent a mere eight days in the hospital and she is now the lucky recipient of $80,000 dollars of medical debt. Unfortunately, her debt equals two years of net pay. Obviously, she will not move under a bridge and eat dinner at a homeless shelter. She must keep working so that our government can extend eternal unemployment benefits to needy Americans. She must keep working so that we can build bridges to nowhere and fund pork barrel spending. But, I digress!

Do take the time to read the article. It is succint and the clarity of thought shows the very real dilemma which faces our nation regarding our insurance and healthcare industries, and the manner in which we deliver goods and services.

Article Link

Tammy Swofford

Close Order Drill: Keeping the Ranks Closed to Ideological Flanks (Part III)

"How good you are, and how good are you patrons, your soldiers, and your military who carry out Jihad....." Sheikh al-Maqdisi in a message posted on a jihad site in 2009

*******************************************************************************

Words that devour.... All ideological flanks entering chain of command structures engage tactical poetics which seek to devour the ranks. There is nothing new under the sun when it comes to psychological warfare. But what is "new" involves increased opportunity for a heightened effectiveness via technological advances which emerged in the late 20th century.

The fear during the Cold War was Soviet indoctrination. It progressed at a snail's pace compared to the leopard's leap now available with internet communication. Consider the breaking story today of an American woman from Pennsylvania traveling to Europe to kill a citizen of Sweden at the behest of her terrorism recruiter. Colleen LaRose represents the emerging threat. The world with which you are comfortable is about to disappear. This is a war by increments on our soil. And because it is an incremental threat with little blips on the media screen which are here today and gone tomorrow, few realize the nature of the beast.

So what can be done to strengthen the ranks of our military? On a basic level it appears we have achieved mediocrity in our presentation of the Islamic world view. Yes, our soldiers must learn basic etiquette and cultural considerations as we become increasingly involved in stabilization operations within Muslim-majority hot spots. This is the Long War. Religio-cultural considerations must be grasped and we must do better to not present ourselves as the proverbial "Ugly American". But new programs need to be manned like mine-sweeping operations to deny ideological penetration of radical Islam into our ranks.

The issue is not one of attacking what one civilization considers divine truth. It is about circumventing political entrapment which creates intelligence vulnerabilities and physical threats within our military community such as those carried out by Hasan Akbar and Nidal Hasan. Enough is enough. We can ill-afford another attack on a base by one of our own members. Let's put the skunk on the table.

No longer can we afford the static teaching paradigm of the past. We must be willing to move into evolutionary teaching paradigms if our troops are to be adequately prepared and armed against ideological assault. It is the difference between a canteen and a camelback. We need to get rid of the canteen mentality. Our men and women in uniform must be taught to readily identify the dogma of indoctrination, and the inherent expressed sentiment attached to the Islamic terrorism front. The intellectual scope must be adjusted and courses which allow for intellectual apathy must be discarded with a focus on studies which bring unity of purpose in spite of diversity of views. Organizational cohesion and the closing of our ranks to ideological penetration can be achieved. But it requires a new training paradigm.

Article link

Tammy Swofford

Close Order Drill: Keeping the Ranks Closed to Ideological Flanks (Part II)

Captain Christopher Seifert, U.S. Army
Major Gregory Stone, USAF

Date of Death: 23 March 2003

Camp Pennsylvania
Kuwait


*********************************************************************************

During my first trip to FHOTC, Camp Pendleton, our unit was given a brief on the attempted penetration of the military by area gangs wishing to acquire weapons proficiency. We were also warned against any association with the KKK or any other hate-based organization. It was made very clear that the protection of our ranks was very important.

A new challenge to our ranks emerged on 23 March 2003. Hasan Akbar tossed grenades into the tents of his comrades as they slept, killing two and injuring 14. In the aftermath, his journal entries show a pattern of conflicted loyalties and anti-American sentiment which preceded his military service. His psychological hierarchy of identification reversed order at some point in time. He ceased to be an American soldier who had taken an oath which bound him to the defense of his nation. He entered the grey landscape of the lone wolf syndrome.

The new "gangs" in town are virtual realities. These cyber communities provide active forums with chat rooms inhabited by mere dozens to several hundred visitors per day. The emotional ties to these virtual communities can soon begin to supercede the physical reality of the geography and time in which the visitor resides. Within the jihad sites much romanticism exists. The "bride" (recruit) is easily handcuffed to the bridegroom beast (the recruiter). The relentless cadence of jihad soon drums within the veins.

Major Nidal Hasan also forsook his military oath as he moved into the shadowlands of cyber jihad. One of his mentors was Sheikh Anwar al-Awlaki. I had read enough articles by Al-Awlaki prior to his news splash to consider his brand of rhetoric distinctly dangerous. My brief "Rise as One Man: Islam in the 21st century" (February 2009) included a link to one of his articles. This particular piece, "On Censures and Censurers" first posted at a Chechnya rebel site in 2008 but was later picked up for discussion at the forum run by Islamic Awakening. These articles and threads of thought crisscross the globe. Recruiter and potential recruit are only a click of the mouse away from each other. Sheik Anwar Al-Awlaki baited an emotional hook. And when Major Nidal Hasan was ready, the hook was baited a second time: with blood bait.

Should the U.S. military deny access to American Muslims? Of course not. It is the wrong question. Here are the right questions. What can be done to assure that good order and discipline prevail? What means of active denial can be put into play to assure that another FUBAR of a deal does not happen, such as the cluster at Fort Hood? How can the military better educate its members to perform as sentinels against the tentacles which seek to bastardize the oath?

Let's talk about these questions next.

Article by Anwar al-Awlaki


Tammy Swofford

Close Order Drill: Keeping the Ranks Closed to Ideological Flanks (Part I)

"Moving as a unit...." These are the extremely important initial words regarding close order drill. Please maintain the psychological posture of a close order drill as you read the series of blogs on active denial of ideological penetration into our ranks.

USMC close order drill

**********************************************************************************

Professor J. Michael Waller, Annenberg Professor of International Communication, Institute of World Politics, put the skunk on the table. Addressing the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Home Security of the Senate's Committee of the Judiciary (14 October 2003), Mr. Waller gave expert testimony regarding the infiltration of the U.S. military and penetration of America's prison system by radical Islamists.

Fast forward to the present. The Dallas Morning News presented a fact-laden piece of smaller scale regarding ideological penetration of the U.S. military. This penetration can be inadvertently facilitated by the very military training programs which are meant to familiarize our troops with the basic tenets of an Islamic world view.

The report identifies Louay Safi, a Fort Bliss military trainer. He is an individual shown to have close ties to terrorism suspects. He was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a 2005 terrorism case. Yahya Hendi, a member of the Fiqh Council of North America, is also included in the cast of characters for the DMN article due to powerful connections within national Islamic organizations. His inclusion in the article does not necessarily cast shadow on his work as a Muslim Chaplain at NNMC, but he is a representative face of the quandary which faces the American military today.

Men who walk within the international corridors of geopolitical Islam maintain powerful alliances with distinct tethers of guidance coming from sister organizations in the Middle East. Their goals can be vastly different than our own.

The maintenance of an effective standing army is dependent on ideological cohesion regarding national defense, community creed and unity of purpose. Within my own branch of service our motto is "Honor, Courage and Commitment".

We are at war. It is not a war against the 1.3 billion Muslims who inhabit the planet. We are at war against a strident ideological front. It is time for close order drill.

Statement of J. Michael Waller

Article from Dallas Morning News

Tammy Swofford

tammyswofford@yahoo.com

Al-Qaedah: Seeking an Audience in the U.S. Military

In his usual cowardly fashion Adam Gadahn used media exploitation to release his latest empty-headed rant against adjective-adjective-Infidels. Beware of any pseudo-intellectual who feels the need to add multiple modifications to a noun.

Unfortunately, he sought out his audience among the ranks of the United States military.

Let's talk about the concern of an ideological flank moving into our ranks. I will run sequential blogs laying out my own thoughts with the first post later today.

Article link

Semper Fi,

Tammy

The Amazing Beauty of Friendship

My grand appearance in the world began with an early arrival a mere 10 1/2 months after my older brother's birth. John's own arrival was quite a miracle. Weighing in at barely over three pounds and then dropping down to 2 lbs. 11 ounces he was a scrawny little fighter. He survived his passage and the early days fine but with special needs. John has cerebral palsy.

Outpacing him on the growth and development scale my little brain soon learned what it took to be a friend. There was not much he could accomplish with his wobbly eyes, droopy head and scissored legs. But he taught me the amazing beauty of friendship. I learned that it took my heart and effort, and not necessarily his own, for the friendship to be a fine one.

We expect too much of our friends. Not all of us are equally matched for friendship. Some of us have an expansive emotional bandwidth. We feel things very deeply and are sensitive to the small nuances of friendship. Others may seem capable of friendships of only a micron in length. We can become disillusioned when such mismatch occurs. But once again, the heart and effort of the relationship can depend on the one.

Friendship must be accepted on the level offered. I have a couple of friends who consider it sufficient to renew the ties that bind once a year. A cup of coffee is sufficient. Yearning for greater interface, opportunities can be lacking. My grace and peace extends to these friends. It would be unwise to burn a bridge over such small matters. Those who see no need for constancy should not be chastised by my wish for a deeper well of thought from which to draw.

Other friends provide a rich memory bank of constant laughter, camraderie and a trail of gifts which commemorate the events and passages of our lives. These friends are treasure.

But it is good to explore the amazing gift of friendship on each level it is offered. So reach out today and be a friend. Don't be saddened if the friendship seems one of unequal balance. Accept it for what it is and enjoy each moment. Loneliness is a sad state of affairs.

Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com

Mossad: Of Law and Justice

"On January 19, 2010, life was snuffed out of one Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his hotel room in Dubai. Traveling without bodyguards, he was en route to Bangkok. Allegedly, Mossad was on his spoor from Damascus, tracking him finally to his hotel room in Dubai...."

It reads like a spy thriller. But this is not Ian Fleming. It is the writing of Anwaar Hussain. He kicks in the door regarding Mossad and their latest operation mounted in Dubai.

A quick review with a search engine relates that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was implicated in kidnapping, murder, and black market acquisitions. No, not diamonds. Weapons, baby! He was "wanted" not only in Israel but also Jordan and Egypt. Just a friendly kind of guy.

Below you will find a policy summary for the U.S.A. regarding government-sponsored assassination. It is worth reading.

But beyond the issue of the intrigue and deception involved in accomplishing this very sophisticated hit lie some basic questions.

*Where the long arm of the law is not allowed reach can justice prevail?

*If a non-state player or a lone wolf commits a crime, leap-frogging through continents before authorities figure it out, does he get a free skate?

*If such a man lives in a nation which provides safe harbor should he live in ease or sleep in restless manner of the walking dead?

If a man positions himself above the radar of the law can justice be meted out below the wire of the law? Mossad believes it to be achievable and showed the kahunas to pull it off.

Mahmoud al-Mabhoud got it back in spades in Dubai.

Journal of Anwaar Hussain

Assassination Ban and Executive Order 12333

Tammy Swofford

Flight Safety: Peter Pan is in the Tower

Yowsa! The FAA brings a whole new meaning to the tradition of taking the kiddies to work one day a year. "Under adult supervision" a mere school child is allowed to execute imperative commands to aircraft pilots. Good time had by all!

Lemme see. Critical care nurses should bring the kiddies on board to titrate benzodiazepines and narcotics into intravenous lines. It will be "under adult supervision" of course.

Just think of the fun that could be had with lil' Mike driving the firetruck and honking the horn.

But on the other hand, our national morale might improve if Congressmen bring the kids to work and let them spend a day debating federal spending and the national debt which they will inherit.

Article Link

Tammy Swofford

THE COURIER

Maryam stooped painfully over the small pot of rice simmering over the fire. Heavy with child she now found it hard to squat on the hard-packed dirt floor. She was aware of the man speaking to her husband outside the door of the small room which was her home. The conversation did not interest her until she heard her husband clear his throat. She recognized it as a sign that he was uncomfortable and unsure of himself. Moving closer to the curtain which hung across the entryway she caught snatches of conversation.

"The enemy is nearby...... your wife is ummi.... she is nearing her time.... Allah is the best of all planners...." The man gave a short, hard laugh and he left.

Maryam was suddenly flooded with her memories. She was ummi - unlettered. She remembered the first time she had seen a Qur'an with Arabic script. As a young girl it confounded her and the marks looked similar to what the chickens scratched out in the dirt.

Childhood passed soon enough. Within three moons of her first show of blood she was married. A virgin gives her consent by her silence. So she remained silent as the bride price was struck with the family of the groom.

Her first child, a girl named Khadija, was born small and sickly with a yellow hue on her nose and around her lips. The midwife clucked pitifully and patted her hand. Khadija did not take to the breast and was placed in the ground a week later. But this second child? It kicked and kicked inside of her and felt strong.

Maryam did not ask her husband about the man who had come to visit. But the next morning he took her to an adjacent village. Seated in dimly-lit house she sat quietly as a woman carefully placed a small scrolled paper into her hair, binding it up tightly into a braid. Pulling her veil back over her face Maryam was given a small container of water and a handful of dates were pressed into her hand. "For the journey," said the older woman as she instructed her where to go. Her young nephew was waiting outside the door. The Talib did not allow women in public without male guardianship. Ahmed would be her traveling companion.

After two hours of travel Maryam was frightened to see the enemy moving along the opposite side of the road. Through the screen across her eyes she was surprised to see men with weapons but without beards. Tightening the grip on her nephew she shuffled along a bit more quickly in spite of her swollen ankles.

It was early afternoon when Maryam arrived at her destination. Inside the cool walls of the home she gratefully lifted her veil and accepted a cup of hot tea. The small scroll of paper in her hair was removed and thrust down into a clay pot of dried tea leaves. Minutes later, the man who had spoken to her husband the day before entered. Moving quickly to the pot he removed the message and read it quickly. Tossing the paper into the flame he watched it curl, burn and disappear.

Maryam did not know of the ayah revealed which is the backdrop in history for the story of a woman who sallied forth with a message hidden in the locks of her hair informing the people of Makkah of the movements of Prophet Muhammad and his expedition against them. She did not know that she was part of a reverse order of operations based on both Qur'an and oral tradition; that she had sallied forth on behalf of Osama bin Laden.

She only knew that it was a four hour walk back to her village. Her hips were hurting. She was beginning to feel the first pains of childbirth. Maryam hurried back along the path without any sense of destiny. Insha'allah. Her lips silently prayed for a son.

Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com

Osama bin Laden's Courier System

A book was written by a man who didn't bag the prey but displayed braggadocio tendencies.

The price on Osama bin Laden's head is a king's ransom.

Most recently, C.I.A. agents lost their lives in a quest for information on a man who has virtually disappeared off the map.

Osama bin Laden has an impenetrable organization and courier system.

Later tonight let me move you into the mind of one of the couriers. The background for this type of player is within Islamic literature.

Requests to obtain a literature reference for the subsequent blog may be directed to my e mail.

Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com