“The Way I See It” is an attempt by the columnist to enlighten readers on a subject as he views it, and does not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

On Syria

The April 6 US Tomahawk missile attack on the Shayrat Syrian AF base where the poison gas bombing of Syrian rebels in Khan Sheikhoun originated, was a surprise to many. There was initially some doubt about who actually had the poison gas. Saddam Hussein sent his supply and the mobile laboratories to produce more to the fellow Baathist Assad regime in Syria before the US invasion. ISIS and possibly other anti-Assad militias had captured some, and there was good documentation that ISIS commanders had used some poison gas artillery shells against Assad forces in the past. Since Putin claimed to have gotten all of Assad’s, and had re-captured some, if not all, of the “missing” gas, Obama, Kerry, and Susan Rice had widely claimed the poison gas threat was over. (Hah! More Liberal fantasies for the Sheeple.)

Putin is the ‘Big Loser’ here. He claimed all was destroyed. Assad either lied to him and he was duped, or he is in cahoots with Assad. So any way you look at it, Putin is either gullible, incompetent, or an accessory to war crimes. So it appears that he has gone back to the Old Soviet Playbook – Deny, Cover-up, and Blame Others. (You can take the boy out of the KGB, but you can’t take the KGB out of the boy.)

The ‘Big Winner’ here is ISIS. Any break-down in cooperation between the US and Russia is greatly beneficial to them. In Iraq, ISIS only holds 7% of the country today, compared to 40% 3 years ago. And they have suffered several defeats and steady attrition in Syria.

It seemed incredibly stupid for Assad to pull such a bone-headed maneuver, and I suspected (and there were some reports) that some of the “rebel” poison gas was stored in caves near the town of Khan Sheikhoun, possibly with some of the lab equipment to make it, but that has been ‘mostly discredited’. “News Rumors” have it that a Russian drone was involved in observing effects of the attack and that Russian fighter-bombers intentionally bombed the hospital where the gas victims were being treated and the dead bodies stored. (See Old Soviet Playbook above.) If that proves true, it looks really bad for Vlad. Either he is trying to cover-up for Assad, or much worse – he was in on it all along. Assad had proven again that we should never underestimate the arrogance and stupidity of a Muslim dictator; and at best, Putin was duped by his “Best Buddy” in SandLand. We should hesitate to openly discuss the other possibilities until more evidence is forthcoming. Hopefully Putin will recognize the error of his ways and continue to cooperate in destroying ISIS. They are the major threat to us all. Perhaps with some strong combined diplomacy (and threats) by both Putin and Trump, Assad and his wife can be persuaded to return to London and he can resume his career as an optometrist. (Assad claimed in a 2011 interview, “he was attracted to studying eye surgery “because it’s very precise, it’s almost never an emergency, and there is very little blood.” )

Putin and Trump working together is the best, fastest, and cheapest hope for destroying ISIS. I certainly hope the “Warhawks” in “The Swamp” won’t be able to pressure Trump into getting us into another ground-war in the Middle East where we spend most of the blood and treasure. (Someone needs to gag John McCain and lock him in the coat closet until after the sensible adults sort this out. Lindsey Graham, too.)

Trump has gained praise and credibility by this “timely and measured response” to this heinous violation of International Law, but critics have pointed out it does not fit well with his “America First” foreign policy, or Congress’ power to declare war. The rapid and unexpected response is the reason for its success, and has plenty of precedents from previous Presidents. Reports of a highly emotional response from Ivanka to photos of dead and injured children are somewhat worrisome. Trump’s advisers need to be reminded – we elected ‘The Donald’, not Ivanka. Military decisions. and revenge in general. are “a dish best eaten cold”. Other positive results include China sending warnings to North Korea, including a threat to bomb their nuclear facilities if they continue to endanger the area, including northeastern China.

It is called “Leadership”. The days of “Big Talk, Do Nothing, Back-track, Appeasement, and Apology Tours” are over. 10% of Syrians were Christians in 2010, what happened to them all? Less than 1% of the “Syrian Refugees” are Christian (but about 70% are military age Muslem males?), so what happened to them? The Sunni ISIS kills them, as do the Iran-backed Shia, only the Kurds make any effort to protect them. We need to re-examine this.

UPDATE:– Deadline limited:As I originally suspected, reasonable intel is coming in that the gas released was not Sarin and probably a result of White Phosphorus munitions and chlorine.

Check the Website! I will update as info comes available and explain. But it is a good chance that the Shayrat Attack was based on bad info and bad advice.

This is a month for potpourri. To be sure here it will be meant as a jumble of thoughts for a month that is most important to me. April is, among other things, a most interesting month all in itself.

Over the centuries it has jumped around on the yearly calendar from first up to fifth and then our friend Julius Caesar settled it as the fourth month. It seems in the old days the order of months were not settled and folks just changed them. Personally, I am glad because it is hard enough to keep track of things like birthdays when they come at the same time of the year.

Which reminds me, for those of you who might remember, last month I was worried about renewing my driver’s license or possibly getting , worst case scenario, deported to Tahiti. I can tell you this is not being written in Tahiti.

However, sad to say, I no longer have a driver’s license. It seems when I was taking the vision test I couldn’t even find the little line that I was supposed to read. Neither my eye Dr. nor I were really surprised. I have been missing letters on his eye chart quite frequently.

The good news is that I now have a Texas ID card. This is the substitute for non-drivers who need to show identification. It even has a picture of me on it. The one on the driver’s license was better but then I am older. Actually, it is probably for the best for safety I stopped driving a couple of years ago.

But move on through the potpourris. One of the delightful things about April, other than my birthday, is that many other folks have the same birthday month. Did you know that in a random group of 23 there is a 50/50chance two will have the same birthday? In a group of 76 that jumps to almost a hundred percent chance. I have experienced that surprising phenomena in a group of 23.

Another thing about April is that we are not sure exactly why it is called April. The theory that seems the most popular is that it is a slight corruption of the Latin word that means to open. This is because here in the northern hemisphere it is Spring and flowers and trees start to open (bloom). In the southern hemisphere it marks the beginning of Autumn so I guess they think of pumpkins.

Another mystery is why the birthstone of April is a diamond. Now we all know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend and that it is the stone for weddings. Digging a little deeper we find that back in 1477 he Archduke of Austria started the diamond engagement ring thing. If Julius Caesar set up April back in BC, then the Archduke was not following the calendar thing for weddings. And by the time you read this I will be riding not driving into my 83rd year.

“In my eight years in the Department, I have never seen it this bad this time of year,” said Police Chief Leonard Bermea at the City Council meeting on April 4th. Noting that of the 32 traffic stops conducted in March, thirteen resulted in finding narcotics, “The percentage should not be that high in a community as small as this,” he said. “Our biggest problem is controlling the influx of drugs,” said the Chief. He stated that 90% of the offenders arrested were from out-of-state.

Conducted by Mayor Pro-tem June Cantrell, the main items on the meeting agenda were monthly reports from the various departments. In her Parks report, Alderman Peggy Gaines said that the train engine silhouette has been installed at the Depot and a dedication will be held in the near future; plans for a paddling trail have been submitted to TPWD by San Antonio Bay Foundation, and the safety barriers on the Bayfront are being painted to improve their appearance.

Council voted to keep the2016 tax rate for homestead exemption; to apply for a grant to help dispose of old tires within the City; and to allow the sale of the Police Department’s 2008 Crown Victoria to the second highest bidder, after the highest bidder withdrew his bid. The vehicle will be sold for $500.

The Council also gave permission to the Seadrift Chamber of Commerce to utilize parking at the west end of Seawall between 9th and 12th during the upcoming Shrimpfest.

The next meeting of Seadrift City Council will be held Tuesday, May 2, 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. All citizens are invited and encouraged to attend.

This is a month for potpourri. To be sure here it will be meant as a jumble of thoughts for a month that is most important to me. April is, among other things, a most interesting month all in itself.

Over the centuries it has jumped around on the yearly calendar from first up to fifth and then our friend Julius Caesar settled it as the fourth month. It seems in the old days the order of months were not settled and folks just changed them. Personally, I am glad because it is hard enough to keep track of things like birthdays when they come at the same time of the year.

Which reminds me, for those of you who might remember, last month I was worried about renewing my driver’s license or possibly getting , worst case scenario, deported to Tahiti. I can tell you this is not being written in Tahiti.

However, sad to say, I no longer have a driver’s license. It seems when I was taking the vision test I couldn’t even find the little line that I was supposed to read. Neither my eye Dr. nor I were really surprised. I have been missing letters on his eye chart quite frequently.

The good news is that I now have a Texas ID card. This is the substitute for non-drivers who need to show identification. It even has a picture of me on it. The one on the driver’s license was better but then I am older. Actually, it is probably for the best for safety I stopped driving a couple of years ago.

But move on through the potpourris. One of the delightful things about April, other than my birthday, is that many other folks have the same birthday month. Did you know that in a random group of 23 there is a 50/50chance two will have the same birthday? In a group of 76 that jumps to almost a hundred percent chance. I have experienced that surprising phenomena in a group of 23.

Another thing about April is that we are not sure exactly why it is called April. The theory that seems the most popular is that it is a slight corruption of the Latin word that means to open. This is because here in the northern hemisphere it is Spring and flowers and trees start to open (bloom). In the southern hemisphere it marks the beginning of Autumn so I guess they think of pumpkins.

Another mystery is why the birthstone of April is a diamond. Now we all know that diamonds are a girl’s best friend and that it is the stone for weddings. Digging a little deeper we find that back in 1477 he Archduke of Austria started the diamond engagement ring thing. If Julius Caesar set up April back in BC, then the Archduke was not following the calendar thing for weddings. And by the time you read this I will be riding not driving into my 83rd year.

15 EMS Calls for March 2017:
10 City – 5 County
Medical-7
Trauma-4
Accident-1
Lift Assist-2
False Alarm-1

8 FIRE Calls for March 2017:
1 City – 7 County
March 2: Seadrift Volunteer Fire Department, Port O’Connor VFD, Port Lavaca FD, and Magnolia Beach VFD were dispatched to a reported fire near Hwy 1289 and Hwy 238. Fire turned out to be a grass fire on Matagorda Island.
March 12: Seadrift VFD responded to Cherry Street in Seadrift to assist EMS.
March 13: Seadrift VFD responded to assist Port Lavaca FD and Magnolia Beach VFD with a vehicle fire near Hwy 2433 and Hwy 238.
March 16: Seadrift VFD responded to Hwy 1289 to assist Port O’Connor VFD with a grass fire; Port Lavaca FD and Magnolia Beach VFD also responded; cancelled while en-route.
March 22: Seadrift VFD & Port Lavaca FD responded to Hwy 35 near the river bottom for a one-vehicle accident.
March 23: Seadrift VFD & Port Lavaca FD responded to the Old Seadrift Hwy for a grass fire; Port O’Connor VFD also responded.
March 29: Seadrift VFD responded Wilson Road for a trash fire.
March 31: Seadrift VFD, Port O’Connor VFD, and Port Lavaca FD responded to the Old Seadrift Hwy for a grass fire. Fire turned out to be a controlled burn.